You know you are acclimatising when...

Well - what a week!!! So much has happened that it will be hard to fit it all in in one day but here goes!

On Saturday, it was, of course, the Ordination so it was up early and over to the Cathedral for about an hour before the Mass started. Even so, the church was full and it was good that Anselme's family adopted Kathryn as she could sit with them quite near the front. She was given a shirt in the fabric chosen for the family too - and was fascinated by the different designs used by women so that no two outfits were the same... there are photos to come!

The service began with the entrance procession - there were to be seven ordinations: 5 to religious orders and 2 diocesan priests. There were chairs for them on the high altar facing the bishop. At the beginning of the Rite of Ordination, each candidate had to be vouched for in a short history of what they had done and of their suitability and readines for priesthood.

It seemed odd at first that the candidates should have their backs to us - but as the ordination unfolded it made sense as, after their vows and the laying on of hands (by every priest there!), etc the new priests left to be vested. On their return, the chairs now faced the congregation and it felt as if they were now priests for the People of God gathered round the altar. The photos are, alas, quite dark but hopefully we will get some of the official ones and be able to do an account in more detail with those. The Mass continued and it was a joy to see Anselme take what seemed really to be his rightful place at the altar.

At the end of Mass, there were several speeches of congratulation and good wishes and the Provincial of the Missionaries of Africa announced that Anselme's first posting would be to Algeria. Once these were complete, there was an Acte de Grace - a procession of the new priests, their families and anyone else who wanted to join in! It was exuberant and full of joy as maybe 1000 people celebrated the ordinations of the new priests.

After the Mass (which lasted four-and-a-half hours), Anselme's little sister Mariam, and Kathryn walked back to the house of Anselme's grandmother. The compound had been transformed with hundreds of chairs and canopies for shade. At one end, friends and neighbours gathered and at the other, family and close friends. It seemed as if the whole neighbourhood had come for the feast! Kathryn was pleased to meet again Michaela who had come from Kenya for the occasion. As they both speak English, it was good to be able to chat- though there were many other conversations with family and friends of Anselme who had come from Ghana, Mali and the Ivory Coast for the ordination.

One highlight was a troupe of traditional dancers who danced energetically for about an hour going around the crowds to entertain them... again photos will follow!

The next morning was to be Anselme's first Mass in the church of St Vincent de Paul where he had grown up and been an altar server. Père Albert arrived to collect Kathryn at 7.30 but even so the church was full! Luckily, again, there was a seat reserved so she could get in the church! The Mass was to be concelebrated with another of the new priests and was mainly in French with some Dioula. The singing was excellent with two choirs joining forces and many of the songs were easy to pick up and join in with. At the end there were more speeches and much joy as these were the 10th and 11th ordinations in the parish. Père Albert had said that when he had arrived in the parish about 30 years before there was very little but now many people were responding to the call of God... he described Anselme as his "little Samuel" and was obviously very proud of him! This Mass - just for information - was three-and-a-half hours.

It was then to go to the parish rooms for the first feast prepared by the women of the parish... Kathryn was strongly reminded of the Mass at Pentecost when there was a similar abundance of food appearing from nowhere it seemed! After eating here, it was then to the grandmother's again for yet another feast! This was a major celebration!! On this afternoon, local drummers came and the women took turns to dance - some with incredible energy. It was exhilarating to watch but not to even think of joining in!

That evening, Anselme called by the Centre d'Acceuil and suggested a change of plan. Père Albert was going back to his mission in Konadougou and was happy for Kathryn to go back with him for a couple of days. This sounded like a great opportunity and so it turned out to be. The first stage was to Banfora where they stopped briefly at the Cathedral and Kathryn met a priest who has started a local Catholic radio station which broadcasts 4 hours a day. Then on to Konadougou which was another 50km further west/southwest. This route was particularly beautiful as the road was lined with mango trees for miles. Further into the area, the roads were more and more affected by the rains and became more and more uneven - especially as they turned off and headed to Konadougou... Père Albert's truck with 4-wheel drive was probably the only way to travel - other than motorbike/ moped/ bike (of which we saw many).

