#5?
The countdown has begun, less than a month and I will once again find
myself in a series of airplanes that promise to return me to my home
coast. But lets not rush the matter. The last couple of days I've been
more content being here than I could have ever expected. All the
missionaries are gone and I once again find myself in front of a
laptop in an office writing proposals and meeting with various NGO
people in the city.
Even though it is not yet time for a proper summary, I will give you a
little one.
As often as I can I try to get out of Ouagadougou, the abundance of
smog and lack of a horizon is to blame. If I happen to be in Ouaga I
am here in my corner by the entrance of the office listening to the
kids who seem to get great joy out of watching me from afar, only to
yell "nasada" so I look and wave back at them.
When I am not here I am out in the villages with mission teams who
come to plant trees, paint schools, distribute grain and throw kids
around. I enjoy all of the above, but also like to wander off into the
bush to pray until I am almost lost and getting strange looks from the
old men on bicycles and children herding livestock . One week I was at
a teen camp. I had a chance to lead worship a few times… mostly in
English, but I can rock a few French and Moore songs now.
Basically my world has been rocked. I don't think I will see all the
ways until I am home for a while, so that should be interesting.
Oh, you know those mental lists everyone has of things they want to do
before they die? Well, I wrote mine down a few years ago and this time
next week I will be able to die just that much happier. I may not be
able to email for a while as I will be in a hot sticky bus for a long,
long time. But it will be worth it. Be praying for my friend Rosalie
and I, that God will guide our travels, find us places to stay and
people to pray with. If I could show you how excited I am I would. But
I can't.
I can tell you that it slightly weirds out Burkinabes when you jump
around and squeal about going somewhere that doesn't seem like the end
of the world to them.
Huh, yet another cultural idiom.
Did I tell you that whistling here is only for men? Yeah, found that
one out the hard way.
On my way,
Courtney
29 December 2010
8 August 2005
update 3 more travels but without the stamps
just a quick note as i lack patience typing in english on a french
computer with an english keyboard...
i decided last night to spend the week in gourcy, a village a few
hours north of ouagadougou. as strange as it seems, this burkina faso
village does not have internet access, so i am dropping you a note to
let you know i am alive. God has been doing a bit of refreshing my
soul these past two days and it will be lovely to be out of the city
and on open african plane to just sit in His presence.
i also wanted to let you know that God is providing food through you
guys and your prayers! i have over 1,000USD to feed the poorest and
neediest people here. a pastor and i are figuring out how to go about
it so it is as effective as possible. i have also had a vision of
praying for the sick at the distribution. i donùt know when it will
be, but start praying now.
i love you all, you have no idea how wonderful each email is to get,
you are encouraging me so so much and Gods work is being done. keep
praying against attacks of the enemy that tend to come in the forms of
boredom and lonelyness.
and youre right bri, John 3:8 is a good one... everyone should rush to
thier Bible to read it.
much love,
wendkoni
just a quick note as i lack patience typing in english on a french
computer with an english keyboard...
i decided last night to spend the week in gourcy, a village a few
hours north of ouagadougou. as strange as it seems, this burkina faso
village does not have internet access, so i am dropping you a note to
let you know i am alive. God has been doing a bit of refreshing my
soul these past two days and it will be lovely to be out of the city
and on open african plane to just sit in His presence.
i also wanted to let you know that God is providing food through you
guys and your prayers! i have over 1,000USD to feed the poorest and
neediest people here. a pastor and i are figuring out how to go about
it so it is as effective as possible. i have also had a vision of
praying for the sick at the distribution. i donùt know when it will
be, but start praying now.
i love you all, you have no idea how wonderful each email is to get,
you are encouraging me so so much and Gods work is being done. keep
praying against attacks of the enemy that tend to come in the forms of
boredom and lonelyness.
and youre right bri, John 3:8 is a good one... everyone should rush to
thier Bible to read it.
much love,
wendkoni
1 August 2005
Je pense c'est l'update #2
After an ant bite that hurt so bad and got swollen so fast I thought I
was probably going to die… a week of planting trees with Irish people…
a day of dodging crocodiles as they ran after chickens… and winning a
prize at a teen camp for always being on time to everything (me, on
time… weird)… I have returned to Ouagadougou smelly but rested.
God has been showing me so much out here, and it goes way deeper than
the obvious poverty that I say bonjour to every morning. Really,
people don't change with the landscape. Yes, there are vast
differences in culture and resources, but when you look at each person
as a person you see that we are all the same. I have been asking God
to show me His people like He sees them.
