http://picasaweb.google.com/frmonk/EddieBurkina2?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/frmonk/ZabreAndOuagaSunday?authkey=kxjyMHvTqWo&feat=directlink
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Musings from Burkina-John McClung
Its Sunday evening and tomorrow we will begin our trip back to the U.S., to Corsicana and to familiar surroundings. What an adventure it has been with many new experiences and, most importantly, new friends and hopefully a new me. You cannot go through a week like we just have and not have it effect you on many levels. I happen to believe that even when you are doing something for someone else, that you really are doing it for yourself even if you don't realize it at the time. I know that what we all have learned and experienced on this trip will come into play in our future and make each of us a better Christian.
Want to start a party? Just kick a couple of soccer balls into any group of kids on this planet (and probably any other)and the chances are pretty good someone is going to kick it again and again and perhaps again. Ed had the idea to buy three balls and on Tuesday we did just that; went out and kicked Ed's balls around. I decided to take a break from being the local drug dealer and went outside to be with the children. As soon as the first ball went into the air kids started coming out from everywhere. About 20 of them converged on the ball and the game was on. There wasn't any soccer pitch or goals, just all the kids trying as hard as they could to get in a kick. They were all over the place and having a great time. It sort of looked like a bunch of black hornets chasing something they were mad at. Anyway, we became quite popular and drew a crowd of smiling faces everytime we came outside. It was also great entertainment for their parents waiting to get into the clinic. If there was a barrier between us and them before, it was a barrier no longer.
Although it had been 30 years since I had played the game I am proud to report that my skills really had not diminished much. I attribute that to the fact that I really did not have any soccerskill 30 years ago but I can verify that I am much older, heavier and slower. About the only thing I was quicker at was that I was out of breath much sooner. As we were preparing to leave that evening I was surrounded by the children wanting to play. Since the soccer ball was no where to be found, I started kicking a big plastic empty water bottle that was on the ground (apparently picking up trash is not a common practice in this country) and the game was on again. We didn't need no stinkin' ball.
Somehow, five of us ended up in the back of a pickup for the ride back to town that evening. I had the thought that everyone who saw us riding back there with our black driver was thinking, "Hey, that guy must be doing pretty good. Just look at his crew of white guys riding in the back of his truck". It was tough coming in though because of the smoke from the bikes and burning trash in the sewers. Several of us had some breathing problems plus, I think I was still winded from the soccer game six hours earlier.
As it turns out, there was a soocer field there in Yamga. In fact we drove across it the next day to go to the clinic. The reason it is hard to recognize as a field is that there is no grass and its about five miles from goal to the other. After a couple of minutes I turned that game over to the kids and stumbled back to the clinic for drugs. I didn't care what they gave me; I only wanted to stop hurting and die in peace. I was also ready for the last rites, having a corkscrew (always be prepared) but did we bring any wine? Hell no!
I haven't read the other writings on the blog but am sure they describe our trip to the other village on Thursday and Friday- 40 miles of bad road followed by 40 more miles of really bad road. The clinic was nice and we really got a lot of people through it in two days. The area looked more like what I always pictured Africa to look like-Kansas without the black plastic bags everyone here seems to be afraid to pick and throw away. On Friday we were visited by some government officials from the labor department and we considered complaining about our low wages and working conditions.
I mentioned experiences earlier and would like to add that one experience I will not miss is the sleeping on a box spring every night. Although I am starting to get use to it, I am looking forward to getting back to my bed at home.
I have to go now; my box spring is calling me and I need rest before the 378 hours it will take for us to get home so I can go shopping.
Peace,
John
P.S.
We also have been doing one of my least favorite pastimes along with being kicked in the groin and that is shopping. I have found it to be really annoying when you really don't have the foggiest idea what salesperson is saying to you (which also happens to me alot in America)and although I thought of buying something for each and every one of you; I didn't.
Want to start a party? Just kick a couple of soccer balls into any group of kids on this planet (and probably any other)and the chances are pretty good someone is going to kick it again and again and perhaps again. Ed had the idea to buy three balls and on Tuesday we did just that; went out and kicked Ed's balls around. I decided to take a break from being the local drug dealer and went outside to be with the children. As soon as the first ball went into the air kids started coming out from everywhere. About 20 of them converged on the ball and the game was on. There wasn't any soccer pitch or goals, just all the kids trying as hard as they could to get in a kick. They were all over the place and having a great time. It sort of looked like a bunch of black hornets chasing something they were mad at. Anyway, we became quite popular and drew a crowd of smiling faces everytime we came outside. It was also great entertainment for their parents waiting to get into the clinic. If there was a barrier between us and them before, it was a barrier no longer.
