Welcome to the April 2022 Newsletter
Yes, this is the April newsletter – although about 4 weeks later than planned. The reason for this is that the “Diary” of our visit to Burkina Faso in January was finished at the start of April. So, we decided to postpone this newsletter for a month. We have distributed a good number of copies of the Diary. If you have not received a copy, and would like to, please just ask. It is about 70 pages about our experiences with many photos.
Index to content
Ways to read this newsletter:
- Scroll down to read the whole newsletter
- Use this link to download a printable PDF version of the newsletter
- Use the links below to read the newsletter section by section
- Welcome to the April 2022 Newsletter
- First, a message from Christine
- What has happened since the last newsletter?
- Tests of faith!
- Unannounced well inspection!
- Eddie’s meditation
- Thank you for giving us wells!
- ADVANCE NOTICE – Singing for Myra’s Wells…
- Online Giving Sites
- Annual Accounts
- Anonymous Donors – “Thank you”
- Prayer Points
First, a message from Christine
Dear strong people in faith,
You have been very helpful to this country; you supported some of our burden by giving your time in prayer and your money to stop the suffering of (especially) women and children who might take all day to find water.
Because of you, clean water is now available, there are less complaints in some places. Because of you Burkina Faso is still on the up.
You may not see the people you help in this world but you will meet some of them in heaven because, through the wells, the gospel is preached and souls are saved for the Kingdom of God.
“God will not forget any of what you have done for Burkina Faso.”
Blessings
Christine Bonkoungou, Field Manager
Myra’s Wells in Burkina Faso
Note from Editor – English is Christine’s third language and her original message has been lightly edited.
What has happened since the last newsletter?
In short, over 30 new wells!
We were late restarting drilling in the Autumn, mainly because we wanted to be sure about the situation at the places we had planned.
However, during the visit to Burkina Faso, 18 very needy places were identified within about 15/20 miles of Ouagadougou. So, we were able to ask Christine to proceed with drilling during the visit. All of these places resulted in positive wells! There have been more in other places since then – some towards the south and some in the west. Here are photos of just some of these.
Typical scene at the new well at Kombougou. The bike will be very handy for transporting the full containers back home.
Below is another busy well – this time at Boulpon. But it is a time to catch up on the local gossip while waiting patiently for your turn to use the pump. (Next time you turn the tap on and fill up the kettle, remember these ladies who may have to wait for half an hour for their water!
The well committee at Googhin. They have just finished their training session at which they have learned how to use the well properly, keep it clean and working well. One of them will be the treasurer who will keep the small amount (they specify how much) should be contributed to a small pot of money kept to fund minor repairs if needed.
A water tower being delivered! This is becoming a much more common sight, especially at sites around Ouagadougou. The tower and solar powered pump costs more than a simple hand pump. However, in some circumstances where the supply is good and the need is great, the extra cost can be justified.
The new well at Monomtenga is also busy. That number of containers will take about an hour to fill – especially if the children who are operating the pump keep stopping to drink the water. Who can blame them!? They have not had the “luxury” of clean water on their doorsteps until now.
We thank the Lord for His provision for Myra’s Wells to be able to give clean water to so many people in similar circumstances.
And 1 repair
In addition to these new wells, we were also made aware of a place called Palogo where a well, near to the town of Koudougou (which had been provided by another organisation) needed to be repaired. The story has a sad side.
The well was good and had a water tower with a large tank. However, it developed a fault and had stopped working properly. The man who installed it was planning to carry out the repairs, but suddenly collapsed and died.
We went to see it and talked to the “Grand frère” – effectively the village chief. After the conversation, we agreed to carry out the repairs. It is now working properly again – and we have provided an extra tap as well.
Tests of faith!
There is something we have noticed in recent months. It seems to us that when we think the need is most urgent, we have to wait longest for a positive borehole!
There was an instance of this in February. Eddie had been to a village where a young pastor and his family (pictured on the left) had relocated some time before. He had been in the north of Burkina Faso but had been forced to move to Ouagadougou after a terrorist attack which resulted in his father being killed by the extremists. There was a big need of a well where he is now living a little way out of Ouagadougou. (A fuller account of this is in the Diary!)
The first attempt here was negative. The second attempt was also negative and we prayed much about this. God answered in the affirmative at the third and final attempt. How often this happens when the need seems to us to be greatest!
Here is clean water now gushing from the water tower in the background at this village.
Unannounced well inspection!
Our Trustee Jeremy works for Mission Africa and usually travels to Burkina Faso four times a year. This year, he needed to go to some places in the East/South East of the country to distribute children’s bible lessons to local pastors. The route took him past a village called Dimpaltenga where we had drilled a well just over a year ago. Jeremy decided to call at the well as he went past.