The streets here are lined with Muslim boys begging. Often times their
fathers refuse to let them go to school because they "need to learn
how to ask". I felt stupid just giving them 100CFA and walking away.
Jesus liked to hang out with the kids and wanted us to hang out with
"the least of these". Now I don't give them money, I ask their names
and sit down with them over some rice and tell them it is because
Jesus loves them. It is way more effective than giving them a coin
that will be stolen by the big kid around the corner.
Christians out here fall under the same oppression that the Western
church is facing. Tension between denominations and competition for
congregation sizes is keeping the body of Christ from working together
in any effective way. My heart has been turned back to the Western
church and has grown larger for the world wide church as a whole. That
was slightly unexpected.
And for those of you interested, I have been praying for the sick. I
haven't seen anyone healed yet, but God continues to give me awesome
visions that keep me going. Today I was reading 2 Samuel 12, when
David was praying and fasting for the life of his sick son. When his
son died he began to eat again and live like normal. His servants did
not understand why. He then explained how he fasted so hard because he
could not have known if God would heal his son or not. God is teaching
me what real faith is.
I don't know if God is going to heal the people He tells me to pray
for or not, and I will never understand why or why not. It's not my
job to worry about that, His thoughts are higher than mine. Samuel
told Saul in 1 Samuel 15, "It is better to obey Him than sacrifice…
Rebellion against Him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as
sinful as idolatry." Ouch, that got me praying. Good thing God also
loves and forgives huh?
I am half way home. Your prayers are working and your emails keep my
chin up. I love you all. See you in September.
Oh, and just to clarify, I was not in jail in Ghana. They just
wouldn't let us out of the police station. And it wasn't even for
anything cool, our driver's (yeah, his job is to be the driver)
international license was expired by over a year. The rad thing is
that they were going to take our car and detain us for a few days, but
let us go after I did a lot of praying and a little talking about
studying politics and my interest in government corruption. There was
no way I was going to stay the night there, and after the third man
asked me if I was married I had my mind made up that I was going to
walk back to Ouaga if they didn't let our driver go. I guess it's good
God makes the calls and not me.
So yeah, there wasn't even a chance of being martyred. There goes that crown.
Votre sœur en Christ,
Wend-Kouni
(The Moore name I've been given since no one can say Courtney.
It means "gift of God", which is just cool.)
After an ant bite that hurt so bad and got swollen so fast I thought I
was probably going to die… a week of planting trees with Irish people…
a day of dodging crocodiles as they ran after chickens… and winning a
prize at a teen camp for always being on time to everything (me, on
time… weird)… I have returned to Ouagadougou smelly but rested.
God has been showing me so much out here, and it goes way deeper than
the obvious poverty that I say bonjour to every morning. Really,
people don't change with the landscape. Yes, there are vast
differences in culture and resources, but when you look at each person
as a person you see that we are all the same. I have been asking God
to show me His people like He sees them.
The streets here are lined with Muslim boys begging. Often times their
fathers refuse to let them go to school because they "need to learn
how to ask". I felt stupid just giving them 100CFA and walking away.
Jesus liked to hang out with the kids and wanted us to hang out with
"the least of these". Now I don't give them money, I ask their names
and sit down with them over some rice and tell them it is because
Jesus loves them. It is way more effective than giving them a coin
that will be stolen by the big kid around the corner.
Christians out here fall under the same oppression that the Western
church is facing. Tension between denominations and competition for
congregation sizes is keeping the body of Christ from working together
in any effective way. My heart has been turned back to the Western
church and has grown larger for the world wide church as a whole. That
was slightly unexpected.
And for those of you interested, I have been praying for the sick. I
haven't seen anyone healed yet, but God continues to give me awesome
visions that keep me going. Today I was reading 2 Samuel 12, when
David was praying and fasting for the life of his sick son. When his
son died he began to eat again and live like normal. His servants did
not understand why. He then explained how he fasted so hard because he
could not have known if God would heal his son or not. God is teaching
me what real faith is.
I don't know if God is going to heal the people He tells me to pray
for or not, and I will never understand why or why not. It's not my
job to worry about that, His thoughts are higher than mine. Samuel
told Saul in 1 Samuel 15, "It is better to obey Him than sacrifice…
Rebellion against Him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as
sinful as idolatry." Ouch, that got me praying. Good thing God also
loves and forgives huh?
I am half way home. Your prayers are working and your emails keep my
chin up. I love you all. See you in September.