Although it had been 30 years since I had played the game I am proud to report that my skills really had not diminished much. I attribute that to the fact that I really did not have any soccerskill 30 years ago but I can verify that I am much older, heavier and slower. About the only thing I was quicker at was that I was out of breath much sooner. As we were preparing to leave that evening I was surrounded by the children wanting to play. Since the soccer ball was no where to be found, I started kicking a big plastic empty water bottle that was on the ground (apparently picking up trash is not a common practice in this country) and the game was on again. We didn't need no stinkin' ball.
Somehow, five of us ended up in the back of a pickup for the ride back to town that evening. I had the thought that everyone who saw us riding back there with our black driver was thinking, "Hey, that guy must be doing pretty good. Just look at his crew of white guys riding in the back of his truck". It was tough coming in though because of the smoke from the bikes and burning trash in the sewers. Several of us had some breathing problems plus, I think I was still winded from the soccer game six hours earlier.
As it turns out, there was a soocer field there in Yamga. In fact we drove across it the next day to go to the clinic. The reason it is hard to recognize as a field is that there is no grass and its about five miles from goal to the other. After a couple of minutes I turned that game over to the kids and stumbled back to the clinic for drugs. I didn't care what they gave me; I only wanted to stop hurting and die in peace. I was also ready for the last rites, having a corkscrew (always be prepared) but did we bring any wine? Hell no!
I haven't read the other writings on the blog but am sure they describe our trip to the other village on Thursday and Friday- 40 miles of bad road followed by 40 more miles of really bad road. The clinic was nice and we really got a lot of people through it in two days. The area looked more like what I always pictured Africa to look like-Kansas without the black plastic bags everyone here seems to be afraid to pick and throw away. On Friday we were visited by some government officials from the labor department and we considered complaining about our low wages and working conditions.
I mentioned experiences earlier and would like to add that one experience I will not miss is the sleeping on a box spring every night. Although I am starting to get use to it, I am looking forward to getting back to my bed at home.
I have to go now; my box spring is calling me and I need rest before the 378 hours it will take for us to get home so I can go shopping.
Peace,
John
P.S.
We also have been doing one of my least favorite pastimes along with being kicked in the groin and that is shopping. I have found it to be really annoying when you really don't have the foggiest idea what salesperson is saying to you (which also happens to me alot in America)and although I thought of buying something for each and every one of you; I didn't.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Zabre Day 1
Yesterday, and again today, we are working in Zabre village. Zabre is about 200 km from Ouagadougou, and takes about three hours by car.
You drive South from the city about 60 km on a paved highway built by Taiwan. All of the sudden, the road changes from pavement to red dirt. It is not just any red dirt, but some of it is washboard, some of it is flat, but much of it is pitted. They say they hope to have the road fixed in time for the rainy season, so that it can wash out again. Needless to say, it is a long tough ride. You wind up driving on both sides of the road to go around pot holes and sink holes that would swallow the car. Not to mention the omnipresent bikes, mopeds, donkey carts and walkers who are doing the same.
When you come to a town or village on this highway, the entire road is covered with people shopping and trading. It is almost like driving into a parade happening in the middle of I-35. The dust made by the cars limits visibility. Add to that darkness, and it is almost impossible to get back safely.
Once we made it to Zabre, we were introduced to the school leaders and teachers. It was a great sight to help see the school we helped to build. Currently, there are 265 students enrolled.
First, we set up the clinic, and immediatey the crowds came. You will notice on the pictures how they crowded the porch. One older man, was very upset about not being seen in the order he wanted, and almost stirred the crowd up to a riot. Fortunately, the local pastor, and Ram calmed him down. Eventually, we cordoned off the porch, and handed out numbers. When we go back today, these numbers will determine who will be seen first.
Interestingly, the people of Zabre are much healthier than the ones in Yagma. The place, aside from the ubiquitous garbage bags in much cleaner. Also, they have more rain and can grow more food. Ram feeds the children of the school everyday, so they look much better than the children of Yagma.
