Africa Trip Report 2007
Long-Lasting Indigenous Partnerships
Africa is a continent of contrasts – great beauty and tremendous poverty, rich potential and frustrated plans, the goodness of God and the heartbreak of fallen humanity. ICM has been blessed with successful partnerships in Africa for about twenty years. These long-lasting partnerships have helped produce a good benchmark for building plans, budgets and timelines that work well in the African setting.
ICM staff, Don Douglas and Brad Orchard, trekked thousands of miles over “washboard” roads to visit Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Rwanda this fall.
No Passengers Allowed
Beautiful Ethiopian Landscape
This type of “field trip” is different from an ICM Vision Trip because it is ICM staff only. Every possible hour is packed with inspecting Church building projects, reviewing expectations with existing partners, looking for increased use of the Mini Bible College, and presenting ICM to potential indigenous partners.
Mirroring God’s Love
As Don and Brad met with partners and church leaders, they were blessed at every turn and were often amazed at the evidence of God at work. One pastor had some stones bordering his fields stolen by a neighbor. When the pastor realized what had happened he told his neighbor, “You should have told me what you were going to do; I could have come and helped you.” It is truly thrilling to see churches ICM has partnered to build reaching out in Spirit-inspired ways to their neighbors and communities, and planting new churches in nearby villages.
Spotlight on Burkina Faso
Muslims ask for Christian Church
ICM-sponsored churches here have been warmly received by much of the Muslim community due to congregants’ outreach and service in the community. In one community the Muslims heard of a new ICM-partnered church building and sent a delegation to ask the indigeneous partner if he would build a Christian Church for their community….all without asking the pastor first. That church will be built in the next round of ICM projects!
A Foot Up in the School System
The law says that if a child misses starting school with his age group, he or she cannot enter the school system. Our partner has acquired government permission to use the church buildings as “speed schools” to bring any aged student to a point of qualified entry into the system. This, in turn, helps gain government favor for the churches, including gifts of property for new church buildings, which will be used for literacy programs, “speed schools”, and youth gatherings for the community.
Help Wanted
The partner’s organization has started a workshop to build windows, doors, trusses and other items needed for church building. This provides employment for the workers, ensures quality materials, and lowers construction costs.
Transforming Nations
• Our Indigenous partner has missionaries in many other nations, which could potentially lead to ICM partnerships in Mali, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo and Niger.
• Churches have youth groups of 60 or more teenagers!
Dedication Ceremony |
Brad blends in |
Prayer requests from Burkina Faso churches:
• Transportation for a pastor to visit individual congregation members and conduct outreach (he only has a bicycle)
• A renewed spirit in the church to help withstand trials
• Revival of a healing ministry in one church
• Provision for youth music ministry
• Empowerment for people to rise from poverty (Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world with poor living conditions that greatly contribute to the high mortality rate)
Sponsor a Church in Burkina Faso
Click here to see Churches in this Region that need sponsors.
