Volunteers on Mission with God

The unexpected has happened on all of our mission trips to Burkina Faso. But God has been faithful and empowered and provided for us in the midst of difficult circumstances.

We were warmly received by the villagers and by the village chief who visited us several times. God gave us many opportunities to share the Gospel message, both on a large scale and in many small group settings. My wife Kate and two other team members conducted a VBS program for a group of "missionary kids." We visited the village school, hospital and pharmacy. We were also able to spend some time with some local Christian pastors and encourage them. One team provided the villagers with copies of Genesis in their own language and two Arabic Bibles for the Muslim teachers. A Muslim teacher, excited about what he was learning from Genesis, said, "I've heard about many of these stories, I but haven't been able to read them for myself. Now I have light in areas of my life that used to be darkness."

One of the most exciting events was when the village chief gave us permission to show the "JESUS" film. As I watched 150-200 people gather in a courtyard around a small DVD player to watch the film (many standing for the entire two hours), I was struck by the fact that much of what I was seeing on the screen looked very similar to what I was seeing around me: mud huts, sheep wandering about, and men fishing from flat boats casting nets. There was a moment during the movie when Jesus makes his first appearance after rising from the dead. I was amazed when an audible gasp went through the crowd when they saw Jesus alive again. I've grown so accustomed to the story of the cross that I have taken for granted an essential part of the Good News - that Jesus rose again after dying for my sins. The audience's reaction, after hearing this news for the first time, brought tears to my eyes. The next day, the village chief said, "I wish we could show this movie every night." One missionary said this may have been the first movie these people had ever seen in their own language.

Please pray that God's Word will open hearts among the Jula people in Burkina Faso. Ask God to give us clear direction as our church plans to send teams to Burkina Faso in November 2007 and February 2008.

Daryl and Kate Wehmeyer
Eastside Baptist Church
Marietta, Georgia