Changes...

Wow, I can hardly believe that it has already been two weeks since I left Ouaga for the orphanage. A lot has happened in the two weeks, but I’ll try to keep this entry at least sort of short :).

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

Leaving Ouaga!

I just received word that I will be leaving Ouaga to finally head to the Sheltering Wings Orphanage in Yako this Friday (10/31). Prayers for the travel and adjustment there will be greatly appreciated!! My time in Ouaga has been great, but I am excited to settle into my ministry at the orphanage and have a little more of a schedule and an idea of what I'll be doing for the coming year.

I don't know what sort of access I'll have while in Yako (slim to none I believe) so I may not get your emails or comments for a few weeks. I'll do my best to answer them when I do have access! Thanks so much for your love and support- until the next time in Ouaga, A Bientot!

A servant for Him,
~Liz

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

Stomach problem solved!

For those of you who were wondering, we figured out what my stomach issue was! On my instructions for my malaria medicine, it emphasized "TAKE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH." It said if you eat to wait 2 hours to take it or wait to eat after taking it for 1 hour. So in talking with other missionaries here, they told me "DO NOT take on an empty stomach!!!" Every single one of them were shocked that I would have been taking it without eating. Last night I attempted the new strategy and had NO stomachache. This morning was almost as good! I will attempt it again tonight (we're getting Chinese food as a SIM group-- in Africa! :) ) and hopefully it will be the same. Crazy!! At least that's hopefully taken care of now.

Oh, and I had two fairly good (short) conversations today and yesterday on my own- In French! Yay! It feels good when I understand or am able to communicate. Still... a ways to go.

Pictures soon! :)

A servant for Him,
~Liz

Bonsoir du Burkina Faso!

I can hardly believe it, but I am HERE! I made it safely and fairly on-time on Monday night. It was an interesting plane ride… Not much sleep and a little nauseous for some of it. I actually had a 7hr layover in Paris, so I met a friend of a friend and got to see a few sights!! It was really great and a nice break from the airport. Customs was… interesting. We got off the plane to intense heat and stood in line in a little room (tons of us- actually a large flight) for over a half hour. People seemed to be getting through quickly though, so I thought it would be easy… Unfortunately the officer at customs would not hand back my passport and I couldn’t understand what he was saying in French about the problem with it. Soo he finished the last three people behind me while I stood there nervous as ever, and then I said “Ne comprend pas!” The problem was that I had filled a couple of the sections out either wrong (only one I think) or he couldn’t read my little English handwriting. After that fun adventure and being the only one left in there, I went out to get my bags and lo and behold, the big Rubbermaid of donations for the orphanage was missing. I was led into a room (kind of scary!) and sat down at a desk with a man at the computer. He only spoke French and we attempted a conversation of trying to figure out what the problem was. Thankfully Leanne from SIM found me and helped with the end. Despite the toughness of it, I was pretty proud of myself for getting through the conversations and remembering even a tiny bit of French.

There is so much else to tell!! I’ve still been fighting the nauseousness- possibly from malaria pills? The first night and day and a half were kind of tough. Believe it or not, I had the thoughts of “what in the world am I doing here- am I crazy? Is this really where God wants me?” Quite a bit of comfort came though, when I was able to check my email yesterday afternoon and received a few from friends who had been through the same sort of culture shock- the assured me (without even knowing that the very thoughts were going through my head) that it was completely normal. Yesterday afternoon I also met some of the girls living here at the SIM compound, so that definitely helped cure my loneliness a little.

What else… My Rubbermaid came in yesterday- Praise God!.. Sleeping under a mosquito net isn’t so bad actually- it make me feel safe from the bugs and other visitors (though haven’t seen too many yet). My bathroom is interesting- the shower is right in the room- literally! I shower next to the toilet and sink. It’s cold, but feels great with the hot weather. Oh, did I mention that it is HOT!?! I’m getting used to the feeling of constantly sweating and smelling too. Right now I have my own room (with a fan!! I don’t use it too much though because I don’t want to use a lot of electricity) but tonight another woman will be coming in and sharing the room, and tomorrow someone else will move in. They’ll both be leaving by Monday though.

