The Shumaker Family’s Blog

I wanted you to see our garbage truck.  As you can see it isn’t a truck but a donkey and cart.  It costs us $2 a month and they come once a week.  Have a great day.

I wanted to share with you the progress on our building. We are extremely excited about the progress. As the say, a picture is worth 1000 words and I know you don’t want to read 1000 words from me right now. The first picture was in May, I think. The church people dug the foundation.

Below the foundation is being finished.

Below, the foundation and the columns are finished .

It has been my goal to start at least 40 churches in the city of Ouagadougou. God has been good to us and given us land in key locations already. We have bought two. We have also, through miraculous means, been given some by the government. These aren’t free but they are big lots at a small cost. We have 4 of them. They aren’t totally secured until all of the paperwork is complete, but the paperwork for three of the four is almost complete. That a total of 6 pieces of land God has allowed us to obtain.

We have two full time guards. One works at night and the other during the day. Our day guard is Simon. Simon was very religious when I meet him but he was lost. I took about 30 minutes one day explaining the Gospel to him. I didn’t want to push in a decision, so I just presented the Gospel and was going to leave it to him. He looked at me and said that he has never heard the truth. He has heard about Jesus but never really understood what Jesus did, and he asked if he could accept Christ right then and there. A few months back I was able to lead his father to the Lord. What a blessing it was. He was sick and we later found out that he had a brain tumor (probably cancer). As he was laying on his bed and family and friends visiting him, he would tell them about Jesus. After he died, Simon’s mother has struggled. Simon helps her a lot. A few months ago Simon told me that they wanted to sell his fathers land. The land will cost about $6,500. His mother’s house is made out of dirt and was about to fall in due to the wind and rain. He told me that other houses were being built around their land and because of this his lot was flooded. I paid to have dirt moved in and this helped the situation. One of their buildings did fall though. Simon told me that he would like to sell it to me so that we can put a church on it one day. The goal is to sell the house for $6,500 and they would buy a new piece in a newer neighborhood for about $3000 and that would leave them about $3,500 to build with. There was no way that I could pay the $6,500 due to other projects. It is a great piece of land and soon it will cost over $10,000. It isn’t big but tons and tons of houses are nearby. Simon told me that I could pay it little by little but the problem is that his mother’s house might not be standing much longer. I asked him if we built a small building with two rooms could his mother live in that and then we could give the money for the land next year. He thought it was a great idea. This will cost about $2,000 to do.  This building will serve us later also.  We either need all the money for the land or we will attempt to build the house. Please pray that God would help us to meet this need.

I felt lead to help a pastor from the Ivory Coast build a house. His name is Fouseni. He is a great young man, and God has used him in Divo Nord. This is the village work that God allowed us to start while living in the Ivory Coast. It is in a very Muslim village. I would say that 90% of the village is Muslim. Before we left the Ivory Coast, we built a church building and bought the piece of land next to the church for a parsonage.

As I stated, the young man that took over the work is named Fouseni. He grew up in this village. He was born in a very devout Muslim family. His brother made profession in Christ and after two years won his twin brother(Fouseni) to Christ. God called them both into the ministry. The older brother has fallen into some spiritual problems but Fouseni is really working hard. He hasn’t had tons of fruit but God is greatly using him in this village. He has been persecuted, laughed at, mocked and threatened. Even his father, who is still a Muslim, was told that he should kill his son due to the fact that he left Mohammad and Islam.

Fouseni told me a year ago that he was having a hard time because even though his father has been gracious to him, he doesn’t have full liberty talking about Christ(he stills lives in his fathers house). This is because most of the family are still Muslim. They find his beliefs offensive, and out of respect for his father he cannot freely express his beliefs as long as he’s still under his father’s roof.  I felt that he needed to have his own place and began to make plans to send the money for construction. All of this took place about a year ago. Even though the cost isn’t great compared to major projects, I haven’t had the money necessary to give him because of our other projects. In order to finish his house we will need about $2000 dollars in addition to what I have already saved. Please pray that we can meet this need soon so that our dear brother can have the freedom to do the work of God.

I am not sure but many of you probably already know this: The American dollar is very weak internationally. I think that in some ways it is good for the economy in America, but it isn’t good for those living outside of the States. It seems that most missionaries all across the world are having this problem. The big problem for us is that our currency is pegged to the Euro. As you know the Euro is very powerful. When we first came to West Africa we were trading one dollar for 750 CFA(currency here in West Africa). We are now exchanging 1 dollar for 455 CFA. We have lost more that 40% of our buying power. Since coming we have lost a few supporting churches but we have gained some also. Can you imagine what would happen if you lost 40% of your pay check each month? We are still able to live here, but our work fund is greatly limited. I am going to mention some projects that we have had on the table for a little time. Will you please pray for these projects, that God will help us to finish them?

I don’t usually mention a lot about projects and money but sometimes it is necessary for the work.  I was told by somebody one day, “How do we know where to help, if you never mention a need?”  A good point.

