Under the Acacias - a blog about the Fulani of Burkina Faso

February 05, 2010

Bloggity Blog

Under the Acacias has just been named one of the top 50 Evangelical Blogs by the Biblical Learning Blog!

I am under no illusions about the subjectivity of such lists, but I am honoured (if somewhat bemused) that James considers my blog to be so good. And thanks too to both of my faithful readers for faithfully persevering with my ramblings!

However, there are some excellent blogs out there, and James does link to some other really good ones. Go and have a browse.

You can also see some of my own favourite reads from across the spectrum of blogworld in my side-bar. Two friends' blogs that I like to visit often are:
* Voice in the Desert - by my colleague Steve, fellow missionary in Burkina Faso, and
* Distinctly Welcoming - by my friend Richard, reflecting on Christian engagement with our multifaith society.

Posted by Keith at 09:19 AM

January 30, 2010

Keith et Lynne en France

We are now in France for 5 months for Lynne to work on improving her French before we return to Burkina Faso.

We are based at the Horizons France base at Bourg St Andeol, where we have a lovely small apartment in the Horizons Centre. Lynne will be studying at the Universite d'Avignon. Her courses start on Tuesday. We went there yesterday to have a look round the town and find the university. Unfortunately, you can no longer dance on the Avignon bridge without paying.

Photos coming soon.

Back in the UK, we have friends looking after our house while we are away, but still need to rent or sell it asap. Please pray for us in that.

Many thanks

Posted by Keith at 09:42 AM

January 29, 2010

Gorom-Gorom Building Plans

We are now ready to start building in Gorom-Gorom!

Housing
We have the building plans
a) for the houses for the teachers at the Gorom-Gorom School, and
b) for our house and office in the Oudalan Ministry Centre.

All of these will be built in the DWF Woodless Construction style. This uses traditional building techniques to build houses entirely out of mud, including the roof, which is a dome or vault. Such houses save on scarce wood, encourage local industry by using local skills and materials, and provide good internal comfort, staying warm in cold season, and cool in hot season.

Brick-making should have started by now, and the goal is to have all these houses built by the end of April.
See more at the APT website here

Classrooms
We hope that work on the classrooms will also start very soon. We are awaiting the final designs and costing. We still need more finance to build the whole school, but think we have enough to make a start by building the first few classes. If you want to contribute towards the building of the school, please click below:

Posted by Keith at 10:37 AM

January 04, 2010

Christmas 2009

Lynne and I spent a lovely Christmas break in a cottage near the Mull of Kintyre. Here are a few photos from the area. As usual you can click on a photo for a larger version. Above is Tarbert harbour.