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June 29, 2005
Tonight was the first Wednesday evening Bible study and
prayer meeting in our new location. (We were forced to miss
the last two Wednesday evening services because of a lack of
electricity.) We had most of our faithful members present.
We also had Issaka return for the first time since his
conversion three weeks earlier; at our last Wednesday
services in our old bureau. Joël KABORÉ, who was saved in
February, came for the first time ever.
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June 28, 2005
David KORGO’s brother, Douninoma, came into Ouagadougou from
his village. He is working on his educational exams during
this time. He stopped by the Institute, as one of our
students, Paul SAYOUGA, is also from the same village.
We talked with him about his salvation, but he refused to
respond; saying he will “think about it a little bit
longer.” We will have a little bit more time with him before
he returns to his village. Please pray for Douninoma KORGO’s
salvation.
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June 27, 2005
Ésaïe OUÉDRAOGO and his family live in a relatively new part
of Dassasgo which is full of people coming from the
villages. So the housing is rather primitive, small, and
crowded. They live without water and electricity. Recently
the government began installing water pipes to supply the
area with water which was a great encouragement to Ésaïe and
his neighbors. They helped the government in organizing the
efforts and in facilitating the paperwork.
Now, this week, they are being told they have to leave their
homes as the government plans on selling all of the land to
those who have the money to buy it. Most do not, and will be
forced to leave, including Ésaïe. They, the government, are
stating that if the present occupants can come up with
100,000 fcfa they will be able to get the land officially
into their name. 100,000 fcfa is about $200.00 US dollars.
It does not seem like a lot but it is for most of those
living there, including Ésaïe.
We made an urgent request to our sending church for a
special offering, and by the grace of God, they opened their
hearts and provided this urgent need for Ésaïe and his
family. (He will be able to keep a parcel of land; hopefully
his present parcel. The concern right now; is where will the
road go? If the road will pass through his house he will be
forced to give up his house and will be allowed to have
another parcel wherein to build his house again. We greatly
request prayer for this situation, as it is a very difficult
time for his family. Our prayers are that he would get to
keep his present parcel, and if not, he will be able to
rebuild his house at a modest price.)
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June 26, 2005
Several months ago we approached Dominike about his desires
for the future. (With our future plans of commencing another
mission work in the Ouagadougou area, and with the village
of Tanghin opening up, we wanted to know his thoughts on the
future.) We have anticipated using Dominike here in the
Ouagadougou area, but felt the necessity of seeing his
desires for his village. After committing to pray for a
month before we would talk about these things again,
Dominike indicated, after this month of prayer, his desire
to remain in Boulwando for the foundation of the church as
their pastor.
So for the last month we began pushing Dominike into more
and more responsibilities in Boulwando, with the hopes of
helping to see, and then work on, the weak areas of his
ministry training. His progress is tremendous. He has
commenced a Saturday prayer meeting. He has begun training
some of the young men to assist in the church services;
including leading singing, taking offerings, giving
testimonies, and helping with the junior church. Since his
assumption as the primary preacher in Boulwando, this month
(June), seven people have come forward during the invitation
to accept Christ, and four others have been saved during
visitation at the marché.
Today was no different as two others professed Christ during
the invitation; 13 year old Adama TINDREBÉOGO and 40 year
old Larba SIMPORÉ. Both were first time visitors to the
church services. It is very exciting to see the church
members falling in behind the leadership of Dominike in
reaching out into their community.
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June 25, 2005
Right before our Soul-Winning Club this morning, Karim
KABORÉ walked in to say “Hello.” He wanted us to know that
he is still around, (he only lives a few house down), and
that he is still interested in what we are doing. He is a
little intimidated to visit our services, seeing is family
and friends are Muslim.
We are situated between two Mosques. We could not have
selected a better location to reach out. Thank you, Lord!
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June 24, 2005
Finally, after several weeks of waiting and waiting and
waiting the electricity came on this afternoon. Praise the
Lord! (Now we get to find out what electrical problems we
will experience in the house, and begin to do the
reparations.
