Burkina newsletter #8.5

Greetings from Burkina Faso! Here’s another quick update on our summer ministry. I mentioned last time that I was going to Dakoro to spend about four days with our team there. Easily the most significant happening during my time there (from my point of view anyway) was a meeting we had with the chief. He was very welcoming and gracious with us. He tried to encourage us by explaining how Islam and Christianity lead to the same place. Of course, I disagreed, but I was a bit hesitant about whether I should tell him what I thought, with him being the chief and all. I pondered and said a quick prayer. Then I had the opportunity to explain to him some of the differences between Christianity and Islam: namely, Jesus Christ being God rather than a mere prophet and salvation by grace and faith rather than works. I feel like he received the words well. He must not have been terribly offended since he showed up at church the next Sunday. The chief sitting through a church service is a very significant event. I thank God for this opportunity and the words He gave me. Please pray with me for the chief of Dakoro. Romans 10:1 – “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”

We are at the midpoint of our summer ministry. Last night we said goodbye to a group of seven volunteers and said hello to a group of four new volunteers. We are now orienting these newcomers and will be going out to villages again on Saturday. Two groups will continue to work with the Tiefo and Lyele people groups while I will take a new team to the Vigue people for another two weeks and a couple days. Please continue to pray for us and these unreached peoples.

Praise God for:

* the openness of the Dakoro chief and the opportunity to share with him.
* opening doors for the Word and giving us the opportunities to share.
* the volunteers God has sent to serve with us.

Please pray for:

* God to continue to open doors for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ (Col. 4:3).
* God to work in the hearts of Seydou, Kareem, and Vali.
* patience, endurance, wisdom, guidance, and health for us and the volunteers.
* the volunteers who return to the States to be able to communicate what God has done in their lives and among these unreached people groups.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. God bless!

Burkina newsletter #8

Greetings from Burkina Faso! I just came in yesterday from the village of Karankasso-Vigue with the ISF sports ministry team and wanted to give you a quick update. They were a fine group and we had a very positive stay in the village. Although they were technically a sports ministry team, we did very little of that. Since it is the planting season, most of the young people (who are the ones we would play sports with) spent their days in the fields. However, the team was very flexible and joined the Vigue people in what they were doing: planting, plowing, cooking, pounding grain, drawing water from the well, watching the World Cup, etc. It was certainly a learning experience for all of us. We learned that the Vigue people are unbelievably hard workers as well as gracious and generous hosts. However, we also learned, as we had been told, that they are a people completely without the Gospel. We still know of no Christians among this group.

Last newsletter I requested you to pray that God would open a door for the Word so that we might speak forth the mystery of Christ (from Colossians 4:3). Thanks be to God, He answered that prayer and we were able to share the Gospel with a few men: Seydou, Kareem, and Vali. Each of them, along with all the Vigue, are Muslim. We were frequently reminded of this fact by the call to prayer which we heard throughout the day as we were staying with the chief’s family, a stone’s throw from the local mosque. Nonetheless, God used us to plant these seeds of the Gospel as well as others. We trust the Lord to cause these seeds to grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). Please pray for these men, two of whom I expect to meet again when I return to Karankasso-Vigue on June 24th for two more weeks of ministry. The third, Seydou was from another village, Diosso, but we first spoke to him while he was in our village. One day we took a short road trip to visit Diosso on their weekly market day. While there, we ran into Seydou who was just coming from his field as we were just turning around to head out of town. I was able to discuss things with him further as the others prayerwalked. We definitely saw this as a divine appointment. Thank God for these encounters and please continue to pray for God to open new doors for the Gospel.

I also want you to know of how good God was to us during our time in the village. There are so many things that can go wrong: sickness, interpersonal conflict, cultural mistakes, etc. To my knowledge, we were spared all of these. I give credit and thanks to God for that. Thanks for your prayers along those lines. 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 says “On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” Please continue to help us by your prayers and give thanks for God’s gracious favor.

My upcoming schedule: Tomorrow I’m going to join one of our other teams in a village called Dakoro, near the border with Mali and Cote D’Ivoire. There we are working among the Senufo Senara people. They are a group of roughly 40,000 people with about 50 known believers. We will be there only until the 19th. On that day, our remaining three teams will come in from their villages. Some will be leaving on the 21st, the same day that four new volunteers arrive. On the 24th, I will return with a new team to Karankasso-Vigue for about two more weeks. Please press on in praying for us.

Praise God for:

* bringing these volunteers to join us in the task of the Great Commission.
* a blessed week in Karankasso-Vigue with the ISF team.
* opening doors for the Word and giving us the opportunities to share.

