The Rainy Season

Burkina Faso has two seasons per year, the rainy season and the dry season. The rains start during the months of May through September and the rest of the year is dry. . . with little to no rain again until May or June.


This year, the rains were really late in starting in the southern region where we live, but towards the end of July, it started raining every 3 or 4 days and now at the end of September, everything is lush and green.

Our Lake

August is generally the month with the most abundant rains. The fields have all been planted and the farmers are fertilizing, spraying to kill the bugs, and waiting with anticipation for the October harvest.


There are a couple of places along the road to Kimini where the land is flat and there are no places for the abundant rains to drain away.


We call this place in the road, 'our lake', and we are thankful each time that we go up and down this road, that we get safely through. Our truck is sturdy and strong and with 4-wheel drive, we plow right through the water and the mud!

Signing of contracts--

This past month has been filled with fun activities in Kimini!


On August 23^rd, we met with a new local contractor and signed papers to begin the work on the maternity building of our medical center.


The contractor and his team are located in Banfora, about 100 kilometers from our village. At the signing, we made the first payment in the agreed upon contract and on Aug 25^th, the masons and a team of manual laborers arrived in Kimini, ready to begin the work.

The very first steps are to make the concrete bricks on-site, clear the land, and identify the placement of the building. These steps were all started last week and already, we can see the foundation being laid for the maternity building.

Making Bricks

We praise God for his provisions for the building of a medical center in Kimini! Please pray with us that the people of Kimini will come to see that our God is a kind and loving God and that He loves the people of Kimini very much!

Laying the foundation

A Visit from the Chief

This morning we had a visit from the village chief ( tribal king). He brought us a large bag

filled with guinea fowl eggs. This is a very precious gift because eggs are very rare in the village during this season.


The chief also came asking us for help. He has had cataracts in both of his eyes. He had surgery about 2 years ago in one eye and has not had the means to have the other eye done. The cataract in his left eye is now very advanced and he can barely see out of it.


In talking with the chief, cataract surgery is done at the hospital in Banfora (about 2 hours away), and the cost is about 40,000 fcfa or about $80. Considering all that the chief has done to help us to advance the project here in Kimini, we feel that providing him this money is a very small thing that we can do for him.


Please pray with us that in helping to give the chief natural sight, he will also come to know the Father of Light.

A 'Masked' Man

Upon arriving in the village we learned that one of the village fathers died this past week. Part of the cultural funeral ceremony for a person of his status is for a 'masked' man to run through the village throughout the day. This masked man terrorizes the children by threatening them with a whip as he passes from house to house asking for money to help cover the costs of the funeral.



Please stand with us in prayer in the midst of cultural and animistic beliefs which hold our people here in captivity.

A Pastor for Kimini--

After spending 2 wonderful months at home visiting family, friends, and many faithful supporters, it was very exciting to again return to our little village of Kimini. We found our little home and courtyard in good order. A couple of the youth of the village had kept our little garden watered and cleared the weeds from the courtyard. After sweeping out mounds of dirt and dust we were again settled into our village home.


A Pastor for Kimini
The Christian Missionary Alliance Church has sent a student pastor to work in Kimini.

Pastor Bernard

Bernard and his wife, Dorcas, and their son, Gideon, are here for the months of May through September, when Bernard will return to Bible School to continue his studies.


We were privileged to worship with the small body of believers on Sunday and then again on Thursday for their weekly prayer meeting. What joy it is to see the Lord building the foundation for His Church in Kimini!

• Please pray for safety and protection as these new believers step out in their new faith.
  
• Please pray for the Holy Spirit to hover over each courtyard in Kimini and draw the hearts of the people to Jesus.
  
• Please pray for the construction of a small church building for this new body of believers.
  

Holy and blameless in his sight, He predestined us for adoption--

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6

Adoption comes from the very heart of our Father God. Adoption into our Father's family came at the great cost of the suffering and death of God's own son, Jesus.

