The Warkentin's Blog

June Update - From Ontario

2011-06-21T08:20:00.001-07:00

Dealing with Disappointment

2011-06-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am disappointed tonight at my emotional attachment to the activities of mediocre multimillionaire hockey players. I hold on to a Burkina calling to recognize what is important, and what is entertainment. I can imagine there are several people who will be feeling down for quite a few days over the next while because of tonight's hockey game. Although my team lost, I don't count myself among the grievers. Maybe my emotional investment was less than I think.

There is a lot to be disappointed about in Burkina Faso these days: the injustices, the government, our land application which was denied for our church. Nobody deserves that land more that group of people. Our church friends there are likely disappointed about our leaving. A song that we often sang in Ouagadougou could be roughly translated, “Your mother might disappoint you. Your father might disappoint you. People might disappoint you. The world might disappoint you. But God does not disappoint. God is faithful.”

Burkina Faso Celebrates

2011-04-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in the mid-afternoon, we heard honking all over Ouagadougou. Was it a wedding? But the honking went on longer than usual. In the end, we realized that it was because our neighbouring country, la Côte d'Ivoire, had finally captured their former president. I found an interesting article on the BBC website that gives another side to the story and suggests that it may not be time to celebrate just yet. The article gives some of the background too about how Burkina Faso has been involved and affected by this crisis. It's worth a read. Every new African president starts out with a lot of promise and hope for the country. Please continue to pray for these West African nations. Here is the link www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12985617

April Newsletter

2011-04-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a April update of what's been going on in Ouagadougou!

Click here to view April newsletter...

Children's weekend at FEMO

2011-04-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

Ah, the children...Yes, we love them in North American culture: cute and they say the funniest things. But the value of children is quite different in different cultures. In Burkina, children are a resource. Sure, they are loved just the same. But the richness of the traditional family was often seen in the number of children (and cattle). In Jesus' time, children had very little value. In her Children's Sunday sermon, Tany talked about how if a couple could not have children, they would opt to adopt...an adult. Children were basically just waiting to become adults. In Burkina Faso, often, children are referred to as "half-people". That's why it is so striking how Jesus told us to change our attitudes and become like children - the lowliest of his society. What kind of unexpected kingdom person is God trying to tell you to become like? The children's weekend at the Foyer Evangelique Mennonite de Ouagadougou was a success. Sure, the children missed out on their outing to the forest to experience God in nature due to some political unrest in the city. But overall, the children were so pumped on the Sunday, the culminating day, where they led the whole service. Asher said, "That was the shortest church service ever!" - A sign of how much more children appreciate church when they participate. During the activities that preceded Sunday, children listened to some of our church "elders" tell Bible stories and give advice on how to be a kid. Usually, these activities involved sitting on a bench for an hour and a half. How different from our non-stop activity-oriented culture! When a "recess" was announced, children wasted no time at all in guzzling down bissap (a local red drink made of hibiscus leaves) and starting a quick game of hide and seek. You have to make the most of your 15 minutes before you hit the benches again!

Newsletters from January and February

2011-03-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some of our updates that hadn't yet been posted here.

Janurary Newsletter

February Newsletter

Who's got the power?

2011-03-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a bit ambivalent these days. We topped 40 degrees C the other day which officially marks hot season in Ouagadougou. To celebrate the event, the national electricity company sent out a program of the power cuts that would be happening over the next two months, the hottest of the year. We were discouraged: 7 hours per day without power planned for the next few months...it's going to be a long haul to get to the rains. May God send them early this year!

But to our amazement, we have gone 4 days without a power cut in our little neighbourhood - a mix of middle and lower class people - when all around us, the city is suffering through up to 12 hour cuts per day. Then we heard the rumour: we have what they call a "grand" in our neighbourhood. Somebody important and with influence has moved in. We have been so thankful for power and the ability to enjoy a bottle of cold water from time to time, but at whose expense?

Two days ago I went to buy a cold Coke from the corner boutique, a 1 minute walk from our house. I asked the owner if he had any cold ones and he just looked at me, shocked. "We've been cut for the past 12 hours. The power just came back 30 minutes ago. You'll have to take a warm one." I was embarrassed. I hadn't noticed a thing all day. As I handed him the money, darkness fell on us. Another cut. He used his flashlight to find my change. I thanked him and walked into the blackness of the night. Across the street in our neighbourhood, the limit of that section of the power grid, all lights were on. I went home and put my Coke in the freezer to enjoy it cold a couple of hours later...

Mennonite Church Canada Learning Tour

2011-03-09T02:08:00.000-08:00

Have you checked out the MC Canada Learning Tour blog yet? It describes there time in Burkina Faso last month. You can find it at:

http://burkinamenno.blogspot.com/

Linux Lover

2011-02-10T07:44:00.001-08:00

Okay, so most of us hear the word Linux and think...geek alert! (Sorry linux people, I say this with the utmost respect and I am making a point here.) The reality was that you had to know computers pretty well to get around in the linux world. Well, I'm proof that this isn't the case anymore. We have been using a linux operating system on old, seemingly dead computers out here in Africa for a few years now. I specifically use one that's called Puppy Linux (Just Google it). The thing about these operating systems is that they boot from a CD or from a USB key without requiring a huge (or even fully functional) hard drive. You can turn a 10 year old computer into a rapidly-working computer that is virus resistant. Even more, you can walk around with a USB key as if it were your own personal laptop, plug it in to most computers and have all of your applications and personalized settings there at your fingertips.

This is why, if you have an old laptop that you may not need anymore, you can contact me immediately and we can get it sent out here so that people can use the things instead of having them just collect dust in your closet.

Sorry if this sounded like an ad. And thanks to all you linux people who are doing amazing stuff and getting so little credit or remuneration for it! Have a great rest of the week! - Jeff

Reflection from Tany

2011-01-06T02:02:00.001-08:00

I generally leave the writing to Jeff, thankful of his gifts and willingness to fill this role, but today I saw something that struck me enough that I felt compelled to share it with you, our friends and family in Canada.

As I was walking down a village street this morning I noticed two young boys about Asher`s size, up ahead of me, pulling a 2-wheeled donkey cart – now empty but surely soon to be filled or even over-filled. Not an unusual sight, but it got me reflecting on the world of differences between the privileges and opportunities born to some 6-year-olds like these bare-footed boys, who are more familiar with physical work than they are with school work, and those born to others like Asher. As I watched and pondered, one boy climbed onto the back of the cart, with his feet hanging off the end and started kicking his feet so that the back of the cart started rocking up and down. Immediately, his partner who was pulling at the front of the cart also hopped aboard, his feet hanging over the front, and the two boys began working together, each energetically pushing the cart forward with their feet when their end of the cart lowered, balancing the cart as if they were on a rolling teeter-totter. Of course, now my thoughts turned from feeling compassion for these boys, to being inspired by the strength of their spirit, contemplating how each of us has the choice to face our circumstances and work either grudgingly and filled with self-pity or joyfully and whole-heartedly, with the potential to encourage others to do the same. The boy at the back of the cart waved happily to me as his cart see-sawed away down the road. And it left me wondering, as has happened so many times before since we came to Burkina Faso, whether I, who have been sent to this country to serve and minister to the Burkinabe people, have not been the one most significantly touched and taught by these people and their abundant strengths and riches. - Tany

November Newsletter

2010-11-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a November update of what's been going on in Ouagadougou!

Click here to view the newsletter...

Presidential Elections 2010 – Burkina Faso

2010-11-18T08:17:00.001-08:00

Burkina's current president has been in power since 1987. Go look up the events surrounding that year. It's very interesting. Of course, I don't want to say too much on this blog that could get me into trouble. So I will just comment on the campaigning. It is really the current president who is the only candidate of the 2010 presidentials that has the funds to put together a campaign. The strategies involve billboards and T-shirts. (Give a village woman a new T-shirt, and you will have one happy Burkina mama!) I have yet to see any advertisements from other candidates. I heard of one, though – a billboard of another candidate that was on the wrong side of the road so you could hardly see it.

