Update 10: Home

Well I am back home in Manchester Tennessee, a long way away from Sindou, Burkina Faso.

My last days in Burkina were bittersweet. I was sad to leave the people I had grown so close too, but hopeful that in the coming months or years I would hear of their decision to follow Christ and see them again one day.

Working in a Muslim area is a hard and long process. During my two months in Burkina, I did not necessarily see any overly-apparent fruits of my work. But I have to trust that God will use my presence their as He wishes to accomplish what He will. Our job is not always to reap, but sometimes to just sow. I ask that you continue praying for the Hoch, Gordons, and Branes and the work that God is doing through them in Burkina Faso.

This trip has taught me a ton about what full-time missions will look like for myself, and God has reassured me that this is how I will be spending me life.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support and please don't hesitate to contact me if you want to know more about my internship. I will likely see most of you within the next couple of weeks. I apologize for not being able to upload any pictures during the internship, the internet access was too slow to do so. Within a few days, I will be upload a lot of picture from the summer onto my facebook page so that anyone can see them. Even if you do not have facebook, the album will be public and available to everyone. You can find my page here: https://www.facebook.com/jfkendrick

Thank you again, God bless
Yakuba

Update 9: Widows, Wells, and Home Visits

My last days in Dano were extremely fun!

After buying some supplies, the interns and I put together several sacks filled with a some basic necessities and gifts to give to the widows of a local church. On Tuesday we went out and delivered the sacks and spent some time visiting and praying with them and walking around the villages.

Widow are extremely common in this culture. Men are usually much older than the women when they marry, and the men usually live shorter lives because several lifestyle factors. Within the Christian communities in Dano, widows are usually cared for very well but periodically the team here likes to encourage and support them with these gifts. It was a wonderful experience!

Several times throughout their internships, the Dano interns have gotten to ride along with some workers for Living Water International. LWI drills and repairs wells all over the world, providing safe drinking water for thousands. The team that the Dano interns have been helping specialize in repairing broken wells. I got to tag along with them on one of the well repair visits, but the road to the well became to muddy for the truck. We got out and walked the rest of the way to the well, but the area around the well was also to flooded to do any work. The repair team made plans to come back later in the week. So after that didn't work out, one of the LWI workers invited us to come to his house! He took us around his village and gave us a full tour of several of the houses in the community.
Being in Dano was a wonderful time and I met many many amazing people. I ask that you continue to pray for Andy and Melissa Johnson as they train local Christian leaders in Dano. As well as the Dano interns; Caleb, Quinn, Chelsea, and Jessica.

I arrived back in Sindou yesterday and only have a few days left here before starting my several day journey back to the U.S. Today we did some follow-up visits with some of the fathers of kids that come to the Children's Health Club. The Hochs were able to ask them questions about the children's health and diet and if the kids are implementing some of the health skills they've been learning. These visits are great ways to open doors to building relationships with the parents of the communities and to further encourage good health and nutrition.

My last few days in Sindou will consist of visiting with the people that have become close friends here, giving gifts, and saying goodbye. I'm excited to see my family and friends back home, but part of me would be completely fine with staying here and ministering to these people that desperately need Christ. Please pray that the people of Sindou will have their eyes opened to the Gospel.

God bless, and see you soon,

Jake

Update 8:Dano

Last week, we had Children's Health Club three days in a row. It all went extremely well! Tom and Souja Brane came down with their family and helped out.

Wednesday 4 college interns that have been in another part of Burkina Faso came down to spend a few days in Sindou with us. The Hochs got to explain their ministry and show them around town, as well as the farm in Kongora.

On Saturday, I traveled to Dano with the 4 other interns. Their names are Caleb, Quinn, Jessica, and Chelsea. They have been in Dano for almost 5 weeks staying with a missionary family there. It's been great getting to know them and having fellowship with other college students!

Andy and Melissa Johnson and their family are the only missionaries in Dano at the moment. One family from their team is raising support and visiting in the states, and the other family recently had to leave the field due to medical reasons. The church-planting efforts in Dano started around 12 years ago, and today there are over 100 self-sufficient churches in the area! The Johnsons have been here all 12 years and now focus on leadership training. The goal of this is to further equip the leaders of these local churches to reach others in the community, and to steer the churches along on Christ-like path.

Lives and communities have been changed by the Gospel here in Dano and the churches are still growing. It's amazing to see how many people here have decided to follow Christ and is very inspiring. I ask that you pray for the Johnson family, the Dano interns, and that a body of believers will be raised up in Sindou as there has been in Dano.

Only a little over a week left of my internship. It amazes me how fast it has gone!

God bless,
Jake

Update 7

Well, it's been an interesting couple of days!

