Did I mention that we got in touch with our future COBE (coordinator of body of elders... in case you're not familiar with that) brother Sieza? He sounds like a very nice brother, I think we are really going to like him. Imagine: he is minding his own business one afternoon and, out of nowhere, an American calls him up (speaking somewhat rough French) and says "we are moving into your congregation". I'm sure there are many, many possible reactions! But his? He spent 20 minutes on the phone with me asking about us, and basically bragging on his congregation. It didn't seem to strike him as anything odd that 2 Americans would want to come help preach! In fact, he is very enthusiastic about us coming. So much so that he is going to find us someplace to live! We suggested quite strongly that we can get there and just have lodging for a couple weeks, and do our own looking for a rental, but he won't have any of it! I think that it goes against the principle of African hospitality to let us go it alone.
Anyways, he also gave us a little basic info on the congregation. They have 38-40 publishers, several families with kids, and reportedly (according to brother Sieza) the most zealous spirit in the circuit. It's a young congregation, having been formed about 2 years ago. But it already hosts a foreign language group, ASL! So.... any of you who are reading this who are toying with the idea of someday visiting us, and know ASL.... I'm sure they would love your help for a week or two! We didn't get an exact number how many regular pioneers they have, but they have at least one special pioneer. Brother Sieza did mention that during the last CO visit, they had 18 auxiliary pioneers (that's half the congregation!) One statistic that we already had is the general size of their territory: simple math tells us a city of 500,000 with 5 congregations = 100,000 people per congregation (give or take a few thousand). What it does including the ASL is hard to say. No doubt they search everywhere in the city, and who knows how many deaf there are! One thing is sure, there are less than 40 publishers focusing on French. Brother Sieza said that "nearly all the young ones" support the ASL group. The French word for young ones is highly subjective... he could mean those under 18, or those under 40! Either way, it's safe to say they have a very large territory to work, and not that many workers!
Even with all this info, we still have many questions. Most of them aren't going to be answered til our feet are planted on Burkina soil.... But it's a very positive start. Brother Sieza did go on at length about how Bobo has the best climate in the country, it's a beautiful place, the life there is so good.... You get the point! In addition, we were able to meet a brother who served as a missionary in Bobo and now lives in Arizona. He was able to answer the all important question: do they have watermelons????? The answer is YES! That made Alisa's day to hear that, after all, life without fresh watermelons would be no life at all! So, we are feeling confident that we will enjoy living in Bobo. That's not to say there isn't any anxiety (there's a lot!), but there are many positive things to keep our motivation high.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Somewhat larger steps
Yes, yes I know. You're not supposed to start a blog and then not post for 2 months! Well, there hasn't really been much to report, and I'm really not one to just write about my daily life. I guess that needs to change.... That is really the idea of a blog isn't it? Now do you see why we started this so far before we even leave? Maybe in 5 months we will develop the knack for regular updates!
But, we do have a little to report now.
But, we do have a little to report now.
Yes, those are firm plans for leaving! Airline tickets and visas! We have now begun to sell some possessions. Well, actually, Alisa has been selling shoes for some time now... That shows that she's really serious! And we are planning to have a yard sale in September. After that sale, we should be living in a practically empty house. That should help us make a more gradual adjustment to a new continent, and not having quite all the "stuff" that's considered necessary in the US. But, it will also make for a very chaotic few months!!
I'll try to be a little quicker posting next time, maybe I'll get a few pictures of our little chaos up here :)