Dearest Friends,
We had an incredible opportunity in the fall of 2021 to resupply our teams in Burkina Faso. We originally planted one team, and he trained 38 others! Though they are not equipped on the level of our first team, they are very effective in child evangelism. We were able to send thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment to help them with the work God has called them to do.
Burkinabes, as they are officially known, live in unimaginable poverty. 80% of the population relies on subsistence farming. Staple foods are sorghum, millet, rice, maize, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams, and okra. In theory, schools are free in Burkina Faso. However, that is often not the case. Particularly in rural areas, only 28% of high-school aged children actually go to high school or other secondary school. 62.7% of Burkinabes are Muslim, with 16% practicing Animism (animism is the belief that all living and nonliving things have souls). All of these facts help you to better understand how difficult it is for our teams to work in Burkina Faso, as they have very little themselves. They are sacrificial in the way that they use what they have to serve others.
You can see the joy on their faces in some of the photos above. As well as a picture of the tubs we sent full of blessings. There was another gift that we sent that has tremendous opportunity to impact children for Jesus. Because of Kelsey’s hard work, we were able to get our children’s tract translated into their language. We sent thousands of these on a separate trip. I was told that the children who received them will cherish them, and probably have them for years to come. Please pray for each child who receives one of these tracts. Ask God to use it in their lives to better understand His wonderful plan for them.
I especially want to thank each one of you who gave so generously so that we could bless all of these friends halfway around the world. I thank you for your prayers because it is prayer that opens doors. None of this would be possible without our partnership with Heidi Hayslip. She served for many years in Burkina Faso and has kept in touch with all the teams there, continuing to help them in every way that she can. I really appreciate her delivering all of this equipment and tracts so that the Burkina teams can do big things for Jesus.
In Jesus,
Linda, Danielle, John James, Elli, Jana, and Caleb