http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/ Keith Smith, a missionary and photographer, working in church-based community development among the Fulani of Burkina Faso in West Africa. Stories and photos of his experiences there, and discussion about church, mission, and justice issues. en-us Copyright 2010 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:37:57 +0000 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:01:53 +0000 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.0D http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Paul Sawadogo (above with Seydou) moved with his family recently into the province of Oudalan to try to start the church in the Songhai village of Saouga. Three times in the past, pastors have moved into Saouga and left... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/a_river_runs_th.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/a_river_runs_th.html Acacia Partnership Trust Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:37:57 +0000 It has been a busy but interesting first week back in Gorom-Gorom... I am missing Lynne, but I have discovered that a USB "dongle" enables me to get reasonable access to the internet via the mobile phone network, so am... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/a_week_in_gorom.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/a_week_in_gorom.html Burkina Faso - Keith's Life Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:03:41 +0000 I went out with Pastor Daniel and headmaster Nicodeme (above) yesterday to see how the school building work is coming on. As you can see, phase 1 is nearly finished! Click here for more details and photos at the... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/goromgorom_scho_11.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/goromgorom_scho_11.html Gorom-Gorom School Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:31:27 +0000 I arrived in Gorom-Gorom yesterday. The truck was well loaded, as I was bringing furniture from Ouaga for our new house. The road, which had been washed out, had been repaired, so the journey, although slow, was surprisingly straightforward.... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/arrival_in_goro_2.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/arrival_in_goro_2.html Burkina Faso - Keith's Life Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:27:02 +0000 Above are the staff and students of the first ever Fulani Bible School in Burkina Faso. Many of us have been praying for this for years, and today I was thrilled to be there for the opening service. The... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/fulani_bible_sc_1.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/08/fulani_bible_sc_1.html Church and Mission Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:10:20 +0000 A bit of a deviation from my usual topics here... All those theatre-goers and concert-goers among you have probably realised that theatre programmes are terribly expensive. You've saved up for your night out, budgeted for the taxi and the restaurant,... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/dd70.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/dd70.html General Postings Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:11:32 +0000 I arrived in Ouagadougou last night, with my good friends and colleagues Steve and Charlie, but sadly without Lynne, who has been feeling very sick over the last few weeks. She has postponed her flights and will be joining me... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/arrival_in_burk_1.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/arrival_in_burk_1.html Burkina Faso - Keith's Life Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:52:19 +0000 The construction of the Gorom-Gorom School continues to make good progress. The first three classrooms are almost finished (above) - the roof is on, and the doors and windows are being put in. Two of the teachers' houses are... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/school_building.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/school_building.html Gorom-Gorom School Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:58:48 +0000 Pierre, Seydou, and Pascal recently did some food distribution to 143 needy families in Gorom-Gorom (above). This is the most difficult moment of the year, and although resources were limited, the help was well-received. Read More at the APT... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/food_aid_in_gor.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/food_aid_in_gor.html Acacia Partnership Trust Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:00:03 +0000 So it looks like we will have somewhere to stay when we get back to Gorom-Gorom... This (above) is our house and office, built in the Oudalan Ministry Centre in Gorom-Gorom, where we live with Seydou and Pierre and... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/our_house.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/our_house.html Acacia Partnership Trust Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:00:41 +0000 Lynne and I made a flying trip to Belfast last week, to take a car-load of dental equipment (drill unit, chair, amalgamator, sterilisers, tools etc) to the good people at FiA, who have offered to transport it to Burkina for... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/dental_equipmen_1.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/dental_equipmen_1.html Dental Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:07:24 +0000 Lynne and I have been very blessed recently to get to know Erik and Anette of the Acacia Village Catalan in the Pyrenees. Having come across Under the Acacias and the Acacia Partnership Trust online, Erik and Anette got in... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/making_a_differ.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/07/making_a_differ.html General Postings Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:30:45 +0000 Here are a few recent photos of the building work for the Gorom-Gorom school. As you can see, the rainy season has started, which is great, and will hopefully help the building work as it will improve the water... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/06/goromgorom_scho_10.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/06/goromgorom_scho_10.html Gorom-Gorom School Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:07:19 +0000 Today is our first wedding anniversary: June 2009 June 2010 It has been a wonderful year, and I am so proud and happy to be married to the most wonderful woman in the world: Lynne Smith, June 2009 and June... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/06/happy_wedding_a.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/06/happy_wedding_a.html Keith and Lynne Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:53:58 +0000 At the end of Lynne's studies, we had a lovely two weeks holiday in France. Here are a few photos from the area around where we stayed. We were amazed at the stunning and varied scenery, and incredibly blessed... http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/06/holiday_photos.html http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2010/06/holiday_photos.html Photos Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:05:46 +0000