Dear friends,
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our family and for our ministry. Although our stateside assignment time was hectic (7 states in 9 weeks), we were able to accomplish all of our goals, including wonderful, refreshing visits with family and friends, encouraging visits with supporting and partnering churches, attending debriefing conference in Richmond, VA, and touring 6 universities with James and Robbie. We screamed our way through roller coaster and water rides, relaxed at the beach with friends, canoed on an Arkansas river, jumped off a bridge into the North River in Massachusetts, attended a Boston Red Sox game, and cried when my 94 year-old Aunt Ora passed away. We reconnected with family at two fantastic reunions and enjoyed having Adam and Lydia, Jay's niece and nephew, with us for a couple of weeks. A resounding thank you goes to our home church family at Scotts Hill Baptist in North Carolina who rented us a mini-van for our extensive travels.
We are back once again in Burkina Faso, where we are enjoying the privilege that it is to be ambassadors for Christ among peoples who need desperately to hear the good news of His love and sacrifice on our behalf. The children have returned to school, and this past weekend we celebrated Robbie's birthday at the new paintball course in the city of Ouagadougou. The last week of October, our children will be joining other members of their youth group on a mission trip to southern Burkina with the intent to share Christ with the children of a village where a Christian Peace Corps worker lives. Please remember to pray for James, Robbie, and Madeleine, who are not just missionary kids, but kids who are missionary. They very much desire to have an intentional witness in their school, the International School of Ouagadougou. Pray that God will give them opportunities to share Christ with their friends. Pray also for the preparation of this mission trip as they learn how to share their faith in several different ways.
We are privileged to have two Southern Baptist churches "partnering" with us to reach the Bissa for Christ. As you pray for us and for the Bissa, please include Scotts Hill Baptist of Wilmington, NC and First Baptist Church, Clarksville, Tennessee in your prayers. These two churches are going the extra mile in helping the Bissa hear the gospel. Both are regularly sending evangelistic mission teams to West Africa.
Scotts Hill has adopted and engaged the Bissa people of Accra, Ghana. As reported from the team from Scotts Hill:
The Scotts Hill team continues to stand in awe of the work that God is doing among the Bissa in Accra. The team has made contact with Bissa in seven areas of the city. They are continuing to share the Gospel through various methods of personal evangelism and the Jesus Film. In September the team baptized three new believers. They have also seen a bible study formed in Maamobi with four of the believers attending weekly. Dramane, a young man who first heard the Gospel in Garango and who prayed to receive Christ in February 2008 was one of those who were baptized. He is leading the bible study in Maamobi. The team will return to Accra in February. Please praise the Father with us for Scotts Hill's commitment to push back darkness in Accra as they share the truth of the Light with the Bissa there.
First Baptist Church Clarksville, Tennessee has adopted and engaged the Bissa of northern Ghana. This very week, a team from FBC Clarksville is doing both evangelism in villages and health care ministry at the Baptist Medical Centre of Nalerigu, Ghana. Many Bissa from northern Ghana, as well as others from other people groups, seek physical healing at BMC. When they arrive, they find both their physical and spiritual needs attended to. Pray for FBC Clarksville as they share Christ with Muslim Bissa men and women who, for a long time, have been closed to the gospel. Pray for those who minister at the BMC to have the compassion and vision to offer both physical and spiritual healing to the patients who come to the hospital.
We are pleased to share that we have two new members on the Bissa team. Todd Groff and T.K. Uhrich are semester missionaries through the HandsOn program for young adults offered by the International Mission Board. They are presently in northern Ghana and, with Jay, will be working alongside the Clarksville team in village evangelism ministry. We've been amazed and very proud of the progress that they've made in Bissa language study. Already they've been able to share the gospel with several Bissa families who live here in Ouaga. Pray specifically for a young Bissa man named Adam whom they have befriended. He is fasting and praying during Ramadan. Ask the Holy Spirit to use T.K. and Todd's witness to convict his heart of the truth of God's word as he seeks God during this Muslim holy month.
Some of you have been praying for my friend, Solange. She is the president of Baptist Women in Ouagadougou and a tireless worker in Baptist women's ministry in the entire country. Solange will be traveling to northern Benin on October 12 for hip surgery. She has advanced arthritis in both hips and will have replacement surgery in mid-October. Please pray that the hands of the visiting doctors who do her surgery will be guided by the Holy Spirit. Pray for quick recovery so that she can return home to her family as soon as possible.
Many thanks to all of you for your prayerful support. A special thanks to our Southern Baptist friends. We are reminded regularly by the daily needs in life that without your financial support of the IMB through both Lottie Moon Christmas offering and the Cooperative Program, we would not be able to continue this ministry.