Our adoptive families have suffered, not to the point of physical death, but they have suffered the frustration of painful waiting, the inability to understand the broken social and legal system of Burkina, the loss of their money, etc. They have suffered the loss of control when inexplicably their court case has been extended over and over again.

But, for those who persevere, for those who are called to step out of their comfort zone, to step out of the boat, so to speak-- God has children in Burkina who are waiting and waiting, sometimes for as long as ten years, waiting to be united, waiting to be introduced, waiting for that first embrace from their mother and father. This is what adoption is all about. This is the moment that parents and child look forward to, not even really knowing what it will look like or what it will feel like. But, waiting to take their child into their arms and ultimately take them home as their adopted son or daughter.

This month Linda and I had the privilege of sending two more precious children home to their Forever Families.

This is DJ with his Mama and Papa. He recently went home to meet his four older sisters.

This is Claire with her Mama and Papa. Claire is one who has waited for over ten years, passing her days in an orphanage, waiting for paperwork to be done and then to be redone, waiting for her parents to come for her.

Our God is so good! He loves the children of Burkina and He loves to place them in Forever Families. If you feel that the Lord is calling you to adopt a special needs child, please contact me or contact Kim at kim@allblessings.org – All Blessing, Intl.

Daniel is Home!

Daniel is an amazing little boy who has been dealt a very unpleasant start to his young life. You

wouldn't know this though because he has a very tender heart, a winning smile, and a very gentle disposition.

At a time when some parents are counting the months and years to the 'empty nest' period of their lives, some parents are actually asking to take a new child into their family. This was the case of our most recent adoption.

Older children are hard to place. Older boys are harder to place than older girls.

Yet, Daniel has a Forever Family! He has an older brother who has been counting the days until his new brother comes home. And, he has two older sisters. What a perfect environment for a 12 year old boy to grow and thrive! God is so good!

Sponsorship Works!

This past week we were visiting Nonfesso, a small neighboring village of Kimini, and the director of

Salif, 6 Years Old, First Grade

the school had lined up over 100 children needing sponsors. The children's stories are all very similar. . . too many children in the family, father not able to grow enough grain to feed his family, no money for the most basic medical care, no money to send the children to school, etc. 

The children were almost all barefoot and wearing clothes that would not even be found on our rag shelf.

The needs of the children here are overwhelming. God has sent Linda and I here to do what we can. And, we cannot turn our backs on their needs.

We asked the director and the teachers to choose 25 children with the greatest needs. We have signed these children up for sponsorship and when they are all sponsored, we will add 25 more to our waiting list.

My name is Fanana and I am in the 3rd Grade

Today, we are turning to you expressing the need and asking you to consider taking a child into your heart. We will send you a sponsorship packet with a picture of your child and their story.

For just $35 a month, you will send a child to school, provide books and school supplies, provide a food distribution for the family in June and in December, and provide medical care as needed.

Would you please help us to care for these children?

Arouna, 6 Years Old, First Grade

Fatimata, 11 Years Old, 4th Grade 

Medical Evaluations for the Kimini Primary School Children

We recently had a wonderful visit from a medical team from Ouagadougou. Two ex-pat doctors, Dr Peter and Dr Caroline, one Burkinabe nurse, one French intern nursing student, and a Burkinabe support person made the trip to Kimini to do medical evaluations on each of the 215 children in our primary school. 

Dr Peter - checking eyes, ears, and throat

The work was organized into an administration room and a consultation room and the team worked nearly non-stop from 9 AM to 4 PM for two days. 

The evaluation for each child included weighing and measuring, an eye test, a urine test, and then a visit with the doctor where their ears and throat were checked, lungs and heart were checked, as well as a routine abdominal check. A team of 5 translators from Kimini worked to support the team and two local ladies made delicious meals for us.


Many of the children tested positive for malaria and various other parasite issues in the stomach and intestines. Many of the children needed their ears flushed out and the nurse was available to take care of these children. If the children were sick they received the necessary medications and each child went home with a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

Dr Carolyn - testing a child for malaria

Each child's information was documented and will be stored in Dr Peter's database. This documentation will be used as a starting point next year for when the team returns.