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For the next few editions of Amazed By His Grace I would like to share with you a few of my journal entries from my trip to Burkina Faso. Before I get into that, let me give you some back ground about the wonderful country and its beautiful people.
Burkina Faso is a country in West Africa, situated above Ghana and Benin. It is one of 14 French-speaking nations on the continent. Formerly known as Upper Volta, Burkina Faso suffered greatly from the affects of the slave trade and colonialism. It is recognized as one of the poorest countries on the Continent. That is not their entire story.
The Burkinabe are a proud people who are the descendants of Kings and Queens. They have a rich heritage of music, dance, and art. Ouagadougou (pronounced wa ga da goo) the nation's capital city is the host site for the African Film Festival. Film makers from all over the world as well as from the many countries of Africa gather here to feature and debut their films, many of which were shot in Africa. I saw for myself another attribute to add to accolades of the people of Burkina Faso. Their hospitality and spirit of giving is out of this world!
Journal Entry: Day 2 Welcome to Burkina Faso!
I'm not sure what time it is anymore. I think it's around 9:30 pm, that's….about 1:30 pm back home. I can hardly believe it, after more than 24 hours of travel I am about to get off this plane. I'm going to have to make this entry quick. A life-long goal to visit the Mother Land is only moments away. It's dark outside. I hope that I will be able to see something!
12:30 am. I am at our temporary home for the next few days. The apartment has a little kitchen in it. Right next to the refrigerator, where we keep a full liter of water cold at all times, is this scripture:
Philippians 4:11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. NLT
I am not feeling this scripture right now. You wouldn't either if what happened to me happened to you.
My first breath of African air was unbelievable. It has to be about 700º right now. I thought I was dressed appropriately for travel and I was, but not for arrival. Nylon jogging suit, long-sleeved t-shirt and matching nylon hooded jogging suit jacket. First order of business, take off the jacket now! I can't believe how some of these people are dressed. Suits, long-sleeves, full dresses, jackets and coats! They aren't even sweating. There is a solider with a gun strapped to his hip yelling at me. (or just talking loudly at me to keep moving) He doesn't understand that back in Chicago it was 65º and on every airplane it was at least 68º. If I don't get this jacket off now, I'm going to burst into flames. I began to think about home, what happened to the Air-conditioned Jet-way that leads you from the gate to baggage claim? Every step down the stairs, on to the tarmac was costing me about a pint of sweat.
Since the soldier had the gun and I didn't understand a word he was saying I thought that I would get moving and take a picture of the group as I was walking backwards towards the terminal which was about 75 feet away. As I snapped my picture and passed the solider he was still looking at me yelling at me. I figured that he wanted me put my camera away and get into to the terminal. Right about now, I was looking for a customer service representative or someone who wasn't "strapped" to help a brother out.
We got through customs pretty quickly. I'm thankful for all of the pre-trip assistance we received that aided us in having all of our documents in order. Inside the terminal the temperature was about 900º, no A/C or ceiling fans. The air was thick with the perfume of humanity. In other words, the air in this terminal was as hot as a summer at the Taste of Chicago and it smelled like the hottest and most perspiration laden locker room ever known to the history of man. It was hard to breathe and on top of it all it was crowded.
My mission: to get the team's luggage off the conveyor belt, secure it and get out of this building as quickly as possible. I split up the students into two teams, one who would spot our luggage and carry it to team two who would ensure that it didn't walk away. I wanted to set the example for moving with purpose for the student team so I positioned myself as close to "hole in the wall" where our luggage was to emerge. As I spotted our bags I shouted out to a student to grab it and get it over to our secure spot. "This is a great system I thought to myself". We should be out of here in 15 minutes tops.
One hour later I along with 3 other people stood in front of the "hole" waiting for our luggage to pop out. I had sent all the students to the secure area once all of their items had been claimed. With Sweat soaking my clothes and stinging my eyes I dared not take my eyes off of the "hole in the wall." Then the unexpected happened. The conveyor stopped. Horror began to choke up in the back of my dry throat. "My bag didn't come out." I'm not sure how long I stood frozen there. Someone came over to me and asked if I had my bag. I couldn't even say no. I just shook my head.
30 minutes later I was in a very small office with our host, a Burkinabe who spoke English, our trip coordinator, Gertrude, and the producer. The first thing that I noticed was that the air in this office was cooler. HE HAD AIR CONDIDTIONING! I leaned up against the wall and closed my eyes and said "Thank you God." When I opened my eyes again I found myself still sweating. I wanted to ask if someone turned off the air. I could hear that the machine was still running. While it felt like 900º in the terminal it was only about 850º in this office. I looked to our host and asked if the man could turn up the air a little. Our host translated my request. The man behind the desk looked at me and then something in French and then turned his attention to his computer. Our host said that it won't go any higher. I didn't need an interpreter to understand his reply. I could tell just from our quick eye to eye exchange that this was no mere mortal man we were dealing with. He was "The Master of the Universe." This man alone controlled my life until my luggage came; everything from clean underwear to cool cotton shirts, pants and comfortable shoes. He controlled it so I had better watch it. Just to flex his power he spoke to me telepathically. "You will get no more air! You are not at home where you can blast the air anyway you want. Learn to adjust!"
15 more minutes passed and it was my turn to make my claim. I peeled myself off of the wall and sat in the chair directly in front of "The Master." The second thing I noticed was the equipment he was using to find my luggage. The computer screen was something that dated back to 1986. An amber screen monitor! If you are a computer person you are probably freaking out right now. There was no Windows operating system! The third thing I noticed was an Okidata 8 pin dot matrix printer. This was older than the monitor. I lifted my eyes from the printer and caught the gaze of "The Master." Once again he didn't say any words to me but his telepathic message was "Do you think this is Burger King where you can have it your way? Learn to adjust!"
Tonight marks the end of 4 complete days without my suitcase. I learned to deal with the heat, it felt like it was about 1710º in the shade, someone loaned me a t-shirt, and gave me a pair of new just out of the package boxers to wear. (Hey, when you don't know when your own are coming someone else's underwear start looking pretty good and you will be pretty grateful to have them.) With the clothes that I had and my toothbrush, water bottle, and anti-malaria meds I made it quite easily for the last 4 days. On the night my suit case came I was really happy! I pulled my 74½ pound suitcase (the travel allowance was 75 pounds) across the gravel and rocks to my room. Somehow it didn't seem this heavy when I was packing it.
I hoisted the suitcase up on my bed and opened it up. A few days ago I imagined diving into my suit case and pulling out my nice fresh clothes. Standing there it dawned on me. In a day we travel to Leo', a village 300 miles away, and I have this 75 pound burden to drag around. For 4 days I washed out what I needed for the next day, was able to move quickly, and nobody said anything about what I was wearing, even if they did I really didn't care.
I reached in to the suitcase and took out my shaving kit and full-sized toothbrush and then headed to the refrigerator to get the bottled water to brush my teeth with. I saw the scripture that I had now committed to memory.
Philippians 4:11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. NLT
As I walked back to the bathroom I was a little bit sad about my luggage. In a way I wish that my stuff was back home or at least that I didn't bring so much. I realized how little I actually needed. Jesus gave me the strength and attitude to deal with having only two changes of clothes from April 1 to Aril 6. Truly "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13. I have a deeper understanding of what Paul was trying to say to the Philippians, check out Philippians 4:13 in context.
Phil. 4:11-13 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.
Thank you Father for teaching me to adjust while still being full of joy.
I Am Amazed By His Grace.
Rev. James King