PARTNERSHIPS

Here are a couple of neat partnership possibilities that we have the possibility of working with. Each of them is cool in that partnerships are cool if you don't care who gets the credit.

1. VCP - Village Church Planting - We are just getting ready to begin working together with them. Their program involves a plan to train church planters and in a 40 month period, there is the possibility of planting 180 new churches! The training is excellent. Look at their website for more information - intoafricaproject.org.

2. Franklin, NC - For the past 4 years or more, Kevin has led teams of young people to Burkina to do what they can do and to help put tools in the hands of the church. The neat thing about this partnership is that it really is about meeting needs and accomplishing something, while building into the lives of the young people that come on the trip. Because of these trips, 6 or 7 of these young people are planning to come out for longer term to serve in Burkina.

3. ONE HOPE - is a partner ministry with Evangelism Explosion that has the goal of training one million children to share their faith with ten million. Our church is exploring the possibility of partnering with them. Over 50% of the population here is under 14 years of age. Look at their website to get a better idea - onehope.org.

Partnerships are a good way to get the job done.

Marriage Encounter

Marriages around the world require care and attention. Without that, we hurt one another and destroy relationships that are vital to our lives and to others. We had the privilege of being part of an organization committee to launch a new ministry called Marriage Encounter. The weekend is made up of invited couples who are given the blessing of a free weekend in a hotel, where they encounter one surprise after another, all linked to writing to your spouse and talking through issues that have otherwise been covered over. The sessions are centered on three couples sharing their testimonies of how they went from troubled and hurting marriages to healing. Through the weekend, God does some amazing things.

Our weekend that we helped organize was August 13-15. We had a total of 17 invited couples who enjoyed the weekend. Some amazing things happened that put couples on the road to healthier marriages. One example was one couple, where the husband, due to his job, was in danger of losing not only his wife, but also his whole family. Through the testimonies and the dialogue, he made the choice to change jobs so as to save his marriage and family.

The next weekend is being planned for March 4-6. You can pray for us as we help get ready for this next event. Pray for the follow-up of the couples from this past weekend. We could use your help financially to help sponsor a weekend for one couple. The cost is about $350 for the whole weekend and a changed marrage. Not a bad return!

Creativity in Evangelism

One of our districts here in Burkina Faso organized their 3rd "Evangelistic Bike Rally". During a one week period, 115 bikers visited 56 villages in 4 different districts. In each village, they would stop in a public location, such as the market, a crowd would gather. They would sing a couple of songs, someone would give a presentation of the Gospel. At the end, people would be invited to begin a relationship with the Savior, and off they would go, leaving a person or two behind to follow up on those who would respond. They saw more than 200 people make a decision to follow Christ and entrust their lives to Him. Pretty creative, isn't it? It's wonderful working in a free country where these kinds of things are possible.

Internet Problems

It has been some time since I have been able to open up my blog. Our internet connection was out for nearly 3 months and even when we had internet, it would sometimes refuse to open up a website. Needless to say, we were a bit frustrated. Thus the long period of silence. So, here we go again. Thanks for your patience.

Friday I Was a Total Failure. Tuesday, God was a Hero

"Friday, I was a total failure. Tuesday, God was a hero." This was the phrase that my friend, Jim, expressed to me the other day. He was coming out with Florida with a small solar system to install at a government medical center in a rural area of Burkina Faso. Just before he was to board the plane, he discovered that it would be impossible to transport the batteries. Now what? Jim wrote a quick letter to me to ask my help in finding someone who could help us locate this kind of battery.

In the meantime, a week ago, I was talking with a technicien friend of mine and found out that he is quite knowledgeable in solar systems. I called him up and explained the situation. As soon as Jim arrived in the country, I put him in touch with my friend, who took him to a qualified dealer of solar material and the right battery was located and purchased.

Now you know where the phrase came from. How often do we feel like a total failure, only to see God turn a situation around and make it positive. Jim said that now he can negotiate for these small solar systems and due to the lack of batteries, he can bring out more of them on the plane. God thinks of everything!

