Back Home Now

I have been home for 2 days now and have probably slept about an average of 14-16 hours a day. Over these last 2 days, I have felt tired, angry, depressed and withdrawn from my family and society. I feel like I am a foreigner in my own land. I am constantly processing what I have just experienced. This trip to Africa has changed me. I feel different like I have gained something different, but also like I left something back in Africa. I am processing to figure this out, and at this moment I am not sure what has changed.

I know I have met some awesome brothers and sisters in Christ who have become life long friends. Their example of faith, servanthood and love towards others is very inspiring. They live out their faith in a big way everyday. They serve the same God I serve, but a much bigger God. Bigger than I often think is possible. They totally depend on him for everything. They are not comfortable like we are in the US, where we feel we can depend on ourselves.

Since I am still processing, I thought I would start out with the story of Pastor Michel. He is the leader of a huge church in Ouaga, Burkina Faso which his father started. He is the founder of the Village of Hope, where we stayed. This man has huge faith in God. He has never ending energy and joy of the Lord. He is very humble, delegates like Moses learned to do, and shares the vision God has given him whenever he can.

Pastor Michel's Story


When Pastor Michel Ouedraogo graduated from seminary some 25 years ago he carried a burden for his people and the transformation of his nation (Burkina Faso). Traveling village to village on a bicycle, then a mo-ped, he presented the message of Jesus Christ through a film-strip projector which he carried strapped to the back of the bicycle. In the beginning, the elders in the village of Banken asked him to leave, but he persisted in returning to bring hope to the village.

Pastor Michel, with his wife Lydia were saddened by the many children in the village who had no opportunity to know Christ or to improve their lives, so they asked the elders if they could take one child and educate her. The elders agreed and gave them one little girl. When the Ouedraogos received her, she was dirty and sickly with a runny nose and a bloated stomach from malnutrition.

The elders in Banken were soon able to see a big change in the little girl the Michel and Lydia called Sarah. She was cared for and loved like all of the other kids in the Ouedraogo family. She was clean. Her health improved. She showed that she was smart and an eager learner in school. Today, Sarah has completed medical training, and gives leadership to one of the medical clinics started by Pastor Michel. She is married, and has beautiful children.

Sarah’s transformation was so amazing that the Banken elders asked if Michel and Lydia could take more children. The idea was daunting, but the Ouedraogos believed they take more children…and the Village of Hope was born.

Today over 400 children from 15 villages are housed, fed, and educated at the Village of Hope, returning home during holidays. The school day begins early with Chapel every morning at 5:00 am. Morning chores are a part of the routine, too. The kids are learning so well that they consistently place in the top three on the national exams. Some have progressed through to middle school, so Pastor Michel has added facilities for that. Within a few years there will be need for vocational training for some, and university for others.

Another remarkable part of the story is that when the children have returned home for holidays, they have wanted a place to go to church on Sundays. Parents and elders in several of the villages have seen much change in the kids, so they have asked Pastor Michel to send a pastor to their village to start a church. The villages are now being transformed by the kids.

Today is the Day!

As one of my most favorite recording artists sings "Today is the day the Lord has made, I will be glad and rejoice in it." Ok, so Lincoln Brewster didn't write those lyrics for his song, but he borrowed them from God's word. Isn't it fitting for our day today?

I am eating my breakfast here and wanted to post quickly before I drive down to Omaha. It's hard to say good-bye to my wife and family, but it is now time - off to Africa.

Pray for the team and I as we all get ready to converge on Africa via Paris. I don't meet my team until I get there. And on top of that I don't even know who I am looking for. So pray we all meet up and all get in on-time to Paris. I will try to blog from there with a team photo if possible.

Thanks again for you support financially or in prayer. I know I wouldn't be going if it wasn't for this team of friends and family that God stirred their hearts to be a partner with me and Him on this trip.

God bless!

Wow tomorrow I leave for Africa!

As I am packing for my trip it has hit me just how dependent I am on technology. I need this charging cord, that backup cord, this plug-in adapter, these batteries. I have needed to charge battery paks, load batteries, download music and movies to the borrowed Ipod (my son's - thanks Doug), had to get a global phone (just in case as my wife says), etc, etc etc. Wow it can be really overwhelming. We don't realize just how connected we really are and the price we have to pay for that.

Now contrast this with where I am going. Ouagadougou (wa-ga-dough-goo)in Burkina Faso (burr-keen-a faa-so), Africa. Most kids won't have shoes let alone an Ipod. From the reseach I have done their life looks so simple, yet they have so much freedom and joy. Maybe they have it figured out.

