Grains of Sand

The feel of red dirt clinging to my feet.  The salty taste of sweat on my lips.  The smell of wood smoke and spice.  The sound of drums beating, goats bleating and roosters crowing.  The moto bikes clogging the bumpy roads.  That is Burkina. Warm smiles.  Handshakes.  Genuine interest.  Thankfulness.  Exuberance.  Dancing and singing.  That is Burkina. Disabled forgotten.  Malnutrition.  Starving widows.  Wide-eyed children.  That is Burkina. A hand extended.  A well drilled.  A bike given.  A soup served.  Hugs shared.  That is Burkina. My time spent in Burkina Faso has gone too quickly.  The love shared has filled my heart.  Just a few short years ago I never would have thought I'd be sitting under a roof located in Burkina Faso, Africa.  Yet that is exactly where I am.  In a few short days I must ask to take the road.  When I do, I will t...

It’s 12:30am here and the phone just buzzed with new email.  I’ve been disappointed because the internet has not been working all day here.  Not really a surprise.  However, It has been a disappointment from a blogging point of view. Today was the Compassion visit with Clinton and Assana.  When it came time to meet the kids, I was told Clinton was not there. That made me very sad.  However, in her broken English, the woman told me he was running late and would arrive shortly!   Yay!   God has great timing and is in the details, because that time allowed me some one on one time with Assana.  She is the cutest!  I have a great photo of her.  (That reminds me, photos DO NOT want to load on the internet because the connection is so horrible!  I waited over an hour yesterday to load one picture to the blog.  Such a disappointment to me.  But, God has his plans.) Anyway, Assana is SUPER shy!  She didn’t want...

Good morning, it's 5:30am and the roosters are having a crowing contest this morning and the neighbors are making some kind of repetitive beating noise. Please pray for God's healing hand on me as I'm getting some sort of head cold. My throat is sore and my nose is starting to get stuffy. I was not expecting that kind of illness to befall me. Thought about digestive problems more than anything, which, by the way haven't been too bad. Too much info., I know! :) Along with the roosters, I can hear some kind of morning dove. Similar body shape and color tone to ours in the states and it's song is similar enough to know it's a dove, with different tone changes. There are lots of lizards/geckos(?) around. They make a sort of clicking noise at night. Not very colorful though, mostly different shades of brown. As we left church last night, a storm blew in, blowing dirt around and rustling up the garbage. By the time we made it back to the guest house (about 20...

Eight women, 16 pieces of checked luggage and a variety of carry-ons all made it to Burkina Faso, Africa.  Woot, woot!  Where do I begin?  Let's begin from when I awoke on Thursday morning, October 2nd.  I jumped rolled out of bed and nervously completed packing for my trip.  My husband and all the kids drove me to church to meet the team and do passport checks and grab all 16 pieces of luggage that we had packed the night before.  Then we drove a half hour to the airport only to find out upon arrival that our flight that was supposed to leave @ 11:10am was delayed until 3:00pm!  So, the only option was to drive many hours to Chicago, IL to catch a non-stop flight from Chicago to Brussels, Belgium that would allow us to connect with our final flight into Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Africa.  (I know Ouagadougou looks challenging to say and I did not do a very good job the first few times I tried it on my tongue.  It sounds like Wahgadoo...

It is a chilly, rainy morning.  The house is quiet and coffee is brewing.  I have butterflies in my stomach and my heart aches.  I'm tying up loose ends and finishing up packing.  I feel ill equipped for this trip to Africa and my heart hurts to leave my family.  It seems like so long ago that I signed up for the trip, but then again it feels like yesterday.  Hard to believe I'm actually going to board a plane bound for a land unknown to me.  Different sights, sounds and smells.  I will be way out of my comfort zone. One of my pastors once said, "If you want to be a loving person, you have to make love a verb."  That just about sums up a personal goal.  Make love a verb.  This trip is just one way to do that.  I know I'm not going to change the world in a few short weeks.  But if I can show God's love and compassion to even one, I humbly accept the opportunity. I am full of hope, excitement and uncertainty.  Seems...

For all you homeschool mama's, teachers and lovers of punctuation!  This made me smile today.

The key to the attic of our first home.