Loving the spring flowers and blossoms everywhere brought on by the warmer weather, but not so much the sirens and smoke in the Blue Mountains where bushfires have already started, as well as in other areas of the state and in Qld.
Last year floods, this year fires - typical!
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Monday, 19 September 2011
On the road again...
Just got back from a week in the Hunter valley, visiting Gresford Congregational and Singleton Baptist. I stayed the week with sister Deb and her family on their lovely farm.
It was a welcome calm week after the rush of finishing at Blakehurst, the trip to Canberra to speak at the Women's convention there and back to Springwood to speak at the Baptist church the next day and prepare the sermon for the following week's 2 morning services as well as seeing several home groups.
I'm also happy the 3 biopsies I had were all clear ... for now at least. I have to get 2 checked again in a year, but if Burkina can't handle it, a visit to the rellies in England may be in order! That's the end of the medicals, except for vaccination updates which I'll leave to the last minute.
It was a welcome calm week after the rush of finishing at Blakehurst, the trip to Canberra to speak at the Women's convention there and back to Springwood to speak at the Baptist church the next day and prepare the sermon for the following week's 2 morning services as well as seeing several home groups.
I'm also happy the 3 biopsies I had were all clear ... for now at least. I have to get 2 checked again in a year, but if Burkina can't handle it, a visit to the rellies in England may be in order! That's the end of the medicals, except for vaccination updates which I'll leave to the last minute.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Home again
I've been home for about 6 weeks now and been able to catch up with family, and some friends.
The plan is to catch up with as many friends and supporters as I can before I go back to Burkina late November.
If funding is available, rains should be over by then and we can build student dorms for our January start at IMS. We'll be offering a short (6 month) course), then hopefully start our new 3 year Bachelor program in September (2012).
I've been a bit submerged so far by all the to-ing and fro-ing, so if I haven't been in contact with you and you'd like to catch up, please contact me.
The plan is to catch up with as many friends and supporters as I can before I go back to Burkina late November.
If funding is available, rains should be over by then and we can build student dorms for our January start at IMS. We'll be offering a short (6 month) course), then hopefully start our new 3 year Bachelor program in September (2012).
I've been a bit submerged so far by all the to-ing and fro-ing, so if I haven't been in contact with you and you'd like to catch up, please contact me.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
There is water in the OTHER well!
Our northern neighbours, the conference center, kindly allowed us to dig on the far north point of their part of SIM's land ... and there was a gusher!
We now have to pipe the water 80m up to the surface, 200m down to our section, get a generator and pump working, build a water tower and pipe the water up there, and we should be in business to start our plumbing.
A great blessing in an area that has given several dry or weak wells, we'll be able to help our neighbouring ministries at need, too.
We now have to pipe the water 80m up to the surface, 200m down to our section, get a generator and pump working, build a water tower and pipe the water up there, and we should be in business to start our plumbing.
A great blessing in an area that has given several dry or weak wells, we'll be able to help our neighbouring ministries at need, too.
Water came in at the crucial time when we had a lot of foundation to dampen down (the donkey cart trips with barrels of water hand pumped from the nearest well weren't hacking it), and kind FIA have lent us equipment to use it until we get set up properly.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
There's no water in the well
FIA drilling
Positive: Friends in Action had time to try for water on the IMS site, far from town pipes.
Negative: Their try yielded just a trickle from a small pocket, and by the time they had to stop - no water
Positive: They're willing to try again in another location
Negative: No guarantee water is anywhere on the SIM property, but if it is it will be far away so a long way to pump.
Foundations (here digging office external wall foundation)
Positive: Digging has started on foundations of IMS' adminstration and classroom building after termite mounds were eradicated.
Negative: Getting the quality and space we need is costing more than I'd expected
Positive: With a helpful builder made a few small changes and the future library (end room in building) can act temporarily as a large dorm room if finances are tight when accomodation is to be built, with books as they used to be, lining the classroom walls.
Positive: Friends in Action had time to try for water on the IMS site, far from town pipes.
Negative: Their try yielded just a trickle from a small pocket, and by the time they had to stop - no water
Positive: They're willing to try again in another location
Negative: No guarantee water is anywhere on the SIM property, but if it is it will be far away so a long way to pump.
Foundations (here digging office external wall foundation)
Positive: Digging has started on foundations of IMS' adminstration and classroom building after termite mounds were eradicated.
Negative: Getting the quality and space we need is costing more than I'd expected
Positive: With a helpful builder made a few small changes and the future library (end room in building) can act temporarily as a large dorm room if finances are tight when accomodation is to be built, with books as they used to be, lining the classroom walls.
