Transitions and
Translation 
Daniel and Anne
Kompaoré Anne
Garber
Kompaoré
Beautiful long-tailed sunbird
August 30,
2010
01 BP 1632
Ouagadougou 01 Burkina Faso
Skype
contact: annegk1, Personal website: http://www.aegk.finespun.net, also on
Facebook
Telephone:
011-226-50-34-28-07 or (cell) 76 41 12 55
My
goodness! It has been a whole year since I last wrote! This week will mark the first anniversary of the big flood in Ouagadougou
which I reported on last year. Since then, so much has flowed under and over the
bridge. We have heard of even worse floods in various parts of the world, the
most recent one being in Pakistan. And as we near the end of the rainy season
here in Burkina, we hold our breath. There have been a few flash flood
incidents, but nothing like last year. The Ouagadougou city authorities have
been working hard at digging more gutters but they still have a long way to go.
After every big rain the empty space behind our property becomes a rushing
river. A few weeks ago, it knocked down yet another part of our wall, rushed to
the end of the property and knocked down another 10 meter stretch on its way
out. We REALLY hope that the city finds a way to rechannel all that water
sometime in the coming year!
Marking
the event - Pomp and Ceremony
Us Mennonites tend to
avoid 'standing on ceremony'. But here in Burkina, ceremony is very important.
For me, I have a tendency to say, why all the expense and time, sitting through
speeches, listening to songs, and going through all kinds of formalities?
The local T.V. news, almost every night, is filled with pictures of
dignitaries sitting through one ceremony after another, giving a few
words in an interview for the value of such and such an activity, and I just
can't help thinking what a boring life they must
lead! I have
plenty of other things to do. But I am slowly learning that not all is waste.
Here are a few of my own recent experiences.
In the first week of
November, 2009, I helped to lead a first time workshop in Orodara for
reviewers of the Siamou translation project. At the end of the week, my
colleague Paul Thiessen organised a closing ceremony to which he
invited local church leaders. Paul started out by giving many lavish and formal
thanks to all whom had contributed to the Siamou work in one way or another,
I gave a brief summary of what had been done during the week, and
one person spoke on behalf of the participants giving many flattering
remarks about all that they learned. Then Pastor Abdias spoke on
behalf of the Mennonite church and formally 'closed' the workshop. Afterwards
there was a little reception with soft drinks and chicken, with the
honoured guests and workshop leaders sitting separately from the
participants. During the reception time, the guests started talking about the
needs for evangelism and language development for the Siamou people. It was
exciting to hear people sharing their vision for this people, and it was that
closing ceremony that brought them together. It was also a very wonderful time
where each party affirmed in a public way, the contributions of the other.
In the last week of
November, 2009 was quite another and much more grandiose event, but this
time with Daniel's church in Ouagadougou. It had been 50 years since Daniel's
father and several other pastors had been pushed out of the Assemblies of God
church - the first Protestant church in Burkina Faso. In fact, Daniel's father
had been their first ordained pastor. It had been a very painful time, and these
pastors began meeting together with their families and friends and formed a new
group, which was eventually called the Apostolic Mission Church. After years of
effort, they were finally recognized officially by the Federation of Evangelical
Missions and Churches FEME some time ago. They slowly grew and multiplied
into several dozen congregations in various parts of Burkina Faso today.
When Daniel became president of the denomination in 2008, his first dream
was to celebrate 50 years of the Apostolic Mission Church. It was a time of
remembering the pain, but mainly a time of rejoicing for the healing and
reconciliation that had taken place.
Many thousands of
dollars were collected to celebrate this week long celebration, culminating in a
huge outdoor Sunday morning ceremony. Protocol had all of the important
dignitaries sitting up front facing the congregation - not only leaders of other
denominations including Assemblies of God, but also government leaders. I was
made to sit up front beside my husband in the front row. Beside me was the
president of the FEME; on the other side of Daniel sat the Prime Minister of
Burkina Faso, along with his wife, and the President of the General Assembly of
deputies; and behind us Ministers of the governement, the brother of the
President of the country, the Mayor of Ouagadougou, and one well-known
opposition leader who long ago had been on staff with Daniel at the National
School of Administration.
