A long but rewarding day :)

We have been getting used to trying to conserve water and energy here on the compound, since the water pump (to fill our water tower) and electricity are solar powered – and it has rained some and been cloudy a fair bit since we’ve arrived. However…this morning we awoke to find NOT A DROP of water in our faucets! Katie and I (Bethany) looked on the bright side, and decided that one of the pros was that we didn’t have to cook anything for breakfast! As a group, though, we were a little concerned about our near future (food/drink wise). Nevertheless, we made it through breakfast (bread, PB, jelly) and devotions, and set out to work like usual (with half-filled water bottles).

Katie and I had a pretty good day at the BSEP. Starting this week we have had the three older girls from last week (who we are starting to get to know better!), as well as 5 blind or low-vision children from 2nd through 5th grade. Today we also had a younger sister of one of the older girls, so it was quite a range of kids and abilities! This was enough to keep Katie and I on our toes, for sure. It will be great having Dr. Hare, who speaks French and has been doing education for longer than Katie and I, starting on Thursday. In the mean time, Katie and I are coming up with various educational games and activities, as well as trying to find what kind of things they are used to in their class/culture. To keep it fun, we play games and try to learn Gourma (and teach them a few words in English)!

The guys (engineers) have been working hard on their trikes, and Yempabou’s is almost done! (Still drying, thanks to the humidity.) Another is ready to be painted, and 2 more are ready to be welded…which (according to them, since I wouldn’t know any better) means good progress. Yay.

As we were walking back for lunch, Katie and I were imagining the worst (still no water). I concocted my “dream sandwich” of the moment – PB, banana, honey and cinnamon! However, Matt (and the generator) pulled through and we had water. Meya (Matt’s younger sister who is staying in Mahadaga for awhile) made us rice with lentils. Yummy!

This afternoon, after a sieste that always seems to go by too quickly, we went back to work. The day had more good things to come, though. Walking home from the Center to our house – about 15 minutes of a walk – was filled with pleasant greetings/exchanges with people we pass. We received many smiles when we said “ca va” to the children and “n juada” to the adults (the “good afternoon” greeting in Gourmanche). Sometimes the conversations were slightly longer, but mostly we were just trying to be polite and greet people. We are learning that greeting people is very appreciated in the Burkinabe culture.

After a delicious dinner (John’s “famous” mashed potatoes, some ground beef we brought with us from Ouaga, and veggies), we had a class discussion. It was great to discuss “When Helping Hurts”, and hear what we were all thinking and learning about our perspective as it relates to serving others, poverty, and Christian faith.
I had just gotten to starting the dishes when Katie summoned me into the living room. This meant, I quickly concluded, that someone came in to visit us. I have been practicing to be a translator  (never a bad thing)! (Except for earlier this evening, right after I put food on my plate, and I had to go outside with our advisors to talk to a person who was coming and indirectly asking us for money to go get an operation…and we had to say no politely…). Anyway, it is a part of African culture to come visit and greet people one knows, or ask for money from people who are “rich”, so it’s just a part of a typical African evening to have people coming by. Somehow their visits didn’t disturb our class discussion time (although now I’m remembering that the woman selling bananas interrupted our devotions…).

A final fun part of the evening was the couple of us who stayed up in the main house (where Katie and I live, but we all meet to eat, talk, etc.) a little later than some. Demarise came over (one of the Swiss girls who is here for a couple weeks), and we roped her into a game of “extreme” UNO. She and her friend taught us UNO with many extra rules (pass cards, slap the pile, etc.) a few nights ago and we liked it a lot! Afterward, we spent time talking about funny moments in Africa, and more serious things like how the life of people here is difficult (and very different) in many ways.

So overall, it was a LONG day (it might show tomorrow, but hopefully not!), but full of many good conversations and interactions with people. I think we all have many things to think about.

Keep us in your prayers, especially for our work, and that we can build relationships with the people here so our work will last even beyond our departure (which is coming close, in a way).

-Bethany