We are the handicapped: Life is good!

Today the three of us in Mahadaga began our visits to the homes of the 18 children in our program. Matt Walsh was kind enough to lend us his Rhino 4x4 vehicle, and Katie was thrilled to take the wheel. With about 10 excited children in and on the vehicle, we headed out, with Diabidi leading the way in her brand new electric trike that the guys completed two days ago.















As we drove, Abraham, a 7-yr. old boy with very low vision, sat in the middle of the front seat and sang at the top of his lungs, "We are the handicapped children; Life is good!" (Nous sommes des enfants handicapes; C'est bon!) When we got near each home, we all piled out of the Rhino and walked down the small trail to their home, the kids happily arm in arm or hand in hand.

At the home, we took 3-4 pictures, letting the kids choose the shots. We've been working with them to write sentences about their daily life, and this week they will read these into a microphone and create a digital picture frame that shows and says a little bit about their life.

Back in the states this August, we'll publish a book with these images and sentences and send each kid a hard copy. These are kids that the world rarely spotlights, so this is truly their day and their story.



















We do miss the guys who are now on their way home. But, for the first time since my arrival in the country, my alarm setting this morning began with a 6 rather than a 4 or 5! And there are fewer dishes to wash, more time to plan, care packages from family for Katie and Bethany, and the missionaries have graciously invited us to dinner in the next few days (real lasagna & birthday cake tomorrow!). So although we miss all the sandals outside the door, we are grateful for all we still have here.

Service is a Gift

The mobility team, John, Mike and I have returned to Ouagadougou for our flight home. We came yesterday, to allow an extra day for travel in case rain or something else, and it is a good thing because it is raining now. Nearly every rain here is like the hardest rain our friends in America have ever experienced, bringing 20 to 30 degree drops in temperature, so most things stop when it rains. I am reminded of a time when e-mail went out for an entire afternoon at Messiah College: I was not “productive” but enjoyed that afternoon immensely.

I have just now been sorting through photos, deciding which ones to use in this post, and found myself deeply moved to see again the faces of our friends from the Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped and the Mahadaga community. They are beautiful faces, each reminding me of struggles and kindnesses shared together. But not everything here (or anywhere) is beautiful. Something that makes my African friends at the Center so attractive to me is that they are the faces of people who bring hope and love to the unlovely.

It also rained on the day I rode out with the physical therapists, so we saw only two children. The first was a darling little girl with Down Syndrome. I was on assignment for SIM to take photos of the work, and thought how fortunate I was be taking photographs that might move Americans to compassion and generosity. The second child, however, was less attractive. She was epileptic, and her face was scarred from falling frequently into the fire. Among people of animist belief, epilepsy is also associated with demonic possession, because of the seizures. Few epileptic children are loved or cared for, and few live to become adults. I learned later that many handicapped children are covered in filth when they are first discovered, bathed, fed and perhaps held for the first time since birth by the staff of the Center.

Thinking of my own first reaction to a less beautiful face, and about how friends in America might respond to this second child, I wondered sadly if one must be beautiful to be loved? And then I remembered: “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing (1 Cor. 13:3, TNIV).” True love is indiscriminate in its generosity to people, life and all things that God made and declared good. He made us to give and receive love, but we and the world were broken by sin so that without God our love has become self-seeking. The love given by the staff of the Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped to those found unlovely in the world's eyes is not self-seeking. Surely this is a sign of God’s Kingdom breaking in upon us through lives that have been restored to health by our Maker.

The team has been studying, “When Helping Hurts: How To Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting The Poor And Yourself,” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Corbett and Fikkert note that one of the biggest mistakes wealthy Christians make is to associate poverty with a lack of material resources, and so we respond primarily by giving material resources. The poor, however, describe poverty primarily in terms of inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, social isolation, and voicelessness. The authors argue that unilateral material giving or doing for others is appropriate only in response to crises that leave others powerless to help themselves. Other giving that is apart from relationship contributes to the poverty of inferiority, powerlessness, and humiliation of the economically poor, while also encouraging the often “subtle and unconscious sense of superiority” of the economically rich “in which they believe that they have achieved their wealth through their own efforts and that they have been anointed to decide what is best for low-income people”.

