In God We Trust

” Jesus answered, it is written Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word from the mouth of God”

Matthew 4:4

Trusting as 2011 comes closer to the end that you have had a great year with your family and friends.  We have been very busy this year and had the pleasure of having Pastor Michel and his wife Lydia from Burkina Faso visit the United States for a month. Just before the Pastor arrived Julie and I were in Alabama visiting Allie our daughter. Our timing was not exactly great as we arrived the day that 25 tornadoes crossed the state causing great destruction. We hid in a basement as two tornadoes went right over the house but did not touchdown.The next day we received a call from a member of our church that knew we were visiting Alabama and long story made short, 15 people from our church headed to Pell City, Al to help with the cleanup. When Pastor Michel heard of the destruction, he asked if he could go and help. He said that we always help him and his people when there was a problem, and he wanted to help. He also called his son-in law in Burkina Faso and asked him to go out to the village that we had helped in the past. This village was very remote and the people lived in mud huts with virtually no service. They basically lived day to day. The pastor wanted them to raise $50 to give to a community in Alabama.

Several days later we headed to Alabama with Pastor Michel to hook up with our friends and also with Allison’s church New Hope Baptist Church in Pell City, Al who graciously welcomed us with open arms and hosted us at their church where we slept and were  fed every evening.

Pastor Paul & Pastor Michel

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and that evening Pastor Michel was asked to address the congregation along with senior Pastor of New Hope Paul Brasher. That evening Pastor Michel presented the$50 from Village Bankan in Burkina Faso. As I am sure you can appreciate that was a very moving moment on many levels. The following morning we headed out early to help with cleanup. Our friends had been working on small ranch in Shoal Creek Valley that had been hit very hard. The destruction is hard to explain but the 20 acres were pretty much wiped out. They were lucky to be alive. This is very hard physical work and it was very hot. The owner of the property was John Russell and he was amazed that we were there from Colorado and also the pastor was from West Africa. John was not a man of great means and lived on the property with his wife and mother and father in-law. Her mother and fathers home was totally destroyed along with several other structures. A tree fell through the back of the main house.

John Russell's Property

“The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation nor will people say here it is or there it is, because the kingdom of God is within you”

Luke 17:20-21

John’s wife was somewhat in shock and did not come out of the house, for more than a week. One morning several days later she came out and asked if the Pastor was really from Africa.

We explained that the village Bankan had sent $50 and that it was a very poor village. She was very overcome with emotion and went back in the house. Later that day when we stopped for water and she appeared on the porch with her 80 year old mother and presented the pastor with $200. She also explained that they had stopped going to church and that they would now be going to church again and that they would be sending more money to the pastor and telling everyone at church what had happened for them.

Neil Holsteen, John Russell & Pastor Michel

We headed back to Colorado to get back to visiting with as many people in the community as possible with Pastor Michel to solicit support for The Light of Hope University. Several weeks later Calvin Hemphill the founder of the Gemach Project and I headed off to Joplin, Missouri to help with cleanup after the horrible tornado that totally destroyed over 4000 homes. It looked like an Atomic bomb went off. Our church is now working on gathering a team to be disaster trained and ready to more formally respond in the future.

Joplin, Missouri - Total destruction

” Rise up o’God judge the earth, for all nations are your inheritance”

Psalm 82

AFRICA

Linda Ellis in Burkina Faso

In June, Dave  and Eileen Bidwell of African Hope Initiative (AHI) escorted Linda Ellis a AHI Advocate to Ouagadougou where she has committed to living for at least a year.Linda is deaf and went on the missions trip to Ouagadougou last November to work at  the Ephphatha school for the deaf and was overwhelmed by the warmth of  the people and the deaf children. She decided she wanted to do more and totally turned her life upside down and moved. Linda is getting acclimated and is working at the deaf school.  She also recently announced she was buying a scooter to get around. Those of you who have traveled to West Africa know what that means….Total chaos on the road. Please put Linda on your prayer list for safe travels on her scooter.   Eileen and Dave continued on for several more weeks with a trip to Niger and Benin, visiting partners of AHI.

Deaf School Classroom

This week there are 10 men from Grace Chapel who are visiting Burkina Faso . They have raised the money to finish an all purpose room at Ephphatha school for the deaf and will spend most of their time on construction. There is also group within this group who have been trained to fix water well pumps and a several men who will work at the Pastors church updating and fixing their sound system.

In addition, plans have been approved for the addition of a maternity ward at the Source of Life medical clinic and efforts are being made now to begin fundraising.

Our partnership with Community Bible Study International (CSBI) continues to flourish and more than  2000 pastors have already been trained. Discussions have begun to introduce a children’s program and also to start planning on training pastors in Niger. Also  members of Grace Chapel Lisa and Jason Bye have joined with CSBI and have recently returned from a trip to Burkina.

