New Siblings in Christ….New Struggles in Ministry

What a great time we’re having here in Burkina Faso. Life is certainly not always easy and people don’t always do what you ask or expect them to do, but we have much to praise God for. In the past two weeks, we’ve seen an additional 4 souls saved. It’s been amazing to watch God work and be used by Him. Last week, a young man named Abel came to our home to discuss our beliefs as a church and salvation. While he was in the office with Mike, Douninoma, and Benoit hearing about salvation, the Lord opened the door for me to talk with Noellie, the young lady who helps me in our home. We have been praying for Noellie for over 1 ½ years to accept Christ. Though her family is Catholic, she has been coming faithfully with us to church and has heard the message of salvation so many times. Always before though, it was simply a good story. However, this day, the Lord really worked. Throughout the day, He had been more strongly burdening my heart for Noellie’s salvation. At the end of the day, I approached her just wanting to know where she was on realizing her need for a Savior. He apparently had been working in her heart, because she told me that she’s wanted to ask me some questions about salvation for a while now. She had just never felt that the timing was right. God gave me the opportunity right then to show her some Scriptures in the Bible just as Mike was leading Abel to the Lord. He joined Noellie and I just after Abel left our home, and for the next 30 minutes, Mike and I got to lead Noellie to the Lord. In the time that she’s worked in our home, Noellie has become our friend. But now she is our sister.
Our Christian family is growing. Praise the Lord! This past Tuesday, we saw two more young ladies come to know Him as their Savior. They are sisters, Helema and Natasha. Helema is in difficult situation in her life right now. Her family is upset with her because she is pregnant now by a man who they do not like. He is not stepping up to take responsibility, so she has had to rely on her family even more. She came to us to ask us how to pray for this. We not only had the opportunity to tell her how to pray but to introduce her to Whom she should pray. Both she and her sister accepted Christ that day.
Already this year, the Lord has given us seven new brothers and sisters in Christ in our church. It’s fun to watch how they grow in their new faith. However, in the area where our church is located, not everyone is so excited. Within a one mile radius, there are at least seven mosques that we know of. The Muslims in our area are not at all happy with what’s happening at our church. They are discouraging their families and friends to come to our church and forbidding their children to come. The number of children coming to church now has seriously dropped in the last 4 weeks. For the past two weeks, I’ve only had 36 children in attendance, whereas before, we were on average running over 75 per week. This is discouraging to hear and to see. But we know that God is in our ministry. Please pray for our church – L’Eglise Baptiste de la Bonne Nouvelle –, the new believers’ growth, and the opportunity to reach more people.