Burkina Faso Outreach :: BFOAfrica.org

We had such a fun day in Gobila recently.  There is a water pump located very close to the school property; but it hasn't been in working order for some time. 

A missions organization, Friends in Action works in Burkina digging forages, and voluntarily came to Gobila with all their big equipment to see if it was possible to repair the pump. 

Unfortunately, it cannot be repaired; but, it was so incredible to see the support and excitement from everyone in the village.  All the men came out to help with the work.  The women and children came just to see if they would soon have clean water.

It was discouraging for the people of the village when we realized it couldn't be fixed; but don't worry - with the help of our generous donors, God will continue to bless them.  We are making contacts and looking into Plan B.  It will happen!  I'll keep you posted.

The beginning is finished!  The first school in the village of Gobila, a Christian elementary school named "Eben Ezer" was celebrated and blessed on Wednesday January 6th.  In the words of the Chief of the village, "We are now a real village". 

Gobila is a small village just about 3 miles outside of our town of Yako.  The few children who were attending school walked to and from Yako, or the next closest school in the village of Lilboure.  Because of the afternoon sieste schedule followed in most schools, this meant the children walked a total of 12 miles a day.  Now the furthest any of them will walk is 2 miles a day!

This Christian school was named Eben Ezer inspired by 1 Samuel 7:12, "Thus far the Lord has helped us".  If you haven't read the full account in chapter 7, it's a wonderful story.

I learned so much about Burkina custom and tradition in planning and carrying out this event.  For example, you don't use the word "inauguration" unless you intend to invite several of the leaders from the capital city and have thousands of dollars to spend on the celebration.  Fortunately, the Inspector of schools for the Dept of Education and a couple local Pastors have been very supportive and were a tremendous help in planning the details.

We were thrilled to have the King of the province of Passore attend the ceremony!  I learned as the King arrives, everyone must stand and once the King has been invited to sit, everyone can sit.  The women all bowed down to greet him.  The chatter throughout the day was, "The King never  laughs - today he laughed and smiled a lot.

We also had our school Inspectors visit, the Director and other missionaries from the SIM mission, other school Directors, Pastors, and of course the Chief of Gobila.  In fact, this chief speaks acceptable French but does not read or write French - and yet, he gave a heartfelt speech that clearly conveyed how thrilled they are to be blessed with their very own school.  I was near tears as I thought about what a HUGE thing this is for them.

The children did such a great job.  Olivia and the teachers have been working hard preparing them to show off a bit of what they know about Creation through song and recitation.  The crowd laughed with joy and all were so impressed with their ability to read, recite the alphabet, and recognize their colors.  An interesting tidbit:  for some reason, Burkina only teaches the colors red, blue, yellow and green in the schools; so even the Inspectors teased, "I don't even know those colors - your students have surpassed us."

Other highlights were the traditional dance team arranged by the people of Gobila.  You'll have to watch the video (as soon as we get it posted).  We planted 2 trees together, just the start of many.  Olivia's Dad shared a greeting from the United States.  We shared a meal of rice with goat meat.  We danced!  That also started some chatter, "the white ladies danced!"  They loved it.

All in all, it was an incredible day and as I shared in my talk, "The bible tells us, 'the Son of Man himself came not to be served, but to serve and gave his life as a ransom for many.'  This project is working because so many people are serving instead of waiting to be served.  I am certain it will serve as a model for others; so if we keep our eyes on the Lord, this will be just the beginning of a great vision for the people of Burkina."

For you dog lovers, I thought I'd share a couple photos of my new puppy!  His name is "Chef", not to be confused with our English word chef.  In Burkina, the oldest man in each courtyard fills the role of "Chief" of the courtyard.  Chief in French is "chef".  All decisions made and permission granted goes through the chief.  He's in charge until he dies and the next in line steps up - even if it's a teenage boy.  So, my Burkina friends and I decided Chef was an appropriate name for my new puppy. 

Many of you know my home was robbed twice; so that's the main purpose for having a dog.  My last dog, Rex, was a great guard dog - people dared not enter the courtyard unless Boris or I were there to let them in.  He died last March, so we found Chef to fill his shoes.

Another tidbit of information - possibly TMI (too much information) - many Burkinabe eat dog meat.  You can even place an order for dog meat at the market.  Don't worry - my Chef is safe with us!

WOW!  Last week we had a team of 13 teens and their 4 leaders from Ouagadougou visit BFO in Yako.  I'll be honest - I was prepared to give up my space and just hang with teens for 4 days; but never did I think they would make such an impact in Yako. 

The next newsletter with photos has just been completed!

View it online!

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As you may know, on September 1, 2009, almost of foot of rain flooded the capital city of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou.  About 170,000 persons were left homeless as their mud brick huts were washed away, taking with it the very little they owned.  Bridges were also wiped out, roads crumbled, buildings collapsed, vehicles floated away.  It was devastating.