It's important not to scratch your head too much living in West Africa. The people are wonderful for the most part. But there are head scratching moments in any new context - like the time a friend took us on the city bus all the way downtown when we only needed to go a block, because he figured that way we would get our money's worth.
Well, the government has ordered everybody back to school at the University of Ouagadougou while they study the proposal of the university professors. So school officially resumes on Monday. The catch is, the professors still want their month of vacation - which is the month of August! This means this academic year, the university officially will have run for a month, than went on strike for 3 and half months, restarted for two weeks, and then will have taken another whole month off. Yikes!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A thought about evangelism
“Do not try to call them to where you are, as beautiful as that place might seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have ever been before.” - Vincent Donovan from Christianity Recovered.
July update
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Last month Tany did something that the church had wanted her to do for a long time – lead us in a course on finance management. This was a huge task. The African worldview makes for a very different perspective on money.
Money is something to be used in Burkinabé culture (like in other African cultures); not to be saved. If you have money, it is available for your family and neighbours to use as well. Somehow, putting that money in the bank does not change that. You still have the money and if someone gets sick, you are obligated to use that money. On the other hand, we learned, buying bricks and keeping them somewhere to someday build a house is different. Those bricks have already been bought and are destined for a purpose. This money cannot be redeemed. (When in reality, selling the bricks would be similar to withdrawing money from a bank.)
We in North America would do the same for our sick ones, giving when we needed, only for most of us, using this money to help someone does not prevent us from doing or buying the things we want. So one must tread a bit carefully when talking about such things in such a culturally different context and Tany did just that. The 3-day course was a conversation together with community members on how God is calling us to manage our money. Biblical passages and perspectives on resource management were peppered throughout the course providing a framework for discussion. This was all done with the acknowledgement that many African practices are good and whole (as are many occidental practices) while many other practices need to be transformed for the good of God’s Kingdom (as is also the case in the West).
Some of the big questions raised: Is it appropriate to save your money in African culture? Tany used the story of Joseph saving Egypt from famine with God’s help. Who should be in charge of the family resources, the man or the woman? It was lamented by one female student that in her sub-culture, the woman is always left in the dark about the family’s resources. It is the man who manages that, whereas women generally are more responsible with money and tend to have gifts in that area. In some cases, the man will refuse to even tell his wife how much his salary is so that the wife will not be able to hold him accountable for his spending. Some of this discussion will lead nicely into some Bible studies on marriage and relationships in the future, which the students have also been anticipating for some time.
*****
We have very little news from the university scene. Some faculties have increased the number of courses offered at this time. Our law students fall into this category. They say the classes are moving very quickly and there is way too much material to cover in a short amount of time. Other programs have not restarted since the professor strike, even though the government has agreed to properly study the demands of the professors in order to make a good decision. Many students plan on going home at the end of July if things continue to move this slowly for most of the university programs. They would come back in September after what is usually the vacation time (August).
We praise God for…
• The end of hot season – there has been plenty of rain in Ouagadougou
• A great few days of chatting with students about what God wants us to do with God’s money.
• The end of Danika’s school year
We request your prayer support for…
• Rain for the rest of the country – outside of Ouaga there has been a shortage
• Some of our students who will be writing special exams (called concours) to possibly integrate into professional schools and get good-paying jobs
• Those who will be traveling. Rainy season can make it difficult. We also sent 4 pastors to Paraguay this year for Mennonite World Conference
Last month Tany did something that the church had wanted her to do for a long time – lead us in a course on finance management. This was a huge task. The African worldview makes for a very different perspective on money.
Money is something to be used in Burkinabé culture (like in other African cultures); not to be saved. If you have money, it is available for your family and neighbours to use as well. Somehow, putting that money in the bank does not change that. You still have the money and if someone gets sick, you are obligated to use that money. On the other hand, we learned, buying bricks and keeping them somewhere to someday build a house is different. Those bricks have already been bought and are destined for a purpose. This money cannot be redeemed. (When in reality, selling the bricks would be similar to withdrawing money from a bank.)
We in North America would do the same for our sick ones, giving when we needed, only for most of us, using this money to help someone does not prevent us from doing or buying the things we want. So one must tread a bit carefully when talking about such things in such a culturally different context and Tany did just that. The 3-day course was a conversation together with community members on how God is calling us to manage our money. Biblical passages and perspectives on resource management were peppered throughout the course providing a framework for discussion. This was all done with the acknowledgement that many African practices are good and whole (as are many occidental practices) while many other practices need to be transformed for the good of God’s Kingdom (as is also the case in the West).
Some of the big questions raised: Is it appropriate to save your money in African culture? Tany used the story of Joseph saving Egypt from famine with God’s help. Who should be in charge of the family resources, the man or the woman? It was lamented by one female student that in her sub-culture, the woman is always left in the dark about the family’s resources. It is the man who manages that, whereas women generally are more responsible with money and tend to have gifts in that area. In some cases, the man will refuse to even tell his wife how much his salary is so that the wife will not be able to hold him accountable for his spending. Some of this discussion will lead nicely into some Bible studies on marriage and relationships in the future, which the students have also been anticipating for some time.
*****
We have very little news from the university scene. Some faculties have increased the number of courses offered at this time. Our law students fall into this category. They say the classes are moving very quickly and there is way too much material to cover in a short amount of time. Other programs have not restarted since the professor strike, even though the government has agreed to properly study the demands of the professors in order to make a good decision. Many students plan on going home at the end of July if things continue to move this slowly for most of the university programs. They would come back in September after what is usually the vacation time (August).
We praise God for…
• The end of hot season – there has been plenty of rain in Ouagadougou
• A great few days of chatting with students about what God wants us to do with God’s money.
• The end of Danika’s school year
We request your prayer support for…
• Rain for the rest of the country – outside of Ouaga there has been a shortage
• Some of our students who will be writing special exams (called concours) to possibly integrate into professional schools and get good-paying jobs
• Those who will be traveling. Rainy season can make it difficult. We also sent 4 pastors to Paraguay this year for Mennonite World Conference
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