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.