Email the Carters!

Wow! Talk about an exciting month here. The Ag Seminar was an outstanding success. We were so excited to host some Burkinabe guys from the Christian and Missionary Alliance that were speaking at the seminar. It was a great opportunity to see different aspects of God's work in Burkina. Thanks to all of you who were so encouraging and shared our excitement. Noah also started crawling this month and is pretty much everywhere in the house he can be. It is constantly a challenge to baby proof every room on entry. In addition, last week there was a phenomenal Harvest Sunday collection at Richardson East.

The money offered at that time once paired with individual gifts and foundation grants should all total up to replace our current vehicle.

Thank you for continuing to remember that in your prayers. Please be in prayer for the village of Muturi. This is a group that is already thinking like a church and we hope to see quite a few baptisms in a couple of weeks. Please pray especially for some more men to come to the meetings. Please also pray that they will be in prayer about the decision they will be making. Thanks again for all that you do to reach the Dagara and support our team.

Thanks for your faithfulness in prayer.
Chad and Amy Carter

Email the Chankins!

You know you are back in Africa when it is hotter in the airport shuttle bus than on the tarmak. On Tuesday May 2nd, we arrived safely back to Burkina with all our bags – we were shocked and happy. Emma and Jack did as well as could be expected. One of the flight attendents said, “I have never seen kids like this,” I am going to be opstimic and take it as a compliment. Emma only threw up twice once in the Atlanta airport and then on a rough landing in Niger (I almost did too). We did not hear from Jack unless he was hungry.

We returned home to Dano on Thursday afternoon. It was a good trip back to Dano. The next few days were crazy with unpacking and trying to find stuff that has been packed away for six months- we are still looking for some of it. Also, we are trying to fix things that had broken in our absence.

We know it has been a great furlough when we think often of the friends and blessings we received. We thank all of you who made our furlough special. We ask that you continue to pray for rain among the Dagara, our family’s adjustment to life back in Burkina and the Christians and churches among the Dagara.

Blessings,
Archie, Mandy, Emma, and Jack

Email the Johnsons!

It has been a month of reminders for us. First, it was a reminder of what great teammates the Burks and Carters are. While we headed out of town for our family vacation, not only did they hold down the fort, but they hosted the largest function our team has to date put together! Because of a generous gift from one of our supporters and the hard work of our teammates, almost 120 Dagara Christians now know a lot more about making use of what God has given them than they did before.

Second, we were reminded of how much we love the Chankins and really missed them while they were on furlough. It was a thrill to see them again and get to meet Jack for the first time.

Third, we were reminded of how much this work belongs to the Lord. Between our missionary retreat and our family vacation, we were concerned about being gone so long. Particularly we were afraid that the village of Nyi-Kpier would lose the momentum they’ve had recently. Turns out, the church more than doubled in size during our absence!

Finally, we were encouraged by the recent change in tone of the people in charge of assigning us a child to adopt. Until recently, they were telling us not to expect anything anytime soon. Last week they told us that they hope we will soon be parents! It’s certainly not a child in our arms, but it is progress.

Blessings.
Andy and Melissa

Email the Burks!

We rejoiced in welcoming the Chankins back from their furlough and the Johnsons back from their vacation to France.

The evidence of God's moving among the Dagara this month has been overwhelming. We heard a report in Nyinyime that the church went to pray with a family from which one woman was possessed by a konton (spirit). Immediately following the prayer, she started acting normally and has been fine ever since. I went to participate in Sunday worship at the Nyikpier church, where for many weeks there had been only one convert and then recently just a few others. God added another ten on that day! I saw God bless the lives of over 100 Dagara Christians who came (some literally on foot . . . without shoes . . . for around 20 miles) to Dano to learn ways to overcome poverty and famine. They learned how to be prepared for times of crisis by gardening in the dry season using drip irrigation kits, and to use moringa leaves, extremely rich in vitamins, to fight malnourishment. Many who knew of this tree, but not of its positive qualities, were excited to tell their friends to add its leaves to their diets. This past Sunday, over 20 Dano-Pari Christians marched into the village of 'Yo singing, shouting praises to God, and encouraging 'Yo Christians, one of whom stood up on her bandaged leg and started dancing and stomping so hard that the ground shook. In the same way, God is taking a broken, spiritually sick people and using them like a hammer to crush Satan's hold on this part of the world.

May the LORD Bless You and Keep You,
Aaron, Andrea, and Daniel