Listen to a story bout a man named Jed!

Did you watch the show Beverly Hillbilly’s?

Seriously, go ahead and sing the show’s opening song…..if you watched the show the tune is probably already going through your mind.

Listen to a story about a man name Jed, poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shooting at some food and up from the ground came a bubblin crude. Oil that is.

Being here in Burkina but specifically on the property where we live, I have often felt like the Beverly Hillbillies just with the order being different…. Let me explain…

LAC- This is a Christian boarding school that has boarding for boys. Girls are welcome but there is not a boarding option for the girls; therefore, the population of boys to girls is a huge difference. This year there is a little over 400 students. I am not sure with this new school year what the ratio of Christians attending the school is, but many years there are more non-Christians than Christians. Why would non-Christians come to this school- The answer is easy…. This school has a reputation of assisting students to walk away with a good education. Also, there are exams that are required to advance to the next grade level throughout their education. At this school the percentage of those who pass these required exams are higher than many of the other schools. So, a devout Mvslim will agree to their child being in a Bible class every day if being at this school will help produce a passing mark.

This is the administration building.

Seriously Connie, how do the two relate???- From the start, Chris and I have felt like God lead West Ridge to partner with the LAC, and this place is a rich oil field with so much potential . Here we are this white southern family that lives with black poverty stricken Africans. Physically, we stick out just like the hillbillies did in Beverly Hills. Yet, whereas the Hillbillies went to Beverly Hills after discovering oil, we have been brought here where the riches are seemingly yet to be fully realized; we have been placed on this land before the oil has really begun to come to the surface. We believe on this campus there is some deep rich life changing oil that has the potential to change the country and beyond and unlike the hillbillies our gain is much greater than monetary wealth. Jed struck oil when he was out looking for food for his family; I believe we will strike oil as we are out feeding His.

You see, when these children give their lives to Jesus, they are coming from all over Burkina as well as a few from other African countries. They have the opportunity to return home and be a direct source of light. There are already reported testimonies of life change that have affected entire families. At times there has also been abandonment for these students as well. Their salvation has the potential to come with a grave price. Back in April, a non believer asked me the question, “If what you call salvation would cause a person their family, friends, and possibly their life..Why would you be so cruel and put them in that position?” My response to her as tears streamed down my face was, “Everything in me agrees with how horrible their circumstances could be…. I cringe at the thought of the cost, but what I do know is this…It would be cruel and selfish for me/you/us not to tell and proclaim the truth with them because of the possible horrible things that could happen. For one day EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. My mind does not even want to grasp their possible circumstances, but my mind cannot handle that their knee being bowed could be upon their separation from God the Father and their entrance into the flaming confinement of an eternity in hell. I trust in God’s sovernty that losing a physical life and gaining life eternally in paradise with Him is well worth the trade off.” My friend did not respond.

This is the new LAC classroom being built.  This will facilitate students coming back here for their first year of High School.

I cannot explain the burden our family has for this school and the honor we feel to be so closely connected to them. We are very excited about the specific doors God has opened for us here…Please, Please, Please pray for us and that salvation be upon these children and their villiages.

-Last Saturday was our kick-off English movie night. Twice a month, we will have a movie night projected on a huge wall. We will stop the movie mid-way and the gospel will be shared.

-We will host the 50 plus staff members in a luncheon each quarter and share the gospel, encourage, and pray for the staff. Many of these teachers are Mvslim.

-I will be working in the admin office a couple hours a week, helping to learn and then teach a program that can help them be more efficient in the office.

-We are both working with students in a smaller setting helping the students with their English.

-We will be helping out in the classroom, having an opportunity to build relationships with the students.

-Once a month, we will have a sports day. This will be an opportunity to simply invest in these students in a non threatening way showing the love of Jesus.

We have spot-lighted the LAC and our specific ministry here and we really are asking for your help. We cannot do this without you. We need people who will pray for us on a regular basis. The spiritual warfare that takes place here is at times overwhelming. We need people praying. We also need your support financially. We have been so encouraged and blessed each month at God’s provision through His children because we cannot be here without your financial support. Please pray about supporting us financially. Lastly, we need to purchase a vehicle. This would be a tremendous help to our family and ministry and so we are asking God to bring the funds and show us the exact vehicle he would have for us. Please pray about God’s provision for us and giving towards our monthly support and or our vehicle fund.  The link below will take you directly to our giving page.  All donations are tax deductable.

[ click here for ] BurkinaBound Online Giving