Associating with the Lowly

We work in the day shelter from about 6:30-10:00 on Sunday mornings before going to church. Today I spent much of that time in our storage closet. Around 9:00, I was told to pick up the phone. Over the phone I met a young woman who needed a favor. She had met a homeless man and had convinced him to go to our church with her, but she wanted a man to ride with them. She had called my director (who happened to be out of town) and he recommended she call and ask for Matt or I. So basically I was in the right place at the right time.

We picked up her homeless friend at a McDonalds and drove to church. We got some coffee, worshiped a bit, and heard a wonderful sermon challenging the church to be a loving community. The pastor challenged us to meet the needs of others, practice hospitality, and associate with the lowly (Romans 12:9-16) – a rather appropriate message, I thought. So after the service, as folks began departing and mingling, I asked our new friend what he thought of the church/message. He had me sit back down. About an hour later, he had finished pouring out his heart and shedding many tears over the desperate state of his life. I mostly listened but also had the opportunity to share the Gospel and a few more thoughts with him. I also shed a few tears, because my new friend is broken and he knows it. Some of his brokenness is self inflicted. He admits that he has been punishing himself for a long time, only falling short of ending his life.

But now he wants change. Now he has friends who want to help him change. Now he seems hopeful. He appears to be the picture of a motto here at Jeff St.: “Hope changes everything.” I’m so blessed to have been at the right place at the right time and to have been able to minister to my new friend. He knows where I’m at, I know where he hangs out, he’s got my number, and he’s planning to join us for church again next week. I pray that this is not the end of the story, but only the beginning. I’d appreciate your prayers for my new friend as well.

How to Entertain Angels . . .

What do you think of when you hear the word “hospitality?” For most of my life I’ve thought of sweet, older ladies who are really good cooks and have nice homes. I’ve been the grateful recipient of this type of hospitality throughout my life. I also think of so many precious missionary wives who I encountered during my days in West Africa. The gift of hospitality seems to be a requirement for wives on the mission field. But me? No, I’m not hospitable. Any why should I be expected to be? I’m just a single guy with limited cooking and homemaking skills. I guess God has not gifted me in that area. Or has He?

Sunday at Sojourn (the church I’ll be attending while in Louisville), I heard a great message on Christian hospitality . . . for probably the first time in my life. I wonder why I’ve never heard such a sermon before. After all, hospitality is a command of God. Not just a suggestion for some Christians but a command for all. “Be hospitable to one another without complaint” (1 Peter 4:9). “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love . . . practicing hospitality” (Romans 12:10-13). Hospitality is also a requirement for overseers/pastors (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). The Bible even goes so far as to say that sometimes when we think we’re simply showing hospitality to strangers, we’re actually “entertaining angels” (Hebrews 13:2).

But true hospitality is not simply about entertaining others. At the heart of hospitality are ideas like looking out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4), inviting the poor/crippled/blind to our dinners (Luke 14:12-14), and accepting others as Jesus did us (Romans 15:7). Essentially, the heart of hospitality seems to be love for our neighbors.

So it seems hospitality is not just for sweet, older ladies who are really good cooks and have nice homes. Hospitality is also for me, a not so sweet young man who doesn’t cook much and lives in a homeless shelter (a very hospitable type of place by the way). And if you are a Christian, hospitality is also for you.

First thoughts

I’ve been living here at Jeff St. for right at a week now. I came here with few expectations, but most of those expectations have been exceeded. The staff here is more fun than I’d guessed. The homeless folks are more normal than I thought. The residents are less scary than I expected. I’m getting up earlier than I’d hoped (6 AM).

Despite that last unfortunate realization, life has been good. I really am enjoying serving and getting to know the homeless and formerly homeless (the 30-some guys who live here) who we see every day. Life here is always interesting. For instance, I just got interrupted by one of the residents who is a Cuban guy who speaks very little English. Despite that detail he’s one of my favorite guys to see around. He always gives a warm greeting, usually in English.

