Andrew and Esther Schaeffer

About Us › Our Family › Locate a Worker

Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

https://youtu.be/qu9XaV_GxHE

"PREPARE A GUEST ROOM FOR ME …”
The Apostle Paul (Philemon 22)

By Andrew Schaeffer in Burkina Faso
March 1, 2018

If you know Esther, you know she is involved in many different ministries. Yesterday she was out the door at 6:00 a.m. for a day-long food fortification ministry at Poundou Bible and Agricultural School. This morning she taught Christian Education at Maranatha Bible School. This afternoon, as I write, she is hosting a group of pastors’ wives here in our home.

But I think one of her favorite ministries is our guest house ministry. This month we were privileged to host many different people in our home and in the guest house next door:

• Dr. Peter Colman who returned to speak at the Ouaga District’s 30th anniversary celebration and to teach 2 modular courses at Maranatha Bible Institute.
• Two Friends in Action well-drilling teams. After drilling during the week in area villages, they like the hot showers and clean sheets that our guest house provides.
• Salem Alliance Church Deaf Team. Esther hosted Susan White and her crew, helping them to connect with the deaf school in Bobo and with deaf people and ministries in other parts of Burkina Faso.
• IW Colleagues like Paul and Lois Thiessen, who like to come to Bobo-Dioulasso for shopping and better internet access.

I might be a little biased, but I am quite sure that Esther’s favorite visitors this month were our son David and his girlfriend Jillian. A surgeon-in-training, David was blessed to get two weeks off so as to introduce Jillian to his boyhood home, friends and country. We were able to do so many fun things together, including a visit to see my sister Jessica and her medical ministry in a neighboring country. David and Jillian, a nurse-in-training, jumped right in and helped with the work at the hospital. On Valentine’s Day, the day after they arrived back home in Danville, Pennsylvania, David proposed and Jillian said yes.

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned when he wrote Philemon. But he anticipated his release and hoped to visit his friend Philemon. So he added: “And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me.” With Mark anticipating graduation from Grove City College in May, Rebekah graduation from Black Forest in June, and David and Jillian a wedding in August, we too have one more request: prepare a guest room. We just might drop in during our upcoming May – October home assignment!

“Your love gives us great joy and encouragement, because you, brothers and sisters, refresh our hearts and the hearts of the saints” (Philemon 7, Andrew’s adaptation).

Thank you!

Andrew Schaeffer

For our latest video clips ...
https://youtu.be/Ry22AqPNldM
https://youtu.be/EXJ3xAjLP2A
https://youtu.be/oTw8n6If9FQ
https://youtu.be/_mT7Bt-iewg
https://youtu.be/kQwCVE9xNys
https://youtu.be/-UAjkogdytU
https://www.youtube.com/user/estherschae

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Andrew & Esther Schaeffer
Mission Protestante C&MA
B.P. 3050; Bobo Dioulasso
Burkina Faso, West Africa
Andrew: aeschaeffer@gmail.com
Esther: estherschaeffer@gmail.com

Donate: We are supported thanks to your giving to Great Commission Fund at your local Alliance church. If you would like to help with ministry projects, mark your gift "Andrew Schaeffer work special" and send to: The Alliance, 8595 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs CO 80920. You can also donate online at: http://www.cmalliance.org

Our ministry is part of the worldwide effort of The Alliance. Our "big team" includes over 750 people! To get regular updates about Alliance efforts, go to: http://www.cmalliance.org/subscribe
To receive updates via social media, go to:
http://www.cmalliance.org/connect

BOBO TEAM TWITTER PAGE: bobo_team

Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer

April 18, 2018

1. Pray as our team reaches out to autistic children at the deaf school. Parents bring hearing children with learning difficulties to the school because they cannot be accommodated in public schools.

2. Pray for an outreach into a village this Sunday that has just a handful of believers. Pray as we go, that many others will come to hear the Gospel and that we can be an encouragement to those who know the Lord Jesus. Pray that a church can be established in this village.

3. Pray for our students at the Poundou Bible School as they finish up their school year. Pray for the graduates that will be sent out to different areas of Burkina Faso.

4. Pray for a young woman who attended one of our seminars who is struggling to keep her commitment to follow Christ. Poverty and being an orphan leave her vulnerable. Pray that as we meet with her we can find ways to encourage her to continue to trust the Lord Jesus.

April 2, 2018

1. We are thankful to serve a risen Savior who has conquered death. It is a wonderful message that we are able to share. Andrew participated in one of many baptisms and special services that took place in our city. The Lord is building His Kingdom.

2. We are thankful for your prayers for our prison ministry. Three young men stood to announce in front of the others that they had made a decision to follow Christ. Continue to pray that we can again hold Bible studies among the women prisoners.

3. We are thankful to have Rebekah home with us. I guess we can't ask for prayer that time would slow down or even stand still! As hard as the goodbyes become, we can only be thankful for the Lord's many blessings and that, because of Christ, one day we will be together forever.

4. We are thankful for you who pray for us. We have seen answers to prayer in so many areas, especially in our work at the hospital. Thank you for supporting us and allowing us to serve in Burkina Faso.

March 24, 2018

1. Rebekah is home with us for her Easter break! Nice to have music and young people around. Pray for her as she finishes out her senior year at Black Forest Academy. Pray for staffing needs at her school.

2. We thank the Lord for the enthusiasm for missions at the church's general assembly this week. Andrew spoke on the theme of reaching the last to be reached peoples. Our church has several target areas where they are sending missionaries.

3. Continue to pray for believers as they experience intense pressure to conform to traditional funeral and initiation rites in their village. Pray especially for young people to stand strong.

4. Pray for Andrew and me as we move into the last month of teaching before exams. Pray that we will be able to cover all the material, but especially that our students would be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

March 13, 2018

1. We are in desperate need of prayer for our prison ministry. We have come up against a spiritual battle with a known sorceress who is at the prison and she has turned the other prisoners against our team. We have decided not to hold Bible studies with the women for several weeks and then re-evaluate the situation. We will continue to work with the young men prisoners and also begin to visit a detention home outside of the city. Please pray that this door to sharing the Gospel with the women prisoners would not be shut to us.

2. I am teaching two women's Bible studies in outlying villages. Pray that I would have the strength in the midst of the heat. The women are eager to learn and ask good questions. Basic Bible doctrines have not been understood and we are thankful for this opportunity.

3. We had a great response to a young women's seminar last week. The girls kept us there for several hours after the meeting ended asking questions. Pray for these young women that are eager honor Christ.

4. Andrew will be speaking at our national convention encouraging the missionary vision of our church. Several districts are engaged in sending out missionaries and are reaching out beyond our borders. Pray that Andrew can clearly share the missionary mandate given to us by the Lord Jesus.

March 5, 2018

1. We appreciate your continued prayers for the security concerns going on in Burkina Faso. Pray for wisdom for the president of the country and the head of the military.

2. This is also the time of year when funeral celebrations and fetish worship takes place. It is difficult for Christians. The last two days I have been in villages where Christians have had to leave their homes so as not to be confronted by those following traditional religious customs. Pray that believers would stand firm in their faith.

3. A young man at the prison accepted Christ as his Savior this morning. There were seven of them listening to the Bible story. Six were firm in their resolve not to say yes to Jesus, but Madi hesitated for a moment and then said that he wanted to ask Jesus to forgive his sins. Pray that he will stand strong and grow in his faith. Pray that he would be released soon.

4. Pray for a new church that has started in the Kenedougou area as a result of recent outreaches. Pray that a pastor can soon be placed at this church and that the Lord would bring many in the village into His Kingdom.

Burkina Faso

Share

• Share
• Tweet