Behind the Scenes - Burkina Faso

I was completely scared to go to Burkina Faso. Call me silly…but I was. I knew that one of the American’s who worked for Ruth was killed in a terrorist attack a year before, I knew Al Qaeda was on the rise, and I knew there had been a random shooting a week previous.

But we try really hard to not live our lives based on emotions or fear. We aren’t perfect, and often I repeat my life phrase by Elisabeth Elliot, “Sometimes when we are called to obey, the fear does not subside and we are expected to move against the fear. One must choose to do it afraid.” This helps me push into the fear and make a decision based on what I feel called to do.

Ruth, Amy, Cris, Linda and all the wonderful people we met in Burkina are truly living there lives in the midst of very real fear and choosing to fight against it.

Being with Ruth was truly healing for me. I asked her at one point if she feels silly praying for safety and without hesitation she replied, ‘Oh no, we are supposed to submit everything before the Father.’ And something cracked my hardened heart and I realized, ‘duh, Whitney!’. That simple conversation has changed my inner life and has influenced me to make some really big life decisions we cannot WAIT to share with you all. Until then, watch Charlie’s full adoption and our time with Ruth and Amy in our orphan care travel show here.