Dr. I

Dr. I is all I'm going to call him. He is a wonderful believer who has a heart to help people. We recently had 3 of our girls from Dorcas House who were quite sick. After trying to treat them in the government hospital, we transfered them to Dr. I's clinic. A consultation costs less than 75 cents! Above his examining table is the handwritten sign, "Touch the patient!". He speaks all of the common languages of Burkina, plus English. Our girls are all doing much better, thanks to his loving care and the affordability of his clinic. A hernia operation for one of the girls cost $45 plus medicines.

We are thankful for Dr. I and the vision he had to create this clinic. All I can say is, "may his 'tribe' increase".

Compassion International

We are privileged to have the involvement of Compassion International here in Burkina Faso. This ministry is powerful and is having a significant impact on the education scene of this country. There are currently 96 churches that host a Compassion site. Over a dozen C&MA churches are sites for Compassion here in Burkina Faso.

20,000 students benefit from these sites
18,000 students are sponsored
8,000 more students is the aim for this year.

These students would likely not have a chance at getting an education. Education is proven to be one way to fight poverty. The Gospel is also a means to fight poverty. Compassion students are given the chance to be exposed to a biblical world view. By the time they finish school, they will have a good foundation to be a model citizen and a leader.

Stop and thank God for Compassion International, if you are reading this right now. Think about sponsoring a child in this country, if you have the means to do so. Make a difference in a child's life that will last for eternity.

Prayer Changes People

You never know when a simple prayer will change the life of someone.

When I returned from my most recent trip, Amy said to me, "You know that pizza delivery guy you prayed for after he was robbed? (Actually I didn't really remember it too well). Well, he just delivered some pizzas while you were gone and he said he is now walking with the Lord." How cool is that?

In February, I made a protocol visit to a person fairly high up in government. When I entered with a man who had set up the meeting, this government official proceeded to tell us all of his problems. When he had finished, I told him that I couldn't resolve his problems, but that I would be happy to pray for him, which he accepted. After we left, he called my friend who had set up the meeting and told him how much the prayer had meant to him.

I'm going to take more opportunities to pray with people for their needs. What's the risk?

A. Diallo

A. Diallo came to Dorcas House, a desperate young girl. In her young life of less than 20 years, she's had a lot put on her. Her mother is dying of a terminal illness. She, herself, had a child out of wedlock and had come to believe that selling her body was one of the ways she could help provide for her family.

Then, one of our colleagues, Sue Eshbaugh, suggested that she come to Dorcas House. She did, and when she arrived, you could see that she was a tough girl with a "history". But then, God came into her life, and her life is changed. She'll tell you so.

You should have seen A. singing and dancing at church this morning. Tears came to my eyes as I saw the reality of Easter displayed in the life of this young girl who is a different girl today. We all know that the problems are not over, but she has become a "new creation". Praise God for Easter!

Easter - He is Risen!

We had a wonderful Easter. What makes it wonderful, you might ask? Well, Saturday afternoon, I had the privilege of helping one of our pastors baptize 55 people from our Central Church. Baptism is always a joy, especially at Easter, when the meaning is so powerfully displayed in the water. Jesus died, was buried and rose again! Wow.

Sunday morning, we were invited to one of our sister churches here in town. We decided to take the girls from Dorcas House with us, as they were longing to be in church on Easter. I helped baptize 5 people from that church. I preached on Mary Magdalene and served communion. 2 people gave their lives to Christ this morning - Easter Sunday! Can you think of a better thing to happen on Easter Sunday?

This evening, we had all of our missionaries together for a ham and potluck supper. It was great to be together with these, our colleagues, with whom we are seeking to bring the message of Easter to bear on this country every day.

It was a good Easter. I hope yours was meaningful too.

Dentistry and Jesus Go Together

I just finished a week in the "bush", meaning a rural village. I hosted a dental team comprised of three people from the U.S., and three from Guinea. It was a powerful week, as the church in that area has been going through a period of persecution. Two Sundays ago I had the joy of preaching in one of the villages where most of the believers had been persecuted. One young girl has been beaten many times by her family because of her faith. The last time, the said they would "beat her until she vomited Jesus". She is still going strong and full of the joy of the Lord. It was a privilege to worship with these choice members of the family of God.

