Matthew 11:29-30

…29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

The women here work so very hard.  They literally carry a heavy load- many times each day.  Please pray for these women and for our language abilities to flourish so that we can introduce them to the love of their Savior.  We love the Burkinabe people more each day, and are so eager to connect with them in their heart language about the things that will change their life today, and for eternity!  

His Grace IS sufficient..

Don't know exactly how to best explain our status, but I know that it is better than we could have expected, solely due to God's amazing grace.  I am thankful to share that we are well, healthy, happy and comfortable-ish!  We expected none of those things, and the Lord gently prepared us for discomfort, illness, sadness and struggle- but we haven't been overcome by any of those yet.

Our home was lived in by fellow missionaries before us, so we have fans and screens.  We are living in a small town where we will continue communicating in French, adjusting to the Burkinabe way of speaking French, and also transition into Jula learning.  This has been the plan all along, but our heart really wanted to be closer to the village- God knows best for sure and we are delighted by the details that have fallen into place.

The community is warm and friendly.  We live on a road that requires the vehicle that the Lord provided.  The kids in our neighborhood wave when we come and go in the car, and just stare quietly when we walk around.  If we sit outside, watching while the boys play soccer, the wee little ones come and just linger around- They speak Jula, so we can only greet them and smile.  They stare straight faced.  They do call out to us- calling us Tubabu (white person) when they get brave.

Each evening our next door neighbor sets up a homemade charcoal powered stove to fry sweet potatoes and sell to people in the neighborhood.

Everyone here lives in a courtyard, meaning homemade sand/cement blocks surround every residence.  We live behind a block wall which is weird- but there is no alternative, and the word on the street is that if we didn't, we'd have sweet little faces pressed against the door to see what's happening at our house!

To answer some of the questions that may be swirling around:
Our guts have been studly- everything that we eat has been touched by a jillion people who haven't heard the public service announcements on hand washing, so we are thankful that only Jana and Aaron have struggled greatly with tummy troubles- less than 50% of us!

The bugs have been gentle to me-the biggest kill was a big camel spider,which is quite alien-like- see below!  I only saw it in the morning, after it's smooshing... by one blow of a mighty flip-flop.

There have been a couple of camel spiders in the house (their bites hurt but they aren't 'poisonous'), one lizard in our room (but it barely counts cuz it was under 2" long) and otherwise we have been pest free. We have seen snakes now, but we've handled ourselves well- no extreme panic to report!

We are staying hydrated, with some good effort.  We have a barrel that we fill with water from the sink.  There is a filter fit to the bottom of the barrel by a hose, then it drips out clean drinkable water.  We put it into 1.5 liter bottles and put it in our refrigerator!!!  We were here 3 weeks without appliances, but are so thankful to have some things that help with daily living and keeping us strong and healthy!  The stove is a typical range with an oven running off a butane bottle- it is not dialed in as it should be, so it makes me frustrated, but I trust that in time, we will learn to work together!

My biggest 'sticker shock' was at toilet paper- We picked up a 12 roll pack and it was $7.00.  Fruit and vegetables are very affordable, and I rotate out with rice, pasta or potatoes, all of which are cheap and easy to get.  We have eaten ground beef about twice a week, otherwise starch, fruits and veggies.  We can get chicken, it's just expensive and more bones than meat.  There are good french bread loaves here as well- America good that is...France spoiled us for French Bread, rightly so!

We've had one bloody fall when Megan tripped in a game of tag in the dark... She cleaned up well and didn't need stitches.  It is a blessing to see the kids running and playing with other kids- worth some banged up knees, and arms, and elbow, and feet!  Jana had a 24 hour flu thing that passed quickly, and Aaron fought tummy troubles well.  We can easily go to the pharmacy and get an antibiotic or rabies shots or malaria test kits without prescriptions.

We've laughed way more than we've cried, we are accomplishing school and language is coming along!  I am so thankful to be a homeschooling mom and have missed it dearly while we were in France and they were more independent study than homeschool.  There is a huge difference for us between doing school at home and being homeschooled; learning as a family, becoming educated and growing in thought, perspective, wisdom and knowledge are a freedom that we are so thankful for!

Merry Christmas

This year we are going to focus on the true meaning of Christmas... we've said that so many times- that we are going to pare down, to give more, with a joyful heart. That we will stay slow, and lay low so that we can cherish every second of the season and focus more on what really matters.

Each year we start out with the goal, but party invitations and perfect gift ideas that become an obsessed quest for that one thing tend to take over quickly.  Our desire to bless the people we love with a little bit of extravagance takes our eyes off of the most extravagant of Gifts.  We don't say "No" even when we should- and we become frantic, shopping laden, traffic fighters.  The entire season that is Advent turns into mayhem.  We only get one season a year when twinkle lights are hung, strangers smile a little bit wider and sweet songs play in our heads all day long.  We bake our children's favorite treats, and pull tissue-wrapped memories out of boxes.

This year it's all wrapped up in a little tree for us.  We have been blessed to receive so much from the people whom God has brought into our lives during our move to Africa.  But the normal goals of my Christmas season, like waiting until after Thanksgiving to play Christmas music or put up a tree, got chucked out the window when we spent the season in a place that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving.  So- we give thanks daily.  Christmas may not be 'normal' but it will be full of love, and the 'normal' Christmas delights have blessed us every single day leading up to it.  So November had Christmas music and red paper napkins, and one strand of twinkly light that made my smile a little bit wider!

