The adventure continues--planning to return

It has now been nearly 20 months since I returned from Abidjan/Paris.  Much has happened and yet much remains unknown, and to be seen.  I left Paris in lockdown, and ten returned to Maryland for a semi-lockdown, as we learned more about the virus that seemed to be ravaging the world.

I had hoped to return in early 2021, but was advised against it.  Some people did return--JeDene Reeder spent a few days in my Paris apartment on her way to the Côte d'Ivoire awaiting the results of a delayed PCR test.  Laurel Miller used the time to have knee surgery in Germany, while locals like Ezechiel Lopemba [pictured below] stayed in place, carrying on as before. 

 

Some expats like Fina Linan and Kate Royal decided to remain as well. Others like Sharon Nordley, based in Vernon, France, who work as language consultants, decided to stay put, using Zoom and Skype as a means of communicating with local West-African translators. In her case, Sharon was afraid of jeopardizing her French carte de séjour. 

When I was finally able to return to Paris in September, I was joined by my longtime friend Judy Koucky, and the two of us met Sharon in Giverny, not far from Vernon. I had first met Sharon in Abidjan when she was there for consultant training, and the following year when she was working with local translators there. Over lunch Sharon shared with use some of the types of problems that occur in translation, particularly when a people group, is completely unfamiliar with Biblical flora and fauna, etc. Were substitutions of local plant and animal equivalents acceptable? What if the image was that of grape vines and vineyards, where whole metaphors were built upon the symbolism of a particular image?

 

 

And in many ways, the past year and a half seemed particularly sad because I had lost a number of co-workers at home, most just a few years older than I. And recently I learned of the untimely death of a Dutch missionary living in Bamako, Carina Saarloos.  Carina had been with CMA [former Christian and Missionary Alliance] and had worked in Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire, until 2002 when she moved to Mali. I met her in Ouagadougou when she visited the SIL library there several years ago, and was encouraged by her words of enthusiasm for what I was doing. She was a seemingly tireless and upbeat person, and her loss is one for Mali as well, as she was such an active person there, ministering in prisons, working with prostitutes, at a refugee camp, teaching English in a mission outreach school, etc.  A verse came to mind, Psalm 11:15 [NIV] which I read the evening I learned of her death: "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants."

 

 

 

There is much to be done before my departure, but now that I am back from Paris, I have begun in earnest...

Things are starting to fall into place. I have been approved for travel by Wycliffe, have bought my airline tickets, gotten a housesitter/petsitter to stay in my place in the US, I have gotten my Covid 19 Pfizer booster shot, am taking care of immunizations and medical appointments. I listen to the news about the changing regulations due to the latest Omicron variant, and cringe, but only time will tell what I will need in mid-January.  I can only plan a step at a time...

Another sad bit of news, however came from a post by JeDene to Facebook recently regarding Burkina Faso.  She wrote: 

"I just received permission to share this. Last week, terrorists shut down a couple of schools (school directors were told that if they valued their lives, they would leave) in the area of SW Burkina Faso where we have a translation and literacy team. For fear of the safety of their villages and teachers, local authorities (including the K[aan]. king) have decreed that all schools in the department be closed. Teachers in Loropeni, the main town of the department, are petitioning to have schools reopened since now there's an army detachment there. Please pray for wisdom for all authorities, and that the Lord God would use this situation to bring many to Christ."

We have heard of problems in the north and east of Burkina, but hearing that it is affecting the southwest, and particularly where SIL has been working [among the Kaan people], is disheartening.  Prayers for this unfortunate situation are welcome.

Some areas of Burkina seem to be functioning well, though.  The latest newsletter from Friends of African Village libraries includes this post on their website :

"During the period of November 8 - 20, 2021, the animator of the mobile library Penelope has made trips to elementary schools in the town of Houndé namely: School A, the Lokihoun School, the School St. Theresa of Jesus, School B, School D, School E, School F and School C. Several animation activities were conducted, including guessing games, guided reading, puzzles, calculation games and reading competitions. These activities allowed the students to discover many things and to have a spirit of reflection with the aid of riddles and  guided reading; as well as distraction through games. During this period I counted a participation of some 952 readers."

 

 FAVL also participated in the International Book Fair of Ouagadougou [FILO]which is exciting.  The FAVL website reports:

"From November 25 to 28, 2021, Friends of African Village Libraries/FAVL, participated in the 16th edition of FILO which took place under the theme: "Publishing, book markets in Burkina Faso: Issues, challenges and prospects". The FAVL-BF team's exhibit to the general public and visitors included photo books and books produced at the Multimedia Center of Houndé (CMH). In addition to the exhibition, it presented FAVL a privileged partner of ABVBF (Friends of Burkina Faso Village Libraries) its activities and objectives. They also sold copies of books produced at CMH. During this FILO 2021, the team members had contacts with booksellers, publishers, Burkinabé and foreign writers, and professionals and actors of the book industry. The exhibits were very much appreciated by visitors. Many visitors found these books well adapted to the beneficiary communities, especially young readers. Some bought copies of materials, while others congratulated and encouraged the team for this great fight to promote libraries and reading. The team received visits from some of the actors of the book industry such as: the General Director of Books and Public Reading, the director of the National Library of Burkina, the writer Ansomwin Ignace Hien, the mayor of the town of Rollo ... All praised the efforts of FAVL-BF for its capacity, its experience, its dedication and its commitment to the promotion of reading in rural and semi-urban areas..."

 

Fina continues to be hard at work with the children in her neighborhood.  She has started a third "Kid's Club" in a different location, with 124 children, and 38 adults in attendance at the opening in early November. Good things are happening. Below is Fina visiting FAVL's office in 2019 before the pandemic with some materials she purchased for her centers.

 

Simon Nacoulma seems to be continuing to fare well, although his wife and children seem to have multiplied their visits to Ireland to visit family. and to the Côte d'Ivoire. Of course that may be due also because the parents of Simon's wife, Rachel, Derek and Heather Johnson, have retired from Wycliffe as of last November, and are back in Ireland...

His good news is that the Abidjan-based non-profit organization Fondation 225, dedicated to encouraging African development, awards annual prizes in its PADEV program in various categories. Simon Nacoulma, as Coordinator of ICCV, was awarded the "African Merit and Excellence Award 2021" and received his award in Rwanda in Kigali on September 27, 2021. 

  

So some degree of normalcy continues despite both increasing terrorism, governmental instability and, of course, the ever-present pandemic.  Who knows what the future will bring to this [or any] area of the world.  At any rate, as 2 Corinthians 5: 7 reads  "we walk by faith, not by sight."