Kaleo
Last Sunday afternoon, the associate pastor and his nephew came by to take us to the nearby village of Kaleo. We toured the now-defunct Kaleo Baptist Women’s Agricultural Development Project and an orphanage the pastor is trying to start. We also made a stop at the Kaleo Baptist Church, which just happens to be right next to a giant baobab tree that is the center of feasts to honor a local god. The interesting juxtaposition gave us a good opportunity to discuss the local dynamics of faith (mainly between Islam, Christianity, and indigenous religions) with our tour guides. Then we made an impromptu stop at the pastor’s family’s compound where they were brewing pito, a fermented sorghum drink which is widely consumed here.
Where hurricanes come from
Last week there was a big windstorm. Actually, all the storms we’ve seen here are pretty windy. Sometimes it doesn’t even rain, it just blows the dust into the air. You can tell a storm is coming by the clouds of dust. Anyway, during that storm one of our housemates saw part of a metal roof blowing across the yard. We later found the tops of two trees that had broken off and blown into the yard. We ended up using several branches from the tree-tops to hang our mosquito nets over our beds. Dani even made some clothes hangers out of the smaller sticks and some plastic bags.
Phil’s Research
Phil’s research is progressing well. He spent last Wednesday morning meeting with the farmers who will participate in the on-farm experiment he is conducting. Since then he has gone out several times with a crew from the research station to measure out fields and select appropriate sites for the on-farm research plots. He has gradually picked up a few phrases of Dagaare in the field. While Dani has been learning normal phrases like “Hello, my name is...” and “I am ... years old”, Phil has been learning phrases like, “What kind of soil is this?” and “What crops do you grow here?”
Waale New Testament
Last Tuesday we had some free time so we decided to explore in search of the “Regular Baptist Church,” whom we’ve heard have several area missions. We were hoping someone there could direct us to the Christian bookstore so we could buy a Waale New Testament (the whole Bible has not yet been translated into Waale and no scripture has been published in the Dagaare language). We found the church just as a woman was locking up for the day. The woman was very kind and instead of just giving us directions she led us to the Wa Christian Supply Store herself. It is remarkable how God provides us help just when we need it. (On a similar note, we got lost while trying a new way walking home from church a couple of days ago. We had given up and started to backtrack, but as we turned around a lady we had met at church that day “happened” to be walking by and she very graciously led us to our street. God is so good!)
Prayer Requests:
-We made great progress in language learning this week. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray.
-Witnessing to roommates
-The Lord's guidance in an emerging opportunity to work with under-privileged girls at a church development project
Last Sunday afternoon, the associate pastor and his nephew came by to take us to the nearby village of Kaleo. We toured the now-defunct Kaleo Baptist Women’s Agricultural Development Project and an orphanage the pastor is trying to start. We also made a stop at the Kaleo Baptist Church, which just happens to be right next to a giant baobab tree that is the center of feasts to honor a local god. The interesting juxtaposition gave us a good opportunity to discuss the local dynamics of faith (mainly between Islam, Christianity, and indigenous religions) with our tour guides. Then we made an impromptu stop at the pastor’s family’s compound where they were brewing pito, a fermented sorghum drink which is widely consumed here.
Where hurricanes come from
Last week there was a big windstorm. Actually, all the storms we’ve seen here are pretty windy. Sometimes it doesn’t even rain, it just blows the dust into the air. You can tell a storm is coming by the clouds of dust. Anyway, during that storm one of our housemates saw part of a metal roof blowing across the yard. We later found the tops of two trees that had broken off and blown into the yard. We ended up using several branches from the tree-tops to hang our mosquito nets over our beds. Dani even made some clothes hangers out of the smaller sticks and some plastic bags.
Phil’s Research
Phil’s research is progressing well. He spent last Wednesday morning meeting with the farmers who will participate in the on-farm experiment he is conducting. Since then he has gone out several times with a crew from the research station to measure out fields and select appropriate sites for the on-farm research plots. He has gradually picked up a few phrases of Dagaare in the field. While Dani has been learning normal phrases like “Hello, my name is...” and “I am ... years old”, Phil has been learning phrases like, “What kind of soil is this?” and “What crops do you grow here?”
Waale New Testament
Last Tuesday we had some free time so we decided to explore in search of the “Regular Baptist Church,” whom we’ve heard have several area missions. We were hoping someone there could direct us to the Christian bookstore so we could buy a Waale New Testament (the whole Bible has not yet been translated into Waale and no scripture has been published in the Dagaare language). We found the church just as a woman was locking up for the day. The woman was very kind and instead of just giving us directions she led us to the Wa Christian Supply Store herself. It is remarkable how God provides us help just when we need it. (On a similar note, we got lost while trying a new way walking home from church a couple of days ago. We had given up and started to backtrack, but as we turned around a lady we had met at church that day “happened” to be walking by and she very graciously led us to our street. God is so good!)
Prayer Requests:
-We made great progress in language learning this week. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray.
-Witnessing to roommates
-The Lord's guidance in an emerging opportunity to work with under-privileged girls at a church development project
"Where hurricanes come from"
ReplyDeletePhil, could you divert your resarch efforts from farming to weather manipulation? You and Dani reside in the birthplace of depressions that eventually flutter their away across the Atlantic. Your location proves optimal to construct an anti-hurricane missile prototype. Perhaps some of the villagers could assist you in this trek for the Nobel Prize. Such endeavors would accelerate your fluency in Wa.
WHERE HURRICANES COME FROM
ReplyDelete"Sometimes it doesn’t even rain, it just blows the dust into the air."
"You can tell a storm is coming by the clouds of dust."
Wow... So basically when dust fills the the air, there is a 100% chance it will either rain OR stay dry. Phil, your impressive weather predictions are only exceeded by your ability to stop watching Battlestar Galatica.
Your other roommate,
-Gary
PS. Again we only make fun of you b/c we like you. It's when we start saying generic things like, "Your doing a great job", "We're so proud!", and "Such endeavors would accelerate your fluency in Wa" that you should take offense.
PPS. We're so proud!
i love you all. the end. :)
ReplyDelete"Phil's RESEARCH
ReplyDeletePhil’s RESEARCH is progressing well.... he has gone out several times with a crew from the RESEARCH station to measure out fields and select appropriate sites for the on-farm RESEARCH plots."
I'm going to leave this one alone... it's just too easy. Anyone who would like to learn what goes on at a research station can refer to our May 19th comments: http://aldermansabroad.blogspot.com/2009/05/journey-to-wa-after-overnight-flight.html#comments
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"He has gradually picked up a few phrases of Dagaare in the field. While Dani has been learning normal phrases..."
HHhhmmm.... We ran your phrases by our local African linguistic expert who had a few comments. Remember, as a Dagaare expert, his interpretations are flawless and are not meant to be independently verified.
First off he told us that
"N yuori la" means (Hello my name is...)
But this is commonly misheard by the untrained american ear. They were most likely saying:
"N yourei LAA" (Hello, your face is a joke.)
Below are other common misunderstandings:
"N nyE la yuomo lezare ne ata." (I am ... years old)
commonly mistaken for
"N nyE la yuomo lezare ne ata." (I am person with pasty white husband)
"I yuori la bong?" (What kind of soil is this?)
commonly mistaken for
"I yuoree LA bongee?" (White man, why no muscles on your arms?)
"N yuori la boO" (What crops do you grow here?)
commonly mistaken for
"Nee yuorE ley Battlestar bOo" (For the last time, NO, we do not sell Battlestar Galatica on this farm!)