VICTORY IN JESUS!
We have an exciting update on Moussa, the old hunter who accepted Christ about a year and a half ago who you have been praying for off and on since that time. Moussa had many amulets and animistic fetishes (idols and articles of protection) in his possession at the time of his conversion. These were items which he believed protected him from harm and evil spirits and caused blessings to happen in his life. For those of us who have a “western mindset”, it is hard for us to accept the fact that articles like this actually do what they are believed to do, but know that there is definite spiritual power associated with these fetishes. We have heard testimony time and again of things that we never would have believed before our arrival in Africa. All that to say, there is a very strong temptation for people who have come to Christ to hide and keep their fetishes, afraid to get rid of them because of the harm that they fear will come to them if they do.
Since Moussa came to Christ, Pastor Marcel and other believers in the church have talked with him about the importance of getting rid of his amulets and fetishes, but he just couldn’t do it. Part of him believed there was still power in those items; part of him was afraid of what would happen if he did get rid of them.
About 3 weeks ago, an old man who was a relative of Moussa’s came and talked with Pastor Marcel and surrendered his life to Christ. This man was one of the strongest animistic leaders in a nearby village, what we would call a “witch doctor.” His conversion to Christ was powerful, and he immediately decided to burn all of his fetishes and idols. During the ceremony, other people actually testified to the fact that his spiritual power was so great, that they had seen him stand still in fire and not get burned. (Okay—you’ll have to get out of that western mindset again!) Moussa watched all that was happening, wondering what would take place. As you know, we serve a God who is more powerful than Satan, and as you can guess, nothing happened to this new believer.
This was the turning point for Moussa. He saw that no harm came to this man, and he also felt ashamed that he hadn’t burned his fetishes earlier, that he was still trying to serve two masters. He arranged with Pastor Marcel to burn his fetishes and idols, which took place last Sunday. This was no small decision, and Moussa testified to Kevin that at one point in time, when he was contemplating getting rid of everything, someone had offered to pay him $1,000 for his fetish articles—this tells you just how powerful he (and others) believed that his amulets and fetishes were. Moussa refused to sell them, convinced that he needed to burn them. Can you imagine the temptation there would be to sell, when the annual per capita income in the country is only $424, and Moussa makes much less than this? (figure from “U.S. Dept. of State” website)
Last Sunday, Moussa dressed up in his special clothes and amulets, holding a bag of fetishes, for the last time. He wanted Kevin to take a picture of him before and after, so he could show proof to others that he did, indeed, own these articles and that he had burned them. The church members gathered around and built a fire. The pile of clothing, amulets, and fetishes were placed on the ground, and in a final moment of surrender, Moussa untied two amulets that he had kept hidden under his new clothes and added them to the pile. Pastor Marcel read several scripture passages, and as the church members danced in celebration and sang songs of victory in Christ, the clothes, amulets, and fetishes were burned. After the ceremony, the believers gathered around Moussa and prayed for him, for his protection, for his testimony, and that God would use his example to help others who might be struggling to give up their fetishes as well. Please join them in their prayers for Moussa, that he would have no temptation to return to his animistic past and that he would continue to experience victory in Jesus with each passing day! (see pics)
SECOND WELL DIGGING CREW
We are in the middle of helping a second well digging crew, and it is going very well! These wells are actually not in the Kenedougou region, but since they are surrounding Bobo, Kevin and Toby are helping out with the team and the evangelism in the evenings. There has been response to the evangelism, which is encouraging. Please pray for these new believers and for the churches in these villages as they reach out to them and others whose lives are impacted by these new wells. Pray for the evangelism Monday-Thursday nights, that many people will respond to the message of Christ.
BUDGET WOES
I hate to talk about money. Even as field bookkeeper, when I’m very aware of what is happening financially and the struggles that are taking place because of a falling dollar, not enough coming in to the Great Commission Fund, and other financial “crunches” that are happening, I still hate to bring it up! For those of you who are praying for and giving to the Great Commission Fund (which is where we are supported from), and to our Work Specials (which enables us to do ministry projects), you have our heartfelt thanks. We couldn’t be out here without your help.
There is another area of concern that we need to bring to your awareness. As a Burkina Faso field, we have a budget that we need to work within. These budget funds come from the Great Commission Fund as well, and due to the “tightness” of that fund, we’ve had to make major budget cuts this year (about $20,000). We were conscientiously pretty tight with the original budget that we submitted, and with the cuts, you can imagine the pressures that our field is under when it comes to functioning within our budget. We have been given the opportunity to raise this $20,000 to help offset some of the cuts. Would you please pray that money would come in to help with this, so that we could continue on with the ministries as a field that we have envisioned doing this fiscal year? If God is impressing upon your heart to give towards this, we’d be grateful for anything you could do to help out. You can do so by sending a check to the CMA National Office (address below), writing on the memo line “Approved Special-Field Operations Burkina Faso”. Thank you for listening to my budget woes, and most of all, for praying that God would provide.
SEASONS GREETINGS
The dust is abounding, watermelons and cauliflower are in season, and it’s Christmas time in Burkina Faso! We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and pray that this time of year will be special for you and your loved ones. May God’s joy abound in your lives, and may you sense anew His love for you in sending His son, Jesus, to earth.
Thank you for praying!
Kevin, Bonnie, Daniel, Jacob, Abby, and Emma Oberg kevinoberg@cmaburkina.com
Financial info
How You Can Give To Our Ministry In Burkina Faso . . .
To give to the Great Commission Fund (GCF: general support fund for C&MA work at home & abroad, providing money to keep Alliance missionaries on overseas fields)
-or-
To give to the Oberg Work Special Fund (for ministry needs for our work here in Burkina Faso--email us if you’d like a list of projects we are working on):
-or-
To give towards the budget cuts that needed to be made for our Burkina Faso field this fiscal year :
1) Mail a check payable to The C&MA to the following address, with the appropriate information in the memo line of the check (include our name and the fund desired: i.e. “Oberg GCF/Support” or “Oberg Work Special” or “Approved Special: Field Operations Burkina Faso”): The C&MA, PO Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935
2) Go to www.cmalliance.org to give online with a credit card.