Oh, and just to clarify, I was not in jail in Ghana. They just
wouldn't let us out of the police station. And it wasn't even for
anything cool, our driver's (yeah, his job is to be the driver)
international license was expired by over a year. The rad thing is
that they were going to take our car and detain us for a few days, but
let us go after I did a lot of praying and a little talking about
studying politics and my interest in government corruption. There was
no way I was going to stay the night there, and after the third man
asked me if I was married I had my mind made up that I was going to
walk back to Ouaga if they didn't let our driver go. I guess it's good
God makes the calls and not me.
So yeah, there wasn't even a chance of being martyred. There goes that crown.
Votre sœur en Christ,
Wend-Kouni
(The Moore name I've been given since no one can say Courtney.
It means "gift of God", which is just cool.)
17 July 2005
From Ghana to Gourcy and Back
So I was planning on sending a proper update, seeing as I have been in
a whole different country all last week and it basically changed my
life... but Im not. Yes, that means this will only take 10 minutes to
read instead of the standard 20!
Tomorrow I am off to Gourcy to plant trees and live in one of our
schools near the village I am in in that photo I sent out... maybe a 4
hour drive north from Ouagadougou. Way closer than my 25 hour, each
way, trek to Accra last week. So I will be with out basically
everything but food and dirt for the next week. You will hear from me
after that.
Thank you for the prayers, I am fully healthy and God is doing nutty
things in my heart. I am taking more risks than I am used to...
getting out of my comfort zone. See, I have been fully comfortable
here and that is not why God took me to the other side of the world.
Pray that I step out in boldness and move without hesitation when God
says to move. That gets me everytime, the hesitation. I should not
take a seconds thought to obeying the voice of God...
Recently there have been floods in the slums here. Mud houses have
washed away leaving several people dead and many without homes, food
and even clothing. I went to see the damage and pray for some people.
The devistation was a lot to take in, God gave me these verses:
Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a
broken spirit?
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
I want to see eyeballs grow in thier sockets and the captives set
free. Be interceding for me every time God puts it on your heart. I am
also lifting you up.
Your sister,
courtney
So I was planning on sending a proper update, seeing as I have been in
a whole different country all last week and it basically changed my
life... but Im not. Yes, that means this will only take 10 minutes to
read instead of the standard 20!
Tomorrow I am off to Gourcy to plant trees and live in one of our
schools near the village I am in in that photo I sent out... maybe a 4
hour drive north from Ouagadougou. Way closer than my 25 hour, each
way, trek to Accra last week. So I will be with out basically
everything but food and dirt for the next week. You will hear from me
after that.
Thank you for the prayers, I am fully healthy and God is doing nutty
things in my heart. I am taking more risks than I am used to...
getting out of my comfort zone. See, I have been fully comfortable
here and that is not why God took me to the other side of the world.
Pray that I step out in boldness and move without hesitation when God
says to move. That gets me everytime, the hesitation. I should not
take a seconds thought to obeying the voice of God...
Recently there have been floods in the slums here. Mud houses have
washed away leaving several people dead and many without homes, food
and even clothing. I went to see the damage and pray for some people.
The devistation was a lot to take in, God gave me these verses:
Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a
broken spirit?
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
I want to see eyeballs grow in thier sockets and the captives set
free. Be interceding for me every time God puts it on your heart. I am
also lifting you up.
Your sister,
courtney
5 July 2005 (2/2)
Fairly Official Update #1
I know it's been a 3day weekend for many of you and you have a lot of
emails to read. Make sure you get to this one though, it is long but
worth your while. If you work in the health field I have specifically
sent this to you because it may spark some interest in your heart and
those of your co-workers. Rad, thanks. -Courtney
Burkina Faso News #1
Health Centres
"NASADA! NASADA!" the children chant as they giggle and chase after
our car while we carefully manoeuvre through streets of mud and
puddles the colour of carrot juice. Upon arrival a group of women
smile and bow their heads, fold their hands and ask "Lafi ba" (the
Moore word for "healthy?" The local greeting). Each woman is sitting
down on a sack waiting for their share of the relief food that has
been donated by a German group. The rains are two months late this
year and the 10 million people who depend on their crops for food are
starving. Literally, they are starving to death. The old widows smile
toothlessly, their scared and wrinkled faces joyfully folding together
in grateful thanks. I shake each of their hands and sit among a few of
them. They ask if I am healthy and if my family is well, this is the
first time I have met them.
We sat under the shade of the new health centre buildings. They are
two simple buildings, one for general health and the other for
maternity. Both are empty, waiting for funding to fill it with life
saving equipment. An old widow to my left is coughing badly. "Est-ce
que tu as la médicine?" Her friend asks if I have medicine for her. I
said no. There I was, a westerner at a medical clinic and I could not
help. None of us could understand why. They can't understand how a
white woman can't have medicine on her. I can't understand how they
are so sick and I am so healthy just because I was born in the West.
