Greetings from Burkina Faso! Two and a half weeks – 3 research trips – 9 different people groups – many more adventures. That’s the summary of what’s been going on since last time. The good news is that I was able to confirm that the Lobi, Birifor, and Nankana are some of the most evangelized peoples in Burkina. A number of denominations are well established among each of these groups. The Dogon and Loron peoples, on the other hand, have very few Christians among them. The other groups (Kalenga/Gan/Kusasi) are somewhere in between (we were only able to locate a very small number of Bozo). I must leave out the harrowing African adventure stories at this time to tell you more about what’s to come.
As we have wrapped up another round of research trips, we are now preparing for another wave of volunteer teams. Wednesday, I’m going back to Karankasso-Vigue with a few Burkinabé believers to prepare the way for another team from Bartlett Baptist (their 4th). The team arrives on the 17th. I remind you that we still know of no believers among the Vigue. Karim, Ali, and Boureima are a few of the men with whom we’ve shared the Gospel – you can be praying for them. Soon after the Bartlett team begins their ministry I will have to leave for Ouagadougou (our capital/airport). That is because we will welcome back the 2nd team from Compassion Church (Raleigh) on the 22nd. They are hoping to minister among the Western Karaboro people – who like the Vigue have no known believers. However the last time we were in their main village (Tengrela) their chief told us we were not welcome to come share our religion there. We are thus arranging a meeting (Sept. 23rd) of some of the pastors in the area to discuss how to go about taking the Gospel to the W. Karaboro. We feel that our white skin is part of the problem and that local believers might have a better chance of penetrating the W. Karaboro. We may also pay another visit to Tengrela and see if things have changed with the chief there. If so we will gladly stay and do whatever ministry the Lord allows. If not, our backup plan is to do some ministry among the Senufo-Senara further west. The Senara are a strongly animistic (African traditional religion) people who are only about 0.1% Christian. Obviously, unlike the Lobi, Birifor, and Nankana (mentioned above), the Vigue, W. Karaboro, and Senara are some of the least reached people in Burkina Faso. They need the Gospel and they need prayer. Please join us in praying for the Word and love of God to be shared during the next couple weeks. Both the Bartlett and Compassion teams will leave on the 29th.
Praise God for:
* the Churches and believers that we have found well established in some areas of Burkina.
* safe and successful research trips despite the difficult conditions.
* the commitments of Bartlett Baptist and Compassion Church to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Please pray for:
* the Lord to send laborers to the Dogon and Loron of Burkina – that they might hear and accept His Word.
* the Vigue, Western Karaboro, and Senara people – that the Lord would open their hearts to the Gospel.
* us and the churches coming to partner with us from Bartlett and Raleigh – that the Lord would lead us and use us for His glory.
* the meeting with local pastors that we will have on the 23rd – that the Lord will give us all wisdom and guidance concerning how to approach the Western Karaboro.
I am truly blessed to have your support in the ministry over here. I thank God for you all. Blessings.
kerry spencer
final thought:
If you look at the world you’ll be distressed,
if you look within you’ll be depressed,
but if you look at Christ you’ll be at rest.
~ Corrie Ten Boom
Unfortuntely my camera is back in Kentucky being repaired so I don't have any new pictures for you. Fortunately I have a "random Burkina" folder on the laptop. Here are a few I picked out for you. This one - a tree.
Handicapped lady selling papers and phone cards on the side of the road in Bobo.
I've been stuck in the mud a couple times in the past month. This is an example of a place where that might happen. Although I'll say the places I found to get stuck were much more treacherous.
Driving into a storm front.
Dude getting coconuts or fixing the phone lines or something.
