Advances in our Four Radio Stations

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Bobo Dioulasso, the second largest city in Burkina Faso, where we had a meeting of the radio board that oversees the 4 radio stations. Though it is difficult financially, they are not complaining and they are creatively working to find ways to make the radio work. Reports are steady of people from all backgrounds, coming to Christ through the radio broadcasts. It is truly amazing.

Their assumption of the financial responsibility is very encouraging. People are sacrificing, offering their motorbikes for the errands that have to be run. Most of the DJ's are volunteers, who see it as a ministry.

We keep praying for these stations, as they are only about 18 months old. Just wanted you to know a bit of their progress.

Update on Flood Relief

The relief efforts for those affected by the flood has been ongoing since the first day. Just as a reminder, it is estimated that 150,000 people were made homeless by the flooding which took place on December 1. It really was quite amazing - utter destruction in many places.

We have been involved in the relief efforts, beginning first of all with over 100 families from our 6 churches and the Compassion International sites associated with our churches. Then from there it spread to those others that have fallen through the "cracks", without receiving the aid offered by the government.

The next phase will be oriented towards the nearly 130,000 who are currently living in public schools, who will not leave the schools and move to temporary camps where they will be housed. We work with CAMA Services and our church development organization called, "ACCEDES". This phase will be more of a rehabilitation phase, providing food, helping folks to get back on their feet, seeing that kids are enrolled in school for the next year.

If you or your church would like to help in some way, you can send a gift to CAMA Services, P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500. Be sure to note that it is for Burkina Flood Relief.

Flood Relief

There's a lot happening around Ouagadougou these days. Many people have sprung into action to help meet the needs of the people. We were down at the center where they are accepting donations and it was amazing to see the response of the people. Everything from small bags of used clothes to $20,000. It is neat to see the solidarity of the Burkinabe people. The government is working so hard to create an environment of transparency and integrity. Used clothing was sent up from our sister churches in the Cote d'Ivoire. It is really quite the unfolding story as aid comes in from all levels.

In our little "corner", we are working with the national church. Initial efforts are to help the nearl 100 families that were impacted by the flood in our seven churches here in the city. From there, it will spread out to other people. We are also trying to make donations to the mayors offices, as a number of them have been very helpful to us in the past two years, helping us to find appropriate properties in the city.

I took in some of the distribution today, and I'll add a couple of pictures to show you what that looks like.

Joy-filled Baptism at Ouaga 2000

Amy and I had the wonderful joy of attending the first baptism at Ouaga 2000. Wow! What a blessing. The joy of the Lord was flowing all over the place. It was fun to see Steve and Debbi in that environment – an environment that they seem to be thriving in. It is clear that they are well-loved. Debbi was sitting right beside us and gave quick resumes of the testimonies of these young people. There were originally 11 “candidates” for baptism, but when Steve gave the invitation for any others, two others stepped into the water to be baptized. It was very cool. I am inserting a couple of pictures for you to see. I hope you will be able to rejoice, as well.
It is wonderful to see this new ministry gaining traction. Pray with them for 3 or 4 complete families to be added to the group. They have a dynamic group of young adults, but lack in mature families.

On another note, ACCEDES will be launching their efforts to help those in need following the flood. Be in prayer for this effort, as it is never easy to try to ascertain who needs help and who doesn’t. Feel free to contribute by sending Mary and email and copying me. We will see that it gets to ACCEDES to help with the effort. Look at the following for something Susan has made available on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-RINnw88w .

Press on! It’s all for God’s glory and the establishing of His kingdom in Burkina Faso.

Steve

Greatest Flood in Burkina since 1919

In a country where 14 inches of rain would be an annual rainfall, we received 14 inches in less than 12 hours. This was the largest rain since 1919. That’s going back a ways. And things weren't as devastating since the city was so much smaller then. Now the population tops 1,000,000, with some estimates as high as 2,000,000. The canals that normally evacuate the water run-off quite adequately, were incapable of doing so this time. The water ripped the concrete sides off of the canal in some places. The result was that many neighborhoods were overcome with water. In the poorer neighborhoods of the city, many of the mud brick homes were unable to withstand the rush of the water and, as a result, came down! Today, it is estimated that 150,000 people are homeless, living in schools or with family. Some lost every bit of their personal belongings, even though they never had much to begin with. A number of people lost their lives in the rushing water. Bridges and dams have been destroyed. One of the main generators, that powers electricity to the capital city, was destroyed. We were already having significant power cuts due to the inability to provide electricity for the whole city at one time. This will likely aggravate the situation even further.

The relief and development organization of our church, ACCEDES, is planning to do something tangible to help meet the needs. They certainly can’t help everyone, but they can help some and we can help with them. The plan is to provide food for 500 people for 2 months, and to provide three changes of clothing for 500, as well as to provide medicine for those who may need emergency medicine. The total cost of the relief effort is estimated at about $24,000. About $10,000 has been promised from CAMA Services. We are trying to partner with ACCEDES and CAMA to find the funds to help with this need.

If you or your church would like to help in some way, you can send a gift to CAMA Services, P.O. Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500. Be sure to note that it is for Burkina Flood Relief.