Please pray for:

* God to continue to open doors for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ (Col. 4:3).
* God to work in the hearts of Seydou, Kareem, and Vali.
* patience, endurance, wisdom, guidance, and health for us and the volunteers.
* the volunteers who return to the States to be able to communicate what God has done in their lives and among these unreached people groups.

Thanks again for helping us with your prayers. God bless!

Burkina newsletter #7

Greetings from Burkina Faso! Exciting times are coming! We are down to our last day of Jula study (Monday)! I am very pleased with how the class has gone and am happy with the level of Jula language we have attained. It has come much quicker and easier than the first African language I attempted to learn (Bisa). Thanks for your prayers concerning that.

Even more exciting news: Our summer ministry begins this coming week. On Tuesday and Wednesday (May 30th and 31st) we will receive our first batch of summer volunteers (14 of them). Then on June 2nd, a team of six more arrive. It would be fairly difficult and time consuming to tell you all that we will be doing with these volunteers this summer. I would, however, like to tell you what I’ll be up to for the next six weeks or so. Once the first group arrives I will be assisting in their orientation and will help get them to their villages. The second group (the group of six) is the first group I will be working alongside. That team is a sports ministry team from the International Sports Federation. I will be accompanying them to the village of Karankasso-Vigue. There we will be working with the Vigue (Vee-gay) people group for just over a week. The Vigue are an ethnic group of only about 8,000 people, and there are no known Christians among them. They are strongly Islamic and animistic. Ministering among them will be a challenge. However, David and Tami have visited this village and found the chief to be very welcoming. He even mentioned that if we built a church he would send his children. Please pray that God would build not merely a building but a community of believers among the Vigue. After the ISF team leaves (on June 14th), I will travel around to visit some of our other teams in their various villages. On June 21st, we say goodbye to another group of volunteers just before yet another group arrives. I will then take a few member of this new group (college students) back to Karankasso-Vigue. Thus, I will have an extended period of ministry among the Vigue people with two different groups this summer. I would appreciate your prayers for me, these two teams, and the Vigue people.

And as I mentioned, this is only a small part of our teams’ summer ministry. Other groups will be in other villages ministering among four other people groups: Northern Toussian, Northern Lyele, Senufo Senara, and Tiefo. All this requires a lot of planning and preparation which has been on-going for a while and will not stop until the end of the summer (actually around July 12th for us). We and the volunteers will need patience, endurance, wisdom, guidance, and health, all of which God can supply. Besides engaging these unengaged people groups with the Gospel, we hope that their ministry in Burkina will have a lasting effect of the lives of these volunteers.

Praise God for:

* the completion of a very productive month of Jula language learning.
* bringing so many volunteers to aid us in the task of the Great Commission.

Please pray for:

* God to open up a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ (Col. 4:3).
* the Word of the Lord to spread rapidly and be glorified (2 Thess. 3:1) among these people groups.
* patience, endurance, wisdom, guidance, and health for us and the volunteers.
* our understanding of Jula to continue to grow as we use it in life and ministry.

Thanks again for your support of our ministry through prayer. God bless!

Burkina newsletter #6

Greetings from Bobo, B.F.! The past few weeks have been devoted mostly to Jula language study. We are studying six days per week with an average of five or six hours of class per day. That does not include the daily homework and tasks the teachers give us to complete. And I thought I had finally finished with school in December! Nonetheless, we are blessed to have two excellent teachers. The endeavor is somewhat grueling, but I feel we are learning very quickly. That’s good since we only have a couple weeks of class left. We will by no means be fluent in the language, but we will know a whole lot more than the average white person (“tubabu” is what they call us in Jula). All that to say I am very happy with how our language study is going. Just to let yet know we are indeed learning something, my favorite word: “belebeleba” (meaning: very fat). My favorite phrase learned in class (altering the letters we don’t have in English): “Mogo doow bi tagama i na fo tonkono” (meaning: some people walk like a duck).

In between class and homework, we are also planning for the big summer ahead. We have approximately 30 summer volunteers coming in five different groups (they begin arriving at the end of this month). Among these groups we have a sports ministry team, a church group, and a lot of individual college students who will comprise the other teams. It looks like we will send the teams out to work with seven different people groups. The four of us (David, Tami, Jessica, and I) are responsible for planning the meals, transportation, “housing” (maybe the word is “huting” or “camping accommodations”), orientation, and much more while the volunteers are here. This is obviously a large task and one that needs to be strengthened by prayer.