2011 planning has begun and planning for Christian Leadership training has also begun with the hope an exploratory team will advance the program by January.

“May the whole earth be filled with his glory”

Psalm 72

We will also begin a monthly fundraising effort for Ephphatha school for the deaf and The Village of Hope in the first quarter to help offset the constant disruption that takes place very day trying to pay bills.

As always your prayers, support and well wishes are greatly appreciated.

God Bless You…

African Hope Initiative has just embarked on a project to raise $250,000 to build an Obstetrics and Maternity Wing at the Source of Life Clinic in Burkina Faso. AHI Advocate, Judy Rose is leading the charge. Here is her story:

“I was about to step into the smallish room—not much bigger than a closet crowded with cardboard boxes—and burst into tears.  Not a silent trickle.  Full blown sobbing.  Stiffly, I backed out of the tight space.  I had two words for our photographer.  “Get pictures,” I gasped.  My fellow missionaries gaped at my reaction.  After all we had seen in Burkina Faso, what about this dingy place had moved me so?  I’d been thinking God brought me to Ouagadougou for my nominal French skills, but it wasn’t my abilities that God planned to use.  It was my pain.”

“My experiences with childbirth read like the depressing chapter of those What To Expect books.  Infertility.  Miscarriage.  Pre-eclampsia.  Pre-term labor and months of bed rest.  Gestational diabetes. Gall bladder complications.  And a C-section.  Three pregnancies later I had two healthy baby boys to show for it.”

 “Looking through the doorway into the ‘delivery room’ at the Source of Life clinic in Ouagadougou was enough.  The half table with the stirrups, the lack of modern delivery equipment, the stifling heat, bad lighting and shabby surroundings told the story.  I would not have made it here, I thought.  I would have died.  My children would have died.” 

“God had brought me halfway around the world to show me this one thing—this cheerless chamber—knowing that I would understand without being told.  When Dave Bidwell handed me the plans for the new maternity ward at the Source of Hope medical clinic a few days later, he knew God was speaking to me.”

“Only $250,000 is needed to create the new facility—far less than a comparable amenity in the United States.  If you have healthy children, or if you’ve suffered loss or pregnancy complications, God may be using your experiences to speak to you, too.”

Note: You can make a contribution to the Obstetrics/Maternity Wing through electronic check or credit card by clicking on the following link: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/eIL1ZJQK/africanhopeinitiative/sourceoflifemedicalclinics

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Greetings, we have received all of the final documents from the government of Burkina Faso.

This is a glorious time and the pastor’s vision for a 30,000 student University that will help change the continent of Africa is moving forward. The land has been acquired, the survey work is completed, the final drawings for the first building are ready to be executed. The Board of Directors of the University has been formed and the papers for teaching at a university level have been approved

The challenge now is to get the campus and first building started and begin classes. The government has put some deadlines in place and we need to begin classes by October 2011.

We need approximately one million dollars for this to happen and we are praying that by September 1, 2011 we will have secured these donations. If you have any ideas on how we can make this happen, please let us know.

We have accomplished a tremendous amount, but the time to step up has arrived.

Your blessings and prayers are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, please do hesitate to contact Bill Walsh (africabill@gmail.com) 303-638-7068 or Dave Bidwell (africadave@comcast.net) 303-808-4390

“Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action”                  Acts 7:22

The professional surveyor’s magazine, Point of Beginning, featured a story on the eMi team which surveyed and developed a site plan for the Light of Hope University last year. Pastor Michel’s inspirational vision for the university is made very clear, and the article affirms the active partnership between eMi, the African Hope Initiative, and the Word of Hope Foundation in Burkina Faso.  Kudos go to Randy Stelzner and David C. Lee who wrote the article.  You can read the online version by clicking on this link: http://www.pobonline.com/Articles/Article_Rotation/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000889436

The African Hope Initiative was launched a year ago, and it has been an exciting year as you can see in the blog below. Now we look to what is ahead in 2011. Among other initiatives, here are some highlights for 2011:

• The opening of the School of Business for the Light of Hope University in Ouagadougou.
• The completion of the Multi-purpose Hall at the Ephphatha School for the Deaf. This will provide a place for whole school to meet at once and for parents to more easily engage with the school, as well as helping supply income for the school as a rental hall for outside events.
• The launch of the agricultural project/orphanage in Benin. This will offer these orphaned kids to have training in a life skill which can provide an income for them.
• The expansion of the Community Bible Study initiative to almost 1000 churches across Burkina Faso. Imagine the personal study of the Bible and discussions that will take place.
• The building of a Maternity Wing at the Source of Life Clinic in Ouagadougou. Currently, there is such demand that women wait sitting on mats on the floor in a tiny room until just before they deliver.

