Andrew and Esther Schaeffer

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Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD … (Psalm 37:4)

Dear friends,

The first Sunday of November Burkina Alliance churches celebrate Women's Sunday. The women lead the worship service and usually invite a woman to give the message. They also organize several special women’s events during the week.

This year’s theme was "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires” (Ps 37:4). As I meditated on this verse in preparation for messages at several different venues, including a widows’ group, it dawned on me that we can experience joy, even when our circumstances are anything but joyful, because our God is with us.

Never did I imagine how this message would be brought home to me. As I was pulling in our driveway Monday morning, our much-loved dog Penny ran under the back wheel of the car. It is one of the most awful sensations to feel that bump and know you have hit something.

I stopped, jumped out of the car and tried to figure out where the yelping was coming from. When I finally found Penny, broken and bleeding and moaning in pain, I bent down to check on her. She immediately stopped moaning and began to wag her tail. Then, painful as it must have been, she rolled onto her back so I could rub her belly. It just about broke my heart to see that her joy in seeing me overrode any pain or brokenness that she was feeling.

After moving Penny to the porch and treating her wounds, I moved to the porch to do my work so that Penny could see me. But she apparently didn't think I was close enough and again, with obvious pain, began to drag herself closer to my chair.

What an example of how to delight ourselves in the Lord! Just as Penny could wag her tail with delight at seeing me, so we should delight in the presence of our Lord Jesus. This world can beat us up and leave us feeling painful and broken. But Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. His earthly arrival was good news of great joy for all people.

As we move into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, let’s share this joy with others, no matter what our circumstances may be!

Serving together,

Esther Schaeffer

For our latest video clips ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9plhAyeX-4
https://www.youtu.be/5b5CFTNIIYE
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 the 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

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BOBO TEAM TWITTER PAGE: bobo_team

Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer

December 1, 2019

1. We thank the Lord for healing the child of one of our Bible school students. Little Sem was born with many birth difficulties. At age four he still could not sit well by himself or feed himself or make any of his needs known. Imagine our delight in hearing that he could walk and then having him come to my house and walk to greet me and reach out his hand for a bag of popcorn. It has brought laughter and joy to all of us and especially to his mom! To God be the glory.

2. Pray for Kiersten and me as we speak to schoolgirls this week. Pray that we can clearly communicate and that the practical teaching would be accepted and followed. Pray as we organize other events for school age girls.

3. Continue to pray for our ministry to prostitutes. We don't know exactly how God will lead in this. For now we are prayer walking in an area where the girls are known to be on the street.

4. We thank the Lord for four who accepted Christ at the local hospital. Pray as we plan a gift bag distribution for the children during the Christmas season.

November 25, 2019

1. Our family will be somewhat scattered this Thanksgiving, but it doesn't mean we won't be celebrating together in spirit. We have so much to be thankful for. We give glory to God for His goodness and we are thankful for you who pray for us.

2. But we will have our missionary family around us this Thanksgiving. Pray that we can be an encouragement to each one as we face increasing security issues. We continue with our ministries and thank the Lord that we can serve here.

3. Pray for me as I wind up my women's Bible studies this week. It is always hard to say good-bye to these women and move on to other churches. Pray that each one would continue to grow in their knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray especially for those women whose husbands are not believers.

4. Pray for one of our Bible school students who will undergo surgery this week for cancer. Pray that she can receive the necessary follow-up treatment.

November 18,2019 Our dog Penny up and moving. Not 100% but well on the way!

1. We thank the Lord for the teacher working at our sewing school for deaf young people. It is excellent training and we are thankful that our students have this opportunity. Thank you for your giving that allows us to provide this apprenticeship.

2. Thank you for praying for our widows meeting. Some face difficult obstacles and challenges. But they were so appreciative of the clothing that we gave and soap. May it remind them of God's never-failing love and provision.

3. Pray for Andrew as he attends meetings this week. Pray for wisdom and understanding of the issues and that he would be an encouragement to our church leaders.

4. About 100 young people attended a seminar this past weekend on the biblical view of marriage. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to interact and answer questions and understand better the challenges that our young people face. Pray that we will have more invitations to teach.

ov 11, 2019
1. Speaking of joy, the 4 Burkina Alliance radio station directors were rejoicing last month to receive new computers, equipment and t-shirts from God’s Mighty Voice friends. Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed clearly over the African radio waves.

2. The day before Women’s Sunday, Andrew was invited to speak at the Banfora District’s ordination service. What a joy it was for him to lay hands on 8 pastors, many of them former students, and to help consecrate them to Gospel ministry!

3. The day after Women’s Sunday, classes began at Maranatha Bible Institute with our largest freshman class in several years. Pray that we would be able to encourage each student, like Paul with Timothy, to fan into flame the gifts that they have received.

4. The media reports 500,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) due to terrorist attacks in northern and eastern Burkina Faso. School closings in those areas have resulted in students being sent to Alliance Christian Schools in Dédougou and Bobo. Please pray for these schools and students and for peace in Burkina Faso.

October 25, 2019
1. Please pray for the upcoming Women's Sunday. We will be hosting an event for young women, a meal for widows in a nearby village, and then I will speak on Sunday morning. Pray that many would attend these special events and that women would be encouraged in the Lord Jesus.

2. We thank the Lord for very encouraging meetings with our radio stations. We are thankful for John and Charlene who invest in our stations and bring a wealth of knowledge to these interactions.

3. Even the small prayers, like the repair of my oven after almost a year of in not working. I had somehow lost the replacement part and in cleaning out some junk, there it was in a throw away pile! And we had someone in the guesthouse who knew what to do with it! The Lord certainly cares about the smallest details of our lives and gives good gifts to His children. Now we can really celebrate Thanksgiving!

4. Please pray for our church in the military camp and for the families of military. Pray for the chaplain and all those who serve our military.

October 20, 2019
1. We thank the Lord that we were able to speak to six young women who were on the street Friday night. We know that this new ministry effort will bear much fruit. Pray that the Lord would add to our prayer team and prepare the hearts of the young women to receive Christ as Savior.

2. We praise the Lord for an opportunity to pray with the mother of one of our prisoners. She gladly accepted prayer and once she arrived, went to see her neighbor who is a believer and told her she wanted to start coming to church. Continue to pray for our prison ministry.

3. Our son Stephen is in his 3rd week at the Bongalo hospital in Gabon. Pray that he will be a blessing and that the Lord would clearly direct in his life.

4. We bear a heavy burden for Burkina Faso. I prayed with a little girl this morning who has been sent to live with an aunt here in the city because of trouble in her village. She was definitely traumatized and is afraid for her parents. We count on your prayers for peace.

Burkina Faso

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