I guess most surprising has been how easy it has been to begin building relationships with the guys here. All the guys living here at Jeff St. have been diagnosed with mental illnesses. I’ve had very little interation with such folks in my lifetime (at least to my knowledge). Yet I’m quickly learning that mental illness does not equate to being “crazy” or “psycho” as we might sometimes describe such folks. In fact, many of the guys seem quite normal. Among them are science buffs, sports fans, and avid readers. But still I must realize that these guys are just like me and every other human being in that we all have our problems - some are just more obvious and detrimental than others. We all need help. God is the ultimate Helper and salvation is the ultimate cure. I just pray that the Lord will use me to point others to Him and to His remedy.

A New Adventure . . .

Greetings friends!

I’ve now got a new adventure to tell you about!

On September 9th, I will move into the Jefferson St. Baptist Center, a homeless shelter in Louisville, KY, in order to live and serve among the homeless. JSBC’s self-description: “We exist to make the entire good news of Jesus Christ known to the homeless of Louisville – meeting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs” (www.jeffersonstreet.org). I will be a participant in their HOPE program (www.hopeforlouisville.com) through which I will serve five days a week in their Day Shelter, helping to meet some of the basic needs of the homeless – providing mail service, breakfast, a storage closet, toiletries, and more. Spending this time in the Day Shelter will lead to in-depth relationships with my new homeless friends, which will allow me to share the Gospel with them in a whole-life sort of way. I will also have great opportunities for service and spiritual growth through my church involvement and the Christian community of the other HOPE participants. I am very excited about beginning this new ministry very soon! I am excited because in recent years I have seen God change my heart to be more compassionate toward the poor and needy. He has given me the desire to attend to both the physical and spiritual needs of people. HOPE is a great avenue through which to channel this God-given desires for ministry.

You have the opportunity to be a part of my ministry through HOPE and JSBC. First, I need your prayers. Please pray for our new HOPE team to get off to a great start: in our training, our relationships, and our acclimation to our new lifestyles. Pray that we will, above all, live lovingly towards each other and the homeless folks we are there to minister to.

Second, the greatest thing that homeless people need is meaningful relationships with Christians that ultimately point to Jesus Himself. These relationships take time to build. To be a part of the HOPE program for a year I will need to raise $6,600. Your financial contributions will allow me to remove the financial burdens of daily life to be able to focus exclusively on loving “the least of these” that Jesus told us are so important to him. And for those giving a gift of at least $50 you can receive a free HOPE T-shirt!

You can send your tax-deductible contributions made payable to Jefferson Street Baptist Center attn: HOPE, 733 Jefferson Street, Louisville KY 40202. Please make sure to designate your check towards my support by writing my Fund ID#: HOPE-0809-KS1 on the memo line of the check. HOPE will send a receipt for each gift given. Do not write my name anywhere on the check as this may negate the tax deductibility of your donation.

As during my time in Africa, I will be sending out a monthly newsletters and blogging about my life and ministry at JSBC. Thus, the former “Faso News” site has now become the new "HOPE News," unless I decide to come up with something more clever. I will also be making a new email list for those who wish to receive my HOPE updates. You can let me know if you are interested in joining this list by writing me at kweetur@hotmail.com.

Also please let me know of others who might be interested in hearing about this ministry or who might like to support me in prayer or financially. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Thanks for all your support through the years. God bless!

Traveling home

It's good to be home in Kentucky. But I had a wonderfully slow and interesting trip back home from Burkina Faso. Six of my fellow West African colleagues and I visited Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco. Sevilla and Madrid, Spain. And Faro (southern coast) and Lisbon, Portugal. After that I traveled on my own for a few days to Fez, Morocco and then New York City. I'll not go into details of these travels except to say that I had a great time with great friends. Saw some more amazing sights from this amazing world. I am so blessed and thankful to have been able to travel as I have. I've put some of my pictures up on www.picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer. Enjoy.

