Last month we mentioned that we would be celebrating the leaders of the ministries in Burkina Faso, Haiti, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the annual Making a Difference Banquet. We did just that with three of the leaders sharing in-person and the others sharing by video. It was a great evening hearing how God brought these leaders and Christian World Outreach (CWO) together to share the Gospel in each of the countries. Here are some things that we heard that evening.

Alassane from Burkina Faso shared in-person how he felt God call him into ministry. He also shared how strong this call was. Soon after he decided to work with CWO he was offered a job with the American embassy in Burkina and also at a mining company. Both of these would have been great opportunities for him. We thank God for the call on Alassane’s life and his heart for ministry.

Joel and Marie shared by video about serving in Haiti. Marie told how seeing the living conditions of women in Haiti caused her to have a desire to help them. Her passion for helping women began the formulation of the first Feminine Training Center. Joel shared how he was asked to stay in Jamaica after attending seminary there but he declined knowing God was calling him to ministry in his home country of Haiti. We thank God for putting the desire in Joel and Marie’s lives to serve in Haiti.

Thembi who is one of the founders of Single Moms Raising Sons shared some of her testimony. God is now using her difficult past as a single mom of two boys to point other single moms to the Lord and to point their sons to a heavenly Father who will never abandon them. We thank God for revealing Himself to Thembi so that she can help others.

Rajeeve has always had a passion to share the Gospel when he would return to Sri Lanka to visit his family. He prayed that God would someday help him meet a person there who had the same desire. Little did he know that God had two men He would allow Rajeeve to meet to do ministry with someday. Now Bavan who was raised Buddhist, Sunil who was raised Hindu and Rajeeve raised in a Christian family work together sharing the Gospel! Only God could bring these three men who have a passion to share the Gospel together in His time.

By video, Onias and Winnie gave some insight to their hearts for ministry in Zimbabwe. Winnie’s passion for ministering to children is evident when you hear her speak about the Our Kids program. It was also great to hear how some of the children who went through the program are now wanting to go into ministry. Onias’ passion is for training church leaders. He continues to find ways to encourage them both spiritually and physically by meeting some of their needs. God is using their passion to make a difference in Zimbabwe.

One of the special things about being a part of this ministry is to sometimes share life with these leaders where they serve and here in the States. It was our privilege to host Alassane in our home for the last three weeks. It gave us time to love on him and give him a much-needed time of rest. We also had the opportunity to schedule times for him to share with individuals, small groups, schools and churches about the persecution that is going on in Burkina and how they are ministering there.

God greatly used this time giving the opportunity for Alassane and us to meet with previous team members who have served with the ministry in Burkina. We were able to give an update on the ministry and on the lives of people they met while there. It was also a great opportunity for those new to the CWO ministries to meet someone face to face who is serving in ministry. We hope that all of these meetings were encouraging to those who hear about what God is doing in Burkina through the ministries there.

Thank you for praying for us as we serve those who are making a difference in Burkina Faso, Haiti, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Also, thank you for giving financially so we can serve them.

Serving Together,

Greg and Laura