The president's campaign seems based on one theme: experience. Who else knows how to run a country and keep the peace? I used to long for a change here in Burkina. I still hope some day that change will come. But I have to ask myself: If I were Burkinabé, who would I vote for - the status quo or the unknown? We all know Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. But is peace worth sacrificing for social and political change?

One of our church members said the other day that Africans want change, but they are scared of tomorrow. What if the next guy makes things worse? So, how do you change a country peacefully? Interestingly, on the university level, there are ideas. First, you need a valid opposing candidate. Then, organize the students so that each one goes back to his or her village and educate their village on the political position of the candidates. Maybe someday a new generation will be brave enough to try something like that. For now, we will all be surprised (and frankly, somewhat panicked) if the status quo is not maintained this coming Sunday.

September Newsletter

2010-09-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a September update of what's been going on in Ouagadougou!

Click here to view the newsletter...

How do you find a Hardware store in Ouagadougou?

2010-09-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

Living in another culture means learning to see and do things differently. What your brain tells you to look for from your own cultural perspective may mean you miss out on finding what you're looking for. Learning to read new visual and cultural cues is important. Here are some examples:

1. A loud hissing sound from someone as you pass by means they want you to stop so you can talk. Although this sounds rude, if you don't stop, you may be snubbing a friend without knowing it, and you will be the rude one in Burkinabé eyes. Even worse, the person may be hissing at you to tell you to stop because you just dropped your cellphone or wallet.
2. Not pushing yourself to the front of any line means you don't want to go next.
3. Greeting someone and asking about the family, the children, the person's health, is important. The first time through, a person will likely say that all is going well. If you immediately repeat this routine a second time with the same person, you will get the real answer.
4. In casual conversation with strangers, if someone asks you to do something that you don't want to do and you say “demain” (tomorrow), everyone saves face while the stranger understands that you don't want to.
5. A woman approaching you with twin babies needs money. She hardly has to ask.
6. Take one of the little plastic kettles filled with water into the public outhouses if you don't just need to relieve yourself by the wall. Toilet paper hasn't caught on here – the kettle of water serves that purpose (don't think about it too much!). Bring your own toilet paper, but take the water anyways to avoid strange looks when coming out of the outhouse!
7. If you are looking for a hardware store, look high! There are usually long tubes stored vertically in front of most of them. There are few big signs high on the street side that let you know what business is coming up while you're driving in your car. You have to learn to look for other cues!

In all of this, it is important to save what you think is “Normal” for when you are in the privacy (hopefully) of your home. Small efforts to do like the Romans are much appreciated.

Observations from an African Dentist Chair

2010-07-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, here are some observations from my first trip to an African dentist. First of all, I live in a city of over 1 million people...this wasn't any bush dental facility. It was probably the nicest office of any kind that I've been in here in Burkina: big screen T.V., nice chairs. It turned out the dentist was a woman. I had no problem with that. Here's when I got nervous:

I was given a mirror as if every thing they did must be justified and approved by the patient. Not a bad idea, but it slowed down the process quite a bit. I'm not great with watching medical procedures either, and when she showed me the massive hole she had drilled in my tooth and told me to look in the mirror, it was, well, disturbing. How does the tooth stay together if most of it is gone like that?

The second disconcerting part was the “we-don't-give-anaesthesia-until-we-see-you-need-it” part. Luckily, I wear my pain on my sleeve, and after a few leg twitches, which I may or may not have embellished, I was given anaesthesia, without the privilege of that first stuff they sometimes rub on your gums so you won't feel the needle. She stuck the needle in 4 different places around the tooth.

Well, I'm not complaining. All in all I was relieved that I found a dentist office recommended by other ex-pats in Ouagadougou that was close to what I was used to in Canada, and that all turned out well for now. In fact, I found it rather amusing that at one point she criticized some of the work I've had done in Canada.

July Newsletter

2010-07-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a July update of what's been going on in Ouagadougou!

Click here to view the newsletter...

Young People Take Church Seriously in Burkina Faso

2010-07-13T03:46:00.000-07:00

Our new worship space has a minor problem – it’s outside and it’s rainy season! On Sunday, it rained all morning and so after consulting with our pastor, we decided to have a family worship time. What we didn’t realize was that the students at the university residence and other students who did not live there were preparing an impromptu worship service. Sure, there was no preacher nor worship leader planned, but these young people, some of whom rode their bikes in the pouring rain to get to the worship space, held a worship service that they have been talking about all week.
“It was marvellous,” says Jérémie. “We were just a bunch of youth, but we did it all on our own.”

Othniel, who was called upon to preach on the spur of the moment, said he was disappointed at first because nothing came to him. He had no idea what to say. Then, he just decided to talk about what he has recently been interested in in the Bible – Nehemiah, a great model for a church leader and motivator. The rest of the group was amazed at how passionate Othniel was and how the Spirit really came through and spoke to them.

Kind of reminds you of the Early Church, doesn’t it? Or maybe Conrad Grebel at age 25 or so leading a group of Anabaptists in passionate, but underground worship? It is such a joy to be part of such a passionate group. How do we sometimes feel when we get up on Sunday morning? Are we excited about church? We sure felt sheepish when we saw the guys later that day – we are the only ones with a car in the church, and even we didn’t brave the elements to go.

Been kind of quiet lately on the Blog...

2010-06-07T04:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah, sorry about that. We're still in Burkina, having a nice rainy season...there are some picture updates on our webpage at

http://foothillsmennonite.com/Mission_Partners/Warkentin/ or you should be able to click on a link on the right if you're reading this from the Blog site.

..not to give you the impression with the new pictures that we're just on vacation out here! Keep in touch!

Jeff

May Newsletter

2010-06-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the May newsletter with some updates for our vacation to Senegal and other happenings around Ouaga!

Click here to view the newsletter...

April Update

2010-04-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a short April update of what's been going on in Ouagadougou!

Click here to view the newsletter...

March Newsletter

2010-03-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here is the March newsletter in a new format.

Click here to view the newsletter...

A vos casques! (Helmets everyone!)

2010-02-18T02:22:00.000-08:00

How many people do you count?

Could your Bible stop a bullet?

2010-02-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

When the conversation began, I had a plan, but immediately strayed. Sometimes my French is just good enough to get me into trouble... I wanted to find out what people thought of the Bible as a Holy Book, whatever that means. I began by asking the group of 20 Burkinabé university students in front of me whether or not they thought the Bible itself had magical power. "Could it stop a bullet if you carried it with you?" I asked. I'm somewhat cynical at times of the "magic" with which we endow our Bibles, as if God beamed the thing down from the heavens instead of passing through real human beings who wrote down what the Spirit was inspiring them to write.

Everybody laughed at my question. Then, some of the students began to summarize the lesson our very capable pastor taught them the previous week about how the canon was formed - by real people under the inspiration of God's Spirit. The Bible's power comes from it's ability to transform. I was impressed.

Less than a week later, a thief entered our university residence/church building and made off with several cell phones, only a little bit of money (thank God - the students need all they can get to register for the coming university year), and our lone, remaining computer. In conversation with the students the following day, one student marveled at how his phone was not taken - it was sitting right on top of his Bible. In his interpretation, the thief knew better than to steal something that was touching something so holy. Should I eat my words or shake my head? Could I be wrong about the Holy Power of such a book? Certainly, in the African context, there is no place for faith and doubt. Everything happens for a purpose for the African Christian. Do I believe this? Why not?

What do you think?

December Prayer Letter

2009-12-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. – Luke 1.49

Holiday greetings to you and your family! May the Peace that seemed completely inconceivable during the turbulent times of the Gospels become a reality in the midst of your own turbulent times this season.

Someone asked the other day what I (Jeff) consider a “God-thing”. Three examples from our context here in Burkina Faso:

1. Marcel was a quiet, shy teen in his village church close to the town of Tougan, some 300 km northwest of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. His friends now cannot believe the transformation in this young man. Not only has he stepped in to fill a leadership role in our new Sunday School program at the Foyer Mennonite Evangélique de Ouagadougou, but he leads passionate prayer services on Sunday evenings. Following a prayer service last week, the wife of our pastor, Noélie, stood up and shared a dream she had had just the previous week. In it she saw Marcel wearing the same shirt he was that evening and giving a powerful exhortation to the congregation. She expressed her joy in how God is using Marcel and developing his gifts for God’s glory. Dreams are taken almost as reality here. The realization of this dream in the context of our church was evidence of a “God-thing” to our congregation.

