(This is a bit long as you haven’t gotten an update from us in a while, but don’t let it discourage you. I GUARANTEE you’ll be VERY encouraged after you read this report!)
GOD’S GIFT TO US
Thank you so much for those who have been praying over these past weeks for our family and extended family. Kevin’s dad (Sam) is rejoicing in heaven, and even though we miss him here on this earth, we are experiencing God’s comfort and peace in incredible ways. The burial and memorial services were a tribute to his life—honoring a man who touched the lives of many people and glorifying God for all He has done for us. (See pic of Kevin’s parents, Sam and Edythe, taken about one week before Sam’s death.)
These have been good days with family—times of laughter, times of crying, sometimes all mixed up together! What joy God can give in the midst of sorrow. Some of you may be interested in knowing that Kevin and his brothers built the casket for their father. This ended up being a very special thing for them to do together, and looking back, we decided we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. (See picture)
Thank you to those who gave towards our airline tickets. We have been humbly touched by the generosity of many, and those tickets are paid in full! The Alliance churches in Dallas, Moses Lake, and Bainbridge took special love offerings toward those tickets, and we received gifts from other churches and individuals as well. We have been well taken care of by the Dallas Church—warm clothes, lots of food for the Oberg clan, and how great it was to see Pastor Ian carrying a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper into the living room one night! :o)
We are set to return to Burkina on Feb. 12th and will arrive on the 14th. Please remember us in prayer as we make that LONG voyage across the ocean. Please continue to PRAY for Kevin’s mom as she adjusts to a new way of life these days.
OVER 300 EMAILS and MY APOLOGIES!
As you can probably imagine, with the holidays, my sister and her hubby’s visit, and this trip to the States, my inbox ended up overflowing! I ended up with over 300 emails and just couldn’t see how I could possibly respond to everyone without spending my entire time in the States doing so! If you did not get a personal response to an email that you sent to me, I apologize—know that your encouraging words and assurances of prayer touched our lives and we are so grateful for everyone who wrote to let us know. If you had a question that I didn’t answer, please send me another email. I basically had to go through and delete almost everything with the idea that I would start over!
UPDATE FROM BURKINA—THIS IS MOST EXCITING!!!!!!
With our flight to the States, our Burkina team has really had to come to bat for us in some of the areas that we had to leave “undone”. We are so grateful for our missionary family there—we couldn’t ask for a better team of people to work with. The hardest thing for us to leave was the 10 day evangelism tour that Kevin was going to be helping a group of Alliance Women do in Ndorola, Sirasso, and surrounding villages. God knew ahead of time that this would happen when Toby and Kiersten Hull joined up with us to work in the Kenedougou region—Toby simply readjusted his schedule and took on that trip. And how exciting it has been!
The Hulls sent us a report that during the evangelism time in Ndorola, over 30 people responded to the gospel message. This was so encouraging, as during our Christmas evangelism that took place in Ndorola, there was no response. Could some of these who responded recently have been seeds that were planted at Christmas time? And we’ve had most encouraging news from the village of Siri, which is about 3 kilometers from Ndorola. This is a Bolon village that has been very closed to the gospel in past years, and even when they had their planning meeting to schedule the evangelism, the pastors were not sure if we should even go there. Maybe it would be wiser to go to another village where there might be more openness? But, they decided that they would go to Siri anyways. That was a decision that was led by God, as they had 50-60 people respond to the gospel in that village! The very first night, the Alliance Women’s group met with 23 women and the pastors met with 27 men who wrote down their names for follow up—answering questions, explaining further the decision that they were making. WOW! God was obviously at work in the hearts of the people in this village, calling them to Himself.
Please PRAY for Pastor Samuel and his wife, Elizabeth, as they have many new contacts now that they are going to be following up with. It is an exciting time for them as well—please PRAY that God will give them the words to say to encourage these new believers and help them grow in their faith. PRAY against any persecution that the enemy would try to use to discourage these new Christians and make them want to turn their backs on Christ. PRAY that they would attend the Ndorola church and that their lives would change and be a testimony to their family and friends.
The already full hangar of the Ndorola church just got overflowing! Please PRAY for our church construction project in Sirasso to finish soon so that we can start on the much needed church building in Ndorola. For those who would like to give towards these church construction projects, you can do so by sending any contributions to our “work special” account. See below for how to do so. We could really use your help if God is encouraging you to be a part of this in this way. Most of all, PRAY!
ENCOURAGING YOU—KEEP PRAYING! IT IS MAKING A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
Our colleagues, the Hulls, have been involved with church planting and evangelism in another area of the country before our field leadership team made the decision that they would join forces with us. Toby made a comment after a few evangelism trips into the Kenedougou region that he was amazed at the difference in the open response of the people to the gospel, compared to where he had been working. Same type of evangelism and church planting methodology, same people groups—what was the difference? He deducted that it had to be the amount of prayer support that we have for the Kenedougou region, which is vastly greater than for the area where they had been working. I tell you this because your prayers are making a difference! The results that are taking place in the Kenedougou are because God is at work through your prayers. Please don’t stop! There is a momentum that is kicking in, and it is exciting to see groups of believers growing, pastors being assigned to these villages, and new groups started in areas where there has not been a Christian presence ever before. Thank you for the eternal difference that you are making in the lives of so many people. We honestly believe that we would not be seeing these results without your involvement through prayer.
OTHER ITEMS TO PRAY FOR:
*Our Burkina team is going to be having their prayer conference Feb 7-10. A team from Salem, OR, is going to come out and minister to them during these days. Please PRAY for a special time of anointing from the Holy Spirit and a wonderful time together.
*We are electing a new field director during the prayer conference time as well, as Steve and Amy Nehlsen (current field director couple) are going on home assignment this summer. Please PRAY for God’s leading in this decision.
*Upon our return to Burkina, we are going to be inundated with “catching up”. Please PRAY for Bonnie especially with the bookkeeping (this is also a busy time of year because we are setting the budget for next year) and with the home schooling. PRAY that our kids will be able to jump back into school well after having had a 7 week break!
Keep on praying! God is at work!
Kevin, Bonnie, Daniel, Jacob, Abby, and Emma Oberg
kevinoberg@cmaburkina.com
Check out our field website!!
http://burkinaalliance.org You’ll see new pictures, read new stories, and find all the facts you need about Burkina Faso.
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):
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”): The C&MA, PO Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935
2) Go to www.cmalliance.org to give online with a credit card.