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June 23, 2005
Today Dominike went down the SONABEL, our electric company,
to find out why the electricity was not turned on. They told
him that we needed more paperwork to be filled out. (We had
been to the office, to the same man, several times over the
course of the last two weeks. Each time he assured us that
the electricity will be on the following day after 3 P.M.
So, I went down again, and again filled out more paperwork,
and paid a little bit more money. We were again told that
the electricity will be on this afternoon.
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June 22, 2005
We missed our second straight Wednesday evening service due
to our lack of electricity. We had been promised that the
electricity would be operational last Friday, but alas, it
is still not on.
André BAZIE, a national pastor/missionary from Koudougou,
finished his Institute courses for this semester. He is a
faithful man of God who is well respected among the young
Burkinabé pastors. Already he is preparing for our third
year in October. We hope to have some pictures of his
teaching on the web site in a few more weeks.
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June 20, 2005
After having Dominike talk with the new converts in Tanghin,
(those we had personally led to the Lord), we are more than
excited about commencing a new mission work here. They were
all with one accord for our commencing services in Tanghin.
As is the custom, we will be seeking a meeting with the Naba
about gaining his permission to start a mission work. And,
as is our habit, we are in the process of seeking a
comfortable tree to commence services.
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June 19, 2005
After the churches services in Boulwando, Dominike went to
the marché for evangelizing. Three young adults accepted the
Lord through his evangelistic efforts; Pamoussa KABORÉ (not
the same person who made a profession in church last week),
Adama SOUDRÉ, (the first convert from his quartier in
Boulwando), and Lassanné COMPAORÉ.
In our Dassasgo church, Adjaratou came a little discouraged.
She had some bike trouble last week and was a little late
for the rendezvous Paul had set up at our old bureau to
bring others to our new location. So she had to miss last
week’s services. We are sure that others have been unable to
find our new location, and we are in the process of getting
the news out about our new location. We also had a first
time young visitor from our new neighborhood, George;
hopefully the first of many in the next few weeks. :-)
The OUÉDRAOGO’s, Ésaïe and Esthère, brought a neighbor to
church this morning, Jeanne SANDURDI. This young eighteen
year old woman does not speak French; so during the
preaching service, Ésaïe sat by her side translating the
message. After the services, Alexis talked about her
spiritual condition. This morning Jeanne SANDURDI accepted
the Lord as her Savior. Praise the Lord!
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June 18, 2005
We were promised the electricity yesterday, but it is not
here. Now we will be waiting through the weekend.
With the move causing a shift in our assistants; the thief,
or thieves entering into our new location stealing what
little the men have; the lack of utilities in the dormitory;
the pressures of ending this second semester, the spirits
are a little down. With God’s blessings come Satan’s
attacks. Please pray for the students of I.B.F.O., and the
church members of Dassasgo during this transition time.
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June 15, 2005
This morning our daughter, Rachel, graduated from eight
grade. The ceremony was held at the library at the
International School of Ouagadougou. We are very proud of
our children and are excited as our daughter moves into high
school.
Last night someone broke into our new location in Dassasgo.
With seven grown men living there last night, someone was
still brave enough to sneak into the property and took
Alexis’ bike, his cell-phone and three of our chairs.
Amazing!
We are still without our electricity. They did come and
remove the electric counter from our old location. Hopefully
it will arrive in a few more days; before the end of this
week.
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June 14, 2005
The father of Elizabète KABORÉ, a young, sixteen year old
teen, saved in January of 2004 and baptized on February 20,
2005, died today. Although he was into his late fifties, it
still took everyone by surprise. Please pray for Elizabète
and her family during this time.
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June 13, 2005
The water was turned on this morning at our new Dassasgo
location; still waiting for the electricity.
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June 12, 2005
Today while visiting our Boulwando church we found out that
Yamba’s wife, Bibaita KAFANDO, had her seventh child Friday.
This new baby boy of Yamba’s makes it fifteen children for
him. With three wives, and fifteen children, he certainly
has a lot of responsibility before God. His oldest, Lokre,
desires to come to Ouagadougou to learn a trade. We have
been praying and discussing the opportunities with his
father, Yamba, about how we can help him obtain this goal.
