New Year's Resolution 2014 and Literacy

So here it is January 27, 2014, and I'm getting started on one of my New Year's resolutions. Hurray! I need to little by little catch up on the gap between June 2011 and December 2013. Good thing I'm telling myself little by little. How will I do that? By going back and pouring over my emails primarily to my mom and family. And by combing thru my photos in I-photo. Blessedly, I have plenty of them. But for today, I'm in Ouagadougou while Bart has flown to Saly, (outside of Dakar), Senegal for Leadership Development training. On my list for Ouagadougou, besides grocery shopping, is ob/gyn annual visit, pap smear, mammogram, teeth cleaning, haircut, x-ray of March's broken arm to send to Jo-burg with Bart when he goes next week. I would also like to visit 2 offices to begin gathering literacy information--FONIO and ANTBA--why literacy? From a 2009 IRIN literacy article: "Of the 10 countries with the world’s lowest recorded adult – 15 and older – literacy rates, seven are in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone." Storying and other orality methods are excellent tools to reach an illiterate population, but there's still a need to teach people how to read so that they may read the Bible in their own language, learn how to study it from their pastor, and then teach others. I would like for the literate to be equipped also to write discipleship material that our churches can use to encourage believers. One more fast literacy fact from the 2009 IRIN article on literacy: "Every year of education raises a person’s income potential by at least 10 percent, according to the UN-led Education for All coalition’s 2009 monitoring report." Another reason for literacy: The class below contains potential church pastors. Their route to our School of Ministry classes began some time ago--whether in a government or private school or in a literacy class as illustrated in the second picture of Pastor David of Langbina--one of our strong literacy supporters.

Leaving Orientation, Time in Nashville/FL March/April 2011

Leaving Orientation meant plowing thru papers to recycle as much as possible and carry documents electronically, if possible.   We also cleaned our winter clothes and gave most of them away. I had to wash 3 loads of Elizabeth's clothes as she had the most to give away--she won't fit in her winter clothes 5 years from now.

While I enjoyed the waterproof boots during our time at orientation, I decided to pass them on as my feet would get pretty sweaty in them. I don't think that's the ideal if one is spending a day hiking, so for my next boot purchase, I need to buy a pair that will give some protection from getting my feet soaked to letting my feet breathe.  I had thought about keeping them for escarpment climbing in Ghana, but am afraid the waterproof angle would have had my feet sweating and peeling, so I'll have to climb in tennis shoes until a hopeful vacation summer 2012 when we can buy a few things we would have liked to have taken this first time but decided to not overspend the budget.  Trying to prioritize what is essential and what do we already have in our first shipment.

We enjoyed a week with Bart's parents in Melbourne, FL, and then a week with family in Nashville, although there was still mounds of "stuff" to plow thru and try to dispose of.  I still have not properly gone thru and stored photos and videos.  It will be such an Everest of a job, so that is why I'm sure I'm avoiding it.

Perils with Nikon coolpix camera--accidentally dropped it as Eliz. handed it to me at the airport. Thought it was ok, but the drop damaged the battery compartment door, so we have had to duck tape the door shut for 3 months until the kind Hewitts brought us a new Olympus tough camera. After 2 Nikon coolpixes that did not take kindly to being dropped, and knowing the future with such small and slick cameras will entail dropping, and since the floors of most African housing are tile or concrete, I decided to try something more sturdy.  I like how the Olympus has a built-in battery instead of always having to recharge AA's for the CoolPix.

Ann Davis found us at Nashville airport and we enjoyed spending an hour together while we waited a couple of hours before boarding.  Certainly God was at work in our effortless check-in despite having so many bags, and a bicycle carrier, and a dog.  The flight from Chicago to Brussels was not full, so we all 3 got to stretch out over a couple of seats and get some rest.  The flight from Brussels to Ouaga, though was pretty full, but it was fun traveling with Ashley H. and the Marqs, so time passed just fine for me. Eliz., though, got a little stressed upon learning how many more hours we would be in the plane for the Brussels-Ouaga leg, and shed a few tears while asking, "How many more hours are we going to be in an airplane?"

Praise the Lord for all bags and bike and dog and musical instruments making it to Ouaga.

