11 Things I Learned This Week

Truth be told--I started this post without a number. I waited until I got to the end and tagged in a number. Which brings me to....

1. I learned people are more likely to click on any given article when there is a number involved. I have yet to figure out why this is the case. But it is true. "17 pictures of Lindsay Lohan that prove she's crazy", "26 puppies who can't make it up the stairs", and "22 incredible photos of sea hawks". Thank you, Buzzfeed.

2. I learned the definition of "best friend behavior" differs depending on life stage. I remember being in kindergarten and claiming Emily to be my best friend because we played together during recess and shared crayons. I remember being in high school and claiming Katharyn as my best friend because she wore Vans and was on the drum line. I remember being in college and claiming Kelly as my best friend because she picked me as her little sister and we liked to travel. As a semi-adult, my opinion has changed. Living in West Africa, grocery shopping can be the most rewarding or depressing part of your week. There is either a bounty of things you want, or there is nothing (I haven't seen ricotta in months). This week, I went to Bingo with my friend Molly. Walking up to the cheese counter in our tiny store, I saw one demi-kilo of cream cheese left. That's it for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG. I looked over at Molly and earnestly asked if she wanted it. She let me have it. Now she's my best friend.

3. I learned that no matter how simple my instructions are, my ESOL students will still sit down in a group and say "I have no idea what we are doing". Even worse, they'll say it in French. So disheartening. So then I explain 3 more times and finally (for good measure) in French. Turns out, they understood the whole time most likely, but no one wanted to be the group leader. Ah, and the woes continue...

4. I learned that family television isn't what it used to be. I love reminiscing about Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, and Flash Forward (Disney much?). Seth and I make references to all of the above weekly. I was a big fan of Friday Night Lights, but eventually people graduate high school. Sometimes, they stick around their hometown (what?!?!) so the show continues for 5 seasons. I miss good shows that have family gathered around the table and showed love...

5. ...and then I found Parenthood. I watched 4 seasons of that show in 3 weeks. That is pitiful. Well, I thought it was until Seth watched 4 seasons in 2 weeks. So now I don't feel so bad. I absolutely love it and am putting off watching the farewell season. I love the Bravermans, and I see myself and several family members fitting into the different characters. I clearly identify with Kristina. After watching 1 episode, Seth agreed. She's the sensitive lady with a bit of sass. Also, she wears mom clothes, and I do too (even though I'm not a mom, but I can work a cardigan and rolled up jeans).

6. I learned you can make sour cream with one cup of cream (high fat content) and one tablespoon of vinegar. Mix then enjoy. I actually didn't learn it this week, but I did it for the 1000th time and continue to be fascinated.

7. I learned how to put a spare tire on the back of a Rav4. It only took 3 of us about 20 minutes.

8. I learned that mini crock pot makes many things well EXCEPT cake. Sweet Seth tried to make a crock pot cake (I didn't know that was a thing) while I was teaching one night. It just didn't work.

9. I learned I have classy neighbors who play pentanque. Over Christmas break, we acquired some new neighbors. A young couple from France. They DROVE to Burkina Faso from France. Yeah, that's a long way (look it up on google maps) and not in pretty countryside. I have yet to muster the courage to go over there to introduce myself, but I am close. We saw them playing pentanque (French game with balls that is like playing horseshoes), and I immediately felt like my neighborhood got fancier.

10. I learned that recipes stated "easy blah blah blah" are not easy when you live in the desert. Unless I have it hoarded away in my "American stash" (every missionary has one, there is not shame), I get to figure out how to make something I thought only came from a can. I wanted to make sausage muffins, and Seth made cheese soup. I make my own buttermilk, cool whip, and brown sugar. So as I read cutesy recipes from Pinterest, I love adding minutes to the estimated time so I can make all the ingredients!

11. I learned that sometimes I need to physically stop and enjoy the little moments. After pulling up in front of my house the other day, I heard kids yelling "Allez, allez!". I open the car door and look behind me. Here come 5 little Burkinabe boys running as fast as they can, stick in one hand and pushing a tire with the other. One little boy lost his "shoe" (plastic bag), so the whole group stopped. Once he was situated, they all took off again and yelled the whole way. It was one of those moments I had to stop and just soak it in. That I get to watch kids be kids, and I get to laugh with them. So often here, I get stared at. I look different (obviously). I fight off the feeling of wanting to literally crawl inside myself and be invisible because there are no social qualms about blatant staring here in Burkina. However, that day, those boys did not even notice me. They were having too much fun!

This list is incomplete and non exhaustive. I want my blog to be written by me and for me. I look toward the day when I look back and see how life was going.  How incredibly silly to serious I can be in 50 second spans. So that's why we make lists. I also want everyone to know I have 11 things I learned this week. Only 11! I gotta do better next week.