Please pray for wisdom to do God’s will with Lokre.
We also had our first services in our new Dassasgo location.
Paul SAYOUAGA and Vincent BADO each preached for fifteen
minutes. Ghislain NAGALO led the congregational singing.
David KORGO read the Scripture reading. (This is his first
active participation in our services.) Noël BADO gave a
short testimony on giving before taking the tithes and
offerings. Alexis KABORÉ gave the introductions and the
invitation. Ésaïe OUÉDRAOGO finished the services with
prayer. Everyone participated and things went well.
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June 10, 2005
During the last few weeks of discussions about our new house
we had the opportunity to meet their young Muslim guardian,
Karim KABORÉ. He showed us the house several times, brought
us chairs to sit on during our discussions, and showed Mary
and I an office place near the house.
We talked with him off and on during these last two weeks
about our desire to continue our church and Institute. Today
as Alexis was talking with Karim he decided to give his life
to Christ. This morning Karim KABORÉ became a Christian.
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June 09, 2005
We have moved over to the new house in Dassasgo. We are
still without electricity and water, but hope to have them
on in a few more days. As we were moving over, Evariste and
Yves came over with us to view our new location. Evariste
mentioned that he wanted to move into the dormitory with the
other students. Hopefully this young, eleven year old boy,
who has been faithful to our services since our very first
service, March 14, 2004, will still have this desire when he
finishes his schooling.
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June 08, 2005
Issaka walked upstairs to our office only to stand outside
of our door looking in. Our girls, who were sitting on the
back seat in front of the door, waved at him, but he still
hesitated to walk it. Dominike and I walked over to him and
invited him in. He said he was looking for his friend,
Alexis, who had invited him to the services last Saturday.
After the services I had Dominike talk with him about his
salvation. Tonight, after his conversation with Dominike,
Issaka received Christ as his Savior. Praise the Lord!
Tonight was the last Wednesday prayer meeting and Bible
study in our Dassasgo office. We had a good number of people
there, including many of our new converts; Adama, Estelle,
David, August.
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June 06, 2005
This afternoon Dominike came over to talk about the Sunday
services in Boulwando. Three first time visitors came
forward during the invitation to receive Christ; Elène WARNÉ,
Pamoussa KABORÉ and Talato SOUKOUMDA. Many of our men and
women continue to be faithful; with many of them being with
us since our commencement almost two years ago.
After the services a couple of men visited with Dominike
about a need in a small village just south of Boulwando,
called Tanghin. He mentioned that several people from this
village had recently been saved and there is a need for
someone to start a church among them.
(Since we have several relationships with this village,
which is seventeen kilometers from Boulwando, we fee the
need to pursue this opportunity. The Naba’s wife, Santal,
was saved during our first evangelistic outreach, baptized
during our second baptism, and has recently moved back to
her village of Tanghin. The sister of Harouna KONSIMBO,
Mamounata, is married to the brother of Santal, and was also
saved in our Boulwando church. Dominike’s big sister, Pendo
KONSIMBO, who was also saved in our church services, lives
in Tanghin. Several others from Tanghin, while visiting
family and friends in Boulwando, also made professions of
faith in our church; Abèjta KONSIMBO, Mariam COMPAORÉ and
Adama COMPAORÉ. So it is something we definitely need to
pursue!)
We rented a house for our work in Dassasgo and for our
Institute. From our present location it is the closest
house. We are happy with securing this rental and look
forward to continuing the works. We now have the
time-consuming task of transferring the electricity and
water over to the new location.
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June 05, 2005
Today is the twenty-third wedding anniversary for Mary and
I. We were married at Baptist Temple, Springfield, Missouri,
on June 5, 1982. Dr. Bill Dowell Sr. and Pastor John Tucker
performed the ceremony. I constantly praise the Lord for
such a wonderful wife and partner in the ministry. Thank you
Lord!
This was the last Sunday services for us at our present
location in Dassasgo. We were packed out, with several
people standing during the services. God continues to bless
the work here with people being saved and discipled on a
weekly basis. Our move this week is with much concern about
these new converts. We do not want to lose what we have been
attempting to build in this neighborhood. This is an urgent
matter requiring great prayer.
