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.

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.