Wells for Burkina

    April has been the month that I have named "well month". A film team came to shoot a documentary on the well situation in Burkina. There were people from Georgia as well as Los Angeles that comprised this film team. The team arrived as Burkina was "cracking" from her lack of water. The water sources all around us were either dried up or very low. In my neighborhood, we had daily water cuts, some all day long. Sometimes we had a drizzle that came out of the faucet other times there was nothing. It was a hard day, when all you wanted was a shower and you couldn't have one. If you found yourself in the unfortunate state of having no stored water, (this happened to me once) you got a feel for what many Burkinabe undoubtedly go through.


Since we arrived in Jan. there has always been water outs, (what I call them) and power cuts. It just progressively got worse and worse. I think the record was 15 hours without electricity, and I can't tell you how long for water. Usually we had at least four hours with no electricity and very little water coming out of the faucets. This was an extremely challenging time, but in no way does it even compare to the hardships that those closer to the Sahara go through. Skip was with the team as they filmed and even spent the night out by the Mali border. As the team was filming, the water situation brought one team member to tears. Skip reported to me that most of the kids were seriously malnourished. The whole team marveled at seeing how far people had to walk to get dirty water to drink. When Skip told me about the water and how dirty it was, I asked, “They don't drink that do they?" His reply was, "Of course they do, they don't have anything else."

This video clip shows exactly what one team member went through.

http://www.vimeo.com/11542498

    After going all around Burkina filming for a week, we pray that the team has got the footage they need. We pray that the Lord will bless the work of their hands to make films that connect with the people that watch them. We thank God for the small part Skip was able to play in serving the team, and driving all over Burkina with them.

    The following week Skip, with other missionaries, got to deliver seven well pumps, not a big deal to us but for those needing the clean water a tremendous life-giving blessing.