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December 28, 2005
Dominike decided to have Christmas services in Tanghin this
morning. It seems that the local religious officials decided
to have Christmas services in Tanghin this morning instead
of December 25. So Dominike took the opportunity to also
have something for our new mission work. There were nine
present for this special service.
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December 25, 2005
We were not expecting a great crowd for our services or for
our “bus route” but we still had twenty-five riders. We used
this time to hold our very first communion services in
Dassasgo. (We received the permission of our sending church
to hold communion services. This was the first communion
services for all of our members in a “Protestant” church.)
Dominike held services in Boulwando and in Tanghin this
morning. He held services in Tanghin at 8:00 AM and then
after 9:00 AM in Boulwando. He, and the mission church in
Boulwando, has decided to take more responsibility in the
new work in Tanghin. Dominike has started Bible studies in
Tanghin on Friday afternoons, and have included Yamba, Yembi
and David in these studies.
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December 24, 2005
We celebrated this Christmas Eve by having a cookout for the
single students of the Institute. Harouna’s dad was in Ouaga,
so we invited him to celebrate with us. Being a Muslim, we
were concerned if he would accept, but he readily accepted
and indicated after the feast that he really enjoyed it.
We grilled out hamburgers. Mary made some great potato salad
and many extras. Still there was a lot of food left over.
(It was a little difficult to imagine Christmas, as we were
eating an old-fashioned American picnic, but it was well
received by the students.) After the meal, we sat around
talking and playing Uno, as we were eating some great
pumpkin pie.
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December 22, 2005
This morning was the last day of the Institute until January
10, 2005. Noël and Denis returned to their villages. Paul
and Alexis will be leaving after the Christmas services this
coming Sunday. Dominike, as is his habit, left for Boulwando
for the weekend. Harouna will stay around until the first of
January. Ghislain, who has no family, David and Douninoma,
and Timothée will be staying around for the holidays.
Before departing the students had a test in Old Testament
history. The lowest score was 80%, with most making 100%. It
was encouraging to see them put for the effort to be
well-prepared for this exam. (I am still in the process of
trying to understand testing procedures here. School is
different here and the method of grading is also different.
As one of our men was taking the test, I noticed he was
having some difficulty. I waited and waited, but still he
seemed stumped. Finally, I asked him the problem and he
could not understand how to read and decipher a map. After
some explanations, he proceeded to finish the test with a
perfect score, even correctly answering the extra-credit
questions.)
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December 21, 2005
Since our children’s school has stopped for the Christmas
holidays, Mary took them in town and to the local marché
shopping. Midway through their shopping spree, Mary pulled
over, at a Mobile station, to buy some drinks. As they
returned to the car to continue to the marché, a young
fourteen year old girl on a motocyclette, with another young
girl riding behind, turned the corner too fast and ran right
into Mary. Mary was parked and had not even started to pull
out. The young driver was bleeding profusely from the nose.
Her rider was scuffed up, but appeared okay.
Mary called me to come and help her with the police. As I
arrived they were putting the young girl into an ambulance.
Her parents were there, as was the police, with a huge crowd
of onlookers. Since it was obvious to everyone, including
the girl’s parents, that she was simply going to fast and
lost control and ran into a parked car, nobody wanted to
fill out any police paperwork. The police asked me if we had
any objections to not filing a police report, and we
reiterated that it was up to the girl and her family. So no
police report was filed and the girl and her family were
taken to a local clinic. It stunned Mary and our children.
Tonight in our prayer meeting we made special prayer for
this young lady and her family.
Paul continued his Bible study on Titus, finishing up the
first chapter. He was really intense as he taught on the
qualifications of a pastor and deacon and then taught on
false preachers. It is amazing at how much Paul continues to
grow in grace. When given the opportunity to teach or
preach, he is always well-prepared and eager to share what
God has been teaching him.