Blessings,
Jay & Kathy Shafto
James, Robbie & Madeleine
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our family and for our ministry. Although our stateside assignment time was hectic (7 states in 9 weeks), we were able to accomplish all of our goals, including wonderful, refreshing visits with family and friends, encouraging visits with supporting and partnering churches, attending debriefing conference in Richmond, VA, and touring 6 universities with James and Robbie. We screamed our way through roller coaster and water rides, relaxed at the beach with friends, canoed on an Arkansas river, jumped off a bridge into the North River in Massachusetts, attended a Boston Red Sox game, and cried when my 94 year-old Aunt Ora passed away. We reconnected with family at two fantastic reunions and enjoyed having Adam and Lydia, Jay's niece and nephew, with us for a couple of weeks. A resounding thank you goes to our home church family at Scotts Hill Baptist in North Carolina who rented us a mini-van for our extensive travels.
We are back once again in Burkina Faso, where we are enjoying the privilege that it is to be ambassadors for Christ among peoples who need desperately to hear the good news of His love and sacrifice on our behalf. The children have returned to school, and this past weekend we celebrated Robbie's birthday at the new paintball course in the city of Ouagadougou. The last week of October, our children will be joining other members of their youth group on a mission trip to southern Burkina with the intent to share Christ with the children of a village where a Christian Peace Corps worker lives. Please remember to pray for James, Robbie, and Madeleine, who are not just missionary kids, but kids who are missionary. They very much desire to have an intentional witness in their school, the International School of Ouagadougou. Pray that God will give them opportunities to share Christ with their friends. Pray also for the preparation of this mission trip as they learn how to share their faith in several different ways.
We are privileged to have two Southern Baptist churches "partnering" with us to reach the Bissa for Christ. As you pray for us and for the Bissa, please include Scotts Hill Baptist of Wilmington, NC and First Baptist Church, Clarksville, Tennessee in your prayers. These two churches are going the extra mile in helping the Bissa hear the gospel. Both are regularly sending evangelistic mission teams to West Africa.
Scotts Hill has adopted and engaged the Bissa people of Accra, Ghana. As reported from the team from Scotts Hill:The Scotts Hill team continues to stand in awe of the work that God is doing among the Bissa in Accra. The team has made contact with Bissa in seven areas of the city. They are continuing to share the Gospel through various methods of personal evangelism and the Jesus Film. In September the team baptized three new believers. They have also seen a bible study formed in Maamobi with four of the believers attending weekly. Dramane, a young man who first heard the Gospel in Garango and who prayed to receive Christ in February 2008 was one of those who were baptized. He is leading the bible study in Maamobi. The team will return to Accra in February. Please praise the Father with us for Scotts Hill's commitment to push back darkness in Accra as they share the truth of the Light with the Bissa there.
First Baptist Church Clarksville, Tennessee has adopted and engaged the Bissa of northern Ghana. This very week, a team from FBC Clarksville is doing both evangelism in villages and health care ministry at the Baptist Medical Centre of Nalerigu, Ghana. Many Bissa from northern Ghana, as well as others from other people groups, seek physical healing at BMC. When they arrive, they find both their physical and spiritual needs attended to. Pray for FBC Clarksville as they share Christ with Muslim Bissa men and women who, for a long time, have been closed to the gospel. Pray for those who minister at the BMC to have the compassion and vision to offer both physical and spiritual healing to the patients who come to the hospital.
We are pleased to share that we have two new members on the Bissa team. Todd Groff and T.K. Uhrich are semester missionaries through the HandsOn program for young adults offered by the International Mission Board. They are presently in northern Ghana and, with Jay, will be working alongside the Clarksville team in village evangelism ministry. We've been amazed and very proud of the progress that they've made in Bissa language study. Already they've been able to share the gospel with several Bissa families who live here in Ouaga. Pray specifically for a young Bissa man named Adam whom they have befriended. He is fasting and praying during Ramadan. Ask the Holy Spirit to use T.K. and Todd's witness to convict his heart of the truth of God's word as he seeks God during this Muslim holy month.
Some of you have been praying for my friend, Solange. She is the president of Baptist Women in Ouagadougou and a tireless worker in Baptist women's ministry in the entire country. Solange will be traveling to northern Benin on October 12 for hip surgery. She has advanced arthritis in both hips and will have replacement surgery in mid-October. Please pray that the hands of the visiting doctors who do her surgery will be guided by the Holy Spirit. Pray for quick recovery so that she can return home to her family as soon as possible.Many thanks to all of you for your prayerful support. A special thanks to our Southern Baptist friends. We are reminded regularly by the daily needs in life that without your financial support of the IMB through both Lottie Moon Christmas offering and the Cooperative Program, we would not be able to continue this ministry.
Blessings,
Jay & Kathy Shafto
James, Robbie & Madeleine
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
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