Please pray for our day, and for us as we start our life serving God together. Thank you.

I won't be blogging for a few weeks... but do come by sometime after 3pm tomorrow, as Steve will be posting something here then.

Building the school is in some ways the easy bit. Because we are aiming to help the poorest of the poor, the parents of the children at Wakkil Alla primary school will not be able to make enough of a contribution to cover the salaries of the teachers and the running costs of the school. This is the challenge to make the school viable.

Sponsor a Class
For the first few years, we would like to find some support for the school, until it can get established. Rather than child sponsorship, we are looking at class sponsorship. We would like to find 6 churches who would each be willing to sponsor a class of children through its 6 years of school. This would give the school time to get established and potentially develop other means of support.

We plan to take in one class of up to 40 children each year for the first 6 years, until we have a full school of 6 classes with up to 240 children. The first class is already being sponsored by Glenwood Church in Cardiff, and so we need 5 more churches over the next 5 years - starting this October (2009).

Cost
We are looking for a contribution of €2,300 (currently $3,200 or £2,000) per year towards the cost of supporting a class of 40 children (teacher salary, food, administration). That works out at €190 per month per class, or under €5 per child per month.

Do you think your church or group could commit to €190 per month for 6 years to help put a class of 40 children through a Christian elementary school? Maybe you and eighteen friends could each afford €10/month?

Could you help?
We need support for the second class by this October, and then support for each of the next four classes to start on each of the following four years. If you think you or your church or group could help us, do please get in touch with us at admin@acaciapartnershiptrust.org.uk.

Read more about the school at: www.undertheacacias-school.org.uk

In France's 22-27 defeat of the All Blacks in New Zealand on Saturday, one of the stars of the French team was a Burkinabe called Fulgence Ouedraogo. Good man.

Nevertheless, I seriously hope that Tony Mowbray decides not to return to Glasgow, where he used to play for Celtic.

Celtic have finally made an approach for the Baggies manager, seeking to bring him back north of the border. Albion however do not want to let him go, and are reportedly asking for the £2m that is in the compensation clause of Mowbray's contract to take him away. If Celtic can promise that - which some think unlikely - then they can talk with him directly.

I hope that it doesn't happen. I like Mowbray's philosophy of play, and I like his integrity. I hope that, if Celtic do decide to talk to him, he says "Thanks but no thanks." All should be revealed this week.

Les Etalons ("the Stallions") have now gone 8 games without defeat in the World Cup qualifiers, and Moumouni Dagano netted his 10th goal in the competition.

Burkina's next match is against Ivory Coast on 20th June - the day of my wedding.

Rev Paul Bedford of Wellingborough URC presented me with a cheque of £5,000 a couple of weeks back, to go towards building a kitchen for the Gorom-Gorom school.

The church have raising funds over the last year, with a variety of events. In the photo are a few members of the church's mission committee, including my mum, next to Paul. And you may also spot my lovely fiancee, Lynne, by my side, where she belongs. Two weeks today...

Burkina Faso won their first game, beating Guinea 4-2.

Allez les Etalons!

Maybe you are in the same situation, in which case you will want to enter a competition being run by Laura at Actually Laura. She is offering a week of her graphic design skills. For details, go here.

In the event that I don't win...
a) I hope you do.
b) Is there anyone out there who might be willing and able to help design me a website for the charity?

Cheers.

The day of Pentecost for Christians is not only about the birth of the church and the equipping with the Holy Spirit for our communion with God, power for living, and gifts for service of the saints. At the very heart of this day is the passing from Christ to us of the baton of God’s purpose to bless all nations – the gospel announced in advance to Abraham (Gal 3:8).

It is the day when the tide changes from a centripetal force, calling all nations to the temple at Jerusalem, to a centrifugal one, thrusting the temple out from Jerusalem into the nations. And, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, that day is marked by people from all nations, hearing the good news for the very first time in their own languages, before returning with it to their home lands.

It is a day when not only God comes to dwell among men, but also when his presence overflows beyond Israel to the world, beyond Gen 12:2 (I will bless you) to 12:3 (and all nations will be blessed through you). It is the day of moving beyond xenophobic self-interest to xenophilic other-centredness, that the whole earth may be filled with the glory of the Lord! The kingdom of God and his presence are now for all peoples, all tribes, and all languages.

This central feature of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost - the proclamation of the wonders of God in other languages to people “of every nation under heaven” tells us something. Its message is that we are and must be a missionary people. Our identity is inescapably tied up with mission. We are not only the recipients of his grace, but the channels of it to the world. When we are not missionary, we are not the church.

