Holly at the "Rural Ramada"

This is the mission house in Bobo we slept at after our long trek in Mt. Tenakourou.

We've Returned From Burkina Faso, West Africa

Most of you know that I need a little time to process my trips before I can really talk about them much so while I do that, I thought I would share our 15 day schedule in country:

Oct. 8: Arrived in Ouagadougou

Oct. 9: Attended the International Church of Ouagadougou and looked for solar batteries.

Oct. 10: Traveled to Diebougou (where Lynn Kennedy lives).

Oct. 11: Visited the village of Naro where Holly taught a Bible lesson to the women in the village.

Oct. 12: Visited the village of Navielgan where Holly taught a Bible lesson to the women in the village. That evening we attended church in Kpakpara where I led the prayer meeting service. We also visited Naamwin Cilo (God's Joy), Fabiena, Mimi, Benedite and Angelique (orphans living in those villages).

Oct. 13: Visited the villages of Nakar and Balembar where Holly taught a Bible lesson to the women in both villages. We also visited Tommy, Anna and Raissa (orphans living in those villages).

Oct. 14-15: We installed a solar power system in the youth center at the ministry center in Kpakpara.

Oct. 16: Holly and I led the worship service at the church in Kamkaniba (the village we lived in on our very first trip to West Africa) and visited with Sanya.

Oct. 17: Traveled to Bobo and Banfora where we saw sugar cane, bananas and mango plantations. It's a long story (I'll write more later) but we did not make it to Mt. Tenakourou.

Oct. 18: Returned to Ouagadougou and did some shopping.

Oct. 19: Had dinner with the well drilling team from Canada, Friends In Action. They will be drilling 4 fresh water wells for Shattering Darkness in February.

Oct. 20: Traveled to Yako (just 30 kilometers from al-Qaida) to interview Lynn Peters from Burkina Faso Outreach concerning Christian school construction, funding and sustainability.

Oct. 21: Toured the schools in Yako and visited with the students and teachers then headed back to Ouagadougo. At 3PM we met with Amy Nehlsen at the Dorcas House (a home for girls at risk).

Oct. 22: Arrived at the airport at 7:30PM and got back to Orlando at 8:30PM on Sunday the 24th.

Looking forward to telling you more about the adventure and showing photos from the trip.

God bless!

"Beautiful Outlaw" by John Eldredge

John Eldredge sent me a copy of his new book "Beautiful Outlaw" a few days before I got on the plane heading for West Africa. It was an amazing way to spend the next 18 hours getting to know more about Jesus. The "real" Jesus! His human side and all of His struggles being both God and man.

In the book, Eldredge speaks often about the legalistic, religious spirit that we have grown up believing is the way to view Jesus, when the reality is that we just need to love Him and work on having a true relationship with the One that died for us on the cross.

This is something from the book that sort of sums it all up for me:

"Jesus won't take the shortcut of a power play. He seems rather reluctant to do His miracles. He never overwhelms anyone's will with a fantastic display of His majesty. We woos, He confronts, He delivers, He heals, He shoots straight, and then He uses intrigue. He lives out before them the most compelling view of God, shows them an incredibly attractive Holiness while shattering the religious glaze. But still, He lets them walk away if they choose."

Today Is The 3rd Anniversary Of "HE sent me"

Today is the 3rd anniversay of "HE sent me" and we will be spending it at Mt. Tenakourou, the site that may become our coffee plantaion.

Thank you all for your prayers and financial support that made it possible for us to accomplish so much in just a few short years!

BARKA!  BARKA!!

Our Work In The Villages Is Finished....

We had a great day of praise & and worship in Kamkaniba today. So many of our friends showed up to see us, it was like a family reunion. All of the villages we visited this trip have been so thankful and the love they show us brings tears to our eyes.

It will be so hard to leave Diebougou in the morning, Lynn's grand kids are amazing as well as the orphans. I'm sure it will be a very sad morning as we say good-bye.