2. Shortly after the above incident, one of the young leaders who we have been nurturing along for the last 3 and a half years gave the sermon. It was so good that afterwards the worship leader led an impromptu “laying of hands” on this young man, who everyone respects. The worship leader prayed that God would open doors so that this young leader might use his gifts to glorify God and the church. The whole thing pleasantly surprised us because, although we had been encouraging this young man to keep thinking about church leadership, he now seemed to have the blessing (and push) of the community – and this was all completely unplanned, without our knowledge. This comes at a crucial time as our church is in the process of discerning its future in Ouagadougou.

3. God has answered our prayers in an enormous way by calling Nicodème Coulibaly to the position of Executive Director of the Burkina Faso Partnership Council. We were in our annual meetings, once again blocked by the question of what to do without someone in this position. (For the moment, Tany is doing the finances of this position, but there are many other administrative tasks that can fall through the cracks.) International partners had expressed their strong desire that this be a Burkinabé that assumes this leadership position. What makes this all such a “God-thing” from the Burkina perspective is that Nicodème’s name just kind of came to me suddenly during the meeting. Nobody had mentioned him previous to this, possibly because he is relatively young for a Burkina church leader. When I mentioned the name, it was as if we had finally found the missing puzzle piece that we had been seeking for the past 3 years – and it was right under our noses! It is awe-some what God is doing among the young people in the Burkina Faso Mennonite Church. The youth are taking the helm – the future is bright!

*****

The university year is finally nearing its end, with many students having completed their first round of exams. If they pass, they are exempt from the second round. Many who are in this situation are returning to their villages for Christmas.

We have already hosted one new student from the Mennonite Church in Orodara, who came to Ouagadougou to register at the university for the next academic year. So we are getting ready for the transition of students exiting and new students entering our residence building.

We praise God for…

The visit of Jeff’s parents and for good health during this time.
The young leaders God is developing in Burkina Faso. Our sister Mennonite church in Bobo (Burkina’s second largest city) has sent a young man to Bible School who will likely take a much-needed leadership role in that church upon completion of his studies.
Cooler nights and the hope God gives that good health is returning for us all, despite all the dust.

We request your prayer support for…

Land – the Ouaga church has decided to look into land prices, even though we have no idea where funding for this might come from. Purchasing land can be a very tricky process. Pray that God would guide us and allow us to make wise decisions.
Students who are preparing to write the second rounds of exams. This can be a stressful time because not passing the exams means failing the school year, losing a year of tuition, and maybe being excluded from bursaries and other student financial aid.

Burkina Traditions

2009-12-07T04:05:00.000-08:00

There is a very interesting article on the traditional Mossi Chief who "holds court" every Friday afternoon in Ouagadougou. Check it out at:

www.lonelyplanet.com/burkina-faso/ouagadougou

Christmas Fundraising in Africa - or Something Else?

2009-12-07T03:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted on here. Sorry for the silence! Besides the busy-ness of Christmas (Yes, even in West Africa, it get's kind of busy!), it is dusty season and it is sometimes hard to stay healthy.

On Nov 16, a series of bandit activity in previous weeks culminated into one of the biggest highway robberies in Burkina history. Nine transport cars and a small pick-up truck were stopped by an unofficial road-block in plain day. Eight armed men with 4 military rifles got everyone out of the buses. Over 15 million fcfa in money (Around 38,000 CAD)was taken, as well as some deluxe cell phones.

Is it some last minute Christmas fundraising by some lucky bandits who will have a very Merry Christmas? I don't care to think of it as much more than this, even as some here in Burkina claim that this is the tip of something much bigger and deeper. After all, some claim, this was exactly how trouble started in Ivory Coast - by filling the float of the renegade army.

One of our Bible students recently lost his whole year's tuition in a similar robbery as he was traveling to his school. Please pray that those affected by these robberies may experience the Peace of Christ this season. Pray also for safety for those traveling over the Christmas season.

5. The role of the Christian in the state

2009-09-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

Due to computer-related problems, this article came much later than anticipated. Thanks for your patience!

-------

If there is one way Christians in Burkina Faso would like to impact their country positively, it is through their government. The Evangelical community stands squarely behind their Prime Minister, who is part of the Christian community. The Prime Minister has recently worked visibly against the corruption of the country. The President too claims to be Christian, although less is said about his attachment to any church.

A few weeks ago, I preached a sermon on Matthew 13 (the mustard seed and the woman hiding yeast in an enormous amount of dough). The theme was on how the little things we do count in the Kingdom of God. Referring to John Howard Yoder, I talked about how the Kingdom is less concerned with who is president or what kind of laws are made, but about how we are faithful in daily life: raising our children to be disciples of Jesus, caring for each other, loving our spouses, our neighbour, our enemy, and renouncing injustice. After the sermon, the worship leader got up and, as is often done, summarized my sermon. He said, “You see, we have to be faithful in the small things because that way God will make us big and powerful and give us important things to do.” Did I not fail to get my point across here?

The Kingdom is coming in a big way and through big efforts from the Burkinabé (Ouagadougou) church perspective. That’s what makes them excited every time a Christian moves up the ladder in politics. Enter the Mennonites and our political phobias and apprehensions. Where to go from here? Solutions?

This is where I end this series of articles (unless I somehow discover other themes in the near future.) In closing and in summary (and to answer the two short questions I just posed), the answer is time. We can’t expect our Burkina brothers and sisters to embrace such radical Anabaptist values overnight. Relationships must be continually developed. Many of you have suggested not speaking about Anabaptist values, but about what is biblical from the Anabaptist perspective without spelling out that these are Anabaptist principals. This has been helpful, but the challenge is still to tell some of our great Anabaptist stories in a way that makes the hearer reflect on whether or not this is something that is feasible or worth emulating in one’s own life.

It was interesting the response given by one Burkinabé to the story of Dirk Willems, who was fleeing from a guard who would catch him, and return him to prison where Dirk would ultimately be executed. As the chase was on, the guard fell through the ice. Dirk returned to save his life and help him out of the water. A Burkinabé response was, “God delivered Dirk, and judged the guard. Why did Dirk not accept this deliverance and flee?!!” Perhaps another thought might be, “How many Israelites jumped into the Red Sea to save an Egyptian after God closed the waters?”

As much as we would appreciate seeing more of the world embrace such Anabaptist values, we need to also be ready to learn from our Burkinabé brothers and sisters who unconsciously challenge our Anabaptist values. Do Mennonites not need to re-examine themselves and ask: Are we doing enough to work for ecumenical unity? How do we neglect the work and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? In our attempt at a rebuttal of the evangelical perspective on eternal life, how do we snuff out the joy one feels in knowing that life next to God forever, away from sin and all that is bad, is what is awaiting us after death? How does a peace theology apply in one’s home country where there is already a relative peace? How do we limit God’s work by implicitly suggesting that God cannot or chooses not to work through national and international government bodies? This is the richness that exchanging with our Burkinabé brothers and sisters will bring.

Please respond!

http://warkentins-blog.blogspot.com/

4. The Relative Peace in Burkina Faso

2009-09-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Burkinabé have a dysfunctional democracy, not that pure and functional democracies solve everything. However, the Burkinabé look around them at the rest of Africa – there is war, there is violence, there are ethnic disputes. They are glad that these problems have not affected their country for quite some time and many are grateful to their president for providing this stable atmosphere to their country, even if the country remains quite poor and dependant. Peace is a given for the society. The lack of peace is something that most people detest, and the country’s lack of peaceful times is already a distant memory.

There are even built-in cultural strategies for dealing with differences of opinion, which all help to keep the peace. Examples of this include ethnic teasing (plaisantérie) groups where 2 of the 80+ ethnic groups in the country are paired up and culturally have the right to tease the other group all in good fun. Your average Burkinabé will rarely disagree with you, and if he or she does so, it is to “complete” what you are saying or to “add” another idea. For this, it is hard sometimes to get to the bottom of the truth sometimes. For instance, asking someone if they would like to go to church with you will always elicit a positive response so as not to offend anyone.

