Preparations for Home (for Lauren)

                It is truly hard to believe that 7 months have already passed, and it is time for me to say goodbye to Sheltering Wings. I remember in September thinking that 7 months is such a long time, and that it would be so hard to live in Africa away from my family, fiancé and friends. And although I will admit that it was not always easy being away from those I love in the States, God gave me a complete peace throughout my entire time here that allowed me to say goodbye to them for a short time, knowing that I would see them again.

               When I first got here, I felt at home right away. Because I had been to Burkina Faso before, I don’t think I went through intense culture shock or really had a hard time adjusting to life here. It wasn’t long before I really felt that this was my home. I could walk to the market to buy food by myself, ride my bike to school at the speed of the Burkinabe kids, or barter a price down to what I was willing to pay for various items. Even though life here is pretty different than the life I live in the States, I almost immediately accepted the lifestyle of Burkina Faso.

                Spending time with the kids of Sheltering Wings has been the one thing I have done almost every single day since getting here. Seeing a baby’s face light up when I throw him up in the air, hearing the uncontrollable laughter of a toddler as I tickle her mercilessly, or watching the older kids try not to laugh at my broken French while I stumble through a conversation with them are the things I look forward to every day. Every single one of the forty kids living at the orphanage has their own unique story, and I feel truly blessed that I was able to be a part of their lives for a chapter.

                And now I am here, a week away from leaving Burkina Faso, and this goodbye is harder than the one I experienced in September. I have made some great friendships and fallen in love with the people that I have met in Yako, Burkina Faso. Even though I have every intention of returning to Sheltering Wings at some point in the future for a visit, I am realizing that it won’t quite be the same when I return. By the time I come back, pretty much all of the babies/toddlers will have either returned to their families or been adopted. So even though I will have the opportunity to meet and play with new little ones, it won’t be the same- I won’t be able to chase Kassoum around with my ‘walking’ fingers, won’t know that Omorou always smiles when someone goes to pick him up, won’t realize Benija will stop crying and immediately smile if you take a picture of him. And this is a really hard concept for me to accept. I can’t help but be a little selfish and think that I need to stay at Sheltering Wings longer because these kids need me here.

But amongst my proud thoughts, I hear God telling me that I need to trust that He will provide. God had it planned for me to be here for a certain time, and it is now time for me to move to a new period in my life. Psalm 139:16 says “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” How great it is to know that God knew that I would come to Burkina Faso (a place I only knew existed 3 years ago) before I was even born! And just because I am leaving does not mean that these kids will not be loved every day. They will still have Mike and Amy, Bekah, and other interns that come for various periods of time. I become humbled when I realize that God never NEEDED me to come to Burkina Faso for 7 months to do His work, but he WANTED me and ALLOWED me to have this great experience. And even though God could have chosen someone smarter, more qualified, or wealthier than me to have this experience, He provided for me every step along the way so that I could have the chance to try to help further His kingdom.

Even though I am accepting that it is time for me to leave Burkina Faso, I am not looking forward to saying the actual goodbyes. I am terrible at goodbyes. And it is never pretty, because when I cry (which always happens, no matter what), it gets pretty bad. So with this, I am asking for lots of prayer, because although I know I need to cry for my own emotional benefit, I don’t want to confuse the kids- the babies and toddlers especially. I plan to make the most of my time the rest of this week and start preparing myself emotionally for this heartbreaking experience, and I know that God will be my comfort throughout it all. Even still, I ask that you pray that God will give me the strength to make it through this transition time for me, and that I can be a light to those around me even during this time.

Thank you for all of your prayers during my time here in Burkina. By God’s grace, I have had the most amazing 7 months possible, and have grown in many ways. I know there is no way I could have made it without God and without all of your prayer and support during this time. 

February is a very quick month....

As the weather here in Burkina changes from hot to hotter, Bekah and I have had some changing experiences ourselves. While our daily lives are relatively the same, we have made new memories and new friends.

                As Mike and Amy continue to make improvements around the guest house, we have been able to help and enjoy the new comforts of home. We now have a large Burkina style painting, a batik, and a bookshelf in our living room, which makes it feel cozier. A new laundry cabinet was added, which is great because the last one was falling over. Bekah assisted our tailor in making new curtains for the house, and now we have a lovely green color scheme.