We have a rendez-vous with someone tomorrow about renting
his house for our services and our Institute. It is the same
man that had originally refused us several weeks ago. He
called us for another rendez-vous. It appears he is now
eager to rent to us. Please pray for this rendez-vous
tomorrow, as we only have four more days left in our present
rental.
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June 04, 2005
Today was the final day of our Soul-Winning Club. After the
lessons we went to our house to have a big meal with those
participants who have been faithful to the program from its
inception. We also invited a few of those potential members
for the second section of our Soul-Winning Club. It was good
to time to reflect upon God’s blessings upon our
soul-winning efforts. Every single participant has had the
opportunity to personally lead someone to the Lord. Since
the start of our club we have seen over eighty people make
professions of faith.
August YAMBOUÉ, a young high school student saved last
October, was able to be with us again. His family is very
active in the Catholic Church and his father will not allow
him to come to our Sunday services. So he has resigned
himself to be faithful as much as possible to our weekly
activities. His father said after his studies he can choose
which church to attend. Please pray for him, as this
arrangement is difficult for his spiritual growth. Pray also
for his family’s salvation.
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June 03, 2005
This afternoon Dominike and Noël took their free time to
visit on the streets. They spent several hours on the road
witnessing to those who were willing to take the time with
them. They came home greatly encouraged, as nine different
men made professions of faith.
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June 02, 2005
Our eldest daughter, Elisabeth flew in to Ouagadougou from
the states. Everything went smoothly with her flight. She
sailed through all of the airports, even passing through the
customs with much ease here.
She came home for this summer, during her break from Bible
College. We are greatly rejoicing in having our daughter
back home for a few months.
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June 01, 2005
Sunday morning as Mary was walking into the church a young
man saw her Bible and approached her about the church. He
did not have the time to come to church as he was working.
So he committed to come Wednesday evening.
So this evening, during our Bible Study, Marcel walked in.
He listened to the Bible study and then began to shake hands
with others. I asked Alexis to talk with Marcel after the
services. They talked for a long time about Marcel’s life,
including his background as a Catholic. Alexis, being a
former Catholic, gave his testimony about his conversion.
Marcel decided he wanted to have that personal relationship
with Christ and was saved tonight. Praise the Lord !
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May 29, 2005
Hamado gave his testimony at church today in Boulwando. He
had been faithful with the building program and for the
church services, even helping start a Saturday evening
prayer meeting. When he visited the church during our second
baptism, February 22, 2004, I was preaching on the necessity
of being born again from John 3, he began to feel his need
for this new birth. During the invitation he responded and
received Christ as his Savior. He gladly participated in our
third baptism, February 20, 2005. (You can see some pictures
of him on our Boulwando page; both his baptism and his work
on the building program.)
This morning Ghislain preached on Jeremiah 1.1-10; The Call
and Mission for God. His three points were : (1) Our life is
to glorify God, (2) We are to preach the good news, and (3)
We are to be vigilant. He preached a good message, and the
response to this message was evident as we all realized our
need to reach out more to those around us with the gospel of
the Christ.
May 28, 2005
During our Soul-Winners Club, a retired commandant came to
the study. It was encouraging to see Soma KONÉ, an
older gentleman, wanting to learn about personal
soul-winning. We had ten men there for the Bible study on
personal soul-winning.
Mary continued with her second ladies Bible study. She had
five women, including herself. According to her, the women
were a little more open, even beginning to participate in
the question and answer time.
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May 27, 2005
Today the Institute men and a couple of others came to our
house to watch a film on the genocide in Rwanda. They were
riveted to the film. I could not believe the interest this
theme generated among them.
After the film, we took the opportunity to talk about what
had transpired in another African country. All were of the
opinion that it was only the grace of God that had kept
Burkina from siding into something similar. All were of the
opinion that our greatest need in Burkina was for men and
women to become engaged in this spiritual battle for souls.
