The Shumaker Family's Blog

In life one may experience highs and lows, but there are a few days that top them all.  The day I was born again into the family of God, the day I got married, and the day my children were born are some of those special days.  A few weeks ago I also had one of those days.

Pastor Salif had invited my wife to come and teach the women for a ladies day.  Then, he also decided my children and I could teach the village children and I could preach and baptize all on this same day.

When we arrived everybody was buzzing with excitement.  There were many women and a good number of men.  The children were like a sea of faces.  To sit back and watch Salif as he lead, directed, and loved on the people was absolutely amazing.  He is a great servant of God.  It is amazing where God has brought him in the last 10 years.  A man who had studied to be an Imam is now a preacher of the Gospel.

My wife taught the women on being a good example in front of their lost husbands.  Many of the men in the village have no problem allowing their wives to go to church, but they are still attached to their traditions.  Her translator was Mamata.  Mamata is married to Pastor Salif and she was our house worker for 6 years.  She is like a daughter to Rebecca.  They had read the Bible and memorized scriptures together for many years.

The teenagers had filled up the baptistery the night before, but by morning the water was gone.  When we arrived the teenagers had gone about a mile to get more water.  What a blessing to see the fruit that Pastor Salif is having by baptizing 15 people.  There was a time where I had done most of the baptizing, but now I watch as the men that God allowed me to train do the work.

Emily, Meredith, Isaac and Caleb all had a part in teaching the children a Bible Story.  Much to my surprise they taught most of it in French.  What a beautiful day it was and it honored Christ.  What a thrill to be a part of what God is doing here in Burkina Faso.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, May 20th, 2013 at 4:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.