At Pentecost, God declares: “Today I am pouring out my grace to every nation and people, and I am sending you with this grace,” and so he says: “Go therefore…”

Part 2 – A village in Burkina Faso, 20 centuries later…
The darkness of the night was only accentuated by the few paraffin lamps scattered around the open ground. In the darkness, the shapes of small groups of people could be made out.

This was one of the early Fulani conferences, when the few Fulani Christians from around the country gathered together. Most were used to being the only believer in their village. And so these conferences had become a huge encouragement, as they met with other Fulani who were following Iisaa Almasiihu – Jesus Christ. The previous year we had had a record 40 people. This year there were about 80. Still small beginnings from a population of about 1 million Fulani in Burkina, but hugely significant as Pentecost began to have its effect with the birth of the church among them.

Being mostly new converts from Islam, they were unused to singing in worship, and the songs had been sung with serious intent, but uneasily, and somewhat stiltedly, as though they weren’t sure they were doing it right. I looked across at two of the old men, sitting straightfaced on the ground. They were clearly not yet convinced singing was a valid way of worshipping God.

Then, almost tangibly, everyone grew still and silent. And, in the darkness, a single, beautiful voice sang out clear through the night:
Bernde am na weli ko mi rewi Iisaa
Bernde am subi ko mido rewa Iisaa

My heart is glad that I am following Jesus
My heart has chosen to follow Jesus

I looked again at the old men. They were convinced. There was something pure, unpretentious, and spiritual about the song. The presence of Jesus was felt, the church was being born among another people. Men and women were coming to know God. The kingdom of God was touching people’s lives. The praises of God were being sung in new tongues. Pentecost was continuing to flow.

(reposted from 15/5/2005)

Brilliant. Many people can't afford the 50p to buy their birth certificates. As one woman comments:

"If you have to choose between a meal and a birth certificate you are going to choose food, it just makes sense."

You need a birth certificate to exist officially. Without one it is hard to be registered for school or medical treatment, or to get an identity card, which is compulsory. Without an identity card, you can't vote, it's difficult to get a job or have any official business, and you can't even travel without fear of arrest or a fine.

We have often helped friends get their birth certificates and identity cards sorted out. Without them, people end up marginalised, vulnerable to abuse, and in fear of contact with authorities. Rather than participating in and shaping society, they skirt round the outside of it. I have seen people jump out of bush taxis to avoid police checks.

Birth certificates aren't the whole answer, but - especially combined with education - can contribute to the building of an inclusive society where people have a sense of identity, role, and status. I'm really pleased at this.

Well done Burkina Faso!

1. What do you want as a wedding gift?
For the answer to this question, you can go to our new Wedding Page.

2. "What will you be doing after marrying - will you both be going back to Burkina Faso?"

Yes, Lynne and I do plan to continue to develop the ministry in Gorom-Gorom and Burkina Faso, where I have been working for 20 years.

We envisage that this work will involve travelling between Burkina Faso and the UK, as we also build up the Acacia Partnership Trust.

We don't yet have a date for moving out to Burkina Faso. Immediately after the wedding and honeymoon, we will be based in the UK for a few months. We then plan to spend time in France for Lynne to improve her French, which will be necessary for her life in Burkina Faso.

During this time, we will of course maintain contact with the work in Burkina Faso, and may be travelling out there occasionally. For example, we plan to go out in September, when the churches in Gorom-Gorom and Markoye will be running a Soccer School with the support of a team coming out from Glenwood Church in Cardiff and St Nics in Nottingham. (I will write more about this soon.)

Please continue to pray for us. Thank you.

Please pray for us as we prepare for the great day and for the future together.

Thank you.

We are "partnering churches to serve communities" - establishing two-way partnerships between churches in Burkina Faso and elsewhere through which both communities can benefit.

In Burkina, this includes the evangelism, pastors support and training, Gorom-Gorom school, well-drilling, poverty relief, education sponsorship, camps, and everything else we are doing to bring Christ's love to the people of the north of Burkina.

But it also is a way of exploring what Africa has to give to us in our poverty of community and spirituality in the consumerism and individualism of the 21st century.

Website and Literature
The Acacia Partnership Trust website is as yet only really a holding page. You can of course read about different aspects of my work on my website here. I do however hope to get the website developed in the coming weeks, and start producing some literature about our work. Please pray for all this. Thank you.

Supporting Keith's Work in Burkina Faso
We also hope to get online giving set up for all we are doing. Currently it is only available for the Gorom-Gorom School. In the meantime, if you want to support any other aspect of our work, you can send a cheque to

Acacia Partnership Trust
10 Tarragon Way
Pontprennau
Cardiff CF23 8SN
UK

• Please make cheques payable to "Acacia Partnership Trust"
• If you are a UK tax-payer, we can reclaim the tax as Gift Aid, which will add 25% to the value of the gift. You can download a Gift Aid form HERE.