Yanik, whom Paul continues to disciple, continues to show
faithfulness to our Wednesday evening services. As we were
riding home, our girls mentioned that Ferdinand, another
young man being discipled by Ghislain, was really taking in
the teaching by writing down notes. They were impressed by
his desire to gain knowledge of his new found faith. With
schools closing down for the holidays, we had a good number
of prayer warriors this evening.
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December 19, 2005
I was faced with a very difficult decision this week with
respect to one of our Institute students. I have been
struggling to find a solution to this “problem” for most of
this semester, but, as of today, have been unable to find
one. Therefore with reluctance and with the hope of a better
solution in the near future, I have been forced to ask one
of our men to quit the Institute for the rest of this
semester. The door of opportunity is still open for the
second semester which will start in March, but this semester
must be repeated. It is a very difficult time for all those
involved as it highlights a very serious problem here. I am
not sure much can be said about the details, but Ésaïe, has
been asked to step aside this semester, with the hope of
returning this coming March as a full time student. My heart
is heavy. He has been with us since our arrival in Burkina.
I do not want to see him fall by the wayside, but I feel
trapped without any other recourse. I greatly covet your
prayers on his behalf and for a supernatural intervention
from the Lord of the Harvest in this very discouraging and
difficult situation.
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December 18, 2005
Twenty-five were the total number of “bus riders” this
morning for our only “bus route” in Ouagadougou. As we were
in the process of picking up riders, Adjaratou took the
opportunity to speak with me about becoming more faithful to
all of the services, as she had done in the past. She
indicated her desire to recommence her discipleship and her
faithfulness to every single service we hold in Dasssasgo.
It is very encouraging to see her wanting to grow again
after sliding away for a few months. Her humility about the
past has been very evident in her words and deeds. Please
continue to pray for her, as this is a very difficult place
for a young single mother.
The preaching was more directed this morning and the Spirit
used the words to touch the hearts of most of those present,
including Ferdinand SIDIBÉ, the young disciple of Ghislain,
and Yacouba NIKEEMA, our neighbor’s cook who made sure we
did not forget him on the “bus route” this morning. The
message centered upon suffering, and given the very
difficult lives many of our members and friends endure, the
interest in the message was evident. After the services most
of the “talk” centered upon the message. Each of those “note
takers” was surrounded by others wanting to have copies of
their notes. The response was overwhelming and I stood in
awe at the tenderness of those present to the sufferings in
their own lives and of those around them.
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December 17, 2005
This was the last Soul-Winning Club until next year. As the
reports came in, we found out that four people made
professions of faith on the street. Another twenty-three
recent converts were followed up. The follow up is beginning
to bear fruit, as we have five different men discipling five
others on a weekly basis.
It was good to see Dominike begin this week with Clement
KONSIMBO, one of the first converts from Boulwando who has
moved into Ouagadougou about a year and a half ago. Samuel
ILBOUDO also started this week with Noël. The other three
are continuing. We are still praying and seeking solutions
for seven other men who desire to follow up someone. Please
pray for opportunities for these willing servants of the
Lord.
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December 14, 2005
This evening Paul started his four week study on Titus. He
spent just over thirty minutes on the first two verses,
focusing on the identification of Paul as the “serviteur de
Dieu” and making application to our service for the Lord.
For his first “Bible study” Paul did a great job and he is
very encouraged about this opportunity to teach on this
epistle for the next four weeks.
Boureima KAFANDO, a young sixteen year old boy, came for the
first time. He was recently saved and has been “hanging”
around the Institute with the men. Eric is in the process of
seeking a weekly time for discipleship with Boureima.
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December 12, 2005
Today is Independence Day in Burkina Faso, a national
holiday. So we let the men of the Institute decide if they
wanted to have the courses or not. They decided they would
like to continue with the courses today. (I really did not
need to ask this question, as they are always willing and
eager to have classes. They are constantly pleading with me
to increase the number of classes and the time in each
class. Oh, if only I could!) Their eagerness to learn the
word of God is really encouraging.
