Thoughts of Guinea: from my home coast
Hello my friends,
So here is the much anticipated second half of a short trip's long summary.
This one is a bit choppy and heavy, I wrote it shortly after returning and I
have chosen not to re-edit it... it is a lot of just my raw heart. More and
more I am realizing that I am not a normal person, I do not deal with things
normally and this is OK because I am not called to a normal life. Whatever
normal means.
--Prison--
I have seen extreme poverty, held dying children and have witnessed lives
that have changed my perspective forever. However, last Saturday was the
first time I have ever witnessed the pure oppression and inhumanity that
crushed souls beneath it's heal. We were invited to a prison with
International Prison Ministries. I was concerned it would be more of a field
trip, but with the assurance that the prisoners loved to see new faces and
enjoyed even short visits we agreed to go, led by Jean Baptist who does this
every week at the same prison.
Picture a 12x12 room, a large dungeon status wooden door, damp cement floor
and walls, one small window, no plumbing and several dozen men with little
more than a mat on the floor to their name. Really, try to get your mind to
wrap around the smell and heat and darkness and then see each one of those
men, many innocent simply waiting to be seen by the judge… some have been
waiting for five years.
Jean Baptist ushered me in and I was so overwhelmed I almost lost it, but
then I would just look into the eyes of one man and ask how he was doing.
Just one at a time I could take their hands and talk to them, when I looked
at the room as a whole I couldn't handle it. The gratefulness and fading
humanity I saw in their eyes made me want to stay so badly and talk with
them longer, but there were about a dozen of chambers just like this one so
each visit was always cut short. Some of these men go months without seeing
a new face. And in order to stay for longer than a few minutes you must be
locked in with them... so I left that to the men who do just that every
Saturday.
I cried my self to sleep thinking about these men the other night. It is
just so much. I see their hands reaching, their eyes flickering with hope
and their voices solemn with the burdens of the hell that is their world.
Then there were the Christian brothers who had more hope and faith and love
than I see in the cozy pews of America. This is something that will take me
a long time to process, right now I think I am actually rather shut down to
it all… I don't have the emotional capacity for it. The reality that there
are still humans locked in there even though I am in my sunny seaside
apartment makes me sort of freak out.
--Conclusion--
This trip really brought me full circle from my last time in Africa. Though
they were fully different countries, I was always reminded of experiences
last summer. In one week I have seen absolute joy and absolute misery and
the love of God leaking into all of it. Where so much of what I have seen
before is cold religion and legalism, I was able to just see love. That is
what its all about, a Love strong enough to penetrate the souls of condemned
men and bring hope into the eyes of a widow. I haven't been alive for that
long, but the only love I have ever seen accomplish those things is the love
of Jesus. Sounds clichéish, but that is the only truth I have ever seen. The
only constant in a world that overwhelms me with despair is God's love.
With as much love as I can muster,
courtney
29 December 2010
22 March 2006
Home Again
---Back on my Home Coast---
Quick trip huh? Today is the first day I am feeling normal, we got worked
over there and I have been tired and a bit sick. This summary is going to
come at you in two parts, one now and one in a few days so you are not
overloaded with words all at once (yeah, I know I talk a lot). I'll catch
you up on what my week looked like than you won't hear from me till I head
to India in July. Deal? Deal.
---Guinea Pigs---
After many fascinating emails about the origin of the Guinea Pig (South
America) I can't decide if I feel smarter or not. Anyway, my friend Maria
won with an amazingly quick response! Thanks for the laughs and info about
pigs, currency and migration patterns, but Maria wins (which means I get to
ship her prize to Hong Kong). Good job!
---Life---
Darla and I stayed with Pastor Joel and his wife and fluctuating countless
others living there for the conference or something. We had a room to
ourselves, bucket shower and a fan that aided the generator in humming the
household to sleep.
The conference occupied a lot of our time, but when we were home we hung out
a lot with the ladies. About ten of the liveliest women you could imagine
cooked for everyone in the house. We would sit around two open fires topped
with huge pots filled with rice and sauce taking turns stirring, chopping,
and sifting, buttering and baby holding. They would laugh at Darla and I and
we would make their babies cry if they looked at our scary white faces for
too long.
