What’s Happenin? #2

OK, so we’re not “On Air” yet, but we are VERY excited about having started with:

#2 Radio – Adventures in Zoulounga!

We have been talking for a long time about starting a radio program for children here in Burkina Faso.  For those of you in a big hurry:  Bottom line – we’ve taken the 1st baby steps!

For those of you who are a bit more curious, here are some details:

Our Goal – To share a clear evangelical message through each episode, focused on the Glory of God and our personal relationship with Him.  In other words we will be less focused on teaching good behavior, and more focused on helping children build a relationship with God.

The Context - We will create a fictional village called “Zoulounga” (means Deep) where the different tribes are represented (the Fulani, the Mossi, the Gourmantche, the Gourounsi, etc..).  The narrator will be a shopkeeper who has a depth of experiences from which he can draw a lot of stories.  People come in to the store to buy everyday items and the shopkeeper helps them with their problems.

The Organization – We intend to have each theme have 3-4 episodes, each focused on the story of a particular people group in Burkina.  This ethnic group will not be named in the episode, but should be ‘discoverable’ through details sprinkled throughout the episodes.

The 1st Story (in brief) – Didier and Tiiga.  A family comes into the store in Zoulounga on their way to a witch doctor because the father wants a blessing for his failing business.  The shopkeeper shares a story about what happens when one puts their confidence in idols.

Didier is a boy whose grandfather has given his family to an idol named “Tiiga (tree)” in order to have children.  He discovers that his family is cursed with misfortune and failure.  He becomes a believer and begins to trust in God.  He prays for the hold of the idol to fall off his family, and that night he dreams that a big tree collapses.  The next day a witch doctor tells the village that “Tiiga” is dead!  Through this Didier is able to share his faith with his mother and brother.  This story is based on the true testimony of Didier who is the full-time worker for the radio program.

This story will be in 4 episodes, with a kid’s choir singing a “theme” song about placing your confidence in God.

The Actors - One of the things we are VERY excited about is how we are getting the actors.  Dozens of kids come regularly to our house to play on our swings and to play with Jakob and Silas.  So we decided to start a weekly club – Heidi is teaching acting lessons and starting a kids choir, I’m playing games and Didier is teaching a short Bible lesson.  We have about 10 kids signed up and nearly all of them are pre-believers  They will try-out for the radio program and as they perform, we will put money aside for their school fees.

Prayer Needs:

• Pray for the Kids’ Club, that the kids will have a great time, and that they will discover Jesus.
• Pray that we will find the perfect balance in the tone of the program between humor, tension, culture and teaching.
• Pray for Didier to learn the technical aspects very quickly.
• Pray that we will put enough time aside to make this the priority that we know God is asking us to make it.

This program has the potential to touch hundreds of thousands of children across Burkina.  Let’s pray!