Here are some pictures from Togo and life in general. (To get pictures of the blog sites...right click on the picture and copy to your desktop.)

This is the Otter and I at the Togo Baptist Conference Center. The otter has now been to three countries: France, Burkina Faso and Togo! He says Hi to the Sunday School Class!
See all the green in the background! Awsome! Love seeing trees! This is Otter with African houses in the background.

Otter did get a little air sick on the way back from Togo. The overhead compartment was a little crowded and the pilot said there would be slit turbulance and it felt like we were traveling though a hurricane! Also he didn't have his yellow vacination card showing he had had his yellow fever shot...it was a few minutes delay at Ouaga imigration!

So how many missionaries does it take to get a T.V. to pick-up a soccer game?! The guys are trying to watch the African Cup of Nations and the T.V. intina is giving them problems!

They finally got it fixed and nothing can distract them from the game! The comentary is in French...but that does not stop them. No one takes their eyes off the T.V.!

Things are going good. French is progressing. Emily and I are joining the American Club pool today!

On Wednesday...our language helper invited us over for a Congolize meal! We had foufou! It is mixed vegies, fish, and a bean sauce over rice or manika...and lots of fresh fruit! It was sooo good! (I will post pictures later!)

Mostly things have settled into a routine of sorts. Get up at 7, go to class at 8. Class from 8 to 12 than lunch. Study or walk around town to practice French.

There is a huge missionary community here in Ouaga and we have fun hanging out with everyone. It great!

The West Africa IMB trustees were in town this week and they traveled all over Ouaga and Ghana to see the work going on in the area. I got to have breakfast and dinner with them yesterday, Friday. There were 5 of them and they had the whole experience, rough roads, different food, dust, and heat!

Thank you to all of you for sending e-mails to encourage me while I was sick and for all the prayers. I am almost to 100%. I still have to watch what I eat…but so far so good.

AFRICAN CUP of NATIONS
As I am typing this up…I am halfway watching the final game of the Africa Cup of Nations. (For all of you in the dark—this is a soccer tournament for Africa countries, played every two years.) Cote d’Ivoire is playing against Egypt and if you know anything about anything you will hope Cote d’Ivoire wins. It will mean good things for us when we move to Abidjan!

All radios and TV’s are tuned into this game. Everyone who can is going to be watching this game. I have learned so much about culture!

TOGO
Togo was GREEN! It was wonderful to step off the plane and breathe in moist air and not choke on dust. All of us brightened up and felt better. And meeting all the leadership in West Africa was fun. They are all wonderful, Godly people.

VISITING A FRENCH CLINIC
So…about being sick…I got to visit a French Clinic here in Ouagadougou Monday. I had all the symptoms of having Malaria so we thought it would be best to go get tested. Without going to much into detail the French have very little to no modesty and the lady doctor I saw like to practice her limited English. (I hope you are already chuckling!)

So I had to have a translator and even then it was interesting to find describe my symptoms. Well she interviewed me and then pulled me over to the other side of the room for an exam. She felt my heart beat and listen to me breathe deeply. Then, apparently the French lay down when they have their blood pressure taken. She told me – in broken English – “Stand up and take you clothes off.” Well I looked around and there was no little sheet or paper cloth to put over me and so I asked. “All of them?” She looked at me and laughed! Saying, “No, no…take your shoes off and lay down!” I was thinking there is a big difference between clothes and shoes!

The lesson of this story is to always double check when you go visit the French doctor who wants to practice English!

SWIMMING IN AFRICA
Yesterday, Emily, Mary Beth and I went to Isabelle’s flat, (a Parisians girl Emily met on the plane to Burkina) to have lunch and get to know her better. (Emily and I had met her for dinner one night before we went to Togo.) She had a pool and we went swimming! Swimming in February!

Here are some things to remember this week.
--IMB trustees are visiting Burkina Faso this week to travel around and see the work. Pray they keep safe in traveling and for the workers who are with them and who they are going to see.

--French is going well. We have added 4 hours of class time to our schedule. Pray I retain…my brain may be like a sponge.

--Also, our language helper’s father is very sick and in the hospital. She is here to go to the University and he is in the Congo. Pray for him and for her as she is so very far away.

--It is starting to heat up here and the dust is getting heavier. Pray for my health.

I will post pictures this week!