---Conference---
Much to our relief we only had to teach for about an hour a day. Day one I
stood there in front of maybe 20 women and flopped. I just stood there
looking at women, half of whom are refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia.
These women are wives and mothers and have risked their lives and the lives
of their families to flee the horrors of a war torn nation only to start
again in a foreign land with a different language and culture. And there I
was, 23 year old twerp from San Diego about to teach them how to be
influential women.
After the initial shock I tried to get the feel for what they needed to hear
and why the heck I went to the other side of the world to do this. I was
drawn to Mary and Elizabeth's story in Luke. They were rad women who were in
tough spots but fully in God's will and they knew it. With these women as my
example I began to draw up a map of some sort through scriptures that
established each individual woman as an intentional and integral part of
God's plan.
From there we focused on what passions and visions God has given each woman.
It was so amazing to see them "get it". One woman came up to me and told me
how she had been thinking all night about her life and how God wants to use
it. Another woman told me that our teaching changed her life, she had never
been told she had a purpose or that her life had any use. Quickly I realized
that it was the simple message of love that was changing these precious
lives. I am blessed to be a witness.
I have put up some photos on http://flickr.com/photos/courtneyanne/ and
there will be more put up in the next few days... I have a lot.
Remember, if you don't want to get these fill ins on my life, you are in a
google group and you can take yourself out of it by going to the homepage
listed on the initial email you got saying you are on the list... did that
make sense? Or just email me and tell me to take you off I guess!
Much love to you, thanks for your prayers and notes of encouragement!
Your sister,
courtney
---Back on my Home Coast---
Quick trip huh? Today is the first day I am feeling normal, we got worked
over there and I have been tired and a bit sick. This summary is going to
come at you in two parts, one now and one in a few days so you are not
overloaded with words all at once (yeah, I know I talk a lot). I'll catch
you up on what my week looked like than you won't hear from me till I head
to India in July. Deal? Deal.
---Guinea Pigs---
After many fascinating emails about the origin of the Guinea Pig (South
America) I can't decide if I feel smarter or not. Anyway, my friend Maria
won with an amazingly quick response! Thanks for the laughs and info about
pigs, currency and migration patterns, but Maria wins (which means I get to
ship her prize to Hong Kong). Good job!
---Life---
Darla and I stayed with Pastor Joel and his wife and fluctuating countless
others living there for the conference or something. We had a room to
ourselves, bucket shower and a fan that aided the generator in humming the
household to sleep.
The conference occupied a lot of our time, but when we were home we hung out
a lot with the ladies. About ten of the liveliest women you could imagine
cooked for everyone in the house. We would sit around two open fires topped
with huge pots filled with rice and sauce taking turns stirring, chopping,
and sifting, buttering and baby holding. They would laugh at Darla and I and
we would make their babies cry if they looked at our scary white faces for
too long.
---Conference---
Much to our relief we only had to teach for about an hour a day. Day one I
stood there in front of maybe 20 women and flopped. I just stood there
looking at women, half of whom are refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia.
These women are wives and mothers and have risked their lives and the lives
of their families to flee the horrors of a war torn nation only to start
again in a foreign land with a different language and culture. And there I
was, 23 year old twerp from San Diego about to teach them how to be
influential women.
After the initial shock I tried to get the feel for what they needed to hear
and why the heck I went to the other side of the world to do this. I was
drawn to Mary and Elizabeth's story in Luke. They were rad women who were in
tough spots but fully in God's will and they knew it. With these women as my
example I began to draw up a map of some sort through scriptures that
established each individual woman as an intentional and integral part of
God's plan.
From there we focused on what passions and visions God has given each woman.
It was so amazing to see them "get it". One woman came up to me and told me
how she had been thinking all night about her life and how God wants to use
it. Another woman told me that our teaching changed her life, she had never
been told she had a purpose or that her life had any use. Quickly I realized
that it was the simple message of love that was changing these precious
lives. I am blessed to be a witness.
I have put up some photos on http://flickr.com/photos/courtneyanne/ and
there will be more put up in the next few days... I have a lot.