Again, the African Hope Initiative works as a facilitator or catalyst by serving local initiatives through consulting, resourcing, and connecting the initiatives with other partners. The projects themselves are the work of local leaders who we are honored to encourage and serve.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

Take a look at this video, produced by Poverty Cure. It very powerfully shows why we at African Hope Initiative do what we do:

(Click on this link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxASM44gPlU

Our group will head off  to Burkina Faso, West Africa tomorrow. Among the group are professional deaf educators who will help teach deaf teachers at The Emphatha School for the Deaf in Ouagadougou and also develop a long term sustainable plan for the school and its planned growth. In addition we will be visiting small villages that we have visited before with The Gemach Project along with hopefully meeting with the  Burkina Faso Ambassador , The Minister of Education, The Prime Minister , Member’s of the Board of Assembly of God Church, Members of Leadership from Burkina Faso of Community Bible Study International, The Board of Directors of the planned Light of Hope University and others.We will be hosted by Lydia & Pastor Michel and their family .We will stay at the Village of Hope Boarding School, where they take care of 455 young people.

Then the LORD said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you.

Exodus 34:10

After 10 days in Burkina Faso, we will head to Brussels and Vienna to continue to tell about our voyage.

We are very excited to see our African friends and to see what God has planned for us on this journey.

As reported by Frank & Marian Vroegop-  Community Bible Study International

God fulfilled His promise in Habakkuk 1:5

“Look at the nations and watch – be utterly amazed! For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told.”

We are astounded at the privilege of joining God as He fulfilled His plan for Bible studies in Burkina Faso. God took the poorest country in the world and developed His ministry of Bible studies to His glory!

You prayed and supported us, and we want to share with you our exciting journey with our awesome God! Although we arrived late at the primitive Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, airport, Pastor Michel was there welcoming us with his big smile and open arms. The love of Christ quicklybonded us. On Sunday, together with 1,000 people, we worshiped in Pastor Michel’s church. We were asked to give a message on Joshua 6, and, afterward, three courageous people walked a very long aisle to kneel on the stage and accept Christ. Their bravery was secondary to their desperate need of Jesus. They will receive weeks of spiritual instruction from the church. What a glorious way to begin our ministry in Burkina Faso!

Pastor Benjamin

As our week continued, we discovered what great leaders God had prepared for us. Before we set foot in Burkina Faso, Pastors Michel and Benjamin made preparations for the training sessions: creating and printing CBSI Burkina Faso brochures, overseeing the translation and printing of Acts CBSI lessons into three languages, organizing food and lodging for more than 100 people for five days, arranging for microphones, computers, screens, generators (sorry, no fans), TV and radio coverage for the commissioning and providing an excellent translator for us. They did this and even more in an efficient, godly way and with economic wisdom.

Pastors doing homework

We trained in a very, very hot building from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with a break for lunch. We trained the pastors from the nine training centers for two days; then, we trained the other 100 regional leaders for three days. The nine center pastors assisted us in the larger training, which reinforced their own training. Under Pastor Benjamin’s direction, the nine center pastors will roll out CBSI to the 4,000 churches.

9 Center Leaders and Frank & Marian Vroegop - CBSI

During our training, we became friends as we interacted, role-played, learned and laughed together. Burkina Faso is a “story-telling culture,”so the pastors had a lot of fun telling what they discovered by studying God’s Word in their own language for the first time! They exclaimed, “We love this!” They learned the 5-step method of Biblestudy and are fully equipped to train others.

Graduating Class

We talked extensively on how to reach and help the illiterate as well as the literate in their villages. They committed to work together! They will start in Ouagadougou in two of the training centers and then expand from there. During October and November, extensive media awareness on radio and TV will coincide with the CBSI training sessions. Classes will begin in January. At the end of the training, Pastor Michel had arranged for a special commissioning service for the CBSI-trained pastors. Ministry leaders from all over Burkina Faso came to celebrate with us. Leaders from United Bible Society, Wycliffe, Youth for Christ, and many others attended the ceremony. Other national leaders from surrounding French-speaking African countries came to meet with Pastor Michel and join in God’s launching of CBSI Burkina Faso! TV and radio were there to broadcast the event.

Certificate

As we consider what God accomplished, we are astonished at what He overcame for us: we didn’t speak their language; we had to use a translator; we didn’t know their culture; we were not accustomed to their climate; and we didn’t have a clue how difficult it was for them to survive. BUT God knew it all. He had a plan for Bible studies in Burkina Faso, and He gave us His favor and blessed us by bonding our hearts together in love for Christ and love for each other. The universal language is love, and they heard our hearts! We met as strangers and left loving each other deeply.