David KORGO has assumed the music responsibilities at the
Fundamental Baptist Church of Dassasgo. Mary has decided to
teach him the basics of music during the evening hours when
both of them have the opportunity. This evening David came
over to continue his music studies with Mary. This is the
third week that they have taken this opportunity to further
the music ministry here. Mary says that David continues to
learn rapidly and he is very easy to teach. We hope to have
David start a choir very shortly.
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December 11, 2005
In Dassasgo, we were a little low on the “bus route” this
morning with only seventeen total riders. There were no
first time visitors in the main auditorium but Rachel had
several first time visitors for her children’s church. We
continue to see the attendance stay in the mid forties.
Kadi took the opportunity of this long weekend to visit
family members in her home town of Fada. Esthère, Ésaïe’s
wife, was not able to be there because her “grandmother”
just passed away. Her daughter, Naomi, who has always been
faithful, was also home with an injury suffered while riding
her bike in town. After the services Ésaïe brought her to
out house where Mary tried to take care of the wound on her
ankle. She did not know the severity of the wound until she
took off her homemade bandage and saw the very, very deep
puncture wound that was oozing out red and green puss. As
best she could she cleaned it and rewrapped it and
emphatically stated that Ésaïe needed to take her to the
clinic, or hospital, as soon as possible. It is very serious
and she really needs your prayers.
Today was an off week for Tanghin. We have decided to follow
the script we are using in Boulwando; starting out slowing
with services every other week and increasing the services
as the desire continues to grow among the people of Tanghin.
It is a little discouraging to realize that of the twenty
people assembled at Abel COMPAORÉ’s house a month ago, not
one has visited the three services in Tanghin. (Abel did
show up for the first service very late.) Still we are
encouraged by the seven adult professions of faith in the
last three weeks. We will continue to press forward.
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December 10, 2005
As we continued our Soul-Winning Club we arrived at the
reasons for church stagnation. One of those reasons was
listed as not encouraging friends and family to visit the
church. I was surprised at how hard this hit home with our
people. They agreed with this assessment and acknowledged
their complacency in not inviting those around them to
“assist” our church.
We begin to list the number of people in the Soul-Winning
Club and how they came to be a part of us. (Ghislain invited
Alexis through the street witnessing program. Alexis invited
his friend Paul. Paul invited his friend David, who in turn
invited his brother Douninoma. Almost half of the members
there this morning were a direct result of a friend, or
family member inviting them.)
Then we begin to list those who had made professions of
faith through our club. Again the number of people making
professions among our family and friends were surprising.
They were astonished at the connection. Still they admitted
silently that they had not thought of the urgency of
inviting their family and friends on a consistent basis. We
all vowed to do better.
Another topic we have been discussing and dealing with is
follow-up or discipleship with the new converts. (I have not
decided whether to place this under the discipleship classes
at the IBFO or use the Soul-Winning Club as the tool for our
follow-up. Presently we are using both as a vehicle to
launch our follow-up/discipleship.) Alexis has completed two
weeks with Abdoulaye ZIBRÉ. Ghislain has completed the first
week with Ferdinand SIDIBÉ and David has completed his first
week with Abdoulaye OUÉDRAOGO. The other eight men are in
the process of seeking those who are interested in being
discipled from our recent converts.
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December 07, 2005
Dominike concluded his study on James tonight; teaching on
The Effective Prayer from James 5. Attendance was good
again; more that I expected. (I had thought about stopping
the Wednesday evening services because most of our faithful
members are in night school. As I mentioned this to one of
our members, I was rebuked severely, with the indication
that a short one hour service wherein we fellowshipped
around a Bible study and prayer was an urgently needed
repose in the middle of a hard week.)
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December 06, 2005
Dominike stopped by after the Institute to talk with me
about something personal. He reminded me of a meeting we had
with a potential fiancée for him last summer. (The manner of
marriage is very different here. One does not court/date
someone and then decide to become engaged. Apparently one
does not think about marriage with someone they already
know.)
