A JOYOUS DAY AMONG THE DAGARA

From well rehabs to new church plants, from restoration to renewal, God is weaving an incredible story of changed lives in Burkina Faso as followers of Jesus discover a life of abundance in a dry and weary land.  This past week in the small village of Sarba we witnessed the power of God’s Spirit being poured out on the Dagara as 105 men, women and children gave their lives to Jesus Christ in baptism!

This remarkable story began with God’s timing when in January we completed our first water well rehabilitation among the Dagara. Following that event in Nawile, another neighboring village asked for someone to come and teach them in Nawmore and Dakola.  Soon after that preaching started in Dakola, the village chief of Sarba heard about the new church being planted there, and asked if someone would be willing to come and teach his village about Christianity.  All of this preaching and evangelism was conducted entirely by local Dagara evangelists guided by God’s Spirit which resulted in two churches being birthed, one in Dakola and the other now in Sarba.

June 23, 2010 was a day filled with anticipation as followers of Jesus prepared for baptism after months of having heard the Word proclaimed.  These baptisms were taken seriously and much thought went into whether a person was ready to follow Jesus wholeheartedly; everyone’s names were recorded in a book, new Christian names were taken to replace Dagaran ones and the best clothes that a person owned were adorned after their baptism.  It was a truly joyous day among the Dagara when we witnessed more than one hundred people give their lives to Jesus in the “muddy” waters of baptism.  They really didn’t care about the mud, they were just glad to have enough water to be baptized.

The village chief, who had first invited the evangelists to come and teach his village, was also the first to be baptized on that day.  His name is Kopana Some and he is 72 years old (he has already well outlived most of his Dagara brothers whose life expectancy is 47 years).   Following his baptism Mr. Some said “my heart was sick before, but now it is good.  Today happiness has entered my heart.” Mr. Some challenged the new believers by encouraging them to remain strong and watch out for each other.   And he said that when he dies he wants all his possessions and money to go to the church.  What an incredible display of God’s power at work in changing lives and turning hearts to Him!  May God be glorified in His new children among the Dagara and may we all lift them up in prayer as they strive to live the Light in a culture of darkness and despair.

Privileged to Serve in Burkina Faso,
Geoffrey Richter and family