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Taste and See

October 26, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso, Global Outreach, Partnership, West Ridge Church with 0 Comments

One of my most fun privileges is to help direct our efforts in Burkina Faso through our non-profit, Engage Burkina. Every year I get to visit this West African country at least once, meet with leaders, and find out how we can best serve their efforts to spread the gospel.

Since 2008 we have had the opportunity to fund and initiate the digging or drilling of 74 wells. That has allowed us to provide water to somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000. This effort is happening from a growing network of individuals and churches from around the country.

Each year the two Burkinabe Pastors who oversee the digging of wells in the bush (where we are employing locals to do the work) send us back a detailed report of the cost for each well in each village, report to us what challenges they have encountered, and report the benefits of the wells.

Our most recent report had a comment on it that I thought was just good, clean fun. They reported that some villages are tasting things they have never tasted before. Presumably because they are growing things they have not been able to grow. Wow! I live in a country where I can have anything I want from just about anywhere, and they are experiencing new taste!

In Psalm 34:8 the writer says, ”Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed are those who take refuge in him.” These people are literally being able to taste and see that God cares about them and that he can be trusted.

We are going to continue to take water to the people of Burkina Faso. This time of year we are waiting for the water table to lessen so that we can be sure the wells are dug deep enough when we begin the process again in January. Of course, that makes this a great time to gather new commitments for the next season of activity. If you want to learn more about the work in Burkina or sponsor a well you can donate online by going to engageburkina.com/store

 

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

 

Water and Hope

May 26, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso with 0 Comments

I was thrilled this week to get a bunch of pictures from Chris Feilds showing some of our current work in Burkina Faso. If you don’t know I help direct a non-profit that funds efforts in one of the poorest countries in the world. Burkina Faso is a small, land-locked country in West Africa, where one of the biggest needs is water.

I have been able to visit Burkina several times since our first vision trip in 2007. We have set up a partnership with the Christian and Missionary Alliance to piggy back on some of their infrastructure, add to that, and contribute to the work that is being done. A big part of that work is in providing water wells to villages that need it. Every well is being looked over by an African Pastor.

The last couple of years I have been able to visit and get reports on our previous work and set priorities going forward. Let me just say working in West Africa is not easy. There was a big learning curve for me, and the biggest learning has been ‘Stay Flexible’. However, we want to make sure stuff is getting done. These pictures show things being carried forward. I just got them this week. They are of new and current work in progress. None of the picts show any at full completion.

Water brings life. Water brings hope. African Pastors have told us, “You never know how many people will hear the gospel because of clean water. A government leader said, “People cannot hear the gospel without clean water.”

A special thanks on this year’s wells to lots of individuals who make this happen. Thanks to Summit Church in Kernersville, NC who have been selling t-shirts to dig wells. Also, Mike Pierce and his family and Clay Methodist Church, in South Bend, IN for putting such a big emphasis on impacting this country. To all the jittery coffee drinkers at West Ridge Church, and everyone who supports this effort from there, thanks a ton!

If you would like to contribute a small amount to this effort or sponsor an entire well, you can go to http://engageburkina/donate.

There’s lots more picts. Here are a few. ~Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stories from Burkina Faso

April 6, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso, West Ridge Church with 0 Comments

A couple months ago I got to share with our church some of the impact that we have been able to make in Burkina Faso, located in West Africa. Several other churches are taking lead roles in providing water and sharing the gospel among an unreached people group. Here’s just a short snippet directed to the folks at West Ridge.

For more information visit engageburkina.com.

 

Stories From Burkina Faso from West Ridge Church on Vimeo.

Holy Undershirts!

April 1, 2011 in Africa, Community Makeover, Global Outreach, Partnership, Personal thoughts with 0 Comments

Recently I got to sit down with some non-profits that are doing some incredible work all over the world. Of course, when I hear of someone doing something in West Africa, my ears perk up, the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and I get all fuzzy inside. That’s how I felt when I heard about Sababu.

Sababu Conscious Clothing is dedicated to helping the people of Mali in West Africa by providing a sustainable employment opportunity. Each shirt that they make has a number on it that identifies who made the shirt that you purchase.  So you buy a shirt, get your number, go to their website and find out exactly who you just helped have a job. It’s a beautiful idea.

We have a great Engage Atlanta Community Makeover shirt being designed by Sababu. I would encourage others to use them for their events as well. Call them for pricing. They are really competitive when they are working with quantities for youth groups, special events, and things like that.

Right now they have a special promotion going called The Undershirt Club where you can get three new undershirts every three months. It’s a great deal. You can cancel anytime. Just click on the graphic on the right to fund out more.

It’s time to refresh those hole-ridden shirts you have on now anyway.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

 

It’s In Your Pocket

March 30, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso, Global Outreach, West Ridge Church with 0 Comments

I love the story of the Pastor who stood up in front of his congregation and said, “I have great news! We have all the money we need to pay off our building! The bad news is that it is in your pocket!”