Part of our crowd control on Friday, will be a meal of rice and goat that we, the team, have purchased for the village. We will feed them all for about $75, and give them a special meal they may not have had for some time.
A highlight for me was to be able to address the school students. The absolute joy they have for school is amazing. I tried to encourage them to finish school and go to university, and told them the more they learn, the more they can help Zabre.
We are off to Zabre again. I am posting more pictures in a different post, so please check them out.
You drive South from the city about 60 km on a paved highway built by Taiwan. All of the sudden, the road changes from pavement to red dirt. It is not just any red dirt, but some of it is washboard, some of it is flat, but much of it is pitted. They say they hope to have the road fixed in time for the rainy season, so that it can wash out again. Needless to say, it is a long tough ride. You wind up driving on both sides of the road to go around pot holes and sink holes that would swallow the car. Not to mention the omnipresent bikes, mopeds, donkey carts and walkers who are doing the same.
When you come to a town or village on this highway, the entire road is covered with people shopping and trading. It is almost like driving into a parade happening in the middle of I-35. The dust made by the cars limits visibility. Add to that darkness, and it is almost impossible to get back safely.
Once we made it to Zabre, we were introduced to the school leaders and teachers. It was a great sight to help see the school we helped to build. Currently, there are 265 students enrolled.
First, we set up the clinic, and immediatey the crowds came. You will notice on the pictures how they crowded the porch. One older man, was very upset about not being seen in the order he wanted, and almost stirred the crowd up to a riot. Fortunately, the local pastor, and Ram calmed him down. Eventually, we cordoned off the porch, and handed out numbers. When we go back today, these numbers will determine who will be seen first.
Interestingly, the people of Zabre are much healthier than the ones in Yagma. The place, aside from the ubiquitous garbage bags in much cleaner. Also, they have more rain and can grow more food. Ram feeds the children of the school everyday, so they look much better than the children of Yagma.
Part of our crowd control on Friday, will be a meal of rice and goat that we, the team, have purchased for the village. We will feed them all for about $75, and give them a special meal they may not have had for some time.
A highlight for me was to be able to address the school students. The absolute joy they have for school is amazing. I tried to encourage them to finish school and go to university, and told them the more they learn, the more they can help Zabre.
We are off to Zabre again. I am posting more pictures in a different post, so please check them out.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Last Day in Yagma, Off to Zabre
Yesterday (the 21st) was our last day in Yagma village. We treated over one hundred patients. We saw lots of adults and children with parasites, dysentary, and other illnesses. What was amazing was the way in which we could go to the local "pharmacie" and for $80 could buy enough medicine for many, many people.
One the great realizations you make as a Westerner when you come here is that so many problems could be solved with basic hygiene. It's not that the people are dirty, it's that they really have no understanding of what we might call the cycle of infection. To illustrate, the bathroom for the whole village is a pit dug by the government. On top of the pit they place a concrete slab with four holes in it. Above that they place a half wall for a little privacy. Not too bad except for the bats that live in the pit, and the snakes that come to eat the bats at night. The problem is that this facility is only for adults. The youngest children do not use it. In fact, the youngest children only wear a shirt, and thus relieve themselves wherever they are standing, even on a couple of us as the day wore on.
If a child has a parasite, and the accompanying diarhhea, the just go where they are standing. In a five minute timeframe I saw a sick child with diarhhea go on the ground, and walk off. Then one of the guinea hens (a key food source) came over and was eating the feces, and then one of the dogs chased off the hen and was doing the same. Talk about spreading the infection and keeping it around.
The other fascinating part was to see the inside of a couple of homes. They are immaculately clean. The problem is that they just sweep all the trash outside. The whole village looks like it is growing a bumper crop of black plastic bags on the ground. One wonders what could be done with a couple of 55 gallon containers marked for plastic bags.
We had so many people waiting at the clinic, that we had to feed them. We got them dried figs in five gallon containers, and some beans and rice. We told the local peanut vendor to give every person in the village a bag of peanuts. About 300 bags for $5.00.
In the City, the sanitation is not much better. We are staying in a"3 star" hotel as rates by the Burkina government. It is not connected to a sewer. Rather a truck pulls up every day to dump the waste. The city has open sewers on every street, into which the people sweep their trash. At dusk, the people light the sewers on fire which produces such a toxic smoke and smell that you can barely breathe. It covers the whole city like a fog for a couple of hours each night.
