lately

lately… | 2 |

22.5.14





+ packing for bobo
+ looking forward to helping with a health class in a village on saturday (please be praying!)
+ happy to be hanging with friends for the next couple days!!  
+ hoping for more rains, hasn't been any in a while
+ realizing that lists are one of the easiest ways to communicate
+ randomly wondering if any of y'all are on pinterest (and if so, let me know)
+ thanking God that we've been here 5 months and i haven't gotten malaria yet!  and considering i am the largest mosquito magnet on the continent, that's pretty amazing…
+ thinking that the 3rd pic of jess and i looks like the weird painting of the farmer.  you know, the one with a pitchfork and his wife…
+ doing lots and lots ( & lots) of school
+ excitedly waiting of our chicks to hatch
+ trying to figure out why the entire computer seems to be zoomed in
+ craving dr. pepper and dairy queen
+ imessaging with a friend
+ looking forward to friends getting back in country for summer!
+ very excited about a hot shower tomorrow, at the guest house

despite what these pictures show, we are normal.
i promise…
okay fine, normal-ish.

Africa

sindou peaks

17.5.14




















after a ripped skirt, sunscreen and a short drive we were at sinou peaks.
friends, beautiful heights, and cool breezes.
and as a side note it is a bit difficult to climb up a rock face to get here, in a floor length skirt… 
but something that i am getting very good at.

everyday blessings

everyday blessing {3}

15.5.14





+ bible study in proverbs, i think by the end half of my bible will be highlighted
+ pinterest quote boards
+ studying the parts of history that i love in school
+ journaling on the porch after the first rain in 2 weeks
+ the smell of rain 
+ hanging out with my brother and the camera
+ little reminders, like these thorns, that life here is truly hard, and i'm not just a wimp
+ catching up with school work and feeling accomplished every day
+ friends who had to go back to the states for a medical emergency coming back next week (hopefully)
+ new burkinabé outfits from a friend 
+ having someone over for dinner for the first time since moving here, a lovely lady who has been serving the Lord here for 24 years
+ facebook,  making friends & family who are far away, wether in here in burkina or the states, seem not so far
+ black and white photos… they make me happy
+ the Lords faithfulness to fill me up when i've been running empty for a while
+ my community of blogs and blogger friends that make me smile
+ my mom, she's been a bigger blessing to me in the past few weeks than i ever could've imagined
+ chicks to hatch any day
+ the first steps of a nest
+ finally being motivated to post and having some ideas
+ the Lord showing me to look past all the hardships and enjoy the little gifts He gives

Africa

one in five.

9.5.14

one of five children die before their fifth birthday.
a statistic that has so easily fallen off of my tongue in the past.


standing by a table with prayer cards, pictures and information, i would tell people of the poverty and hunger.
of the short lived lives and the high mortality rates, that one in five children die before their fifth birthday. 






i don't fully realize what those words meant.
i tried, but i couldn't completely wrap my mind around something that big, that heart wrenching.
maybe it was to protect my heart, 
maybe it was because i was distracted in the rush of things, 
or maybe it was because i couldn't.
i didn't have a way to wrap my mind around it, i had no "box" to put it in yet. 


but now looking at their sweet, dirty little faces, my heart breaks. 
knowing that it's possible  probable for one of these five kids to die before their 5th birthday.
it makes me cry
life is so precious, so fragile.
i reminded of it here daily.






i hear about friends who went to the hospital because of a stomachache,
why go to the hospital for only a stomachache, we wonder.
ad then we hear of the people who died after having a stomachache and not going.
the numbers now have faces and personality.
the statistics names and preferences.


how do i begin to deal with it, grapple with the weight of it all?


life here has no happy ending. 
there is no light at the end of the tunnel,
except for The Light.
the only One who can provide any hope in this dark, dangerous world we live in.

Africa

lately...

6.5.14





+feeling nostalgic and wishing for rain like we got 2 weeks ago so i can dance in it, much to my                   neighbors surprise
+settling back in from being at camp in the capitol (hopefully pics are soon to come)
+going through long ago forgotten posts and pics
+worrying about the baby in the yard behind us that cries all the time
+making lists of people to write(back)
+writing papers on greek mythology
+listening to my ipod on shuffle
+cooking dinner, it involves being in the kitchen for hours (2 tonight) and sweating.  a lot.
+reading through the old testament
+brainstorming for new post ideas
+longing for good, consistent internet
+needing a schedule for school, blogging, writing, and pretty much everything else, but in africa schedules are a little harder to stick to than elsewhere
+marking the days off the calendar
+searching for new books to read (suggestions?)
+loving the new blog design (thanks rose)
+looking forward to not traveling anywhere for a little bit
+planning on posting more
+checking mail tomorrow
+thinking a lot
+journaling even more
+running out of things to say….

xoxojana