“I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your investment in the Kingdom of God in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and invite you to a further partnership.

Over the last two years we have been very excited to see how God has used Chris and Connie Feilds to reach Muslims for Christ working at Lycee Alliance Christienne. Chris and Connie have lived on this Christian High School campus and invested day in and day out in the lives of the students there. By starting an English Club on the school campus they have been given influence that they have leveraged to see dozens of students come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They have also ministered to the village of people living in mud brick huts directly behind the school, as well as taken teams out in the bush to share the gospel with people who have never before heard the name of Jesus.

Chris and Connie made a sacrificial, two-year commitment to invest in the second poorest country in the world, with the highest illiteracy rate on the planet. After fulfilling their commitment they will be returning home in December of 2011.

From the time that Chris and Connie made their two year commitment to serve in Burkina it has been our desire to create a path for them to transition their family home without experiencing an abrupt cut off to the resources that need to sustain their family. Many missionaries experience this type of abrupt end to their support that creates challenges when they return to the US.

For this reason I would like to invite those of you who have been financially supporting their ministry to extend your support through March 2012. Currently, Chris and Connie receive financial support through the Christian and Missionary Alliance. We would now like to ask you to send that you begin to send that support directly to Engage Burkina effective immediately.

Engage Burkina is a partner with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and beginning to take a larger role in Burkina under a new memorandum of understanding with the C&MA. Our mission is to engage Burkina Faso with the love of Jesus Christ. Previously, we have partnered with C&MA to build the facility that Chris and Connie have called home. We have continued our ongoing work been by digging and drilling water wells, building churches, expanding school capacity, and Chris and Connie have been hosting and shepherding our teams.

Extending the monthly support the Feilds have been receiving will be a great blessing. However, it does not come close to touching some of the one time cost they have to return home. Would you also consider a one time gift to help offset the cost of plane tickets home, and further honor their sacrifice as they return back to the States?

If you have been a prayer partner to this point, and have not given financially, you know that your prayers have made an immeasurable difference. If you are not able to make a monthly commitment, would you please consider a one-time gift to appreciate, encourage, and transition this family back home so that they can prepare for whatever God has for them next?

Engage Burkina will be passing along your entire designated gift to Chris and Connie without that gift incurring any type of administrative cost. Your gift is fully tax-deductible under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

You may gift directly to them electronically by using the following url; http://tinyurl.com/chrisandconnie

You may also mail your gift to:

Chris and Connie Feilds

c/o Engage Burkina

3522 Hiram-Acworth Hwy

Dallas, GA 30157″

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

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

For more information visit engageburkina.com.

Stories From Burkina Faso from West Ridge Church on Vimeo.

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

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.

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

Today, I want to put a website in front of you that I hope you will visit often, and consider how you might partner with us at http://www.engageburkina.com. This website will be a resource for churches, individual Christ-followers, and others who who want to be part of seeing God’s Kingdom come to Earth. I think it’s important you understand our reason for this. Below is how this came about. Please take a moment and read it. (Thanks to Phil Bowdle for bringing this website together, and Stephen Parris for the logo work. I highly recommend them!)

In 2007 a team from our church took our first vision trip to a small West African country called, Burkina Faso. I had always wanted to go to Africa, so for me, that trip was a dream come true. My expectations of what Africa would be like had been mostly set by watching movies. I had heard there was poverty and war and disease, but in truth I had never really paid attention. You certainly didn’t see any of that when you watched The Lion King.

On that first vision trip I learned that:

• Burkina Faso has been listed as high as the 2nd poorest country in the world in the last five years.
• One year in the last decade an estimated 1/2 million people died as a result of famine, and the swarm of locusts that followed.
• One in 3.4 children die before the age of ten. AIDS and Malaria are contributing factors, but the two largest reasons are malnutrition and water born illnesses.
• Less than a third of the population can read
• Most importantly to me, a vast majority of this country has never heard of, or has no understanding of Jesus. A majority of the population is Muslim, and a majority of the rest are animist.

The last note is the most important. However, for me  as a follower of Jesus, it feels at best hypocritical to go into a country and just talk about Jesus without demonstrating the love and kindness and care that he demonstrated to people. The sound of a growling stomach makes the core message of Jesus more difficult to hear. One leader told us that ‘People cannot hear the gospel without water.” We want to play a part in meeting physical needs for these incredible people. Jesus came to serve and we come to serve as well.

The people and the land of Burkina Faso captured my heart, and now the hearts of many of my friends. Yes, we found harsh climate, unbelievable poverty, all in all a country with people full of need. I have also found beauty in the contentment, joy, community, land, and work ethic of the people there. This is a country with great leaders whose desire is to bring peace and wholeness to their own people spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Our hope is to come alongside these leaders and help them accomplish the goals and purposes that they set, building relationships along the way.

We will continue to add new pictures, videos, and stories that grab your attention until this country captures your heart as well. I have several new videos from a trip I just returned from.

Please visit http://www.engageburkina.com.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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

I just finished combing over a 14 page report from the Bush Pastor who is responsible for the oversight of the wells that were dug in Burkina Faso in 2010. Several churches and individuals have given towards providing water in this country since 2008. We have had the privilege of partnering with people who have been ministering in this country for a long time, and are just hoping to add support and influence to what is already happening there.

I’ll be traveling to Burkina in the next few weeks to make our plans for 2011. The Pastor who wrote the report is named Joseph (on the left side of the picture). We work with him and his brother Michel (on the right). I have worked with other indigenous leaders and seen reports from indigenous leaders in other countries, but nothing with this level of detail. Every well from every village is detailed with things I would never have thought of.

Joseph also provided some commentary as to what the benefits are in a village when a well is provided.

I decided not to attempt to make this a long flowing blog post, but just left things in his words describing the benefits of a well (translated from French):

• Conversations that lead people to Christ
• Reconciled homes
• Stopped women from having to travel so far
• (I’ve summarized this one) Many women have had to go for water at night causing husbands to accuse them of adultery and to abuse them
• Prevented the death of children.
• Prevented many more children from becoming orphans
• Prevented a great deal of sickness

This is how he signs off his report. Keep in mind he lives in a mud brick hut:
“A family rejected, completely abandoned, despised, chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ, the victory belongs to the Eternal God for those elected.”

In the weeks to come I plan on challenging others to help bring water to the people of this country from this site, and another we’ve been working on. I’ll tell you why water is so strategic, and how it is spreading the gospel of Jesus to people who have never heard it. Whether or not you believe in Jesus personally, you can probably agree that everyone deserves access to water.

Water Is Life,

Paul