A day of firsts...

Today was definitely an interesting day... From the moment I arrived in Burkina and saw the traffic in Ouagadougou, I decided there was no way I wanted to drive, ride a bike, or drive a moto (moped/motorcycle). The motos and bikes pull out right in front of the cars; the cars drive all over the road; there really are no lines; the motos/bikes are supposed to stay on the right side of the lanes yet you often see them darting between cars; there are different traffic lights for cars and motos/bikes in some areas; and the list goes on....

The main street near SIM- NOT during rush hour

Well... today I had planned to go with a woman from the SIM office (a Burkinabe woman) to have some cloth tailored to make me a dress... Little did I know, the place to go was a distance away and as we walked out the SIM gate, she grabbed her moto and started it up. I just looked at her like, are you kidding? She told me to get on- needless to say, I was quite afraid. She assured me I'd be fine though, and off we went- me clinging to her waiste as though I would fall if I even loosened my grip. We made it safely to her house and then to the tailor's...

Then came my next "first." Once at the tailor's, we walked next door and the woman I was with filled a small dish she had brought with a local woman's food being sold on the street. We then got back on the moto and rode to her house (with the hot food hanging from a handle-bar. When we arrived I washed my hands in a bowl of water, and then we dug into the food with our hands. It was rice with some sort of sauce and a piece of fish on top. Wow! It was definitely interesting and quite an adventure to try to eat without spilling all over her floor (she said "pas de problem" though- no problem)... To drink, we had a sweet sort of milky drink made of millet (the main grain in Burkina), water, and sugar. Also interesting, but pretty good. My first real Burkinabe meal!

Finally, I returned safely to the SIM compound thinking my day was coming to a close and I would get a nice siesta in before dinner (the country literally rests from 12-3 every day). But no... Two friends on the compound go to the hospital here in Burkina each Monday to read Bible stories to some of the children. They asked if I wanted to go- which I really did!- and they informed me we would take bikes. Ahhhh! More nervewracking than the moto! So I hopped on an old bike (yes mom... I used a helmet. Actually here, barely anyone wears a helmet- it is a sort of status symbol if you can afford one... But SIM policy says we wear them!)... We made it safely after about a 15 minute ride, and I experienced the biggest hospital in Burkina. Wow it was sad... People everywhere, and supposidly today it was not that busy. We played a game with about six children who were well enough to leave their rooms, then talked about the creation story with them, colored pictures of it, and then walked them back to their rooms... It was so incredibly sad to see the children- many sick with Malaria and fairly treatable illnesses- in so much pain and sadness...

Teaching a song to some of the children in the hospital

I have attached a few pictures just to give you a taste- hopefully I'll take more soon!

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes yesterday! It was a great birthday and my new friends here also helped me to celebrate! Definitely a tough evening for homesickness, but a wonderful, HOT (107 degrees) day!!

A servant for Him,

~Liz

The road to SIM compound

The gate to SIM!

The door to my room