I also now understand the idea of it takes a village to raise a child. While there does not seem to be too much interaction bewteen parents and their children who are over three years old, every or any parent can control the crowd of 100 kids with a single word. They will instantly quiet down and do precisely as they are told. The men in the village stand back, and observe, but do not get too involved with anything.
Today we are off to Zabre village. This is where we have built a church and a school. It is three hours each way to Zabre, so we are leaving at 645 am. We have to leave Zabre at 4:00 pm, because it is not safe to drive on country roads after dark.
Will post more later, with pictures of Zabre. Keep up the prayers, they are working.
One the great realizations you make as a Westerner when you come here is that so many problems could be solved with basic hygiene. It's not that the people are dirty, it's that they really have no understanding of what we might call the cycle of infection. To illustrate, the bathroom for the whole village is a pit dug by the government. On top of the pit they place a concrete slab with four holes in it. Above that they place a half wall for a little privacy. Not too bad except for the bats that live in the pit, and the snakes that come to eat the bats at night. The problem is that this facility is only for adults. The youngest children do not use it. In fact, the youngest children only wear a shirt, and thus relieve themselves wherever they are standing, even on a couple of us as the day wore on.
If a child has a parasite, and the accompanying diarhhea, the just go where they are standing. In a five minute timeframe I saw a sick child with diarhhea go on the ground, and walk off. Then one of the guinea hens (a key food source) came over and was eating the feces, and then one of the dogs chased off the hen and was doing the same. Talk about spreading the infection and keeping it around.
The other fascinating part was to see the inside of a couple of homes. They are immaculately clean. The problem is that they just sweep all the trash outside. The whole village looks like it is growing a bumper crop of black plastic bags on the ground. One wonders what could be done with a couple of 55 gallon containers marked for plastic bags.
We had so many people waiting at the clinic, that we had to feed them. We got them dried figs in five gallon containers, and some beans and rice. We told the local peanut vendor to give every person in the village a bag of peanuts. About 300 bags for $5.00.
In the City, the sanitation is not much better. We are staying in a"3 star" hotel as rates by the Burkina government. It is not connected to a sewer. Rather a truck pulls up every day to dump the waste. The city has open sewers on every street, into which the people sweep their trash. At dusk, the people light the sewers on fire which produces such a toxic smoke and smell that you can barely breathe. It covers the whole city like a fog for a couple of hours each night.
I also now understand the idea of it takes a village to raise a child. While there does not seem to be too much interaction bewteen parents and their children who are over three years old, every or any parent can control the crowd of 100 kids with a single word. They will instantly quiet down and do precisely as they are told. The men in the village stand back, and observe, but do not get too involved with anything.
Today we are off to Zabre village. This is where we have built a church and a school. It is three hours each way to Zabre, so we are leaving at 645 am. We have to leave Zabre at 4:00 pm, because it is not safe to drive on country roads after dark.
Will post more later, with pictures of Zabre. Keep up the prayers, they are working.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
More Pictures
Here's a link to some more pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/frmonk/Day2InYagmaByFrEd?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/frmonk/Day2InYagmaByFrEd?feat=directlink
Another Great Day
We spent another great day in Yagma village. With everyone's help, we treated and medicated with prescriptions that we filled in house about 80 patients. We had lots of parasites, dysentary, STD's, pregnancies, one small child that was paralyzed on one side, and many aches and pains.
The people are starving for doctors and just attention. They seem to love to see a white face, and the children love to play with us. John McClung and Fr. Ed bought 3 soccer balls and had a couple of hours of kicking the ball around at various intervals. When we came back at the close of the day, the balls had disappeared into homes, but John started a game of kick the can, and the excitement exploded all over the place.
Tomorrow, we go back to Yagma, and Thursday and Friday to Zabre, the village Saint John's has been sponsoring. I am trying to put up more photos, but bandwith is a premium. Will write more tomorrow.
God bless,
Fr. Ed
The people are starving for doctors and just attention. They seem to love to see a white face, and the children love to play with us. John McClung and Fr. Ed bought 3 soccer balls and had a couple of hours of kicking the ball around at various intervals. When we came back at the close of the day, the balls had disappeared into homes, but John started a game of kick the can, and the excitement exploded all over the place.
