Mountains and Valleys…

There have been so many great things I have been able to report to you in the last 8 months. (Can you believe it has been that long?) Travels, adoptions, great relationships, etc. I have been thinking a lot about this though, and do not want to give a false picture of what all is going on here or even a false picture of mission work in general. Every day is not always a wonderful new day that great and exciting. There are many mountains and valleys with living in another culture and with being a missionary. I know that I don’t even know the half of them… I do know that one of the difficulties is that it is just so hard to convey even a portion of life here as it is so completely different from home. Therefore, I have thought I would try to share a little bit of the struggles I have been facing to help those at home see that life here isn’t always as it seems from my few quick blog entries…

One of the biggest things I have struggled with in the last month is saying goodbyes three months before closing my time here in Burkina… Our older kids are going to their villages this summer… Sometimes this is the case and other times they stay and continue to study and cultivate at the orphanage. This year, they are going home… I have realized, once again, so strongly, how God has completely surprised me in my time here. I have always loved working with younger children and I figured that would be one big part of my role here… It has, and I love it still, but I cannot explain the place in my heart that the elementary and high school kids have. I cannot explain the way I feel my stomach constantly churning and my heart aching at the thought of saying goodbye to these kids whom I love. I cannot explain trying to hold back tears in this culture where emotions are not expressed, and yet convey to these kids the enormous place that they have in my heart.

And so this time of goodbyes has begun… I really don’t like the word goodbye, so I am really not trying to say it… á plus, á bientôt, and many other “see you later” type of phrases are more common for me to say… I can’t imagine these next three months without these kids, let alone the rest of my life. More than any other short term mission trip I’ve done, I feel a strong sense and desire to return to this place that has become my home… Yesterday was the whirlwind day- kids coming to find me all throughout the day to say goodbye… And then today, Brittany leaves for Canada after finishing her six months here. The last high schoolers will leave this coming week after finding out the scores of their final exams for their last year of school. Primary school kids will all leave July 11… Most likely, I won't see most of them again before I leave as school doesn't start until October... My heart is truly hurting right now…

I know that God has a plan and I know that these feelings are ok. As Brittany said, if we weren’t feeling this, there would be questions of why we are here. God has blessed us so deeply with these relationships and the chance to get to know these kids with such incredible stories and love. I also know that Jesus took his relationships seriously. He wept over his friend’s death, even knowing that he could change the circumstances. He cared deeply for people, and I have to believe that he has made me this way-a sentimental 22 year old who absolutely hates change and has an extremely difficult time with goodbyes- because it is maybe just a portion of the way that He cares for us. I have a hard time imagining the vastness of this love that He has for us, but I believe I am feeling a little portion of this love that He has for me in the incredible love that I am feeling for these people . Wow…

So as I rest in this valley I know that God will continue to use me here even when it is difficult to see. Even as the tears flow (and I cannot begin to count the times that they have), there is a deep thankfulness in me for this time that I have been able to share with these kids here in Yako, Burkina Faso.

I pray that as we wait for God to rain down on this dry and dusty country, God will rain down on me in this dry patch. And until the rains come, I will forever praise Him. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers,

A servant for him,
~Liz