Glancing Ahead

Only 5 more days until we fly out of the States and embark on our journey! The time has definitely gone quickly. On Saturday, Katie and Bethany will be coming back to campus and joining the rest of the team who has either remained on campus or has come back early to finish up project work. Then it's packing and last minute details until we fly out of New York on Tuesday evening.

I wanted to give everyone a quick preview of what our communication plan is during the trip. We will try to update the blog daily with our trip activities and insights, but sometimes communication is a little spotty. Please do not get worried if you do not hear from us for a couple days. Chances are, something just went wrong with the internet or email. Also, if you know someone on the team and they promised to contact you, please refrain from calling the Collaboratory or Messiah College if you do not hear from them for a couple days. In this case, "no news is good news" because in a very serious situation an advisor or someone from SIM (Serving in Mission, the organization at the Handicapped Center in Mahadaga) will drive to a nearby town and contact the Collaboratory. However, in the past we have not had any problems except minor illnesses. SIM does an excellent job of taking care of us and family and friends should assume that this is still the case even in the absence of an update.

But enough of this talk of illness and emergency! I'm (Jon) personally getting very excited to just go on this trip and be there and experience the intrigue of a new culture and approach to life. I believe that God is present with us and will be watching over us. We are going in the faith that He will work through this trip and bless our time there with our partners and the people in the community.

I also wanted to share some pictures that were taken when the Education group was there in the past so that you can begin to have a better picture of some of the things we will be experiencing.

Camera-shy: There's no such thing as an unfriendly Burkinabe child around a camera! These kids are on the village road between the CAH (Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped) and the town center. Collab teams walk this road several times a day; about a 10-minute walk with plenty of small friends.

Trio of Friends: These three young women are some of the deaf students at the CAH school. Every teacher both speaks and signs the lessons. Notice how attentively these girls are watching.

Lunch Pails: These colorful lunch pails probably contain some cooked millet (looks like cream-of-wheat mousse!), peanuts, and a bottle of water flavored with baobab fruit. The children are able to go home for the 12-2 lunch break, but many have too far of a walk and relax at school.

At Work in School: At the CAH school, children are in classes of 30-50 kids, each with a slate and small pieces of chalk and a sponge. When this child finishes writing her sum, she will hold it up for the teacher to see.