Happy Birthday to Seth!

I don't know anyone who (claims to) dislikes celebrating his birthday more than Seth Brill. I love the man, but he is not a fan of birthday celebration. That is a tough pill for me to swallow because I am the BIGGEST fan of birthdays. So he is growing to accept it!

 To celebrate the big 2-7, I had some fun things planned. For presents, I made an Amazon order that was promptly shipped to my parents, and he will receive them when we return to the US. I did show him pictures of his fancy Mastering the Art of French Cooking book and Paris Kitchen as well as a cool Chemex (some coffee nerd thing he wanted). He seemed pretty content considering he won't actually receive his presents for another 5 months!

 Those who know Seth well also know that he doesn't really like cake. The son of a professional baker, he is an anomaly to mankind. I, however, do like cake (and anything else with butter and sugar) so I made him a cake anyway.
He relented to having a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I went all out and spent about 4 hours in the kitchen making it all from scratch. I asked what he wanted it to look like, and he looked down at his shirt and said "Mississippi". So glad my state isn't a complicated shape (like Massachusetts, Virginia, or Michigan) so it looked pretty good. I made the blue icing and put it in some plastic wrap to decorate. You have to be real creative to cook here sometimes! I was pretty proud of the final product.

On the Saturday before his birthday, we went to our friends Isaak and Melissa's house to celebrate with friends. The Brooks, Durkees, and Collins came! We had Mexican food and cake. Obviously I found the coolest birthday candles EVER at the little grocery store ($5 for 5, but who cares?!). It was super fun...even when the smoke alarm went off. Real friends let you set off fireworks in their home, and we've got real friends! I didn't get a picture of it, but Seth decided to reenact Katy Perry's "Firework" before the last two (Roman) candles went out. No one else got the reference except me, but it was still pretty funny.

On his actual birthday (Monday), we went to eat at St. Matthieu, a new seafood (yes, in a landlocked sub-Saharan country) restaurant. Apparently they get fresh shipments in from abroad. It was a special treat! We were going to go to N'Ice Cream (a new ice cream place in town) but it was closed. So we came home and had some leftover cake.

At youth worship band practice, the kids surprised Seth with a cake! Emma, a 5th grade sister of some of the guys in worship band, made the cake for Seth. So sweet! And it was delicious. So blessed to have fun students to celebrate with too!

Hangar Trip to Hounde

Me, Ben, Frank, John, and Olivier

Seth here. What I love about going out to the "bush" or, as the youth say, "brousse propre" (proper bush) is that you get to where you are going and then it takes another 2 hours to get where you are actually going.  Anytime anyone tells you a certain town is the destination that simply means that you will arrive at that town and then you fall off the grid and drive until you think there is no where else to go.  Once you have arrived at this location keep going and an hour past that you have arrived.

Back in November, Frank, Rebecca's dad, and I were able to team up with John and Ben, two of our CMA Envision friends, and Olivier, a Burkinabe welder, and head to Houndé, a town about four hours away from Ouaga to build a church hangar.  One of the ministries of Envision is to help local churches by building the church a hangar for them to meet under.  Many churches simply meet in a field or under a few trees, but having an actual hangar to meet under allows the church to feel more connected with an official place to gather.  Another benefit to this plan is that the hangars are built with the ability to be expanded if the church needs more cover.  Most of the time, depending on the particular body of believers, the hangar can be converted into a full building if they choose.  What Envision does is help get them started and from that point the pastors and local people make the decision on how they will build and expand.  Another interesting piece of this particular church was where they decided to place the hangar.  For villagers life is hard and farming is everything.  Typically, there will be a compound here and there with one to a couple families living inside and fields surrounding the compounds.  The fields for the village are the lifeblood.  When the fields don't produce the villagers suffer.  The pastors in the area, however, had decided that the best place for their church was in the middle of a field.  For them it mattered more to have plenty of room to gather together to worship Christ each week than to maximize the size of their work field.  

