A young woman from Mitchell has returned home after spending eleven months in West Africa through Mennonite Central Committee.

Alicia Loewen worked in Burkina Faso as a community worker through MCC's Serving And Learning Together (SALT) program. Loewen explains through SALT, a young adult from North

(Loewen and the university students who live at the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Ouagadougou)America will travel to a country in the southern hemisphere to do a culture/ learning exchange.

This being her first time living away from home, and also her first visit to a developing country, Loewen says it was a big shock.

"Everything was completely opposite and different from what I knew from Canada except for the family unit," explains Loewen. "We have different climate, we have different language, different religions are there, different culture, everything was different. So it was a really big shock and just being open to learning about all the new things was really an amazing experience."

Loewen served as a community worker in a Mennonite Church in the capital city of Ouagadougou. Her responsibilities included working with different groups within the Church. Loewen says she worked with the youth and young adults, helped teach English and computer skills. In the evenings she worked with another organization called Serving In Mission (SIM), teaching English conversation courses for adults. This was also a Muslim outreach program with Bible discussions.

Children receive Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes in early 2015The Ebola crisis in Africa surfaced in the early part of 2014, well before Loewen left for her overseas trip. But as her departure date drew closer, the threat remained and Loewen admits it was certainly on her mind as she packed and got immunized. But according to Loewen, Ebola wasn't in Burkina Faso while she was there, nor was it in any neighbouring countries.

"So I did feel relatively safe," she says. "MCC really supported all the SALTers in having the correct information and the supports as well and so I stayed updated and I totally felt fine going there."

In fact, Loewen says she felt more at risk of getting Malaria.

Loewen says a highlight for her in Africa was taking in their celebrations. She says while the celebrations look considerably different there compared to Canada, the act of celebrating is still the same.

"It looks like people coming together, eating food and enjoying each other," she says. "Everybody's talking in a different language and it's a whole day affair with neighbours and it's not just a family gathering."

After eleven months away from home, Loewen says one thing she really missed was grass. Because Burkina Faso has such a dry climate, there is not a lot of grass to be seen there. She says it was a real treat coming home and spending time in parks with friends and family, enjoying the green surroundings.

And Loewen says the hot summer days of southern Manitoba pale in comparison to the 45 degree heat in West Africa. In fact, she's been spotted wearing a sweater these days as her body acclimatizes.

As for whether or not she will ever do this again, Loewen says she hopes her learning and cultural experiences aren't over. And while she would love to head back to her second home one day, Loewen says she doesn't know what the Lord has planned for her.