Interesting things to share… Gechos are everywhere. Actually, they make good pets though because they eat all the bugs! I heard this loud noise all around us last night and the night before- sounded like the chains on a swing squeaking- I asked one of the girls if they were crickets or bugs or something, and she said “oh no, they’re bats..” Ahh!! I started my French class today- it was actually a lot better than I thought because it’s starting to come back to me. Maybe I’ll start writing my blogs in French :). Our three hour lesson was outside under this little thatch roof with a big old blackboard. Throughout our lesson, a rooster wandered in and out and would crow throughout- so surreal!! I actually walked back by myself though, which made me feel very independent and already acclimating a little into the culture. I was able to greet the people I passed, and oh my goodness the children are precious! The food has been good so far- different SIM missionaries volunteer to cook for the new missionaries for the first three days, so I’ve been in the homes of a few so far! Soon I’ll have to cook for myself though- eek!

I probably have a lot more I could write, but figure I should keep this one short. I will be here in Ouaga for the next week, but then heading to Yako and less internet access. I’ll update again before going, and hopefully post some pictures!! Thank you SO much for your prayers the past few days- I know God’s been looking out for me :) A bientot and talk to you soon!

A servant for Him,
~Liz

I'm leavin on a jet plane...

Great news!!

First of all, thank you SO much to those of you who attended my fundraiser and for those interested in how it went. We raised about $1100 towards my year in Africa!! Wow!! It was an incredible turnout and we are so blessed by the many people who came out to support me.

And now, the very important news... Below is my final update that I sent via email- sorry if it is a repeat for those of you who received it :)

I now have an official departure date of Oct 19! Less than one week away! I really can't get over it, and am definitely feeling a huge range of emotions in this time- excited, happy, overwhelmed, sad, etc. Also, VERY exciting news.. I just found out that I have basically reached my original goal for support-raising in the funds received and in the monthly promised gifts of friends and family. God is SO awesome and has provided more than I could have asked or imagined. Any remaining funds raised will be put towards the (I'm sure!) unexpected costs that I'll come across while there (a conference for missionaries in January, any travel costs, raised expenses while there, fluctuation in the value of the dollar, increased flight and other travel costs, etc) and needs for the orphanage!! It is so exciting to think that I might even be able to give to a project or some area of need in the orphanage as well.

Despite all these exciting things, I have, as I said, been feeling a sort of emotional rollarcoaster with many goodbyes. I was told by Ruth, the woman who runs Sheltering Wings, that I need to be saying "A Bientot" (French for "See you later") instead of "goodbye." I'll hopefully be able to email you when I arrive in Burkina to let you know I made it. I'll be arriving Oct 20, about 4:00 Michigan time (8pm Burkina). Soo your prayers are very much appreciated in this time. Specific prayer requests at this point are:

-That I'll be able to spend quality time (un-stressed) with family and friends

-That I'll remember everything that I'll need to bring as it feels right now like I'll forget everything important

-That the flight and customs (having the extra donations for the orphanage that I'll be bringing) will go smoothly and that I'll have the strength, health, and energy for the busyness and emotions I'll be experiencing

-That I'll be caught up on sleep and my health good (I'm sick right now!) before leaving

-That adjustments when I arrive will go smoothly

-That God would be before me in this coming year, preparing the right place(s) for me

Thank you SO much for your continued support and prayers and for getting me to this place!! I could definitely never have done it without the support of all of you. God is so good and faithful and I have been blessed in this time.

Please be sure to email me with any of your prayer requests. I'd love updates and I KNOW I'll enjoy getting emails and real mail occasionally too! I'll post my mailing address on the blog. I apologize again, in advance if I am unable to answer your emails as quickly as I'd like- I still do not really know what sort of access I'll have, though it sounds like a couple times a month I'll be able to check email.

May God continue to bless you!!
In His service,

A Bientot,

A servant for Him,

~Liz

Fundraiser!

As many of you know, I have a fundraiser set for one week from today- Tuesday, September 23rd!! It will be at House of Flavors in Manistee from 5-9pm and they will be donating 30% of the evening's profits towards my year in Africa! If you are able, we would love to see you :) I'll be serving your coffee/water/etc. and talking more about what I'll be doing!!

God is good!! Every day He gives me a little more to hang on to and shows me that He is faithful and will provide! I'm currently at 60% of my funds now!!!

Thank you so much for your support and prayers!!!

A servant for Him,
~Liz