Burkina Faso report, february 2008

'' Cinema, Cinema , Cinema Ye" .

No, these are not the words of the latest chart song heard on radio. We are located in a small northern village in Burkina Faso, Western Africa in the third poorest country in the world. We are in a small village close to the border with Mali,  a sub Sahara area where only 25 % of the population know how to read or write. This semi-desertic village has been transformed into a 3 days campground conference. More than 1200 people gathered from all the nearest and farthest mud huts of the area have come to hear the "Israelis " , the sons of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob. This number does not include the hundreds of children who play in the red and dry dust amidst pigs, goats and bees near the central water well where women draw the precious water.

" Holy , Holy , Holy is the Lord of hosts " These were the words we heard, translated into " Dioula ", one of the fifty different tribal languages spoken in Burkina Faso and the predominant one in this remote area, close to the city of Nouna. The music is authentic. The instruments, percussions and a special xylophone made of wood and gourds are a musical treat to the hears . This music is still ethnically unspoiled by the west, the worship is genuine , the singing beautiful. The prayers in unison and with great intensity all indicate a thirst for God and a desire to hear from Him and from his word , from his servants , the Israelis, who came from so far away just to meet them, from the land of the Bible , of the Hebrew prophets , the land where their savior was born , lived , died , resurrected and will be coming back again . The atmosphere is electrifying. Welcome to Africa .

It was just yesterday night when our plane left Israel to arrive in Ouaguagougou , the capital city and home of 1.5 million of the 14 millions of Burkinabe . There our team joined with those who were already there for 1 or 2 weeks  to work on an agricultural project that could revolutionize the future of the all country. The prayers and vision of the local believers combined with Israeli technology and financing of western born again believers is creating a great impact into this blessed but underdeveloped land. ( see  article …..  )

Now we are all gathered together, eight of us , representing two messianic congregations of the Tel-Aviv Area. We drove in a van with a local driver, Moslem born but very open to the warmth and love the team is expressing to him. We travel with Ram Zango , a very special leader and visionary , a man of faith and actions . A man we all learned to love and respect as to become a very close friend. He is our main translator and link to his culture. We see from speaking to him that he carries the burden of his people , he deeply believes in his country,  and in what God could do to bring his blessings to the land.

The trip to Nouna takes 6  hours . Having slept only a few hours since our arrival in Burkina , the testing of our caracter has already begun in some of us . Before we can minister to others in an effective way,  we need to be made aware of our complete dependency towards God . We know we need to adjust to the situation quickly , to release all our rights to comfort , to complain , to rest or feel clean . His grace is being poured upon all of us in a very special way.

The conference in Nouna was the first exposure to the nine days of ministry we will be involved in . We took turn in speaking , preaching , teaching , giving testimonies , leading Hebrew songs of worship . People were never grew tired  of hearing us , drinking each of the words spoken to them. We crossed the all country, traveling  from the north to the south , reaching the border of Ghana , we covered hundred of miles in the red dust covered roads. Day after days.

In fact it seems that everywhere we went , people always wanted to hear more. I had the sense that God was making history with all these tribal population. It was divine appointment for many and a spirit of revelation was being poured out upon the people. Ram Zango , our host also sensed the same and he started to arrange even more gatherings, in even more remote areas .He said “ you have brought the fire “ so more people had to hear us.  The last few days we splited the team in two for more effectiveness and strategy. Different translators , different languages, sometimes for two or three languages.

It was interesting to see that through odd circumstances , God chose to closed the door for us to speak in the capital city ( even though we received a warm invitation that Sunday to speak in one of  the largest church ) in order to focus more on the remote rural areas , those who never seen Israelis in their lives.. We visited and prayed for pastors ministering in villages plagued by witchcraft and animism, We made public declarations that Yeshua , as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all these villages and areas of Burkina Faso .

We were also eager to visit the school  we decided to sponsor in the city of Yako. As a congregation we commited to support a full class of 70 children , aged 11 to 16 . Beside the offering we brought with us , we distributed tee shirts , writing materials , pencils ,medecine, sweets and toys and …football ( soccer balls) !! . These Soccer balls where a very special treat to all the kids who are all  football  fans.

One day , on our way to a conference , our car broke down and we found ourselves close to a village . We took one of the soccer ball  we had in the car and started to play with the children of the village . A crowd started to form , contact was quickly made. You should have seen the joy it brought to the kids when we gave them the ball as a gift from Israel !

Another blessing  was that through a friend of mine, pastor in France, we received  15 French Study bibles with concordances. We were able to distribute these precious gifts to the pastors and heads representatives  of  fellowship of  the whole regions.

The highlight of my journey was definitely on the last day . When my translator and the driver asked me to pray to bless them . We stopped on the side of the road . There they kneeled on a field and as I was standing to bless them,  the Holy Spirit fell upon me and them together and we stayed one hour in silent awe and worship . His peace and presence being upon us , the Lord met us there on the side of the road to Ouaga .

There , I definitely heard the Lord saying to me that I will be back in this beautiful land . He deeply loves this people and has just begun his work among this blessed nation . This is the time to water Africa with the water of life . To invest into the spiritual future of this continent. Israel being a light unto the Nations .

I wish to thank all who contributed to the expenses of this trip , those who prayed for our protection and safety. Those who prayed for us to be a blessing to this beautiful Land . Your prayers have been answered . They carried us through.

“I will bless those who will bless Israel . “ I came to Burkina Faso as an answer to a prayer I made four years ago to bless in return the brothers from Burkina who sowed by tithing into our ministry . I thank the Lord for allowing me to fulfill this wish and bless in return the believers  to bring an even greater harvest for His Kingdom . To Him be the glory for ever and ever . Amen.

Tony Sperandeo for the Maayan team

P.S.  We ask your help for BURKINA :For all those desiring to help us blessing Africa you can be involved with us in sponsoring children in the new school of Yako , located in the center of Burkina Faso . We are also looking for medecine : antibiotics , vitamines , antiseptics . We are also desiring to send more school materials and study books  mostly in French but also some in English . We are looking for the way to distribute more bibles to the different "bush  " churches .

If interested to help in this ministry contact us and mention : For Burkina Faso .

Also  for KENYA  : We got words from pastor  Obure , whom we visited last year in West Kenya, that the fighting going on right now beetween tribes is affecting road safety and the provision of food and  that many shops are empty of basic nessecities. We are raising an offering to send to this pastor  who is responsible for many churches and a bible school in the area of Kisumu , near lake Victoria . We know this man and his ministry and we know that the money we send will reach the needs of the poor who are struggling to find food .