For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. – Luke 1.49
Holiday greetings to you and your family! May the Peace that seemed completely inconceivable during the turbulent times of the Gospels become a reality in the midst of your own turbulent times this season.
Someone asked the other day what I (Jeff) consider a “God-thing”. Three examples from our context here in Burkina Faso:
1. Marcel was a quiet, shy teen in his village church close to the town of Tougan, some 300 km northwest of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. His friends now cannot believe the transformation in this young man. Not only has he stepped in to fill a leadership role in our new Sunday School program at the Foyer Mennonite Evangélique de Ouagadougou, but he leads passionate prayer services on Sunday evenings. Following a prayer service last week, the wife of our pastor, Noélie, stood up and shared a dream she had had just the previous week. In it she saw Marcel wearing the same shirt he was that evening and giving a powerful exhortation to the congregation. She expressed her joy in how God is using Marcel and developing his gifts for God’s glory. Dreams are taken almost as reality here. The realization of this dream in the context of our church was evidence of a “God-thing” to our congregation.
2. Shortly after the above incident, one of the young leaders who we have been nurturing along for the last 3 and a half years gave the sermon. It was so good that afterwards the worship leader led an impromptu “laying of hands” on this young man, who everyone respects. The worship leader prayed that God would open doors so that this young leader might use his gifts to glorify God and the church. The whole thing pleasantly surprised us because, although we had been encouraging this young man to keep thinking about church leadership, he now seemed to have the blessing (and push) of the community – and this was all completely unplanned, without our knowledge. This comes at a crucial time as our church is in the process of discerning its future in Ouagadougou.
3. God has answered our prayers in an enormous way by calling Nicodème Coulibaly to the position of Executive Director of the Burkina Faso Partnership Council. We were in our annual meetings, once again blocked by the question of what to do without someone in this position. (For the moment, Tany is doing the finances of this position, but there are many other administrative tasks that can fall through the cracks.) International partners had expressed their strong desire that this be a Burkinabé that assumes this leadership position. What makes this all such a “God-thing” from the Burkina perspective is that Nicodème’s name just kind of came to me suddenly during the meeting. Nobody had mentioned him previous to this, possibly because he is relatively young for a Burkina church leader. When I mentioned the name, it was as if we had finally found the missing puzzle piece that we had been seeking for the past 3 years – and it was right under our noses! It is awe-some what God is doing among the young people in the Burkina Faso Mennonite Church. The youth are taking the helm – the future is bright!
*****
The university year is finally nearing its end, with many students having completed their first round of exams. If they pass, they are exempt from the second round. Many who are in this situation are returning to their villages for Christmas.
We have already hosted one new student from the Mennonite Church in Orodara, who came to Ouagadougou to register at the university for the next academic year. So we are getting ready for the transition of students exiting and new students entering our residence building.
We praise God for…
- The visit of Jeff’s parents and for good health during this time.
- The young leaders God is developing in Burkina Faso. Our sister Mennonite church in Bobo (Burkina’s second largest city) has sent a young man to Bible School who will likely take a much-needed leadership role in that church upon completion of his studies.
- Cooler nights and the hope God gives that good health is returning for us all, despite all the dust.
We request your prayer support for…
- Land – the Ouaga church has decided to look into land prices, even though we have no idea where funding for this might come from. Purchasing land can be a very tricky process. Pray that God would guide us and allow us to make wise decisions.
- Students who are preparing to write the second rounds of exams. This can be a stressful time because not passing the exams means failing the school year, losing a year of tuition, and maybe being excluded from bursaries and other student financial aid.
