I'm wife # 3, been let go from my husband, and I have AIDS....Pinch me as this can NOT be real!

To suffer alongside people you love is difficult. I am certainly a newbie living in Africa because each time I experience something new, I go through every emotion imaginable. I know living in Africa my heart will always be sensitive to these things, but I hope I will do better at handling the extreme emotion I feel with each new situation.


I just cannot wrap my brain around my newest situation. I am telling you that people drop dead here all the time. I have never seen so many children living with tantie or grandma or village friends because mom and/or dad are dead. Yesterday I had an African friend come to my home and she sat for over an hour and wept. Africans do not like to cry and most often they won’t in front of others; however, this has not been what I have experienced since I have arrived. Anyway, the reason she was hurting so much was she has a cousin who was infected with aids. She was the third wife to her husband and when he found this out he left her about 10 years ago. Not divorced as we know it, but just left. They had 3 children together. Two of them are older and could take care of the youngest who is now 12 but if they take her on, they almost throw every chance of marriage out the window. My friend was asked to take this 12 year old when her cousin dies and that appears to be very soon. She cried and cried because she said she had to tell her cousin no. She herself along with her husband have children of their own and an additional 6 people that live with them and they can hardly afford to live themselves. I still cannot wrap my brain around 11 people living in a 3 room home that is the size of my den.

Ok so what will happen with this child... she will either just remain in her village and really have no place that she really belongs or in many cases like this the child becomes a street kid because the MVslims will take them in. They will cram all these false teachings down their throats, filling them with lies, provide them enough food to just stay alive, yet use them as begging slaves that walk the streets on Burkina. They receive no education and learn to survive which in turn many times makes them really rough kids.

In times like this I want to explode and the reason I want to explode is that this is normal.

Please stop right now and pray for this 12 year old girl. Pray that God will provide just the place for her when her mom who is a Christian by the way, goes home to be with the Lord.

The soil is ripe... Pray for the harvest and it's protection!

These are some of the top academic students at the LAC

I have to tell you that despite how hard this has been, Chris and I do not doubt one bit that God brought us here. When we are asked by people who live in Ouaga where we live, everyone looks at us like we have 2 heads. To be 16km from Ouaga, we live far! It is a long drive to go into town but in many ways we have the best of both worlds. We are close enough for our children to go to ISO which is invaluable to us, but we live on a piece of property that could not be a better fit for our children and we are sitting at the front door of a gargantuan ministry opportunity.


Just as I said in another blog post, the LAC is under some intense spiritual attack. Each week, our eyes are opened to new things here and it is as much exciting as it can be scary. At this moment, we know that first and foremost our job is to pray.

This is Agabus...He is the Pastor at the LAC Church

Today we were told that back in September 2009 there were 3 days of evangelism that took place here. On one of those days, a man spoke a prophecy over the LAC and he said this, “God is at work and wants to do some huge things here, but unless people are praying it will not happen. There is going to be an enormous amount of attack from the enemy that has already started here.” We can attest that this is just as real as each breath we breathe.

In no way do we think our work on wells or cities should stop. A village will be changed if a well and clean water is brought to that village. The pattern of this has held true. But the comment was made that by investing in the LAC, we can see more than just a village change, we can see a country change and other countries greatly affected.

This is Poda.  He is the director at the LAC.

Our church, my family, our faithful financial supporters and others have invested a ton of time, energy, and money etc for us to be here…. but please please please pray! We need an ongoing inundation of challenging people to pray. Our purpose to be here was to see God work and lives changed, but unless we pray we are in trouble.

Please stop even right now and pray!

My First Mother's Day in Burkina

My children can make me want to pull each hair from my head, they can totally exhaust me, at times I wonder if they will ever grow out of these very annoying stages; BUT, when they are sweet… they are really sweet to the core! Today, I was the Queen in our home and I felt so special!

