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!