When I consider places like Ethiopia or the Congo where the largest groups of Mennonites are today; or South Korea where Anabaptist views are being wholeheartedly embraced despite a militarized culture; or even Columbia where peace and justice issues dominate church life, I find myself wondering how the Mennonite peace perspective can take hold in a country that is relatively peaceful. Sure there are injustices. The church can speak against corruption, but does encourage change in the here and now? The Protestant/Evangelical church preaches first and foremost a message of hope for those who suffer here – that they will one day escape this life and experience eternal life if they accept Christ as their personal saviour. This appears to be a stronger call to Christ in the Burkinabé context than the Kingdom theology Mennonites believe so strongly in.

Our next and last topic: The Role of the Christian in the State

September Prayer Letter

2009-09-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

- Psalm 62:8

The rain started in Ouagadougou around 4 am. It would not stop until almost 4 pm that same Tuesday in the afternoon. When it was all said and done, almost 300 mm of rain fell on our usually dry city. Much damage was done. In the city centre, shops and businesses offices filled up with water. Basement parking garages became underwater caves. Personal items left by missionaries in the basement at the local Bible translation facility were ruined. But the greatest impact was felt by those in the so-called “non-lotis”. These are the undeveloped outskirts of the city, or squatter settlements where drainage and roads have not yet been developed, and where housing is usually done as cheaply as possible. Many of these poorly constructed houses were completely washed away in the flash flood. Money, photo albums, even a small child were taken by the rushing water. It was the biggest rain in the recorded history of Burkina Faso/Upper Volta. Two days later, in the parts of Ouaga that we frequent, you would hardly notice that a catastrophe had occurred. But now is when the real catastrophe begins as people move on and forget the many homeless that must find a way to keep on going.

*****

The university students had 2 weeks of classes following the professor strike. Then everyone claimed their right to the August vacation and most people went home for the month. Currently, students are back in classes. The big problem now is that the university restaurants claim they are out of money and cannot open for the rest of the university year. You can probably guess what happens in a French bureaucratic system in such a situation, when one group of stakeholders is not happy. Yep, strike! We will keep you posted. For now, students continue their studies in the hope that this will be resolved soon and that they might finish the school year. Will we ever get a “regular” university year?

We praise God for…

Safe travels for our students, many of whom went home to their villages and returned to Ouaga safely.
God’s protection during the big rain. Shortly after, Jeff rode his bike home. His bike wiped out, but strangely he did not.
A brave start to the school year for Asher and Danika. It was Asher’s first time.

We request your prayer support for…

Those who lost their homes and much more during the rain.
Our students as they try and get enough to eat and study for the end of the school year at the same time.
Asher, as he adapts to a new school and new teacher. The French school system seems quite different than the Canadian one at times, and this can be hard on a little guy.

3. Kingdom Theology and Eternal Life

2009-08-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

(Notice I took the vs. out of the title - it seemed too competitive!)

An escapist view of the gospel – one that centres on salvation as the assurance of eternal life away from the hardships of this life – characterizes the Evangelical church here in Burkina. Kingdom theology, on the other hand, holds that with the coming of Jesus (The Christmas event), the Kingdom has already penetrated the earth. We live in a Kingdom that is already present but not yet fully realised; in a creation that is already being transformed, even though this is at times imperceptible.

In a context where most people are poor with little practical hope of improving conditions, the escapist view is certainly attractive. Who would want to hang around where there is suffering and hunger? Won’t it be glorious to be whisked away to heaven when we die or when Christ returns? It reminds me of old gospel music. One famous group sang the song, “Don’t it make you wanna go home…anxiously awaiting, anticipating, prayin’ that it won’t be long.” Another popular one is, “I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop.” Such songs almost seem to insinuate that if I could die instantly, I’d be better off. It’s not that this is untrue – who can fathom what eternal life will be like? But it is incomplete.

As disciples of Christ for whom Jesus’ life is normative, we believe we have a duty to reveal how the Kingdom of God has already penetrated the Earth. When John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus asking if he is indeed the Messiah, the one who would save the world, Jesus says nothing about whisking people away. Instead, he responds, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” These are characteristics of the Kingdom. The Kingdom’s values could be better understood through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Again, the limits of this article do not allow more depth here – Jesus does elsewhere talk about preparing places (in heaven?) for the disciples. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” John 14:2

So it seems yet again (and maybe this conclusion holds for most of these articles) that an equilibrium must be found between these two perspectives. Is it insensitive for Mennonite Mission workers in the Burkina church context to focus on Kingdom issues – working for justice, healing, against poverty; trying to bring a whole or more complete gospel to a people (at least in the Christian community) who would just as soon focus on one day escaping the broken systems of government and society? It seems an odd question for those of us from a Western Anabaptist perspective. Often we phrase the question in the opposite way: Isn’t it insensitive to evangelize in a setting where people are firstly hungry or hurting? Is it not better to meet those basic needs and reveal God’s will (or Kingdom/Shalom project) for the healing of Creation?

This latter approach will be a long, difficult process in Burkina Faso. The “escapist view” gives much faster results and is something that the very spiritual-minded Burkinabé can understand. For a more wholesome Kingdom theology to take root here, it will be necessary for Mennonites/Anabaptists to work with, better understand, and not be so critical of this “escapist perspective”.

Am I way off here? I’d like to know. Please respond.

By the way, two authors I really appreciate who talk the "Kingdom talk" are Walter Wink and Lee Camp. Check them out.

2. The Holy Spirit vs. Jesus life as normative

2009-08-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

One of my best Burkinabé friends here the other day gave me the following example of how the emphasis on all things spiritual can hurt Africa. To convince people to keep human excrement deep down in a hole, and better yet, covered, is difficult, he said, even though science proves that not doing so can spread disease. A typical Burkinabé does not see things this way. If one falls sick, it is because of God or maybe because of some evil spirit. In any case, it is beyond our human control.

Yet I have witnessed this same friend healing others through prayer. So I have rediscovered this paradox that I think most of us are aware of: there is far more of a spiritual element to our daily lives than westerners care to believe; and far more of a physical element to daily life than a lot of Africa (although I can only speak of Burkina) cares to acknowledge.

So what does this have to do with Anabaptism? By the way, I don’t want to in any way give the impression to non-Mennonite friends who may be receiving these articles that the raison d’être of Anabaptists (aka Mennonites) is to “expand the denomination”. Rather, as I said in the first article, I believe in learning from the richness of the Christian denominations (and beyond) and with that comes the responsibility to participate in this sharing by giving what my tradition has to offer to the discussion.

To put it briefly, Mennonites accentuate and find normative the life of Jesus. This means that the life of Jesus is as central to understanding the will of God for humanity as his death and resurrection. This can sometimes contrast starkly to other Christian views, though it would be preferable if it complemented them. Typically, the “core of the gospel” for most Evangelical Christians is that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Mennonites tend to add, “Amen, but what about his life and how he showed us how to live in the present?” Can this emphasis on the earthly existence of Jesus somehow be reconciled with the Burkinabé spiritual worldview?

A Burkinabé sees firstly a spiritual realm in which spirits are fighting each other for power. In Christ’s death and resurrection, we have freedom from the binding spiritual powers that can make earthly existence miserable. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit after he departed from his disciples that glorious yet confusing ascension day. The disciples were filled with this Spirit and did amazing things.

What we can offer the Burkinabé is the aspect of “doing” or acting in faith of the Spirit. The Spirit helps us do and live how Jesus taught us to live. His life is normative for us – our example. (But of course, we will not be able to do all that the Son of God did!) At many times in the Gospels, Jesus is interacting simultaneously with the spiritual and physical realms.

What the Burkinabé can offer western Mennonites in particular is to be more attuned to the Spirit while we are doing. The early Anabaptists were Spirit-filled people – how else does one face that kind of persecution and torture with joy?

Perhaps Burkina needs to top up its “physical realm” tank while we in the West top up our “spiritual tanks”.