My Homemade Red Carpet

My day started by sleeping in with air conditioning. If this was my only gift, it would have been enough…. But it kept going! I got up and opened my bedroom door to five very excited children each with a homemade card- (which are the best), and a homemade red carpet walk to the love seat in our family room. I sat down and a crown was placed on my head and above me a big sign hung. I was served pancakes and whip cream and slushy orange juice. Can I tell you that I could not hold back the tears as I read my sweet cards and how loved I felt.

My crown which read, "Happy Mother's Day... Queen for the Day"

We then had some family time with Chris leading us in Bible study and worship. This is not normal for us not to be in church, but I almost hate to admit, it was nice to worship in English. Before our church time began, I was given a gift to open. When I opened my gift, I laugh at the thought of how excited I was….

One of my gifts!!!

Yes… Oreo Cookies. I was so excited that it did not matter that I had just eaten pancakes… I was eating some Oreos right that moment. I was also given a very cold diet coke that was simply icing on the cake. We went to the pool as a family and had lunch there to return home to a nice spaghetti dinner. I have been so blessed and am so thankful to be a mom of these five children.

On another note,

I have thought all day about my mom today too.. Hence the blog about her below....

As I have reflected on my day, my mom, and all the emotion and feelings that have come with such a special day, I could not help but also think about God the Father. How He must want to pull every hair out of his head because of me, how frustrating I can be, BUT how much He delights in me despite my sin, my faults, my mess-ups…etc. As I delighted in my children’s love for me, I can only imagine how He must be blessed when I roll out the red carpet for Him, crown Him king, and delight in loving Him…. WOW!

I am blessed to have a wonderful mother, be a mother of 5 precious lives, and to be a loved daughter of the King!  Who could ask for a better Mother's Day!

A Tribute to My Mom

I love that Mother’s Days lends itself to being able to reflect and appreciate our moms. I love the phrase, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"… I think that when we are separated from those we love, we see to even greater depths how thankful for we are for those we are separated from. I assure you that I love you mom more this Mother’s Day than in years past. You have done nothing different, I just realize in your absence how my heart literally aches not to be near you on this day.

I wanted to say a special thank you to God today for you- Mom. Many of you who know her know what a wonderful woman she is. She and I are so different, but our love for Jesus, people, and ministry gives us such a closeness. My mom was always the spiritual leader of our home growing up. She was the one who lead me to the Lord, discipled me even when I had no clue I was being discipled, and constantly lived a life that has pointed me and others to Jesus. She is the one who made getting off the school bus special. She awaited us with a smile and always a good snack. She is the one that made pay day pizza night exciting. She made birthdays so special. She made meal time a special event for our family. We had a pretty wonderful father, but she is the one that held us all together. She was always there to encourage, wipe away tears, pray for our spouses starting in middle school, push us when we needed pushing, discipline with love, hurt when we hurt, speak truth even when it hurt her to do so; yet knowing it would bring us to a closer walk with Jesus, and always display an unconditional love.

Mom, I love you and I appreciate you. I know that you are my greatest fan, you believe in me, my husband and children like no one else. I know there is no one else who prays for us like you do and that is a gift that goes without words. I hope that you know how thankful I am to be your daughter and I pray that I can be the kind of mom to my children that you have been to me.

I love you Janie! Happy Mother’s Day!

Do people really still get possessed by demons?

In the back of this picture, the first building is the Admin Office and in the far off distance are classrooms!

So living in America, I have never seen anyone or heard of anyone personally that has been demon possessed. I have read about people in the Bible who were possessed but that is where it stops for me. One thing that the Lord has shown us here is that God uses/allows all types of different things in our lives that will get our attention. He uses/allows things that will draw people to an intimate relationship with Him.


I have mentioned before, we are blessed and I am so thankful to be an American. In the same breath, I believe that it also makes our need for Jesus much lower on the totem pole. I think there is a very sly silent deception that is taking place in our county and to me this is very scary.

More of the LAC Campus

Jumping ahead in my thoughts for a moment… Why Investing in the LAC is Important = Why we need help here!!!

We have been here 3 months now. We have seen and heard things that have blown our minds. With so much need here, how do you decide where to start? They all need help and they all need Jesus. We are so glad that West Ridge chose to give back and wants to be part of the ministry at the LAC.

