It was tough to leave Ouaga after starting to adjust to life in Africa there. Yako is definitely a lot different too. It is much more rural, Ruth (woman who runs the orphanage) is the only American at the orphanage, there’s no internet, LOTS of bugs (I kill TONS every day- no mercy), etc. etc… I had a few days of adjusting, and as I unpacked my bags and moved in, the reality of the upcoming year definitely set in.
There was another girl, Hillary, here for the first week as well (from the States, but living in Burkina with family for the year), so that was great to have someone else to spend time with. Ruth is great as well- definitely an incredible woman. She started the orphanage from nothing, began the whole organization of Sheltering Wings, and has made (with God’s help of course) the orphanage what it is today, eight years later.
So Hillary and I spent most of the first week playing with the babies and toddlers as I attempted to remember all of their names! We actually ventured to Ouaga on Thursday last week to bring Hillary back to her family and for Ruth and I to attend SIAO- a huge arts festival with booths from all over West Africa. It only happens once every two years, so Ruth and I thought it was something I needed to see! Definitely an experience, and I’m really glad we made it.
Unfortunately though, I ended up getting sick at the end of the trip in Ouaga- making for a very uncomfortable hour and a half drive back to Yako. In the States, if we have a stomachache, fever, and/or bowel issues we assume it’s the flu. Here though, we pray it isn’t malaria. After a few days of the ickiness, Ruth started me on Cipro thinking it might be a parasite or something I had eaten. I’ve been careful with washing my fruits and veggies and drinking filtered water, but Ruth said that it’s really easy to get this kind of sickness- even from a loaf of bread. Eeesh… Sickness has a way of stealing your joy and making the homesickness feel even stronger- nothing like being in your own bed with family taking care of you…
God got me through though! I spent a lot of time reading, listening to worship music, and praying through it. I kept thinking of Paul from the Bible- in prison, being beaten and persecuted, and with a persisting sickness- and yet He continued to praise God.
I’m still finding my place here- there are so many different ministries and needs at the orphanage. I love spending time with the babies and am hoping to get involved in the other ministries soon as well. The French part has been pretty tough- I sometimes wonder why God didn’t send me to an English-speaking country :)…
Prayers needed for all of these things!
-That my health would continue to get better and that this would be the only sickness this year!!
-That I would continue to improve my French and that God would be able to use me despite this weakness
-For an adoption case that has come against some frustrating holdups, and the broken system here
-For the JOY of the Lord to continue to fill me and give me vision for what He will do in this next year
And prayers of PRAISE for some great blessings that have occured for the orphanage this week:
-One of our toddlers that will soon be adopted to Spain!
-A new car FINALLY coming in for the orphanage and the funds from supporters in the States will cover the costs (the truck Ruth drives is in awful shape)
-A number of other exciting projects in the works
Thank you for your continued prayers!
Happy birthday to Jewelz :) Happy Birthday to Mom (soon). And Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all if I don’t make it to the computer before then- enjoy your turkey and pumpkin pie!
A servant for Him,
~Liz
More pictures!
Walking back from church in my new African dress and two of the older girls-Therese and Barkwende
Toddler feeding time!
Joseph- these kids sure know how to pose for pictures :) 
Me with Tinbnoma and Estelle
1 comment:
We love the baby pics! And to see you too. Our prayers continue to be with you.
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