Prayer of Dedication

By:  Mandi Darr, Educational Consultant for Individuals who are Deaf/HH

It was happening right before my eyes as I looked into the faces of students at a Colorado elementary school while simultaneously seeing into the hearts of the students at the Ephphatha School for the Deaf in Burkina Faso, Africa.  Skype video technology has opened communication with the potential to unite our globe in ways only our hearts can imagine.  The lasting impacts to students and staff in both countries are beyond my understanding.  Yet, as evidenced by emotional classroom dialogues following their Skype video experience this transformed the hearts and minds of many.

Colorado Classroom

How is this possible?  It is people who realized they can change the lives of others on the other side of the globe.  It is student council groups who have purchased chalk for the Deaf School in Burkina Faso.  It is neighbors and community who have provided household/school items shipped in containers to Africa.  It is schools throughout the state who have given clothing, school supplies and books to be used by other children who have almost nothing.  It is people, changed by their own involvement, who will be joining our team again to Burkina Faso this November 4 – 17, 2010.  It may be you.

Each trip to Burkina is different and focused on needs determined by their local leadership.  On past trips we have met with parents of children at the school, provided training for teachers and parents, modeled classroom instruction, presented hands on techniques and strategies, distributed donated supplies and set up a small computer lab.  During our March 2010 visit, an opportunity was created for regular and ongoing communication between Burkina Faso and Colorado.  The world is now open for continued training, mentoring of staff, opportunities to increase the language level of the students, student email pen pals, and growth for all.  Contributions made possible the installation of local internet service and a large flat screen monitor which we use regularly for Skype video and email contact.

Burkina Faso, West Africa classroom

Several Colorado school programs and two families have been able to communicate live with the students/staff in Burkina so far.  During one video call, everyone rejoiced when a Colorado first grader held their classroom pet turtle up to the web camera and the 49 students in first level class in Burkina signed “turtle” all together.  As their classmate with a cochlear implant stepped to the computer to speak, many 4^th grade students were moved to tears when the African students realized for the first time not all individuals who are Deaf have black skin.  We invite you to share in these experiences with us.  If you, your family or your students desire a heart transformation, if your group/classroom/club would like to adopt the school for a service project, or you would like to encourage the people at the school for the Deaf in Burkina in some way, please contact Janine Cole or myself.

You may have read a previous article in The Communicator about the Ephphatha School for the Deaf written by Janine Cole, Supervisor for Outreach for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the Wyoming Department of Education.  We are part of a non-profit organization called the African Hope Initiative (www.africanhopeinitiative.org) which was created to serve this school as well as support other initiatives in Burkina Faso.  You can see a video, spoken in English and interpreted in ASL, of the Ephphatha School for the Deaf on this website if you, your family or students are interested.  The three minute video provides information about the country, the school and gives you a visual picture of what life is like for these parents and children with hearing loss.

In the words of Paul Yanogo, principal at the Ephphatha School for the Deaf, (translated from French to English), “The students of our school were very happy to see the students of the Colorado school on Skype.  Your children are changing the lives of our children.  I hope we will see students again another time.  The students we have in our program are: 128 Deaf (72 boys and 56 girls) and 47 Hearing (21 boys and 26 girls).  Thank you that you think about us in Colorado.  Thank you for all of your support. May God bless all of you!”

Community Bible Study International of Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.communitybiblestudy.org)   Mission Statement: “To make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in our communities through caring, in-depth Bible study, available to all”, in partnership with the African Hope Initiative (www.africanhopeinitiative.org)  Mission Statement: “Inspired by the love and actions of Jesus Christ we are dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities and the health of our brothers and sisters in Africa.” and the Assembly of God churches in Burkina Faso, West Africa under the leadership of Pastor Michel Ouedraogo will be launching a national effort to involve many in small group Bible studies throughout the country. The effort under the local leadership of Pastor Benjamin Yanogo hopes to ultimately include everyone in the 7000+ AOG churches and other denominations there, then to seven other nearby nations.

Pastor Benjamin YANOGO

The first leadership training through CBSI trainers, Frank and Marian Vroegop will take place in September.  Pastor Benjamin has already put together a Board of Trustees for accountability, begun the process of translating materials into French, Moore and Dioula, and is preparing for the nation-wide distribution of those materials.

Marian & Frank Vroegop- ICBS & Dave Bidwell- African Hope initiative

Pastor Benjamin writes, “At the end of the day, we believe that as we use CBSI’s material, we will be able to build a strong Church, a Church made of disciples. In this day, before we get our “well done” word from Jesus, we will hear him telling you: “well done my beloved; you have allowed the people of Burkina Faso to get what I entrusted you for years. Rest in my love”. Then, we will all rejoice in Him.”

“Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”

Exodus 4:12