That's it, that is the only reason I will live a long happy and
healthy life. It was nothing I did, just as it was nothing they did to
be born here, in a slum of the third poorest country in the world.
I sit awake in my bed under my mosquito net every night and think
"This is way too much to deal with, I can't help everyone. Why did I
even come?" Then I think of the few widows that we gave food to. They
will live another day to care for their families.
Yes, my goal is to save the world. No, that goal is not too big. With
every life touched there is a new tiny dent in the misery so many
humans live through everyday. When I give just a little to change just
one life, their world is forever changed. And I am that much closer to
my goal. Reminds me of Philippians 3:12-14.
Forget about the UN, the World Bank, G8 and the IMF. The people here
may never hear of them or see the work they do, for those projects are
on far too large a scale. I am witnessing the work being done here at
such a personal level. The staff was all born and raised here, the
understand all too well the issues here and have a huge heart to help.
There are several clinics up and running already in the most needy
places in the country. In the few weeks I have been here, I have
acquired that heart. You see, the problem is not too large. The
toilets need to be finished at the health center, it would cost about
$10. In fact, to get this whole center up and running and save the
lives of thousands of people each year it would be about $1,000. A
nurse's salary per month at this health clinic, once it is opened,
will be $60. See, once it is broken down, the issue is no longer
intolerable. A good example is me. Many people helped support my
finances for this trip and I heard some say they could not give much
(for some that meant $10 for some that meant $100). If everyone
thought what they could give wouldn't make a difference and didn't
help me out I wouldn't be here saving lives. Really, we are all
helping to save these lives I just get to represent you all.
I had this vision the other day of Western nurses getting together
behind a nurse here. And a group of people with a heart for the well
being of fellow humans raising the money to open this clinic. The body
of Christ working as one like in 1 Corinthians 12.
I have wondered if this will be real to you. I could write a thousand
pages trying to tell you how real this issue is and how easily you can
help, but you can also lead a horse to water… I have been praying that
God stirs your heart to action.
God bless your comings and goings.
With love,
courtney
I know it's been a 3day weekend for many of you and you have a lot of
emails to read. Make sure you get to this one though, it is long but
worth your while. If you work in the health field I have specifically
sent this to you because it may spark some interest in your heart and
those of your co-workers. Rad, thanks. -Courtney
Burkina Faso News #1
Health Centres
"NASADA! NASADA!" the children chant as they giggle and chase after
our car while we carefully manoeuvre through streets of mud and
puddles the colour of carrot juice. Upon arrival a group of women
smile and bow their heads, fold their hands and ask "Lafi ba" (the
Moore word for "healthy?" The local greeting). Each woman is sitting
down on a sack waiting for their share of the relief food that has
been donated by a German group. The rains are two months late this
year and the 10 million people who depend on their crops for food are
starving. Literally, they are starving to death. The old widows smile
toothlessly, their scared and wrinkled faces joyfully folding together
in grateful thanks. I shake each of their hands and sit among a few of
them. They ask if I am healthy and if my family is well, this is the
first time I have met them.
We sat under the shade of the new health centre buildings. They are
two simple buildings, one for general health and the other for
maternity. Both are empty, waiting for funding to fill it with life
saving equipment. An old widow to my left is coughing badly. "Est-ce
que tu as la médicine?" Her friend asks if I have medicine for her. I
said no. There I was, a westerner at a medical clinic and I could not
help. None of us could understand why. They can't understand how a
white woman can't have medicine on her. I can't understand how they
are so sick and I am so healthy just because I was born in the West.
That's it, that is the only reason I will live a long happy and
healthy life. It was nothing I did, just as it was nothing they did to
be born here, in a slum of the third poorest country in the world.
I sit awake in my bed under my mosquito net every night and think
"This is way too much to deal with, I can't help everyone. Why did I
even come?" Then I think of the few widows that we gave food to. They
will live another day to care for their families.
Yes, my goal is to save the world. No, that goal is not too big. With
every life touched there is a new tiny dent in the misery so many
humans live through everyday. When I give just a little to change just
one life, their world is forever changed. And I am that much closer to
my goal. Reminds me of Philippians 3:12-14.
Forget about the UN, the World Bank, G8 and the IMF. The people here
may never hear of them or see the work they do, for those projects are
on far too large a scale. I am witnessing the work being done here at
such a personal level. The staff was all born and raised here, the
understand all too well the issues here and have a huge heart to help.
