Email the Carters!

The two most exciting things this month have been the return of the Burks and Noah's vocabulary. We were so excited to meet Dylan and Noah says a few new words each day.

Out in the village things continue to go well. Dagore and Muturi plan on showing the Jesus Film in the next couple of weeks. Please pray first that people will come and watch the film and that secondly they will seek the answers to the questions it brings up. We hope that this will be an effective outreach tool for these villages.

Please also pray for a new leaders training program. Chad will try and start mentoring a few illiterate leaders this month. We are trying to help nurture them as effective teachers. First, pray that the Spirit will be alive in them and then that God will guide them in their learning.

We also want to give thanks for two great meetings this month. Chad and Archie had a productive pre-survey trip up in the north of Burkina. They made some excellent contacts for the interns to follow up with among the Marka people. Also, our team had a time of fellowship with a co-worker among the Dagara, Lynn Kennedy. She is based in Diebougou and was reporting on the growth and leadership among Dagara churches in her area. Thank God in prayer for his constant blessing and work among the Dagara.

In Christ,
Chad, Amy, Noah, & ?

Email the Burks!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes . . . We were welcomed to Burkina by all sorts of challenges like dehydration, things not working around the house including air-conditioners, the toilet, and the water-pressure pump, and the electricity being turned off for repairs for 7 hours during our first weekend home with 110 degree weather. We also subjected ourselves to several other challenges, like switching from disposable to cloth diapers, and projects around the house like rearranging our furniture and unpacking the over 15 pieces of luggage we brought from the states.. This last challenge though, we understand, is a huge blessing. We were able, in fact, to turn it into a blessing for some of our friends by filling a whole trunk full with old clothes to give away to our Dagara friends since we got new clothes on furlough. Everything works now except for Dylan's air-conditioner. Aaron was able to help Andy start out in the village of Bavule and is helping to plan the next leaders' conference on prayer that will be hosted by the Nakar church. Aaron is hoping to get into making village visits soon and getting back into a schedule. He will be going to V2 for church maturation courses and he is looking at partnering with some folks from the Sorian church in starting a new church plant. Andrea is getting Daniel's school supplies ready and will be doing lesson plans soon for him. Please pray that we are able to get through this period of transition keeping the important things like God and family most important.

May the LORD bless you and keep you,

Aaron, Andrea, Daniel, and Dylan Burk

Email the Chankins!

This month has brought many visitors our way. Along with the visitors, the opportunities for ministry were many. In the last month, we have shown the Jesus film 3 times. At each showing there were 400-600 Dagara people present. In Dagore, there were at least 5 men who were so interested in Jesus that they sought out a church leader that night for more information.
We were blessed and encouraged by 4 visitors who came from our supporting congregation, Oak Hills, in San Antonio. They spent over a week experiencing a little of our life here in Burkina. It was great that they could come see first hand the ministry that they so generously invest in. They also passed out clothes that were donated by Southern Hills Church of Christ in Buda, Texas. Many kids and adults benefited from this generous gift. Thank you.
Geoffrey Richter and Ben Kail, from Hawley, Texas also visited this month. They came to see the work and possibilities to serve among the Dagara. They were kept busy by spending everyday out in the village. We very much enjoyed getting to know them a little and we pray God will guide them in the decisions that lie ahead.
In family news, Jack turned one on January 23rd. We are thankful for the sweet little guy he is. Please continue to pray for his health as he has recently suffered from a string of illnesses. Archie, Mandy and Emma also had a virus, but are all feeling better now. Archie has an infection in his finger which has required some medical attention, but finally appears to be healing. We are thankful for the Burks safe return to Burkina and are enjoying having all 4 families here for a few weeks. Please pray for Mandy and Melissa as they are heading to the Come Before Winter retreat in Kenya from March 15-27.

God Bless you,
Archie, Mandy, Emma and Jack

Email the Johnsons!

Since we last wrote, we've enjoyed a busy (for us) month. First off, we were blessed to have a number of visitors come through Dano. Brad Willits, a long-time missionary in Guinea, West Africa, stayed with us for a weekend while taking a course in Ouagadougou. Brad has been a mentor for several of us on the team, and Andy in particular enjoyed being able to spend time with his friend. We also received a group of three from Vermont. Bill, Buck, and Catia were wonderful guests and accomplished quite a bit during their brief stay; they visited eight of the ten Dagara churches (with the remaining two sending representatives to one of their teaching sessions). They were also a great encouragement to our team, loading us up with American goodies and leading us in worship.

Our team is enjoying a brief period of being four families on the field (a rarity for us), as the Burks have made their return to Burkina. We are thankful for their good furlough, for the chance finally to meet Dylan, and for having their much-missed presence among us again. Please be praying that their transition back to the field goes smoothly.

Work-wise, this is an exciting time, as several churches are starting preaching points. It's encouraging to see our Dagara brothers and sisters taking the initiative to tell those in neighboring villages about the Good News they've heard. Join us in praying that God would give all Dagara Christians, but particularly these church planters, the words, the courage, and the upright lives needed to proclaim God's message.

Finally, we'd like to ask your prayers for Melissa's pregnancy. We had quite a scare with some complications recently. We made it to the doctor, and he assured us that everything is okay, though he put Melissa on bed rest for a week. We'd like to ask you to pray for the health of our baby and for Elijah's sanity as he has to deal with just Dad for several days in a row.

We're looking forward to seeing many of you on our furlough starting in the month of April - please get in touch with us so that we can work out a time to get together!

Blessings.
Andy and Melissa