Burkina newsletter #36 (the end)

Greetings from Burkina Faso! The life of an international missionary includes many ‘goodbyes,’ but fortunately many ‘hello agains’ as well. Another two years of ministry in West Africa is coming to a close. The ‘goodbyes’ have started. The ‘hello agains’ are coming soon. It has been such a blessing to be a small part of God’s plan for this part of the world. I give God all the glory for all that we’ve accomplished these past two years. His provision and protection have been abundant. I praise God especially for his protection on the roads, as a huge part of our ministry included many, many miles of driving on difficult and treacherous roads. Likewise, although sicknesses came – God provided healing. He provided wonderful friends in my missionary community who made a great surrogate family. In our ministry, He provided much-needed co-laborers. Some of those co-labors will continue ministering even after our departure. The Lord also worked his miracle of salvation in people’s lives through our feeble efforts at evangelism. God blessed in so many ways. I give Him praise and thanks for that. Here are some figures to help summarize the last couple years:

• We hosted more than 130 volunteers from 20 different states.
• Completed research on over 50 different people groups in three countries (BF/Ghana/Niger), involving uncountable miles driven.
• 5 churches are committed to continuing ministry among some of the least reached people groups after our departure. (see last newsletter for a list)
• 1 new girlfriend (more news to come).
• Many new friends: Burkinabé and American.

The Engagement Team (what our team is called – in case you’ve forgotten) has exciting plans for West Africa in the years to come. For one, it appears that there will be someone to replace us here in Burkina towards the end of this year. Our research will continue to be of use to the IMB, the local Baptist Convention, and other mission organizations. God’s work will continue among the peoples we have begun to engage with the Gospel. Also He will surely be working among those who have not yet been engaged. We know this because one day there will be “a great multitude which not one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). This chapter of ministry is closing for me, but I hope to always be a part of ushering in this future reality.

I will leave Burkina around 3 AM on February 28^th. I will fly to Morocco to meet several friends who have also been serving in West Africa. We’ll do a little traveling thorough Morocco, Spain, and Portugal. After that I have a short stop in New York and then I’m back in Kentucky on March 13^th. My plans after that . . . are a bit ambiguous. I will of course be visiting family and friends in KY. But I also will be spending significant time in L.A. – Lower Alabama. For those of you who may not know, I have a girlfriend, Tiffany Folse, who is living there. Our relationship first budded when she came back to Burkina last March (she was a missionary here from 2001-2003). It has been growing and progressing ever since. We are excited to discover what the Lord has in store for us. And of course we appreciate your prayers concerning that.

So this may be the last you hear from me in Burkina Faso (for a while anyway), but I will likely continue to update this webpage and www.picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer with pictures from my trip home and any other important news that may come, so stay tuned.

Praise God for:

* His protection and provision during my past two years in Burkina Faso.
* those who will continue to minister to the least reached peoples of West Africa.
* His giving me a girlfriend!

Please pray for:

* safety and good times during my travels towards home.
* the continuing task of reaching the unreached people groups of West Africa.
* Tiffany and I as we seek God’s plans for us.

One last time – thank you so very much for your prayers and for your interest in my life and ministry here in West Africa. I greatly look forward to seeing many of you in the near future. May God bless you abundantly!

kerry spencer

Final thought:

Absence is to love what wind is to fire;
it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.
~ Comte DeBussy-Rabutin

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

Christmas photos

Some of our missionary community (plus some visitors) at our Christmas party in Ouagadougou.
Nativity scene mural inside a Catholic church in Kaya - Burkina Faso.
Christmas peppers. Hey they're red and green right? Like those Christmas M&Ms.
The Burkina Christmas flower. That's what I'm calling it.

Christmas tree salesman in our capital.

Burkina newsletter #33

Seasons Greetings from Burkina Faso! FBC Pearland had a very successful vision trip. After seeing some of the many needs here they left feeling a strong leading to come back and do some discipleship training and evangelism with a specific focus on the Dogosé people. We are very thankful for their visit and their concern for the unreached peoples of Burkina Faso. Please pray that God would continue to guide them as they ponder and prepare for their future ministry here.

Currently the four ladies from Bartlett Baptist are living and ministering among the Vigué people. Bartlett is what we call an Engaging Church. What that means is they have chosen to have a long-term ministry among a people group even when missionaries (like me and the Woods) have left the area. Therefore they are responsible for developing their own strategies and taking care of their own logistics (such as transportation/food/translation/money matters/etc.). That is a huge undertaking. As part of preparing for the future we are allowing them to experience most of this trip without our involvement (we’ll join them near the end of their stay). It is hard to leave them on their own but that is part of the weaning process. The Vigué (who claim to be 100% Muslim) just celebrated one of the most important Islamic holidays, Tabaski (also know as Eid al-Adha in much of the world). The team from Bartlett will soon be celebrating Christmas and will have a chance to explain the significance of this holy day for Christians. Please pray for the Lord to open the eyes of the Vigué to the light of Jesus Christ.

