A word from those baptized

Esther (pseudonym) shares about how God has been changing her lifestyle from that of a rebellious teenager to a disciple of Jesus. Her parents too have noticed a huge difference in her life and her happiness since she started making more of an effort to seek out her relationship with God.

Easter Day Baptisms at FEMO

It is tradition in Burkina (as it was in the Early Church) to baptise on Easter Day. Here, Eleanor commits herself to seeking relationship with God. Earlier, one Burkinabe pastor kidded us: don't let the person's head out of the water until they've seen Jesus! Well, we won't go that far. In Burkina, immersion baptism is the practice of all of the Protestant (Evangelical) churches.

Broken-hearted

Last night, one of the university students showed up at our house looking very dejected and troubled. Normally, he is quite upbeat and positive. In fact, I had never seen him like this before. I was worried that he had perhaps lost a member of his family, or else that there had been renewed problems on campus. People are talking about another professor strike which could possibly cancel the school year. There are still some very glaring problems on campus, namely the professor’s low salaries but also the student financial aid which has not yet come. The lack of aid has meant that some students are skimping on meals. To make matters worse, sometimes the university restaurants are not producing enough food. Many of the students did not get lunch yesterday, which in Burkina is the big meal of the day. And touching people’s food sources often leads to irrational thinking.

Our friend was one of those who did not get to eat. He showed up at our place around 6:30 pm looking rather famished and at the end of his wits. The real problem, we soon learned, was that he had a broken heart. This was new territory for all of us. We felt honoured that he would feel comfortable enough to come to us to get this off of his chest. He complained that he could no longer study or even sleep because he couldn’t stop thinking about this girl who was apparently not interested in him.

Contrary to my understanding of friendship (listen without throwing out advice), in Burkina friends are expected to give advice. So I shared some stories of girls who had let me down (dumped me, you might say) only to realize that God had something in store for me beyond my comprehension; something more fantastic than the most perfect relationship I could have dreamed of. We prayed together and our friend was on his way.

My fear for our friend is multifaceted. Is he spending too much time in our home observing our own family dynamics and imagining he could have a more western-style relationship with a girl when his culture dictates otherwise? Or is he sincerely interested in discerning how God wants men and women to live together? In any case, he may be ahead of his time in this culture. We have met other similar young people in the city who have a more traditional view of marriage: For the guy, a good wife means someone who is obedient, hard-working, knows how to cook and be a mother; for the girl, a good husband is someone who looks after the family financially, first and foremost. Other details like looks and personality play a very secondary role.

How does our culture define our intra-gender relationships? How should the Bible take precedence over these cultural definitions? I’d be interested in hearing your responses. Feel free to reply to this post, and any others that interest you.

-Jeff

April 2009 Prayer Letter

How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.. Psalm 119.9

Some of you who donated old film cameras might be wondering what became of them. Let me tell you the story of François. He bought one of the more quality cameras donated. These cameras were not just given away, but a reasonable price was agreed on and the money was given to the church. François not only paid back the money he gave for the camera (around $60 CAN) but he took the camera home over Christmas, took pictures of people in his village, and made enough money to pay for his entire university year. Not only that, but he is becoming a quality photographer. He has a gift. He is continuing to earn small amounts of money on the side with his camera as he continues his studies. Thanks again to all of you for donating the cameras. We will let you know if we can use more some time.

We are nearing the end of a baptism course which prepares the participants for a life of discipleship, marked by a baptism on April 12. Please pray for the two young women, both with fairly similar and difficult experiences, who are learning about discipleship and being new creations.

We praise God for…

• A smooth start to the university year.
• Energy during a very hot time of year.
• A successful change of motors in our car.

We request your prayer support for…

• Our baptismal candidates.
• Wisdom for discerning the future of the Foyer Evangélique Mennonite de Ouagadougou.

We welcome your contributions for our
support and invite you to send these to:

Mennonite Church Canada WITNESS
600 Shaftesbury Blvd
Winnipeg, MB, R3P 0M4

FEMO Choir

From time to time, the city churches appreciate trying a more western style of music.

University Renovations

One of the results of the professor strike in February was that what had been a big block of student housing on campus is being turned into office space for professors. The student housing is being moved quite a distance from the campus, compounding the problems students already face at the university as they seek out comfortable places to study, commute long distances on dangerous roads, and suffer from classrooms that are too small.