French has Begun!

My French classes have started.  It was a little overwhelming and very confusing BUT at least I am entertaining my teacher.  Or maybe I am just frustrating her.  Either way I laugh awkwardly and she seems to laugh as well.  It should be interesting but well worth it when I can order on my own or get my own groceries.

Mandy's Wedding and Half Birthdays

The hardest part about being gone is missing important things back at home.  Its only been 3 weeks (today) and I have already missed a huge milestone - Mandy's wedding.  BUT I know this is where I am suppose to be - but that doesn't make missing out on things any easier.  Meh.

ALSO - Sunday was my half birthday.  I enjoy celebrating it and getting gifts (although that has never actually happened before) and I didn't even notice it was September 26 until I was writing in my journal that night. Lame.

It may sound like I had a rough weekend :) but I actually had a pretty good one despite missing the wedding and my (half) birthday.  All the C&MA churches in Ouaga met together at Central church on Sunday - so it was a huge celebration with maybe 1000 people for a 4 hour service all in French :)  I also spent some time swimming, eating ice cream on a waffle (amazing!), Sunday frisbee, and a game night with some friends.  So it was still a good weekend.

Lastly - Shout out to my grandma Dyk!  Happy Birthday last Saturday!  It was great talking to you!!  I love you a whole lot!  And I miss you!

Youth Group in the Dark

This week the power went out during youth group (power outages happen quite frequently).  Games were interesting to play in the dark by candlelight.  Kari Nehlson leads games here and she is amazing – and although this game isn’t made to play in the dark – it added more challenge and I would say it was a success!

Prayer Meeting

This may sound really silly if any of the people I am working with here read this but I thought I would blog about it anyways.  We had prayer meeting on Wednesday night and while I was sitting there listening to all these different missionaries share their requests I couldn’t help but think about where I am.  When I was little missionaries would come to church and I thought they were AMAZING.  Honestly, they were my heroes!  And this thought crossed my mind: I am sitting with people I have looked up to my whole life and they are so real.  The C&MA missionaries here are amazing people.  They care so deeply for the people here, for their co-workers, for the world.  It is really a blessing to be able to sit in a see their hearts – and even pray for them.  

Dorcas House

This weekend I had the opportunity to stay the night at the Dorcas house.  The Dorcas house is a place that women who come from harsh backgrounds can come and learn about God.  They also have classes on how to cook, sew, make soap, and varies other things that they can do to better themselves and make a living.  The women’s ages are from 15 to late 20’s.  It was neat to see them worship God and tell testimonies about how their lives are different since finding Jesus and living in the Dorcas house. 

Check out this site for more information: http://www.burkinaalliance.org/DorcasHouse.html

the women singing and dancing after church

Youth Group

Last night was the first normal youth group for me.  It was really great!  I am pretty lucky because I have AMAZING llama leaders (student leaders).  They lead worship, small group, bring snacks, games, and are such a great help.  They also bring their friends.  I am looking forward to getting to know them more!  Wired (youth group), as a whole, is great too – such an amazing group of kids.  We had a lot of fun together. Last night was the last night for the topic of grace (although I think that’s something we learn everyday).  Matt (one of the leaders) gave an awesome message. 

The llama leaders lead the small groups.  Last night we had them all spit up into their groups to make a team “flag” and choose a team name.  Throughout the year we will have llama team challenges.  

Talent!

Last night the worship leaders came over to practice their songs for youth group (Wired) this week.  I was so impressed!  We have 2 kids, one a violinist and the other a pianist, that can play by ear!  The other two guys are able to play guitar.  I was pretty excited to hear them and it nearly brought tears to my eyes!

Things I have done Lately

I have been pretty busy since I got here – maybe not physically (although I have done a lot) but busy in just figuring things out and meeting people and just trying to make it so far.  It hasn’t always been easy, I experienced some homesickness already, but it has been good.  I can tell that everyone here is patient and caring and has no problem helping me and being here for me so that makes it nice.

But back to what I have been doing.

I went to a movie night put on by the youth at one of their houses – that was a lot of fun.  It was a neat setting to interact with them.  Plus one of them is very talented in some crazy fire throwing/spinning thing…I'm not too sure what it is but it was neat!

