Random thoughts

So I don't have major story to write about, just several things that have been happening lately or will be happening shortly. I hope you enjoy.

First off, I have a youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49lSO6OPJ0Y which you can see about a 4-5 minute video put together from the Southern Exposure trip. I recommend using the link rather than searching for "Southern Exposure" I'm thinking you might come across some links that you wouldn't be looking for. On that note, I have to say the trip was a month ago or so now, but I can still see the students growing from the trip. As a group this years youth group is gelling well, becoming more transparent with one another and I believe that we are better imitating the body of Christ now than before. This is very exciting for me as a leader to see this perspective going on and to see the students begin to question and challenge their existing worldviews. My hope is that I can continue to guide them as they work through these lifelong issues.

In other news another one of my good friends has left for good. A Peace Corps friend of mine (it was here village that we went to for the Southern Exposure trip) finished her service earlier this month. The only good thing about her leaving is that we went several times to get a nice meal or ice cream and stuff like that. But it is a bummer to have her gone and just another reminder that all things are temporal, especially here. That is one thing I struggle and wrestle with. Truth be told, I don't think there should be this kind of turn around in the communities here. Especially for building solid, honest, open Christian community to which I am striving for, this constant coming and going of people (and eventually myself as well) really hinders. I have experienced and seen other missionaries and aid workers here just not get close to new comers because they know soon enough one of them is going to leave. This is frustrating to say the least.

Finally, I have been busy this week and will be busy the next 2 weeks with "Give a Kid a Christmas". This is a major project that I am helping a few other missionaries here with. They have put together 3,000 backpacks with pens, paper, and other school supplies to give away at different elementary schools in a village called Piella. 2 of the guys and I went last week to check it out and talk to the local pastors about it. It's quite an operation but a great way to both bless those kids, teach them about social things (brush your teeth, don't eat dirty food etc) and present the gospel as well. I'm very excited to be on board with this project this year. That's all for now. Next time I'll let you know how the Give a Kid a Christmas goes, and how Turkeyday here in Burkina went!

Southern Exposure Pic's

These photos are of myself and one of the students Robbie after our last night of outreach. After we were done with our program a large dance party started up and Robbie and I were right in the middle of it!

The next picture is of several kids going for a football. We brought a football and some frisbees to play with the kids and I taught them how to throw a football for the first time.

Finally there is a picture of our gospel presentation. You might be familiar with the "color scheme" in the gospel presentation using several colors to describe our relationship with God and each other. In order that the kids could see the color and image well we had capes made of the different colors to show how, goodness, sin, and forgiveness actually cover us to some degree.

Southern Exposure

I got back from our children outreach a few days ago, and after some much needed downtime and processing I figured I'd let all you know how it went. I'll start off by saying it was amazing! The other youth leaders and I have been planning this trip for quite some time now, really since the end of August and for the past month and a half we'd been meeting every Saturday morning for prep meetings with the team of students. It was a lot of work, a lot of time, but it was all worth it. The kids did a great job with the program we put together both a morning and evening program for the African kids. Besides sharing the gospel and doing a great skit about the Exodus I think as a group we broke down a lot of preconceived notions the Burkinabe had about Americans/Westerners. They were amazed that we were willing to get on the ground, to get dirty, to be real I guess. And for the village we were in, talking with one of the Burkinabe down there, he said he'd never seen that many white people before! There were 20 of us.

Along with our time sharing about God with the Africans, I believe God moved mightily in the lives of our youth group students. I saw many students experience, feel, and rejoice in God's presence. I was blessed to see them moved by the Lord so powerfully. As a group they became closer, I became closer to many of them, and they had a powerful encounter with God. All the people involved I believe were blessed and had encounters with the living God. And another special treat for me was that Sunday morning I gave a short message in the local church. It is quite often typical for a guest pastor/missionary to give a message, and that fell to me. Actually I didn't know I was doing it until Saturday night, so I scrambled to prepare something that night and early Sunday morning. Obviously more prep time would have been great, but given the time I had to work with I think it went very well. I even got a few comments from some of the church leaders after the service saying that my message was practical and something the congregation needed to hear. So I was glad that God guided me in that. Overall, the students came back excited and worn out which usually means they had a great time and the trip was well worth it.
Thank you to those who were praying for this trip, it was much needed and appreciated.
I will be uploading pictures in the days to come so stay tuned!

More Pics

So the picture of me with my helmet on was taken by my roommate Reid, as we had to haul a 5 gallon cooler across town on his dirt bike. So We did what any normal person would do. Strapped it to my back so that I look like "Rocketman" I thought it looked kind of funny.

The picture to the right is another picture from youth group. These are two of the high school students Dave and DJ. You've got to admit, we look pretty cool don't we?

It's Been A Year!!!