The fact that we are not out with the Bartlett team works out well as we have two more volunteers coming in tonight. Wade Whynot is a former volunteer who is coming back with his special friend Sherida. We will be traveling around some and of course spending Christmas together. Our Christmas plans are to celebrate with Pastor Dénis and his church in the morning and then have a dinner with some fellow missionaries that evening.

I recently did a little traveling with William Haun who is an excellent photographer and a serious computer nerd (he knows I love him). He is one of the folks responsible for a lot of what you may have seen at www.gowestafrica.com. If you’ve not been there lately you should check it out – it’s got a new look. I also highly recommend his site www.haunsinafrica.com. His wife, who’s studying to be a doctor, is a spending a few months interning at our hospital in Nalerigu, Ghana. Thus you can find some pretty incredible surgery photos (my personal favorite being the finger amputation slideshow – posted Dec. 11). For those of you with weaker stomachs there are also many great non-surgical photos. You can even find a few references and photos of me (posts begin Dec. 13). While I’m giving you some websites – I’ve recently added some more photos to my page: http://picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer.

Praise God for:

* FBC Pearland and Bartlett Baptist – for their service among the unreached of Burkina Faso.
* the safety and health the Lord has given us in recent weeks.
* sending His Son Jesus Christ to “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

Please pray for:

* FBC Pearland as they prepare for future ministry in Burkina.
* Bartlett Baptist as they share Christmas with the Vigué people.
* the Vigué people - that the Lord would “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light” (Acts 26:18).
* Wade, Sherida, and us as we travel and minister together.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support. I pray you are making time to go beyond all the superfluity of the Christmas season to the foundation: celebrating the miraculous birth of the Son of God, God-Himself, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

Final thought:

When I give I give myself.

~ Walt Whitman

Just pics

Red dragonfly.

Waterfalls as the sun falls near Banfora.

Old-timer.

Young Fulani gal.

Burkina newsletter #32

Greetings from Burkina Faso! This past month we hosted another volunteer team on a vision trip to see the reality of lostness among the Komono and Dogosé peoples. A group from the Bifork Association of churches in northern Texas spent several days among these people and, as we have been, were overwhelmed by the needs they saw: physical and spiritual. They are now processing what they saw and are trying to discern how the Lord is leading them to respond to those needs. Please pray for God’s guidance for them. Similarly, another church from Texas (FBC Pearland) arrives tonight and will have a similar vision trip. The only difference is we plan to expose them to several different people groups. They will appreciate your prayers for guidance as well.

As most of you (those who live in the States) are in the midst of another Christmas season, I ask you to ponder places and peoples who have no Christmas season. It is not only that they do not have the cultural trappings of the holiday: Santa and the reindeer, candy canes, snowmen, Christmas trees, or multi-colored lights, for that would be no great shame. But they don’t have a celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Though many have heard of Jesus, and the Muslims even acknowledge Him as a great prophet, they do not know him as Savior and Lord. This is the reality for the majority of people in this country and in many countries around the world. And for people groups like the Vigue, there may not be a single person who has reason to celebrate Christmas this year. That is a tragedy. One that we want to change. That is why Bartlett Baptist church has already sent four teams to minister among the Vigue. That is why several ladies from that church have decided to spend this Christmas with the Vigue – to share the message of Christmas and salvation with them. As you celebrate Jesus’ birth this year, please pray for those who are not celebrating. And consider how God might use you to minister to them. Let us be thankful that we have something to celebrate – eternal life with the Lord, through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Praise God for:

* sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to seek and to save the lost.
* the Bifork Association, FBC Pearland, and Bartlett Baptist churches – for their interest in and commitment to the unengaged peoples of the world.

Please pray for:

* God to guide those from Bifork Association and FBC Pearland as they seek how the may serve Him in Burkina Faso.
* Bartlett Baptist church as they continue to minister among the Vigue.
* the Vigue people – that some would finally come to accept Jesus as Savior.

