Jana's Faith: December 2013

I'm Here!!

29.12.13

Well, I'm here.

I have been spending the last 2 days getting my feet under me and taking it all in.

I'm seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling so many new things. I feel flies, sweat running down my back and dust coating my throat.

But l I feel at peace, I feel at home.

From the instant I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac (you go directly onto the runway off of the plane) I felt 100% peaceful.

I feel like I have finally come home after a journey that has taken many years. There are so many things here that are totally mind boggling, from the man carrying an insane amount of sticks on a moto to the 5 year old boy that wanders down the middle of the highway alone to the amazing African overload. But all around I see joy, people laughing and smiling, pointing and waving as we drive by. The fact that these people can have joy in a situation that most of us couldn't handle is amazing. It is such a blessing to see people that take joy in the little things.

We are still in the capitol, Ouagadougou getting things handled like phones, visas and supplies, hence the internet, which has been on and off all day. A family on our team came to pick us up so we have been getting used to fitting 11 people into a 7 seater car driving on very bumpy roads, it provides a lot of laughs! We are staying in the CMA guest house here and are enjoying being with friends.
I can't wait to get to our house ( a 8 hr drive away on very bumpy roads) and start settling into life. I'll try to get some more pics up and keep y'all updated!!

Prayer Requests
continued transition
continued language learning and starting to learn the west-African french accent
safe travels to our new house on the 31st
weather acquisition, we had a 40 degree temp increase when we first got here!!

I'd love to keep in contact with you guys from here, just let me know what will work best and we'll get it done!!

Love in Christ,
Jana

I'm in Burkina!! Can you believe it!?!?!

Photography

Photo Challenge Day 18-22

23.12.13

18: handwriting

19: socks

20: guilty pleasure

21: eyes

22: from where I stand

Newsletters

December Newsletter

22.12.13

Check out our September Newsletter and catch up on past ones here!

You can also sign up for our e-mail newsletter here!

I can't believe that Christmas is in only 3 days, it's crazy how fast time has flown!! Only 5 days until our departure for Burkina! Life has been really busy with packing, saying goodbye to friends and family here so that is the reason for my lack of posting. I'm hoping that I can catch you all up to date before we leave!! Our prayer requests are in the newsletter and I so covet your prayers!

Merry Christmas!

(that's a lot of exclamation marks..)

Love in Christ,

Jana

Words of Truth

20.12.13

Photography

Photo Challenge Day 11-16

17.12.13

11. family

12. green

13. christmas tree

14. something sweet

16. your shoes

France

12 Days More!

16.12.13

(only 9 days till Christmas!!)

In 12 days I will be getting off a plane and stepping onto Burkina soil, I can't begin to tell you how excited I am!! Sure there are moments of panic when you think "Okay, we're starting our malaria meds tomorrow and I'm gonna be in Africa in 12 days..okay that weird" but I have such a peace about finally being where I know God wants my family and I. We have this week of school and then 6 days to re-pack our suitcases and enjoy Christmas with my Dad's Aunt and Uncle that are flying in. It'll be a whirlwind I'm sure!
(That would be the reason for a lack of posts and falling behind on the photo challenge....oops!)

The weather has definitely got a lot colder over the last couple weeks. Every morning there is frost on the sidewalks and if it's in the shade, it stays all day. We're enjoying our fuzzy sweaters and jeans before heading to the high temperatures in Burkina. Which actually, haven't been very high at all. This morning it was down to 63 Fahrenheit at night!! We were all doing a jig, that's like unheard of there!! So we're thankful for low temps but it'll be a shock to our systems going form the 30's to the 90's. I'm sure I'll have plenty of funny stories after the fact! I know that you guys in the U.S. have been getting pretty chilly weather also, are you keeping warm?

Our French has greatly improved and the thought of only being able to communicate in French when we get to Burkina has really helped with practicing more!! Mom and Dad are having final tests and wrapping up classes in the next few days so your prayers would be greatly appreciated!

I would love to be able to get your contact info before we leave. And if it's possible I really want to Skype or Facetime with you so I can see y'all before we leave reliable internet!! Just leave a comment or an e-mail and we'll figure it out!

Prayer Requests

Transition to go smoothly as possible
Continued language learning
Traveling mercies for the next 2 weeks
Being able to say goodbye well to all our new friends at school
Everything to go smoothly when we first arrive in Burkina and that everything will be accomplished that needs to be before we drive the 8 1/2 hrs. on African roads to our new home

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support!!

Love in Christ,
Jana

Family

Le domaine de Marie-Antoinette

13.12.13

▴ Mike the Muskrat

▴ We were all quite worried about these pigs, they were so fat that their stomachs were dragging the ground...

▴Holly!

The grounds at Versailles are truly massive. I think we walked around for 3 hours and there was still so much to see!! Le domaine de Marie-Antoinette is the little hamlet that she had built for herself for the weekends. It was charming, but definitely overboard. I now fully understand how right the French people were to be upset at how Royalty lived compared to the average person. It is beautiful but so extravagant!