a wedding on a gloomy day

We were excited to attend our first church wedding between two local believers here. Well, to say my husband was excited would be a stretch but I was. It is always a chore to get to church on Saturday afternoons because we finish serving American breakfast at the Family Place at noon and then need to come home and take showers, dress and unwind a tiny bit before getting a metro, taxi or driving our own vehicle to go to church. It can take at least an hour to get there and after a grueling week of work, we'd rather just chill at home. Because of drenching rain and cold winds blowing yesterday, we decided to take our own car. Surprisingly, we arrived in record time and found a parking place close by. By the time the bride & groom arrived, the church was packed out. Our knees were literally digging into the pew in front of us and we could not move to the right or left. Once the couple walked down the aisle, all outside doors were locked. Christians have been on heightened alert recently as several were tricked into giving an interview for a newspaper and then written up in a very bad light. There is a lot of fear throughout the believing community right now. No one was allowed to take photos except the designated photographer so I can't show you a picture of the event. There were a lot of things that were done like any wedding we've seen: congregational singing, scripture reading, exchanging vows and rings. Other things that were done were somewhat humorous: couples got up and gave advice about marriage (some very funny), trays of food and drinks were passed during the final song while we were in our pews. There were so many people that no place would hold everyone to have refreshments so we ate right in the pews. Afterward we were all walking in sticky orange soda which was spilled all over the floor! The bride and groom BOTH had a bouquet and after the ceremony they took turns throwing them over their shoulders, she for the girls and he for the guys. They also took an offering during the service and all the money went to the bride and groom. I thought that was kind of a cool idea myself. It was a great 2-hour service! The singing was wonderful and some of the worship team got so excited that they started dancing and one guy was turning around in circles. We were glad we could be there and are excited to have another believing couple in the church.

a great celebration

eating lunch at in our old dining room

my childhood home

meeting my dear friend Nase after many years

Dad got down and kissed the ground of his beloved Santidougou

pure joy as the church celebrates the return of the Pierces!

Too much time has gone by and I have left you out of many of the important happenings in our life but alas, we are living "off the page" these days and no time to sit and write as life swirls around us at a frightening pace! I am confident that a calmer, slower pace is coming before long and so we press on and beg for strength to get through each day. God has been faithful in answering that request. In the midst of the busyness of the business, I was able to slip away for a week in Burkina Faso, the place where I grew up as a child. My siblings joined me there, along with my parents and we had a grand reunion. The entire Bobo tribe came out to welcome us back to the village where we spent our childhood and where my parents spent almost 40 years. As we arrived in town, there were hundreds to greet us and closed the main highway as they danced and sang and beat the drums to lead us into the village. It hardly seems possible that we once lived in that primitive place and saw it as heaven on earth. Those were some of the happiest days of my life, sitting by the fire telling stories and cooking with my friends. Those friends were there to meet me and their aged faces tell me of the hard life they have had; of children dying and famine and disease. Yet the joy displayed in their worship would never give hint to the pain they've endured. It was surreal as we sat around a table eating in our old dining room. The house that once seemed like a mansion to me, now looked so small and dirty and crumbling. The memories flooded my mind as I walked around that house. Christmas with a fire in the fireplace (it got down to 80 degrees at Christmastime!), lying in bed telling stories with my sisters, sitting in the kitchen talking to our cook by the hour (that's where I learned to cook), people lined up on our back porch waiting for medical care from my dad, sitting on our front porch in the evenings, being greeted by everyone that walked by, sometimes enjoying popcorn for a treat.
The service in the new church building was incredible as pastors from every church were there for the celebration. I'm not sure how many were there but there were dozens and some had come many hours on their bicycles to join the celebration. My parents put the Bobo language into writing and translated the entire Bible in their 40 years there. The atmosphere was electrifying as the people sang and danced and gave testimony to the fact that their lives were forever changed because of the work my parents did there. It was all too short and over before we knew it but the memories will linger for a long time. Here are some photos to give you a taste of what that day was like.