Many have experienced satisfaction when they have helped others. Do not do for people what they can do for themselves, however, is the heart of Corbett and Fikkert’s message. It is an important message, but how to judge when others are able to help themselves? The authors suggest that the materially poor will know best what to expect of each other, and that being asked for help is no proof that the ones asking are incapable of helping themselves. This analysis made me feel like I am supposed to have everything, but am only to share with others those things that I judge them incapable of getting for themselves. Yes, I understand and embrace the principles of empowering others and avoiding paternalism, but sometimes when a human being asks for water, or food, or healing, or to be visited in prison the right thing to do is to meet that need. There is no principle of reason or logic that can help us know how to respond in love to every instance of human need, but the Holy Spirit knows what is best and will guide us when we listen to Him.

I have to admit that helping done to others is easier than helping done with them. Those who come to Mahadaga with the Collaboratory learn this. No one gets to come here and enjoy the pleasures of helping without also sharing in some small way in the sufferings of the people. We also get sick from the water and bit by malaria carrying mosquitoes. Endless requests to buy from hungry artisans forever waiting just outside our doors, and requests for food, and requests for money for medicine, and the stress of trying to know when to buy and what to give, are a small sharing in the sufferings of material poverty. Our frustration with construction materials that are always the wrong size and parts that are always failing is sharing in a small way with the suffering of living in the place that receives whatever goods cannot pass quality inspection elsewhere. None of this is easy. It does not get easier with time.

For me there is no “us” with everything and “them” with some things. The materially wealthy and materially poor are all made in God’s image, we have all been impoverished by sin, and we all have some things to share. We need each other. My friends in Mahadaga teach me lessons I need to remember nearly every day. They teach me to value relationships even though they cost me productivity. They teach me to be patient with the brokenness of the world, even when I am dissatisfied with it, just as God is patient with me. They teach me that failure to accomplish a big deal in the eyes of the world is not failure. How could it be? I am certain that God does not categorically count the materially poor as failures. They challenge me to aspire to be a big deal in the Kingdom of God, and to be a faithful steward of all that God has put into my hands.

I leave you with this photo of Diabidi sent to us by Francoise. Diabidi is a young woman who received an electric tricycle this year. Francoise says "she is "doing well and very happy". This photo makes us happy too. Yempabou, a young adult with cerebral palsy, and chief beta tester for the Collaboratory electric tricycle designs, is another new tricycle recipient. Handshakes are important to greeting saying farewell here every time you see someone, even if you see them more than once in a day. There are a lot of handshakes in Africa, and Yempabou is no exception. Because of his disability, however, I must always work a little harder to connect with Yempabou’s hand. Are we helping Diabidi and Yempabou, or are they helping us? Yes!

This blog post is the last for Jon, Charlie, Justin, Alex, Mike, John and David. Today has been a day of preparation for departure, and shopping for remembrances from our time here. When I first came to Burkina Faso I used to bring money to buy things for myself and friends and family, and I’ve bought a few things this time too. Lately I have been more excited about budgeting personal money to give away, and about “shopping” around for the best Kingdom investments I can find. What a blast! Thank you to our families, friends and other loved ones for all you have done to support and encourage us. We love you.

- David

Arrived Safely!

The Mobility team, Dr. Vader, Jon, and Mike all arrived safely in Ouaga. We made excellent time and the trip only took 8 hours and 40 minutes. This evening we spent the time relaxing and tomorrow we will spend the day shopping before we fly out very early Saturday morning!

