Email From Jay

We got an email from Jay today. How fun! Here's what he said about the past couple of days:

Sorry i havent emailed yet. For the few nights we've been here in Bobo (where the obergs live), we've been really busy and i havent really had the time or energy to email. But now i do! So im sitting here in their "cyber cafe". They have 5 computers running, so thats why they call it that. We just got back from 3 days in the bush, in Somaso. We were supposed to be there for 4 days, because Kevin didnt think that we would finish painting until tomorrow, but we actually were done by about 12:30 yesterday. So we came back a day early, thank goodness. All of us were really tired of eating rice and sauce, and Michael, Emily, Natasha and myself had all gotten sick, so it was time to come back to the city. I think the meal on Friday night got me sick, and i slept all day saturday, but today i felt fine, so its all good. Part of the experiece, i guess. The village of Somaso has about 150 believers, so we spent our time painting a church they built there a month or two ago. Like i said, we finished much sooner than normal, and it looks much better. We're thankful to be back in Bobo.

Just want to keep you updated...please keep praying for Jay and the team.

News from Burkina Faso & Shopping For China

Here's the update Michael, our high school pastor, sent today:
Today was a good day. We visited an alliance church where they minister to Compassion International children every Thursday. We played with the kids. Our group in total adopted 6 of the children (60 of the 200 who come have not yet been adopted). Some got to meet their child. I adopted one for the youth group, but didn't get to meet her because she went home sick. Her name is Bereniece.
We went to the Bobo market. It was crazy. People all over you there. We had lunch at the Schaeffers' (son of Grace Church pastor in Cleveland, Ohio) and dinner at the Hulls' (missionaries working w/Obergs). We went to visit a group of believers who meet for discipleship on Thursday nights in Sacabe here near Bobo. 11 men came to faith just two weeks ago. They sang a bunch and we were welcomed by the former village chief (he had to give it up b/c of his faith). we met in his courtyard. We're all tired and going out to Sirasso tomorrow (about 3 hour drive - right near border of Mali) to paint their church and will do that tomorrow and Sat. - go to church there on Sunday and come back Monday morning, So, three nights in the bush. Everyone is feeling better here now, but very tired. Thanks for your prayers!

Sounds like all is going well. Thank you for your continued prayers for Jay. We sure are missing him but very glad he is there.
Today I did a mega shopping trip to get all the remaining things on our list for the trip. I had some "fun" trying to buy clothes for Ming. The last measurements we got on him were in September when he was a little shorter than Madison and the same weight as Mitchell. So...I tried to look guess on his size from that information. I ended up buying one size bigger than Mitchell figuring that if the clothes are too small for Ming, they will eventually fit Mitchell. I expect him to be quite thin. We plan on doing most of our clothes shopping for Ming in China and then when we get home, but I want a few things in his suitcase for him to see when he first gets to the hotel room. I had a lot of fun buying him a Nintendo DS lite. I don't know if he has any idea what that is, but 5 minutes with our family and he will quickly learn. So, one more week until we leave! Tomorrow we get our travel itinerary. We'll post it when we get it.

Update From Africa

Here is the update we just heard from Africa:

All is going VERY WELL.
After spending just one night with the Oberg family, the team took off for a little village in the “bush” called Samorogouan. Their primary focus was to paint the pastors house that was recently constructed. They were able to get the work completed by this morning, and are now back in “Bobo”.

A few highlights of their time in Samoroguan…
-The weather was nice, and although hot, very bearable. There was a strong
thunderstorm that blew through, but they were inside painting and unaffected.

-Kevin Oberg, the missionary, planned an outdoor evangelism service last night. Given that it is
the heart of farming season, he didn’t expect much of a turnout at all. To
everyone’s shock, there were around 800 people that came…and 7 men gave their
hearts to Christ. What a great thing.

-They are having to adjust to the cultural “rule” that when entering a room, each
and every person must shake hands with each person that is already in the room.
You can imagine that with a group of ten entering a crowded room…this can take
a while.

-The children are just adorable, and constantly want the team to take their digital
picture, and then turn the camera around so they can see themselves. It’s the first
time they have ever seen a picture of themselves.

-When the team left this morning, they were presented with a sheep as a gift.
Evidently, the cost of a gift like this is an entire month’s wages. They loaded the
sheep into the truck, and will present it to the president of the C&MA in Burkina.

Thanks for praying for Jay.

The African Bush & China

We haven't heard anything specific today about Jay and the team in Africa. Their schedule says that they were to drive from Ougadougou to Bobo-Diolasso (pronounced Bobo-Gilasso) and get acquainted with the missionary family, Kevin & Bonnie Oberg, and the other missionary team members and have a picnic.

As they are 7 hours ahead of us here in Washington, they will be getting up soon to start Tuesday. On Tuesday they will be driving out to the bush, specifically a village called Samorogouan. Jamae is really hoping Jay sees a giraffe while he is there, but Jay has told us that he'll be lucky if he sees an elephant. I guess the animals aren't roaming around as much as we picture it.

Please pray that God will work significantly in the heart of Jay during these two weeks. Please continue to pray for his protection and health.

On the adoption front, we don't know anything new today. Will you please pray that Ming is lovingly prepared for leaving the orphanage and joining our family? We don't know what the orphanage director and nannies are telling him, but we do pray that he knows we are coming on the 30th.

Safe In Africa

We just got word that Jay made it safely to Burkina Faso. They had an uneventful trip, all their luggage came through, and everyone is doing well. Praise the Lord! They were met at the airport by Kevin Oberg (the missionary the team is working with) and they will spend the night in Ouagadougou (pronounced Waga-doogoo).

Please continue praying for God's hand of protection on the team, especially as they adjust to a new culture and the heat.

Africa Bound

Jay is flying to Burkina Faso, Africa today for a 2 week mission trip with 6 other youth and 3 adults from our church. He will be working with Kevin & Bonnie Oberg, who are missionaries from our church. Please pray for Jay as he travels today. He departs Seattle at 2:05 pm and will arrive in Africa tomorrow afternoon at 4:40 pm. He was not really looking forward to the long trip, but he loaded up with snacks, movies to watch and video games to play. I'm sure the trip will go fast as he is traveling with good friends. Jay has the amazing opportunity to spend two weeks ministering in Africa and then two weeks in China to bring home his brother Ming. Two back to back trips half way around the world. Good thing he is young! I'll be giving an update on Jay each day these 2 weeks. I know he appreciates your prayers.

Burkina Faso is the red area on this map of Africa


Jay will arrive in Ouagadougou tomorrow at 4:40 pm. The group will then spend the night there.