Tomorrow we head west to Banfora where the waterfalls are and then up to Mt. Tenakourou to check out the possibility of starting a coffee plantation. We're spending the night at a mission house in Bobo and then back to Ouagadougou on Tuesday morning.

Wednesday we will be hosting dinner for the team that drills our fresh water wells and maintains them.

Thursday we will spend the day with Amy Nehlsen at the Dorcas House.

Friday we will be discussing school construction with Lynn Peters and touring some of her schools.

Saturday night we will be heading for home with lots of data to sort out and many happy memories of our 5th trip to Burkina Faso.

Thursday we will be touring the Dorcas House and meeting with Lynn Peters to discuss school construction and then visit some schools on Friday.

Friday night we head for home with a lot of data and memories of our 5th trip to West Africa....

Greetings From West Africa!!

Yesterday was a very busy day. We installed a solar power unit at the youth center in Kpakpara and then cleaned Lynn's house in Diebougou. Holly rearranged all of her furniture in her living room and it looks awesome!

Today we picked up trash at the ministry center in Kpakpara and then sat in on a Shattering Darkness board meeting.

Tomorrow we will be attending church in Kamkaniba, the first village we ever visited and assisted a medical team. Holly and I will be giving the message at the church service so please keep us in your prayers.

We love you all and look forward to our next update!!

We Visited Nakar And Balembar

We got up early today and went out to Nakar where I worked with a medical team in June of 2010. Holly taught the ladies at the church this morning and then we were off to Balembar. The maternity clinic in Balembar was the location of our first solar install in West Africa. After Holly taught the ladies at the church in Balembar we took her over to the clinic and there was a brand new baby that she got to see. Amazing day today!!

Arrived In Diebougou...

We left Ouagadougou early this morning and drove about 6 hours (southwest) to Diebougou. This is where we will bestaying for the next six days and traveling to a different village each day. I was able to locate batteries for the solar power unit before we left the city and will be installing it on Saturday at the churchs' youth center in Kpakpara. So many are excited about this because it will not only give the kids more time to learn about God, but also to study French and play games and other activities to keep them off the streets at night. Teen pregnancy and alcohol abuse is a very big problem here.

After arriving, we unpacked the truck and had dinner. The orphans got home from school shortly after that and did their homework and bathed.

I new the children were getting ready for bed and each one stopped by to say good-nite to me. As I settled into my reading, I looked up and they had all gathered in a circle, held hands and were saying their prayers. They were praying in French and Dagara and I could only pick out a few words that I knew but they were all very thankful for the things God had done for them today.

Tomorrow we get up early and head to the village of Naro about an hours drive. Holly will be speaking to the ladies to encourage them with their walk with God.

Please continue to pray for us as we pray for you!

Made it to DC...

on our way to Brussels in about an hour.

We made it to OIA!

All checked in at OIA and avoided a $600 baggage fee for the solar panels. Off to Washington DC at 1:05.

And I said, "Here am I, send me!"

As we pack for our trip to West Africa at the end of the week, I think of each one of you that made this trip possible through your prayers and financial support.

At the first of the year I felt God telling me that we were going in October but with only a few hundred dollars in our travel account, I didn't know how that would be possible.

Then I was reminded of... "But with God, all things are possible"

A big part of this is due to the support of Raptim Travel. We are on a very tight budget this year but God works through everyone to accomplish what He starts.

We will be on a "fact finding" mission to investigate human trafficking, village needs (both medical and spiritual), school  construction, growing coffee, cocoa and bananas and installing one solar power unit.

October 17 will mark the 3rd anniversary of "HE sent me" and I can't think of a better way to spend it than to be on the mission field. And we just learned a couple of weeks ago that due to the success of our first solar power installation in the "bush" maternity clinic in Balembar (just 15 months ago), the Burkina Faso government has installed solar panels in every clinic in the country!

IMPORTANT: I was just made aware that travel warnings have been issued to "Westerners" traveling in the northern part of Africa.

Please continue watching our blog for specific prayer needs!

There is no more important team member on a mission trip than the ones that commit to meet with the Lord daily on behalf of the ones who go. Thank you for being a part of the team!