Burkina Faso Outreach :: BFOAfrica.org

Seventy to eighty percent of the population in Burkina Faso is Muslim or Animist.  Throughout the day, we see hundreds of men and boys washing their feet to prepare to worship Allah on their knees in the hot sun.  Others are sacrificing animals or using fetishes to place curses on family members.  Victims of rape are poisoned because of the evil they could bring to the family.  Children of incest are abandoned for the shame they bring.  Elderly women accused of being witches if several of their children die, are chased from the courtyard and permanently rejected by family. They don’t know a God as loving father. They don’t know the intimacy of a relationship with the God who cares about their heartaches and struggles and wants to help, comfort, guide and walk with them.  They don’t know a God who can heal their diseases or send rain to this dry land. 

The foundation of this work must be Jesus Christ.  A child can get to heaven without an education, but he can’t get to heaven without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.  Just think of the difference we can make if, in addition to teaching the academics of this world, we can teach them of the love of Christ.  A bag of corn may sustain them for a week; but a relationship with Christ will sustain them through eternity. 

So, in the process of project-planning, the question is asked, “How can this work be used to plant seeds of the gospel and share the love of Christ?”

• Bible lessons are included in the daily school curriculum
• Teen nights are held to give teens a safe place to meet and have fun.  They get to know other teens.  They work together on Bible skits, crafts and interactive games. 
• Movie Nights followed by discussion have been very popular, although it’s a challenge finding appropriate material. (Thus far, “Narnia” was a huge hit!)
  
• Home visits to the sponsored children are a great opportunity to share one-on-one.
• When the sick come for help, we must respond with compassion.  We may be their only glimpse of this loving God.  We help with whatever medical expenses are available but also offer to pray with them for comfort and healing.
• When the hungry come to us asking for food, we can give a sac of grain, but also look for a window to tell them how Christ can meet their needs.