Time with the kids...

This past weekend Miriah and I took a weekend to go to Ouaga and visit some of the kids who are staying there with family. We got to see Evance, Ascension and Ange. It was an incredible time! We first visited Evance’s family courtyard then went with him to Ascension’s family. Both of their courtyards were PACKED full of people- most all relatives- and people constantly in and out. When we arrived at Ascension’s, we found that his aunt was expecting us to stay there. We had no idea, haha. Very Burkinabé. Soo after much deliberation about bus schedules, a reservation we already had at SIM, and our plans for how to see everyone, we decided to stay. His aunt made us great food and took good care of us.

While Evance and Ascension went to go pick up Ange, they left us sitting in Ascension’s courtyard with his family for about an hour and a half. Miriah started braiding one of the older girls’ hair which then got ALL of the little girls interested and we were soon surrounded with five little girls pulling on our hair and braiding. Finally the older girl shoved them all out of her way and said she actually knew how and worked on my head. :) First time I’ve gotten it braided since being here. We weren’t sure how much time we had though so I just got a little done. And WOW they must have tough heads to do that all the time- it hurts!
We went into town and hung out a bit. We then went to a movie!! It was a film from Ghana and was real interesting- interesting meaning a bit odd. It was called “Her Excellency” or “Son Excellence.” The funniest part I think to Miriah and I was that through the whole movie, right in the middle of everything, were big block letters that said “PREVIEW,” which to us meant that the movie hadn’t actually been purchased and we were watching a pirated version. Haha. The theatre was real neat- as with Fespaco, there was no roof so we sat under the stars. You could pay 300cfa (about 60cents) to sit on cement block benches with no back or 500cfa ($1) to sit on benches with backs.

Once back at Ascension’s, his cousin asked if we wanted to have tea. The men here all make a tea similar to chai that’s really good. It also takes an hour to make. We didn’t get to bed until real late. Slept in a room three of Ascension’s little cousins- one of which talks in her sleep in Mooré. I actually understood a little! The next morning we hung out in the courtyard and had more tea. Ascension’s aunt made us a traditional breakfast which is sort of like the toh with a very spicy sauce. Definitely not something I’d think of for breakfast. It wasn’t bad but was a bit of a shock to my morning senses (especially seeing half a fish in the bowl when we opened it). (Got in a taxi with all five of us and another woman... A bit crowded!)

We went into Ouaga again after breakfast and on the way, stopped at a boutique and bought water. To our surprise there was cake in the cooler in the boutique. We bought a piece (convenient!) for Ascension’s birthday. We sang to him on the public bus (not many people there) while waiting for a new bus to arrive because the first was broken. He was surprised! Once in Ouaga we went to the American Embassy for lunch and Ange and Ascension had hamburgers for the first time! We then wandered a bit in Ouaga and found a fabric to thank Ascension’s mom. We sat there and let the boys argue over the design for probably 10 minutes- they know her (and African mothers) better! We then turned to the woman sitting next to us on the bench and asked her what one she’d choose. She picked the one I liked!

Just hung out until it was time for our bus to come and then headed back to Yako. It’s really sad to think this was probably the last time I saw them before I head home… What a great thing though, to bed able to visit them and spend two great days in Ouaga!

Featured Child of the Month

Haven’t had a featured child for the sponsorship program in awhile. Still so much need here. One of my projects lately has actually been making a massive waiting child list for kids still in need of sponsors that we know of in the Yako area. And it is a HUGE list! Would you consider sponsoring a child? For details on the program, look at a few of my past featured children (info on the program in February postings)…

This month:
Honoré Zaaba

Honoré is 13 years old. He lives in Douré, Burkina Faso. Honoré’s father died when he was 12 years old. Honoré’s father had a polygamous marriage and had three other sons and a daughter with Honoré’s mother. He has two half sisters and two half brothers as well.

Honoré lives with his mother. Honoré is oldest child of his parents and is the only child in school. His brothers are 9, 6, and 3 and his baby sister is about 8 months old. When Honoré’s father died, as in Burkinabé culture, the women were offered a younger brother of the man, but Honoré’s mother refused. This left the family with no one to help them with even their basic needs. The mother and her older boys cultivate for food, but this is not sufficient to support the whole family. There is no electricity or running water and they have to walk to a nearby community water pump to fetch water for the family.

Honoré attends the elementary school in Douré and is in CM 2 (comparable to 6th grade). His favorite classes are science and history/geography. This year, Honoré received a 4/10 average all three trimesters (3/10 is needed to pass). Honoré also passed the pass/fail exam at the end of 6th grade which means that he will begin 6eme (7th grade) in the fall. For fun, Honoré enjoys playing soccer with his friends. At this time, Honoré is in good health.

Honoré’s situation is precarious and he is in great need of a sponsor.

It's official...

I'm coming home... My plane ticket is being confirmed and I'll be back in Manistee the 18th of September. Exactly one month from tomorrow... I truly cannot believe how fast the time has flown and that my time here is coming to a close. I'm not ready! Please be praying for this next month for me- for the many things to be done before I go, the goodbyes, and the many emotions of the changes to come.

A servant for Him,
~Liz

Estelle update!

In my very first update just 6 weeks after I arrived in Burkina Faso I talked about little Estelle. Finally a long awaited update on her…

In my update I misspoke and said that Estelle was two years old- she actually just turned two in May though! I haven’t had as much time with the babies lately as I’d like as I’m working on various projects before I leave. Right around the time Brittany left in June though, I started hearing my name being shouted from the baby play area. Tebnoma, Joseph, and Ibra had already been saying my name for awhile (“Eli tha bet” sort of all slurred funny- they like “Eliza” better). At this time though, it was Estelle!! Brittany had been working with all of the toddlers in a morning ½ hour sort of preschool and the other three had caught on VERY quickly and were speaking a lot. Estelle though, had not. But then she started saying my name!! It was incredibly exciting, especially when the first name she said was Tantie (for the women that work with the kids).

She’s starting to say more words now and has this great laugh when she’s tickled or happy. I’ve found that the more I clap and encourage when she does something we want her to do, the more she is determined to do more. Also a month or two ago she was working really hard on standing. A few points she showed me that she can stand without grabbing on to something. We still worked with her on walking and she has her stubborn days when she could care less.

Yesterday though, I went into the toddler room to greet them all and was shaking their hands when I looked up to see Estelle take two steps towards me!!! I yelled with excitement and she just grinned. A few minutes later she pulled herself up and walks 4 or 5 steps to me! I was (and am) SO excited. She laughed with joy as I tickled her and said good job over and over. Even cuter was that I told the other toddlers to say Bravo Estelle! and clap, and they did. I have been praying that she’d walk before I left and she did! She has come SO far. I'll put a video of her on here soon.

Another prayer request related to her though… Her mother recently had another baby… A little boy… There were a lot of issues with the man who got her pregnant and him taking responsibility for her and his child. He finally did but she is very irresponsible and has a tendancy to lie often. She was recently kicked out of his family’s courtyard and has come to us to get help again. She refuses to sign papers for Estelle to be adopted, but she is in no place to care for herself let alone two children… Please pray for her mother and that things can be worked out soon. As great as this orphanage is, it is not good for children to grow up without parents…