Why do we get all these gadgets that allow us to set schedules, keep our schedule, listen to music, watch videos, take pictures and video, download pictures and video, post blogs, facebook, etc, etc, etc? To be more connected and efficient?

Is it that we are just so busy running around in this world that we don't take time out to enjoy the freedom, beauty and peace of God's creation and people? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for staying connected and everything, but have we really stopped to think about all the stuff we have in our lives that make it so complicated?

I was reading last night in my "Prepare Your Heart - A study booklet for your short-term mission trip" and there was a quick comparison of vacuums vs. brooms. We in America use a vacuum cleaner, because it is efficient, does a great job picking up dust, and we can get onto the next thing quickly. Compare that to a third world country that for thousands of years have cleaned the floor the same way - with a broom. Their not looking for efficiency. They are are happy to sweep and may choose to spend time talking to family or a friend who just stopped by (ahh -a form of multi-tasking). But efficiency never enters their minds.

All this to say that I am sure this culture places a high value on relationships while placing a lesser value on technology and doing tasks efficiently. A lesson I am sure to learn while I'm there?

So pray for our team. That we are servants with humility and the love of Christ. That we can slow down to show openness and acceptance of our hosts' way of life. And that we can take time to work on our task with efficiency, but also take time to focus on relationships. After all that is why we are going over there. We are going over there to learn, to serve, and to build relationships that honor God.

T - 3 Days Left

(this image to the left is the steel cross that was erected on site at the Village of Hope recently)

As I was blowing the snow off the driveway this morning I was thinking about how it is going to be quite a physical shock to my body to go into 100 degree weather in a few days. But then I thought, when I return to Sioux City, I will be shocked by the cold again. But I think I will be going through more than "physical shock" to my body once I get over to Africa.

For instance besides the climate change and jet lag... food, language, dress code, social differences, waking and walking around in unfamiliar surroundings, wierd noises and sights, and even unmet expectations are a few I will experience. These are called "cultural shocks" and God will be using these to show us on the team that our way "in America" is not always the only way to do things. I will have to look at things in the light that "it's not wrong, it's just different."

Paul, known for his short term missionary trips in and out of different cultures, addressed this in 1 Corithians 10:23-33. First he states that whatever we eat, drink or do, we need to do it all for the glory and honor of God. And secondly, we need not offend our hosts by not eating, drinking or doing only what we would normally, but if it blesses them for us to accept what they give us, we must accept it in faith and bless them. This is putting others first and not being judgemental and critical of another culture.

Please pray for our team as we enter this "culture shock". That we are open minded and accepting of foods and activities, and even their church "worship" style as not wrong, but different. And give it a try so that it will bless them, and that we have the right attitude also.

T - 10 Days Left

As I am going about preparing for my trip to Africa, God has really been speaking to me about quite a few things. I thought I would share a few today.

First, as I have had to have all these vaccines (yellow fever, hep A & B, tetnus, meningitis, etc) and take these pills (malaria and typhoid) it makes me realize how as a christian nation we are blessed. In the US we have civility and order when it comes to health care, so we don't have to worry about getting these diseases in our country. That is a daily threat for 10/40 world countries. How can this be changed?

Second, as I have done research on Burkina Faso, I see a country with lots of poverty and a nation that doesn't have much (materially speaking). Then I think about how we in the US have much of what we need and some of what we want. If we want it we go buy it. God has blessed this nation, so what are we going to do with that?

Third, I was reading last night a short book the ministry gave us to prepare for our trip. It is called "preparing your heart for short term mission trips". I read Matthew 25:31-46. Jesus is teaching his disciples about the final judgement. This is when he says, " for I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you visited me." As I was reading this I started to realize that all these things that Jesus was talking about were basic needs. And the example was about filling the needs of others.

So as I pondered that, I realized that when I go on this trip and stay at the Village of Hope with 450+ plus grade school children, that not only am I filling a need of helping to master plan their future university campus, but that also I am going to fill the needs that they have today. Whatever that may be. And by filling those needs I am sharing Christ's love with them. All these kids at the school, which is a boarding school, are there away from there parents and families. So a few hugs and smiles will be necessary.

So how can we fill the needs of those around us? We don't have to jump on a plane and travel to Africa to do this. We can love our family, neighbors, co-workers and strangers by filling their needs in that moment. To have an attitude of "whatever it takes" and to act with enthusiasm, smiles and hugs if necessary.