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Ma tête tourne en rond
I've always like this particular French phase "my head is turning around", making me recall footage in some sci-fi video where a confused robot's head spins around faster and faster until blowing off in a shoot of steam!
Quick reassurance - not thinking of the head blowing off with the pressure...
But the IMS land/building question is like that for me, when there's those things that you think about from angle after angle, pray for in different ways, getting new info, getting others' opinions which moves you around another quarter ... and instead of bringing solutions rather changes the problem which means more thought, prayer, consulting ... and it goes 'round and round ...
We have great hopes, and wanted to improve from our rented situation, but we'll be lucky to get anything as good, especially before the next academic year.
First there was the long search for land ... and steps taken towards buying a lot that ended up with a price that would have used up all the funds we've received to date, leaving nothing for building. So we've been 'turning en rond' looking for affordable land that is big enough for now and for needs in 5-10 years.
Then there was the initial funding itself that seemed to go missing between the donation and the local account and is still in accounting ether, being still not in the right place. And the fact that it went from US to Canada to US for some reason and seems to have decreased on the way... I suppose it's all these recent exchange rate fluctuations. And the date of hitting our account will change the local amount we receive by up to 1 million cfa by my latest calculations.
Looking at affordable local land options - you hear something, get your hopes up, then realise it is either quite a risk or that someone got the information wrong or has changed their mind.
There's the land we were looking at buying ... no electricity but could get in a year or two, still some government paperwork to do, but expensive for the outlying location.
There's the cheaper outlying unsurveyed villages where land titles are not yet official (pay your money, hope that everyone will agree at the different stages for the paperwork at local and government level - at any stage you could loose the lot - and eventually maybe get permission to build months down the line).
There's distant land of sufficient size on main roads with access to electricity and water with paperwork done that should be cheaper but difficult to get owners to say a price, even when it's a local doing the negotiating (or price triples or more when a foreigner is involved).
There's another association that has suggested for years we go in with them and share libraries, classrooms etc .. but when we got down to it only wanted to 'rent land', basically giving you no legal rights here even as the builder either in decision making or compensation if they want to resume or sell the land later. After our refusal they look like reconsidering but now the paperwork hoops they (and us) would have to jump through for their land still makes it uncertain.
There's land already owned by SIM where the paperwork question is solved, but again far out, and costs of installing electricity to the amount we need (lights, fans, computers, occasional projecter, fridge..) would take most of the funding we've received (either by town electricity or installing solar) and needing to dig a well for water since the existing one isn't strong enough for adding us to the Fulani Bible School needs (cheap at 3 million a try..), again leaving practically nothing for building. And with the local wireless internet system being so bad except around 2am, how would we honour our commitment to the distance postgraduate missiology program we've signed?
There's architects willing to plan, and the possibility of help from a building organisation back home, but their involvement will date only from firm land details and can we then wait to start building until an overseas organisation gets geared up when rains will prevent a lot of building in 2 months or so?
Still, advancing step by step, like getting a local builder working just from sketches to give an estimate of what it would cost to build a 2 room office/class building and 4 student rooms with outside loos and showers and a small outside kitchen as Stage 1; then later add on another married (+1-2 kids) larger room and enclosing the loos, a library, section off the big room to include a private office for the director and a small group/conference room as Stage 2; and a student lounge/dining as Stage 4 with possible additional married's room (moving to a 3 year program means students will be less likely to want to leave family behind during their course). Many of these cheaper distant plots would have no rental properties anywhere near for families, let alone quality schooling for students' children.
Well, to stop all this turning, a D-date has been set. Information will be received up to 25 Feb, and a decision made 28 Feb about which option to follow. The builder's estimate will be used, along with the various electricity/water connection costs, and land costs to compare the sites available. Then we can start building before the rains come.
So far nothing stands out, but God can still work miracles in 15 days and bring along the ideal situation. And at least the tête will stop turning!
Concept only:
Quick reassurance - not thinking of the head blowing off with the pressure...
But the IMS land/building question is like that for me, when there's those things that you think about from angle after angle, pray for in different ways, getting new info, getting others' opinions which moves you around another quarter ... and instead of bringing solutions rather changes the problem which means more thought, prayer, consulting ... and it goes 'round and round ...
We have great hopes, and wanted to improve from our rented situation, but we'll be lucky to get anything as good, especially before the next academic year.
First there was the long search for land ... and steps taken towards buying a lot that ended up with a price that would have used up all the funds we've received to date, leaving nothing for building. So we've been 'turning en rond' looking for affordable land that is big enough for now and for needs in 5-10 years.