We were only in the village for a couple of days, but our time was blessed by the pastors and local women who were so driven to serve and bless those who came.  Another marker of the trip was my time with the Burkinabe welder, Olivier.  Olivier was someone I had heard about, but not met.  He was a bear of a man with a lighthearted, comedic way about him.  Olivier was a delight to be around and a hard-worker.  Sadly, a few weeks ago he was killed in a moto accident on his way to measure a property for the building of a church.  I hardly knew him, but others here worked with him often and have lost a dear friend.  We praise God for the work that was done with our hands and, even in this time of sorrow and loss, we rejoice that Olivier was a believer and leader in his church here in Ouagadougou.    We also ask for your prayers for our dear friends as they experience grief during this time when they have lost a close friend and for his family. Olivier was a wonderful provider for his family. In order to offset financial burdens for his wife and family, CMA Envision has set up a fund for them: 
https://engageburkina.wufoo.com/forms/donate-to-oliviers-family/

WIRED Baptism

 On January 4th, we had the wonderful honor of seeing 4 of our youth be baptized. This is a huge honor for us in many ways.  A little over 2 years ago, Seth and I came to Burkina on a short term "vision" trip. Our short 7 day journey crossed with the youth group's baptism, and we got to go! So a WIRED baptism was the first event we ever came to for the youth group. Even cooler, several of our current youth were baptized that day, and we got to be there! How neat! Two of the girls, Esmirie and Lydia (above picture on the right), were baptized that day. It is so neat to meet with these girls and see how they have grown in two years. One of the greatest blessings of the day was seeing the older youth encourage the girls getting baptized by sharing their testimonies and praying over them.

Reading over their testimonies before sharing

 Growing up in a small Baptist church, baptism was always part of a greater church service. Ya know, it fits in between the greeting and first worship song or between worship and the offering. It is almost like a transition time during the service. I'm fine with that, and I was baptized that way. Doesn't take anything away from my salvation experience. Here in Ouaga, however, our girls attend different churches but are part of the same youth group. The baptism takes place separately from a church service. By doing this, it gets to be a deep, personal time for the students to share about their faith.

 During the service, each student chooses a song that he or she feels describes his or her walk with Christ. Sometimes, multiple students choose the same song. Apparently one year, all four students who were baptized wanted to sing "Amazing Grace". At least it's a good one! Haha. Our students choose "I Will Follow" (2x), "Still, My Soul Be Still", and "I Am Free".

 After the girl's song was sang (thanks to our friend Ben for leading in worship), the girls got up individually and shared their testimonies. As much as these girls love to talk, it was so funny to see how nervous they were. It was neat to see their stories relate and see how God has grown them in their walks with Him.

After sharing their testimonies, the girls each selected someone to come up to speak for them. This "someone" was to be an encourager in their walk with Christ and someone they look up to. Two of their girls had their moms share (who did NOT cry), one had her dad share (who DID cry...and so did I), and one had her Llama leader (like a student leader in the youth group) share. The words said about these girls are perfect examples of their commitments to being baptized. One of the girls, Erinn, asked her dad to speak. A truly wonderful man and loving dad, he got a little choked up at one point and Erinn turned around to me and said "Can you believe my dad is crying?". About that time, a huge crocodile tear fell down my cheek. Embarrassed, I turned around to Seth and saw him crying a little as well. That's what happens when your youth are this awesome. One of the moms, Bonnie, led her daughter Abby in the prayer of salvation when Abby was 4 years old. On that night, Bonnie wrote on an index card the date, the prayer, and had Abby sign it in her best 4 year old handwriting. It was the sweetest thing.

 Another thing that made this day so cool (for me) is that all four of the girls have been coming to middle school Bible study every week for the past year. I have had the delight of leading them in studies about what it means to be a child of God, studying the book of John (a challenge with 7th graders, but they're keeping up!), and freedom in Christ. It has been a blessing to watch them grow and become more serious about their faith. The greatest part is that they are all such close friends and will always have this memory. It was neat to hear in their testimonies the role that the other girls played in their spiritual growth.

After the girls were encouraged, they dipped into the cold water to be baptized. January in Burkina is possible the coldest month (ya know 90-95 by day, 70s at night), and everyone considers it "too cold" to go swimming. It was a bit chilly. All of the girls have been raised in West Africa, so they are not use to cold temperatures...like at all. Their faces of shock and surprise upon getting in the water were priceless!

A family of musical talent: the Van Dingenens have 4 beautiful daughters and all are musically gifted. They sang as family before Jiska was baptized. It was absolutely beautiful.

All of the girls' dads are missionaries, and they all took part in baptizing their daughters. That was very special. They prayed for the girls after they were baptized. 

                                   

  Before being baptized, the girls committed to coming to a specific Bible study that Seth and I led about the meaning of baptism. Wanting to be sure of this commitment, we discussed why baptism is important in the life of a believer and what is symbolizes. Each of the girls expressed clear understanding in what they were committing to do.

Matt and Mireya Durkee, our next door neighbors. Matt fearlessly led the youth group for many years. Now, he is our neighbor and comes over to drink our coffee a lot.  It is all ok as long as he brings his cute baby (and his beautiful wife who was probably paying attention to the service, thus not pictured).

Mothers and sisters of the girls being baptized (all of the dads were sitting on the other side to baptize)

Me, Abby (7th grade), Deborah (8th), Jiska (7th), Erinn (7th), and Seth

We love our girls and are so proud of their decision! So excited to see how God is going to use you for His kingdom!