I want to share with you an interesting experience. I rented some iron supports that hold the wood together as we make the support posts for our new church building. Sunday night a thief came in and stole 22 of them. I have no idea how this could happen as a family of 5 lives on our land, but they managed to get a lot of them as the family slept. I had to repay the man that I rented them $3 for each iron support. That is when I found out that it was really stupid of me to rent them. I thought they cost $10 or more to buy. So I decided it wasn’t good to continue to rent them but it would be good for me to buy some iron supports for our current construction and future work. This afternoon when I showed up at the land, the man we rented the iron supports from wanted their money. We are supposed to pay for the days that they are in use. Each support is needed for two days each time they do the posts. So I expected to pay only for two days but he told me that I owed 4 days. I almost became unglued at that moment. I know that you are more spiritual than this carnal missionary, but I couldn’t take it. Here’s what happened. The carpenter put on the supports Saturday, (why I don’t know) but we hadn’t yet put the cement in the posts, so they were doing nothing but say, “Come steal me,” and you already know what happened to that. Now I am being told that I was supposed to pay for Sat. and Sun. when they weren’t being used and then he wanted me to pay for rent for the iron supports that were stolen. Do you get that? 22 iron supports were stolen and I had already paid him back for them, but he still wanted me to pay the rent for those that were stolen. Plus he wants me to pay for 4 days of usage with the other 67 when they were only being used for 2 days. I don’t know what it was but I couldn’t take it. I told him that I had to leave before I made a total fool of myself.

Maybe culture shock never leaves or maybe it isn’t always culture shock but human shock. I am shocked at the way men live but should I expect an unregenerated man to walk with integrity and character? Then my father-in-law had to ask me what I would have done if I was one of them. Honestly, I would have tried to take the white man for everything he had. No, actually many people here are good and honest. The Lord taught me that I needed to bite my tongue. I need to do it more often. As a leader, I have learned that sometimes you have to take the blame and the bad end of the stick. I know that my flesh hates that, but for the furtherance of the Gospel it is necessary.

As I have stated, my father-in-law is here with us. Bro. Land and a few of us went to our village work in Roungou last Friday. We sometimes go on Friday to be able to have a night teaching and a Saturday morning teaching. I used to sleep under the stars, but we slept in the church this time. The trip went great and we are really beginning to see who is serious. Our crowd has actually went down since our building was completed. I would have thought that I would have been terribly disappointed by that, but we are seeing who are the really faithful ones. This is necessary for us to be able to train them for the different aspects of ministry.

The highlight of my trip was a story that came from Vieux. Vieux, which means “old man” in French, is a huge blessing to us. By the way, here in Africa it is a honor to call a man an old man. It is not disrespectful. He is a car mechanic and also a chauffeur. When we arrived in Burkina Faso I was introduced to Vieux, and he asked us to go to his village. He told me that he had asked missionary after missionary but they all said it was too far or they were too busy. He told me that he knew Jesus but he doesn’t know how to read or preach and has a desire for his family to hear the truth. I felt burdened to at least go and preach to them, so this is how the work in Roungou began. We have been there a little over two years, and God has blessed. We have baptized close to 50 and seen many saved. I really think that this work will grow and be used to reach many of the surrounding villages.

While we were approaching the village I asked Vieux, “What made you leave the village, when most people never did?” He told me that when he first saw a bike he wanted one for himself. So he decided the only way to get a bike would be to leave the village, find a job, buy the bike and then come back to the village. Vieux left the village and arrived at the first town and didn’t find work, so he came to Ouagadougou. He found work but most importantly he found God or should I say that God found him. He trusted Jesus in 1982. He moved around a lot, but in Dec of 2004 I met him. That is when he asked me to come to start the work in his village. This came to pass all because of a bike. Thank God for a desire to have a bike.

Below is a picture of Tim Land and Vieux.  This was taken in the village and where Vieuxs family lives.

I am not sure what is going on between my internet and my computer but I have been having difficulty.  The internet got to where it was working and then my laptop wouldn’t work.  For the moment, we have fixed them both and they are are working.  I will try to catch up on what is going on.  Thanks for your prayers, your love and your support.

My wife took Marie Paul to the doctor while I taught Bible class. Turns out that the doctor thinks that Marie Paul had Tuberculosis of the spine which will make your spine very weak as it gradually starts to “eat up” the back bones. She was at school almost a year ago when a boy hit her and she fell up against a desk. The doctor thinks she broke something in her back and a vertebrae began to bulge out. This vertebrae is almost completely eaten up and the rest of the spine it trying to push together. I don’t really know how this little girl has managed to walk and live like this. They say she can only walk a little bit without hurting and getting tired. She loves to come to church and sing loud with a big smile on her face. The doctor is supposed to get back to us about what to do after he consults with a specialist. I am not sure if we can honestly do much, and if we do it might be expensive. One thing we can do is pray. Please pray for Marie Paul.

After Church on Sunday I was asked if I could come and talk with a faithful member of our church. She told me that her younger brother was given a wife(thats what they call it) but he wanted to do a church wedding. The brother has come to church but not really faithfully. I am not sure about his spiritual life. I was told that he is a former Jehovah’s Witness. His fiance or wife or whatever you call her was there today. She was a member of a church but couldn’t tell us if she died she would go to heaven. We talked with her for about 30 min. I never push anybody to make a decision. I tell them the truth and leave them with the decision. I believe if they are ready you won’t have to force them or beg them to trust Christ. Anyhow, she said she was ready and bowed her head and trusted Christ. I have no idea what we will do with the marriage situation, but I praise the Lord for her salvation.

Oh yeah, I haven’t mentioned what God did on Sunday. Both churches were well attended. We had about 90 at Tingandogo and 80 at Cissin. My mother-in-law, Carol Land, taught the children in the morning and my father-in-law, Tim Land, gave his testimony and a charge to the church Sunday night.