Early Days in Upper Volta

I read a book last night called ‘A Place Prepared’ by Gloria Kearney. It’s about some of the first missionaries who worked in southwest Burkina Faso (Upper Volta, as it was then).

Stanley Benington, and his wife Alice, who came from Northern Ireland, worked with the Qua Iboe mission, and left Nigeria in 1932 to start the work among the Lobi people of Upper Volta.

It was very interesting to read about some of the trials and struggles that these early missionaries faced. The book comes right up to the present day.

Marina and I have met some of the missionaries mentioned in the book. In fact, some of them have been a great help to us, particularly on our previous visits to Burkina over the past few years.

In 2004, when Marina and I were in Burkina doing literacy among the Loron tribal people, we actually got to read some of the original manuscripts, by Stanley Benington, upon which the book is based.

Recommended reading. Get the book here.