Road Trip: Burkina Style

 I have always been a big fan of road trips. Nothing is greater than rolling your windows down, letting your hair go, feet on the dash (unless my dad is in the car...big no-no), and listening to music.

Let this image soak in.

 This is not always how road trips go down in Burkina.

• There are no rest stops with bathrooms and toilet paper, but there are plenty of bushes and BYOTP style. 
• There are lines in the road, but they are more suggestions than law. 
• Don't go too fast because you never know when a donkey, small child, or herd of cattle may decide to cross. And the pot holes...Oh my stars. 
• Rolling down your windows only happens when the A/C goes out in your car, and you might suffocate. If you do roll down your windows, you will imminently choke down some dust. 
• Generally, no billboards or road signs. I always look forward to "Jackson--62 miles" on I-20. Here, you get there when you get there! No countdown to look forward to, so it is always a delightful surprise because you are suddenly (or not so suddenly) there!
• Better bring a picnic. One of my favorite parts of road trips involve multiple stops at Cracker Barrel, Chikfila, and Starbucks. Unless Frank is driving...in which case the entire car is allotted one rest stop every 2 states or 6 hours or gas runs out, whichever is longer. I can go hours without needing to stop. Thanks dad. Anyway, no fast food or yummy coffee---unless you want Nescafe at a village resto or a live chicken off the road. Any takers?!

 The true adventure in a Burkina road trip is the sight seeing. And no, I don't mean like Route 66 "World's largest rubber band ball" or the Corn Palace (thanks Mom for making me go there as a child). I'm talking termite mounds as tall as me, men sleeping in their donkey carts as they go down the road (never fall asleep at the wheel!), tiny villages, women selling yams/pumpkins/bread/chickens, and bush taxis that are piled so high they reach the clouds.

Careful not to pay too much attention to interesting things off the road---you MUST be constantly watching for pot holes that look like meteors hit Planet Earth and sneaky speed bumps that will take your breath away.

On the left is a structure that serves multiple purposes--on the top, people can store hay (used for sleeping mats, feeding animals, "privacy fences", and much more) and they can gather under for some shade. On the right are millet bins where farmers store their millet from the harvest season. 

Farewell Christmas...

It is that time of year. My least favorite. The season of stripping my home of twinkle lights, taking down the tree (everyone's favorite chore...doesn't have the same magic as putting it up), boxing up  nativity scenes (a year round decoration in my opinion), and making it all better with chocolate from your stocking. There is so much build up to Christmas. Christmas has its own genre of music, food category (just scan Pinterest for "Christmas morning recipes"), and truck full of traditions. There are endless parties and family get togethers. Hot chocolate, frozen hot chocolate, and white hot chocolate. Peppermint cookies, pumpkin spice anything, and bread pudding. Standard pictures with your loved ones in front of the tree that are immediately posted on Facebook. If you are my age, your month of December probably consists of long car rides to your in-laws, your parents, your grandparents, your siblings, and your grandparents siblings. You celebrate Christmas so many times that by December 31st, it is apparent that your New Year's Resolution somehow involves a diet. Most of my friends didn't even put a Christmas tree in their home this year because they were out celebrating too much to enjoy their own home. Any of this sounding familiar?

Now that we all have a mental image of what has just passed and the potential slump we are in now....

Christmas isn't about family *cue gasp*. It isn't about the decorations, big meals, and Yankee swaps (actually my least favorite part of Christmas). It isn't about getting together to eat and chat. That is often associated with the word "Christmas". But that's not what it is. Being removed from the hype (yes, there is some here but not to the extent) for two Christmas seasons, I must say that Christmas has taken a new meaning for me. It is a season (not a day or an "eve") for reflecting on the gift of Jesus. If the most spiritual thing we do during the season is pray before we dive into a big meal, we need to reevaluate. We need to make new "traditions" on how to make time to praise and honor God for giving us Christ and thus salvation. In addition, this is an ongoing celebration. My heart used to slowly break on December 26th when my mother hustled around the house to take down decorations. I remember thinking "Christmas is officially over...only 364 more days". I want to encourage you to continue the spirit of Christmas. To continue celebrating the birth and LIFE of Christ. 

So turn that frown upside down! Christmas lives on! Truly focusing on the heart of Christmas is done everyday and is something worth celebrating! So feel free to sing "Angels We Have Heard on High" or "Silent Night" for 365 days a year. I think it is totally acceptable!

This is one way of packing up Christmas until next year. Carry your decorated tree down the dusty road while walking barefoot amidst zooming motos. Carrying it up to your attic shouldn't seem so bad now...?