On Monday, Ken and I stayed the night in the village of Kawara. We had dinner with our friends there and sat around talking for most of the night. Ken got the chance to tell a Bible story about Elisha which was followed by a steady night of rain! The sense of community is very different here, it's much more relational. On one of my first days in Burkina, Ken and I were visiting one of his local friends and the man asked "Why don't people in America sit around and talk? They all just go into their own houses at night and close the door." Pretty accurate statement.

On Tuesday, we took a group of kids from the health club to the Gordon's farm in Kongora. The kids have been learning a lot about nutrition and healthy plants that they can grow themselves so seeing these things first hand was very exciting for them. After the field trip I stayed at the farm until Thursday getting to spend a good amount of time with Bob and Jack, the local workers at the farm. Please continue to pray for the kids of Sindou, as well as Bob, Jack, and Shek.

Due to some health issues, my fasting has been cut short. However, Ken is still participating so I would ask that you pray for his strength and impact during this time.

Next week will be very exciting as well. Instead of having the Children's Health Club once a week on Thursday, this week we will be having three morning sessions in a row, Tuesday-Thursday! Tom and Souja Brane are CMF missionaries on the Burkina team that are going to be taking over the Children's Health Club in a few weeks. They are coming down this week to help and get the feel of things. So I ask that you would pray for them as they transition into this new role and impact these children's lives.

Thank you for your prayers!
Jake

Update 6: Ramadan

Hello!

Since being here, I've been able to become friends with several of the young guys in my area of Sindou. I've been invited to hang out and spend time with in informal settings several times and it's been a blast building friendships with them!

Starting in a few days is the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan. During this time, men are not supposed to eat during daylight hours. Most of the older men here participate in the fast, but many of the younger guys my age do not because though they claim Islam, they do not hold strictly to the practices of it. This year I will be participating in the fast for two reasons. First, my hope is that these young men who do not take their religion seriously will see someone their age that does and force them to think about why they don't, and why I do. Second, during this month, a large part of Ramadan is breaking the fast with others every night with an evening meal. With Ken and I both participating in the fast, we believe that we will be invited to some of the evening meals and get a chance to explain that we are participating in the fast to grow closer to our God. In both reasons, the ultimate goal is to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ, and open doors for potential conversations about Him.

I tell you this in order to ask for your prayers during this time. Please pray most importantly that our fasting will impact the lives of these wonderful people and create opportunities to talk about Heavenly Father. Next, I ask you to prayer for Ken and I, for our strength and perseverance during this time.

Also, God has completely provided the rest of the funding for this trip! He is faithful in providing what we need to be obedient to His calling. Thank you to everyone who  has supported me through prayer and finances and for partnering with me in this adventure.

God bless,
Jake

Update 5: Children's Health Club

On Thursdays in Sindou the Hoch's run a Children's Health Club. The goal of this is to teach the kids simple and helpful health practices to increase their quality of life and decrease preventable life-threatening diseases and illness. With the help of some close local friends, the Hoch's are able to teach about 60 kids each week. Along with learning about health and nutrition, the kids also get to hear a Bible story each week that is integrated into the curriculum, which is what I got to help with last week.

Though the impact that these stories will have on the children cannot always be seen immediately, from Isaiah 55 we can rest assured that His word does not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires.

Burkina Faso is completely filled with beautiful and wonderful people. At times is can be heartbreaking to think that some of them may never come to know Jesus Christ. Sometimes I wonder if it is fair that I grew up in an area where I had access to the Gospel at a young age and I can follow Jesus without social oppression, while it is so rare for so many people around the world. But I must remember that God is just and righteous.

This week, I ask that you please pray for the people of Burkina Faso and that they will come to know the Lord. I also ask that you pray for more Christians to be willing to travel into the remote areas of the world to share the name of Jesus. Matthew 28:18-20 is a command for all believers, not just a select few. 

Jake

Update 4: Planting Seeds

Hello! Things are going great here in Burkina Faso!

Today I want to tell you about Shalom Farm!

Andrew and Pulsheri Gordon are CMF missionaries that have created a farm about 45 minutes from Sindou. The goal of this farm is to demonstrate sustainable farming techniques, to supply local farmers with resources and agricultural advice, and most importantly to impact their lives by showing them the love of Christ. 

Each week I get to spend two days out on the farm working with Andrew and the three local workers; Bob, Jack, and Shek (shortened names). The work is hard but fun and I can tell my efforts are impacting Bob, Jack, and Shek and giving me an awesome chance to become their friend. Each morning, after talking about what needs to be done on the farm that day, Andrew Gordon gets to share a Bible story with them. The men all seem very interested and ask many questions, Shek in particular. I would ask that you pray for Bob, Jack, and Shek and these storying sessions that are impacting their lives.

