August 19, 2013
The following article is by Doug and Karen Conkle, who serve in southwestern Burkina Faso among the agrarian Dogose, an animist people group who largely adhere to the country’s dominant religion. Although they’ve had little Christian influence due to their location in the remote Comoe province, believers are now able to bring the truth of Christ to this region.
Updated: March 24, 2015
Although the province is far from paved roads, God is moving in Comoe! Until the main road was rebuilt in 2011, the area was inaccessible during the rainy season. We now can get to the largest Dogose centers via four-wheel drive.
Additionally, because the region is hilly, our Christian radio station’s airwaves have not been able to reach this community. The solution: We put Dogose Scriptures, music, and the JESUS film on cell-phone memory cards!
Envision Teams Assist
With greater accessibility, we’re also able to take short-term Envision teams into Comoe. Two Alliance congregations—Riverside Church (Big Lake, Minnesota) and Stonecrest Community Church (Warren, New Jersey)—are partnering with the national Alliance church to reach the Dogose. Work teams from these churches recently visited us to:
- Build church shelters,
- Provide wells, and
- Conduct evangelistic outreaches.
But the friendly soccer matches between the work teams and the villagers was the biggest highlight for all.
Deliverance and Healing
Miracles among the Dogose people also are helping to spread the good news.
Demon-possessed Yao was bound and carried in a wheelbarrow to the local pastor’s home to receive help. After he was delivered through prayer from his torment, he and his wife burned their fetishes and were baptized.
Daouda, a tailor, suffered for 10 years from an infected and swollen leg that didn’t respond to treatment. Through prayer he also was healed and is now a follower of Jesus. When Daouda was fired because he no longer kept the monthlong fast that is a practice of Burkina Faso’s majority religion, the Lord provided another miracle—a new tailoring job for him.
Yao and Daouda are learning to read so they can study God’s Word.
People suffer here in ways we can’t understand in the United States, where we have religious freedom. Sixty percent of Burkina Faso’s population follow the majority religion, and many are constrained from converting by family and community. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would open their eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ.
What You Can Do
Pray
Pray that God will continue to multiply the work He’s begun in Comoe among the Dogose. Using our weekly Alliance Prayer Requests, join other Alliance family members to pray for Alliance workers around the world engaged in challenging outreach that requires determination and creativity.
Give
- When you give to the Great Commission Fund (GCF), which supports Alliance workers like Doug and Karen Conkle, you partner with them in sharing the joy that life with Jesus brings.
- Give now
Learn More
- Read “Yao’s First Christmas” to learn more about this Dogose farmer who is now a devoted follower of Christ.
- Check out how your church can engage in short-term team partnerships with Alliance workers on the field.