Southside and Pastor Kenny (+ my favorite neighbor)

I just love this little girl (Mai). She's one of the little neighbor girls who greets me about every time I open my gate. I've posted her pic before but I thought this pic was extra-cute.
What do volunteer teams do over here? Well Jeff and Lynn from Southside got into a corn shuckin' contest. OK - not really. They were just helping out. But don't we have machines for this?
This is Lynn playing a kind-of Simon says game with some kids. We were joking that they were all raising their hands to get saved.
These guys were trying to clean out the tubes of the pump well that Pastor Kenny helped get up and running again. The group of folks in the distance are crowded around the actual well. It's a pretty impressive contraption.
Pastor Kenny splashing some water on some of the guys after getting the pump working again. It's a foot pump so the guy up top is doing the pumping.

Burkina newsletter #35

Greetings from Burkina Faso! I’m excited to report that another salvation has come from Southside Baptist’s ministry (by the grace of God) among the Sambla. Ironically the new believer, Isa (the name for Jesus in Arabic), is a Tiefo man. This is ironic because Pastor Kenny and his church are the ones who have adopted the Tiefo. This shows at least two things. First it shows that Burkina is a very diverse mélange. Second: God is Sovereign – He can use whatever means He wants and He likes to surprise us. Southside also continued to strengthen relationships with the people of the village. They are excited about the possibilities in their continued ministry there.

Pastor Kenny, of Davidson St. Baptist (SC), was, at the same time, ministering among the Tiefo. He had the opportunity, on behalf of his church, to provide a broken part to repair one of their pump wells. The people were very excited to have that well back in operation. There is a saying here: “Water is life.” After helping to repair the well we also got to share about Jesus and the “living water” (John 4) that only He offers. Davidson St. and some partnering churches have a number of future trips planned to continue ministering among the Tiefo.

These were the last two volunteer teams before my departure. It is exciting to see that we have five churches committed to returning to Burkina after our departure to continue ministering among these unreached people groups. To refresh your memory, those churches and the people groups they minister to are:

Southside Baptist (Lufkin, TX) – Sambla people

Davidson St. Baptist & friends (Clinton, SC) – Tiefo

Bartlett Baptist (Bartlett, TN) – Vigué

Compassion Church (Raleigh, NC) – Western Karaboro

FBC Pearland (Pearland, TX) – Dogosé

I thank the Lord for them and ask that you will continue to pray for the Lord of the harvest to bless the ministry He has given each of these churches.

Last time I ask for prayer about the unfortunate possibility of my needing a root canal. I am very happy to report that I no longer have any pain in that tooth. It looks like all is well for the near future. Thanks for your prayers.

In recent days I have been doing a little more research and a lot of cleaning/packing/preparing to leave my house in Bobo. The near future will hold more of the same as well as many goodbyes. Today is exactly one month away from my departure from Burkina (Feb. 28). That is a bittersweet thought. I will avoid getting sentimental here as I hope you write you again to try to sum up my time and give some final thoughts before I leave. Until then . . .

Praise God for:

* the salvation that the Lord has brought about in Isa’s life.
* the ministry of Southside Baptist, Davidson St., and the other churches the Lord has led to minister among the unreached peoples here in Burkina.
* the tremendous improvement in the state of my formerly sore tooth.

Please pray for:

* Isa, the new believer in Badara, that Pastor Isa (yes – two guys – one name) will be able to disciple Him in the faith.
* all five of the churches who have committed to ministering to these unreached people groups. Pray that the Lord would move in the hearts and minds of those the have and will continue to minister to.
* my preparations and goodbyes as I move toward my departure.