Lastly, I have not spent a great deal of time at my house in Bobo, but in the time I have been there, there are two young men who have visited me regularly. Bouba is 15 and lives next door. Souleyman (Muslim version of Solomon) is 21 and lives around the corner. They are both Muslims from Muslim families. God has given me the opportunity and ability (despite my weak French skills) to discuss the differences in our religions, and thus I have shared the Gospel with each of them. They each have read some of the Gideon New Testaments they were given at school (Thank God for the Gideons!), and each admit to finding the Scriptures intriguing. I hope you will join me in praying for them and their families. Pray that God will give me the opportunities, boldness, and ability to share the Gospel with them and others.

Praise God for:
* wonderful language teachers and our ability to learn at a good pace.
* opportunities and the ability to share the Gospel in another culture and language.
* so many people willing to give of their summer vacation to come serve God in Burkina Faso.

Please pray for:
* the last two weeks of formal Jula study (as well as the informal study that will continue as long as we are here).
* our planning and preparation for the summer of ministry with volunteers.
* opportunities, boldness, and the ability to share the Gospel.
* Bouba and Souleyman, that God would work in their hearts and draw them to Himself, using whatever means necessary (even if that means me).

Thanks so much for your support and prayers. I would love to hear what’s going on in your lives (particularly before the busy summer comes when I will be on the internet much less frequently). Take care and God bless!

Ponderings from a nail-clipping

I stepped outside to clip my fingernails, just to not have to worry where the scraps fell. I was greeted by the sound of a neighbor lady, this is certain without even seeing the person, pounding some grain (more than likely) with the traditional mortar and pestle. The same sort which probably has been used for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Then comes the insect-like trill of what we would consider an old-timey sewing machine (the kind with the manual foot pedal) from another neighbor. This individual, again I could almost say it without seeing his face, although I know who he is, is a man. Interestingly, here the profession of tailor is almost exclusively a masculine occupation. Then another sound, the growl of a moto (a scrawny version of a motocycle) comes closer and closer until it passes my house. Other fainter sounds in the distance I suspect to be the commotion of a crowd and perhaps the murmurings of a TV set. I’m done with the manicure. I decide the porch needs to be swept. It of course has needed to be swept for a while, but I can endure more dust than my mom or most women. Still I do try to keep my house a couple steps above that of a college student.

Anyway, this is one of the moments when I pause to think of this interesting place in which I live. It is such a blend of epochs. The mortar and pestle have long been replaced in our culture by mills and machines and factories that do the work for us then neatly package the product and ship it to our local grocery store for our convenience. That’s not to mention the fact that most of us know nothing of the work required to actually grow the grains and vegetable and other items that we simply place in the shopping cart. Thank God for the farmers! And those farmers in Breckinridge County and throughout the developed world should thank God for the plows and combines and tractors and other machines that they are blessed to use. As for the sewing machine across the street, it might fetch a pretty penny in the States, but not for its usefulness, but because it would make a nice antique to display in someone’s living room. Then there are the motos and TV sets and other items of modernity for our ease, comfort, and leisure. But of course we are not talking about plasma TVs and TiVo and satellites with thousands of channels. Nonetheless, more and more, these sorts of things are becoming attainable here for the “wealthy.” I use the quotes because “wealthy,” of course, is a relative term; the people with the TVs and motos are often the same who pound the grain with the mortar and pestle. I must also think of my two years in Torla, a small village (they say about 3000 people) which to my knowledge and recollection had a total of two TVs and about five motos. The village folk are still far behind most here in metropolitan Bobo in terms of amenities and possessions Well, these are simply some random thoughts. My original purpose was simply to try to give a little description of one short minute of nail clipping. What I have achieved, I do not know.

Things you don't see everyday

During our research trip to Ghana, Aaron (the guy standing by the brave mother and kids) and I managed to squeeze in a trip to a game park. We did the drive around safari thing and saw elephants, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, and an assortment of antelope type creatures. The next morning this fellow was walking through the hotel area eating leaves and whatnot. Then, obviously, he decided he was thirsty. It was quite a site. At one point I was probably within 10 feet of him.
This is just evidence of the random things you see in third world countries. This is the middle of an intersection in the capital city, Ouagadougou. A native can tell that this is supposed to be a taxi because of the characteristic pea green color which identifies them. I still think I've ridden in worse.

Burkina newsletter #5

Greetings again from Burkina Faso! I had hoped to write sooner but I was setback with sickness for the past week. It’s somewhat of a long story. Here’s the short version. The doctors thought I must have malaria, but my blood tests (all 5 of them) came back negative. Then they suspected Dengue Fever (also known as “breakbone fever” to give you a brief description), but I didn’t have all the symptoms for that. Several days later, another doctor decided it must be malaria so I was treated for that. Whatever it was, it was bad, but it has past. I’m doing much better Thank the Lord! I’m sure He was translating your prayers even though you didn’t know what was going on. Now on to brighter matters.