As always – thanks so much for your prayers and support. You may find some new photos at picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer. May your Christmas be joyous and heartfelt!

Final thought (as a Christmas bonus – an extra quote):

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?

~ G.K Chesterton

There has been only one Christmas – the rest are anniversaries.
~ W.J. Cameron

Marense Bible distribution

So this doesn't have much to do with distributing Bibles but I like the pic. Just a millet field at sunset.
Cory Wilson - former missionary to the Marense - presenting a Bible to a chief in Sagtambila.
Marense guys reading the Bible in their own language for the first time. The guy on the right is a local pastor who joined us for the trip.
Tiffany Folse - another former missionary to the Marense - presenting a Bible to an old Christian lady in the village of Tafgo.
Again - nothing to do with distributing Bibles - but how can you not love the pic? This is another Marense chief who received a Bible.

Great Northern Adventure

This is our vacation crew in front of the Alamo. Just kidding. Actually this is one of the "seven famous mosques" in Bani. From left to right the crew is me - Tiffany - Bianca - Nichole - Ami - and Cory Fish. Nichole and Ami serve at an orphanage in Yako (www.sheltering-wings.org). Cory and Bianca are with the Peace Corps. Tiffany is with me. Oh and she was a part of the Marense Bible distribution.
These are the dunes at Oursi.
This is an amazing baby praying mantis. Or is it a pygmy praying mantis?
This is me with my camel Smarty Jones. The guides told me its name was Emily but I didn't feel that was an appropriate name so I changed it.
Nichole appreciating an amazing chameleon we came across in the desert.
See more photos of our adventure at http://picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer.

Burkina newsletter #31

Greetings from Burkina Faso! The past few weeks have been a break from the norm – a blessed break. It started with a reunion of several former missionaries (and great friends of mine) to the Marensé people. They came to distribute the newly-printed Marensé New Testament. In all we visited and distributed the Bible in 13 villages. The reception of the Word was almost universally enthusiastic – even among non-Christians. This causes me to ponder whether I still have the appropriate joy over the fact that I have always had the Word of God written in my language and that I am literate enough to able to read it. It was a great privilege and experience for me to travel with the team as they shared the written Word of God with the Marensé for the first time. It was also a great time of fellowship with dear friends. I am thankful for these opportunities.

After most of the Marensé Bible distribution team left, I took a short vacation to northern Burkina – the sandy part. It was fascinating to explore another very unique part of God’s creation. It’s not everyday that you get to ride on a camel, see a chameleon, watch countless shooting stars, and sleep on a sand dune. This was also another great time of fellowship with several of my good friends serving in different ways here in Burkina. [Coming soon: photos of my vacation and the Marensé Bible distribution on kerryspencer.blogspot.com and my new photo site: picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer ]

One of the places we stayed in Gorom happened to be a Catholic orphanage. We spent part of one morning visiting the children and learning about the ministry there. Then after our vacation, I joined a few of my vacation buddies for another short visit to the orphanage in Yako (Nichole and Ami – part of our vacation group – serve there). Each time I visit this special place I learn more about the many challenges they face in caring for about 40 orphans. Each time I leave the orphanage I leave with a greater appreciation for the ministry and witness they are providing. Caring for widows and orphans is one of the many ministries that God has entrusted to us as the body of Christ. Please pray for these orphanages in Gorom and Yako.

Now that vacation is over, it is time to get back to the ministry God has given me at this time. Tonight we will welcome a team of five men from the Bifork Association of Baptist churches (TX). They are coming for the first time to take a vision trip to see how the Lord might use them among the unreached peoples of Burkina Faso. We are going to take them to scout out the land of the Dogosé and Komono peoples of far southwestern Burkina. Having already taken three trips to visit in the area I can say that these are some of the least evangelized and most difficult to reach (physically speaking) people groups in Burkina Faso. Reaching them will be a huge challenge. Pray that the Lord will provide the strength, wisdom, and endurance to meet the challenge.

Praise God for:

* sending the Word of God (now in written form) to the Marensé people.
* the blessing of fellowship with good friends and a short time of vacation.
* sending the Bifork Association to explore the opportunities for ministry in Burkina.