Saturday highlights included having pancakes at the American embassy rec center where I met some neat ladies and went swimming, having lunch at the Wolters home, and having dinner with Lorinda, a missionary here (I am being well fed).

Sunday was exciting!  I got to experience church here.  It included singing in French, followed by a sermon in French, and ending with hour long announcements in…you guessed it: French (needless to say I didn’t catch a thing).  In the afternoon I played ultimate Frisbee!  It was such a great way to hang out with the youth kids and their parents, as well as meet some new folks here (plus I have not sweated that much since high school sports!).  In the evening Sarah and I went over to the Nehlsons for a home cooked meal of sausage and mac and cheese.

Church

Ultimate frisbee!

Today was great too – I got some money (yippy!) and had a great home cooked Korean meal!  Now I am updating this and talking to my parents on skype!  

Whats it like?!

I want to briefly describe what I see for those of you who have no idea what Burkina Faso is like. 

Climate: hot and sticky, the air is heavy with moisture.  Its not miserable and the moisture makes it cooler.  I guess in October it will just be hot and dry. 

Vegetation: everything is green right now.  I welcome it since I left Cloverland when it was brown.  This too will change as soon as it gets hot in the next month or so.  Dust and everything brown will soon come. 

People: there are white people here but I only see them in the circle of the international school (ISO) and the missionaries.  Most everyone else is locals.  The Burkinabe wear long skirts that are usually made of the same material as their shirts.  There are a lot of people here too, you cant go anywhere without seeing several people.  The women have their little kids strapped to their backs and also carry large items on their heads.  There are people selling anything you can imagine everywhere. 

Roads: main streets are paved and FULL of people.   Most everyone drives motos but cars are here as well – I saw a hummer!  But there are a ton of Toyotas here too.  All the side streets are dirt and have HUGE pot holes.  Most are left to get bigger; some are filled with garbage.  I have been told they are worse right now because of all the rain.  Also – people drive a bit crazy…okay really crazy.  The Burkinabe don’t really look when they are turning and don’t stop at lights or stop signs. 

Ouagadougou and Ramadan

This morning is the end of the fast for Ramadan so Sarah and I decided to drive and see everyone in their nice outfits on their way to the mosque.  Unfortunately we were a little too late to see everyone (I didn’t get up until 10:00…time change is hard!) but I still got some good pictures!       

ISO and Wired

I went and checked out the international school (ISO).  It was neat to see where the youth group kids go to school.  Its pretty nice – a huge new building for the middle school and high school, lots of classrooms, a library, and really anything else a school needs.  Even a turtle!

We had youth group last night.  Its called Wired.  It was a game night and potluck.  It was so fun meeting all the kids and many of the parents!  They are a good group of kids.  Very fun, loud, energetic, and excited!  I can tell this is going to be fun!  We even had a whole lot of new people come last night.  It will take me awhile to learn everyone’s name but I am so excited to get to know all the kids!

Some of the girls playing Pitt

I am so thankful for my roommate Sarah!  She taught me how to drive a moto yesterday (although I have not been where a ton of people are yet since they are CRAZY!).  She has also taken me everywhere, answered all my questions, translates for me, even makes me food…the list is endless!  She is amazing!

No more cold feet!

So I made it! 

I am currently in Burkina Faso!  How great is that? 

I am currently feeling pretty good.  I was so awake and excited to be here last night but I feel asleep instantly!  I probably could have slept all day but I forced myself awake this morning and now I am doing great! 

Impressions: well its warm and humid – not too overwhelming: in fact I wasn’t hot last night at all.  And for the first time in quite awhile my toes are not cold.  However, as soon as I start moving I realize its quite a bit warmer than at home.  Everyone here is so nice and really excited for me to be here – that makes it so fun!  I met 2 really great girls last night and they said they couldn’t wait to meet the 6-foot tall farmer!  How funny is that?  The house I'm at is really great – very industrial maybe…if that makes sense?  All the floors are tile and the walls are hard, I guess cement?  Its really neat though.  Very homey and cute and I love it!  I am staying with a girl named Sarah – she’s amazing.  So helpful and she’s just trying to help me fit in and survive.  She has a dog named Snickers and a cat named Kit Kat. 

I am 7 hours ahead of my Washington/Idaho/California/Oregon people – just so you know.