The trip to Ghana was enjoyable and successful. Aaron and I actually finished researching the four people group in northwestern Ghana very quickly. We were again guiding in numerous miraculous ways. We phoned the Woods and they gave us another assignment: to find the Hausa of Ghana. That’s kind of like saying find the sweetness in cake. They’re everywhere! The Hausa are originally from Nigeria but have scattered across West Africa. They supposedly number about 28 million overall and somewhere around one million in Ghana. They are staunchly Muslim. We learned that their language is the most common language spoken at most mosques (Muslim “temples”) in Ghana, even by non-Hausa people. Nonetheless, we discovered that the largest concentrations of Hausa were in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana’s largest cities. Thus we traveled from the northwest to the southeast of the country (enjoying a game park along the way), all the way to the coast (where Accra is located). It was a treat to visit these two cities because they are so nice compared to the grandest cities in Burkina. What makes them so nice? Mostly those things in America that we take for granted yet recognize as sweet blessings once we have lost them: 6 lane highways, Dr. Pepper, the English language, grass, Oreos, fast food, the ocean, satellite TV, etc. (Of course, some of these things can be curses when used in excess.) Anyway, we obviously did not have time to research all the Hausa of Ghana, but we got some good information to help us as we seek to place a missionary among them. Of course, they also need much prayer, which you can help provide.

I am blessed to be able to share a few ways how God has watched over Aaron and I as we traveled and researched:

Health: I mentioned that I’ve been quite sick recently. However, it is a blessing that I had no problems until the night we returned to Ouagadougou. Thus, we were able to finish our work and then I was able to be in our capitol city were I could receive the best care possible. There were many times and places it would have been very bad to fall sick.

Travel: Despite traveling about 1,600 miles we only had one incident with our vehicle. After hitting a large hole/bump/something, a bolt holding a shock to the frame snapped. Several great things happened after that: First, we were able to notice the problem. Second, we were able to find a mechanic in a small village who was able to fix it quickly. And he only charged us $2. All this is really quite amazing. Also, the day after we were back in Ouaga, I was simply turning into our mission parking lot and the same wheel made a terrible sound. At that point, it needed some serious work. Again, this timing was most fortunate.

Cultural appropriateness and Christian witness: As is often the case we interacted with some missionaries in the area we were researching in. They were very helpful and we enjoyed our time with them. We came to find out a few days later (through email) that we had greatly offended them by some of our actions. If we had done what they thought we had done it would have been a huge cultural “faux pas” and we might have ruined our Christian witness and possibly theirs. Fortunately, we were able to discuss the whole matter and it turned out to be a huge misunderstanding. Still, being a foreigner and traveling among so many differing cultures there is always the possibility of offending without intention. I am thankful that this was not one of those times.

What’s next? We are currently hosting our Engagement Team leaders and colleagues, Larry and Lucy Driggers. We are taking them to visit with some of the people groups we have researched and are planning to engage with the Gospel. We are also discussing some strategy and just enjoying each other’s company. They leave on the 25th and then we will begin Jula language study on the 27th. Language study will be very intense since we only have about a month. Still, knowing some Jula will greatly enhance our future ministry.

Lastly, we are now a larger group. Jessica Styles has recently joined our team. She is an EMT from Alabama who will be traveling and ministering with us for about six months. We are glad to have her on board. Here are some matters for prayer:

Praise God for his protection and guidance during the Ghana trip and healing from sickness.
Pray for the four of us to pick up Jula at a very rapid pace so that no one is held back or left behind. This will be extremely helpful for our future ministry.
Pray for us as we continue to plan for the large number of volunteers we will be hosting this summer.
Pray for the Hausa people, that God would open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel. Pray that He would send laborers to share the Truth with them.

Thanks again for your support and prayers. Obviously, God is watching over me, even through the trials. If you haven’t already seen them, there are some pics below.

This is another picture taken in a Chordbang, northern Ghana. While learning about their village and ethnic group they told us about their architecture being different from all the other groups'. We said that we liked it and they offered to give us a tour of the village. This is just one family we peeked in on.
I guess this is the African version of a double-decker bus. You should notice that there are people sitting under the guys on top. Those "inside" are sitting on boards that are laid across the truck bed. Those on top are just on a steel frame. These vehicles are sometimes know as "death trucks". Maybe you can see why.
This is just one example of a scenic road we took in southwestern Burkina. In this area, scenic roads are the only option. This is a relatively nice road for the area in that it's pretty smooth. Don't get the wrong idea about Burkina, this area is much greener and wooded than most of the country.

