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December 29, 2006
Christmas in Gorom-Gorom
A few photos for you of Christmas day in Gorom-Gorom:
1. Church celebration. Christmas in Gorom is a Christian celebration, and it starts with a service at church on the evening of the 24th. No tinsel, no Slade, no fir trees, no crackers, no heap of expensive presents. But a joyful celebration of the coming of the Son of God.
2. The Christmas family photo. These are the 14 people who officially live in our yard – me with Seydou and Moumouni and their wives, children and a few extras.
3. Carving the Christmas joint. As usual, a sheep was dispatched for the celebrations, with bits shared with neighbours, and the head kept for Boxing Day.
4. Serving dinner. Oli, back from college, helps out with serving dinner.
5. Work carries on. Most of the brick-makers and other workers for the houses we are building for the flood victims, are Muslims. Their festival is Tabaski on 30th Dec, so they were keen to keep working on the 25th to earn money for their own celebration.
6. Church dance. Back to church for a meal together, and an exuberant dance, with the drums thumping out a joyful, passionate call to celebrate.
7. Silent Night. At the end of the day, after the celebrations, everyone retires early because of the cold, and Gorom-Gorom becomes still.
May 2007 be a peaceful year for us all. May you know the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came that we might know the full meaning of life.
December 21, 2006
The Lion and the Elephant
In Ouagadougou yesterday, there was a conflict between the police and the army, which led to several policemen killed. Apparently shooting was heard throughout the day and into the night.
Today seems calmer. Here in Gorom all is quiet and there is no sign of the problems, which is an encouraging sign that the problems seem unlikely to spread.
The Mossi say that when the elephant and the lion fight, the other animals in the jungle run for cover. Please pray for calm to be fully restored quickly and for security and peace for the Burkina population.
December 13, 2006
Father Christmas comes to Ouagadougou
Christmas is coming apparently. However, in Gorom-Gorom, there is no sign as yet of the approach of Christmas, apart from the increase in price of sheep at the market.
So it was a shock to get to Ouaga and find at the traffic lights that, alongside the usual paper hankies and cellphone cards, inflatable Father Christmases are now also available for sale!
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina christmas father christmas sahel
A Trip to the Pump
While in Deou with Pastor Samuel who works there, I followed his children one evening to the pump to get water.
Deou has a lack of water. There used to be a natural spring there but now it has dried up. Around town there are several pumps sitting idle that no longer give water. The good pumps that do work are of course swamped with people. It is now cold season, so it is not so bad, but Samuel was saying that in hot season, fights break out over who is next in line, and you can be waiting all night to get your turn.
Usually he would send his boys with the donkey and cart, but his donkey died recently, so it was up to the lads to take the place of the donkey too. They made a game of it, but it was no small job – and of course the cart would be a lot heavier on the way home.
After a fifteen minute trek out of town, and one large thorn which went straight through my sandal and painfully into my foot, we got to the pump. Fortunately on this occasion, there weren’t too many people waiting, although there was still quite a pile of yellow plastic canisters waiting to be filled. The moon was already up, and the evening disappearing when we got there.
Young boys were pumping strenuously to keep the water flowing, with a little brother struggling to swap the canisters over when one filled up, each time the older boys haranguing him for being so slow or inattentive. Other boys sat on the wall waiting their turn. It was beginning to turn cold – pleasantly so for me, but less comfortable for the boys.
After half an hour, I limped my way (carefully) back, leaving the boys there – it looked like they would be an hour or two yet…
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina deou water pump sahel
December 12, 2006
Markoye
Here are a few photos from my few days at Markoye, north-east of Gorom-Gorom.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina photos markoye sahel
Whatever happened to Keith...? December 2006
Continue reading "Whatever happened to Keith...? December 2006"
December 08, 2006
Brief Update
Flood Response - Phase 2
We are now starting Phase 2 of our response to the flood that destroyed half the houses in Gorom-Gorom. Phase 1 was emergency relief for those affected. Phase 2 is helping people rebuild their homes. I will write more about this shortly – we appreciate your prayers. Thank you.
Deou
I have just come back from 3 days in Deou, visiting the pastor and his family there. They are a lovely family, and very committed to serving God in an isolated and difficult place. I hope to be able to find ways to encourage them and further equip them in their ministry there.
Deou is an interesting place, a small Islamic market town with Mossi and Fulani, surrounded by rocky outcrops sitting on an otherwise flat plain. The pastor was telling me about the hyena that lives in one of those outcrops and comes and seizes his goats from time to time.
The name Deou sounds like the Fulani word for “up high” (“dow”), which can also mean “up in heaven”. This once led, in my early days learning Fulfulde, to an embarrassing discussion when one of my staunchly Muslim friends was trying to convince me that Jesus is alive up in heaven, and I was confusedly denying it, because I thought he was saying “Jesus lives in Deou!”
A Baobab Falls
But did anyone outside Burkina hear it? The baobab, according to lefaso.net, is Professor Joseph Ki-Zerbo, who died this week, aged 84. He was a historian and political activist who campaigned for African independance in the 1950's, and who remained active in the Burkinabe opposition until August of this year. He taught also in universities in France and Africa, and published a tome on the history of Africa. In 1997, he won the "Alternative Nobel Peace Prize".
His name might not mean much to you. But for Burkina Faso he was a part of recent history.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina deou flood hyena goats gorom-gorom ki-zerbo joseph ki-zerbo