When wells are finished, we arrange for a Well Committee to be set up to look after the well and the pump area. We ask them to collect a small amount of money which they keep safely in case there is a problem with the well or pump. We don’t specify how much – it is for the local people to decide who contributes, and how much. This is what Jeremy reported:
The water trough and well were clean and the well was being well used. They had a problem with leakage so each morning they had to do a lot of pumping to get it going. Well engineers came and took out the blue pipes until they found the problem – a pipe that was split. They have had no problems since then. They were able to pay for this because they charge 500 CFA (about 65p) per head of cattle and 5 CFA (about 3p) per container. They had a flap under the pump handle as a kind of guard. The Christian man in photo says how helpful it has been. The church is newly built since we went to see the need. A Technical school is planned – a pastor in Ouagadougou who comes from the village is financing it.
Eddie’s meditation
Will you give Jesus water to drink?
Let’s connect two verses in Matthew’s Gospel for you to consider. Firstly in chapter 10v42, where Jesus says ‘ And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is My disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose his reward’. Then in chapter 25 we read that in a day to come Jesus will thank people for giving him water when He was thirsty. These people will then ask Him when this was that He was thirsty, to which Jesus will reply – ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’
Matthew 10 contains a host of very challenging statements from Jesus, (which we should heed) such as : “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”, and “Take up your cross and follow me”. However, He concludes by saying – unconditionally – that a Christian giving a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name is enough to secure their reward in heaven.
Matthew 25:40 confirms that giving that cup of water to those who need it, will, in Jesus eyes, be as if we had given it directly to Him.
Myra’s Wells gives water to his people in Burkina Faso, and to all who need it. If you are one of those who supports us in providing water, then amazingly Jesus acknowledges you as having given HIM water. Whilst we don’t actually know for sure whether Jesus ever got a drink from the woman at the well, but if He didn’t it would only have been because of her excitement at discovering who He is.
What a privilege we have. Thank you again for your support.
Thank you for giving us wells!
We have received this letter from a pastor at one of the places where we drilled a well in January. Here is a translation of what he says:
We, the members of the Council of the Assemblies of God of Kombissiri, hereby convey our heartfelt thanks for the wells from which we have benefitted during 2021 and 2022.
These are in the following localities: Monontenga, Kamsaoghin, Mogodogo and Kombougou.
These wells transform the lives of the people concerned on a daily basis and play a part in boosting the livestock sector and housework chores. A Mossi saying tells us that “water is life” and the Bible tells us that “if you give a cup of water to one of these little children, it is to me that you have given.“
Our prayer is that God may extend the limits so that you might have the necessary funds for the provision of other wells in this area and in other areas of Burkina Faso.
Once again, we reiterate our sincere thanks and commend you to the grace of the Most High.
Here is a young boy enjoying a cup of water from the well at Monontenga.
Editor’s note. The Mossi people are the largest of the ethnic groups in Burkina Faso. And it seems that this pastor has been reading Matthew 10:42, just as Eddie has been.
There is a photo from Kombougou higher up this newsletter. Here is another showing the ladies at the well there:
Even with the new well, some will have to wait a while for their turn to fill their containers. No wonder the pastor would like some more wells to be drilled.
ADVANCE NOTICE – Singing for Myra’s Wells…
Just confirmed as this newsletter was being prepared:
Dorset Police Male Voice Choir charity concert in aid of Myra’s Wells is planned for 7.30 pm Sat 24th September 2022 in St Michael’s Church, Hamworthy, POOLE BH15 4HR. Plenty of car parking available. Their previous concert for Myra’s Wells was most enjoyable. Tickets £10 – all will be used 100% for Myra’s Wells projects. For information or for tickets, email info@myraswells.org or ring Eddie on 01202 892548.
Online Giving Sites
We have investigated a number of online giving sites since cancelling the exorbitant subscription demanded by JustGiving. At the moment, there does not appear to be any other suitable sites. There are a number that claim to be free. These sites do not charge commission themselves – they are often funded by large insurance companies – however, when donations are made by Credit or Debit Cards, the banks take a significant percentage for themselves.
Praise the Lord that cheques and bank transfers are still free of commission!
Annual Accounts
Our year end is 31August, and our accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021 can be viewed using this link:
We would encourage you to examine our accounts and contact us at mark@myraswells.org if you have any questions. We seek to be open and transparent with regard to financial matters, and will be pleased to hear from you.
Anonymous Donors – “Thank you”
We try to acknowledge gifts when we have contact details. Thank you to anyone who has given anonymously. Your support is much appreciated. We have tried to contact some anonymous givers by sending acknowledgements via their banks – but have no idea whether these acknowledgements have been received!
Prayer Points
- Praise for the wells that have been drilled recently and all who have become Christians as a result of wells drilled;
- Prayer that they will be a witness to God’s greater blessing of salvation through faith and by grace;
- Prayer for safety for the drilling teams in areas where security is not guaranteed;
- Prayer for safety of Christine and her helpers based in Ouagadougou;
- Prayer for drilling in the West of Burkina Faso and around Ouagadougou planned over the next few weeks.