Next time: Eternal life vs. Kindom theology

1. Why the Anabaptist/Mennonite perspective can be a tough fit in the Burkina Faso Church – New Discussion Series:

2009-08-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

This article marks what I hope will be a change in how this blog is used. Up until now, this blog has given news and personal updates, sometimes posting pictures and interesting videos. Such posts have solicited little feedback from blog readers. This isn’t a criticism of the blog’s readers, but rather of the blog. Perhaps the blog has not been provocative enough. However, my intention is not to be provocative for the sake of provoking, but rather to have conversation with people who might know a little something about the issues with which we struggle here in West Africa. We need your input. Those especially who know a little something about the Mennonite Church or Anabaptist church history – we would love to hear your point of view. I would love to see this blog become more of a place for dialogue than simply a place to read and look.

Part of our job description in Burkina Faso is to provide an Anabaptist/Mennonite perspective on Biblical teachings to a new church in Ouagadougou. This has sometimes been a frustrating task in some ways. I’ll explain why below. I have been wondering about characteristics of “place” and “culture” that cause one to either be welcoming or unwelcoming of Anabaptist principles. Here I will propose some reasons why the Christian church in Burkina Faso is a tough audience for Anabaptist teachings.

************

The reasons I propose here may be applicable to other African countries as well. In Burkina Faso, these reasons stem from the values of the Burkina Church (including all denominations). I will be focussing on the values of the Evangelical Church, which is the mainstream Protestant church in Burkina Faso. I can think of at least 5 reasons that make Anabaptism a difficult fit for the Burkina Faso Church today. Today, we look at church unity.

1. Church Unity vs. Denominational Gifts

Putting the word “versus” or vs. in the title here is oversimplifying and only for discussion sake in order to juxtapose two perspectives. It isn’t as if these two cannot go together.

In the Evangelical community in Burkina Faso, church unity is extremely important. Denominations are considered the “devils work”. These denominations are a reality, but an unwanted one. Many in our church are very sensitive about talking about the history of a denomination or the gifts thereof because of experiences with “denominational expansion” in the past. Certain denominations have, in the past, become neo-colonialists seeking to expand their denominational territory, and claiming that unless one is from their denomination, one is not fully Christian.

More recently, the majority of the Evangelical community has been against such approaches and actively speaks against it. This is an important step for the church in Burkina Faso. Christ brings unity to his body. Many good things are happening in this regard.

Enter the Mennonites with their subversive history – ana-baptist, anti-church/state, anti-mansion-o’er-the-hilltop theology. (Anabaptist refers to the history of the people who were against the baptism of infants, and so re-baptized people upon their confession of faith in Christ – for more, see links below.) Mennonites often define themselves in juxtaposition to other traditions – i.e. what we are not: we are not Catholics, but not completely Protestants either; we are against war, against injustice. Our whole history is based on subverting (or else running away from) corrupting systems of power. I see the Mennonite perspective as an invaluable gift to the Christian community. However, in the Burkina Church scene, emphasis on denominational “gifts” sounds a lot like the promotion of a denomination over and above another, and thus is discouraged – in fact, denominations themselves are of the devil.

So how does one respond? We believe that Anabaptism has a unique and paramount perspective to offer the church here. But how does one talk of Anabaptism without coming across as superior to other beliefs or values within the Christian community? Here is a good question even for “western” Mennonites? Do we see ourselves as somehow “better” than other church groups? How important is church unity for the Anabaptist community? How do Mennonites work for ecumenical unity?

Stay tuned for the next article: The Holy Spirit emphasis vs. Jesus’ life as normative

Links: http://www.anabaptistnetwork.com/whatisanabaptism

http://www.thirdway.com/menno/

Back to School...Then Take a Break

2009-07-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

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!

A thought about evangelism

2009-07-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

“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

2009-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

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

Signs of Hope at the University

2009-06-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

Bit by bit, professors at the University of Ouagadougou are returning to campus to continue their courses. Law students, who hadn't had class since the beginning of April are now having at least some of their classes during the week. It's a promising sign.

It seems the demands of the professors are justified, but are fairly extensive and it will take time for the various government ministers to study their demands and then make a decision. In the mean time, the government seems to have convinced the students that it will act in good faith and that everyone should go back to life as usual on campus while the various ministers can do their job and get a deal made with the professors before the start of the next school year. So it seems like the year will continue without canceling it, although we can expect a very late end to the school year, maybe as late as February 2010. Thank you all for your prayers.

Are you listening? Umm, I'm trying.

2009-06-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

I (Jeff) have started taking Morré lessons again. Morré is the language of the Mossi people, the domant ethnic group in Burkina Faso. This was first of all a way to once again awaken the love I have for the Burkinabé people - but after all, I am somewhat of an introvert. I'm fairly sure this word doesn't exist in Morré! Living in a big African city means always being around people, so it's important to show interest in those around you, and what better way than to speak (a bit better) their language. The second reason to improve my Morré-speaking ability (by the way, you can get my quite nicely with French in Ouaga these days) was that the more you learn the local language, the more you understand the people. It's very interesting to know, for instance that, that word for "husband" is similar to the word for "truth". A Mossi person might say these two words have little to do with each other, but linguists say otherwise. Or, to find out that to say you are happy, you say that your heart is smiling.

So, improving these language skills provides a lot of social, intellectual and relational stimulation. But you also learn a lot about yourself. When you speak, are you more interested in what the other person is saying, or are you thinking about what you will say when the person has finished talking? It sounds easy to say that we should listen more to the other person first - that makes you a good listener. But the balance tips very quickly when working in another language. After 4 weeks of lessons, I can already string several sentences together, but I can barely understand anything people say to me. I have been more focussed on looking good through what I can do instead of trying to understand what people are telling me. Of course, understanding a native speaker speaking rapidly takes years. But still, I know I need to really force myself to concentrate and listen to people as they speak, and not let my mind wander. It's a good thing to apply to my native language, English, as well!

University Decision to be made by June 15

2009-06-09T02:46:00.000-07:00

Students of the University of Ouagadougou should know within the week if the government will close the university again this year, or if a settlement has been reached between the professors' union and the government. Professors have been on strike since mid-April. Most classes have been canceled. If the university closes, it will mark the second time in the span of the year that the academic year has been cut by university closing. Last year the university closed due to student unrest over poor academic conditions. It is still unsure what a closure could mean for the school year. Will the entire year be canceled, or will they try to finish the year in September like they did this past year?

Students at the Foyer Evangelique Mennonite de Ouagadougou, meanwhile, are preparing to write "concours". These are government entrance tests that allow a given number of people to enter the public sector of work. Those not writing these tests may be forced to return to their home village due to the comparatively expensive cost of living in Ouagadougou. Others may stay in Ouaga to look for work.

Please pray for these students as they face an uncertain future.

May 2009 Prayer Update

2009-06-09T02:41:00.000-07:00

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

One of Tany’s major contributions to our church community has been through English courses. Twice a week, the FEMO has a one-hour English course at the church. On Saturday nights, our advanced English faculty students lead the discussion, which usually centres on important themes ranging from politics, to African traditions like marriage, to other current issues. On Sundays, Tany facilitates the discussion.

It is amazing to see the cultural barriers that get broken down as students try to speak a foreign language. French (the official language of Burkina Faso) has become another African language in some ways in Ouagadougou, the capital – there is a certain lingo that reflects the syntax and structure of other Burkinabé languages. There is also a certain etiquette in “Burkinabé French” – what you can and can’t say. This is also a crossover from the local languages. But in English, this linguistic etiquette gets thrown out to allow for more direct and communication. Thus, Tany often comes away from these classes enlightened and better understanding of cultural values that usually remain “hidden” in the language of the people. (In turn, we too have noticed that our weaknesses in French make us think about what we really want to say before speaking, and actually makes us more patient and open to people than if we could speak quickly and naturally with people.)

So it was that we were blessed again yesterday when a 3^rd year English student expressed his gratitude for the Foyer (our church residence) not only for what it has done for him, but for the others. He mentioned a student he had known from his home town who had been so shy, isolated, and unconfident. Today, this student lives in the residence of our church. He is one of our best Sunday School teachers. He recently offered to give leadership to our weekly prayer hour on Sunday nights, which was lacking direction.