Good times and Good byes

One thing’s for sure, Burkinabe people know how to throw a great “good-bye” party! Yesterday afternoon (after all the guys finished up their projects) we all went back to the Center for a good-bye and thank you party hosted by the Center for us Messiah students and faculty as well as for the teachers who are now on summer break and no longer at the Center. It was filled with many laughs from hilarious games and skits; great time of singing and praying together; a very encouraging message from the director, Ontieni, who compared our team to the Good Samaritan (although I think it would be safe for me to say each member on the team sees the people that make up the Center as Good Samaritans); pictures outside afterwards, and of course the Burkinabe favorite… Fanta (orange soda)! It has been such a blessing to get to know, meet, and share meals with some of the incredible people that make up the ministry at the Center. Their active engagement in furthering God’s Kingdom by serving the “least of these” in Mahadaga is incredibly challenging and encouraging to see. It was difficult for everyone to say “good-bye” to our newly discovered brothers and sisters in Jesus but looking forward to seeing them all again someday!
The party continued that evening when we went over to the Walsh’s for home-made chocolate chip cookies and ice cream that some on the team described as “good enough to die for” (cold, creamy good-ness), and a short worship and prayer time before the guys began packing.

Good-byes… so not a fun thing and so many in a row! I don’t know how the long-term missionaries here do it so often. The guys left this morning at 6:30 for their long journey back to Ouagadougou before headed back to the States. They are all loaded up with Nutella and peanutbutter sandwiches which should fill their bellies up until they arrive tonight in Ouaga. It was hard to see them leave… can’t say I’ll miss the random bugs that were brought in and show-cased in and around our house, but will for sure miss our team meals, discussions, and adventures!! It has most definitely been beyond wicked awesome to spend the last few weeks all together and looking forward to seeing everyone again in the fall! What an incredible team!

Dr. Hare, Bethany, me, and 2 Burkinabe individuals just finished up another day of the Summer Enrichment program for 15 students from the CAH. We all had a great time doing our different math and literacy centers and playing with them outside for recess. They are all such a joy to be around! Dr. Hare, Bethany, and I will be visiting the children’s homes in the next few days to see their lives outside of the Center and to create a digital picture frame story about their lives that will be kept in the library for them to see whenever they want. I am so looking forward to seeing and meeting the families who have been caring for and loving the children that we have grown to love and care for as well!
Super thankful for each one of you… we wouldn’t be able to be here without your continued prayerful support! Praying that today is filled with many God Sightings for you!
~Katie

Africa From The Back Of A Mobilet

Today I had the privilege of going out into the bush with the therapists. It was an experience that I will not soon forget and could talk about for quite some time. There were two therapists who drove, myself, two girls going back to their respective homes from the handicap center, and six bags on two mobilets. To say the least it was crowded on my 125cc mobilet. A mobilet for those of you who do not know is a generic term the team uses for any scooter, dirt bike, or motorcycle used in Burkina Faso. When I arrived in Mahadaga I thought that there could not be a more rural place… man was I wrong! In America there is an expression saying one lives out in the boondocks if the directions to their house includes the saying ‘turn off the paved road’. However, were I went today the directions included ‘turn off the dirt road onto a side trail big enough for an ATV or four wheeler to drive on’ then ‘turn off that path onto a goat trail’. ‘When you see the dump truck stuck in the mud turn down into the stream because the road is impassible’ and finally ‘follow the man on the bike through the millet field because he knows the way’. Now that is true country living… and I loved every minute I spent on the back of my mobilet.

There where a number of things that stuck out to me as we drove along. The first was the beauty of God’s creation. To look up into a perfectly blue sun lit sky with the wind blowing in my face would have been enough by God did not stop there. Trees and bushes of every variety, birds singing and flying above, donkeys and chickens lined the road, and cows blocked it. Secondly, the people that we met where so generous and so inviting. In Africa it is customary when a guest arrives to offer them water, and with out fail every home we visited I humbly accepted the bowl of water, milk, or fermented toe set before me and graciously put it up towards my mouth and acted as if I drank some. The clients that we visited were so grateful for the work of the therapists and showered us with pleasantries and greetings, to which I replied “LAFIA”. At two of the home we visited we were give a chicken. What were we to do with two live chickens so far from the handicap center but to tie its legs together and hang them from the handle bars? The leg of the chicken that was given to me tasted amazing tonight just in case you were wondering.