Last summer Dominike while in Meguet met a young lady in
which he struck up a conversation. That very day he asked if
it was possible to talk with her father about becoming
engaged. They decided on a time to meet. Dominike met her
family and then asked if he could bring Mary and I to meet
her and her family. We went up to Meguet and met her.
Dominike insisted that he had to finish his studies before
marriage. They were silent about this decision, but several
weeks later told Dominike that he would have to marry her
within a year. Dominike refused and let this “opportunity”
pass him by.
About a month ago, Dominike received a letter from this same
young woman indicating that she and her family had a change
of heart and were still interested in Dominike pursuing the
engagement. So for the last month Dominike has been visiting
her and having Bible studies, stressing the importance of
salvation, baptism and his call into the ministry. Dominike
asked for permission to bring this young lady to Boulwando
for a church service. Her father said she cannot visit
Dominike’s family or church until they are officially
engaged.
To be officially engaged Dominike, as per the father’s
request, must buy ten changes of clothes, a hat, four bags
of sugar and five boxes of coffee. These items, given as a
gift to the father will consummate the engagement. These are
in addition to the dowry that Dominike will have to pay when
the actually get married. AND, the father wants these things
by Saturday of this week.
Wow! Dominike is in need of your prayers in this matter. He
really wants to follow the will of God and do the right
thing. As you surmise, courting/dating here is no easy task.
:-)
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December 05, 2005
After Alexis came back from Tanghin on the new mobylette (motocyclette),
we realized that it has again suffered more “problems.”
Things simply cannot stay fastened to it. We cannot figure
out the problem, as we have purchased two mobylettes (motocyclettes)
from the same business and have had no problems with them.
They will not make good on the “problems” insisting that
these “problems” are inherent in Nigerian mobylettes (motocyclettes).
It is further discouraging as our goal, and we have
reiterated this to the business, is to purchase two more.
(Praise the Lord for the response of several churches for
our need of these mobylettes, motocyclettes, who have sent
in the needed funds to purchase these.) Therefore we are
left seeking another buyer who will be more honorable in his
dealings with us. Please pray for wisdom to find the right
buyer and the right mobylettes (motocyclettes).
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December 04, 2005
Twenty-one people rode the “bus route” this morning. No
first time visitors on the “bus” but several rode the “bus”
for the first time after a long delay; including Bibaita,
Adjaratou’s sister.
The message this morning was on Ephesiens 2:8-10, about
Christians doing good works. It was stressed that our good
works : (1) are a demonstration of our faith, (2) glorifies
God, (3) are the emphasis of our daily walk, (4) pleases the
Lord, (5) are profitable for all men, and (6) are the result
of our salvation. During the invitation almost the entire
congregation responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit
to be more “zealous of good works.”
Ishmaël, a young man who was walking by the church, decided
to stop and talk with our greeter, Harouna. After his brief
conversation he decided to enter our services and remained
for the duration. He listened intently and after the
services said he was a Christian seeking a church. Noël
walked home with him to keep the door open for follow-up.
Another first time visitor, Ferdinand SIDIBÉ, a young man
saved during our street witnessing, came early. He has
started a discipleship with Ghislain and has indicated a
desire to grow in grace.
Alexix drove out to Tanghin this morning excited about the
progress being made there. When he arrived, only a handful
of people were there to “assist” in the services. He was
encouraged to see that Denis and Larba were ready and
willing; neither has missed a service in four weeks. There
was a funeral in Tanghin and almost the entire village
participated in the funeral ceremonies; which are quite
eventful here. Still Alexis came home encourage.
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December 03, 2005
We had another great day for our Soul-Winning Club. The
teaching was well received. The excitement about God’s
direction and blessing continues to build. The enthusiasm is
encouraging to see. As we were reporting on our weekly
activities, eight more people made professions of faith
through our street witnessing, another twenty-one new
converts were followed up and four more men were revisited
about their need for Christ. |
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Web
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- Don Tarvin
Updated 30 Jul 2006
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