I was able to spend time with one of the Assistant Director’s at the LAC. He began to share with me a more detailed history about the school and things that he has personally experienced here. He said that even though the school is an openly said Christian school, the intent is to have such a high success rate in education that it draws those that do not know Jesus. Once they are here, they pray with intense force asking God to begin working in the lives of these children. These students come from all different religious backgrounds. Some that are heavy in practicing their faith and some not.

He began to share story after story of conversions that have taken place. The students are required to be in bible class once a week no matter what their faith. This is agreed upon by the parents before they enter the school… it is obligated that they attend this class. Again due to the success rate devout Mvslims will send their children and agree to this.

Soccer Field at the LAC Campus

So, to give you a specific story…… He had a student that came in to his office. This student had been having nightmares and began to share the things going on in his mind. He could not rest and it was obvious to this director that this was a complete spiritual issue. This student comes from a devout Mvslim family. When the director spoke and talked about God and his need to be filled with his Spirit, the student began to majorly shiver. Being that Africa is as hot as Hades I was surprised that he asked him if he was cold. Students response was no. The Lord spoke and the director knew that this student was being attacked by evil spirits within. As the director began to pray, the student began to respond just like those that are mentioned in the Word. His body seemed to become uncontrollable. The director prayed louder and stronger calling on the name of Jesus and demanding these evil spirits to depart from his body. Finally the student’s body came to a calm. The director was able to share that this student now had an opportunity to be indwelled with the Holy Spirit if he would call upon the name of Jesus for salvation. At that moment… He DID!! The director then began to share with him that he was a new creation. They then asked God for a new name for this student.

Jumping forward, this student was able to share with his mom what had happened. She too came to know the Lord. I was already speechless at the first part of this story as demon possession is something that really freaks me out and because it is not something that is seen in my neck of the woods. My speechless now has turned to complete shock when he told me that this child is related to one of the most powerful men in the Mvslim faith. That right now, the student and his mother have to be silent about their conversion because it could mean death. Right now, they are praying earnestly for this person with the intense hope that he too will come to know the Lord. WOW- a relative of one of the most powerful Mvslim leaders has come to know Jesus and his mom as well and this happened as a result of this child attending the LAC.

So, speechless turned to shock and has now turned to I think I am going to stop breathing. He told me this student’s new name and encouraged me to pray. My response was wait a minute… This student is the same student that I came to you about and asked your permission for him to enter our yard? This student that is very close friends with my boys? This student that my husband is taking to the pool to try and teach him to swim? This student that I just exchanged numbers with his mom so that we could have their family over for dinner? First thoughts were- I am totally freaked out. We have asked that God bring people into our lives that we can minister to. We want to make a difference here. We want to see lives changed. But, I am not sure that I ever expected to be in such a close relationship with family of one of the most powerful Mvslim leaders in Burkina Faso.

My next thoughts were complete fear. This director expressed that for this student and his mom, their salvation could come at a very high cost and put them in much danger. We are openly known as Christian missionaries. YIKES! My next thoughts… WOW- we have a responsibility to them. I am not sure how God wants to use us in this situation, but he did not bring us into this relationship by accident. Comments we have made about this child before we knew this information… He had told our children that he and his mom were Christians and the rest of his family was not. But we still were just drawn to the fact that He has the sweetest Spirit. He has this quiet joy about him. We are thankful he and the boys are such good friends. We still feel this way, yet now knowing his story we are amazed at the power in his testimony!

Please pray for them. Please pray for us. Please pray for our protection. Please pray that we would be lead by the Spirit in every step of this relationship. Please pray that many Mvslims will come to know Jesus through this student. Please pray about how you can invest in the lives of these students. Is God calling you to be in regular prayer for them? Is god calling you to come and for a week just build relationships through playing sports together yet ministering to their lives by living the love of Jesus? Is God asking you to pay for a classroom so they will be able to accept the many students who would love to be here; yet, there is no space?

Just a thought…. What has your salvation cost you?