Remember, if you don't want to get these fill ins on my life, you are in a
google group and you can take yourself out of it by going to the homepage
listed on the initial email you got saying you are on the list... did that
make sense? Or just email me and tell me to take you off I guess!
Much love to you, thanks for your prayers and notes of encouragement!
Your sister,
courtney
12 March 2006
Dimanche en Guinee
Hey guys, quick note to say hi and I am alive... I feel more alive than I
have in the past few months. Conference starts tomorrow... don't really know
what to expect, but I guess that's good. The people here are beautiful and I
am so blessed to have Darla along for the ride! Pray for the rest of the
team, as they are not so accustomed to this sort of travel/lifestyle.
We just got here, so no good stories... should come soon. We have only been
offered one baby and one marriage proposal, perhaps more will come as people
see my fabulous spiritual teaching skills... right.
So much love. Thanks for writing back, it makes me smile.
Votre soeur,
courtney
Hey guys, quick note to say hi and I am alive... I feel more alive than I
have in the past few months. Conference starts tomorrow... don't really know
what to expect, but I guess that's good. The people here are beautiful and I
am so blessed to have Darla along for the ride! Pray for the rest of the
team, as they are not so accustomed to this sort of travel/lifestyle.
We just got here, so no good stories... should come soon. We have only been
offered one baby and one marriage proposal, perhaps more will come as people
see my fabulous spiritual teaching skills... right.
So much love. Thanks for writing back, it makes me smile.
Votre soeur,
courtney
9 March 2006
Guinea Go Time
Seeing as I have not packed and am leaving for the airport in 5.5 hours, I
should be frantically getting ready so I can sleep. But I don't want to. I
want to write.
I'm not super sure you are aware of this jaunt back to West Africa so let me
give you a bit of background to work with...
November 2005 The Rock Church and BFI (of which I am the director) sent out
a 40ft. container to Guinea in time for an annual pastors conference
sponsored by some of the pastors at The Rock. The idea was to provide this
conference with Bibles and various things we have that they don't, like
clothes and chalkboards. We ran short on time and had to pack the container
hastily. I had already turned down my invite, but I said that the only
reason I would go out to the conference would be to help clean up our mess.
Well, as usual opening my big mouth has life altering consequences. I am
going to Guinea, and I have a bit more on my plate than cleaning up a big
mess. Turns out I am entering into one of my life's goals about 20 years
before I expected to.
Through a series of events my dear friend Darla's and my job descriptions
have morphed from literacy teachers to the leaders and speakers at the first
annual women's conference. Awesome. No, I really think I mean that. It is
awesome, but that doesn't mean I can't be a little freaked out. I mean, I've
been to a conference... why couldn't I run one?
These past years studying politics and cultures in developing nations has
burdened my heart for the women there. Often oppressed, these women work so
hard yet tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to
humanitarian aid. What I have seen is the need for these women to understand
they were each created with a purpose and what that means in the roles and
relationships they are in. I am no advocate of oppression, but it is vital
to recognize that indoctrinating non-Western women with a Western brain will
seriously mess up their home life, social status and can easily threaten
their very lives.
I thought I would have much more experience under my belt before tackling
major international women's issues... oh well.
So please pray for Darla and the team and I that we would all just sit back,
watch what the Lord does and then follow His lead. Pray also for language
issues. Despite what I tell them, people out here think I am fluent in
French and the "West African" culture. However, I am not and everyone in
Guinea will know that right off the bat.
If you have any questions let me know, I should have Internet out there.
I do, however, have a question for you... do guinea pigs come from Guinea???
That has been bugging me for a while. First person to tell me right gets a
prize from Africa.
Your sister,
courtney brandt
Seeing as I have not packed and am leaving for the airport in 5.5 hours, I
should be frantically getting ready so I can sleep. But I don't want to. I
want to write.
I'm not super sure you are aware of this jaunt back to West Africa so let me
give you a bit of background to work with...
November 2005 The Rock Church and BFI (of which I am the director) sent out
a 40ft. container to Guinea in time for an annual pastors conference
sponsored by some of the pastors at The Rock. The idea was to provide this
conference with Bibles and various things we have that they don't, like
clothes and chalkboards. We ran short on time and had to pack the container
hastily. I had already turned down my invite, but I said that the only
reason I would go out to the conference would be to help clean up our mess.
