Anne and Daniel Kompaore
God's Vision, Our Commission

01 BP 1632 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso

September 2, 2008

Hello all,
 
The last few months have been full of activity and discovery, mixed in with some reflexion. Here are a few jottings:
 
Knowing God and seeing His intervention in our lives

May was the anniversary of the Kenya Airways crash that I narrowly missed on May 4, 2007. In May of this year, I was again on Kenya Airways on my way to Nairobi for translation consultant meetings. This time I was given an opportunity to reflect on the impact this event had on me through a meditation on the expression 'know God' as found in the Hebrew.  The passage above was given as my point of departure.  Here are a few thoughts:

• Recognizing that it was God who is the final authority in my life and death, I can trust in His guidance, knowing that if God wants me to live, he will spare me, where ever I may be. The important thing is to be in his will.
• Recognizing that if God spared me, it was not because of any special merit. From what I understand, there were many wonderful people on that flight. The only answer to the 'why me?' question is simply : God still has more work for me. My time here is not yet over.
• Before a group of highly educated people, reflecting on what it means to know God first, before depending on our own intelligence.
• Realizing that there are many people who do not have this understanding of a God who intervenes regularly in our lives. For them there is no such thing as knowing God or in seeking His guidance. What a different worldview!
• Briefly the Hebrew expression 'know God' points to four related senses :
  • Know God: know who he is, his character, his activity in this world (Exodus 5.2 : Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews go because he did not 'know' their God)
  • Know God: be in an intimate relationship with him, able to recognize his voice (1 Samuel 3:7 : Young Samuel did not recognize the Lord's voice because he did not yet 'know God'. See also the book of Hosea)
  • Know God: acknowledge him, trust in his guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6: know (acknowledge) God in all your ways and he will make straight your paths.)
  • Know God: obey his commandments : 1 Samuel 2:12 Eli's sons did not 'know God', meaning here that they refused to obey his laws.
• Actually one sense builds upon the other : if you recognize God's works and his character, you will seek a more intimate relationship with him, and from that it will be easy to trust him and follow his commands. If you do not acknowledge his existence or trust him, it will be impossible to consider following his commands.

                                                                                           
 
Israel

May 23-24 - I flew from Nairobi with a five hour layover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and then on to Tel Aviv. The sun was rising over a clear sky as we approached Israel, and to my surprise, we approached from the south east, flying over the Negev desert, and then turning north at the Dead Sea and following the Dead Sea towards the north - I could see the Dead Sea directly below us, and the cliffs to the west of it. I was not sure if I spotted Ein Geddi and the Qumran site. And then before we got to the northern tip of the Dead Sea, we turned west and followed the hilly Judean desert up to the Judean mountains and  passed directly over Jerusalem, clearly marked by the gold covered Dome of the Rock at the Temple site. Then we turned northwest and almost literally followed the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, but when we got to Tel Aviv, we kept on going over the Mediterranean Sea, and then circled around and back to Tel Aviv and landed.
My primary occupation in Israel was to teach Exegesis and Translation to a group of francophone students from Africa, who had spent several months learning Hebrew. This was an exciting challenge for me, as for the first time in my life, I could teach Hebrew linguistics and understanding of the text at a high academic level, to people who would be applying it directly to translation. Three of the students were from Burkina!  During my six week stay, I did not have much opportunity to travel, but instead I took in the sites, smells, and experienced life around me such as:

• discovering caves and ancient tombs hewn in the rock, wild thyme, rosmary, marjoram, even grapevines and other biblical plants and trees on the hillsides of my mountain home during my teaching assignment. 
• finding cypress trees and first century water collection system in the valley below, with water seeping from the rocks (the governement was in the process of developping it as a park).
• spending a week at the St Stephen's Convent and the Ecole Biblique de Jerusalem doing research and discovering the old city just a five minute walk away - Muslims, Christians, and Jews all living in separate quarters within the old city walls
• discovering ancient tombs, possibly of ancient kings, right within the confines of the convent.
• taking in the sites and smells of the Arab neighbourhood in which the convent was located - they have wonderful bakeries, with patisseries rivalling the French!  
• And of course contemplating the palpable tension one feels living in a society where one group fears the other - and acts out in fear, frustration, and anger - the tension the Arab feels when one of their own has attacked and killed Jerusalem citizens, seeing fully armed soldiers providing security for Jewish school children on a mountain hike, glimpsing an Arab being questioned by Israeli security in the old city, living behind very high walls topped with barbed wire.

• But on the other hand, sensing that I as a Christian, can feel at ease with both Arabs and Jews - I met friendly people everywhere, and of course many who would like me to buy their wares, including Muslims selling Christian souvenirs! Tourists are all very welcome, regardless of what religious stripe you are!  

 
Now I am back in Burkina Faso, enjoying a very good rainy season - not too much, not too little rain, with three grandchildren spending their school vacation with us. But also teaching Greek and starting two new translation projects, and setting up the training for each of the new translators.
 
Daniel is very busy with his new position as president of the Apostolic Mission church, and senior pastor of the main church. I am now attending their early Sunday morning French service, which I find inspiring.
 
Thank you for your prayers as I continue a busy schedule in the next months, particularly this month of September, and for Daniel as faces many challenges in his new position.
 
Anne Garber Kompaore

P.S.  Please pass this newsletter on to interested individuals. If you do not wish to receive this letter please let me know, and I will drop your name from the list.