Everybody loves kiddy pics

This is a common scene wherever we go. So many African kids are fascinated by the white man. I feel sure we are the first that some of them ever see. What a privilege. These kids seem quite happy to see us. Other common responses are crying and running. The white guy who's leg and hand you see is my colleague Aaron Mills. I could show you his face, but then he'd have to kill you. Just kidding. He is based in Senegal but we were working together in Ghana. (By the way, this picture and the one below were taken by the "Pocket-Cam." The "Pocket-Cam" is technique whereby I stealthfully peek the camera out of my pocket, take a picture, and slide it back in without being detected.)

What do African kids like more than the white man? The white man's truck. They like to touch it and often chase us down the road as we leave. Again it is a rarity for them to see a vehicle up close, especially where this picture was taken. This was in the very remote area of Burkina that I mentioned a while back in a newsletter.

Here are just some more random kids for your viewing pleasure. They were in the village of Chordbang in northwestern Ghana.

Burkina newsletter #4

Greetings from Burkina Faso! Our most recent research trip took us to one of the most isolated regions of Burkina Faso. Isolated in the sense that what little progress and development the country has managed has not been spread there. In one village we visited, we were told that the nearest school was 50 kilometers (30+ miles) away. That may not seem all that far to you, but consider that to my knowledge there are no school buses in the country and certainly not in this region, and nearly all students would go on bicycle or on foot. Then also consider that the roads there are the worst I’ve seen. We left the pavement in Bobo and traveled about 300 miles without seeing it again. It is true that there are some decent dirt roads, but these were not them. Even the locals, without our biased American notions of development, complained continually to us about the roads. There are no electric lines or phone lines in the region (no cell service either). I noticed after driving off and on for about two days that we never encountered another vehicle (not including motos, bicycles, donkey carts, etc.). I had previously lived and traveled in West Africa for 2 years and never encountered so remote an area (with the possible exception being the desert around Timbuktu, Mali). At one point David and I were counting our blessings pondering how many thousands of people we had probably driven past who had never ridden in a vehicle. How many had never placed a phone call? Never been to a doctor or dentist? Never learned to read? More importantly, how many had never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

The findings of our research are encouraging and discouraging at the same time. There are a number of churches even in this remote area. However, they are not reaching the local people, the Dogose (pronounced doh-goh-SAY). They are churches full of “visitors” or “strangers.” You may think of it like this, in the USA we have many immigrants, particularly in large urban areas. There you may often find Muslim mosques or Buddhist temples full of those immigrants without any Americans who are native to the area. Much of the region we visited would be considered Dogose territory. In their case, the “immigrants” are not people of different countries but of different people groups within Burkina. Still they speak a different language, have a different culture, and in many cases a different religion. Thus, most of the churches in Dogose territory consist of Mossi, Lobi, Bobo (a people group as well as a city), and other ethnic groups who have moved into the area. We only met one Dogose believer and he happens to be a pastor. Still, he has only one other Dogose believer in his church. He told us he only knows of a small number of Dogose believers. The four people groups we focused on, the Dogose (of whom there are two kinds), Khe, and Khisa (who we learned refer to themselves by different names), are nearly exclusively Muslim. Sadly the churches in the area are making almost no effort to engage them. They are in great need of our prayers and of faithful Christians to take the Gospel to them.

On this trip, David and I were blessed to be joined by a Burkinabé (the official term for a person from Burkina, pronounced Burkina-bay) pastor. He served as an assistant and translator. He also said that he had not seen anything like this area. He described it as a “forgotten” region. He himself, a Bobo by birth (no jokes please), is a missionary to another people group, the Tiefo. He sold his moto in order to purchase a house in a Tiefo village. (As a 40-year-old man, his only means of transportation now is a bicycle.) He was soon forced out of this house by gunpoint. He left the village for a while only to come back and settle in another part of town. He said the research trip was eye-opening for him in that he saw other pastors in much more remote and hostile areas than his. For example, one pastor we visited was chased from a village by 50+ men with swords/machetes. The situation in this area is very discouraging. Like this Burkinabé pastor, I got a better vision than ever of how hard some people have it, and in contrast, how blessed I am. Consider yourself. If you are reading this, first, you can read, second, you probably have access to electricity and telephone (or other form of internet connection), third you are likely a Believer or at least have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Know that so many people, not only in this region but around the world, have none of that. Even these few categories put you in a very small percentage of the world’s population. We must be thankful. Yet, we must not merely be thankful. We must also use our blessings/resources for the glory of God, not simply for our own pleasure and comfort.

