Back to School...Then Take a Break

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

“Do not try to call them to where you are, as beautiful as that place might seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have ever been before.” - Vincent Donovan from Christianity Recovered.

July update

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Last month Tany did something that the church had wanted her to do for a long time – lead us in a course on finance management. This was a huge task. The African worldview makes for a very different perspective on money.

Money is something to be used in Burkinabé culture (like in other African cultures); not to be saved. If you have money, it is available for your family and neighbours to use as well. Somehow, putting that money in the bank does not change that. You still have the money and if someone gets sick, you are obligated to use that money. On the other hand, we learned, buying bricks and keeping them somewhere to someday build a house is different. Those bricks have already been bought and are destined for a purpose. This money cannot be redeemed. (When in reality, selling the bricks would be similar to withdrawing money from a bank.)

We in North America would do the same for our sick ones, giving when we needed, only for most of us, using this money to help someone does not prevent us from doing or buying the things we want. So one must tread a bit carefully when talking about such things in such a culturally different context and Tany did just that. The 3-day course was a conversation together with community members on how God is calling us to manage our money. Biblical passages and perspectives on resource management were peppered throughout the course providing a framework for discussion. This was all done with the acknowledgement that many African practices are good and whole (as are many occidental practices) while many other practices need to be transformed for the good of God’s Kingdom (as is also the case in the West).

Some of the big questions raised: Is it appropriate to save your money in African culture? Tany used the story of Joseph saving Egypt from famine with God’s help. Who should be in charge of the family resources, the man or the woman? It was lamented by one female student that in her sub-culture, the woman is always left in the dark about the family’s resources. It is the man who manages that, whereas women generally are more responsible with money and tend to have gifts in that area. In some cases, the man will refuse to even tell his wife how much his salary is so that the wife will not be able to hold him accountable for his spending. Some of this discussion will lead nicely into some Bible studies on marriage and relationships in the future, which the students have also been anticipating for some time.
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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

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.

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

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

“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

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

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

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