The Prime Minister, who
is an evangelical Christian himself, was given a few minutes to speak,
not missing the opportunity to emphasize that leaders,
chosen by God, are also called to govern responsibly before
God. Among the many choral offerings, there was one unforgettable hymn given by
the children's choir. Everyone was invited to stand up, and the
children began singing the ... national anthem!? But wait a minute! What
were those words I hear? Yes the melody was the national anthem, but the words
were solely and entirely in the praise and allegience to our great high
God! Instead of singing praise to our dear Burkina Faso, we were singing
praise to God, but also implicitly saying we as citizens of Burkina Faso, are
called to worship God first and foremost. What a powerful combination!
Afterwards, the organiser told me they had procured special permission to change
the words for this special occasion. The entire event was bathed in joy and
celebration, and the government leaders sat through it all, and ate with us at
the end, without seeking to rush away to their next ceremony.
As if all that was not
enough, Daniel's youngest son finally decided to tie the knot on Dec. 19, 2009.
Now Claude was trying to avoid all that pomp and ceremony by getting
married out of town, but he was told that his dad was such a public man, he had
to have it in his uncle's townhall (his uncle is the mayor of Ouaga),
followed by the church ceremony including praying for the couple by the laying
on of hands by all of the pastors in the assembly (there were about 15
or so), and finally a packed reception at our place. May God give them
many happy years together!
Pastors Praying for
Claude and
Olivia Mr.
and Mrs. Claude Compaoré
This year is the 50th
anniversary of the independence of Burkina Faso from colonial powers. And like
in so many other African countries this year, there will be a very big
celebration. We pray that the celebration of this event will be an opportunity
not only to look back, but also to celebrate togetherness, and to work today for
a better future.
Transitions and Translation
Now that I have been
talking about so much celebration, you may be wondering about whether I have
been doing anything else! In the first part of the year 2010, I worked with each
of the Bible Society translation teams, checking Sirach (deuterocanonical book),
Esther, parts of Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Psalms in several
languages before the end of my contract with the Burkina Bible Society at the
end of May. Since then, I have been on a little more relaxed schedule as
Mennonite Church Canada and Burkina along with myself seek to discern my next
direction in ministry.
In the meantime,
various requests have come my way that involve me in the work I
love to do most - in translation and linguistics. I have been asked to write a
chapter in a book, to comment on several book drafts, and to help translate a
book from English into French; all of these requests involve the domain on
translation. I also have some of my own research projects which focus on the
development of Old Testament translation resources in French. There is so much
in English and so much on the New Testament, but I have yet to find
a commentaries in French on the books of Jeremiah and Isaiah, just to give
an example. Lately, also several students in linguistics and Bible
translation have been soliciting me for help and feedback. And I continue to
help out the Siamou translation project(in the Orodara area) in
various ways.
Daniel set up an office
for me upstairs with air conditioning (when it gets too hot), with a view
of numerous pretty birds just meters from my window (like the one pictured at
the top of my letter!). It is so nice to work in my office at home at this
point in time, interact with family members a little more, and simply have
the time do errands and fuss around the house! I just bought a 'new'
car, a 3 door Rav4, which will allow me to better negociate the rough roads in
and out of town! For the first time ever, a few weeks ago, I drove all the way
from Ouaga to Kotoura and back (1000 km. round trip). Although it is more
expensive, it gives me more freedom to visit people along the way, and to visit
towns like Kotoura that have more limited public transportation.
In September, we
will also be hosting a young Mennonite man from France who will be doing a three
month service stint here in Burkina Faso (Ephraim Goldschmidt), and later in the
month three men from Eastern Mennonite Missions living and working in Guinea
Bissau and the Gambia will be coming to Burkina for a five-day conference. They
found our name through the Mennonite your Way book. I will also be spending some
time in Orodara working with the Siamou translation team.
I am thankful to God
for this special time. I am thankful for the tasks that come my way, even
though I do not know exactly what I will be doing in the months to come. We
appreciate your prayers and support as we continue to look to Him to open
doors and show the way.
Blessings to all of you
and thanks again for your your support and prayers!
Anne Garber Kompaoré
We welcome your contributions for our support and invite you to send these to:
Mennonite Church Canada Witness
600 Shaftesbury Blvd Winnipeg, MB Canada R3P 0M4
Toll-free 1-866-888-6785
http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/