Yes, as of October 11th I believe, I have been in Burkina Faso for one year. I can remember when I first arrived one year seemed like a daunting time period, nevertheless I have made it thus far. Actually during my one year anniversary I was in Niger for a softball tournament. Unfortuanately we did not take home the championship, but it was pretty fun nonetheless.
And if you are wondering how everything with the moto and paperwork worked out, well it did. Finally, it actaully took most of the day to find the police station take care of the paperwork and all and get my moto back, but I did and I'm back blasting off all over the galaxy again.
I am now looking forward to the mission trip or "Southern Exposure" trip we'll back taking with the youth group towards the end of the month. I think the kids are getting pretty excited for it and it should come together nicely. We'll see though.
In the mean time here are a few photos I said I'd put up of the youth group.

The Empire Strikes Back

When we last left our hero he was exhausted after battling the forces of futility in the Faso. His hope was that with the sunrise a new day would dawn and the momentum would shift in his favor. That however was not to be.
It is true that my Saturday wasn't too bad considering I had to walk everywhere, but the Saturday morning meeting went well and I had lunch with one of the young jedi in training. However, it did not help that when Sunday rolled around I had the excruciating task of listening to the Seahawks get beat like an African drum on a shoddy radio connection that broke in and out. And with that set up, Monday morning happened.
I woke up to my alarm and was excited to get going because I knew I had so much to accomplish before picking the guys up for after school boys Bible study. I traversed the mile or more to the Rebel headquaters (SIM) and then began looking for a way to both get my moto back and get down and straighten out my visa fiasco. Well, it turned out no one was really around to help me out and no one had a spare moto I could use. So I borrowed one of the youth group students bicycle, went back to my house to change knowing that going warp speed on a bike in Burkina is going to cause a lot of sweat. So I loaded up some water and my papers and headed down to the Niger embassy. After the 8 mile bike ride down which I hustled (because I had other things to do) I got to the office only to find the man I needed to see was not in his office. So, I waited patiently for about 10 minutes for the man to come back. Finally he did and then I entered and began to ask him what I needed to fill out. Well, he gave our hero an inquisitive look and replied, "There's nothing wrong with your application." To which our hero looked at him and said "you called me Friday afternoon saying I had not done my application correctly". To which he said, "Oh, well I straightened it out". At which point our hero was so glad he borrowed a bike to ride 8 miles down there just to find that out. Great.
So after coming to grips with the fact that I not only wasted time, but also a lot of energy and sweat I picked up a few items at a store and began to head home. After crossing the galaxy and safely returning, (however at one point I raced a burkinabe kid on a bike, I came out on top of that little contest but it was funny nonetheless) I dropped the bike back off and went to HQ to get some cold water. I entered the guest house and got a glass only to realize the cooler where the cold clean water is kept, was empty... I began to realize that the dark side of the force was targeting me, so I shrugged that off, and left the building to go get the truck, so I could pick the guys up. Well, and this is my fault, but since I was a little agitated and tired from the ride I actually got lost for a little while, completely missing the turn I was to take to get to the house where the truck was being stored. So I walked an extra 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. At this point I began to feel like Han Solo in the Empire Strikes Back. It just seemed nothing was going my way.
Well, I finally got to the house and tried to start up the truck. And just like Han had trouble with the Millennium Falcon, I too had trouble with my Millennium Falcon. It would not turn over. So I asked a couple guys to help me push it out of the yard so I could jump start it. Well, as they were pushing, (I was out of the drivers seat pushing as well) I realised that at the current trajectory we were going to smack right into the gate/wall. So I yelled STOP (in French) and jumped in the car to slam on the brake. We narrowly avoided that train wreck, and after straightening out got it out. I'd never pop started a clutch before, but to my amazement and little help of the force I got that sucker running. Once started though I looked down at the fuel gage, only to realize that I was on E. This thing was so low it would have put Kramer's adventure in the test car in Seinfeld to shame. Well, I headed back to Rebel HQ to get some money to fill it up. Well, just my luck, neither accountant was there, so I was forced to drive it home, hoping it would make it so I could get some money and go fill it up. Right now, I'd like you, based on my day thus far, to take a guess if our hero actually made it home? Go ahead, take a guess...
Ya, I'm sure you got it correct. Of course I didn't make it home!!! Actually I made it to within about 100 to 200 ft. or so. So, I got to push it up to my house, at which point I went inside and found my faithful companion and roommate Chewy (Reid), sitting in the dark, because the power was out. He and I hopped on his moto, and went to get gas. Oh and by gas I mean Diesel, and for those of you who know about how Diesel manual trucks work, running out of gas isn't exactly great for them. So after 2 trips to the local power-up station Chewy and I took turns pumping the fuel filter pump for 15 minutes or so.
I got the Millennium Falcon back on line and headed over to pick up the guys for Bible study. Well, since my morning was shot, I didn't have much of a chance to prepare a lesson for the guys, and I was exhausted anyway, so we did about 15% spiritual talk and 85% talking about who knows what. I took the guys back dropped the car off, actually got to borrow another moto from a friend and rode it back. Since then I haven't had too many complications however I know the day is not over and there are things I still must accomplish. So for tomorrow, Tuesday, I have to go pay my fine at the Death Star so I can go get my moto back which is at the Stormtrooper station, as well as pick up the T-shirts for the youth mission trip I'm leading. Eventually I'll have to go back down to the Niger embassy to get my passport back. This "to do" list sounds vaguely familiar. Hmmm. Oh ya, that's because I was supposed to do all that stuff Friday and TODAY!!! I don't know if I'm in Burkina Faso or on the cloud city Bespin, either way it's been another one of "those" days!
Hopefully I'll be writing a "Return of the Jedi" post soon...