There are several clinics up and running already in the most needy
places in the country. In the few weeks I have been here, I have
acquired that heart. You see, the problem is not too large. The
toilets need to be finished at the health center, it would cost about
$10. In fact, to get this whole center up and running and save the
lives of thousands of people each year it would be about $1,000. A
nurse's salary per month at this health clinic, once it is opened,
will be $60. See, once it is broken down, the issue is no longer
intolerable. A good example is me. Many people helped support my
finances for this trip and I heard some say they could not give much
(for some that meant $10 for some that meant $100). If everyone
thought what they could give wouldn't make a difference and didn't
help me out I wouldn't be here saving lives. Really, we are all
helping to save these lives I just get to represent you all.
I had this vision the other day of Western nurses getting together
behind a nurse here. And a group of people with a heart for the well
being of fellow humans raising the money to open this clinic. The body
of Christ working as one like in 1 Corinthians 12.
I have wondered if this will be real to you. I could write a thousand
pages trying to tell you how real this issue is and how easily you can
help, but you can also lead a horse to water… I have been praying that
God stirs your heart to action.
God bless your comings and goings.
With love,
courtney
5 July 2005 (1/2)
Read This One First
Bonsoir!
Before you dive into the other email I am about to send you that is
rather discriptive and conseptual... I wanted to let you know how I am
and what the heck I am doing in Burkina Faso.
I am working for a rad organization called Association Evangelique
D'Appui au Developpment but for your sake we'll call it AEAD. I
believe the site is www.aead.org.uk if you want to check it out. I am
working on building a network and partnerships here... which is
slightly humorous considering my NGO back home that does the same
thing. I have only gotten sick once, have sustained less than a dozen
mosquito bites and there are no elephants. I had my first full
conversation in French with a complete stranger who was suprised to
find out I didn't speak French... that made me happy.
If I had it my way I would send you all the thoughts and happenings of
this amazing country, but then you wouldn't read any thing I sent you.
Hey, I know how it is. And if you get this twice let me know, you may
have already signed up on my mailing list and I really wanted you to
get it.
So save my emails and read them when you have some time to think it
over and pray for me. Oh, please pray for me.
In His grip,
courtney
Bonsoir!
Before you dive into the other email I am about to send you that is
rather discriptive and conseptual... I wanted to let you know how I am
and what the heck I am doing in Burkina Faso.
I am working for a rad organization called Association Evangelique
D'Appui au Developpment but for your sake we'll call it AEAD. I
believe the site is www.aead.org.uk if you want to check it out. I am
working on building a network and partnerships here... which is
slightly humorous considering my NGO back home that does the same
thing. I have only gotten sick once, have sustained less than a dozen
mosquito bites and there are no elephants. I had my first full
conversation in French with a complete stranger who was suprised to
find out I didn't speak French... that made me happy.
If I had it my way I would send you all the thoughts and happenings of
this amazing country, but then you wouldn't read any thing I sent you.
Hey, I know how it is. And if you get this twice let me know, you may
have already signed up on my mailing list and I really wanted you to
get it.
So save my emails and read them when you have some time to think it
over and pray for me. Oh, please pray for me.
In His grip,
courtney
Consistent Consecutive Consolidated
I only upload my photos to flickr in sequential order.
I'm super OCD with how my facebook posts look once published.
I love consolidating things.
After much useless mind energy devoted to these things, I have decided to transport all of my WendkuniNews letters onto this blog, discard lengthy monthly newsletters to masses who don't read them so I can get more disciplined about posting here. Whoever cares to read, can at their leisure.
I'm against deleting or editing these various electronic musings even if they now seem irrelevant. They are part of my story and therefore part of me and absolutely relevant to where I am. So, this blog is about to be inundated with updates from years past, will be out of order, will be messy, probably confusing... but in the end, it all seems to come together.
Thanks for caring (she said after making a massive assumption)!
I'm super OCD with how my facebook posts look once published.
I love consolidating things.
After much useless mind energy devoted to these things, I have decided to transport all of my WendkuniNews letters onto this blog, discard lengthy monthly newsletters to masses who don't read them so I can get more disciplined about posting here. Whoever cares to read, can at their leisure.
I'm against deleting or editing these various electronic musings even if they now seem irrelevant. They are part of my story and therefore part of me and absolutely relevant to where I am. So, this blog is about to be inundated with updates from years past, will be out of order, will be messy, probably confusing... but in the end, it all seems to come together.
Thanks for caring (she said after making a massive assumption)!
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