The Ivory Journey

I realize that it has been far too long since I have written, but so much has happened in the last few weeks!

Holly and I went to Burkina Faso:

we saw lots of ELEPHANTS!

I met some amazing missionaries

and was introduced to an inspiring ministry called Dorcas House

 Dorcas House is a center for girls at risk. "At risk" means this: they've been taken off the streets, out of drugs, alcohol, or prostitution, or have lost their families. These girls live at Dorcas House and learn to sew and other trades. They take care of each other and they learn about Jesus. I was so touched by the openness of these girls when Amy Nehlsen took us just for a short visit. They greeted us with smiles and hugs, as their sisters in Christ. 

Holly was able to see a project happening in the bush outside of Ouagadougou. The project is looking at how to raise game animals of West Africa to be used as meat, giving the people of Burkina Faso another source of  food. Holly's excited about starting up this kind of project with agouti in Bouake (AGOUTI is that giant rat that I enjoy eating so much ;)!

 Spent time in the market...

 And lots of time in the car! 9 hours to get to Ouaga!

 New favorite snack: fresh cashews along the road

And now I'm back in Bouake...

Th political situation in the last 2 weeks has gotten hotter and I was starting to feel the strain of that a bit. We'd all adjusted to the stress of living in a country under such turmoil, but then I was given a week away from it all, and when we came back in... it felt a little too hot for my liking. So I decided to retreat to Bouake for a bit of a breather. And guess what???

Cote d'Ivoire only has ONE president now!

It's a beautiful thing- and a step in the right direction. Ouattera's troops took Abidjan last night and he made an announcement calling for the people to remain peaceful. I have a lot of respect for our new president.

 He's a classy guy.

So, what did we do to celebrate?

We went out for attieke and poulet in Bouake to celebrate Chazz's birthday

and Devin and I engaged in a sword fight with giant see pods...

I won. Sorry Devin.

So what's next?

I'm not altogether sure. But one thing I am sure of: God is in control.