Happy New Year.
I think 2012 is the year that some people are claiming as the end of the world. I also think that it’s the year that many Christians aren’t expecting the end of the world – and they poke fun at the false prophecies. I think God is not constrained to the Mayan calendar, nonetheless, it is another year that we, as Christians, need to keep our wicks trimmed and our candles burning for Jesus’ return.
Thank you all for your support and prayers for me and my involvement here. PLEASE STOP SENDING MONEY. You have overwhelmed me with gifts, and I have more than enough funds for my time here in Mahadaga. But please keep the people here in your prayers.
Speaking of which, please pray for Bouba. Bouba is an integral part of the well drilling team, and a friend. Tonight (31 Dec 2011), while he was milking the cows, a cow caught him in the eye with its horn. We went to the CSPS (hospital across the street) tonight – and Mambagauli (the head nurse) left his News Years Eve party to take a look. He says Bouba’s eye will heal just fine, and that he’s very lucky. Praise God. Please pray that he heals well.
Speaking of Bouba… he is from the Fulani tribe, which is the minority tribe here (compared to the Gourma). Typically Fulani are Muslim. I have heard that Christian Fulani’s are made fun of and ostracized from the rest. Bouba’s mom is Christian, and Bouba is also. However Bouba has avoided the Fulani church (I think to avoid getting ragged on). However, he had been coming to the Gourma church that’s near the Missions Station (the church that I typically attend). He understands some of what’s said, but not everything at these services. This past month he invited me to the Fulani church. Perhaps going along with me gave him the courage that he wanted to deal with the social implications – I’m not sure. In any case, I am so pleased that he’s going to a Fulani church – a place where he can completely understand the preaching. I may begin attending there more often because the man sitting next to me spoke French and translated the sermon to me in a very simple way.
Regarding the work…
Things are good. We just finished digging Diada’s bore hole. It doesn’t have the greatest reflow rate due to the clay ridden soil, but it’s 2.5 meters deeper than their ring well, which is nearly out of water now. Over the past month and a half we’ve designed and fabricated more tooling: a taller tripod (4.5m), a spiral auger bit (for clay), a new extension rod set (with the help of the Messiah College Collaboratory – thanks guys), and the well-drilling donkey cart of the millennium, among other smaller improvements. I’m hoping to hit the ground running in January at a well in Logobou, however, the logistics will pose a new challenge; Logobou is probably about 15km away, and the team members don’t have bikes or motorbikes.
I still haven’t identified someone that is devoted to taking over the well drilling when I leave, but there certainly is a lot of hype. For example, three people today asked for a well: the guy who I hired to put the corrugated sheet metal on the roof of the new building here, and both (separately) of the nurses that I spoke to tonight while with Bouba.
May God bless you with the vision to see His blessings of this past year, and may He bless the world through you even more this year.
Oh, I’ll end on a weird thought – the people here have not been on a calendar like ours very long. It’s only been in the last 10 years or so that they’ve begun celebrating the birth of Jesus on Dec 25, and the beginning of a new year on Jan 1. It certainly hasn’t been much time to develop traditions.
Brendon
