new church life:
september/october 2015
Burkina Faso
On Wednesday we, including Sylvain, flew to Burkina Faso. Sylvain, in addition
to providing supervision for the developing church in the Ivory Coast and
Burkina Faso, is fluent in English. Samuel is still learning, so having Sylvain to
translate was essential.
Like the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso is made up of numerous tribal groups
who all share the French language. Being further north it is not as lush as the
Ivory Coast, being somewhat drier and hotter, although they grow crops on all
free land around the city. Samuel has started the church in the capital city of
Ouagadougou (pronounced Wa-ge-du-gu).
Like most other West African cities it is not built up with skyscrapers, but
outwards. Most of the key roads are paved, unlike the secondary dirt roads,
but everyone travels at very moderate speeds due to potholes and the hundreds
of motor scooters zooming in and out.
Samuel was introduced to the New Church by a woman who had joined
the Bobby Church in the Ivory Coast and later returned to her native Burkina
Faso. She had lived by the church, joined the congregation, and fully embraced
the Heavenly Doctrines. Samuel was so taken with these ideas that he moved
to the Ivory Coast for four years to be trained as a New Church minister. There,
he married a wonderful Ivorian woman, Stephanie, and returned to Burkina
Faso to found the New Church there. They have a lovely little daughter now.
In his two years there Samuel has accomplished much. He has gathered a
core group of 20 people. Many others are interested and attending services and
classes. He has regular classes established in three separate locations around
the city. Because of the lack of literature on the New Church in French he
has written and published a missionary book with the essential doctrines,
including many quotes from the Writings.
Its impressive cover is a picture of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral with an
insert of the New Church logo. Such connection to the center of the General
Church is highly valued and respected there. And most impressively, Samuel,
with his own funds, has recently purchased land on which to build a church.
(They currently meet for worship in the paved courtyard in front of the house
Samuel rents.)
Thursday was devoted to meeting various people associated with the
church, and then having a class and dinner with one of his groups. The class
was on charity and degrees of the neighbor, with a spirited give-and-take
afterwards.
On Friday we visited the land Samuel has purchased. It is situated in a
developing area on a main road on the outskirts of the city. Several acres large,
it can easily hold a church and a manse with plenty of room left over for a
gathering space or another building. We held a brief ceremony, which involved
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