Burkina Faso – May 31

From Martha’s letter:

Pray that God will reveal Himself to each of us in a fresh and new way. Pray that God will transform all of our hearts into hearts that love Him and desire to serve Him more with each passing day. Pray that each of us will realize that it is not the junk that goes on in our daily lives that is important but a closer walk with Him.

More info:
Our national partner is a Burkinabe group called Shattering Darkness (http://www.shatteringdarkness.org) which has been ministering to the Burkinabe since the 1970’s. Their motto: “We are an indigenous church planting ministry, to unreached people groups. Because time is too short, people are too lost, and hell is too real.” This website is worth looking at if you have time. In the “gallery” there are a couple of slideshows of previous GHO medical trips and since Scott and I take few photos, this might be the best way to get a feel for what we will be doing. Also, there are some wonderful pictures and stories of their leaders you should not miss.

Burkina Faso – May 30

Today was the first clinic day for the team (they are 7 hours ahead of us).

Martha writes in her list of prayer requests:
Pray for our clinics. Pray that many will receive physical healing. More importantly, pray for spiritual healing. These people live in tough conditions and some have no hope of ever having things better where they live or even physically.

From Martha’s letter of May 13: This mission to Burkina is our biggest stretch yet.  We are expecting to encounter a lot of malaria, yellow fever, AIDS and severe malnutrition.  This is the second poorest country in Africa and the statistics are dismal, with life expectancy at 47, the HDI at 177 of 182 world nations, and 100% animistic religion mixed with Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. We will be rambling over 7 hours of back roads from Ouagadougou and will see hundreds of patients as we set up our clinics here and there, maybe perched under a wispy shade tree, beside a  mud hut or wherever we can find a flat spot.

Burkina Faso 5/29

As promised, here are some prayer requests for today from Martha’s list. Some have been answered already!

 

Pray for safety in travel and all of our medicines and equipment arrive on time as well as our personal things. (Yes! almost all anyway…)

Pray that everything will go well through customs. (Yes!)

Pray for our families back home for their safety and peace for them. They will be anxious because their loved ones are in a strange country and some may be separated from family for the first time.

Grace and peace, Karen

Safely in Burkina!

Hi everyone!  We made it safely to Burkina Faso with the whole team making their flights!  Several people made it through customs despite forgetting their Yellow Fever certificates.  One suitcase of a team member is lost – please pray for it to show up! 
We are staying at a Baptist conference center in the capitol; we have showers, beds and fans — even had pizza for dinner. 
We had a good time of fellowship tonight as we met with Lynn who is the missionary heading Shattering Darkness.  She has an amazing passion for God and for the people of this country.  We heard stories of the way God has worked in recent times and also of some of the ministry challenges, some of which are similar to those we face at home.
Tomorrow the licensed providers meet with the health minister and then we drive to the area where we will work for the next week.  We do not expect to have power or cell access, though you never know!  Please pray for the Holy Spirit to do mighty things during this next week – all for God’s glory! 

With the love of Christ,

Scott and Martha

Note from Karen: I’ll be posting some of Scott & Martha’s prayer requests and info about Burkina Faso daily, to keep this in the forefront of our minds. Thanks for being part of this!

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in ChristJesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ” You and we all in this together … Be intentional and look to join God in His work no matter what it is.
We have met most of our team here in Minneapolis. All looking forward to the project and opportunity to see God in a new context but knowing we are threaded into God’s global plan together with you. Pray!

On our way!

We are at SFO waiting to board. We appreciate all of your prayers; we have seen God’s hand at work this week as everything came together so well. We meet our team in a few hours – we are excited!

May God be glorified over these next few weeks!

There’s JOY in the offering: Burkina Faso

 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.   Isaiah 55:12

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glouk/with/5509065198/

Burkina Faso:  May 26-June 9

It’s with great joy and thankful hearts that we partner with you!

For a slide show of a previous GHO medical trips to this country, please see the following link to our in-country partners Shattering Darkness  http://www.shatteringdarkness.org/GALLERY.html .

It gives a little idea of what we will encounter in Burkina.  Since Scott and I are reluctant to stick the camera in people’s faces, this might be the best you will get.

Praying With You

 

 

VERSE AND THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:   Ephesians 3:14-21

14For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Burkina Faso villagers.  Strangers to us.  We have never met them, and never imagined ever meeting them….that is, until God called us to go to them.  Among those in these villages are men and women and children whom the Lord is calling to Himself.  They will hear the words of life that we are going to tell them and will receive these words with joy.  New, eternal, royal life is about to be in their lives.  The next time that we have the joy of being with them will likely be when we are before the throne of God together on that first and all-glorious day.  Won’t that be exciting! We will meet them as villagers, and we will leave them as brothers and sisters of ours in God’s royal family.

What should be our heart for them?  What do we desire for these who are about to come to new life in Christ?  What should be our prayer, even at this time, for them?  The heart of Paul for the Ephesians – mere strange villagers when he first met them, but dear brothers and sisters in God’ family when he left – should be the heart that we have as well.  As we think of these dear new saints that we will be leaving in Burkina Faso, let us begin as a team to pray (as Paul did for the Ephesians):

1)  that God would“strengthen them with might through his Spirit in their inner man”

2)  that “Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith”

3)  that they would be “rooted and grounded in love”

4)  that they “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height of the love of Christ for them, and

5)  that they “would be filled with all the fullness of God”.

Village strangers to us now …but in a few weeks from now, dear brothers and sisters that we will join one day before the Throne.  Following Paul’s example, let us begin, even now, to pray such intercessory prayers for these dear family members!

Bowing to the Father,

GHO Burkina Team Leader,   Anthony

Not sure what to pray for?

Not sure what to pray for?

 

May 16

We are starting to gather our supplies together and we think about getting them safely into Burkina.  Please pray with us that God would prepare the way for the supplies to get through customs.  I am sure our Burkinabe partners are hard at work in preparation for this outreach, so lets pray for them as well.

May 16

Let’s get started:

This is just off the top of my head today:

So, I’m thinking: Since God says He making Himself known in all the world, then anyone you or I  come into contact with should see Christ in us and  be irresistably drawn to worship God. So, let’s pray that we don’t stand in the way and thank God for His love for all people. May He be glorified everywhere, all the time, in and through your lives and ours.

From our high school Bible study last night:  Ah, that we would be healthy branches and abide in the Vine (John 15)! That we would allow the LORD to be the boss of us all!!! Pray that we would allow the Lord to do His pruning in our lives so that we would be more fruitful so others can see Jesus clearly and love Him.

May we all be obedient and faithful.

That’s enough for today.

Please add your own thoughts and prayers on this page so we can have a whole concert of prayer going here.

Global Health Outreach – Burkina Faso

Thank you for your partnership with us!   With 2 weeks before we depart, our team has become increasingly focused on preparing both physically and spiritually.  We appreciate your prayers and support as we yearn to keep our focus on the Lord and our hearts knit to His.

 

To SEE what we are going to be up to, click on our national partner’s link: http://www.shatteringdarkness.org/HOME.html

Look in the gallery on that site to see the GHO team from 2009 (the second video)

Look at the pictures under “Leadership Team”  and get excited as you read about the young leaders God has already lifted up in Burkina – SO encouraging!

Leave a comment so we can all be encouraged.