Praise the Lord for His Blessings!!!

Sorry that there have not been more frequent postings in the last couple of days. Kids Camp has been busy with three sessions each day. That in addition to the couple of thunder storms, power outages and internet outages has made posting a little difficult. But don't worry. We will make up for it with plenty of video and pictures when we return.

The first thanksgiving to the Lord is for our health. We are all doing really well. Kate went down for a couple of days but is back to good health after taking some of the medicine we had prescribed before we left. Luckily, she was able to finish the last two days of the camp. The Lord answered so many prayers with that healing.

The second blessing we are so thankful for is the way that our church has been able to bless the people here in Burkina Faso. Not only did we make a lot of children happy with our kids camp but we as a church were also able to help send sorghum to a village outside of the city called Zorga. Between 30 and 40 families will benefit from that food.

Possibly the most awesome blessing is for the success of the Kids Camp. Logistically it went really well. The counselors were amazing with the kids and the kids were a joy. Most importantly though, children were saved. Dozens of children expressed their desire to know Jesus and we all rejoice for that.

The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, it would take too long to even write them while sitting in this cyber cafe. We look forward to speaking with all of you about what the Lord has done in Burkina and in our own personal walks this last 9 days.

We leave early in the morning Tuesday in Burkina and arrive back in Portland late Tuesday night, Oregon time. Please pray for our safe travels and that the Lord would root up and grow the kids that gave their lives to the Lord today. Praise His holy name!

We have arrived!!!

Hi Everyone back home! We have made it safe and sound to Burkina Faso! Please forgive any mistakes I make in typing this. A French keyboard...which means rearranged keys so I cant find the right punctuation...and a slow dial up connection make this a little more challenging than our usual entries. I will post pictures and video when I get back as it is too slow download pics off our cameras.

The Lord has abundantly blessed us already. When we arrived in Casablanca, Morroco we were anticipating a 16 hour layover in the airport. The Lord had different plans though and blessed our socks off with the airline accomodating us at a nice hotel in Casablanca called Le Zenith. They paid for 5 rooms for the day and two meals and transportation to and from the hotel. We rested and ate and took showers. We also were able to go on a taxi tour of the city. Between the crazy driving...they use their horns to say hello...and the smelly tour of Casablancas fishing port, it was definitely the most random tour I have ever been on. We were able to see a beautiful old fort or palace...we couldnt get the translation of which it was... and one of the worlds biggest mosques. While it is sad that so much time and energy has been put into a monument to a false god, the architecture and scale of it were amazing.

We flew into Ouagadougu, Burkina Faso, we were met by Pastor Daniel of the church we are working with. Some of you may remember him from when he came to Athey. We went to the Assemblies of God compound at which we are staying and caught a two hour catnap waking in time to grab a quick breakfast and go to church.

The worship was simply amazing and I was moved to see the love that people on the other side of the world show to the same Jesus whom we all love and serve. We are definitely one body in Him. James shared a great word on the life of Joseph and the fact that God has plan for all of us and will work all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. It definitely gave me pause to see the extent to which the congregation accepted this fact in the midst of so much less than we have medically, financially, and materially in the states.

We then got a chance to start playing with the kids and they are amazing, joyful and loving. We are all looking forward to our week of kids camp. We are all healthy and blessed and pray the same for you at home. Please pray the Lord will be glorified here!! We may not get another time to post before we come home but if we can, we will. Blessings from all of us here in Burkina.

Puppet Show Practice

Pat, Samm, Jodie, and Hans gathered at the Rasmussen house to practice their skills in puppeteering.  Here are some of the fun pics that came out of that practice.  If the kids in Burkina Faso have half as much fun as we did, it will be a hit.

The girls posing with Pat's mobile puppet theater.  The whole thing can fit in one bag.  It is awesome!

Pat posing with the puppet that will play the part of Jesus.  Awesome hair!

The true stars of the show singing some worship :o)

Well, the meetings are done and we are off to Africa.  We will be leaving bright and early on Friday morning, August 22nd and we will get back on September 3rd.  We will post photos as soon as possible but may not be until we get back.  

Please be in prayer for our travel and safety and for the family members holding down the fort at home.  But most of all, please be in prayer that the Lord Jesus is glorified and that kids are saved!  God bless you all!

Burkina Packing Meeting

One more meeting and then we are off. A little food, a little fun, and the quickest packing we have ever done and we are ready to go. Here are some pictures from our last all team meeting before we head off into the wild blue yonder to Burkina Faso!!!!

Of course we had to have some good food.

Here are the boys enjoying themselves in the dark. Notice the lantern. Power went out at the Shield's house. This, along with the 100 degree heat made it a true Burkina Faso meeting.

And on the other side of the room... here are the girls.

Hey look... earth balls. It wouldn't be an ACCF kid's camp without them. James showed us all the gear we would be taking. Let the packing begin!

Here is JT doing what he does best... supervising.

Hey Pat? Do you really need 5 bags? Oh wait, those are all of our bags. The Lord was definitely good to us to get all of our stuff to fit in those bags.

What kind of a trip would it be without some intense bug spray?

Kate having some fun with the night vision on the camera.

To top off our last team Burkina Faso meeting, we had a friend join us as we packed. This was one big spider.

Girls REI Trip

When it comes to shopping, sometimes 4 are better than 1.

With that in mind, the A-team girls headed out for an afternoon of Burkina attire shopping. With hats, skirts, dry fit tops, shoes and much more to find, we took REI by storm. Following up with Marshall's and Starbucks, of course.

Kate, Samm and Jodie searching for the perfect sun hat.

Samm! This one will protect your neck! You should get it!

Kate, we are not going to an Australian dude ranch.

Melody, Jodie, Samm and Kate with our REI finds.

Checking out the list of necessities

Co-pilot

Back seat drivers ;)

Kate is the first in line for coffee..Mmmm..

A team gals, all smiles

Lets talk logistics

The A-team enjoyed another meeting at the Shields residence, to eat a bonanza of pot luck dishes and talk Burkina Faso details.

Yummy Fruit Pizza

Zay, contemplating the pizza

Pat, sampling the brown sugar,

because, lets be honest... he eats everything...en masse

Pat enjoying the aroma of his pineapple creation

Phuong's Korean desert contribution. (Not for the faint of heart)

Melody and Samm laughing at Pat (most likely)

Kate, Samm and Mel

Pat and Ryan, not sure what to say about this pic..

The guys chillin', holla!

A-team group pic

Funny Pic #1

Funny pic take 2

More Food, More Fun

I promise everyone, preparing for Africa is hard work! I mean we need to sample lots of good food and practice smiling, a lot. So here we are again, at the Shields residence, doing our best at eating and smiling and laughing.....

The girls.. (in our assigned seating arrangements)

The guys with Pat in mid-chew.

Hold us back from this Delicious guacamole and mashed potatoes!!

Don't worry, Pat is here! To the rescue!

And... All is well in the world.

Phuong showing Hans some sweet moves.

What would our blog be with out the random, yet classic Hans and Phuong shot?