March visit from the Gibsons, 2011

One highlight of orientation was a visit from Maria and Michael as they drove their way to their new Coast Guard post in Cape May, NJ.  They had a few trying hours upon arriving in Richmond to learn while the hotel was dog-friendly, it did not host cats. The situation was finally resolved when the hotel accepted their offer to kennel the cat.  I was already scrambling to try and find someone who could host a cat for one night, but didn't have to get that far.  We enjoyed a meal together at Logan's Road House and then said good-bye.  This was our last time to see each other in true 3-D!  Since that time, Michael has gotten established in his new position as supply clerk, and Maria has been hired at the base commissary. She has also enrolled at a local community college to finish school--most likely in a nursing program.  If she becomes a nurse, then we'll have 2 nurses in the family as Matthew's wife is about to begin her last year in nursing school thru Tenn. Wesleyan at Ft. Sanders in Knoxville.  Sometimes, Eliz. has talked about being a neonatal nurse, so that would be pretty remarkable to one day have all three of my girls as nurses.  Maybe Bart and I could count on someone checking up on our care at the old folks home!

Orientation, March 2011

I continue to work with Eliz. on her math.  Usually she plays with friends in the gym every evening.  

I enjoyed a phone call to our friend Alain Kabore living in Mississippi to be sure about Moore lyrics for some songs we will sing in Cultural Worship on Sunday night.  Every Sunday night we have a cultural worship that features a different region of the world. The last one will be Subsaharan Africa, and we hope to go outside for ours. the high Sun. will only be 62, so we will certainly need our jackets.  I will help lead 2 songs, and Bart is supposed to "preach." He says the only person who will know if he makes a mistake or forgets what he wanted to say and then just starts counting in Moore will be me.  

For Mom's birthday this year, I made a donation for the renovation of Sanyati Hospital, it is in Zimbabwe.  I felt led to choose it because of several things---one of our missionaries--Archie Dunaway--was murdered there during the Zimbabwe uprising when  the gov't was overthrown.  Baker Hill well knew Archie's son, John, who passed away a couple of years ago, and has always spoken highly of him. And I have met a former Zimbabwe MK here who will be serving overseas with his wife. So, that's why I chose Sanyati---with Zimbabwe on my mind, and I know it's still an important part of strategy supported by our Africa director. .

Typed up our Moore songs tonight and am now working on email.  I pulled together my homeschooling order and have sent it off to the homeschooling consultant for our region. 

Eliz. is doing fine with her math.  We probably won't get any science done unless they have a few basic home science experiment books at our MK library in Ouaga. We could do those in July and talk about what she learns.   Next year she will take pre-chem for 1 semester and pre-biology for 1 semester with Benton Hewitt from an on-line academy. They won't be able to participate in a live class but will be turning in homework and taking quizzes and tests. We will continue the Saxon math and do Language Arts/History with a program called Tapestry of Grace.  I told Mona I would try it one year, and if it had enough rigor or I could bolster it enough, then I would be content to use it for the 2 years after.  Mona has a lot of resources for different programs, and that will help.  

I would like for Eliz. to take an Adobe Photoshop class sometime, but right now, her 8th grade year is full, and we don't have enough budget for it.  On-line classes can be expensive.

Well, better go get ready for tomorrow as I am leading our Subsaharan worship.  Every Tues.--Fri. we all worship together--17 of us, including children.  I need to review what we go over and choose a song to sing.

 Eliz. and company loved playing Capture the Flag under the inspired leadership of Mr. J.

 The cafeteria--great food prepared week after week---hard to lose weight even if there is no dessert or soda!

 Elizabeth and little sis Daly in the cafeteria.

Eliz. finally decides she wants to learn in the quilting quad 2 weeks before Orientation is over!

 Ever the photo monger--fun at Orientation.   Don't know if we got a squirrel in the pict. or not.  There's quite a population there.

Eliz. and "little sis Daly" traipsing about the Orientation grounds

Feb. 11, 2011 by Bart--Orientation

What we are learning in Orientation

Sessions on the definition of the church so we can all be on the same page in church planting. This is New Testament church, not a strict template to follow. The idea is to tell folks about Jesus and let them sort out how to do church.

We are put on teams to worship in small groups to simulate missionary team dynamics as well as house church dynamics.

There are different sessions on parenting "third-culture kids". Some of these deal with transition needs our kids will face.

There are several sessions stressing the need to pray, maintain one's own personal spiritual vitality, and share one's faith personally.

We had 3 days on spiritual warfare-dealing with a whole range of adversity from witch doctors to voodoo to the need to watch out for things which make us vulnerable to the "fiery darts" of Satan. This was led by Dr. Rankin, the recently retired president of the IMB.

We have several sessions on strategies which help bring about church planting movements--a rapid time of growth that really is in the hands of God to give, but there are a lot of things we can do either to hinder or to help. 

There are many reminders to connect with your home church and stay connected.

We have sessions on health--taking care of yourself, immunizations provided, and malaria prevention.