So what’s next for me? Tomorrow, Thursday (March 30), Aaron Mills, a Journeyman based in Senegal who is a part of the larger “Engagement Team” and is doing the same kind of work, will fly in to Ouagadougou. From there, he and I will embark upon a trip to Ghana, south of Burkina. We will be researching four more people groups (Birifor, Vagla, Safaliba, and Kamara) in the northwest of the country. I look forward to meeting Aaron and working alongside him. I am also looking forward to speaking a familiar language since Ghana is English speaking. We will be in Ghana somewhere around 12 days before Aaron has to return to Senegal.

Here are some matters for prayer:

* Praise God for a safe, healthy, and successful research trip.

* Please pray for the same during our trip to Ghana (approx. Mar. 31 - Apr. 11). Since this will be a significantly longer trip than the previous two, please pray for endurance as well.

* Pray that God would send laborers to engage the Dogose, Khe, and Khisa with the Gospel and that many would accept it.

* May we all thank God for all the blessings he has given us and seek how He would have us use them for His glory.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. You are a blessing to me.

David Wood, my supervisor/colleague, sporting the Lyele hat one of the pastors gave us.


Me on a little termite mound we found on the side of the road.

African lazy-boy

This is the courtyard of one of the pastors, where we stayed our second night. You'll notice all the painting on the walls of the courtyard. The Lyele are the only group I have encoutered who have this practice (not that I've encountered that many groups). The round little hut like things are grain storage bins. The more rectangular buildings are where the family sleeps, keep their stuff, etc. This chair is what I like to call an "African lazy-boy."

bush hotel

These were our luxurious sleeping conditions one night. That's David in the fetus position at about 6 AM the morning after we fled to higher ground from the fire. (Read the blog if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

Fire!, honeycomb, and tô

As expected we had some interesting experiences on my first research trip. We did not quite reach our original destination on our first day. So we pulled off the road a ways and spent the night there, under the stars, on our mats. Kind of like camping without the tents and smores. In the middle of the night, I was sleeping sound as usual, David woke me up and said we had to move. At first I wondered if we were on someone’s land, although the area seemed quite uninhabited. Then David pointed and told me that a brush fire was coming our way. Sure enough it was, though still a good distance off. Fortunately we were in a large gravely area so we just moved further away from the grassy area. (Now, by grass I don’t mean bluegrass but a tall, brown, dead grass. We are coming toward the end of the dry season but at this point most of the country hasn’t seen rain in several months.) It seems the wind shifted at some time so the fire would not have reached us anyway. In some ways though we might have welcomed the fire since the temperature was around 70 degrees (according to my alarm clock thermometer). That seems extremely cold when the wind is blowing, all you have is a sheet for cover, and you’re used to the temperature being around 100.

It is hard to give you an idea of how bad some of the roads are here, but here’s a quick attempt. On this trip, most of the roads were in decent shape. Yet there was one section that took us well over an hour to travel about 20 miles. In the rainy season this road would probably be impassable.

During this trip we did not bring our own food but ate what was presented to us and what we found on the side of the road. By that I don’t mean road kill but whatever people were selling. That means we ate almost exclusively to (see note below **), rice, noodles, and some chicken (mostly to and rice). At one place, David lucked out and got the chicken gizzard. Another treat we were given was fresh honeycomb (not the cereal). This being a first for me I wondered how we would eat it. My first guesses were that we would lick it or suck on it. Nope. We followed our hosts lead and ate the whole thing. I now have a better understanding of what they mean by “bee’s wax.” It wasn’t terribly bad, but unfortunately I couldn’t stop wondering about what might be inside the comb. I probably don’t want to know.

**And for those of you who don’t remember or have never known what “to” is, it is the staple of most people in Burkina. I always struggle to describe it, but here goes. It is a dish with the consistency of solidified grits or soft play-dough, usually made out of millet, a grain they grow in abundance. It can also be made with ground up corn or sorghum. They always eat to with some kind of sauce, usually made from various vegetables. The to itself is usually quite bland, but what little taste it has is not pleasant, in my opinion. It is pronounced just like “toe.”

Burkina newsletter #3

Greetings from Burkina Faso! I hope all is well in your part of the world. I have now moved into my house, gotten some orientation on the task ahead, tried to learn to get around Bobo, and completed my first research trip. David also gave me a list of things to do, including review much of the information they have already gathered on various people groups, become familiar with the volunteer job requests they have made thus far, brainstorm for some ideas for future job requests, skim a few books, and pray for some of our upcoming work.