Aaron brought home our little tree while I was cooking a Thanksgiving meal to be shared with dear friends.  Dear people whom we met 116 days ago, as they walked into school fresh off the plane with 2 sweet babies who will be more African than American, even with their blonde curls and blue eyes.  As I was cooking that meal to be shared in Thanksgiving, Jesse came into the kitchen and got the aluminum foil- a precious commodity and I asked why.  He so matter of factly said- I have to make the nail.

So on a day of thanks, when my heart was struggling to say thanks, my 14 year old boy, called onto the mission field by God, only to learn that it would be a 3 year journey to get there- reminds me of the only part that matters.  The tree, which became the cross, into which my Savior was nailed.  His shed blood.  For me. Even under the candy canes and hair bows and the one stray ornament that they found in a box of donations to students at the school, Jesse saw the cross in our tree.  In the U.S, we had a steel nail that was the first ornament hung each year.  It's all that we need on our tree this Christmas-and I had forgotten.

The cross.  The nail.  What makes our heart smile on the darkest days, and what makes the bad dreams and fever that come when we're days from our flight not so bad.

Thank you Lord for giving us your Son.  Thank you for the life that I have received because of Christ, whom I asked into my heart alongside a step-father when I was 6.  A man whom I haven't seen or heard from in 10 years, and yet he led me to the Cross of Christ and prayed alongside me as I prayed a prayer that changed my life forever.  Its been 33 years now that I have been cherished, loved, protected and provided for by my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Celebrating His birth once a year isn't nearly enough.  A celebration of Him, praising Him with music, enjoying the little things that He gives- the twinkle lights and extravagance that is lavished upon us through His Grace.  Tradition isn't happening this year, but celebration is! 
Thank you Lord for giving us your Son, a reason to Celebrate with all that is within us.

In a nutshell...

During our time here, we've celebrated 2 birthdays, seen a rugby game and amazing historical sites!  We've learned about cheese, safeguarding ourselves against thieves, and verb tenses that we never even knew existed!  The metric system and street performers have become more normal parts of our life. 

This is the reality of Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire...

We are so thankful for this opportunity to be on the most extravagant of home school fieldtrips, but I am truly delighted to re-emerge from my little hole and to praise God for His bringing us through... We are just days away from Africa!

What a little encouragement can do!

Thanks for the encouragement!  I received an encouraging note from some friends that I haven't even met in person...and it was such a gift!  It was a reminder that I really can keep people posted on how we are doing and how they can pray for us- and that walking the journeys of life together is so much sweeter than alone.

                     

We moved into an apartment with bare walls and bare floors, but were so thankful to find an ikea with a free bus service, so we made a day of it!  A little bit more homey (and a little bit dorm-like as well!)

Language school has been profitable for our language skills, and challenging in every other way.  We are so thankful that, by God's grace and in His strength alone, we have survived!  One of our teachers who served many years in Africa shared the observation that, for many Americans the culture shock of moving to France is more difficult than the culture shock of moving to Africa!  We have learned the physical manifestations of culture shock- each of us a little bit different- while in 'transition mode'.  As we enter into another season of transition, we appreciate your prayers for health, safety and that the Joy of the Lord would be our Strength!

 

Life in a city full of cultural differences and returning to school full time- Oh La La!

(that's French for Aye-Caramba!)

Living Space

 

 This is where we grocery shop!

 

 

Our living room, with our new rugs and paper lanterns!

 

 Jesse's room, with his engineered curtain to block out the light- we live next to a hospital, so ambulance sounds and lights are normal here...and the ambulances sound like the minions on Despicable Me!!

 

 We shower, brush teeth and wash hands in here... and down the hall is the potty

 

 

 Our view from the salle de bains

 

 View from kitchen window

 Dryer

 ...and washer!!

We were blessed to be in an apartment that gave us a half-mile walk to school.  We have enjoyed the walk, the fresh air and the time to think.  We have a tree just outside that, up until the last few weeks, was leafy and beautiful, so we didn't see the other buildings quite as much...we've been so thankful for that!

Some Pics!

Saying goodbye wasn't easy!

The adventure is on so we dried our tears...and one of our backpacks nearly opened the emergency exit!! Yikes...

 When we landed, we were able to get a taxi that would actually hold all of us, and our 10 pieces of luggage and carry-ons!  We had anticipated needing two taxis, based on the experiences of other students... but were pleasantly surprised to fit into one, saving on the confusion and expense!  We were greeted at the apartment by the director of the school and shown our home~ It is very different and very nice and much bigger than we had expected!

There is a grocery about 200 yards away, so our first morning we walked over to get the basics...we were the only family together in the store, causing quite the congestion in the little aisles!  Shopping is a 'Bring Your Own Bag' experience, and most people shop daily-only buying a few items at a time.  So I bought 1 liter of milk instead of my typical 4 gallons.  There is a bread store and a butcher just outside of the grocery store,  I wonder if anyone buys the bread and meat at the grocery store? 

The next day we went to the 'box' type of store, where they sell literally everything (it's about a mile away).  Back-to-school sales were on, which blessed my heart in any language!  Even the notebook paper here is different!  Yogurt options are incredible... like 4 refrigerated aisles full of tiny containers of yogurt.  
We've walked about 12-15 miles in our first 3 days.  Again, being out and about together as a family seems to be unique.  We haven't seen any other teen-aged kids with their families yet, but this is the month when school is on vacation and families plan their annual travels. 
We are doing well.  Eating lots of bread, adapting to culture, and taking in a lot of new!  We are each writing in our journal daily and praying together in the evenings which helps life to feel normal-ish. 
Thank you for your prayers- We haven't encountered very many english-speakers yet, which keeps us humble...and confused.  Pronunciation is vital- and mine is not where it needs to be!  Classes begin in 6 days, and we look forward to the hard work and progress, which we trust will come, by God's grace alone!