                We both agree that the most exciting change to the orphanage is the completion of the new toddler area. Mike did a great job in making it toddler friendly by including a house with a slide coming from the roof, a child size safari vehicle, a chalk board, and hopscotch. The children have had so much fun in the last week and a half, and we have enjoyed the separation from the infants (and the new toys as well) J

                A lot of people have come and gone through Sheltering Wings throughout the past month. First, Zandee was a girl from North Carolina who stayed at the orphanage for two weeks. Angela grew up in Burkina Faso and is visiting Sheltering Wings for two months. She came halfway through January and will leave halfway through March. Faith and Sonya are two ladies from Canada, eh. They were here for three weeks, during which they gave a custom made moto to the Burkinabe manager of the orphanage, who has a limp, mattresses to all of the widows in the widow program, and Burkina Faso soccer jerseys to all of the kids at the orphanage. Kimberly, Rachel, and Chanel were here for two weeks. Kimberly had been at Sheltering Wings for three months two years ago, and decided to visit with her friends. John and Jeff are brothers who are on the board of Sheltering Wings. They have both been here many times to plan for the future of the orphanage. Jeff, who is a doctor, also did two medical clinics while he was here. Tammy and Rebecca are a mother and daughter pair who are visiting for two weeks. They are checking out the orphanage for a yearlong trip for Rebecca once she graduates in 2015. Autumn is a missionary who is in Burkina Faso for a year. She has been living in Ouaga since June, and decided to visit Sheltering Wings for three weeks. We truly have enjoyed getting to know all of these people and their hearts for the people of Burkina Faso.

                Bekah, Angela, Lea (who lives with our Pastor’s family) and I had the opportunity to go on an overnight evangelism and spend a night in the bush. The evangelism consisted of two movie nights with movies that shared the gospel and speakers who gave an invitation. During the days we went courtyard to courtyard to tell the locals about the event and to answer any questions about the gospel. This was a little difficult for us because we were not useful, which made us feel pointless. However, we had a fun ride back in the middle of the night, where we felt like we were freezing because the wind dropped the temperature down to a solid 60 degrees. We would probably cry if we were at home with the snow right now……

                I have continued to teach Bible in two of the four grades at the secondary school. In 7^th grade, I am doing a lesson on Salvation – I started by introducing the person of Jesus to the students so they would understand why He was important and the purpose of His death on the cross. I will finish by giving each student a wordless bracelet and explain what each of the colors means so they can have a visual reminder each day. In 10^th grade, I am teaching on the book of James. The students really enjoy reading this book and we have had great discussions during each class. It is hard to believe that I only have three weeks left of teaching, but I am enjoying all of my time with the students.

                As April approaches, I have started to think about going home. It is truly hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I will be leaving in less than a month. This concept has made me both extremely excited and sad. Even though I am looking forward to seeing my family, fiancé, and friends again, it is really hard to accept that I will be saying goodbye to the children I have fallen in love with over the past 6 months. It is strange to have such mixed feelings about going home, so I would really appreciate prayers over the next month as I prepare myself and go through my adjustment to life at home.

                Bekah:  As most of you know, one of my special projects has become working with a little boy that is both blind and deaf.  This has presented many challenges but has yielded many blessings. One of the challenges of working with a severely handicapped child in Burkina Faso is the cultural mentality. The people here believe that if someone is not fully capable of everything that a ‘normal’ person can do, then he is not useful and should just stick to begging in the streets.  Because of this mindset, Harouna, the child that I have been working with, has been severely lacking in the love and attention that children need so much and which his disabilities keep him from demanding from the workers at the orphanage.  He is quiet and content.  He rarely cries.  He cannot crawl up into the laps of the workers and demand a hug, so he gets overlooked for the children that can.  Because he is so lacking in stimulation and ways to learn new things, I have made it my goal while I am in Burkina Faso to work with him and to try to teach Harouna the things that he should have already learned. 

That brings me to the blessings of working with Harouna.  First of all, I am happy to report that after being at the orphanage since he was three days old, so 2 years, he officially has a family that is going to adopt him.  He will be moving to America and will be able to get the love, attention, and help that he so needs and deserves.  Secondly, I would like to mention some of the milestones that he has reached recently.  Before I say what he is now capable of doing, let me share with you what I saw when I first got to the orphanage.  Harouna was a year and a half old when I first got here.  He was unable to sit, to eat any solids, or really to do anything but lie on the floor and pull his legs up by his face (he is amazingly flexible).  Now, he is sitting by himself on a bench, he is officially eating what the other children his age eat, and he can even stand for a little while if someone is there to help him balance.  It has been so astounding to see the changes that God has made in this little boy’s life and to know that God has used me to even help in some little way.  I cannot even begin to imagine what his future will be like with a family, but I know that it will be wonderful.