The Shumaker Family’s Blog

I want to start by thanking all of you for your prayers. The trip was long but well worth it. I had a meeting with some missionaries and pastors in Ghana. We had 4 African countries represented at the meeting (Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso). We have formed a fellowship and we were meeting about our plans this year. This is the same group that had the pastors conference last year at our church.

Then I was off to Abidjan, Ivory Coast. I was a little apprehensive about traveling in the Ivory Coast due to the war there, mostly because my license plate is from Burkina Faso. Burkina and the Ivory Coast haven’t always been to friendly during this time. Surprisingly I was rarely stopped and never hassled in South(by the military).

The whole trip was over 2,000 Kilometers. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot but on African roads it can be. There was one stretch that was only 120 kilometers and it took over 4 hours because of the potholes or should I say craters.

I made it back home at 8:30 tonight.  We left at day break.  I wasn’t expecting to make it back tonight but we made good timing and we traveled a little after dark, which I usually don’t do(for safety reasons) but I wanted to see my family.  I had an amazing trip.  I will try to write a couple of updates tomorrow.  We went through rebel territory in the Ivory Coast today.  That was interesting.  No harm done except for the wallet.  Many checkpoints and they all want money.  It is good to be home.

I will be taking a trip to Ghana in a few days.  Then I will travel to the Ivory Coast.  I haven’t been back to the Ivory Coast since we left December 2004.  I am excited.  Please pray for God’s protection and blessing upon the trip.  Please pray for Rebecca and the kids also.  I don’t like to leave my family but sometimes it is necessary.  I will be gone for about a week and a half.

Last Thursday, we went to Salif’s village. He hadn’t visited his family in over a year, and I told him that I would like to meet his family. It took us over 8 hours to get to his village. We had a brake line bust, transmission fluid leaked, a tire blew up, and we had problems with our battery. The joys of trying to maintain a vehicle in Africa. We had a great time, though. I know that they haven’t seen any or at least not many white people in this area. For almost three hours, I would see a little head peek around the corner, little black eyes looking right at me and then hear little feet as they ran away. They haven’t had something exciting like this for long time. Its not everyday a white man comes to their village. The funniest thing is that some of the children are absolutely terrified of the white man. They see me and scream. I guess I was the village clown for the day.  Here is a picture of Salif with his mother.

A few hundred yards from Salif’s house was a garden. The woman, pictured below, was trying to water her plants. They looked good and should normally be ready in about one month but she was explaining that her well has dried up. My heart broke. To see her effort, to see the beautiful plants and to find out that water lacks. I looked in the well and almost got dizzy. It was so deep, but yet the water was gone. I was thinking about the area that we were in. Village after village and mile after mile there was no church. Beautiful people, kind and generous, but the Water of Life isn’t there. The well has never been dug, the first seed has never been planted. I was extremely shocked and utterly broken by what I experienced. I prayed in my heart the whole time I was there. God help us to reach these people. They need the Gospel, they need the light, they need the Water of Life. I tell people that I am totally filled with joy, but I am also sad. I am thrilled to be a child of God, to have my sins forgiven, but I am broken and saddened by the people that will perish without even hearing about the truth that Jesus loves them. God, please let us reach them, please let us win them, please do a great work through us.

Here is a picture of our work in the village, Roungou.  We had a wonderful crowd this past Saturday.  Salif taught and did a great job.  This baby was born a few weeks ago.  They asked me to name him.  I have him the name Jacques or James in English.  I asked God to save him and use his life.  The baby is beautiful, but can’t say that about the man in the picture.