Well, as usual opening my big mouth has life altering consequences. I am
going to Guinea, and I have a bit more on my plate than cleaning up a big
mess. Turns out I am entering into one of my life's goals about 20 years
before I expected to.
Through a series of events my dear friend Darla's and my job descriptions
have morphed from literacy teachers to the leaders and speakers at the first
annual women's conference. Awesome. No, I really think I mean that. It is
awesome, but that doesn't mean I can't be a little freaked out. I mean, I've
been to a conference... why couldn't I run one?
These past years studying politics and cultures in developing nations has
burdened my heart for the women there. Often oppressed, these women work so
hard yet tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to
humanitarian aid. What I have seen is the need for these women to understand
they were each created with a purpose and what that means in the roles and
relationships they are in. I am no advocate of oppression, but it is vital
to recognize that indoctrinating non-Western women with a Western brain will
seriously mess up their home life, social status and can easily threaten
their very lives.
I thought I would have much more experience under my belt before tackling
major international women's issues... oh well.
So please pray for Darla and the team and I that we would all just sit back,
watch what the Lord does and then follow His lead. Pray also for language
issues. Despite what I tell them, people out here think I am fluent in
French and the "West African" culture. However, I am not and everyone in
Guinea will know that right off the bat.
If you have any questions let me know, I should have Internet out there.
I do, however, have a question for you... do guinea pigs come from Guinea???
That has been bugging me for a while. First person to tell me right gets a
prize from Africa.
Your sister,
courtney brandt
10 February 2006
a bit from courtney
Hello from…
Ocean Beach!
You thought maybe you were getting a little ditty from not America again?
Nope. You are getting a hello from my homeland of sunny San Diego.
What? You wonder, perplexed at the thought of Courtney in the States.
Well, I have had a few requests for updates on my "normal" life. These
won't come frequently so don't be rushing off to delete yourself from the
googlegroup. I will try to keep it relatively short… relative to the fact
that it sums up eight months of living!
My time in Burkina Faso was one of the hardest of my life. It didn't take
me long to feel completely overwhelmed by the enormity of pain and the
seemingly endless cycle of poverty and despair. What the heck is going on?
I knew what to expect… I study this stuff… this is not my first time in a
developing nation… why am I freaking out?
This is the part of the story you stop and think that I am a bad
Christian for not being an optimist. Well, I'm not. This world is in a
state of hopelessness that is sobering and heavy for any person to bear. I am a
realist. Remember Caleb and all the other dudes who spied out the Promised
Land? I feel like I can relate. I know where God is leading me,
I see the land and I see giants.
Though I have seen God take on countless giants in my life and I am still
scared out of my mind. However, I have seen God take on countless giants in
my life and there is no reason He won't take on more. Good thing I am out of
my mind.
In my line of living I have learned I can't change the world, but the love
and truth of Jesus changes one life's world. My time in Burkina was not
only a time for me to work with and encourage beautiful people who are born
oppressed and impoverished; it was a time that God ordained to put my life's
drive into Mach 9.
So what now? After a couple near-death experiences (ie. malaria and an
accident involving a semi truck) I have realized that I am not dying anytime
soon, I have more work to do. I am finishing my degree at UCSD in
International Studies and Third World Politics. I will use that knowledge to
step up the work I am already doing to a level that will be more educated
and impacting. I am officially learning French, so now I won't sound like a
2 year old next time I go to West Africa. I am also praying about what route
to take in learning Spanish. The kids I work with at El Pozo in Tijuana, MX
help me a lot and put up with me nicely. Pray for my ease in learning
languages!
The vision of Beautiful Feet International (BFI) has grown exponentially!
Our mission of connecting and equipping the global body of Christ is
producing good fruit already! If you have no idea what I am talking about,
go to www.bfintl.org and look around at the concept that will be manifesting
soon.
As far as the near future goes, I see God directing me down a path similar
to the one I find myself on now. School, BFI and overseas work in the gaps
provided. I am in the interview process to work with SEND Ministries
(www.sendministries.net) in India from July-December 2006. How God told me to
go that direction is subject for another update as I have most likely lost
your attention by now anyway.