During the week, we saw the attitude of the people change towards Christ and his church. Even the persecutors were treated for dental problems. That's what the Gospel is about - blessing those who curse you and spitefully abuse you.

The dental team accomplished the following:

1. 262 patients were seen
2. 520 teeth were pulled
3. 163 teeth were filled
4. The name of Jesus was lifted up
5. The church gained favor with the people.

Praise God for a successful week, in every way.

Inspiring missions slogans and notable quotes from missionaries

"'The history of missions is the history of answered prayer.' — Samuel Zwemer"

Inspiring missions slogans and notable quotes from missionaries

"'Go, send, or disobey.' — John Piper"

Inspiring missions slogans and notable quotes from missionaries

"'We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.' — Oswald J. Smith"

Inspiring missions slogans and notable quotes from missionaries

"'Christ wants not nibblers of the possible, but grabbers of the impossible.' — C.T. Studd"

My Friend, John

I'd love for you to meet my friend, John. He and I have been friends since my childhood here in Burkina Faso. His father is a pastor; one of the first to go to Bible College in the early days of missions here in Burkina Faso. Because John's dad was committed to honesty, he would not lie in order to sign John up for school. As a result, John did not have the opportunity to get an typical education. But John taught himself to read and write. He learned 9 languages proficiently. He also begged me and bugged me to teach him English. I never could understand why he was so persistant to learn English.

Over the years, others saw John's intelligence and encouraged him to go to nurses training. He did so and did well, in spite of the fact that he did not have a formal education. Because he spoke English well, he was assigned to work with visiting surgeons when they came to work at the Baptist hospital. Rather quickly, John learned how to perform surgery. When pressed into service during some difficult days, John was THE surgeon at the hospital. Quite an accomplishment for a man who never had a formal education. That's my friend, John. And I'm proud to know of his accomplishments. He is retired today, but still very active. He loves God and wants to continue to serve Him.

I'd love for you to meet him.

Strategic Meetings

This weekend, we will be meeting as a Field Leadership Team. We have these leadership meetings about 4 times a year to discuss the various decisions that must be made for our missionary team. On Saturday, we will meet with the national church leadership to discuss our common vision of impacting the nation at every level. We will conclude with a visit to one of our districts and then will make a "vision trip" through a very neglected area of the country, where we hope to partner together to bring the light of the Gospel to this area.

It will be an exciting weekend, as we seek God's mind to make decisions for the future of His church in this country! Pray for us.

A Follow-Up on Mr. G

On November 15 I wrote to you about "Mr. G", who became a Christian out of a background out of Islam. Things have not been easy. He recently was ill, as he suffers from diabetes. He hurt his toe and it wasn't healing. He went to the hospital and they initially thought it would be best to amputate at the knee. He ended up with an amputated big toe. On the local Islamic radio station, they were talking about "this man who left the 'road' and is now paying dearly for it. They also stated that he had had both legs amputated, which was not true.

As Mr. G does not have gainful employment now, we are looking at the possibility of helping him start a small chicken project with egg layers.

Please pray for Mr. G and his family. He needs your prayers for healing and for courage to press on.

A New Year's Ramble

Back again, after taking about a month away from the blog. I trust your Christmas was blessed and that your 2010 will be blessed, as well.

This is the time of year when I have to submit my narrative report, which is a compilation of the reports of every member of the team. It is always exciting to see the things God is doing and where he's working. Our schools are healthy, and that is one of the high priority items on our radar screen. Our newer capital city church plants are all growing well and are healthy. That's exciting. Our short term missionaries have had some key ministry opportunities here and we've had the most we've ever had. We will be adding a family to our team, who is on loan from the West Ridge Church in Atlanta. And we could go on and on.

On another note, we're gearing up for our busy short term teams season. It's always an exciting time, as folks from our churches in the U.S. have the opportunity to be directly involved in advancing the kingdom in very practical ways. They help put on church roofs. They raise money to help us increase the capacities of our schools, etc. One team coming this year is a medical team, who will help "open doors" in an area where the Gospel has been preached very little.

2010 should be a great year. Why not? God is in it and we look to Him to lead the way. May we follow His direction.