Just thought I would give a quick update on our busy weekend:

The Youth outreaches - Amazing!  The youth did an amazing job on the dramas (they were taught by the best - Heidi!).  We had 3 groups each day come for both Thursday and Friday, 300 people total.  We performed the Gospel Drama, then the “chair skit” where we had a bunch o’ fun.  Cool testimony:
Read more…

It’s going to be a busy weekend! (Check out the Calendar.) Here are the things we’ve got goin on:

1. Thursday and Friday (7-10:30 am) We will be helping the youthgroup with some outreaches here in Ouagadougou.  Heidi did a fantastic job teaching them our “Jesus Skit” (Check out the video of it).  The youthgroup (ex-pat kids here in Burkina) raised $20,000+ to help a ministry here that does food distributions.  Heidi and I will help them perform and share the Gospel
2. Friday, Monday and Tuesday (7am - 3pm)  Dr Peter is giving physicals to about 500 kids here in Ouagadougou! (check out a report on a previous one)  We generally help out by doing social and evangelistic outreaches, but it’s going to be hard this time - we REALLY need an evangelism team that go out even when Joseph and I are swamped…
3. Saturday, Sunday (3pm - 9 pm)  Soccer Evangelism at a field near Joseph’s house.  Neighborhood teams, church teams and even the “Kids of Hope” garibou team are all competing for the trophy.  During the matches, the Gospel is shared, and at the trophy ceremony (Heidi is going to make a soccer cake for the winners), we will show the “Godman” video, give out Book of Hope books, Joseph will have a live concert, and we will share the Gospel.  Fun!!
4. Saturday (10:30 am) Silas’ 2nd birthday!  Yahoo!
5. Sunday (10:30) Heidi and I lead worship at the “International Bible Fellowship”.
6. Sunday (6 pm) - One Week  This is the one I am most excited about!!  We are welcoming 12 children pastors from 4 different regions of Burkina Faso. These are the leaders from the areas we have already trained, and they are coming to get advanced training, and to talk about a new followup program.  I promise that there will be much more info about this!

Be praying with us - this will be a fun but busy weekend.

Wow!

Our first outreach of 2009 was a great success!  We joined with the Dr Peter, a Belgian doctor that has been living here for a while, and while he and his team of 5 doctors and 2 nurses examined 370 kids (wheew!), our team took care of the outreaches.

We started with the social skits, using music and fun costumes to show the kids the importance of good hygiene.  It’s the story of Doudou and Toto, 2 school-age kids, as they make decisions throughout their lives.  Doudou makes good decisions (he doesn’t eat the old food, he sleeps under the mosquito net, and he goes to school everyday), while Toto, well Toto has some problems. (he eats old food and gets loud gas, he sleeps outside, gets malaria and has to get a HUGE shot, and he skips school and misses out on a gift).  The kids really get this, and it is all reenforced by a dancing and singing lion who sings “I say yes, yes, yes to hygiene!!”

After this 25 minute presentation, we invite the kids to see more that evening at the soccer field (i.e. large, flat dirt field).

That evening, after the exhausted doctors went home, our team performed 2 dramas: the Gospel drama that we have been performing now for years, and the “sin chair” skit, a great little skit about how noone but God can rescue us from the entanglement of sin.   We had about 150- 200 kids show up.

Later that night, Jakob stayed with Joseph and Issaca (plays Toto) and I to show the kids a film from Book of Hope called “God man”.

About 25 kids came forward to hear about how they can make Jesus their Lord.

What a great first outreach!  Thank you for your prayers:  No car problems, no equipment malfunctions, nothing weird or bizarre.  It was tiring, but VERY rewarding!