One of the little girls we visited today had braces on her legs to correct her bow legged stance. When we walked into the compound we were greeted by the mother, grandmother, and the four bothers and sister of our patient. We were seated in the shade on one side of the circular compound comprised of six or seven mud huts with straw roofs. It was not very long until she walked out of one of the huts wearing her plastic full leg braces. She hesitantly sat down on the mat in front of the therapists and they started her treatment. They removed her braces and helped her mother rub oil onto this reluctant young girl’s knees. After the oil was rubbed in the therapists started to massage and stretch the muscles in the leg and knee. At first there were a few whimpers, but as the stretching became more intense so did the cries and tears. She was clawing at the mat and fighting the therapists who were trying to help her. Not sitting still when asked and rolling onto her stomach when she was placed on her back. Her cries intensified as the procedure carried on and she was not at all happy or pleased with the work that was being done to better her life.

I tell you this not to disturb you, but to try to paint a picture for you of what was happens daily in rural Africa and draw a parallel to a the Christian lifestyle. This little girl needed help from someone to be able to walk correctly. If she did not receive the treatment from the handicap center she would go thought her life bow legged and as one could guess that is not a good thing. We as sinful humans need help as well. It is impossible for us to be in community with God as a result of our sin. The Bible is very clear that the consequence of our sin is death. Something must die to pay for our sin. It is at this point that we are given help. Jesus, God’s son, humbled himself to be born a man, lived a perfect life, died a sinner’s death He did not deserve, and three days latter rose from the dead. In His death and resurrection Jesus took the punishment for our sins. Jesus helped us just as the therapist helped the little girl. Her life is going to be vastly improved due to the treatment she is receiving from the therapists. If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and you can start a new and better life centered on a relationship with God. This litter girl is getting a second chance on life, a better life as a result of the work done by the therapists. In the same manner you have the opportunity to have a better life in Christ.

This relationship with God does not mean that life is going to be a cake walk. Just as the little girl was crying out in pain so to might our live be filled with pain as a result of Christ. However, we know that a life with God leads to an eternity of joy while the alternative only leads to eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. We can find comfort in Jesus’ words in Matthew when he says "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” Right now it might look like there is no hope. The pain of the therapy administered by God might be excruciating; however, rest in the knowledge that His will is perfect and He has your best interest in mind.

God Bless.

Your brother in Christ and a fellow child in therapy,
Charlie Kimpel

Dinner and a Movie

Today was another work day. With our departure right around the corner, this is definitely crunch time. Unfortunately, crunch time means stress, stress means a weakened immune system, and that can lead to fatigue and illness. Three of us were feeling that this afternoon, but a nice nap seemed to get everyone back on their feet. As far as the rest of this post goes, it will be kept brief, so that I can actually sleep tonight and fight the rest of my fatigue.

So here's the quick breakdown of project updates:

The trikes are coming along well, but definitely have lots more to do. Today we started to outfit the third electric trike for Kampadelemba's sister's. We took some measurements and got all of the controls made up accordingly. We still need to mount the controls on both that trike and Malijua's. We've also been keeping up with Yempabou's trike, monitoring any issues he has had with it. Aside from a few extra features Yempabou has asked for and a mis-sized tube, his testing has gone well.

Unfortunately, due to Justin and I missing a bit of the afternoon, not much else was accomplished. The next day and a half will be rather strenuous.

The education stuff seems to be going well, from what I've heard. The kids have taken a fascination with the idea of snow, so tomorrow the plan is to have a mock snowball fight. Aside from that, I haven't heard of any recent fights or other problems, so I'm assuming things are going well.

Biodiesel is looking promising. Mike has been brewing up batches of oil and tomorrow, I believe, he'll be pioneering the press.

Tonignt for dinner we had the Burkinabe Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped and his wife over. It was good. Afterwards, Fransoise and Matt joined us and we watched a brief movie on the center. We then discussed the work of the center with everyone.

-Alex
mobility team

A Cool Day in Mahadaga

Last night we had some rain early in the evening and it brought with it cool weather. This morning we woke up toa very "cold" Sunday in Mahadaga, with temperatures only in the mid to upper 70's. Apparently last night the missionaries were sleeping with quilts and blankets and many people had hats and coats on today. Personally I (Mike) have very much enjoyed the cooler temperatures but last night I must admit that I had to turn my fan off because I was a bit chilly. Based on what I've read in e-mails from friends and family and on Facebook, it has been very hot back home on the east coast with temperatures reaching 100 F and higher. We are thankful that God has blessed us with this cool weather during our time here in Burkina Faso.

