One of my favorite ministries here in Ouagadougou, is the handicap ministry. This is a ministry that was started by a local pastor to reach out to the handicap population. We consider this group of people an unreached people here in Burkina because they are basically discarded by society and most people want nothing to do with them. Over the last year, it has been so exciting to see how much God has been doing with this ministry. In addition to the many handicap bikes that have been given away, a restaurant was started so that the handicap people would have a place to go and eat (they are not allowed in restaurants).  Not only that, but this provides jobs for some of the people in the handicap association. Recently, this restaurant has really grown and others in the community have even become excited about what is going on and have contributed to helping it grow. The handicap association will also be starting a farm in Sector 30 in the next couple months, which will give even more people jobs.

Today we went to Sector 30, where the handicap ministry is, to distribute a couple of handicap bikes. There were many people from the handicap association and widow’s ministry there for a meeting in regards to the new farm. As exciting as all of this is I was even more exited when I realized that the grandmother of the Compassion child I sponsor is part of this group.

(here is a photo of one of the guys who received a bike at the distribution)

While at the bike distribution, my Compassion child came up to me… Let me interrupt my story here and just say that it brings me joy whenever I happen to be at Sector 30 and I randomly get to see my Compassion child. How many people get to experience something like this?????  In this picture, Amed has a much different facial expression than the pics from the first time we met almost 7 years ago.

OK, so as we were talking he told me his grandmother was there and I asked him to take me to her so I could greet her. There she was sitting with the group of widows waiting for the meeting. It brings me such joy to realize that she will have a job to help provide for her family.

After greeting Amed’s grandmother I snuck over to the car with Amed to give him some snacks even though I tell every team member to not even think about handing anything out in Sector 30 (yes, I broke my own rule).  That is when he introduced me to his little brother, Samadou.  Of course, this meant I also shared some snacks with this adorable little guy.

Amed was about this size when I first met him.  Just for fun, here is a picture of Amed back then …

I just love how two ministries that I am involved with in one way or another collided on this day.  It brought me great joy!

I remember writing a blog before I moved to Burkina about the things I would miss the most after leaving the U.S. You know, things like my family, friends, good food and Chick fil a. It wasn’t long after moving to Burkina that I realized it was things like electricity, running water and cooler weather that I would miss the most (besides family and friend of course). It is in the middle of hot season (March-May) that I miss these things the most.

May is a miserable month here in Burkina. Temperatures get up to 110-115 or hotter most days with it being over 100 degrees in my house pretty much every day. There are also frequent power cuts (I had one for 14 hours the other day) and water cuts. Typically I just want to get through hot season as fast as I can because it is so miserable. It was during a recent power cut when I was drenched in sweat and wanting to complain about how miserable I was that I was reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I live in a country where most of the people never have electricity or running water.   Not only do I have both most of the time, but I have a backup water tower so that I basically never run out of water (this wasn’t the case my first year here) and I have a generator I can run when the power cuts get to be too long (or I just need power). I also have an air conditioner I can run at night to sleep or when I need a break from the heat. I am blessed with a nice house and never run out of good food.

Too often I am quick to complain about the things that make life uncomfortable and I am way to slow in giving God thanks for all He has blessed me with. This is something God has convicted me of before and has once again brought to my attention. In the middle of a miserable situation I need to learn to look for those things God has blessed me with and choose to be thankful regardless of the situations I find myself in.