Again. Verily I say unto you: I am very thankful for all your prayers and support during the past (nearly) two years. You each have been a blessing to me. God has been so good (no surprise). Blessings!

kerry spencer
www.picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer

Final thoughts:

Our imagination so magnifies the present, because we are continually thinking about it, and so reduces eternity, because we do not think about it, that we turn eternity into nothing and nothing into eternity.
~ Blaise Pascal

Therefore:

The least pain in our little finger gives us more concern and uneasiness than the destruction of millions of our fellow beings.
~ William Hazlitt

Jesus Film - feet - peak - Elephants

Showing of the Jesus film in Karankasso-Vigue.
African feet.
This is actually the highest point in Burkina Faso. Just about 2500 feet - it's a pretty flat country. Off in the hazy distance is Mali. We were a bit surprised to find that this lady had chosen this scenic place as her personal pounding place. She's pounding corn likely to make into "to" the local staple dish.
Elephants. Notice the tiny baby below the one on the left.
Yes they were very close. (Special thanks to Becky Babcock - all-star photographer - for these two elephant shots.)

Burkina newsletter #34

Greetings from Burkina Faso! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas celebration. We sure did. We were blessed on Christmas Eve to receive news from the Bartlett Baptist team that a lady named Safi had had two dreams of Jesus Christ and that after waking up she believed in Him as Savior. By placing her faith in Christ she has become the first known Vigué believer. That is a miraculous answer to many prayers. Praise God for that! But Safi very much needs your prayers as well. She is virtually alone in her faith in Karankasso-Vigué (aside from the Holy Spirit). Pray that God would provide the means for her to grow in her knowledge and faith.

Besides spending a few days in Karankasso- Vigué with the ladies from Bartlett Baptist and showing the Jesus Film there, we also had a great celebration of Jesus’ birth and then visited the Nazinga game park to bring in the New Year. We saw plenty of elephants, gazelles-type-creatures, baboons, warthogs, etc.

The next 10 days will be busy ones. Tonight another team from Southside Baptist (Lufkin, TX) will arrive. They are coming to continue their ministry to the Sambla people of Badara where they have already seen one person trust in Jesus as Savior. On Friday Pastor Kenny of Davidson St. Baptist (South Carolina) arrives. He is making his second trip and will be doing some evangelism and discipleship among the Tiefo people. The local Baptist pastor who we partner with in Badara, Pastor Issa, is getting married this Saturday (the 12^th) so we will all attend that celebration.

Joyce Hall and Debbie Cook will leave us on the 16^th. Both have made multiple trips to Burkina. Joyce came to be with us for three months immediately after her recent retirement. She is proof that there can and should be more to retirement than taking it easy and staying comfortable. Our usefulness to the Lord’s work never expires. May our readiness and willingness never expire either.

On a personal note: I’ve visited two dentists in the past two days. The first told me I need a root canal. The second (who had much more impressive equipment) assured me I don’t need a root canal. Instead he simply did some minor grinding to help my bite. So right now I’m very thankful to not be having a root canal in Africa, but I’m not sure if the problem is really solved. I’d appreciate your prayers regarding this.

Also it is now official that I will leave Burkina in the early morning of February 28^th. After traveling with some friends, through Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, I’ll arrive back home on March 13^th.

Praise God for:

* the ministers he has sent to minister among the Vigué (Bartlett), Sambla (Southside), and Tiefo (Bro. Kenny) people groups and for Joyce, Debbie, Wade, and Sherida who have spent time among multiple groups.
* the miracle He performed in Safi’s life – bringing her to faith in Christ.
* a favorable second opinion from the dentist.

Please pray for:

* Safi, the new Vigué Christian, – that the Lord will provide the means for her discipleship.
* the Sambla people of Badara and the Tiefo of Ngafongo who we will minister to in the coming days.
* God to give us boldness and wisdom as we share His Word.
* the healing of my sore tooth.

I thank the Lord for the work He is doing here and for the part you and your prayers have played in that. May God bless you!

kerry spencer

Final thought:

If we were sufficient for everything, we might attempt everything . . . but life is short, and we are dull, and eternal things are necessary.

~ Richard Baxter