This morning I attended the French church again with Angela, John and Jon. The church meets in a classroom at the school adjacent to the mission compound. Last week was children's Sunday and the kids lead worship which was awesome. The church was packed last week and there were no free seats. This week was very different. There were a lot less people and Matt thinks that is due to a few different things. With so much rain the last few days, a lot of people are spending time working the fields to plant crops. It was also a cold day here like I said above and mothers have trouble getting their children up and going on mornings like these. The school at the Handicapped Center also closed for the summer this week so a lot of the teachers and their families as well as the children from school who normally attend were not present. But even with lower attendance, the singing and the preaching were still very powerful. Even though I don't speak French, it is still very easy to feel God in the worship at the church. Today's message was about what it means to be children of God. The pastor, who was not the regular pastor, gave a great sermon about leaving behind our old ways and embracing the Spirit of God to become new creations in Him. He also spoke about what it looks like to be a child of God and gave several examples of how people here have known that others are Christians because of the fruit of the Spirit being seen in them. A very special aspect of the sermons is that they are translated from French into Gourma for the local members as well as to English for us. It is amazing to see and feel God working here in Burkina Faso.

Over the last week I have had the opportunity to do a lot of biodiesel related research and work here at the mission center. In preparation for this trip I designed and built a small biodiesel test processor that would fit into a duffle bag so that Matt would have a system to use for research here in Mahadaga. The system made it here in one piece and I assembled it and tested it with very good results.

(The biodiesel test processor on my make-shift work bench.)

Matt was able to get me all of the materials (oil, alcohol and catalyst) to try to make a batch of biodiesel but I quickly ran into a road block with the oil. The oil that Matt got me contained a lot of moisture and was also not degummed, both of which hinder the biodiesel production process. I expected this and was able to degum a sample of the oil using water and citric acid (lemon juice) with good results. However the oil still contained a lot of moisture so I spent a good amount of time heating it to remove the water. It is very important that there be little to no water in the oil before the catalyst is added or else you will make soap instead of biodiesel which is exactly what happened in my first attempt. This first test batch immediately turned to soap. Knowing this I should be able to remove more water from the oil and hopefully get a good sample of biodiesel before we leave.

The key to good biodiesel is starting with good oil and producing good oil is the first step in our biodiesel work here. There are many crops here that can be used to produce oil, but that main crop we would like to focus on is Jatropha. This is a tree like plant that grows very well here and it produces a seed that has a very high oil content. After it matures the seeds can be harvested 2 to 3 times per year. The beauty of Jatropha is that is grows almost anywhere here, it only needs to be planted once and it is not a food crop, the oil is not edible. The goal is to have local people begin growing Jatropha and then buy the seeds back from them to then press the seeds and produce oil for biodiesel.

(A young Jatropha plant growing at the edge of Matt's garden.)

The first step in this process though is learning to press the seeds into oil, which is what I spent most of yesterday doing. I do not have a lot of experience with pressing oil but I do have a little and that was enough to give it a try here. We began this adventure by drying the seeds over a charcoal fire. The seeds were heated for 15 minutes over the fire to reduce the moisture content and hopefully increase the oil output.

(Our seed drying system.)

After the seeds were thoroughly dried, we began using a press that Matt had purchased to try to press the oil of of the seed. This took a few hours of fine adjustments to get it right but we ended the day with a steady flow of oil coming out of the press! There is still a lot of work to be done to perfect this process but we are making progress and God is blessing us with good success.

(The oil screw press we use to extract oil from seeds.)

This is our last week in Mahadaga and we (the mobility team, Dr. Vader and I) will be leaving early Thursday morning to travel back to Ouagadougou to begin our journey home. As we begin this week please pray that we would be able to get all of our work done and still enjoy the last few days here. This is crunch time for our projects and we pray that God would give us peace as we wrap up our work. We have a lot of social activities in the evening with our local friends so we are going to be pretty busy this week. Also pray that God would continue to bless us with good health and safety.

As always, thank you for your support and prayers.

God Bless,

Mike