As I said, David and I recently completed my first research trip. He did most of the talking while I observed and took notes (about the information they gave us). We went to an area just west of the center of the country to research the Lyele people (pronounced lay-lay). If you click on the “Burkina map (languages)” link on my website (kerryspencer.blogspot.com) and find #29, that’s where we were. We had heard they had been somewhat evangelized and that there were a number of churches there. Our task was to verify this information. Some of our research will be to confirm or solidify some info we already have, whereas other times we may know almost nothing about the people. We went with a list of three pastors to search for. The Lord wonderfully worked things out for us to meet with 6 of 9 Baptist pastors in the northern part of the region (there are 3 different areas/dialects among the Lyele). On Sunday morning we found a church, but the pastor was not one of our contacts. However, because all the churches in the area were exchanging pastors that particular Sunday, one of our contacts came to that church. After the church service, which was completely in Lyele, several of the other pastors came to meet with us. We were able to get a lot of the information we needed from these pastors. We also were able to listen to, pray for, and encourage these pastors in their ministry. We visited several of their homes and churches and stayed the night with one of them. Like most Africans I’ve encountered, they were a tremendously hospitable and generous people. During our time there we acquired a dozen eggs, a woven hat, two chickens, and two unidentifiable vegetables. All in all it was an excellent few days.

I’m actually back in Ouaga now, but leave tomorrow. From then I’ll remain in Bobo until the 20th. Then David and I will go on another trip to the far southwest of Burkina to research 4 different people groups who we know less about: the Dogoso, Dogose, Khe, and Khisa. That trip will be a bit longer. Here are some things you can pray about:

* Praise God for safety, health, and success in this past research trip.
* Pray for these Lyele pastors and churches, that they would be bold in sharing the Gospel and that many more Lyele will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
* Pray for our next research trip beginning on the 20th of this month.

Know that your prayers are heard by God and felt by us. God bless you all!

Top Ten Reasons it’s good to be back in Burkina (in no particular order, except for #1):

10. 4-roomed airports are so much easier and quicker to get around in
9. The Shaftos (my former supervisors and second family) live here
8. Fresh mangoes
7. I don’t have to speak English all the time
6. Daily adventures (such as driving)
5. Flip-flops are once again appropriate footwear for all occasions
4. I get to ride motorcycles/motos
3. Free suntan while you wait
2. Showers are so much more satisfying here
1. This is where God has led me

Burkina newsletter #2

Greetings from Burkina Faso! I arrived safely with all my luggage (unlike the first time I came here). We had a few delays but no major problems. I was welcomed by my old supervisors and new: the Shaftos and Woods. “Supervisors” is how I usually refer to them, but they are so much more: friends, mentors, doctors/nurses, cooks, a second family. I am blessed to have the Shaftos and the Woods as all this and more. The Shaftos are now living in Ouagadougou while the Woods will be nearby in Bobo. So far I’ve not been terribly busy. Just catching up on the past with old friends, making new friends, and running some errands. Went to church yesterday. Some things were different from last week in Hardinsburg. The service was in French and Moore (the dominant language around Ouagadougou). The service was about 3 hours long. My supervisors and I were the only white folk. No pews, organs, ties (well, maybe one or two), stained-glass windows, or carpet (therefore they need not argue over the color). Yet the important things where there: brothers and sisters in Christ singing praises to God, prayer, a message from the Word, and fellowship (Ezekiel 37).

I’ve come to realize that both my flights to Burkina have been very special times for me. I have tended to be very reflective and philosophical at these times. I wrote about that in my journal on the way. Here’s an excerpt:

It is flights like this that are so monumental. They are like a period at the end of a sentence. In this case, the sentence was about 3 years of seminary, youth ministry, and time at home with family. It was a good sentence. Unexpected in many ways. But what do we do after a period? Begin a new sentence. Yet thus far I have only blank lines, space waiting to be filled. So I ponder what I would like to write. But is God not the author and I the pen. I certainly wouldn’t have written the last sentence as it turned, but that is what God had for me and it was wonderful. So yes I have my thoughts and plans, but I must let God have His way. May He be glorified in me and through me. (the end)

Here’s a general schedule for the near future. I am currently still in Ouaga, but tomorrow we will leave for Bobo, my home base. That’s about a 4 and a half hour trip. The first order of business will be to settle into my house, which I hear is very nice, with electricity, a lazy boy, and other amenities. The bad news is I will rarely be there with all the traveling I will do. Soon my supervisor, David Wood, will be teaching me how to do the research. They have been doing it for several months. I will learn by going on a research trip or two with him. At the end of March, a Journeyman from Senegal who is doing the same work as me will join me here. Then we will go to northwestern Ghana together for a research trip. (I’ll tell you more about the research when I learn more.) After that trip, I will likely take time for some Jula language study before our summer volunteer teams arrive. Some good news is I’ve retained most of the French I picked up last time. That will allow me to survive without Jula for a while. Well I guess that’s all for now. Oh, and the question so many are interested in: How hot is it? I saw a sign at noon today that read 43 degrees. You can do the math or trust me that that’s about 110 degrees. It will get worse. April is actually the hottest month. I hope to get this newsletter and maybe a Top Ten list on the website soon. Again that’s kerryspencer.blogspot.com. Check it out. Here are a few matters for prayer:

Praise God for a safe arrival for me and all my luggage.
Pray for me to learn well how to do the research task.
Pray for me to settle in well with my team and new home.

