Peace in Chaos

It was a perfect afternoon for ice cream, so I picked up one friend and was on my way to pick up another when we got a phone call.

"There's something going on in town. I think you better turn around and come back," my friend's father explained to me on the telephone. All he knew was that the presidential army had surrounded the building where the president, prime minster, and many others were meeting for a cabinet meeting on this perfectly pleasant afternoon. With only one month left until elections are scheduled to take place, and one year after the long standing president was expelled from office in October 2014, something like this was heating up anyway. 

Respecting his authority, yet not yet fully understanding the severity of the situation, we grudgingly turned around and went back. "Is it sad that I'm more diasppointed about not getting ice cream than the fact that a political crisis could be happening?" I asked. And we laughed. 

But as the events continued to unfold, it was a good thing we sacrificed our ice cream run. In a matter of a few hours, the presidential army instigated an event that led to the dissolving of the entire interim government, and the president, prime minister, and two others were taken hostage while a new president came into power through a coup d'état. Unfortunately, he was closely associated with the former president who was ousted a year ago. The people were outraged. The democracy they had worked so hard to establish came crumbling down in another military overthrow. The people were trying so hard to prevent history from repeating itself, and then this major setback happened.

Normally, we are far away from events like this in our little town. But this just so happened to be the week of the international co-op of ouagadougou (ICO), so missionary families were coming to Ouaga from all over the country for their children to participate, including us. In fact, Suzanne is the director, and she specifically chose this week to avoid the political craziness that could arrive with the upcoming elections. The funny thing is, in the attempt to avoid such an event, we found ourselves right smack dab in the middle of it. 

My first coup d'état. 

So what exactly does a coup d'état look like for a missionary on the ground in Burkina Faso? Thankfully, not too much. It does look like all borders closing, including the airport. It looks like everything shutting down in town so that the streets are deserted except for military personnel, demonstrators, and rioters. It looks like being in lock-down mode so that no one enters or exits the guest house where we are staying. It looks like the embassy sending out travel notices informing everyone to remain in their houses until further notice. It sounds like gunshots and firecrackers in the distance. It looks like checking the news frequently to get the scoop on how things are developing and to find more pictures of tires burning, soldiers shooting, and people yelling for liberation. 

But it also looks like something entirely different. It looks like several missionary families all stuck together in one compound day after day. It's sharing every meal together by compiling our random assortment of groceries. It's popping popcorn and watching a movie with the kids while the gunshots sound too close to be playing outside. It's working puzzles and having conversation because there is nothing else to do. It's gathering together after dinner for a devotional to sing and pray and share Scripture with one another. 

One evening, I looked around the room and saw that every chair was taken and every table was full. Full of children, full of families, full of people smiling and sharing and laughing. The room was warm, and I felt my heart grow warm with it. There may be great danger outside of these walls, but we were safe and secure within.  

At first I felt guilty. How could we have such peace and joy when the world could be falling apart around us? But then I realized how this was a picture of the kingdom of heaven. When the mountains shake and the seas roar, when everything is unstable and dangerous in the world around us, we have an eternal security and a peace that passes understanding in the refuge of our Father. We even have a joy that transcends the circumstances because we are loved and unshaken in the arms of Jesus. 

So I looked around and thought, God is so good. Even in the middle of chaos, he has provided us with protection, fellowship, peace, and even laughter. I hate that the world may be falling apart all around us, but we are so safe and solid in God's arms that nothing can shake or touch us. Thank you, Jesus. 

In that moment, I know that no matter what, we were gonna be okay. Even if a group of angry, armed med entered the room the next second, I knew we would be okay. 

Today is day three of this coup d'état, and I am still camped out safe and sound with many other missionaries. We are still waiting for the prime minister, Zita, to be released, hoping that he is not dead. Rumors have it that things could escalate quickly, and others say that everything will be calmed down in the next couple of days. Things like this either get worse in a flash or get better in a flash, so that's why I ask you to keep praying. 

Pray for all the people who are making selfish, godless decisions right now. Pray for the people who are getting hurt because of them. Pray for the people who are choosing to riot on the streets. Pray for the innocent bystanders who just happen to be in the way of demonstrations and rioting. Pray for the leaders as they have to make critical decisions. Pray for a quick and peaceful resolution with no more lives injured or lost. Pray for a healthy, balanced government to come into power. And while we are at it, pray big: pray for Christians to rise up. May Christians rise up in their families and point their families to Christ. May Christians rise up in their churches and point their neighborhoods to Christ. May Christians rise up in the government and lead their nation back to Christ. 

He is the light that pierces the darkness. He is the peace in the middle of chaos. He is our shelter when the world falls apart around us. He is the Jesus who can calm all storms.