I just felt like I should share with you what is going on since you have
been and are an integral part of the work God is doing through me. Your
prayers and support are so felt, you have no idea! On more than one occasion
I have been put on someones heart to pray for and it directly corresponded
with an intense time of warfare in my life. THAT IS HUGE! That is what we
are called to do as the body of Christ. I can't thank you enough. Thank
you.
If you care to glimpse at some photos of my life in the past few years there
are albums available here http://flickr.com/photos/courtneyanne. Soon I will
also have some video clips of my summer in Burkina. If you want one of those
DVDs and I do not have your physical address, get it to me and I will get
one to you!
Know that you walking the path set out by God for you is enabling others to
do the same.
Love your sister,
courtney brandt
Hello from…
Ocean Beach!
You thought maybe you were getting a little ditty from not America again?
Nope. You are getting a hello from my homeland of sunny San Diego.
What? You wonder, perplexed at the thought of Courtney in the States.
Well, I have had a few requests for updates on my "normal" life. These
won't come frequently so don't be rushing off to delete yourself from the
googlegroup. I will try to keep it relatively short… relative to the fact
that it sums up eight months of living!
My time in Burkina Faso was one of the hardest of my life. It didn't take
me long to feel completely overwhelmed by the enormity of pain and the
seemingly endless cycle of poverty and despair. What the heck is going on?
I knew what to expect… I study this stuff… this is not my first time in a
developing nation… why am I freaking out?
This is the part of the story you stop and think that I am a bad
Christian for not being an optimist. Well, I'm not. This world is in a
state of hopelessness that is sobering and heavy for any person to bear. I am a
realist. Remember Caleb and all the other dudes who spied out the Promised
Land? I feel like I can relate. I know where God is leading me,
I see the land and I see giants.
Though I have seen God take on countless giants in my life and I am still
scared out of my mind. However, I have seen God take on countless giants in
my life and there is no reason He won't take on more. Good thing I am out of
my mind.
In my line of living I have learned I can't change the world, but the love
and truth of Jesus changes one life's world. My time in Burkina was not
only a time for me to work with and encourage beautiful people who are born
oppressed and impoverished; it was a time that God ordained to put my life's
drive into Mach 9.
So what now? After a couple near-death experiences (ie. malaria and an
accident involving a semi truck) I have realized that I am not dying anytime
soon, I have more work to do. I am finishing my degree at UCSD in
International Studies and Third World Politics. I will use that knowledge to
step up the work I am already doing to a level that will be more educated
and impacting. I am officially learning French, so now I won't sound like a
2 year old next time I go to West Africa. I am also praying about what route
to take in learning Spanish. The kids I work with at El Pozo in Tijuana, MX
help me a lot and put up with me nicely. Pray for my ease in learning
languages!
The vision of Beautiful Feet International (BFI) has grown exponentially!
Our mission of connecting and equipping the global body of Christ is
producing good fruit already! If you have no idea what I am talking about,
go to www.bfintl.org and look around at the concept that will be manifesting
soon.
As far as the near future goes, I see God directing me down a path similar
to the one I find myself on now. School, BFI and overseas work in the gaps
provided. I am in the interview process to work with SEND Ministries
(www.sendministries.net) in India from July-December 2006. How God told me to
go that direction is subject for another update as I have most likely lost
your attention by now anyway.
I just felt like I should share with you what is going on since you have
been and are an integral part of the work God is doing through me. Your
prayers and support are so felt, you have no idea! On more than one occasion
I have been put on someones heart to pray for and it directly corresponded
with an intense time of warfare in my life. THAT IS HUGE! That is what we
are called to do as the body of Christ. I can't thank you enough. Thank
you.
If you care to glimpse at some photos of my life in the past few years there
are albums available here http://flickr.com/photos/courtneyanne. Soon I will
also have some video clips of my summer in Burkina. If you want one of those
DVDs and I do not have your physical address, get it to me and I will get
one to you!
Know that you walking the path set out by God for you is enabling others to
do the same.
Love your sister,
courtney brandt
13 September 2005
je parte aujourdoui
24 hours from now I will be over the Atlantic Ocean on my way back to the
homeland...