Thanks for all your prayers. I’ll be in touch. God bless!

kerry spencer

Burkina newsletter #1

Greetings! This is my pre-departure email newsletter to my Burkina supporters. I'd like to share with you all about what I will be doing in the coming months and years. First, I want to thank you in advance for you interest and support while I am in Burkina. I am happy to have this medium through which to share about what is going on and to relay prayer requests to you. Besides the email newsletter, I am hoping to use an internet site, kerryspencer.blogspot.com, to share some pictures that may give you a better glimpse of what life is like in Burkina Faso. I may also post all of my newsletters on that site as well. Of course, I'll let you know how I'll be using that site as time goes on. Also, feel free to pass this on to others or suggest others to be added to the list.

For those of you who I have not been in touch with over last few years, I can briefly summarize that time for you. I returned home from Burkina in September 2002. In November 2002, I accepted what I thought was the interim youth minister position at my home church, Hardinsburg Baptist. Soon after that I began studying at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I was able to commute and carry out both of those responsibilities at the same time. After two and a half years I received my MA in Missiology (missions). Also during that time, I was blessed to be able to spend 6 weeks in China and to take our youth group to Ecuador for a week. After more than three years, I have recently resigned as youth minister in anticipation of leaving for Burkina. My departure date is March 2nd.

So, what will I be doing in Burkina Faso? A number of things. I will be joining some old friends who I knew from my first tour of duty there. David and Tami Wood will be my supervisors as I join "Project DELTA," which is part of the larger West Africa Engagement Team. Here is our official statement: "The purpose of the Engagement Team is to help the 'unengaged' become the bride of Christ. Unengaged peoples are those who have little or no Christian witness among them. To fulfill our task, we must identify and research these groups and develop and implement a plan to ensure they have access to the Gospel. Our current data indicate 327 West African people groups with a total population of 16,702,288 who are less than 2% Christian and have no outside Christian witness. As a team, we will lead other Evangelicals (both locally and internationally) to 'engage' these people groups with the Gospel."

What does that mean practically? At first, my work will begin based out of Burkina's second largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso, which is simply referred to as Bobo. I will begin my term by studying the Jula language for a couple months. Burkina's national language is French but Jula is the dominant local language. Still, I suspect I will be doing most of my work in French, of which I have a very rudimentary yet generally functional grasp. After this short time of language study I will be taking part in the research phase of our task. The basic purpose of the research will be to determine the status of Christianity among a particular people group and to gain some basic info that will assist others in reaching them with the Gospel. Just to clarify, a people group is defined as a group of people who have a distinct history, language, and culture. Amazingly, Burkina has around 65 different people groups. Thus, I will be researching a number of these groups, one at a time. This research will frequently take me out of Bobo into various parts of the western end of the country. Based on the findings of the research, our team is responsible for developing a strategy to reach the particularly "unengaged" people groups. That will include recruiting other Christians to come share the Gospel with them. As volunteer missionaries arrive, I will help to coordinate them in this task. I am told that after a year or so of research I may be able to move out of Bobo, to live among a particular people group (to be determined later). The goal will simply be to seek to make an impact among them for the Gospel. All of this, of course, is theory. Only God knows what I'll really be doing, but this is what I've been told to expect. By the way, this time around I will be known as an "ISCer." ISC stands for International Service Corps. That's just another one of the IMB's labels. My commitment is for 2 years, but that may be extended to 3 years. I am very exciting about whatever the future holds. I look forward to being able to share with you some of my experiences. I find it humbling that so many of you would take an interest in my life and would support me with your prayers. I pray that what I write to you will be of some benefit and that it gives glory to God. Here are a couple things you can be praying about as my departure day (March 2) draws near.

Prayer requests:
� Pray that God will prepare me and my loved ones for parting.
� Pray for God to lead my church are the youth as they are searching for my successor.

Thanks so much for your desire to keep up with me over the next 2 or 3 years. I look forward to being in touch and hope you will do the same. Take care and God bless!

kerry spencer

Now I'm practicing posting a photo on my page.

the beginning

This is the page where I hope to post some stories and pictures from my life in Burkina Faso.