2012 has already given so many glimpses of God’s greatness
and His goodness! Jay was in an
accident where he rolled our Toyota pick-up truck as he tried to avoid a big
truck carrying wood into the city.
He and the two passengers with him walked away with no major injuries at
all. Rob and Madeleine have
started into their second semester at school and both of them brought home
excellent report cards from the first half of the year. Having done equally well, James ended
his fall semester at UNC and spent Christmas with Jay’s family in Boston.
Baptist believers in Burkina encourage and challenge us
regularly as God is growing and expanding their vision to see His kingdom come
in Burkina and all around the world.
Last weekend I hosted the leadership team of UOBC for what Rob called
“Mom’s sleepover.” It was a
planning meeting for the upcoming year – a little late because of some
unforeseen interruptions in the lives of some of our ladies. What a joy to listen to each region of
Burkina share the ministries that they have been involved in! From sweeping school and church yards
to supporting orphans and widows with donations of grain and clothing, to going
door-to-door and into village markets to share the good news of Jesus with
neighbors, I was overjoyed to hear how God is using His daughters to show His
love to their communities.
A new initiative that the “co-laborers with Christ” will be
undertaking this year is the working toward the opening of a center for
exploited females. I am
helping to lead the steering committee for the strategic planning of this
project. It will be exciting to
see where God will lead us as you pray.
We are just in the beginning stages so please pray specifically that we
will be able to narrow our many desires to match God’s vision for this center
and that God will provide the necessary funds and manpower to renovate the
building and grounds that we have been given by the Baptist Union of
Burkina. If you are interested in
volunteering to help with the launching of this center please be sure to
contact me either on this blog or at shaftojk@yahoo.com. The opportunities for service will be
many including construction and painting as well as training leaders and the
ladies/girls who will be living at the center.
Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day,
