June Happenings

I woke up last night to a storm and got up to lean my motorcycle against a tree so that it wouldn’t fall over if the ground became soft.  However, since it was already raining I neglected to bring my laundry in from the clothes line.  I’m a bit spoiled because Howa – a local Fulani woman (Christian) does my laundry – and I have learned to get my clothes pretty dirty.

It’s been a fairly typical day.  This morning I met with the guys:  Tadua, Daniel, David, Luana, Ali, Tiabli, & Duali (Bouba is busy planting).  5 of the guys went out to dig a well.  This is our first well that is for a general community member (rather than a “project” well).  They just hit water around 6m.  We will plan to drill to about 11m, so I’d say we’ve got about 4-7 days left of drilling depending on what kind of ground we hit before we mount the pump.

I had asked prayer for Ali in the past.  He said that he was taking 4 months off of work so that he uphold his obligation to work at his family farm.  I asked prayer for him because he wants to become a Christian but is afraid of his family’s reaction (Muslim).  He is afraid to go to church, so I think our morning Bible Study is one of the few ways he hears God’s word.  Hence my prayer request would be that he would somehow be encouraged in his faith as he wouldn’t be coming.  However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see him come back to work.  He said that he’s rearranged his schedule so that he can work on his farm from 5-7 AM, and then work with me much of the rest of the day.  So thanks for your prayers.

Vacation!  I recently took somewhat of a break from my regular work.  My dad came to visit me for 2 weeks.  It was so great to spend time with him.  People asked me if he wanted to come out and see the work that I’m doing here.  My dad’s response to that was that he simply wanted to come see me.  The other stuff would be nice, but secondary.  My dad is good at making people feel loved.

After he arrived, we went to a 3 day SIM Prayer Conference right away – which was a great way to start a vacation.  When we got back to Mahadaga, I spent time with my dad either working on projects (fixing vehicles, repairing pumps, and a few odds and ends), but we also got to ride motos to a national park, visit local waterfalls, and enjoy evenings with missionaries here or Burkinabe that I’ve come to know well.  I’m not sure that his time here was “restful”, but it was enjoyable (at least it was for me).

Oh, and my dad and I planted a mango tree.  It's growing quite nicely in the rains we've been having.

Peace.

Brendon