Thank you for your support and prayers. This first few weeks back in Burkina Faso have been very busy and quite stressful at times as I take on the new direction of ministry with its responsibilities.

Gorom-Gorom Flood Response
A lot of my time has been taken up with the flood in Gorom, which destroyed half the town, leaving thousands homeless. Thank you all for your generosity in responding to this crisis. We have finished Phase 1 of our response, which has been emergency relief for over 6000 people affected. We are now starting Phase 2: in this we are trying to help key people re-build their homes. The situation is quite urgent, as the cold season is already here, and water available for brick-making and building is in short supply. Bricks are being made all over town as people who have the means begin to rebuild.

• Houses for the Homeless. We are the first to start work on this, and are focusing our efforts on 30 of the most needy and vulnerable people – mostly widows – who don’t have the resources or family to build something for themselves. We have a small team, with Pastors Daniel and Pascal, a Christian builder, a Christian development worker, and a few other people from the church. We hope to have the first few houses built before Christmas. Financially we have the money for this, thanks again to your generosity.

• Woodless Construction. One exciting side of this is our plan to build one-third of the houses as “woodless constructions”. These are homes built entirely of mud brick – even the roofs are mud brick, built with ingenious domed shapes. These are more comfortable than the corrugated metal roof houses that are currently built, as well as being environmentally friendly in a zone where deforestation is a huge issue. However, they are a new feature in our area, and not everyone trusts them, so we hope in this way also to raise awareness and support for concept.

• Further Food Aid. We are also putting aside £5000 for food aid at the start of next rainy season (June/July). This is because the harvest was very bad this year, with poor rains after the flood, so there will be another vulnerable period at that time. Please pray for us in this effort to bring God’s compassion to those in need.

Gorom-Gorom Ministry Centre
At the same time, I am also building on the piece of land I bought on the outskirts of Gorom to develop as a ministry centre for the province. Seydou and family are already living there, and Pastor Moumouni should be moving there next week.

Since I came back, we have built a house for Moumouni, and are working on a meeting place, toilet, and kitchen. I am also hoping to use the woodless construction concept to build a store and a guest room (for you to stay in when you come and visit…). I really need electricity and a phone line, but these are not yet available in this part of town – please pray…

I Get Around
What I do have now is a vehicle, and this has been enormously helpful. I have been able to get about a lot, which is very much part of my new role. I have been to visit several of the pastors in the north of Burkina, as I look at how to help them move forward in ministry in the region, and as I look for ways that churches in the west might be able to partner with them in this exciting ministry. Not only pastors, but many other people have accompanied me on my travels, along with sacks of millet, goats, furniture, and broken down bicycles and motorbikes rescued on the road.

Please pray for the pastors in the province of Oudalan – for Daniel, Pascal, and Moumouni in Gorom, for Adama in Markoye, for Samuel in Deou, Jean in Tassmakat, and Ousseini in Essakane. Pray also for other pastors to move to the province, and for God’s leading as we seek his way forward for the ministry in the region. Thank you.

Other News:
• Fulani Believers: A few are doing really well. In particular pray for H, who is away visiting another town for a month of intensive Bible study with four other Fulani Christians.
• Steve: is doing well. He has just bought some land for the radio station, and is heading back to the UK for Christmas with his fiancée and their families.
• Christmas: It is so good to be away from the materialism of Christmas in the UK, and back in Gorom, where it is a celebration of God’s provision of salvation in Christ. Here, you wouldn’t actually yet have any indication that Christmas is near, apart from the rise in price of sheep at the market. So it was a shock when I went down to the capital Ouagadougou for a few days to discover that, along with paper hankies and phone cards people at the traffic lights were also now selling inflatable Father Christmases!

May this whole season bring you the joy of God’s grace and provision for you in Christ.

Thank you for all your support and prayers

Keith