They understood that the urgency of the hour demanded
committed Christians who would truly understand the
spiritual nature of this world, and then become involved in
this spiritual battle. Oh, that God would continue to raise
up more committed Christians willing to be engaged in the
Lord’s work here in Burkina!
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May 25, 2005
The electricity was cut off right before Bible study
tonight. It has been cut before, and it has always come back
on within a few minutes. Tonight we waited and waited and
waited. We did get a good time of fellowship with each other
standing around outside waiting for the electricity to come
back on. (In Boauke we were always prepared, by having
candles ready. We even used those candles many times.
Candles have never been needed here. So we were not prepared
for them.) After waiting over fifty minutes we prayed
outside and departed. :-(
It was good to see two of our new converts, Adama OUÉDRAOGO
and David KORGO, return to the services. Another young lady
who was saved in our Dassasgo outreach last December, Cecile
KONSIMBO, also returned after a few months of traveling. We
first met her when she was visiting her family in Boulwando,
where she grew up.
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May 24, 2005
Adèle OUÉDRAOGO had to return back to Fada where she teaches
in school. She will not return to Ouagadougou until the end
of June. As a new Christian this is a very difficult
transitional move. Please pray for her during this time.
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May 22, 2005
During the Soul-Winning Club yesterday, I mentioned the
importance of prayer. We need to pray for our people and
those they are working with each day. Timothée KABORÉ raised
his hand to ask prayer for his friend, Adama OUÉDRAOGO. His
desire was for his friend to visit our church services the
following day.
This morning Timothée’s wife and son came early, but
Timothée was not with them. Fifteen minutes after the
services he was still not there. I was beginning to think
that he had a special call at the health clinic where he
works, but as I was beginning to preach, he walked in with
is friend, Adama. Apparently it took some time to find and
bring his friend to church.
Timothée shared his Bible with his friend, making sure that
Adama read all the verses being read publicly. He appeared
interested and intent on understanding the message. He did
not respond to the invitation, but after the services, he
wanted to talk with me. So both Timothée and I talked with
him in the back room.
Adama did not grow up religious. He visited churches a few
times since he moved into Ouagadougou twenty years earlier,
but never really thought about his spiritual condition. As
we continued to talk about his spiritual condition, Adama
decided to receive Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior.
This morning thirty-nine year old Adama OUÉDRAOGO became a
child of God. Praise the Lord !
May 21, 2005
Dominike called this morning to say that the roof is on the
church building in Boulwando. They are excited about the
near completion of the building. Praise the Lord.
During the Soul-Winners club, it was good to David KORGO
there. He came with his friend, Paul. Immediately after the
training, Paul took the first lesson in our discipleship
program. It is exciting to see Christians actively involved
in teaching and training others in this walk of faith.
Please continue to pray for the new converts and their
spiritual growth.
For the first time this morning the ladies started their own
Bible study. Mary had a total of four ladies present for
this first lesson. Others wanted to come but were
hindered by work, sickness or transportation problems. Mary
enjoyed her time with the ladies, who also were excited
about this special attention to their personal spiritual
needs.
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May 18, 2005
It was good to see Abdoulaye this evening in the services.
We have been praying for him for several weeks because of
the conflict within his family. Please continue to pray for
him and his family situation.
Paul brought a young man from his village to church this
evening. They studied together growing up. After the
services, as Paul’s friend, David KORGO, was leaving, I took
the opportunity to talk with him about his faith. He grew up
without too much religion, visited a Catholic church a few
times, but had not thought much about his faith. He seemed
interested, so I begin to witness to him. As he listened
intently, he realized his sin, his need for a Savior, and
responded to the call. Tonight David KORGO accepted
Christ as his Savior. Praise the Lord !
===============================================================
May 16, 2005
The house close to our present location has been taken off
our list of potentials. The landlord, a Muslim, does not
want a Christian ministry in his rental property.
We are continuing to look, with the expectations and
encouragement of your continued prayers for this urgent
need.
Timothée KABORÉ has entered the Institute as a potential
student. He still needs to do a few more things before he
becomes a full-time student.