We dropped off the Sisters and went to the simply furnished White Fathers' house. The whole settlement were the houses, the church, school and a hall - very remote! There was electricity and a television (now picking up Burkinabé TV as opposed to Ivory Coast) but we were far from things like the internet - hence the gap in the blog!

There were traditional villages nearby and, though it felt far from anywhere, there were often people walking to and from fields. After lunch chez Paul in Sindou (and a siesta!) we visited the parish dispensary and a local village. Here we met the man responsible for the care of Christians in the area who introduced us to his son Simon Pierre and the new arrival Eugène who was born on 8 July. This village is made up round houses made of mud bricks with thatched roofs and granaries (same shape but smaller). The population of about 200 is made up of Christians, Muslims and animists - some within the same families. All live together in tolerance - the Burkinabé (people of Burkina) pride themselves on their being an integrated people and when a sect of Islam came and threatened to disturb the tolerance, they were removed.

This was an example of a village in which different families lived together, in this area are also tribes in which the families live separately - each in their own fields. As Père Albert said, one thing the Church offers here is an opportunity for people to gather - and they do - coming around 50km for meetings and so on. It means a different approach to meetings as people cannot just drop by for an hour's meeting each week! They will come for mornings and have a meal but evening meetings are rare because of the fear of snakes and so forth on the way home.

It was a great chance for Kathryn to learn more about how people are prepared for becoming Christians - how local customs and languages are used in liturgy and so on - and to experience something of the life of missionaries deep in the countryside of Africa!

The second day, we went to the Pics of Sindou - an other-worldy place of strangely shaped rock formations; It was originally a sea bed but the sea obviously receded and the rocks were left exposed. The soft ones were eroded by wind and rain and what is left is the slightly harder sandstone - though even that is quite crumbly. It is a great location for films - and is sometimes used by the Burkinabé film people.

Then on to a dam built by the people - mainly of rocks. This holds the rainwater from the hills which is used to irrigate the fields. The reservoir is a spectacular sight with lush green grass and palm trees and fishermen and their boats on the water. However, the reservoir is only half full at this time of the year and when it is full (as in a month or so's time) the grass will be submerged as will be most of the palm trees - only their crowns will be visible! Last year, however, there was so much rain that, as well as washing away many crops, it filled the reservoir to over flowing and local people had to move away for a time.

In the afternoon, we went to the new house for the priests and Sisters - this is to be in Sindou which will be easier for many people to get to. The new place is beautifully light and airy - but already being attacked by termites... once people move in they will hopefully be able to get the, under control!

As we travelled back over the rough terrain, the clouds gathered and it looked like the much longed for rain was going to arrive... It did - spectacularly! A massive tropical storm broke and lasted over 3 hours. Kathryn was glad to be in a solid house but Père Albert reassured her that local people would simply sleep through it in great tranquility!

The next day was the return to Bobo via Banfora. Here we visited the Cathedral House again and then the Diocesan Pastoral Centre. This is mainly under construction though the chapel (an octagonal building of brick with some plastered walls painted a soft turquoise) accommodation and some meeting rooms are complete. A covered-area for concerts/ films, etc is currently being built but, as the roof had not been firmy fixed, it blew off in the strong winds of the stor, the night before. A quick look at the hospital being built and a new college being built by Augustinians but to be run by the Cenacle and it was back to the bus station for the bus back to Bobo - arriving safely and heading back to the Centre d'Acceuil for the evenng.

Today, obviously, is catching up with this... hopefully, it has given a flavour though the photos will help a lot and fill in in more details when they are uploaded (probably next week I thnk - there are so many it would take too long to sort through them here!) Lunch will be qt Anselme's grandmother's and then hopefully to meet a local catechist at St Vincent de Paul and to the women's prayer this evening...

Hopefully there will be chance to do a little more of this tomorrow though we may got the lake of the sacred fish so that Kathryn can see some local customs. Then a bit ot shopping and the preparations for the return journey... the time goes so quickly now!

So for today, a bientot...

.... oh and about the acclimatisation? Ah - well - you know you are acclimatising when, after the rain, you think things are much cooler - and then read on the thermometer that it is 26°C!

A bientot!