Tomorrow, we go back to Yagma, and Thursday and Friday to Zabre, the village Saint John's has been sponsoring. I am trying to put up more photos, but bandwith is a premium. Will write more tomorrow.
God bless,
Fr. Ed
Monday, January 19, 2009
Trip Day 5-Day 3 in Burkina
The computer says that it is 12:36 am in Texas as I write this, but it is 6:36 Ouaga time.
One thing I relaize, is that time has no meaning in Burkina. An appointment for a certain time means that someone will be with you in within one hour on either side of said time. We time conscoius Americans have had to say "Que sera sera" several times.
Today, we head back out to Yagmar village, which could be called a suburb of Ouagadougou. It takes about 40 minutes from the hotel. It consists of all brick and straw homes (about 100). It is a primarily Muslim village, but the ministry we are working with ha built the clinic (now building a bigger one) and a school. It has also supplied the Doctor and nurses to the village. To put things in perspective, the doctor sees about 40 patients a day, treats them with what he has, and gets paid about $300 (US) a month.
Yesterday, we treated about 50 people, and already we have a waiting list of 40 for today. There will be more than that for sure, and we will do the best we can. We will have more translators today (in Yagmar not much French is spoken but the local dialect of Moray) so that we can pre-screen some of the patients and help the medical staff more. What is needed here is about 4-5 doctors with local nurses and translators. This way the minor cases could be cared for in the brush arbor outside.
Some patients needed IV's and wound care, some just wanted to see a US doctor. We had to give a lot of Malaria pills, and hopefully saved a 3 month old whose mother was not producing enough milk. We went to the local "pharmacie" and bought some formula and other medicine for about 40,000 CFA or $80. This, we pray, will change the child's life. One woman had cataracts, so we got her on the list for surgery at the local hospital.
Today, we will go back and try again. We will also speak to all the classes at the Christian school in the town, in hopes of providing enough encouragment for one or two students to go to the Universitie in Ouaga. One thing that we learned about Burkina culture is that the more educated you are, the more you are expected to give back, even if you receive nothing for the services you render. The attitude seems to be: "Why go to school if I'm going to wind up in the same shape I'm in now?"
One amazing thing is that the village elders in Yagmar have never question the teaching and preaching of the Bible in the school. Praise God for that. In this village they have a Khadaffi mosque, one of mant we have seen, where the leader of Libya has paid for Mosques to be build. They are just larger versions of the mud huts, but they have effective speakers. I will try to post a picture of this later today.
All is well, but keep up the prayers.
One thing I relaize, is that time has no meaning in Burkina. An appointment for a certain time means that someone will be with you in within one hour on either side of said time. We time conscoius Americans have had to say "Que sera sera" several times.
Today, we head back out to Yagmar village, which could be called a suburb of Ouagadougou. It takes about 40 minutes from the hotel. It consists of all brick and straw homes (about 100). It is a primarily Muslim village, but the ministry we are working with ha built the clinic (now building a bigger one) and a school. It has also supplied the Doctor and nurses to the village. To put things in perspective, the doctor sees about 40 patients a day, treats them with what he has, and gets paid about $300 (US) a month.
Yesterday, we treated about 50 people, and already we have a waiting list of 40 for today. There will be more than that for sure, and we will do the best we can. We will have more translators today (in Yagmar not much French is spoken but the local dialect of Moray) so that we can pre-screen some of the patients and help the medical staff more. What is needed here is about 4-5 doctors with local nurses and translators. This way the minor cases could be cared for in the brush arbor outside.
Some patients needed IV's and wound care, some just wanted to see a US doctor. We had to give a lot of Malaria pills, and hopefully saved a 3 month old whose mother was not producing enough milk. We went to the local "pharmacie" and bought some formula and other medicine for about 40,000 CFA or $80. This, we pray, will change the child's life. One woman had cataracts, so we got her on the list for surgery at the local hospital.
Today, we will go back and try again. We will also speak to all the classes at the Christian school in the town, in hopes of providing enough encouragment for one or two students to go to the Universitie in Ouaga. One thing that we learned about Burkina culture is that the more educated you are, the more you are expected to give back, even if you receive nothing for the services you render. The attitude seems to be: "Why go to school if I'm going to wind up in the same shape I'm in now?"
One amazing thing is that the village elders in Yagmar have never question the teaching and preaching of the Bible in the school. Praise God for that. In this village they have a Khadaffi mosque, one of mant we have seen, where the leader of Libya has paid for Mosques to be build. They are just larger versions of the mud huts, but they have effective speakers. I will try to post a picture of this later today.
