Several people have complained that I keep moving to places that they cannot possibly pronounce. First, Bamako, then Ouagadougou, and now, possibly, Bobo-Dioulasso or Niamey or Cotonou. I guess you can take your pick figuring out which one is more difficult to say.
The purpose of my trip last week was to view the work that the Engagement team is doing in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso. I spent the week with the team leaders, David and Cindy Pope, who were not only wonderful hosts, but also have become wonderful friends. They took the week to show me around Bobo, and much of the surrounding area, introducing me to pastors, pastors wives, villages and explaining much of the work to me.
So far, since moving to Africa last October, I have lived in a city of 2 million people and now a city of 1.5 million. Visiting a city of 500,000 was a refreshing change. I have always enjoyed living in smaller towns and definitely enjoy working in villages. Bobo has a small town feel. Friendly people, fewer roads to learn and navigate, less traffic, and it is much more relaxed than the city. It's streets are tree lined which provides a great deal of shade and greenery. The temperature is about 5 degrees cooler than Ouaga, which makes the climate a bit better. They receive more rainfall so the landscape is pretty lush even in the villages. There are also lots of hills, small ponds, and streams. Overall, I would definitely say that it is an extremely inviting town for lots of reasons.
I have created an album from my trip and posted it on the side of the blog. If you'd like to see more of the town, villages and my trip please enjoy the album. I will be traveling to Niger next week and will post pics of that trip and my experiences there as well. Then, hopefully the week after that, I'll be posting the name of my new home!
