Building Site update from Derek
We’ve been 2 days on the site now. We got the last of the foundations done and started laying brick. The work in the morning is fine because it is not as warm, but from 12pm onwards the heat drains you a wee bit. By the end I’d like to see the walls up enough that you’d know the layout of the church. It is very hard to communicate with the Burkina Faso builders due to the language difficulties but they are good craic and we trust by our own actions they can see Christ.
On a side note, we’ve never seen soo many flies during lunchtime. They’d fly right into your mouth!! Speaking of local wildlife, we were shovelling gravel into a wheelbarrow and after emptying it out- there was a small white snake. We definitely knew it was dangerous cause all the local builders jumped back, they very quickly put a iron bar through it. Apparently it was a viper, one bite and you need to be in hospital in 10 minutes!!!
Us on the church building site
Kid’s Club update from Grace
The children’s work is going really well. Typically our day involves arriving just after 8am, when the local leaders of the church do a devotion with the children. Afterwards we teach the children until around 10am, with a story, songs, memory verse and quiz. The children are incredibly attentive and learn everything very quickly. However, in our free time it can be difficult to communicate with the children as our French is pretty sketchy at best and the younger ones who haven’t had a chance to go to school only speak the local language.
When we do crafts we have to explain what everything is used for, from crepe paper to pipecleaners, as the children, nor even the church leaders, have never seen such things before and don’t know what to with them. When we sing, especially when singing local songs in French, the children can go on for hours, energetically dancing and singing in a deafening manner (which the babies sleep through!), despite the intense heat. Whilst the actual temperature is very warm, imagine being in a small room with over 100 other bodies and many leaders with a corrugated tin roof! None of us have ever sweated so much in our life!
We are served lunch before all the children, which is typically beans or rice with a sauce. If there is meat we will get it as preferential to the children. The portions are huge! And actually lot tastier than you would imagine.
So overall it is going incredibly well and the children are having a lot of fun learning about the Bible. Thank you for your prayers!
Singing at the Kid's Camp in Boulmiougou (it was really hot at this point)
Grace's Bible study picture
Hi Guys take it easy on that ‘old man’ Fleck I need him back here to look after his congregations so I can get a wee break like him
Hope Ivan and Ruth are keeping well you are ALL in our prayers
Comment by David Brown — July 8, 2009 @ 10:27 am