I happen to believe that the ability to meet some significant needs around the globe is in the pocket of every one of us. Most of you can part with $10 or $20 and not even miss it because you don’t budget anyway. The ones that do budget can actually move things around and free up significant amounts.

I have one example of this from the students at West Ridge Church. A couple of years back High School Pastor James Griffin and Middle School Pastor challenged their students to raise enough money for a drilled well. A majority of these students do not have jobs, but parents were giving them an allowance or some extra money to go out and grab a bite to eat. On their own, students started giving up the extra trip to Taco Bell (Parents can be cheap) and started giving that money.

In just a few weeks the students had raised $5,000 not with car washes, or selling Krispy Kremes, but just with the money that was in their pocket.

The well from those students was put in a village called, Fing (feeng) just outside the church there. This village holds the main market among a people group called The Pugli. This makes this village a main destination for people from miles around. Before our students raised the majority needed for this well, this village had no significant water source. These are a people group that have never heard the name of Jesus. Now the church has a physical platform to tell people about ‘The Living Water’ that comes only from knowing Christ.

Being faced with the needs of Burkina it is very clear that myself or my church cannot meet all the needs of this country. So we’ve set up way where all of us can contribute just a little to play a part in meeting a larger need. Go here to visit our store at Engage Burkina where you can give in any amount, or join together with others and put in a well in a village. We can provide a name and pictures of the well in the months to come. You can always know that you have changed hundreds of lives, with just what is in your pocket.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

World Water Day!

March 22, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso with 0 Comments

Today is World Water Day! This day was started by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) 1993 to draw attention to the fact that one in eight people in the world do not have access to clean water.

In Burkina Faso last 1 in 3.4 children die before the age of 10. For this little country in West Africa, AIDS and Malaria are real problems, but even more so are malnutrition and water born illnesses. Since 2008 we have been working with Pastors and Community Leaders in this country to try and provide clean water to as many people as possible. We have been doing this with a combination of drilled wells and hand dug wells in the poorest, most remote areas of this beautiful land.

In honor of this day I wanted to show a little clip from a video team that we sponsored to be in Burkina Faso last April. My friend, Pete Brokopp gives you just a short taste of what we are trying to accomplish.

If you would like to donate to help bring clean water to people in need in a small amount, or sponsor a whole well visit our store at http://engageburkina.com/store

Physical Water, Spiritual Life from Engage Burkina on Vimeo.

We Don’t Have Water

March 16, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso, Global Outreach with 0 Comments

When it comes to finding a place to give during this Lent Season, you’ve got to know I’m going to give you a couple of ideas from Burkina Faso. The people in this West African country are truly the poorest of the poor. I was there a little over a month ago, and spent some time with some Pastor friends that oversee the wells that we have dug there. At one point in our conversation one of the Pastors got a bit choked up about the needs in his own village. This man has been overseeing the digging of more than 40 wells for us, and then got out some words that I wasn’t expecting:

We don’t have water.

Have you ever been without water? If a water main breaks near you home and your neighborhood goes without for a few hours it is really inconvenient isn’t it. You can’t wash your hands, wash clothes or dishes, take a bath, make coffee, mix up Kool-Aid for the kids, hose them off from playing outside, or flush the toilet. Ever gone a day, or two days? At this point, you are in a hotel aren’t you?  If you’ve ever had that happen for just a bit then you have had a glimpse of what the people in Burkina Faso deal with.

There are thousands of villages without water in this country. There are even neighborhoods in more significant towns and cities where it is not in adequate supply.

Whether you are participating in Lent or not, you can engage in giving to this need, and you don’t have to be able to afford a whole well. We have set up a store on a website called, Engage Burkina. There you can give in any amount, or sponsor a whole well. Your small group, office, Boy Scout troop, baseball team, or church can pick an amount and raise it over time so that less and less will be heard saying, ‘We don’t have water.’

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

 

