Ministry Update

June 13, 2007

Already a month and a half into our new ministry…Time does fly. This past Sunday we had 22 adults, some visitors, and 76 children. It was a good day to be there. It was the first Sunday for Ethel and Rebecca to attend, and the kids especially enjoyed trying to pronounce Ethel’s name. It’s quite difficult for the Burkinabe. But they do try.
We invited all the adults to this Saturday’s fellowship activity. We’ll be watching a movie, snacking, and getting to know one another. It’s our first activity, and we’re excited to see the turn out. I’ll post more on that later.

Today I was finally able to get a picture of Awa (right) and Miriam (left), our first converts here in Ouagadougou. We look forward to seeing how they grow in their faith. Please pray with us for our new sisters in Christ.

hello friends, goodbye friend

June 13, 2007

We have been looking forward to this visit for several months now, and it has finally arrived. Last Wednesday, my sister Ethel and a friend Rebecca from my home church in Gulfport came for a visit. They arrived at 2:30 in the morning (I guess we’ll take a visit at whatever time it comes). Since then we’ve been showing them around Ouagadougou and allowing them to experience some pretty interesting firsts. So far, they’ve survived all, and are picking up French quite well. We’re looking forward to the next five weeks with them.

In the meantime, we have to let Carissa go back to the States. She flies out next Monday, the 18th. We are all sad to see her go. Blake and Aubrey held a conversation with her today that made me smile. We told them that Nouni gets to go see her family next Monday. Blake reasonably assumed she would have to take a plane and told her he would take another one and catch up to hers. Aubrey chimed in, “I wanna go”. So they’re realizing a change is about to happen, and have picked up on some of it. But we’re not looking forward to Monday night when Carissa does actually board the plane without either one of them. None of us are looking forward to saying goodbye. She has become a member of our family, and will be sorely missed.

Another Big Day

June 04, 2007
Yesterday was quite a day at church. The week before there were many Catholic baptisms in our area, so our numbers were considerably lower. But this week we had almost as many kids as we had the first Sunday – 79 with only 3 helpers including myself. But now some of the older girls are kicking in to help us hand things out, even sing some different songs. It’s really fun to watch them get involved.
But I learned another valuable candy lesson. The kids here do not like spearmint chewing gum. It was rather amusing to watch them all twist their faces trying to find an agreeable place in the chewing gum. They tried to enjoy, and I learned another lesson. C’est la vie.
The adult attendance was better than last week as well. They had 18 compared to 13 last week. Four of the adults came in late and were first time visitors. Assitu came as did her husband Issufu. Mike is teaching a series on "What does the Bible say about....". This week he preached on sin and repentance. We continue to pray that God will soften Issufu's heart and show him his need of a Savior.

The Angels of Heaven are singing

May 30, 2007

Every missionary eagerly awaits their first opportunity to lead someone to the Lord in their language. It's the reason we're here – to share Christ.
On Tuesday evening we got our opportunity. Four people from our church and our two helpers came on Tuesday to discuss salvation. One of the ladies had made a profession in Dassasgo, but wasn't sure of her salvation. She brought her husband and sisters to come to our house and discuss it.
That evening was pretty interesting as Mike asked questions with the help of Douninoma translating into Moore and discussed from the Bible what salvation is and what it isn't. When he asked them what salvation was, they responded that it was following the
commandments of God. He discussed a little more, showing more verses. He then asked the same question. They responded it's going to church, praying, and following the commandments of God. He explained a little more; then he asked the same question. This went on for some time – each time he took them back to the Bible. At the end of his explanations, he left the room, and the group of people that had been quiet the entire evening started going off a mile a minute in
Moore. Douninoma continued to explain what had already been said. But now they felt more comfortable to talk and ask questions.
When Mike returned to the room, Awa, one of the sisters, told Mike she was ready to pray. She now understood that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ – not by following the commandments of God. Her prayer was so simple, in Moore, but so beautiful. Douninoma translated her prayer into French for us to understand. Mike and I both had tears in our eyes when she finished. Her younger sister Miriam then took her turn to pray. When she finished, she too had tears in her eyes.
It was a beautiful evening. Assitu, the young lady that had made a profession of faith, gained assurance of her salvation that evening.
The Angels of Heaven are singing to see two new believers and another gain assurance.
Assitu's husband, Issufu was not ready that evening to make that decision. Please pray with us for him that God will continue to work in his heart and draw Issufu to Himself.

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