Then there was the initial funding itself that seemed to go missing between the donation and the local account and is still in accounting ether, being still not in the right place. And the fact that it went from US to Canada to US for some reason and seems to have decreased on the way... I suppose it's all these recent exchange rate fluctuations. And the date of hitting our account will change the local amount we receive by up to 1 million cfa by my latest calculations.
Looking at affordable local land options - you hear something, get your hopes up, then realise it is either quite a risk or that someone got the information wrong or has changed their mind.
There's the land we were looking at buying ... no electricity but could get in a year or two, still some government paperwork to do, but expensive for the outlying location.
There's the cheaper outlying unsurveyed villages where land titles are not yet official (pay your money, hope that everyone will agree at the different stages for the paperwork at local and government level - at any stage you could loose the lot - and eventually maybe get permission to build months down the line).
There's distant land of sufficient size on main roads with access to electricity and water with paperwork done that should be cheaper but difficult to get owners to say a price, even when it's a local doing the negotiating (or price triples or more when a foreigner is involved).
There's another association that has suggested for years we go in with them and share libraries, classrooms etc .. but when we got down to it only wanted to 'rent land', basically giving you no legal rights here even as the builder either in decision making or compensation if they want to resume or sell the land later. After our refusal they look like reconsidering but now the paperwork hoops they (and us) would have to jump through for their land still makes it uncertain.
There's land already owned by SIM where the paperwork question is solved, but again far out, and costs of installing electricity to the amount we need (lights, fans, computers, occasional projecter, fridge..) would take most of the funding we've received (either by town electricity or installing solar) and needing to dig a well for water since the existing one isn't strong enough for adding us to the Fulani Bible School needs (cheap at 3 million a try..), again leaving practically nothing for building. And with the local wireless internet system being so bad except around 2am, how would we honour our commitment to the distance postgraduate missiology program we've signed?
There's architects willing to plan, and the possibility of help from a building organisation back home, but their involvement will date only from firm land details and can we then wait to start building until an overseas organisation gets geared up when rains will prevent a lot of building in 2 months or so?
Still, advancing step by step, like getting a local builder working just from sketches to give an estimate of what it would cost to build a 2 room office/class building and 4 student rooms with outside loos and showers and a small outside kitchen as Stage 1; then later add on another married (+1-2 kids) larger room and enclosing the loos, a library, section off the big room to include a private office for the director and a small group/conference room as Stage 2; and a student lounge/dining as Stage 4 with possible additional married's room (moving to a 3 year program means students will be less likely to want to leave family behind during their course). Many of these cheaper distant plots would have no rental properties anywhere near for families, let alone quality schooling for students' children.
Well, to stop all this turning, a D-date has been set. Information will be received up to 25 Feb, and a decision made 28 Feb about which option to follow. The builder's estimate will be used, along with the various electricity/water connection costs, and land costs to compare the sites available. Then we can start building before the rains come.
So far nothing stands out, but God can still work miracles in 15 days and bring along the ideal situation. And at least the tête will stop turning!
Concept only:
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Ouaga the ideal vacation spot?
Friend and former housemate Jane has just returned to Chad this week after spending 10 days' vacation at my place. A frequent question she had to field was why come to Ouaga for vacation, when so many leave it?
We shared gourmet meals (her cooking), trips to restaurants that brought back memories of the "Friday club"'s regular outings, shopping, a visit to the pool, watching a DVD, and breaking for work (mainly me, but she did some work too). Our normal budget wouldn't cover it, but on vacation you always spend more...
And since my niece Jill and her friend Alyssa were in their final week of their 2 months in Burkina, she also joined us for an overnight trip to a local game park (my first time ... Jill's excellent photography at work in the pictures above).
Her messages as soon as she got back were of dust, blackouts, no electricity even in expensive hotel rooms since no room at the inn (mission guest houses), plus the awareness of whole difficult security situation when she returns to her post near the border with Darfur.
We do have it good in Ouaga. I should be counting my blessings more often.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Quick trip to Djibo
With the ideal (short) trip available, I traveled up with Dave & Marianne Ruten, Fulani team leaders, to Djibo in the north for 3 days. Most of the Fulani team had lived, worked or learned language there. Friends had recently moved there, so it was an ideal time to visit, before work for the year began in earnest.
The road was paved half way, but the dirt second half had some unexpected holes and continuous corrugations that quickly became tiring – still however seen apparently as ‘good’ in the eyes of those who were used to much worse in other seasons. The orange dirt theme of the road was continued into the town, whose ‘streets’ and houses are mostly made of the same stuff.