All is well, but keep up the prayers.
Notes from John McClung
We are now near the end of our second full day in Burkina Faso. Everyone is tired but there are no complaints. For me, it has been one of the most interesting times of my life; being my first trip across the Atlantic and to be exposed first hand to absolute grinding poverty. I can't shake the feeling that I'm in a movie about the CIA or watching a really long version of the evening news about Darfur. Sometimes I think, "Okay, its time to wake up now in my own bed in Corsicana and get on with my day".
Other than not really being able to sleep much on the leg from Atlanta to Paris, the flight over was fine. The scene when we walked off the plane into the terminal at Ouagadougou was reminence of movies I'd seen. When I walked out for the ride to our hotel, it was a mob. Although some were there to meet other passengers, I think that the thought that most of them were there to greet us might have have crossed my mind. But two steps into the crowd and four people had offered to let me buy phone cards from them at a really great price. This only intensified as we moved toward our transportion. "NO", was not an acceptable answer and the first of many communication problems. I was only able to escape by giving them a list of all the e mail addresses from St. John's. Be prepared; your new friend from Burkina Faso will be in touch.
The trip into the hotel was a trip alright. First, it was Saturday night and second; I have never seen more bicycles and scooters in my life. It seemed that the whole population was moving as fast and reckless as they could; men, women and probably some livestock. It was date night in Ouagadougou. By the way, after listening to the engines of several thousand of these mopeds for a few days, it is not the vehicle of choice for sneaking up on people. The roads are crowded with thousands of bikes, scooters, donkey drawn and people drawn carts filled with anything you could imagine. We traveled in cars doing 60 mph with these people all around us and trucks coming right at us. I expect to see a car windshield with someone plastered all over it any time now. I'm used to driving in Dallas but these folks scare the hell out of me.
Our hotel, The Excellence, is a prime example of how relative everything really is. Although it is nice our first night was a lesson in patience. First, the big bed went to the reverend, while I got the "collapsable,backup, emergency bed" which was relatively comfortable to an exausted traveler and only collapsed three times before morning. Everyone except for us had nice big rooms with a working air conditioner and non collapsable beds. We were able to move to a much nicer room for the next night. To continue with the "patience theme", our beds either have the hardest mattress known to modern man or, and I believe this to be true, that there is no mattress but just a box spring under that sheet. Whatever it is our defense department should consider it for armor plating for tanks.
I also discovered around two a.m. that the mosque is just across the street and they like to call people to prayer at ungodly hours of the night. In fact, it would have awakened me except for the fact that a mosquito had already done that a few hours earlier. Then, there's those mopeds. I was so tired this morning I wasn't sure if I took my five different pills one time each or one pill five times.
The reality check for me and the one that made me feel ashamed of myself was to look across the street this morning and watch a young girl of four or five brush her teeth over an open sewer and to realize that a life in those conditions was all she had ever known and may very well be all she will ever know.
I'm sure you have read blogs from all the others about the moving Sunday morning service we experienced in a small village just outside of town. It was a powerful time to worship and participate with those simple loving people. The little children were the most well behaved I think I have ever seen. We were prayed for and blessed by the congregation but it was a blessing just to be a part of their lives for just a short time.
At lunch we experienced the language barrier again in that the good father and I decided to split a pizza. By the end of the meal five pizzas had been delivered to the table. And, as we left, we were mobbed by the ever present street vendors who just don't take no for an answer. Although agressive and persistent, they are non threatening but in an irritating teeth grinding sort of way.
There are urgent critical needs everwhere you look. Coming from a modern Western society, I'm having some difficulty accepting the reality of this place. Perhaps part of the reason may be that I have never traveled abroad and find it easy to question how people can live in the state of poverty that they do. I guess they simply accept their way of live and don't realize the alternatives to it. For instance trash collection does not seem to be an issue here; there are piles of it everywhere and apparenty nobody seems to care. It certainly puts our little collection problem we've dealt with in Corsicana in perspective. The one word that kept coming to mind was "opportunity". Almost everywhere you look there is a need and an opportunity to help. I understand from Reverend Hambric that we are in the forth poorest county in the world. It seems that I'm starting my world travels from the botom up.