Like a mustard seed, leaders are developing in our churches in unexpected ways. Sometimes, this development is slow and unperceivable. But from time to time, God gives us a boost by revealing to us how that seed is developing and growing into something bigger.

Another way this is happening is through an Anabaptist history project that we are working on. In order to provide some background to the history of the Mennonite Church for our Burkinabé brothers and sisters, we are putting together a collection of Anabaptist stories from the past to present. Our English students are helping to translate these stories (most of which are in English) to French. This too is slowly making progress and should be a valuable resource to the church here. In the mean time, some of our translators working on this project are being exposed to a way of thinking that had not occurred to them before – an approach to living out the gospel that (I believe) is an important contribution to ecumenical dialogue in Burkina Faso. I mean, who would think to serve a meal to the men vandalizing your house, as in the story of Preacher Peter and the Mystery of the Thatch; or save the person trying to send you to your execution, as in the story of Dirk Willems? These small seeds will surely produce some day.

We praise God for…

Blossoming relationships with our university students
Jérôme, a French seminary student who is doing an internship with us at the FEMO until June 21. His contribution and attitude have been greatly appreciated.
The occasional rain which cools us off

We request your prayer support for…

The University of Ouagadougou and the professor strike (see blog for more details – the professors have been on strike and most courses have been on hold since mid April)
Government and university officials, as well as their mediator so that classes may continue soon
Jérôme as he continues to build relationships, learn, and integrate into the life of our community

A word from those baptized

2009-04-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Esther (pseudonym) shares about how God has been changing her lifestyle from that of a rebellious teenager to a disciple of Jesus. Her parents too have noticed a huge difference in her life and her happiness since she started making more of an effort to seek out her relationship with God.

Easter Day Baptisms at FEMO

2009-04-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

It is tradition in Burkina (as it was in the Early Church) to baptise on Easter Day. Here, Eleanor commits herself to seeking relationship with God. Earlier, one Burkinabe pastor kidded us: don't let the person's head out of the water until they've seen Jesus! Well, we won't go that far. In Burkina, immersion baptism is the practice of all of the Protestant (Evangelical) churches.

Broken-hearted

2009-04-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, one of the university students showed up at our house looking very dejected and troubled. Normally, he is quite upbeat and positive. In fact, I had never seen him like this before. I was worried that he had perhaps lost a member of his family, or else that there had been renewed problems on campus. People are talking about another professor strike which could possibly cancel the school year. There are still some very glaring problems on campus, namely the professor’s low salaries but also the student financial aid which has not yet come. The lack of aid has meant that some students are skimping on meals. To make matters worse, sometimes the university restaurants are not producing enough food. Many of the students did not get lunch yesterday, which in Burkina is the big meal of the day. And touching people’s food sources often leads to irrational thinking.

Our friend was one of those who did not get to eat. He showed up at our place around 6:30 pm looking rather famished and at the end of his wits. The real problem, we soon learned, was that he had a broken heart. This was new territory for all of us. We felt honoured that he would feel comfortable enough to come to us to get this off of his chest. He complained that he could no longer study or even sleep because he couldn’t stop thinking about this girl who was apparently not interested in him.

Contrary to my understanding of friendship (listen without throwing out advice), in Burkina friends are expected to give advice. So I shared some stories of girls who had let me down (dumped me, you might say) only to realize that God had something in store for me beyond my comprehension; something more fantastic than the most perfect relationship I could have dreamed of. We prayed together and our friend was on his way.

My fear for our friend is multifaceted. Is he spending too much time in our home observing our own family dynamics and imagining he could have a more western-style relationship with a girl when his culture dictates otherwise? Or is he sincerely interested in discerning how God wants men and women to live together? In any case, he may be ahead of his time in this culture. We have met other similar young people in the city who have a more traditional view of marriage: For the guy, a good wife means someone who is obedient, hard-working, knows how to cook and be a mother; for the girl, a good husband is someone who looks after the family financially, first and foremost. Other details like looks and personality play a very secondary role.

How does our culture define our intra-gender relationships? How should the Bible take precedence over these cultural definitions? I’d be interested in hearing your responses. Feel free to reply to this post, and any others that interest you.

-Jeff

April 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-04-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.. Psalm 119.9

Some of you who donated old film cameras might be wondering what became of them. Let me tell you the story of François. He bought one of the more quality cameras donated. These cameras were not just given away, but a reasonable price was agreed on and the money was given to the church. François not only paid back the money he gave for the camera (around $60 CAN) but he took the camera home over Christmas, took pictures of people in his village, and made enough money to pay for his entire university year. Not only that, but he is becoming a quality photographer. He has a gift. He is continuing to earn small amounts of money on the side with his camera as he continues his studies. Thanks again to all of you for donating the cameras. We will let you know if we can use more some time.

We are nearing the end of a baptism course which prepares the participants for a life of discipleship, marked by a baptism on April 12. Please pray for the two young women, both with fairly similar and difficult experiences, who are learning about discipleship and being new creations.

We praise God for…

A smooth start to the university year.
Energy during a very hot time of year.
A successful change of motors in our car.

We request your prayer support for…

Our baptismal candidates.
Wisdom for discerning the future of the Foyer Evangélique Mennonite de Ouagadougou.

We welcome your contributions for our
support and invite you to send these to:

Mennonite Church Canada WITNESS
600 Shaftesbury Blvd
Winnipeg, MB, R3P 0M4

FEMO Choir

2009-04-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

From time to time, the city churches appreciate trying a more western style of music.

University Renovations

2009-04-01T04:26:00.000-07:00

One of the results of the professor strike in February was that what had been a big block of student housing on campus is being turned into office space for professors. The student housing is being moved quite a distance from the campus, compounding the problems students already face at the university as they seek out comfortable places to study, commute long distances on dangerous roads, and suffer from classrooms that are too small.

Warkentin Prayer Letter

2009-03-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Finally! We’ve been waiting for last year’s university year to wrap-up since we came back to Burkina Faso at the end of last August. Almost 5 months later, exam results are, for the most part, in. We are awaiting the results of 1 last student. To our pleasant surprise, every student connected to our church community has passed so far. This is no small thing.

Last Sunday, we had a meal at church to celebrate Christmas - the students were dispersed throughout the country during Christmas time and came back shortly after only to continue their exams, thus hindering our Christmas celebrations. We also celebrated the end/beginning of the academic year. The mood was grateful and optimistic – a day of pure Shalom since it was that period between the stress of writing exams and waiting for marks yet before the pressures of homework and tests that the new year brings.

All in all, we are very recognizant. After many frustrations – the university situation, lingering colds, the abrupt return of hot season, and many things breaking down, including a wrecked motor in our van – God seems to be smiling down on us allowing us to consider God’s faithfulness. The university year has restarted normally, our colds are finally letting up, and we have even had 2 days of fairly light rain – another oddity in Ouagadougou this time of year.

Soon we will give you an update on new faces in our residence. We are awaiting the arrival of 3 new students, to add to the 3 other new ones who have already arrived. This will give us 14 lodging at the residence for the year.

We praise God for…
• The positive university results.
• The little frustrations of life that are slowly evaporating in the heat.

We request your prayer support for…
• A continued smooth start to the academic year.
• Good health for our family.

Struggles and Rewards

2009-02-23T03:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a video we made for Foothills Mennonite Church in Calgary, AB. It is based on the daily struggles and rewards of ministry and uses 1 Corinthians 9:23 as reference. There is some good music on it too. Enjoy!

http://foothills.mennonitechurch.ab.ca/media/Foothills%20video_0003.wmv

A Franciscan Benediction

2009-01-13T03:41:00.000-08:00

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen

Weddings

2009-01-07T01:42:00.000-08:00

A wedding is a great opportunity to experience some of the important customs and values in a family or culture. Othniel, a close friend from day 1 of our Burkina adventure, invited us to his brother's wedding in Doumbala – a village some 400 km from Ouagadougou, near the Mali border. We knew it would be a long trip so we decided that just I (Jeff) would go. See our January update for more reflections on the wedding.

