A RELAXING VACATION
Thank you SO much for praying for our vacation to Ouaga. It was the most relaxing and restful time we’ve ever had in taking a vacation to Ouaga. We did a lot of “hanging out”—doing puzzles, watching movies, going swimming, and eating at our favorite restaurants. It rained twice while we were there, which was very refreshing during this time of year when it can get quite “steamy” between rains. We got caught up on our rest and feel ready to tackle life and ministry again with full force. Thanks so much for praying for us. (Also got in a visit in to our famous “Faso Park”-see picture! :o)
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
We were encouraged recently by Gregoire, one of the believers in the Kenedougou region, and thought you might be encouraged as well. He attended the leadership conference held in Banzon several weeks ago, and at one point, the discussion was centered on prayer. Gregoire was giving testimony of how he has seen God answer prayer in his life. He was telling the group that he had prayed for over 10 years that God would send someone to work with the believers in the Kenedougou region in evangelism and church planting, and when we arrived to begin working in the region in 2005, he was thrilled to see the answer to that prayer.
Gregoire prays faithfully every day, as he gets up in the morning and as he lies down to go to bed at night. During the discussion time, he was asked who he prays for. Gregoire listed family members, friends, his village (in which he and his family are the only believers), the pastor in Ndorola where he attends church, etc. Kevin jokingly added, “And you pray for Kevin, right?” Everyone chuckled and the conversation moved on.
After the discussion time was over, Gregoire came to Kevin and asked if he could talk to him. He confessed that during the conversation about prayer, that the Holy Spirit convicted his heart, because once the prayer request for a missionary to come work in the region was answered, Gregoire stopped praying for the missionary. He asked Kevin to forgive him for not continuing to pray for him, his family, and the missionary work in the Kenedougou region. He vowed that he was going to add us to his daily list again.
Kevin was a bit taken aback. He was simply joking when he asked about being prayed for, and yet the Holy Spirit used those words to gently speak to Gregoire about continuing on in prayer, about “praying without ceasing”. It was a good reminder to us, as we reflected back on how many times we have fervently prayed for something, and then once we see the answer to that prayer, we give thanks and then cross it off our prayer list! May we all pray without ceasing and be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our prayer lives.
ANOTHER BELIEVER IN GREGOIRE’S VILLAGE
When evangelism was done this past season in Gregoire’s village (near Ndorola), we had asked you to pray because Gregoire and his family were the only believers in that village. During the evangelism time, there was no outward response, but we could only hope that seeds had been planted and that God would reap a harvest one day.
A person in Gregoire’s village became very sick this past month, and Gregoire prayed for him for healing. This man was healed and also accepted Christ as his Savoir! Gregoire and his family were thrilled to have another believer in this village. Please PRAY that this man would grow in his faith, and that more believers would be added to their number.
“RIDING ALONG IN MY AUTOMOBILE”
We are so thankful to have a great vehicle to do ministry in the Kenedougou region. We have 4-wheel drive to get us through muddy roads (rivers) during rainy season, we have enough room to haul people around for evangelism trips, we have air conditioning which helps keep us from being exhausted by the time we get to our destination, and we consider it a true blessing to have such reliable transportation.
Many of you prayed for the funding for this vehicle to come in, and many of you gave towards the purchase. Thank you so much! It took a while to get it through customs for the final costs, and then life got really busy, and many, many months ago, we told you we would let you know if there was anything remaining from the cost of that vehicle purchase. Well, unfortunately, I’m just getting around to communicating that, and we do have about $5,600 left to pay. Please PRAY with us that the funds would come in for this vehicle. And if you feel God prompting you to give towards this purchase, please see the financial information below.
KEEP PRAYING FOR THE MOSES LAKE TEAM
We are gearing up for the arrival of the Moses Lake, WA, youth team that will be coming. Kevin and Toby will be going to pick them up from the airport on June 15th, about 1 ½ weeks away! Please continue to PRAY for this team, as they are making final preparations and packing up to come. There are 8 youth coming, as well as the youth pastor and one of the youth leaders. (For those of you who don’t know, Bonnie grew up in the Moses Lake church, and so this is especially fun having a team come from her home church!) Next week, we’ll give you a list of prayer requests to cover their time in prayer, and then the following week, we’ll give you their schedule so that you can pray specifically for the activities that they’ll be doing while they are here.
BURKINA FAMILY NEWS
I (Bonnie) am looking forward to going to Ouaga again this weekend with several of my Bobo colleagues to attend the graduation ceremony of the International School of Ouagadougou. Five of our MK girls are graduating—Rachelle Albright, Lindsey Burg, Rachel Harrison, Abby Nehlsen, and Abby Wolters! All five are getting great scholarships at various Christian colleges in the States in the fall (Rachel will be attending Simpson University—YEAH!!), and we are so proud of them. Please PRAY for them as they make the transition to living in the States, and for the gap that they are going to leave here in Burkina. PRAY for the adjustment for each of their families—sending a child off to college when they can still come home for vacations is one thing—sending them all the way around the world is quite another! Most of all, please PRAY that these young ladies would grow in their love for Christ and desire to serve Him all of their days. (see picture)
Our Graduating Seniors: