Reflections

Our month in West Africa has been a rich experience!   

Burkina Faso and Ghana...

Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Ourakoye, Tamale...

For us these places are filled with memories! 

During this trip we have been immersed not only in Africa, but in the world of Bible translation.  We traveled to West Africa because Carolee is on the Board of Directors of Wycliffe Bible Translators.  Together we have learned so much!  We have been inspired by the people we have met and the stories they have shared with us.    

We have heard much about the challenges and rewards of being involved in translating the scriptures into the heart language of people.  We have prayed blessings on newly translated scriptures. 

 

*  We are thankful to  God for good health, safe travels and a blessed time.   

*  We are grateful for the support of Grace Bible Church to go this trip.

*  Thank you to Sharyn Thomson who hosted us in Burkina 

*  Thank you to Dan and Dianne Dzokotoe who hosted us in Ghana. 

 * Thank you to Jillian who took 3 weeks off school to visit Burkina Faso with her grandparents and to be our French interpreter.  

Wrapping up the trip

 
In our final 3 days we have returned to the SIL guesthouse in Ouagadougou where we stayed when we arrived in Burkina. It felt like coming home!  

At the market we stocked up immediately on watermelon – the last opportunity to have our fill!   We finally managed to get a picture of the ever-present geckos that scamper up walls wherever we go. They do not pose for pictures but dart away while we point a camera in their direction! 

 

We had an evening out with Mike and Kathy Steinborn who have committed their lives to Bible translation. 

 

We have enjoyed our own time of reading the Bible and are so thankful that it has been translated into our language and that it is readily available.  

In the IT department here at the SIL Centre, there is a familiar counter that we have spent many hours on.  It is possible to get on line when the signal is strong and when the server is functioning.  (Ken:  I was joking with Damian that we have squatter's rights to the workstation.  In Canada, a person building a cabin on crown land gains the right to that space if there long enough and not evicted.)

 

While Carolee was writing her final thoughts, Ken was out and about getting to know people, admiring babies and penetrating the bowels of the local market.  

Beautiful kids!

In the market, on the street, on backs, on motorcycles, everwhere children play and babies catch rides!

A baby catching a ride with mother who is catching a ride with a friend on her motorcycle.  Many pictures like this one were taken through the window as we drove along.

The Tamale Market

The market is a fascinating place!   It is so expansive that you could get lost!  At least we could!

Produce is displayed in a splash of colour.  Such variety!

We bought a watermelon every day or every second day!  What fun to eat wonderful watermelons in November - for the price of about $1.50 Cdn each. 

Women spend an entire day, sitting beside a display of whatever they are selling.  It might just be a few veggies.  But they hope to sell enough to be able to supply supper for their family.

 
The market has everything you can imagine, from local foods ready to eat, to Western clothes and items for babies.

In one area of the market there are tailors, who will sew anything you want - and do a great job of it.  The the low cost is hard to believe amazing!  

In the market you can bring your kids along to work!  Cute kids are everywhere!

In the chicken area you can select a live chicken to take home.  There are large cages full of birds.

The chicken vendors are men.  They also operate a "poultry plant."  They are killing and cleaning the birds for those who can afford to buy a chicken ready to go into the soup pot.  

A butcher held up a slab of ribs and then he asked for the camera so Ken held up the ribs and he took the shot.  A budding butcher?

A long bus trip

At 2:30 am in Tamale we boarded a highway bus for the long trip back to Ouagadougou.  Getting down the aisle was a major challenge.  Besides luggage, there were bunches of plantain and bags of yams.  The only seats available were at the back of the bus.  We were wedged in between other people in seats that did not recline.   At one point the bus had to have a police escort because of armed bandits in a certain area. 

We got into Ouaga at noon and were instantly surrounded by insistent taxi drivers who wanted to give us a ride.  Without a translator, we managed to tell one of them where to take us.  Not so easy!

It was great to get a shower, have meal and catch a nap.

As we conclude in Ghana

Here we are at the Dzokotoes on our last day of their great hospitality - around 7 a.m.

Near to where we are standing this porker is getting noisy as he waits for his breakfast.

A  little goat was born this morning!  Someone put it under a small bench - probably to keep it safe.

A good start to the day.

We said good-bye to Moses, the house-help, who glides around quietly, cheerfully humming as he cleans and cooks. 

We took the taxi uptown on an assortment of errands.  One was a stop to see Hamza the tailor.  He had sewed an outfit for me and a shirt for Ken, from “anniversary” material we were given.  An African custom is to have special cloth “minted” for special occasions.  We were given cloth that celebrates the 50^th anniversary of GILLBT.  Hamza remembers Jennifer and sent a hello to  her.  Here is how the outfit turned out. 

 

We stopped at the compound to say good-bye and met Gifty.  Here she is with her oldest daughter Neema.  She sent a gift for Jennifer and a message of love. 

Our last supper at the Dzokotoes was a special time.  Dianne had cooked up great meal!  We have really enjoyed the girls – Dzifa their daugther, as well as Shelby and Jayde, both from the US and volunteering at the school. 

 Then a family photo of the Dzokotoes - Dan, Di and Dzifa, the 3 D’s! 

Around town

Four photos on or near the downtown intersection by the Central Market -

Everyone needs a cell phone plan - and almost everyone has one!

How on earth does she balance that!

An amazing traffic light - it tells pedestrians how many seconds left to cross! 

Sheep cross intersections and walk down sidewalks at their leisure.  Yes, these are sheep!
Long tails and not much wool. 

Local diners along a lane that we pass often - 

Close to Hill Top Road -
A bike event on Saturday morning

A community garden near to the compound where Jennifer used to live

In the Bagabaga area -
Amongst Tamale's new and modern facilities include the newly-constructed Tamale Stadium, replacing the town's former principal football pitch, Kaladan Park, with a world-class venue. Indeed, many improvements to Tamale's infrastructure occurred in the period leading up to the 2008 African Cup of Nations tournament. We pass this landmark everyday as we go uptown and come home. 

These flowering bushes grow alongside the road near where we stay