Please pray that:

* “the Word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified” among the Marensé people (2 Thess. 3:1).
* God would provide for and bless the ministry to orphans in Gorom and Yako.
* God to reveal His will to the Bifork Association of churches as to how they can serve Him in Burkina.
* God would move in the hearts and lives of the Dogosé and Komono peoples.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers. I am truly blessed to have your support. God bless!

kerry spencer

Final thought:

I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God Himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book.
~ John Wesley

Burkina newsletter #30

Greetings from Burkina Faso! A couple weeks ago I did some research among the Zaorsé people. We knew there were many Baptist churches among them but needed to update our statistics. I was pleased to learn that there are 57 Baptist churches and almost 5,000 believers among an ethnic group of only about 28,000 people. That’s simply amazing! Unfortunately there is no other people group in Burkina in which we have seen similar results from Baptist work. So of course we look at this example and try to learn some secrets of this spiritual success. Ultimately we know that God gets all credit and glory for the fruit that has been seen there. Yet if we look at the missionary dealings among the Zaorsé we notice that this is one of the places where we had the longest, sustained presence of full-time missionaries. Our team’s main purpose is to connect churches and short-term teams with unengaged people groups. We are truly thankful for the churches who are answering this call and God is using them. However this strategy has come about largely because there are not enough full-time, long-term missionaries to get the Gospel to the plethora of unreached people groups. Still the ideal is long-term, sustained ministry. So I just want to take this opportunity to challenge each of you to consider and pray about your role in the Great Commission. The Lord uses all sorts of people in all sorts of roles: prayers, givers, senders, short-term and long-term missionaries. All are necessary and important. May the Lord guide and use us all.

The other big happening over the last couple weeks was Southside Baptist’s (Lufkin TX) ministry among the Sambla people. Although the team was somewhat hindered by a little sickness, still the love of God was shared. New relationships were built and old relationships were strengthened. The team also picked up a little language. Please continue to pray for the Sambla people.

Before taking on their current role on the Engagement Team, my supervisors, David and Tami Wood, were the leaders of the Marensé team (during my first term). The Marensé are a small people group found in north-central Burkina. Part of the ministry that some of the team members took part in was to begin the translation of the New Testament into Marensé. Even after full-time missionaries left their area, Marensé believers continued the project. The Marensé New Testament has just recently been completed and has now been printed. Several former Journeymen from the Marensé team (some of my very good friends) are thus coming back to help dedicate and distribute the New Testament. The first of the team members will arrive tomorrow (the 17^th) and most will be gone by the 1^st of November. That is what I’ll be up to the next couple weeks.

Immediately after that I’ll be taking a four day vacation/adventure to northern Burkina to see some dunes, camels, and other deserty stuff. I’ll be joined by several of my good friends working here in Burkina (peace corps and orphanage workers) and one of the former Marensé team members.

Praise God for:

* the many churches and believers among the Zaorsé people.
* the completion of the New Testament in Marensé.
* Southside Baptist’s dedication to reaching the Sambla for Christ.

Please pray for:

* God’s direction in your own life concerning how He can use you in the Great Commission.
* the upcoming dedication and distribution of the Marensé New Testament. Pray that there would be many opportunities to share the Truth and that many would accept it.
* a safe and enjoyable vacation/adventure to the north.

As always thanks so much for your continued prayers and support. I also want to inform you of a new website for viewing some of my photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kerrylspencer. I plan to update the pics periodically. Enjoy. God bless!

Final thought:

Our young men are going into the professional fields because they don’t “feel called” to the mission field. We don’t need a call; we need a kick in the pants!

~ Jim Elliott

Pics from the Western Karaboro

Just another example of African ingenuity. This is a load of cloth strapped on the back (and front) of the moto with a couple strips of rubber. This belongs to a merchant who came to sell his cloth in the market. [All these photos are courtesy of David Myers - superstar volunteer.]
Nice silhouette of some palm trees at sunset in the Western Karaboro village of Tengrela.
Kid holding up a tree? No he's (or she's) watching the Jesus film. See photo below.
One of several groups we showed the Jesus film to last week. You can't quite see it but the film is being shown on a small portable DVD player (on a chair behind the limb). We usually show the film at night but decided to squeeze in a matinee under the mango tree.
We did a lot of praying for the needs of the Western Karaboro. The word got out and many people can to us to be prayed for. Others were brought - like this young boy, who has some leg problems (you can really tell when he walks). If you look closely you can see a couple leather pouches hanging around his neck. These amulets are given - for a price - by the local witchdoctor. They are supposed help the boy or protect him from whatever spirits might be causing his problems. The people were surprised and delighted that our prayers were free! Please join us in praying for the Western Karaboro to know the love, power, and grace of Jesus Christ.