I tagged along to greet the pastor there who I know from the Fulani Bible school committee, the student sent up for the 4 month internship term, and an Aussie couple who have provided local medical assistance for many decades and now looking for replacements so they can retire. I also watched the church ladies learn how to make bread and peanut butter cookies to sell.
Djibo is known in the region for its lifestock markets, so we visited there and discussed the relative benefits of sheep vs goats (very similar looking here), spotted or plain vs 2-tone … not that I knew anything about it!
What's happening on the IMS land front?
Well actually, not much!
During my 4 months at home our office continued negotiation and steps toward purchasing the 4899m2 site, and another option came up that was closer, cheap or even free, had more conveniences, but half the size.
Legal complications meant that we didn't pursue that option, and as financial realities bit we started relooking at other options previously rejected as being too far out of town.
Each has advantages and disadvantages (eg. lack of electricity and water), and strangely enough ended up with extra costs that almost equalled the purchase price of the large lot we were pursuing.
So we're still looking! I go out mid-January to look at other options, while still gathering information and costings on the existing options. Hopefully this information will be available late January so a decision can be made and building started.
We have enough presently to buy land OR build buildings - and we need both! So appreciate prayers not only for guidance among the options available but that major funds would come in so we can get moving on getting buildings finished ready for IMS' next school year.
During my 4 months at home our office continued negotiation and steps toward purchasing the 4899m2 site, and another option came up that was closer, cheap or even free, had more conveniences, but half the size.
Legal complications meant that we didn't pursue that option, and as financial realities bit we started relooking at other options previously rejected as being too far out of town.
Each has advantages and disadvantages (eg. lack of electricity and water), and strangely enough ended up with extra costs that almost equalled the purchase price of the large lot we were pursuing.
So we're still looking! I go out mid-January to look at other options, while still gathering information and costings on the existing options. Hopefully this information will be available late January so a decision can be made and building started.
We have enough presently to buy land OR build buildings - and we need both! So appreciate prayers not only for guidance among the options available but that major funds would come in so we can get moving on getting buildings finished ready for IMS' next school year.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Just a little pause in transmission...
My life is just starting to get back to 'normal', whatever that is in Burkina.
After IMS graduation and closure for the year, a few hectic weeks were spent in moving furniture, books etc into various storage options and a small office/library behind another missionary couple's house. During this time I was still battling with my balance and hearing issues as in my 19 July post and the expertise of local doctors and facilities had reached its limit.
So 1 Aug saw me arrive back in Australia for tests I thought might take a month.
Four months later I made it back to Burkina, still slightly under the weather due to an unexpected case of the shingles taking up most of my planned 'recovery time' at the end of my stay.
Back, yes, but with a lot of recommendations for change, since fatigue and stress had been said to greatly complicate my medical problems:
- cut down on workload
- make sure get adequate sleep
- make sure get adequate and regular meals
- separate work and living arrangements (I tend to work on the computer in the lounge and miss meals or bedtimes when something needs to be finished).
So since my return I've been resigning from some of my regular expected work, sleeping in, put on more help so I can delegating some household tasks (complicated and lengthy here in Africa) to free up time, slowly starting to exercise again, eating more salad (the long cycle of market negotiation - scrub - soak in bleach - rinse - prepare had put me off) and vegetables (thankfully available this season).
With IMS closed and teaching not starting until mid January for evening Bible courses, I've also had more flexibility in time also to host my niece and her friends when they come in from the orphanage where they're working for 2 months.
After IMS graduation and closure for the year, a few hectic weeks were spent in moving furniture, books etc into various storage options and a small office/library behind another missionary couple's house. During this time I was still battling with my balance and hearing issues as in my 19 July post and the expertise of local doctors and facilities had reached its limit.
So 1 Aug saw me arrive back in Australia for tests I thought might take a month.
Four months later I made it back to Burkina, still slightly under the weather due to an unexpected case of the shingles taking up most of my planned 'recovery time' at the end of my stay.
Back, yes, but with a lot of recommendations for change, since fatigue and stress had been said to greatly complicate my medical problems:
- cut down on workload
- make sure get adequate sleep
- make sure get adequate and regular meals
- separate work and living arrangements (I tend to work on the computer in the lounge and miss meals or bedtimes when something needs to be finished).
So since my return I've been resigning from some of my regular expected work, sleeping in, put on more help so I can delegating some household tasks (complicated and lengthy here in Africa) to free up time, slowly starting to exercise again, eating more salad (the long cycle of market negotiation - scrub - soak in bleach - rinse - prepare had put me off) and vegetables (thankfully available this season).
With IMS closed and teaching not starting until mid January for evening Bible courses, I've also had more flexibility in time also to host my niece and her friends when they come in from the orphanage where they're working for 2 months.
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