AN EASIER WAY TO TRAVEL IN WEST AFRICA!

I just returned from my annual educational consulting trip to the country of Guinea, spending a night in Dakar, Senegal both going and coming.

As I've said before, traveling within West Africa is very challenging, for multiple reasons. I had to change my itinerary six different times for this trip, for example, due to changing flight schedules. There are often unforeseen delays, cancellations, and long waits in desolate airports. As a foreigner, you have to go through a visa application process every time you travel to another country, and stand in special arrival lines for folks who do not have passports from a CEDEAO (Economic Community of West African Countries) country.

This trip to Guinea was a red letter one for me because this time I traveled on my brand new Burkina passport! It definitely was easier to travel this time than when I travel with my American passport. But beyond that, I had such a feeling of satisfaction that I finally have dual citizenship, which accurately reflects the person that I am: American Burkinabè!

My trip was so smooth this time and I was grateful for that. Air Burkina and Air Senegal are both outstanding airlines. I was shown wonderful hospitality in both Senegal and Guinea, and meeting with our international worker families and those who support them was a huge blessing. In spite of the fatigue that such a trip causes, I know that I am really fortunate to be able to travel to other countries and be involved in so many different colleagues' lives.

I was a little nervous about leaving home because of the political problems that Burkina has been experiencing and the early evening curfew that I wasn't sure I could make with the timing of my flight. The curfew was pushed back for Easter weekend, however, and I made it home just in time for the start of our Good Friday service.

Happy Easter to all!