===============================================================
May 15, 2005
Today the faithful children who participated in our
faithfulness program received their awards. Three received
new Bibles; Momre KAGONÉ, Ezechiel KAGONÉ and Amos KAGONÉ.
Two received a small toy because they had already received a
Bible from us; Evariste KABORÉ and Yves KABORÉ. The
last two were small children who also received a small toy;
Cedric
KABORÉ and Emmanuel OUÉDRAOGO. Rachel, who had been in
charge of the junior church program, gave out the awards
during the main service. It was a good time to encourage
faithfulness on the part of our young church family.
After the services, Noël BADO, one of our Institute students
was visiting with one of his football friends Noël
(football for the whole world, and soccer for the North
Americans
 ),
who after listening for several times to Noël’s testimony
decided to give his life to Christ.
May 14, 2005
This afternoon we visited two different houses that might be
potential for our move in Dassasgo. One house was big
enough, but it was not completely built and it was further
away from our original location. The second house was a
little smaller, but finished and closer to our already
established meeting place. (What we really need is a place
of our own. Hopefully we will reach that place where we can
begin to seriously consider purchasing our own property and
building our own church building.)
We have a little over two weeks left before we make our
move. It is decision time. Please pray that we would rent
the very place God has already picked out for us. We are
desperately seeking His wisdom in this very important
decision.
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May 13, 2005
Hopefully the last truckload of material left Ouagadougou
around 2:00 PM this afternoon for our building site in
Boulwando. Alexis and Dominike rode in the truck along with
the chauffeur and his aide. They dropped the material off at
the site and returned back to Ouaga at 10:30 PM this
evening.
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May 12, 2005
This evening I had another meeting with Timothée KABORÉ
about the Institute. We had previously discussed certain
doctrinal issues that concerned me. Tonight he reiterated
his desire to fully comprehend these doctrinal difficulties
he was struggling with. He sincerely wanted to have an
opportunity to study these things more profoundly.
He simply wanted an opportunity to learn more about the Word
of God in a Biblically sound environment. He was not seeking
employment. I indicated that if he became a student at the
Institute we would not cover any of his personal expenses.
He was adamant in his insistence that his financial
situation is not a problem, nor will it be in the future.
Since he is a nurse, his financial situation is sound.
I have one more meeting with him, this Sunday, before a
final decision will be made with respect to Timothée
becoming one of our students at the Fundamental Baptist
Institute of Ouagadougou, (I.B.F.O.).
===============================================================
May 11, 2005
Sunday morning after the services I had asked Alexis to talk
with Alizetta Wobgo, the mother of Adjaratou, about her
salvation. (I am trying to encourage the young pastors to
make sure visitors are given the opportunity to respond to
the gospel call. They are encouraged to talk with all first
time visitors about their spiritual condition and not allow
one single visitor to leave our church services without a
personal word of encouragement from one of them.)
We left the church before Alexis was finished dealing with
Alizetta. Tonight Alexis mentioned that she had responded to
the gospel call and accepted Jesus Christ as her Savoir
Sunday morning after the services. What a tremendous
blessing to have the mother of one of our young converts
accept the Lord. She is well over fifty years old and the
mother of ten children. After having witnessed the change in
Adjaratou’s life since her conversion February 06, 2005, and
then to see her mother respond to the same call several
months later, is a great testimony to the power of the
gospel to transform lives and families.
During the prayer time, our son Caleb, who is twelve years
old, decided to pray in French. This is the first time he
prayed in French in the church. We were greatly encouraged
by his willingness, and ability, to become involved in the
prayer time in another language.
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May 09, 2005
Our car broke down over the weekend. I tried to fix it
myself Sunday afternoon since the mechanic does not work on
Sunday. I think I made it worse. :-( Monday morning it was
still broken down. So I took it to the mechanic before the
start of the Institute.
Thinking it would be easy to find a taxi, I started out
walking to the Institute. I did not see one single taxi
heading in my direction. So I reluctantly resigned myself to
the reality that I would be walking to the Institute. While
on the way this morning, Timothée KABORÉ, one of the men who
occasionally visit our church services, stopped me,
enquiring about our Institute. He is greatly interested in
learning more about the word of God and being used for
ministry.
