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February 14, 2006
Boukouma
On Friday I will arrive in Ouagadougou, on Saturday, I will head north to Djibo, and sometime later in the week, I will head east, stopping off at Boukouma on my way to Gorom-Gorom.
Boukouma and the Fulani Discipleship Community
In the summer of 2003, Steve, Seydou, and I spent 4 months in Boukouma, with a small team of Fulani believers from around the north of Burkina. Some of you may have seen the video. Most of them were fairly new in the faith, quite isolated from other Christians, and experiencing some degree of local antagonism for following Jesus. Having become Christians, they had thus also lost their traditional networks of support, and were struggling provide for themselves.
The goal of the 4 months was to try a holistic approach to discipleship. We lived all together, ate together, prayed and studied together, and worked the fields together. A Danish agency had started a rice project, and we bought fields there, in order to teach the Fulani believers to grow rice. At the end of the year, they went back stronger in their faith, but also with food with which to provide for their families. Although, from what I gather, they all also gave a good part of it away to bless their neighbours and extended family members who had been making life hard for them earlier. Blessing those who persecute you, no less.
During that time, Hamadou's wife and children began also to make progress in the faith. Out of the pressure of their home village, they felt free-er to openly stand for Christ. So Hamadou decided they would stay in Boukouma for the time being. I will stop off to see them, and plan to stay the night with them.
Since I have been away, the Discipling Community has not happened again. But I think Hamadou has continued to work some of the fields, as well as continuing to work his little tailoring business, pedalling his sowing machine down at the little market.
Please pray for Hamadou and his family to continue to grow in Christ, and to be able to continue to provide for their needs. Thank you.
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso boukouma discipleship church mission fulani
Posted by Keith at February 14, 2006 06:08 PM
