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We are planning our next mission to Ougadougou for early December. If you are interested in becoming a member of the team, please attend the information meeting, SUNDAY, JULY 13, 9:30 AM @ Lighthouse. Here's where you'll learn about the work our team will be doing and what you will need to do to be a member of the team. Call Pam at 616-6700 if you have any questions. 
Larry and Karen Wolters and their children, Abby and Micah, were sleeping when thieves broke into their house and stole two laptop computers. The Wolters, who minister in Burkina Faso, West Africa, had recently returned from the States after attending the funeral of Larry's father. Around 3 a.m., Karen heard their dogs barking at the other side of the house. When they quieted down, she went back to sleep.
The next morning, Karen noticed that the laptops were missing. The front door was closed but not latched. No other valuables were taken. "Thankfully, most of the data on the laptops was backed up, but we did lose some documents and files," said Larry. With the heavy security they have (including eight-foot high walls, bars on the windows, watchdogs, and guards), the robbery was traumatic. The past few months have been stressful, so the Wolters feel overwhelmed by this latest crisis.
We find ourselves faced with difficult questions in this country we've come to call home, they said. How do we feel safe in a house that seems so well-protected? How much more can our family handle? Please be in prayer as we seek answers to those questions and peace for our hearts.? The City
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso, a sub-Saharan nation in West Africa. Slightly larger than Colorado, this extremely poor nation of nearly 14 million people has a tremendous number of challenges as represented by the nearly 1.5 million people living in Ouagadougou. They include; landlocked, poor roads, drought, poor soil, few natural resources, high AIDS mortality, weak education system, median age of 16 years old, an infant mortality rate of nearly 10%, life expectancy of less than 44 years, waterborne diseases and on and on it goes.
The Mission
Ouagadougou is a microcosm of those who follow false religious beliefs across the country. It is estimated that 50% of Burkinabe are of a Muslim faith, 30% are animists, worshipping created objects and inadvertently the evil spirits behind them, and 18% are Christian, most being Catholic, with a minority of those being Protestant. Evangelicals make up 8% of the 18% figure above. The challenge is immense, but the objectives are clear. We’re on a Mission. Our ThriveX Ouaga Mission is: To assist our C&MA missionary team and national church leaders in their efforts to multiply and advance the reaching of lost people and the planting of new churches in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Our Vision
To assist our C&MA missionary team and national church leadership in reaching lost people and planting new churches in Ouagadougou. Through the formation of a Partnership of 8-10 pastors/leadership teams/churches in North America with the pastors/leadership teams/churches in Ouagadougou, we envision the supporting and establishing of no less than 10 new churches on an exponential curve in the next 5 years. Our faith driven dream would be to see 15-20 new churches established in that time.
Our Priority
What is our first priority? To support the overall efforts of the C&MA missionary effort worldwide by first supporting the Great Commission Fund (GCF) which ultimately funds the salaries and general ministry expenses of our missionary force. The “ThriveX Ouaga” partnership is a secondary effort, but is highly critical to our advance in reaching the seeking and planting churches worldwide. A prior generation has generally funded our overall advance through our central GCF fund, but the emerging generation desires to partner with specific missionaries and missionary efforts to personally participate in that advance. ThriveX Ouaga is our first effort at addressing this emerging dilemma. We must first fund the GCF and continue to increase our giving to it. We must also create secondary partnerships if the work is going to advance. This meets the heartbeat of our ministry partners in the local church at home, and provides funds to advance the work of reaching the lost and planting churches which have historically not been funded from GCF, but what are called “approved specials”. Our partnerships are designed to crank up our efforts and reach many, many more people, as quickly as possible. These photos are from our misstion trip in Nov. 2006. 12 members spent 2 weeks in Ouagadougou. They put roofs on 2 churches in the city, painted and repaired 2 different schools, and roofed a church in a small village in the bush.
   
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