Church in Many Languages

January 18th, 2009

This morning we attended the church service held at the Christian School adjacent to the SIM station. The service was a mix of Gourma, French, English, and Sign Language. Even though we did not know what all of the words meant, many of the melodies were familiar. We shared "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" (with motions) in English and French. The service included prayers, about an hour of lively singing, and a sermon about self control. After lunch we began packing for our trip to Nindangou tomorrow, shelled peanuts, and made peanut brittle as a snack for tomorrow. The students helped our Burkinabe friend and helper Daniel with a church program for children this afternoon. They played African versions of tag and kick the can, as well as frisbee and badminton. Later, several local pastors came over to visit and pray for our health and for the rest of our trip. We are now waiting for the missionaries to return from the spiritual life conference in Fada, and will be sharing dinner prepared by a local women with them. The dinner includes three chickens which were given to us during the course of our stay here, as well as rice and a delicious African sauce. Most of the team leaves for Nindangou early tomorrow morning. David will remain In Maadaga a bit longer and rejoin us on Saturday in Ouaga. We will not have electricity in Nindangou, so the blog will most likely be updated only 1 - 2 times during the next week. We are grateful to God for our safety thus far, and for the many friendships we have made here.

-Kay Witt