I get the opportunity to always carry a little of Africa in my blood, a
little present to remember it by... malaria.
Yeah, apparently the small birds of Mali commonly referred to as mosquitoes
are attracted to 100percent DEET, can squeeze through nets and somehow get
around strong weekly doses of Larium...
So after 3 days of being fairly confident I wasn't going to make it home
alive, I am pumped with drugs and think I will survive the 20 some hours on
my planes back home.
I will get you a proper goodbye summary once I am home, I just wanted to
dispel any nasty roomers that I was dead. I am fine.
Love you all,
See you on the other side... of the world.
Courtney
24 hours from now I will be over the Atlantic Ocean on my way back to the
homeland...
I get the opportunity to always carry a little of Africa in my blood, a
little present to remember it by... malaria.
Yeah, apparently the small birds of Mali commonly referred to as mosquitoes
are attracted to 100percent DEET, can squeeze through nets and somehow get
around strong weekly doses of Larium...
So after 3 days of being fairly confident I wasn't going to make it home
alive, I am pumped with drugs and think I will survive the 20 some hours on
my planes back home.
I will get you a proper goodbye summary once I am home, I just wanted to
dispel any nasty roomers that I was dead. I am fine.
Love you all,
See you on the other side... of the world.
Courtney
3 September 2005
Intensest week yet... is intensest a word?
Hi friends,
This turned out really long... if you are like me and are put off by long
emails, come back to the rest when you have nothing better to do.
3 buses
3 days on a cargo boat up the Niger River
2 gondolas
1 4X4
2 days on a camel
2 4X4s
1 army truck filled with Mali and Korean military dudes
3 taxi buses
and 1 more bus later...
I have been to Timbuktu and back.
And that's just a list of my transport... no mention of a strange bug bite
that made me think I was growing a sixth toe... my many conversations in
Sprench (similar to Spanglish but with Spanish and French)... how I found
it so hard to be in a Muslim country for a long time without much spiritual
support... conversing in hand signs with Songi tribal women while stranded
next to a river... camping out with nomads in the Sahara... ah, I have never
been happier to be back in Ouaga... ever.
The day before the nuttiest trip of my life was one of the hardest days of
my life. You guys have donated money since I have been out here to relieve
some people of the worst famine Burkina has seen in over 30 years. God put
it on my heart to ask Rosalie how her village was doing. Turns out they have
not received any relief food and people are beginning to die. I told her I
wanted to buy some rice for them and she was ecstatic! She said she had been
praying for food for her family but did not know where it would come from.
See, Ouaga has only become a city in the last 10 years or so. Prior to that
it was just a big village. Most of the people of Ouaga were born in villages
and have recently started families here. Everyone is from a village and has
such a heart to help those still left in the poorest conditions you can
imagine. I told Rosalie on a Sunday that I wanted to help, that night she
got a call that a woman died giving birth in her village (without nutrition
it is almost impossible for anyone to survive pregnancy, much less a
birthing process). She was able to tell them we were coming with help and
that we wanted to pray for the sick. Monday we were on our way.
I wish I could tell you what an amazing day of miracles I witnessed.
Rosalies village has thousands of people in it and I could only afford 20
bags of rice at 50lbs each. Due to the famine, food prices are
outrageous... I had to go to 3 different places to find someone who even
had 20 bags of rice to sell. Our plan was to give the rice to about 3
families, about 50-60 people. Then we would lock up about 5 bags for the
elderly and sick who could not make it to the distribution.
Well, when people ha vent had food for several months they will do anything
to get it... I don't blame them. Within moments of my arrival hundreds of
people were running to us with hats, pockets, purses, sacks, pots and
anything that could hold what ever food they could get. Things got chaotic
fast. We quickly locked up some of the bags and began the distribution. Half
way into it all I could do was sit and cry. There were so many starving
people and I could only offer them such a little bit of food. It was gone
fast. One man and an old lady came up to me and started yelling that they
didn't get any and their families were dieing... all I could do was extend
my empty hands and cry.
