A Whirlwind Start

Lack of time and internet connectivity has limited posting during our travels. We’re in Burkina now, with a high speed internet connection. Here are a few highlights:

February 17, 2011

Winnipeg International Airport

Margaret, Nettie, Tina (Katharina), Steve, Natasha, Norm and I (Deb) met at the airport this morning to head for Toronto. Jake, Margaret’s husband, is going out alone on a three-day retreat to pray for our safety and for blessings on our tour.

Jake, thank you for this inspirational support. I don’t know about the rest of the crew, but I feel blessed already.

Toronto International Airport

A late lunch at Swiss Chalet and we were off to the boarding area to meet up with Josh, Len and Clara, Ken, Edgar and Ruby. We’ll catch up with Vincent and Marie-Eve in Paris; it’s more practical for them to fly directly there from their home in Quebec.

Ken tells us that he does not smile for the camera. We are going to prove him wrong on this trip! See, we’ve already begun.

February 18, 2011 

Paris France, De Gaulle International Airport

Jerry, he said his name was. Jerry with a delightful Irish accent. “Can I buy you a coffee?” he asked.

Margaret, Tina (Katharina) and Nettie and I were standing in line at illy Espresso in Paris at the de Gaulle International Airport , debating how we would pay for our morning java with no Euros in hand.

“Visa,” I said. How else?

And that’s when Jerry stepped in. “I’ve been in that boat before,” he said, referring to our lack of the appropriate currency. Jerry was on his way home to Dublin, Ireland after four intensive days of IT meetings in India. He treated us each to a latte and wished us well for the rest of our journey.

“We might not be able to pay you back, but we’ll pay it forward,” Margaret said, referring to a popular movie with a noble theme. It’s a movie that Jerry knew about too.

What compelled Jerry’s kindness? Maybe he was drawn to us because something about us rang a familiar chord with him - the bright (Irish) green Learning Tour t-shirts Margaret, Tina and Nettie wore (Engage, Grow, Learn), or because of the slight reddish tint in my hair. Perhaps dear Margaret with her kind face and lovely grey hair reminded him of someone he knew. But in the middle of an airport where almost everyone spoke French and we didn’t, it was a delight to meet Jerry and to experience his hospitality.

Thanks, Jerry, wherever you are, for the cuppa and a kindness that warmed our day.

African Airspace

I can’t tell you how awe-inspiring it was to visibly recognize the moment we entered airspace over the continent of Africa. In this photo, we’re heading due south. One can almost imagine the rest of Africa’s shape unfolding ahead of us and to the east and west. Red, red soil. Magnificent.

Air France Flight 538, somewhere over North Africa.

Ah, the bathroom lineup. Always long but never boring. That’s where I met Lucas. Lucas, a young Polish man in his late twenties or early thirties, was on his way to Niamey, Niger, our one stop before Ouagadougou. He and about 20 others were going there to monitor the fairness of an upcoming election.

After hearing about our Learning Tour, he referred to his work as a different type of mission. “We’re there for humanity, for political fairness and human rights.”

Thank God for peacebuilders, whatever their profession!

Welcome to Burkina!

More red, red earth with splotches of scrub grass and shrubs. If it hadn’t been for the large palm tree, I could have imagined the place to be southern Alberta during a dry spell. But the air smells different here, almost sweet. The scent reminds of the delicious curried chicken and red pepper lunch we had on Air France.

The atmosphere here is different too. Though the sun has set and almost frenetic energy bubbles through the streets, which we careen through at high speed in our taxis. Vendors dished up food from large metal bowls, men darted around cars at stop lights with wares to sell. Bolts of beautiful fabric hung from pegs. Everywhere people on bicycles and motorcycles zipped through the streets at high speeds. Despite barred windows on lean-to style shops we spotted huge clusters of motorcycles parked by the roads unattended.

I took a number of photos until an airport official politely informed me – in French (and I actually understood!) that I was not to take photos of the airport.

But wow! Are we glad to be here! The smile on Josh's face says it all.