I show this picture because this is so typical of Burkinabé weddings. The bride and the groom seem so distant from each other. Neither shows much emotion – to the point that they seem to expressing pain, almost wishing they were somewhere else. I am told that this is expected of them. The whole day is in their honour and this is one way to show humility.

How to Have Fun at a Bwaba Wedding

2009-01-07T01:38:00.000-08:00

At a Burkinabé wedding, you must make noise and lots of it. If you have a gun, shoot it in the air (preferably without bullets – see collection of wedding pictures). If you have less means than that, get creative. Here, Othniel’s nephew has fabricated his own noise-maker – a motorcycle wheel spoke is bent around and fastened to a stick by some old rubber tire tube. A nail is also attached. Cut off the head of a match, place it in the spoke, put the nail snugly against the match head, pound the head of the nail on a rock, and boom! You have your noise-maker. Pretty ingenious (and inexpensive). Watch the video for the demo.

Here's how the noise toy works...

2009-01-07T01:25:00.000-08:00

Wedding Celebration in Doumbala.

2009-01-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

Watch these videos (continued below) to see some pure, unfettered dancing. The Bwaba people (Othniel’s ethnic group) love to dance and they are amazing dancers. Even the children pick it up quickly. The wonderful part about their dancing for me was that it included people of all age-groups, genders, and abilities. Even I could give it a try with some simple steps while I marvelled at the moves of the experts. The key thing is to do it together in community, and to have fun – no alcohol needed.

The young dancing team.

2009-01-06T22:39:00.000-08:00

These were the expert dancers at the wedding. They could really get going.

Not done yet.

2009-01-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

Are they tired yet after 3 hours of wedding dancing? Nope.

Bus Trouble - I think the goat must have tipped the scale.

2009-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

Our bus had two flat tires and after putting on the spares, the driver noticed that at least one of the spares had been cut in half and sewn back together at one point. This resulted in a 7 hour delay on the side of the road while we waited for a solution. But this picture will always remind me of how the bus-hand let down the spare tire from the roof, where you see the goat. Instead of dropping it parallel to the side of the bus, or waiting for help, the bus hand dropped it perpendicular to the bus. The huge tire promptly hit a rut and shot straight out towards me. I took one step sideways and watched the think streak past at another young man who wasn’t paying attention. It caught him so off guard, all he could think to do was to start running with the path of the tire, instead of side-stepping it. So he tried to outrun the tire for a good 3 seconds before diving out of the way. The tire continued another good 20 metres after that.

Watch me now, hey!

2009-01-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

I think dancing is as natural as walking for a Burkinabe kid.

January Prayer Letter

2009-01-06T08:16:00.001-08:00

January 2009

Warkentin Prayer Letter

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine, your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is perfume poured out. – Song of Solomon 1:2

I had had a preview of the trip – the road had been awful that first time so I was prepared. This time promised to be longer and more rewarding. My two short, recent village experiences were like book-end glimpses into two of the most significant markers of African life: first, a funeral, then, a wedding.

The road had dramatically improved from the funeral visit 3 weeks earlier. After an hour of paved road and 4 hours of unpaved, the first great challenge this time came when the police officer stopped the bus some 100 km from our final destination asking everyone to get off. I was relieved to see my passport still had at least a month left on the visa. I chuckled nervously when Othniel showed me his identification card: a 10 year old boy smiled back at me…Othniel is 28. His card had expired years ago. I looked up. The 28 year old was now smiling at me. I was glad he was so confident. The police man did not seem in good humour.

We were separated into two groups – those with valid identification, and those without. I found myself wondering if this was how calm it was in places like Rwanda where similar grouping had occurred in more dire times. Othniel was not in my group. My group was told to get on the bus and take off. I started praying. The bus driver was nowhere to be found. I heard someone say that he was "negotiating" with the police. Moments later, Othniel ran gleefully back onto the bus and sat down beside me, smiling even bigger. "On peut aller!" We can go. I was greatly relieved.

I am screaming down a dirt road on the back of a motorcycle. Cold. This was as cold as I'd been since being in Burkina. My jacket was zipped up over my head to protect me, now a headless horseman, from the cold and dust. We drove for almost an hour. I was blindly balancing myself on the back of the bike as we seemed to swerve and hit every hole along the way, my bag in my arms preventing me from holding on effectively. What if I fell? I was a hundred miles away from…anywhere.

We arrived in the village of Doumbala – a village of the Bwaba people, 10 km from the Mali border. The Mali border literally cut right through some of the Bwaba villages. What was the white man thinking? We arrived at night, under a multitude of celestial Christmas lights – enough to give you a neck ache, or worse if you tried to walk and look at the sky at the same time.

For the next 2 days, I was the King of the Sahel – at least, my hosts treated me as such. What was most remarkable was that Othniel, who hadn't been back to his home for over a year, never left my side. I was his priority, even before his childhood friends who he hadn't seen in so long. I thought about western hospitality. I thought about stories of missionaries leaving African guests outside while they go in to eat. I learned and thought about a lot of things those 2 days.

The wedding itself revealed the high points of Bwaba culture: music and dance. In fact, most Burkinabé love to celebrate. While the married couple traditionally must look reserved and almost bored (see blog and web pictures), the rest of the congregation is alive and lively. Even at 5 am the morning after the wedding, there were still dancers regenerating the eternal dust cloud of the courtyard by the church. The same balaphone player (see pictures) had played from 8 pm to 5 am with very few breaks!

We left at 5 am to catch our bus back to Ouagadougou. Othniel had an exam the next day – yet one more frustration with the university system: because of all of the striking, some students only had Christmas Day off before they had to continue their exams. This messed up Othniel's entire Christmas and New Years plans – a much needed and well-deserved week in the village with his family was cut down to 2 days.

Our bus broke down 30 minutes into the trip. We waited almost 7 hours on the side of the road for a fix (see blog for more info). These various challenges made me think of the effort "incarnational ministry" takes and how much it is worth. I could have dreaded such a trip – why not stay home and read a book? It is Boxing Day! When I have a busy week – a sermon to write, a Bible study to prepare, I often find myself torn between two paths: the known (books, commentaries, a laptop, efficiency) and the unknown and unpredictable (visits with strangers, conversations, a stroll through the neighbourhood, taking the time to get to know what people in our church need).

The 7 superfluous hours turned into great conversation time. I learned valuable insights into the culture I live in. My travel companions and I talked about what marriage and weddings mean in the Burkinabé context. This is such a crucial topic for the students with whom we work. We talked about what being a servant-spouse looks like. Burkinabé young adults are struggling with the ideologies of marriage: Do you have to follow the traditions of your culture when getting married? Do you need to be completely financially autonomous before taking the step? Do you marry a woman you know will be hard-working and serving, or does romance play a bigger role? Young adult Christians in Burkina are pushing some of these boundaries and asking important questions while discerning what the Bible says about these themes. And we are listening and praying for ways to treat these issues respectfully in our young church context.

We praise God for…

A wonderful holiday season of fellowshipping with church members and mission team members alike.
Astonishingly good health throughout our years in Burkina and especially during the Christmas season.
Significant "bonding" between Jeff and some of the students at the wedding in Doumbala

We request your prayer support for…

Knowing how to progress in our ministry in the ambiguity of the coming school year. Will there be a school year? When will it start?
Students who are still finishing up exams, now even in the midst of a professor strike
Attentiveness to God's calling as doors shut for some because of failed exams or a yet-again postponed school year.

*************

For elaboration on any of the above, please visit our blog and website.

http://foothills.mennonitechurch.ab.ca/warkentin.html

Why the wall?

2008-11-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

One solution to student uprising on campus: put up a really big, really long wall (the campus must be some 16 km in circumference) to prevent students from easily escaping should there be another uprising. Exits are now easily patrolled by the new "campus police task force".

Taxi Justice

2008-11-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

Our friend Moussa has managed to get all of his papers in order for his new taxi – all, that is except two, which he needs to wait until January for, unless he wants to pay for the whole year. Should he drive without those papers knowing that he may be asked for a bribe by a policeman if he gets pulled over? Moussa struggles with such questions as he learns more and more what being a follower of Jesus really means. Pray for Moussa, that he might find a 3rd way to the injustices he faces on the road.

