“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Rom. 8:37)
Beloved of the Lord and Faithful Partners in Prayer,
We greet you in the almighty Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Master. It is always a great pleasure for us to write and share with you our joys and challenges. Thank you for your prayers on behalf of our country, which every day faces increasingly recurrent terrorist attacks bereaving thousands of families. It is with sadness that we have been informed last week that a village in the north of the country was attacked and nearly a hundred men were killed, leaving women and children in distress.
This insecurity seriously affects our ministry, especially the couples’ counselling ministry. I can no longer travel within the country to teach and help couples as usual. Several churches in the East of the country have been closed under the threat of jihadists and people from several villages have moved to Fada (in the regional capital of Gourma), to take shelter. These displaced families are extremely vulnerable, having left everything behind when they fled. Thus, Sakoula and its surroundings received several displaced families from several localities of the North. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers.
But, despite the deteriorating security situation, we continue to live our faith and to witness of the love of Christ, encouraged by your prayers and multifaceted support.
Thus, in this 2nd quarter, we had several special days of celebration.
On April 9, we had an advocacy conference for the defense and protection of children in front of the courtyard of the chief of Sakoula who for that occasion brought together all his nobles. A huge number of women and men were present and attended this conference. It was also a good opportunity to preach the Gospel. Days after the conference day, we received many testimonies about how people were blessed by this meeting.
Like all other Christians around the world, we celebrated Easter on Sunday, April 17, 2022. This celebration of the victory of life over death was preceded by a seminar for all the church family on the topic: “In all these things, I am more than conqueror by Christ Who strengthens me”. The teachings highlighted how to experience in one’s daily life the fruits of the victory that Christ acquired for us through His death on the cross and His resurrection. These were powerful teachings that strengthened the faith of many people.
Sunday, April 24, 2022, was a day dedicated to youth. They conducted several activities during the week. They had an evening of debate to discuss about relationships between youth. They also visited an orphanage and gave them some soap and food.
On May 29, 2022, it was the children’s turn to celebrate their day. The children of the church of Bigtogo joined those of Sakoula for that celebration. They amazed us with their talents in songs, poems, and the recitation of verses they memorized throughout the year. To God be all the glory for the life of these children who continue to grow up in contact with the Word of God.
And finally, women who had not been able to celebrate their day at the end of March took up this challenge on June 5, 2022. The day was preceded by a seminar for women on the topic: “How to Serve the Lord as a Woman.” Women were challenged and encouraged about the importance of their role in the family and in the church.
God in His grace has also expanded our family. Indeed, on June 4th, our 2nd daughter, Deborah, gave birth to a boy. We became grandparents of 3 grandchildren. We praise God for His grace and give Him all the glory and thank you for your prayers!
On Sunday, June 12, 2022, we had a service of baptism. Four (4) people were baptized. Praise to the Lord for the progress of the ministry in both places, Sakoula and Bigtogo. The Lord continually adds saved souls to His churches.
Beloved, we are in the preparations for the celebration of our 10th anniversary of ministry in Sakoula. It will be from July 17th to 24th, 2022 (in less than a month). We need your prayers and financial support according to what the Lord puts in your heart to do. We are planning several activities that require fundraising (a football tournament that will bring together 10 teams from the 6 villages and the city, a marathon for women, a day of medical visits, evangelistic and door- to-door outreach… all these will end with a worship of thanksgiving service on Sunday, to celebrate the goodness of the Lord during these ten years.) We commend ourselves to your prayers.
Prayer Requests:
1) We thank God for the resolution of the need for water. Last year, it was a great concern, but now we are able to build a fountain to offer drinking water to the population. We express our thanks to all of you who prayed and financially supported and met this need. May the Lord continue to bless you richly in Jesus’ Name!
2) The great and urgent challenge now remains the tax payment for our Bigtogo’s church land. The deadline which had been set for us expired in May 2022. I asked the town hall for an exceptional extension until the end of June 2022. Please, we ask you to pray insistently that God will provide, otherwise, we risk losing this ground to another religious group that was also interested in the same land. The need for these taxes is $6000.00.
3) Pray for the organization of all the activities of the 10th anniversary that through this event, a huge number of people will be saved, and Christians will become more mature. Pray also for the financial needs of all these activities.
Thank you very much for your faithful prayer and remain blessed as you serve the Lord!
We love and appreciate you!
Naomi and Robert Lompo
Burkina Faso