Losing A 2 Year Old

February 8, 2011 in Africa, Burkina Faso, Global Outreach with 0 Comments

I just got back from a week in Burkina Faso in West Africa. God has opened up the door for West Ridge Church to engage there many other churches have been burdened for this country as well. More on that later this week.
Burkina is consistently accounted for in the top 5 poorest countries in the world. It has one of the highest illiteracy rates (if not the highest), and things like malaria, AIDS, deaths from malnutrition and water-born illnesses are part of every day, up close and personal, life.
There were a lot of good take aways on this trip. We have helped facilitate 55 wells in the last 2 years with the help of donors and church friends around the country. They take time in West Africa. Many are done, many are being used before they are done, the rest are being completely wrapped up this month and next. Then we will keep doing more.
Hundreds have put their faith in Jesus in villages full of people who had previously never heard ‘The name above all names’, and are worshipping in facilities that teams have helped build.
Muslim students and families are coming to faith in Christ at a school that we invest in. We have lots of plans and vision for expanding our goals in education. Lots of great things, but one moment I’ll never forget.
After an 8 hour meeting with African Pastors primarily discussing how to bring water to more people, one that I consider a good friend shared some heart breaking news. His name is Joseph. It is the Christian name he decided to take after becoming a Christ-follower. He is on the right in this picture. He shared with us that his 2 year old daughter had died of malaria in November. Her sickness began while he was away overseeing some of the wells that we are working on together. He recounted holding his daughter as she was dying. I wished he had told me at the beginning of the meeting. Every thought in my head stopped spinning, and were given a perspective that it is hard to put words to. I’ll never forget that moment of looking into the eyes of this friend who has lost his child. In two years we have brought water to around 40,000 people (conservatively) in this country, and there is still more to do than I’ll ever understand.

I have no illusions that the things that we are working on are going to totally solve the issues in this very poor country. However, the things that we are working on are impacting lives, and for some of them time is running out.
This is a country that needs our engagement. Those of us blessed with access to knowledge and resources back in the West need to ask God how we might use what He has put in our hands to bless a country that many would feel like is an insignificant, outsider in a Global community. The way I read the gospels says that those are the people we are supposed to go after with the kindness and love of God.

I want to challenge my friends at West Ridge to get involved. Come with us to see this country, and see how you might be used. We have some trips published here. If you are a leader at another church anywhere in the world, and want to find out more, you can use the contact form on this page, and we’ll start talking about it.

In the next few days and weeks, I will be rolling out some ways people everywhere can get involved without being there. I’m excited to see how things come together. Stay tuned.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

Jesus In A Birds Nest

August 24, 2010 in Africa, Burkina Faso, Global Outreach with 0 Comments

Over the last couple of years we have taken the opportunity to partner with Pastors and Leaders in Burkina Faso to build churches. They actually do most of the building while we are not there. They provide the bricks and mortar (literally), and our teams help provide the capital and the labor on steel supports and tin for the roof. What I love about the Burkinabe people is that they don’t wait on us to get the job done.

Take for instance, the church in the village of Saneba. The church is made out of stalks of millet, and in their words it looks like a birds nest. The benches were made out of round, dead, tree trunks that would create an abdominal challenge for most of us to keep our balance on. When I walked in for a tour, which means stand in the middle of the 15×30 structure on the dirt floor and look around, there was no doubt, Jesus was in that birds nest. They gave us a little ‘worship snack’ for the little bit of time that we were in this village, and it was just delicious. The joy those people know with their voices, hands, and feet, is awe-inspiring.

Whenever I am feeling grumpy, or whiny, or synical about this beautiful thing called The Church I try and think about that birds nest.

Not that you would ever do this, but the next time you go to church and think:

1.My parking spot is too far away

2. The music is too loud

3. The Pastor just didn’t do it for me today

4. The line to check-in/pick-up my kids is too long

5. The coffee is too weak (I might support you on that one)

6. I couldn’t find a good seat

Remember that gathering for worship is not about making sure everything is perfectly according to your liking. It’s about taking what inspired, equipped, challenged, and messed you up, leaving that place and giving it away to others. Everything that our gatherings should actually accomplish, can be done in that birds nest.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

I’m Moving To Africa

August 11, 2010 in Africa, Burkina Faso with 0 Comments

So technically, I’m not moving to Africa, but my friend Joanna Gregg is. After traveling to Burkina Faso a couple of times, Joanna is following God’s current mission for her life to move there for one year and be a part of our team. Here’s a quick message from Joanna:

I have been involved in missions in one way or another since I was a little girl.  In the last few years my involvement in missions has been to go with West Ridge Church to Burkina Faso.  On my most recent trip I was asked to consider returning to Burkina for a year long internship.  My initial response was, “there is no way I can raise that kind of money”.  However, I agreed to pray about the internship possibility.  After returning home, I realized if it weren’t for the money I would go ahead and proceed with this opportunity.  I knew that if this is something God wanted, I couldn’t let the money stop me.  After much praying I decided to pursue the internship in Burkina Faso.  I plan to move to Burkina Faso in January and work with the Feild family for a year.  I am very excited about this opportunity and about all that God is going to do in and through me during this time.

We are so excited to have Joanna join us at the LAC Team Center in Burkina Faso. Joanna is going to be blogging her experience and will have something up very soon. If you would like to support Joanna, please use the button below. If you would like to contact her, use my contact form at the top of my website. I will make sure it gets to her.

Please pray that God would continue to provide and guide her steps. Gotta love it when someone is willing to step out with this kind of faith and boldness!

Everyone Belongs,

Paul


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