Thinking of Our Home

Well, our time in the U.S. is halfway through and I am starting to have dreams of home. Home is Burkina now and there is much there we are missing. Our thoughts are of many things. The children at the orphanage and the tests that they are taking, are the toddlers learning something new, did I miss a milestone with one of the babies, how is our dog doing without us, did our TOMS shoe delivery arrive, what visitors have I missed, is everything green now with all the rain, how are the chickens, guinea hens and rabbits? Yes, I have even been thinking of the rabbits! Are any of them pregnant? How many babies might there be when we get back?

This Friday we travel from Hollywood, Florida to St. Louis, Missouri. We will make a stop in North Florida and then Georgia on the way and expect to arrive in St. Louis Sunday night or Monday morning. This will be the first time we have seen our daughters Delaney and Haley in a year! I cannot tell you how excited I am to have them in my arms again. Delaney is graduating high school and we could not be prouder of her.

We have four more weeks of cherished time with family and friends and then we make that long journey back home. I wonder what else will be popping into my head in these upcoming weeks.

What happens when an animal is stolen in Africa?

If you have visited Burkina Faso or have seen pictures then you have probably wondered..."with all those animals running around in the street, how do people know which ones are theirs and how would they notice if someone stole one of their animals?"

This week we got an inside look at animal theft and how it is handled. Barto, one of our beloved boys at the orphanage came to us saying that he needed a picture of his father's donkey. Someone had stolen their donkey and they knew who had it, but needed proof that it was theirs. Many people have visited Barto's fathers home in the village and, as luck would have it, many pictures have been taken with the donkey.

All week long Barto and his father went back and forth to the Gendarme (military police). After the first time he brought pictures, they said that they wanted more pictures. We sent a few emails out and received more pictures. This alone is very interesting because #1: out in the bush who has a camera? and #2: if someone in the bush had a camera, who would use it to take a picture of their donkey? We really felt that Barto had a fighting chance of proving that the donkey was his father's. There were distinguishing marks on the donkey that were clearly in the pictures.

All of this was not enough. Its seems that they called in the donkey's mother and a veterinarian to determine if this donkey was in fact the mother of Barto's donkey. When I heard this I figured that things must be pretty slow for the Gendarme if they are going to perform a paternity test on a donkey. Barto told us that they looked in the mouth of the maternal donkey and were able to determine how old she was and how many children that she had. Then they looked in the mouth of the stolen donkey and came to the conclusion that they could not prove that the donkey was theirs. Hmmm.

Today, Barto came to us saying that although he knows the truth, he is going to end fighting with the Gendarme, and he is at peace. There is a saying here..."WAWA". It means West Africa Wins Again.

There is another often used expression in French..."Ca va aller". It translates literally "it's going to go", but it means "everything is going to be alright". He doesn't know it yet, but Barto will be getting a new donkey.

How to Make a Box Drum - Africa Style!

 

Drums are very poplar instruments used throughout Burkina. There are a variety of different styles of drums, but in the village church you will always find someone playing the box drum. With a box drum you play by sitting on the drum and using your hands and feet.

 

We recently made a box drum at the orphanage that was to be transported back to the U.S. Of course I documented this so that if anyone wanted to make their own they could follow these simple steps.

 

1. Make a wooden frame about 20 inches square.

 

 

2. Inspect your animal skin that has been soaking for at least 24 hours in water for imperfections. This is donkey skin and we were told it is the best to use for the box drum.

 

3. Find an old bicycle tire and trim off the sides.

 

 4. Place the animal sin over the wooden frame and trim off the excess. The skin should come down at least 8 inches over the side of the frame.

 

 5. With at least 4 people helping, stretch the skin tightly over the frame (hair side facing out) and nail the tire rubber in place to secure the skin.

 

 6. Now you can trim the skin so it is just below the rubber.

 

 7. The drum needs to sit in the sun for one day before you can shave the fur from the skin.

 

 8. When it has had several days to dry, you can start making sweet music.

 

IMPORTANT TIP: If you are wishing to transport a box drum on an aircraft, don't try to do it if your drum has had only one day to dry. The smell is pretty strong and will alert the dogs at airport security and they will confiscate your drum!

A Family with Big Hearts

We met Joseph Romero when he came out to Yako with a group of U.S. Military to help out with projects at the orphanage. Joe not only assisted with some hard physical labor, but he took time to play with the children and came back a few Saturday's to help us distribute TOMS Shoes to children in nearby villages.

 

Through the time Joe spent with us he was able to share with us a bit about himself and his family and their desire to add a child to their family through adoption. Before he left he began sponsoring one of the little girls in our primary school and his mother-in-law started sponsoring a young lady in our secondary school.

Joe with Jacqueline, the child their family sponsors

His family, back in the U.S. received a Sheltering Wings newsletter that had a story about the military group and the things they were doing at the orphanage. When they saw in this newsletter a small article about monies needed to provide Christmas gifts at the orphanage they were inspired to do some fund-raising. They held bake sales and were able to provide money so that the children could  each have a gift as well as new outfits made.

The Romero Family
Joe, Christie and their children Anthony, Alexis, Alissa, Alexander and Aiden 
 

We had a spectacular Christmas with the kids this year! We are thankful for the many families who have hearts like the Romero family and have generously given to children here in Burkina. Each smile we see on the faces of these kids is a testimony of your love.

Orphanage Kids and Staff at the Christmas Party