Nov 2008 - Prayer Update

2008-11-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? – Eccl. 1:3

Many Burkinabé university students are asking this question this year. Thus far, the exam season has not been good to the students of the Foyer Evangélique Mennonite de Ouagadougou. In the Burkina/French system, students have 2 chances to pass exams. In most cases, to pass the year you must average a score of at least a 10 out of 20 on all your exams. A good mark is really anything above a 12 out of 20. As of today, only 2 out of the 20 some students who are connected to our community have made it without having to go through the second try. It is a very stressful time for everyone.

This has also made our normal ministry routine somewhat awkward since some students have free time to visit while others are studying so hard that they aren’t even emerging for Bible studies and prayer times. Most are reluctant to get too involved in the everyday church tasks. This requires us to fill in the gaps, which is partly why we are here. We are looking forward to the New Year when we can officially start the school year and begin holding more organized community, worship, and Bible study meetings.

*************

We are all relatively healthy and enjoying an early cool season here. We are thankful for safe travels to and from the southwestern part of the country. Jeff made two such voyages in the span of 3 weeks, and the whole family was in Orodara last week for the African Inter-Mennonite Mission Partnership Council meetings.

We ask for your continued prayers for the university students as well as for the many people suffering from the global food and gas price increases. Also pray for those who lost loved ones in the horrific bus accident last week. See link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7731261.stm

**************

If you haven’t been regularly checking the website you are missing out. Specifically, it would be neat to have some interaction on the Blog. If you don’t know what that is or how to use it, please contact us. It is accessible from our main page. We sometimes post comments, insights and pictures there that you wouldn’t otherwise receive from us. You can also post your own questions or thoughts there.

http://foothills.mennonitechurch.ab.ca/warkentin.html

Picture update

2008-10-01T02:37:00.001-07:00

1. Back in worship mode - Burkinabe style. Elisabeth teaches us a new song.

2. Our kids with Mama at the Ramadan celebrations. Ramadan is the time of 30 day fasting. Many Muslims neither eat nor drink during the day. After the sun goes down, they can then eat and drink. After 30 days, everyone celebrates. Even the Christians visit their Muslim neighbours. A great deal of food is usually exchanged. That day, we ate rice, toh, and then fonio, a traditional cereal grain. Of course, we drank Bissap as well - a sweet local drink made out of hibisscus flowers.

Prayer Update

2008-10-01T02:20:00.001-07:00

Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. – Amos 5:24

How does one work for justice?

Listening to stories of the university conflict that erupted this past June, it was striking just how quickly a situation can turn from calm to panic. An organized group of university students (the science and technology faculty) had repeatedly tried to hold a peaceful protest on campus, walking to the university president's office to deliver a petition lamenting the many injustices on the university level. After several repeated and squashed attempts (the president announced that protest walks were no longer allowed, despite being a constitutional right of students at the university), this group tried one last time. What most of them did not realize was that a small sub-group within them had pulled back as they approached the presidential building. This group took off their shirts and wet them, covering their faces from the tear gas they knew would come. Then, from behind the main group, they began throwing rocks at the few police and military who were stationed outside of the presidential office. After this, many students figured they had no choice but to pick up rocks and fight in order to get past authorities who had sealed off the exits of the campus. Unfortunately, at least one student from our community was involved in the rock throwing.

Recently, I (Jeff) preached on Amos 5:24, exhorting those in our congregation to consider their calling as prophets who renounce injustice. It occurred to me that this is exactly what the students have been doing – standing up for their rights, and it ultimately led to violence. How can God hate injustice but let it get to a point that even Christians see violence as the only solution? How can Christians work for justice peacefully alongside other Christians, equally fervent to renounce injustice, but who do not share the same perspective on Jesus' life and teachings?

Despite all of this, the university is attempting to finish up the 2007-08 school year. Most of the students in our community are in the last week of exams. Still, there is a dark cloud hanging over the campus. A campus police force has been assigned to maintain order on campus. Recently, a student was stopped by the police who asked him for the receipt for his bicycle, to prove that he had not stolen it. When the student could not produce the receipt, he was arrested. These random power reminders pushed some to post signs around campus calling on students to re-mobilize. The need for discipleship in Jesus' way has never been clearer for our ministry.

*****************

We have quickly resettled into life here. Check our blog for our travel and arrival experiences. We're all more or less healthy, except for some colds. Danika is full-swing into school, with daily homework assignments.

We're growing. With every new school year we add new students to our community as older ones find their wings and leave the nest. We are fortunate to have the possibility for students to move into a courtyard that is just a five minute walk away from us. This could be important in maintaining past relationships and allowing older students to support new ones, while remaining in our church.

We praise God for:

Safe travels and God's evident intervention in our return to Burkina.
Clearer vision for our ministry.

We request your prayer support for:

University students as they study and write exams as well as cope with the results.
People in Burkina who are still adjusting to increased food prices.

Story of our travels

2008-09-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-17T10:05:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-17T09:44:00.001-07:00

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

Prayer Update

2008-08-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the LORD. – Jeremiah 29:11-14a

The future of the last academic year at the University of Ouagadougou continues to hang in the balance. The university was ultimately closed prior to the writing of final exams in June. Class will resume earlier than usual this year, September 1, to make up for the broken school year. But the new school year is already announcing itself in a precarious manner. A new campus police force has been assigned for the coming school year, and this is not welcome at all by university students in Burkina Faso.

One of our university students (who was recently baptized in our church) was in the wrong place at the wrong time last month when the violence broke out and got himself arrested. We praise God that he was released without trial, and with only minor injuries and a missing cell phone. Please pray for renewed stability on the university campus.

Prayer Update

2008-08-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. – Psalm 92:4

Greetings from Alberta, where we safely arrived in May and where we had been excitedly awaiting the arrival of our new baby. Kenani (Kenai) Lukas was born on Thursday, June 12. We praise God for how well the delivery went for both Kenai (pronounced KEE-nigh) and family. “Kenani” is a name from the Turka people group of Burkina Faso, and means, “perseverance – he who advances and prospers in the face of adversity.” On certain websites, the name was found in the “Hawaiian” category and means “made by God.”

Itinerating has been a rewarding experience. It has been a blessing to witness what God is doing in our congregations and to share our work with interested people. We have been grateful to our host churches and have valued the relationships that we have been able to nurture over these two months. Thanks to those churches and people who have made preparations for our visits. In a week, we begin our trek east to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and then on to Indiana for a mission seminar before settling into Ontario for the month of August. We return to Burkina Faso the end of August.

On more of a negative note, the university situation in Ouagadougou has been deteriorating. On June 17, the students on the over crowded campus tried to hold a “march”. Usually, these are peaceful protests that are part of the rights of the students. The president of the university refused to allow this march, but the students went ahead anyway, voicing their unhappiness with things like lack of facilities, old materials, poor study conditions, inadequate numbers of bursaries, etc. The president called in the police to force the students home. 34 students were injured while another 35 were sent to the city prison and will now be tried according to Burkina law. This process could take weeks if not more. In the mean time, at a time when students should be writing final exams, the university is shut down waiting for the police to sort all of this out. Please pray that wisdom will prevail, and especially that the students of our community in Ouaga will think creatively as to how to address the injustices on campus in a peaceful but effective manner.

We praise God for…

How the Foyer in Ouaga has been persevering with church activities and effective during our absence
Kenani, who is bringing joy to all of us, especially to Danika and Asher
God’s protection and guidance during our many travels

We request your prayer support for:

University students in Ouagadougou as they try and make sense of their future at the university
A good rainy season for Burkina
A break from colds, which we seem to be exceptionally prone to since we arrived in Canada Safety during a busy travel schedule this next month

University Conflict

2008-08-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here is some more disconcerting news regarding the university situation in Ouagadougou. For more, see

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20080620092319997
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2345688,00.html

Burkina News

2008-08-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some news stories that show what has been going on in Burkina.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2345688,00.html
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2281644,00.html
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2287170,00.html
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2322317,00.html
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2278067,00.html