Beloved in the Lord,
By his grace we have come to the end of 2021. The year has been marked by many challenges. For our country in addition to the Covid-19, it has been severely affected by the terrorist attacks which had become almost weekly. These attacks caused the death of more than a thousand civilians and soldiers; displaced 1.5 million people who became refugees in their own country; hundreds of schools have been forcibly closed, plunging thousands of children into an uncertain future; in several villages the churches are closed and it is the jihadists who come to preach Islamic law there. We are almost surrounded and can no longer freely move across our country to preach the gospel or teach the people as before.
But in the midst of this turmoil, God has kept us, He has protected us so far, then we can say like the people of Israel in Samuel’s day, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” Yes, by His help and protection, we are alive and stand firm in our commitment to serve our God.
To you too beloved partners in the ministry, we reiterate our thanks and deep gratitude for your prayers and your faithful support. You were with us in this fight and it comforted us and allowed us to stand firm. We are very grateful to you. By the grace of the Lord and through your prayers, we continued our ministry in Sakoula and Bigtogo by bearing witness to Christ through the various services that we set up.
Thus, Hope Primary School achieved the 1rst quarter with 220 students and 6 teachers this year, which is a great encouragement for us.
Both the church in Sakoula and Bigtogo are growing in terms of numbers, we received several converts during the year and baptized 6 people on Christmas day. It is very encouraging to see that not only are people saved but that many are committing to live their faith openly despite the threats and opposition they encounter.
The kids’ Saturday club gathering continued to meet every Saturday with around 330 kids. They celebrated their Christmas on December 18th in an atmosphere of joy.
On December 19th, we held a conference for non-Christian couples in the village, the theme was the importance of living a harmonious family life for the well-being of our children and the whole country. It was an opportunity that God gave us to present Christ the Lord of peace and harmonious lives to many of them who come from Muslim families.
On December 25, it was the church that celebrated Christmas ; in addition to worshiping the Lord, we ended our worship with a fellowship meal.
The year ended on December 31 with our year-end vigil. We sang and glorified the Lord until 2:00 am in the morning. Everywhere there was joy and people had shouted the songs of gratitude : “the Lord has done great things for us, we are in joy …” could be heard everywhere!
Beloved in the Lord, this is an opportunity for us to say once again thank you for your accompaniment, your prayers, your unwavering support towards our family and our ministry in Burkina Faso. We ask you to continue to pray for us so that we will keep the flambeau of faith high despite the trials and dangers that may threaten. Our God is faithful and good at all times ; praise to His unconditional name !
Remain richly blessed in the service of the Lord !
Pastor Robert and Naomi Lompo