I got to see another impact of the farm this week. Wednesday morning two men from the village of Kawara (a place where Ken stories often) came by. They knew Ken, had heard about the farm and wanted to see it as well as ask for some advice. The men where trying to raise hens that would lay eggs in order to sell them and make a living. The hens were having serious health problems and could no longer walk. Andrew talked with them about the hen's diet and other concerns and with his veterinary background came to a conclusion that it was a vitamin D deficiency. Andrew talked to them about what they could do and feed the hens to correct this problem and then gave them a powder the mix into the hen's food that is made from Merringa plants grown on the farm, and gave the men Merringa seeds to plant their own. Before leaving the men gave Andrew their number and invited Andrew to come and visit them later in the week.

Through these simple acts of love, a relationship was formed and I have full confidence that these men will continue to tell other's about the farm and God will continue to open doors. This event reminded me of the parable of the growing seed in Mark chapter 4. Verses 26 and 27 say "He(Jesus) also said "this is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how." By Andrew being obedient to God's prompting and showing Christ's love, a seed has been planted in these men's heart. 

I hope these updates are an encouragement to all of you and are demonstrating how God is at work here in Burkina Faso. At this point, I am still about 450 dollars short of the amount needed for my internship. CMF was still willing to let my come with faith that the money would come in sometime during the summer. I thank all of you that have been so generous to give to this cause and I ask that you would pray and consider giving again if God is leading you to do so. I have faith that God will provide and as always, your support through prayer is the greatest thing you can give to this cause. 

God bless,

Jake

Update 3: Storytelling

It's been a busy few days but wonderful!

I would like to tell you about Bible storytelling today!

Ken (the missionary I am with the most) has been able to start several Bible storytelling groups through out Sindou (were we live) and Kawara, a nearby town. I've been able to sit on on several of these. A few nights ago Ken and I were in Kawara and the men we were with asked Ken to tell them one of the stories. While Ken was sharing with them about Moses, I noticed the men get more and more drawn into the story. Several of them would say "Mmhmm" after every one of Ken's sentenced urging him to go on. One man kept scooting closer to the edge of chair, while another man was so drawn into the story that he did not notice his tea boiling over for quite a while beside him. This is just another testament to the fact that His word is spoken it does not return void. There are power in these stories that God has laid out for us.

I ask you to pray for these men as they eventually consider following Christ. The point of starting these storytelling groups with several people in them is hopefully that several of them will decide to follow Christ together in order to help each other through the social pressure and oppression that will likely follow.

I also ask that you pray for Ken as he shares God's word. Please pray that God will give him exactly the words that these men need to hear.

God bless!

Jake

Finally in Sindou!

Greetings from Burkina Faso!

I finally arrived in Sindou, the town that I will be living in, on Thursday afternoon. The nine hour drive there gave me a chance to see some of the amazing African landscape and many people. During our travels we met an older woman named Ruth who has been a missionary for most of her life. She set up and has been operating an orphanage for several years and is now thinking about starting a medical clinic.

The two missionaries I am with are named Ken and Anita Hoch. There is a missionary family called the Gordons that a little over an hour away that I will be spending a few days a week with out on their farm.

On my first day in Sindou, Ken took me around the town to meet some of the people they knew well. The name that the local people will know me as is Yakuba, the Jula form of Jacob, because it is easier for them to say and remember. As I am learning the language, I will have several tasks to complete each day as I walk through the town, so meeting these people gives me a good language route to practice my Jula. One of the people I met was a young muslim man named YaYa who will come to the house most mornings and tutor me in speaking Jula.

The people of Sindou live in extreme poverty but are extremely welcoming and generous.

Already we have had lost bags, power outages, water cut, and car trouble but it has been and blast and wonderful adventure!

I ask you to pray for Ruth and the two interns with her, Ashley and Emily, as they continue the awesome work that God has called them to.
I also ask you to pray for YaYa as he teaches me Jula and will likely become a very close friend.

God bless!

Update 1: Travel

Hello supporters! I first want to thank you all for your prayers and financial support of my internship! I made this blog in order to keep you all as up-to-date as possible on how God is moving in Burkina Faso!

At the training that all of the CMFI interns attended, I saw Christ's love like never before. I witnessed brothers and sisters in Christ come together in love to learn and grow and prepare to serve God on the mission field this summer.

Right now I am waiting for my next flight as I travel to Burkina. As I am not traveling with a teammate, I am trying to use this time to meet people and show them Christ's love through conversations as our path's cross. I have already met several amazing people, including a brother in Christ that was a great encouragement to me!

I ask you to please pray for all of the other CMFI interns this summer as they travel across the world. I also ask that you continue to pray for the people of Burkina Faso.

Thank you and God bless

Jake