Greetings again from Burkina Faso! I had hoped to write sooner but I was setback with sickness for the past week. It’s somewhat of a long story. Here’s the short version. The doctors thought I must have malaria, but my blood tests (all 5 of them) came back negative. Then they suspected Dengue Fever (also known as “breakbone fever” to give you a brief description), but I didn’t have all the symptoms for that. Several days later, another doctor decided it must be malaria so I was treated for that. Whatever it was, it was bad, but it has past. I’m doing much better Thank the Lord! I’m sure He was translating your prayers even though you didn’t know what was going on. Now on to brighter matters.
The trip to Ghana was enjoyable and successful. Aaron and I actually finished researching the four people group in northwestern Ghana very quickly. We were again guiding in numerous miraculous ways. We phoned the Woods and they gave us another assignment: to find the Hausa of Ghana. That’s kind of like saying find the sweetness in cake. They’re everywhere! The Hausa are originally from Nigeria but have scattered across West Africa. They supposedly number about 28 million overall and somewhere around one million in Ghana. They are staunchly Muslim. We learned that their language is the most common language spoken at most mosques (Muslim “temples”) in Ghana, even by non-Hausa people. Nonetheless, we discovered that the largest concentrations of Hausa were in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana’s largest cities. Thus we traveled from the northwest to the southeast of the country (enjoying a game park along the way), all the way to the coast (where Accra is located). It was a treat to visit these two cities because they are so nice compared to the grandest cities in Burkina. What makes them so nice? Mostly those things in America that we take for granted yet recognize as sweet blessings once we have lost them: 6 lane highways, Dr. Pepper, the English language, grass, Oreos, fast food, the ocean, satellite TV, etc. (Of course, some of these things can be curses when used in excess.) Anyway, we obviously did not have time to research all the Hausa of Ghana, but we got some good information to help us as we seek to place a missionary among them. Of course, they also need much prayer, which you can help provide.
I am blessed to be able to share a few ways how God has watched over Aaron and I as we traveled and researched:
Health: I mentioned that I’ve been quite sick recently. However, it is a blessing that I had no problems until the night we returned to Ouagadougou. Thus, we were able to finish our work and then I was able to be in our capitol city were I could receive the best care possible. There were many times and places it would have been very bad to fall sick.
Travel: Despite traveling about 1,600 miles we only had one incident with our vehicle. After hitting a large hole/bump/something, a bolt holding a shock to the frame snapped. Several great things happened after that: First, we were able to notice the problem. Second, we were able to find a mechanic in a small village who was able to fix it quickly. And he only charged us $2. All this is really quite amazing. Also, the day after we were back in Ouaga, I was simply turning into our mission parking lot and the same wheel made a terrible sound. At that point, it needed some serious work. Again, this timing was most fortunate.
Cultural appropriateness and Christian witness: As is often the case we interacted with some missionaries in the area we were researching in. They were very helpful and we enjoyed our time with them. We came to find out a few days later (through email) that we had greatly offended them by some of our actions. If we had done what they thought we had done it would have been a huge cultural “faux pas” and we might have ruined our Christian witness and possibly theirs. Fortunately, we were able to discuss the whole matter and it turned out to be a huge misunderstanding. Still, being a foreigner and traveling among so many differing cultures there is always the possibility of offending without intention. I am thankful that this was not one of those times.
What’s next? We are currently hosting our Engagement Team leaders and colleagues, Larry and Lucy Driggers. We are taking them to visit with some of the people groups we have researched and are planning to engage with the Gospel. We are also discussing some strategy and just enjoying each other’s company. They leave on the 25th and then we will begin Jula language study on the 27th. Language study will be very intense since we only have about a month. Still, knowing some Jula will greatly enhance our future ministry.
Lastly, we are now a larger group. Jessica Styles has recently joined our team. She is an EMT from Alabama who will be traveling and ministering with us for about six months. We are glad to have her on board. Here are some matters for prayer:
Praise God for his protection and guidance during the Ghana trip and healing from sickness.
Pray for the four of us to pick up Jula at a very rapid pace so that no one is held back or left behind. This will be extremely helpful for our future ministry.
Pray for us as we continue to plan for the large number of volunteers we will be hosting this summer.
Pray for the Hausa people, that God would open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel. Pray that He would send laborers to share the Truth with them.
Thanks again for your support and prayers. Obviously, God is watching over me, even through the trials. If you haven’t already seen them, there are some pics below.
During our research trip to Ghana, Aaron (the guy standing by the brave mother and kids) and I managed to squeeze in a trip to a game park. We did the drive around safari thing and saw elephants, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, and an assortment of antelope type creatures. The next morning this fellow was walking through the hotel area eating leaves and whatnot. Then, obviously, he decided he was thirsty. It was quite a site. At one point I was probably within 10 feet of him.
This is just evidence of the random things you see in third world countries. This is the middle of an intersection in the capital city, Ouagadougou. A native can tell that this is supposed to be a taxi because of the characteristic pea green color which identifies them. I still think I've ridden in worse.
