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

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Meeting my Compassion Child was an amazing experience. I can’t imagine a better way to spend $38 a month. Next time I’m bringing the boy some shoes.

The Pastor at the LAC (Agabuse) has as big a heart for Student discipleship as anyone I’ve ever met.

Dang, it’s hot!

After doing 26 wells in the first two years we have request for 124 more with ‘more on the road’ as our friends on the ground say. We have request from over 300 km away. That’s what credibility will do for you.

“You have no idea how many people will be converted from the digging of one well.” (Pastor Tomas, Central Church, Ougagadougou)

More than 500 people have trusted Christ in the last year from the animist people group we have adopted called, ‘The Pugli’. We hope to build churches in more than three dozen villages among this group

The men that pastor these bush villages are no joke. We can learn a lot from them about leadership, dedication, and expanding the kingdom.

Can’t help but wonder how much impact my African American friends in the states would have on these people.

500,000 people died in Burkina from a famine that happened less than 5 years ago. Why doesn’t anyone know about that?

I can’t believe how hot it is!

Every woman in the US should come build relationships and encourage women here. It would be empowering for both parties.

Looking forward to putting Tony Morgan’s books in French and seeing how these principles transfer over

Answered prayer is the first step in creating ministry strategy

Our friends in the bush just spent a month salary feeding our team three meals. That’s humbling.

Great test of friendship and the people you work with is traveling like this. It’s a little strange to me, but I still like all these people.

A frozen Tampico is the nectar of the gods

The more people come over here, the more impact we will have in Burkina and in our own families and churches.

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Here are some things you can do:

1. Pray. However God leads you to pray. Pray for the families. Pray that survivors might still be found. Pray that God will be found by those who previously have not sought him.

2. Give. As Americans we have more money and resources available than any other part of the world. Even a small gift of $10, $25 or $50 can go a long way at a time like this. Some have already sent trained personnel to the ground like Samaritan’s Purse. They will continue to need funds for more people and resources to flow in the  months to come.

Another great organization is Gleaning for the World. This organization sent us 9 truckloads of goods when floods came to Atlanta. You can give by visiting their web page by clicking this link, gftw.org. Funds given to Gleaning will help pay the shipping cost of items they are able to gather.

3. Gather. Speaking of gather, many times we don’t stop to gather simple items that would help because we have no idea what to do with the stuff if we got it. If your workplace, school or scout troop would like to gather supplies to send over you can send them to Gleaning for the World (located in Central VA). You will need to be able to ship them to ‘Gleaning’, and there are instructions on their website here. Here is a the list of items (in a word doc that will download) that they have said would be most helpful.

May the people of Haiti receive an outpouring of love from the people who follow Christ.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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This may be more than just an exercise in marriage intervention. Many of you have come to me and said that it was actually a spouse that encouraged you to go on your first trip. Sometimes we have to give each other permission to take the time, or spend the money.

If you have a spouse that has talked about wanting to see the savannahs of Africa, the Amazon of Brazil, or the hidden treasure of Cuba, let’s make 2010 the year. God is allowing us to partner and do some amazing ministry in these countries; digging wells, building churches, and being a part of community transformation in these three countries. Whole tribal groups of people who have never heard the name of Jesus, are being told about Him first from West Ridge and our partners.

I would encourage you to sit down, talk about this together, and choose to make the investment of your family’s time. There is some money involved, but most of it you can raise through fundraising and networking. We will provide guidance in this. We are very interested in helping you see what God is doing in the world, and engaging His global kingdom.

Sign up by visiting www.westridge.com/global

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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I was inside for approximately 8 minutes. In that time I was approached about an opportunity for our church to reach out to a group of folks in an area we don’t have great exposure, was invited by a local high school to partner with them on a couple of items, thanked for helping out on the Community Makeover, and given the chance to invite someone to West Ridge who doesn’t attend church anywhere. One morning this week I didn’t ‘Pay at the pump’ for the gas in my car. As I continue to build relationships with the local gas station employees I was given another opportunity to talk church and life with someone who is clearly not a follower of Jesus.

Ok, I don’t do this all the time, but I will continue to try to do it more than not. If I always stay in my car then these conversations never happen. Outreach or Sharing Christ is not a program, it’s a lifestyle that stretches us as disciples of Jesus.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands”.

When our family made the move to Burkina Faso, we left behind our lives that were full of “things”. These “things” were objects that we could certainly live without. As a matter of fact a bit of embarrassment fell upon us as we saw all of the “things” we put out in our yard sales as we sold everything except that which could fit into the 20 ft container we were shipping to Burkina Faso. It was a reality check for us all. When we arrived here in Burkina we made a conscious decision to not accumulate “things” and lead a simpler lifestyle. One Christmas Abby received three new pairs of flip flops and upon receiving them; she had to surrender three old pairs of shoes to give away. Every year we clean out all of our cupboards to make sure that we are not accumulating “things” again. We seek not to have too much and not to become too attached to what we have. Yesterday, when we woke up to the rains falling, this whole idea of attaching ourselves to “things” resurfaced. As the water entered our house, all I could think about were the “things” we had that would possibly get ruined. As Micah and I ran throughout the house frantically blocking entrances with towels, the tears fell. At one moment Micah grabbed me, and said “Mom everything is going to be ok”. He put his arms around me, and cried out to God to help us, to give us wisdom, and to calm our souls. God answered and friends came to help us to bail out and to further protect our home. Our night guard stayed to help. His home was possibly flooding, and his wife was home alone, but he would not leave us. When things appeared to be under control at our house we went over to the C&MA office across the road, and found that it was at least a couple of feet underwater. Office equipment, supplies, files, all ruined. Hours of work lay ahead of us. The tears just kept falling as I continued to focus inwardly. It was a long day, and not one I would care to relive. Today, God humbled me, and helped me to regain my focus as the news of the numerous tragedies surfaced. There are people that have nothing more than the shirts on their backs. I became ashamed for fretting over “things”. There is a feeling in my stomach that I wish would just go away. God is working in me and I am thankful for His help. Thanks for listening…… I needed to vent. Please remember that the needs here are abounding. Your prayers are needed.

Karen

Here’s a link to their facebook pictures…~Paul    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=8534281&id=775495363#/photo.php?pid=8534282&id=775495363

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So, I’m in Brazil. I’m near Manaus. Less than 200 years ago it was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. The whole world came here for a commodity – rubber. In 1920 some aggressive folks from Europe came and took steps that made this trade move, and many things moved away with it. One thing remains – the River.

We would refer to it as the Amazon. But here, just before the actual Amazon begins there are two, the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes. Once they collide the Amazon begins. Down that river there are groups of people who have retreated deep into the jungle to hide from – well – everyone.

Up until the 1980′s there were groups of people making their way into the Amazon killing tribal people because they are different. They are strange. They have peculiar customs, and unusual ways of looking out for one another. They were killing them completely out of fear. And now that same fear has created an environment where no one from the outside is allowed into these villages. It would mean certain death. And in these villages there are over 90 unreached people groups. Each have their own language as can be with hundreds of dialects. Groups of people who have never heard that there is a God who sacrificed His only Son to have a relationship with them.

So how will they know? That’s what I am here to learn about. Recently, a group of Brazilian Pastors secured over 200 acres just a couple of kilometers off of the Amazon River. I walked the property today.  It is breathtaking. From this place they plan to recruit men from the villages down the river, and train them to take God’s message with them. It is a big, multi-faceted vision! What do they need from us? That is what I’m here to find out. Other churches are here from our Atlanta community. This may be another opportunity to work together in meaningful ways.

I am looking forward to seeing even more in the days to come.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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