Then we said that we wanted to pray for anyone who was sick in the name of
Jesus. Only about 5percent of the people there are Christian, the rest are
animist and Muslim but still dozens and dozens of people lined up for
prayer. I was under the impression someone was going to pray with me or at
least interpret... nope. I looked around and it was just me and Jesus and
more sick people than I could count. For several hours I prayed for the
lame, deaf, blind, backs, feet, babies, heads, teeth, whole bodies... people
would point to what they needed prayer for. At one point Rosalie told me I
should stand over them and pray for them as a whole to save time... but I
don't think Jesus ever did that.
I also prayed that the rice would be like the fish and loaves Jesus handed
out... multiply it God!
As usual this was a much longer email than planned... but don't worry, in
just under two weeks you will not have to worry about an update from this
trip again. But keep praying for me, I'm not home yet.
Your sister,
courtney
Hi friends,
This turned out really long... if you are like me and are put off by long
emails, come back to the rest when you have nothing better to do.
3 buses
3 days on a cargo boat up the Niger River
2 gondolas
1 4X4
2 days on a camel
2 4X4s
1 army truck filled with Mali and Korean military dudes
3 taxi buses
and 1 more bus later...
I have been to Timbuktu and back.
And that's just a list of my transport... no mention of a strange bug bite
that made me think I was growing a sixth toe... my many conversations in
Sprench (similar to Spanglish but with Spanish and French)... how I found
it so hard to be in a Muslim country for a long time without much spiritual
support... conversing in hand signs with Songi tribal women while stranded
next to a river... camping out with nomads in the Sahara... ah, I have never
been happier to be back in Ouaga... ever.
The day before the nuttiest trip of my life was one of the hardest days of
my life. You guys have donated money since I have been out here to relieve
some people of the worst famine Burkina has seen in over 30 years. God put
it on my heart to ask Rosalie how her village was doing. Turns out they have
not received any relief food and people are beginning to die. I told her I
wanted to buy some rice for them and she was ecstatic! She said she had been
praying for food for her family but did not know where it would come from.
See, Ouaga has only become a city in the last 10 years or so. Prior to that
it was just a big village. Most of the people of Ouaga were born in villages
and have recently started families here. Everyone is from a village and has
such a heart to help those still left in the poorest conditions you can
imagine. I told Rosalie on a Sunday that I wanted to help, that night she
got a call that a woman died giving birth in her village (without nutrition
it is almost impossible for anyone to survive pregnancy, much less a
birthing process). She was able to tell them we were coming with help and
that we wanted to pray for the sick. Monday we were on our way.
I wish I could tell you what an amazing day of miracles I witnessed.
Rosalies village has thousands of people in it and I could only afford 20
bags of rice at 50lbs each. Due to the famine, food prices are
outrageous... I had to go to 3 different places to find someone who even
had 20 bags of rice to sell. Our plan was to give the rice to about 3
families, about 50-60 people. Then we would lock up about 5 bags for the
elderly and sick who could not make it to the distribution.
Well, when people ha vent had food for several months they will do anything
to get it... I don't blame them. Within moments of my arrival hundreds of
people were running to us with hats, pockets, purses, sacks, pots and
anything that could hold what ever food they could get. Things got chaotic
fast. We quickly locked up some of the bags and began the distribution. Half
way into it all I could do was sit and cry. There were so many starving
people and I could only offer them such a little bit of food. It was gone
fast. One man and an old lady came up to me and started yelling that they
didn't get any and their families were dieing... all I could do was extend
my empty hands and cry.
Then we said that we wanted to pray for anyone who was sick in the name of
Jesus. Only about 5percent of the people there are Christian, the rest are
animist and Muslim but still dozens and dozens of people lined up for
prayer. I was under the impression someone was going to pray with me or at
least interpret... nope. I looked around and it was just me and Jesus and
more sick people than I could count. For several hours I prayed for the
lame, deaf, blind, backs, feet, babies, heads, teeth, whole bodies... people
would point to what they needed prayer for. At one point Rosalie told me I
should stand over them and pray for them as a whole to save time... but I
don't think Jesus ever did that.
I also prayed that the rice would be like the fish and loaves Jesus handed
out... multiply it God!
As usual this was a much longer email than planned... but don't worry, in
just under two weeks you will not have to worry about an update from this
trip again. But keep praying for me, I'm not home yet.
Your sister,
courtney
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