A Day in the Life...

I know some if not all of you who read this blog or know me may have at some point asked, "Ben what do you do on a daily basis?" This is a good question and so I'll just tell you what I did today, not to show how everyday goes, but how some days can go. But I must back up first, before I talk about what I did today, I have to back it up and set the scene for today with yesterday.
Yesterday was overall a pretty good day. I was able to finish my lesson for youth group that night. I finished a four part series on The Prodigal Son, and took some pictures of the youth group (I'll post those in the coming days). The plot thickens however when our hero (that's me) hops on his moto to go home after youth group. I left the house we have it at around 10 or 10:30 PM I think and as I took a left to take the main street that leads to the area I live I was met with resistance from the empire! Actually, as happens every so often, the national police do a dragnet of sorts and pretty much just pull people over at will looking for things that are wrong just to write people up. Well, my back light was apparently out, so they sucked me in like a tractor beam. I was caught although at first I had no idea what was going on because to my knowledge I was doing everything by the book. So after he explained it to me and I tried to argue it, but apparently my jedi mind tricks don't translate into other languages. Dang! Unlike on my home planet of America, when the police here pull you over on a bicycle or moto, they don't give you a ticket, they impound your vehicle! So I ask for a paper saying what infraction I'd made, how much it was and where to go to straighten this whole thing out. Nothing, I got nothing, which is even strange by Burkina police standards. Which made the situation all the more suspect and shaddy to say the least. So my Thursday night ended with my moto being taken by the galactic empire, and the lonely hero walking home.
Our Friday morning thus begins where Thursday night left off. Instead of getting a bunch of errands done and preparing for a youth group meeting I had Saturday morning, I had to get up extra early, get a ride from my roommate over to SIM and begin the journey of reclaiming what is rightfully mine. So I got to SIM and waited for a Burkinabe gentleman who works for SIM and helps missionaries out with things of this nature or paper work and what not. Well, he was somewhat swamped so after about an hour and a half of waiting at SIM, he and I jumped into a car and were off. We went downtown to the police station there, but found out we had gone to the wrong one, and because I didn't have any papers about the infraction this made our wild goose chase all the easier. Well we finally figure out which station the hero's moto is being help captive so we go there and find out that guess what I get to stand in line! So my companion for the journey at this point had to depart to take care of other business at hand. I got there shortly before 10 AM and waited and waited and waited in line until... 12 PM! Mind you Burkina is getting hot again so I stood there in the 90+ degrees for two hours. Awesome. So once I made it to the front of the line, and by line I mean nebulous blob (from what I have seen Africans don't hold straight lines as a virture to be pursed). So as I finally push my way to the front of the "line" I talk with the officer only to find out that he would be giving me a piece of paper which basically restated my official ownership papers. At this point the hero was instructed to take that piece of paper to the otherside of the galaxy (Ouagadougou) to another empiral station to pay the fine! It's a great system they have set up here in case that was unclear to you, let me just clear that up right now. And once I paid my fine at that station, I was to come back to the station I was currently at to prove that I'd paid the fine and my moto would be relinquished back into my possession. Like I said, great system.
Well, at this point it's noon, which means that everything is shutting down for the next 3 hours, however, I don't have a space shuttle back to my house, so after getting my paper I walked the next 3 miles or so (over an hour time wise) back to my house in the 90+ heat. I got home, had lunch with my roommate and being as tired as I was laid down for a nap. I had to be woken up by my roommate though because I had set my alarm for 2:55 AM not PM, so I was a little late waking up, but now had other fish to fry. My roommate gave me a ride down to the Niger embassy because I had to apply for a visa for Niger, because I'd be leaving soon for an intergaltica softball tournament there. So I get down there, take care of business, get back to the house just before 4 at which point I was to be at the school for Friday dodgeball. However, I got a call from the embassy saying I'd miss read some of the form and incorrectly filled it out. Sweet. So now I still have to do dodgeball but now I have to go back down to the embassy on Monday morning. I did dodgeball, ran home, showered, changed and went to a youth leaders house to work out details for our Saturday meeting, then walked home from that meeting, at which point you are now caught up in the hero's struggle against the galactic empire.
It looks like at this point I don't have transportation for the weekend and now my Monday will mostly be taken up with paying a fine, getting my moto back, and going back to the embassy. All things that were supposed to accomplished today. So, that may answer some of your questions as to how does Ben Steel fill up 24 hours in Burkina Faso. I hope you enjoyed reading about my day far more than I did actually living it.
Until next time...