Today we had a session on the big picture--global strategy. The goal is to engage all of the roughly 12,000 categorized people groups with the gospel.

There will be sessions on applied cultural anthropology, conflict management, worldview workshops, raising healthy children overseas, photo sessions for passports, visas, and prayer cards, the persecuted church, ESL (English as a second language) certification (Jane Anne), Baptist doctrine, homeschooling, personality differences, language learning, member care (they have psychological help in every region of the world), marriage enrichment, story-telling as a method of teaching the Bible to oral cultures (those that don't have a written language).

We will make a trip to Washington DC to find some people of the culture we are headed for to talk with. We will probably try to find the Burkina Faso embassy and the Ghana embassy. They drop you off at the subway station and the bus back to Richmond leaves promptly at 5 PM!

So I hope that gives you a better idea of what we are doing. It is more practical than what we did in 1989, but there is more information than my 51 year old mind will readily take in sometimes.

It is good, but I will happy to have it in my rear view mirror, too, just to get to work. However, once we get to Africa they are going to ship us all to Zambia for a month of Africa-specific orientation. Then back to Burkina for three to six months of language study (French) before going to Ghana for our Mampruli language in the Fall. By next Christmas I ought to be a thoroughly equipped missionary, a veritable "heaven on wheels!"

picture for ILC, Jan. 2011

Orientation needed a picture of us, so here I am with my handsome husband in Jan. 2011.

2-7-11, ILC

We had safe and on-time flights to Richmond. The 1st 3 days passed in a blur trying to get a handle on what assignment was due when and where we needed to be at what times. Of course, it's all in our 2" binders we were given, but takes some time to sink in. We also serve on committees to help carry out the program. Bart is on the evangelization committee--they help people practice their testimony. I am on the library committee, and you can imagine what I do.

Luckily, we are next door to the main meeting place. We can even get wireless in our quad (4 efficiency apartments in each living unit) if we sit at the kitchen table and keep the door open into the large great room of the quad.   We have about a 1-min. walk to the cafeteria or gym and are usually having meals at 8, 12, and 5.  There's been plenty of fruit and salad to help you watch your waist-line. No desserts or sodas are served.

So our sessions so far have been introduction to the program, setting goals while one is here, risks of living overseas, and how to plant churches according to scriptural models. I had the 1st of 2 Saturdays on ESL this past Sat.  This week Jerry Rankin will be leading 3 sessions on spiritual warfare. We also have our 1st of 3 shot clinics on Friday.  I don't know how many shots we'll have to get. Really didn't want to know because then I would have to tell Eliz., who feels the same way about shots that her Aunt Jenn. does.

For our required aerobic exercise, 5x a week, Bart does Nordic track or walks. I've started the gradual program I found in Runner's World that will help me be able to jog for half an hour at completion. It's basically building up my wind. I'm at the week now where I run 4 minutes, walk 2, and do that cycle 5 times in 1 session.

One of my goals has been to review and decide on homeschooling curriculum. I think I am making some progress.  Mona Hewitt, dr's wife at Bapt. Med. Ctr. at Nalerigu, and on stateside assignment (furlough), may be coming here Feb. 21st for what is called contingency training--basically what to do if someone tries to rob or kidnap you. I told her that would be great if she could come because maybe we could sit down and make final choices together. I would like to submit my order by 1 March so it will be ready to pack in April.

Elizabeth has been kept busy in her school learning the same 7 dimensions of a missionary servant that we are: mind of a disciple, heart of a servant, well grounded as a family member and team player (3&4), reaching out as a cross-cultural witness and to the home churches as a mobilizer (5&6), all for the purpose of multiplying churches.  She is also learning Bible verses, learning about Ghana, and learning how to share her testimony. Her homework was to share it with at least 3 people, so she shared it during our joint worship this morning--killed quite a few birds with that stone. Our quad, all going to SubSaharan AFrica, and the quad next to us, all going to SubSaharan Africa, worship together on Sun. morning and meet from time to time during the week.  Out of 11 missionaries, we are the only ones who are career.  Everyone else is journeyman or Int'l Service Corps. I thought that was a little disappointing in terms of what that means for continued impact on the continent in evangelism and church planting. I am very happy, though, with the great ISC'ers we have as journeypeople--these girls are sharp and love the Lord. I know God will use them mightily where they will serve.

Eliz. has enjoyed playing indoor soccer, basketball, volleyball, and kickball with the other mk's almost every night after supper. But last week she strained her hamstring again, so she is off lower body exercise for 6 more days. I need to email David Adcock or Leta Lee Kant to ask for some good stretching exercises for her as well as hamstring strengthening exercises she could do to avoid future problems.