Thank you once more for your support and prayers. It has been a while since I wrote a proper newsletter, and a lot has happened in the last few months, so here is a brief overview. For more regular details make sure you get my email updates, or go to my blog.

RAINS, FLOODS, HARVEST…
You have probably seen about the floods in West Africa. In Burkina, the floods have been in the south of the country. In our area, we have had very high rainfall, which has been good for the fields, without causing floods, and we hope for a good harvest. The high rainfall has however made the roads often impassable. This has made everything I have done this year very tiring and difficult, though I thank God for a good vehicle and for his protection while travelling.

In Gorom-Gorom, we continue to help victims of last year’s flood, with further food aid at vulnerable moments. We are also building more houses for some of the flood victims. Thank you again for the gifts we received for this work.

KIDS CAMP
The Kids’ Camp in July was a great success. It was run by the two churches in Gorom-Gorom and my home church, Glenwood in Cardiff. We were expecting about 100 kids, and ended up with about 250, most of whom were from local Muslim families. It was a great week, and for ages afterwards “Jesus songs” could be heard all around the town.

MONIQUE
As many of you know, Seydou’s wife, Monique was taken seriously ill after the camp. She had very high blood pressure and malaria. The treatment also caused her to nearly lose her sight completely. We were able finally to get her to Ouagadougou for comprehensive tests and treatment. Her blood pressure will require medication for the rest of her life. She is also receiving treatment for her eyesight, which is improving, though not as fast as we would like. Your ongoing prayers are appreciated.

WORKERS FOR THE HARVEST
It looks like we are getting two new workers in Gorom-Gorom. They are both good friends and committed men who will be a real blessing for the work of the kingdom:
* "P", a pastor with an evangelistic gift, will be moving with his family and two camels to live with Seydou and myself.
* "M", a Fulani pastor with another church is also moving to Gorom. He is only able to spend half his time there at the moment as his family is still in Ouaga.
Please thank God for these two families and pray for them.

BAPTISM
Five local people were baptised recently, which was a huge blessing. They included:
“B”, a blind Fulani leper, who is very courageous in sharing his faith
“L”, an intelligent young Tamacheq girl who came top of her school year
“O”, a Songhai man who uses our donkey cart to support his family
Pascal asked me to help baptise them, and Pierre and Michel (right) also joined us.

GOLD!
One situation much on my heart at the moment is in Essakane, 40km from Gorom-Gorom, where people have been mining gold by hand for the last 20 years in pretty appalling conditions. Now the 4th largest gold mining company in the world, is moving in, preparing to spend $346 million on mining the area. This means that the whole of Essakane, and about 7 other villages will be relocated – about 15,000 people in all. While I am not sorry to see an end to the desperate conditions that existed there, I am concerned for the loss of livelihood, the dislocation, and other potential effects of such a move, and am concerned to see God’s justice and compassion in this situation to bring his best for the local population. Please pray for Ousseini (Essakane’s pastor) and myself as we seek to bring his grace into the situation.

OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
UK. I am in the UK until early November, trying to build up partnerships between churches here and those in BF. I will be visiting some of these churches, and trying to get the organisational structures sorted for this. I really need someone to help me with administrative stuff, and also need a lodger for my house before I return to Burkina.
School. We are still working on the vision for starting a Christian primary school in Gorom-Gorom, and hope to have news for you on this very shortly.
BF People. Steve and Charlie are preparing to return to Burkina at the end of October. Please pray for them, especially for Charlie, as they settle into married life in Djibo. Fulani believers in Gorom, H, J, and others, are doing well, and encouraged by the baptisms and the arrival of P and M. Olivia’s eyes are much better, but Nathaniel is possibly going to start at Braille school.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers. I hope to see many of you soon.