Kpe-zuo not just training but also multiplying

Exciting news! We're on the next level in our leadership training. What I mean is Kpe-zuo has taken on a student of his own, Saanba-ire. This means that if can keep training Kpe-zuo and a few more guys like him to be able to also continue training leaders, there will be a vehicle for ongoing leadership training long after we've physically left Burkina.

In Wa-jiele, after my meeting with Kpe-zuo, we were not able to meet because of a wedding and 2 funerals (hmmm. . .sounds like a movie . . . )

Retreat!

The ladies went on a retreat and we guys left in dano, took advantage of the opportunity to give some attention to the transformation that is taking place on our team to include a more holistic approach to evangelism. "Holistic" here means not just looking for acceptance of a creed, although that is helpful, but transformation of their entire lives including heart, mind, body, and spirit. While we guys were trying to figure out what "holistic" means, the ladies were enjoying the pool and fellowship in Banfora. We weren't all business though, and I got to beat a bunch of teenagers at 21 on our new Basketball court, but I owe the victory only to something they were referring to as the "old man rule." Oh well, I'll take it where I can get it. In the picture below, from left to right (my lovely wife, Andrea Burk, then Amy Carter, and then on the Banfora team Pulcherie Gordon with her newest, and Tabitha Hauser, and then on our team again Melissa Johnson, and last but not least, Suzanne Richter).

Sunday worship in Nakar

I thought I was going to be late this Sunday to church in Nakar. I didn't get there until 9:30, but their worship service had not yet begun. They are meeting in a new place that is further away from the market and where they have purposefully put some benches and a cross in the ground to signify that this is a place only for the church. There was great singing and I taught the “nothing can separate you from the love of Christ” lesson from Romans.

Dropping off Equipment and doing some Research

Today, I went to Nakar to drop off equipment for the Jesus film. I really rushed through the process with them, because I had to make it out to another village to do some research about their new church building. You have to remember that these folks in Nakar have never seen anything any more complicated than a cell phone. I know many out there are thinking, "What could be more complicated than a cell phone?" Well I had to show them how to start and stop the generator, what cords to plug in for the dvd player, the electronic projector, the external speakers, etc. . . . and no one there had ever even seen a RCA-jack (the little red, white, and yellow plugs). Anyway, pray for a miracle tonight as they try to show the Jesus film in Nakar.

I also went to Nyinyime to do some research on the church building that the Nyinyime church just built. I was asking them questions like, "Do you think that churches with church buildings are better than churches without them? How will this building help with evangelism?" and also asking them about the new vaulted construction technique being used. It was a useful conversation. They are genuinely excited about the building and about the technique, although they still have some concerns and the village masons feel they need more experience as apprentices before they can start repeating the technique. They are really happy now to have a place to meet when it starts raining, although they're not too sure if it will hold up to a good rain. Failure at this point could really be detrimental on many fronts. Pray that their fears are un founded.

Church on time

Although Burkina is changing, that doesn't necessarily mean that it has changed entirely when it comes to telecommunications. We never know when a church will meet on Sunday mornings. Some days we may show up at 8 and wait until 9 or 10 for the church service to start. Other times We can show up at 9 and they will have already finished, which is what happened this Sunday. This originates from two situations. First, there is a shortage of watches among the Dagara and an even greater lack of interest in what they have to tell us about time. Second, Churches generally decide from week to week or even from moment to moment when they are going to meet based on circumstances going on in their communities (for example, furloughs or village market days, etc.) The majority of those who go to a given church, however, are usually within shouting distance of the church meeting place, so it's not so much of a problem for them.

Cellphones and Cancelations

Things are changing in Burkina. If you told me two years ago, that I would have more than a dial up connection to the Internet, once I got over the shock, I would kiss you on the forehead. Now I hear that we may have the opportunity to augment our speed again in a month or two (up to a Burkinabé 512k or something!). Also, I never would have believed back then that instead of driving out to a village and wondering whether or not people would show for a meeting, that they would call me a couple of days in advance to cancel the meeting. Now I'm none too excited about canceled meetings, but, wow, Burkina is changing! All this to say that my weekly meeting in Nyi-kpier, with kpe-zuo was cancelled, but I was able to do some catching up on my blog and do some preparations for a mini-team retreat in Dano, next week.

Cluster Worhips in Dano Pari on Easter Sunday

This Sunday we set out to go to church in 'Yo (love that village's name). Anyway, when we arrived, there was no worship service happening. Some people on the street informed us of the whereabouts of all the 'Yo Christians. They told us that there was a joint worship service in Dano-Pari. When we went to Dano-pari, we found representatives from 5 different churches there. They were mostly the leaders of those churches. It was a good time for the leaders to get together and not only worship God together, but encourage each other in a spirit of unity among several communities represented there. Dylan got to dance with the other kids at the end of services, and Daniel and I really enjoyed the riz-gras.

In the afternoon we celebrated Easter together with our teammates. We had our annual Easter egg hunt in the Carter's front lawn. Dylan looks pretty cute here with hand on hip and a "Now, where is that Easter egg" look in his eyes.

Communion and Passover

Kpe-zuo has been praying about taking on a student of his own, and I taught wa-jiele about the meaning of taking communion this morning. This evening we had a seder service, celebrating passover with our teammates and some fellow missionaries from out of town.

Game Park and Basketball Court

We got a basketball goal over furlough that the Richters graciously let us pack in their container. When faced with the possibility of either paying for an expensive concrete slab that would only benefit a cement conglomerate or paying a bunch of ladies from Dano Pari to put down a much less expensive earth and manure surface that thus contributed to the local economy we went with the latter.

However, since we missed the trip to the game park, while the Homewood visitors were here and since we don't just love the smell of manure, we took a little trek to our little game park in Burkina Faso. Andrea had never been and it was a great chance for her to practice some of her photography. We were really blessed to see some big animals especially lots of elephants in the wild. We had better pictures than this one, but I just wanted to give an idea how close to our truck a bunch of 5 ton animals were. We even got to see buffalo, which I had never seen in Nazinga before even though I've been many times. I will hopefully be posting many photos from the trip soon.

The Greatest Commandment

I went out to teach Kpe-zuo again today and to teach the church maturation lesson out in Wa-jiele. This is my favorite lesson, because it is the most important thing for us to learn to do as disciples of Christ - that is, to love God with all that we have and to love others as much as we love ourselves. This was the first time out in Wa-jiele that I saw someone shake their head in an obvious disagreement. I was talking about a self-sacrificial love, even in the midst of persecution, and this person just shook her head and said you can't do that. I agreed and said yes, without the power of the Spirit working in us, we cannot. The discussion of persecution and particularly the mocking of Christians, led to a discussion of denomination. This is a subject that I, at best, usually give cryptic answers to - things like, "We put all our faith in Jesus Christ and no other creed or method. Anyone else who puts all their faith in Jesus Christ who happens to go to a Catholic church or a Baptist church or an Assembly of God church is our brother or sister in Christ." However, for some reason this morning, I decided to go into a discussion of the Stone-Campbell movement in the united states and how their original intentions followed what I just said above. I think knowing where you come from can help when people are making fun of you and saying you're not really a legitimate religion, etc.