Our last half-day in Paris went well. We allowed everybody to sleep in, go on a run, relax, or whatever they wanted to do until 10:00 AM. As a group we then went on another walk to better absorb the neighborhoods of Paris. Our hotel in Paris was located to the southwest of central Paris. For this extended layover I decided that it was best for us to not run around the touristy areas but to slow-down and enjoy the area around the hotel. We found another nice park, which is always a peaceful spot to hang-out and gain a feel for Parisian life. After the walk we had lunch at a local café and then it was off to the airport.
The flight from Paris to Ouagadougou was 5 ½ hours. Overall, it was a peaceful trip. Then again, how would I know as I slept for about 90% of the first four hours. Moving through passport control went without problems. We were immediately greeted in the luggage areas by about a half-dozen locals in carts asking us to carry our luggage. Without knowing who they were, I decided it was best to grab our own luggage and to haul it ourselves. When we left the baggage area we were finally greeted by Joseph, our Navs host, and a few other guys with him. It was initially very difficult to discern who was there for us, and who was just trying to carry our luggage. Eventually I was able to figure out that it was Joseph, Dr. Felix Kohol, and three others. The other half-dozen surrounding us were apparently just interested in carrying our bags in exchange for money. We also met Julia, a student from Ball State, who is working with Dr. Kohol for several weeks this summer. Eventually we made it into two vehicles and drove away from the airport.
We were driven to the Sudanese International Mission (SIM) guest house, which is where we will be staying the first four nights. The guest house is a collection of rooms used to house SIM guests and other missionaries serving the locals. The four women in our team were put up in a room for four, and myself and Ryan were put in our own room. The rooms are fairly basic with simple beds equipped with mosquito netting, and a bathroom with a shower in each room. Each room is also equipped with an air conditioner, but we are to keep track of the hours that we use the air conditioner, and will be billed for the hours of use. We made it through the first night without air conditioning. The local restaurant was closed for our dinner. Instead Dr. Kohol brought us over to his house where his wife made us a great dinner.
Thus far our first day in Ouagadougou has been very quiet. Most of us stayed up late last night reading and sending email, as well as other reading and journaling. We gathered as a team for breakfast, provided by Jenny, who works with Dr. Kohol, and prayer. Eventually we phased into a time of singing and worship as a team. Since then most of the team has been working on sorting through all of the gifts that we have brought with us for those that are hosting us as well as those that we are serving. The piles and quantity of gifts which we brought is quite large. I now better understand why we had to take a shuttle from the airport in Paris. We are waiting for Joseph to arrive when we will have lunch and discuss our plans for the next three weeks.
A thunderstorm in the night: To no surprise, when we arrived in Ouagadougou we were greeted with warm and humid conditions. When we were at the SIM guest house Joseph commented that when it is often as hot as it was, they will get a thunderstorm in about six hours. I was awoken in the middle of the night to a big thunderstorm. I checked the time and it was nearly exactly six hours from when Joseph said we’d have a thunderstorm. I was amused with his accuracy. Many of my Colorado friends doubt my ability to forecast a thunderstorm with five minutes warning. Meanwhile, Joseph was able to do it with a six hour warning. A few of the team members slept so well they did not even wake up to the thunderstorm.
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