Burkina newsletter #29

Greetings from Burkina Faso! I’ve spent the past couple weeks mostly with two people groups among whom I’ve never met a Christian: the Vigue and Western Karaboro. We’ve always had a warm reception among the Vigue and our relationships built in Karankasso-Vigue (their primary village) only continue to grow. I’m told that as the Bartlett team left this time they gave the chief a few blown up photos of himself and their past teams. The chief shed tears upon receiving the gift. Each time we leave he tells us that he hates to see us go. We continue to share the Gospel and pray for the Vigue but thus far have not seen fruit. We trust that the Lord has a plan for the Vigue people and ask you to continue to pray for them. Bartlett Baptist has another trip planned for December.

I spent the past week with two volunteers from Compassion Church (Raleigh) among the Western Karaboro and Senara peoples. Unlike the Vigue, the W. Karaboro chief has not welcomed us is the past. We decided to give them another chance instead of shaking the dust off our feet and continuing to another group (Matthew 10:14). In our initial meeting the chief was again cold and inhospitable. He told us that his people are not interested in our religion (we perceive that they are very interested). However, each day that we met with the chief he warmed up to us more and more. We were even allowed to show the Jesus Film twice in two different parts of the village. Our other main ministry was to simply pray for people’s needs. One evening we walked from family to family asking if we could pray for their sicknesses and needs. The people were very open to that, and we prayed for many people. The next day we were planning to do the same only before we started walking around people began coming to us and asking for prayer. We even had a hard time leaving because people just kept coming to be prayed for. Something that struck me is that I recall at least four people who asked us to pray for them because they are constantly afraid or worried. I can only imagine that this is attributed to the evil spirits that are so much a part of their lives. The W. Karaboro and Vigue will each tell you that they are 100% Muslim, but it seems that animism/voodoo/African traditional religion is still the religion which reigns. Through our prayers God has the ability to make His love and power know to the W. Karaboro. Please pray that he does. Another exciting thing about our time with the Karaboro is that we built a good relationship with two nearby pastors who are planning to follow up on the ministry we began. They are also excited about continuing to partner with us and Compassion Church in the future. Praise the Lord for this.

We also spent a few days with an old friend, Pastor Alphonse, and helped him with his ministry among the Senara people. There we also showed the Jesus Film two more times and visited among the people. One young man asked us the question, “If one decides to follow Jesus, will the evil spirits immediately leave him alone.” We of course responded with a “yes.” We spoke with one old man who said he’s almost ready to throw all his idols in the fire and follow Jesus. This is a picture of the kind of radical life-change we hope to see in all the Vigue, W. Karaboro, and Senara. Please continue to pray “that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

Up next: The third team from Southside Baptist (Lufkin, TX) arrives on the 3^rd. They will be ministering in a couple Sambla villages. The last time the team was here they saw a man come to receive Christ. Please pray for more of the same. I will likely spend part of my time with the team and part of my time researching.

The apostle Paul wrote, “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men . . . this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1, 3-4). Here are some ways to do that:

Praise God for:

* opening the door for us to pray and witness to the Western Karaboro (Colossians 4:3).
* new relationships with two local pastors interested in partnering with us to reach the Western Karaboro.
* sending laborers to aid in the harvest (Bartlett Baptist, Compassion Church, Southside Baptist, and others).

Please pray for:

* the seeds of the Gospel sown among the Vigue/W. Karaboro/Senara to grow in people’s hearts and minds (1 Corinthians 3:6).
* the W. Karaboro to give glory to God for His response to our prayers for them.
* God to move in the upcoming time of ministry among the Sambla people.
* success in my next research trip.

As always I thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for me and the unreached peoples of Burkina Faso. God bless!

Final thought:

For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.

~ T.S. Eliot