Story of our travels

We made it back to Ouaga with only minor trepidation, but we are quickly settling in and it hardly feels like we ever left in some ways. Ouaga greeted us with a welcoming 24 degrees when we stepped off the plane. It has been raining off and on and sometimes on the verge of torrential downpours at night since we arrived. The kids especially seem glad to be back in a place which is "just their's" and small enough that they always know where we are.

Our plane out of Toronto sat on the tarmac for over 2 hours waiting for a repair. That made it quite tight in Paris, since we were left with only 2 hours to make our transition from one terminal to another and re-check-in for our next flight. We were getting desperate when we got to one stage of the airport that wouldn't allow our baggage carts through. We had to catch a train to get to the next terminal and with 3 kids and 9+ pieces of luggage we had to slowly shuttle our bags one at a time 50 feet and then down an escalator because the carts couldn't pass through. All of this was done very quickly because our time was limited. Amazingly, just at this stage, another family from Newfoundland was having the same experience and trying to catch the same plane as we were. This helped greatly because the mother of this family waited at the bottom of the escalator with the kids and our luggage, Tany waiting at the top guarding the luggage that hadn't been moved yet, and the father and I frantically carrying close to 20 suitcases down. Off of the train in the next terminal, the whole process was repeated as we had to span another 50 feet before we could put all of the luggage onto carts again. When we finally got to check-in the airport people had two frustrating things to say to us..."We don't check-in boxes," and "It's too late anyway, we're closed." At that point, as if on cue, Kenai starts crying and the people start checking all of our luggage in. I'm not sure what the rush was about anyway. When we finally got through security, our plane was again delayed over 2 hours because they had found worms in the passenger cabin of the plane and they had to do a massive cleaning and disinfect job on the plane. This meant we would miss our connecting flight to Ouaga in Tripoli, or so we thought. But when we got to Tripoli (Libya), the plane had apparently waited for us, and we were relieved to find a half-empty, very nice, new plane that would take us the rest of the way. It seemed like a long flight and we were relieved when the seat-belt sign finally went on indicating that it was almost over. We were already over two-hours late and we feared our airport pick-up plan (Anne Garber Kompaore) might have abandoned us. But just as we were ready to land, we couldn't believe our ears when the pilot said, "Thank-you for flying with us and enjoy your stay in Bamako (Mali)." This wasn't on our ticket itinerary. When we inquired as to what was going on, the stewardess simply said that those traveling to Ouaga need only wait on the plane for 1 hour before we would take off again. So it would be another 2 and a half hours before we finally land in Ouaga. We arrived shortly after 2 am Ouaga time (which wasn't that bad for us, since in Ontario it was still only about 10 pm). Things looked like they were wrapping up. Our luggage was coming in nicely, but in the end we were one big suitcase short. Fortunately, if we had had to pick one suitcase to go missing, this wasn't such a bad one - mostly cheap toys - but also some gifts which were for our friends in Burkina. The suitcase will likely show up yet. It was another hour before the report on the missing suitcase was filed. The good part was that by this time, the customs people were in such a hurry to go home that they didn't give our luggage and many computers a second thought.

Because of all the rain, it took a long time to get back to our house. Many of the roads were hard to cross, especially with Anne's car so we made many u-turns and detours. We got to our place finally by about 4 am Ouaga time. I (Jeff) set my watch for two hours later because my school starts at 7 am and I had no idea if I had a class that day or not and it was too late (or early) to call anyone to find out. Of course, when I woke up and tried to find a way to school, the battery in the van was totally dead (still is), the bike we had lent to a church member didn't get returned to us as promised, and our other bike had had the front tire mysteriously removed, even though it was locked in a back shed for the past 4 months. So I was stranded and forced to wait until the school opened at 7 to call someone there. Fortunately, it was not one of my teaching days so everything worked out.

Somehow all of these mishaps and pressures haven't discouraged us much and we're quite happy to be "home" and looking forward to restarting our routines after 4 months of less structured activity. The kids did magnificently with the traveling (as always). Thanks again to all of you for a wonderful time in Canada. The kids have so many stories of people and things they did that it will be quite a while before they stop talking about it. We cherish those memories and think fondly and somewhat nostalgically about our time with you.

Picture update

As "mission workers" we try and be culturally sensitive in sharing the gospel with the inhabitants of Burkina...Asher, however, has opted for a more "colonial approach".

Kenani has been most welcoming of new Burkinabe friends.

--
Tany, Jeff, Danika, Asher and Kenani Warkentin | Mennonite Church Canada Witness | jtwarkentin@mennonitechurch.ca

Back in Burkina

We are back in Ouagadougou.  Land of the … rain!  What a nice transition – from a muggy Ontario August to the last showers of a Ouagadougou rainy season.  Yes the roads are awful but the rain is sure refreshing.

It hasn’t taken long for Ouaga to feel like home again.  We had to hit the ground with our feet running and were welcomed with visit after visit from friends.  Forget about “setting up house” again and just expect to chat with people for a while. 

The University of Ouagadougou resumed classes September 1, after the violence that broke out last June.  So far, exams are moving along, but there is still an uneasiness about the campus, especially since the police are now patrolling there.  University students are not happy about the police presence at all, but for now there is peace.

We’re still feeling out this whole blog thing.  Not quite sure how it will be used.  I (Jeff) don’t want it to be an online journal of everything we’re feeling, nor a replacement for a better written, good-quality prayer letter.  But keep checking for some interesting tid-bits here and there that might not otherwise make it into a newsletter.  Note: our official letters will be posted here as well.

--  Tany, Jeff, Danika, Asher and Kenani Warkentin Mennonite Church Canada Witness jtwarkentin@mennonitechurch.ca