We spent part of the day out at the teaching farm where the tractor St. John's purchased is located. I think they have the right ideas to improve some farming techinques and help make some lives better. The rest of the day was spent at a village clinic with patients from around the area. The team that did handled that was unbelievable. Apparently, we will be back there tomorrow and to the local school as well. The clinic was so small and we were short of some translators so many of us weren't all that much help today. The good padre has purchased some soccer balls for the children tomorrow.
I better sign off now and get some sleep. Thanks for your prayers.
Peace,
John McClung
Other than not really being able to sleep much on the leg from Atlanta to Paris, the flight over was fine. The scene when we walked off the plane into the terminal at Ouagadougou was reminence of movies I'd seen. When I walked out for the ride to our hotel, it was a mob. Although some were there to meet other passengers, I think that the thought that most of them were there to greet us might have have crossed my mind. But two steps into the crowd and four people had offered to let me buy phone cards from them at a really great price. This only intensified as we moved toward our transportion. "NO", was not an acceptable answer and the first of many communication problems. I was only able to escape by giving them a list of all the e mail addresses from St. John's. Be prepared; your new friend from Burkina Faso will be in touch.
The trip into the hotel was a trip alright. First, it was Saturday night and second; I have never seen more bicycles and scooters in my life. It seemed that the whole population was moving as fast and reckless as they could; men, women and probably some livestock. It was date night in Ouagadougou. By the way, after listening to the engines of several thousand of these mopeds for a few days, it is not the vehicle of choice for sneaking up on people. The roads are crowded with thousands of bikes, scooters, donkey drawn and people drawn carts filled with anything you could imagine. We traveled in cars doing 60 mph with these people all around us and trucks coming right at us. I expect to see a car windshield with someone plastered all over it any time now. I'm used to driving in Dallas but these folks scare the hell out of me.
Our hotel, The Excellence, is a prime example of how relative everything really is. Although it is nice our first night was a lesson in patience. First, the big bed went to the reverend, while I got the "collapsable,backup, emergency bed" which was relatively comfortable to an exausted traveler and only collapsed three times before morning. Everyone except for us had nice big rooms with a working air conditioner and non collapsable beds. We were able to move to a much nicer room for the next night. To continue with the "patience theme", our beds either have the hardest mattress known to modern man or, and I believe this to be true, that there is no mattress but just a box spring under that sheet. Whatever it is our defense department should consider it for armor plating for tanks.
I also discovered around two a.m. that the mosque is just across the street and they like to call people to prayer at ungodly hours of the night. In fact, it would have awakened me except for the fact that a mosquito had already done that a few hours earlier. Then, there's those mopeds. I was so tired this morning I wasn't sure if I took my five different pills one time each or one pill five times.
The reality check for me and the one that made me feel ashamed of myself was to look across the street this morning and watch a young girl of four or five brush her teeth over an open sewer and to realize that a life in those conditions was all she had ever known and may very well be all she will ever know.
I'm sure you have read blogs from all the others about the moving Sunday morning service we experienced in a small village just outside of town. It was a powerful time to worship and participate with those simple loving people. The little children were the most well behaved I think I have ever seen. We were prayed for and blessed by the congregation but it was a blessing just to be a part of their lives for just a short time.
At lunch we experienced the language barrier again in that the good father and I decided to split a pizza. By the end of the meal five pizzas had been delivered to the table. And, as we left, we were mobbed by the ever present street vendors who just don't take no for an answer. Although agressive and persistent, they are non threatening but in an irritating teeth grinding sort of way.
There are urgent critical needs everwhere you look. Coming from a modern Western society, I'm having some difficulty accepting the reality of this place. Perhaps part of the reason may be that I have never traveled abroad and find it easy to question how people can live in the state of poverty that they do. I guess they simply accept their way of live and don't realize the alternatives to it. For instance trash collection does not seem to be an issue here; there are piles of it everywhere and apparenty nobody seems to care. It certainly puts our little collection problem we've dealt with in Corsicana in perspective. The one word that kept coming to mind was "opportunity". Almost everywhere you look there is a need and an opportunity to help. I understand from Reverend Hambric that we are in the forth poorest county in the world. It seems that I'm starting my world travels from the botom up.