We have talked before about various things, and I am not
completely convinced that his desires are the same as ours.
I agreed to give him some more information about our
Institute and our requirements this week. After he agrees to
these things we would then talk more candidly about his
desires and what we can do to assist him.
It is getting to be a regular occurrence to have inquiries
about our Institute. I do not want to develop a suspicious
attitude with respect to prospective students, nor do I want
to accept everyone that comes along, neither yet do I want
to let opportunities slip by. Being firmly convinced in the
providential circumstances of God’s leading, I am reluctant
to completely close the door on anyone. There is a
tremendous need for a balancing act between these three
competing, conflicting and confusing choices.
We covet your prayers for wisdom and discernment for the
Fundamental Baptist Institute of Ouagadougou. The
opportunities are limitless. The future is bright.
May 08, 2005
This morning we celebrated Mothers Day in our Dassasgo work.
(I realize that Mothers Day is not celebrated the same day
in each country, but not too many Burkinabé knew exactly
when we celebrate it here; (so we used today, as it is in
America.) We honored all of the mothers present
with a flower and their children also received something
special.
We also had special gifts for four categories of mothers.
The newest mother was, of course, Esther Kaboré, Ésaïe’s
wife. The youngest mother was Adèle Ouédraogo, who was saved
two weeks ago. The oldest mother was Alizetta Wobgo, the
mother of Adjaratou, who came for the first time. The mother
with the most children present was Marceline Ouangrawa, the
mother of seven of our faithful children.
Today was also the day that Enoch Ouédraogo, the new son of
Esther and Ésaïe was dedicated to the Lord. Esther grew up
in a preacher’s home while Ésaïe grew up practicing an
African religion, converted
while in the Burkinabé military and has been with us since
our arrival; first as our guard, then our translator, and
now as a student at the I.B.F.O.
We should have pictures of these two events on our Dassasgo
web page within a couple of weeks.
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May 07, 2005
Abdoulaye has missed the last three weeks of our services.
Since his salvation in February he has not missed much of
anything we have done; he has been faithful to the Sunday
morning services, the Wednesday evening Bible study and
prayer times, helped in visiting, and was active
in our reunions. He even had begun to take part in the
services by reading the Scriptures and praying. BUT all of
his growth and faithfulness has come to a screeching halt.
He seems greatly troubled.
Alexis had been at his side seeking to know the cause of his
struggles. Abdoulaye mentioned his struggles are within his
family. His family is a strong Muslim family and his father
is greatly against his commitment to our church, or any
church for that matter. This family feud has left a great
discouraging mark on him. He really wants to continue to
grow in grace and be active in the church, while at the same
time begin to heal the wounds of his family’s bitterness at
his new-found faith. He is in great need of our prayers;
both that he might find the grace to continue to grow and
that his family might see their need for Christ and respond
to His call. Please pray for him and his family.
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May 04, 2005
After the services Ghislain talked with Yves about his
salvation. Yves is the young child who had been attending
our services since we started in Dassasgo over a year ago.
Last week he listened in while Mary was talking with Estelle
and Adèle about their need for salvation. When they
responded Yves also responded. Because Mary did not think he
understood what the implications were, we asked one of
the Institute men to talk with him. Ghislain took the
opportunity and became convinced that Yves still does not
understand salvation. Please continue to pray for Yves and
the other young children who are faithful to our church
services.
Also it was good to see Adèle return to the Bible Study with
her friend from the village. Her friend does not speak any
French at all and we are hoping to have another meeting with
her before she returns to her village. (She mentioned to
Alexis that she was a Catholic.)
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May 02, 2005
This morning during the Institute time, Mary came in to
teach the students some music. She taught all morning the
basic’s of music ministry. The students learned a lot about
music, even learning a few more songs.
(Most of those who know me realize my musical talents are
sorely lacking and any attempt to teach others would surely
end in disaster. While in Bible College my professor for
song leading insisted he would only pass me if I promised to
never lead singing in a church service. :-(
It was a profitable day for the students. They thoroughly
enjoyed their time, as did Mary. |
