Witnessing a Spiritual Harvest

In December, 2005, our family moved to southern Burkina Faso to begin a new work among the Wala, a people group with a reputation for being resistant to the gospel. In the months that followed, prayerwalk teams, college students, family members, and other volunteers traveled from the USA to join us in our ministry to the Wala. As God opened the hearts of the Wala people, the strongholds of Satan began to crumble and the fallow ground was prepared for the seeds of the Gospel.

Now we find ourselves looking around and asking, "What next, Lord?" How precious these past few months have been as God has shown us where He is working and allowed us to participate with Him. One of our college students, Kristen Garrett, shared: "The memory that stands out most in my mind is when we went to our first village to share the Gospel. We had made an appointment earlier in the week and we came back a few days later at 8 pm. It was dark and the whole village was lit only by the glow of the moon. We walked through the paths between the mud and stone houses and it reminded me of what Jesus' time on earth would have been like. As we walked, the people ran to greet us. They were so excited to meet us and hear the words we had to share. I felt so privileged to be part of this amazing experience, to see their eyes so intent on what we had to say, and to see them accept Christ into their hearts and lives. That picture will stay with me forever."

Please pray for the 121 new believers and for the others in these four villages that heard the "creation to the cross" story and a clear gospel presentation. Each time an invitation was given, many people were eager to accept Christ. However, in one village, several of these new believers soon began to experience persecution from the religious leader of their neighborhood. Nine of the eleven decided to turn back because of fear. Pray that God will increase their faith and give them boldness to share their new faith with their family members, friends and neighbors. Pray that these new Christians will have a deep hunger for the Truth and for discipleship. Ask the Lord to draw the Wala people to Himself.

Phillip and Teresa Lyons, Wala Team