We spent part of the day out at the teaching farm where the tractor St. John's purchased is located. I think they have the right ideas to improve some farming techinques and help make some lives better. The rest of the day was spent at a village clinic with patients from around the area. The team that did handled that was unbelievable. Apparently, we will be back there tomorrow and to the local school as well. The clinic was so small and we were short of some translators so many of us weren't all that much help today. The good padre has purchased some soccer balls for the children tomorrow.
I better sign off now and get some sleep. Thanks for your prayers.
Peace,
John McClung
Burkina Photos
Check here for Burkina photos. They are not yet labeled, but will be soon. We will be adding more pictures to this album.
http://picasaweb.google.com/frmonk/BurkinaPicturesAlbum1?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/frmonk/BurkinaPicturesAlbum1?feat=directlink
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Day 3-Church and Preparations
Fr. Monk says:
Tonight others are also commenting, so read on for more!!!
This morning we went to church in a small village. There were about 60 people in a small church, and they filled it to capacity. The worship was exciting-singing and dancing. They had a children's choir, a woman's choir, and an adult choir. The singing lasted for aabout an hour. I gave a short homily (translated twice-once into French and another into the local language Moray). Lynn, our leader, gave a homliy, and so did the local pastor. We have lots of pictures and are posting them below. This afternoon we prepared for the next 5 days in the Bush doing our medical work.
Tonight others are also commenting, so read on for more!!!
Eddie Hambrick says:
Greeting to everyone back home. We are having a wonderfull time, once we got over the jet lag. The only thing bad so far was two very long layovers in the airports. The people of Burkina Faso are very friendly and everyone seems to be having a good time. Tomorrow we will go to a village to do medical work for the first time. Everyone is looking forward to it. Be praying for us.
Hello from Africa. Thank you for all the prayers. Thing have been great! I was searched at e
Jonathan Towles says:
very airport and still haven't got my checked bag back from Air France LOL. But the people we have come to serve have been very greatful and we have been made very welcome. Saturday, January 17, 2009
We made it, we slept, and now off to church
We arrived in Burkina at 10:00 pm local time (4 pm Central) after another 6 hour flight. It was 2600 miles from Paris to Ouagadougou. When we arrived in Ouaga, we found Ram waiting for us in the customs area. After about an hour, which was only an hour because Ram took our passports and had them processed for us, we collected all but one bag out of 39 (a minor miracle) and left for the Hotel Excellence, our base for the next 10 days.
As I write this morning, at 6:40 local time (12:41 am central) there is a rooster crowing outside window, and a minaret from the mosque across the street calling people to prayer. We are off to two different churches this morning and Father Ed will be speaking at one of them.
As soon as it is daylight (and John McClung and I change rooms-whole different story) we will get some initial pics of Burkina, as well as some travel pics and put them up.
Thanks be to God for a safe trip of 33 hours, and for sleeping in a laying down position.
Will write more later.
PS-John McClung says "Hey, wish you were here!"
As I write this morning, at 6:40 local time (12:41 am central) there is a rooster crowing outside window, and a minaret from the mosque across the street calling people to prayer. We are off to two different churches this morning and Father Ed will be speaking at one of them.
As soon as it is daylight (and John McClung and I change rooms-whole different story) we will get some initial pics of Burkina, as well as some travel pics and put them up.
Thanks be to God for a safe trip of 33 hours, and for sleeping in a laying down position.
Will write more later.
PS-John McClung says "Hey, wish you were here!"
Travel Days
The journey has begun. We left Corsicana at 7:30 am for DFW and braved some icy roads and saw lots of wrecks along the way. After assembling the group, we went through security, and waited for our Airtran plane to leave at 12 pm, arriving at 2:55 eastern. We flew to Atlanta, and picked up our bags. We ate lunch and had to wait until 5:00 pm Eastern to check into to our Air France flights to Paris (which left at 9 eastern and arrived at 10:30 am paris time-3:30 am in Corsicana). We are now waiting for our flight to Ouagadougo which leaves at 4:10 pm Paris time (9:10 am-Corsicana time). We should arrive in Burkina about 9 pm local time, which will either be 2 or 3 pm Corsicana time.
A lot of flying, sitting and waiting.
Will update more from Burkina.
A lot of flying, sitting and waiting.
Will update more from Burkina.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
First Post
Welcome to the Saint John's Church-Corsicana, TX blog. From January 16-26, 2009, we will be posting daily news about our mission trip to Burkina Faso in Africa. Come back soon for more details.
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