Ouedraogo Family

God's Goodness

2010-06-21T00:07:00.000+03:00

I am so blessed today, Mission Builders is such a rewarding ministry! Some might wonder why I would call a volunteer program a ministry, well let me tell you why. We have hundreds of people coming to serve the University by volunteering their time to cover our basic needs area like the kitchen or construction and maintenance, all of which bless us as a campus greatly. But the true joy for me is seeing these people come and be transformed for God. Let me give you an example. Tuesday we had our weekly goodbyes where those returning home, give a little testimony of their time here with us. One young man shared that he was returning home to go back to university and then he adds to pray for him because God has called him to start a House of Prayer in his city! Isn't that amazing? Never have I heard a young college age guy say that he needs pray because he is going home to start a house of prayer in his city. God is so good!

Another one that shared tonight told how much her life had changed and how when she came she was under all sorts of lies of Satan, but now she knew the truth and she wasn't going to believe them anymore. She has decided that she is going to take the next year off of school to study the Bible because she doesn't know it well and knows that its important. She is only 18! It truly is amazing to watch these young (and older) people come to this program, serve 8 hour days, five days a week and leave sharing the testimonies of all that God is doing in their lives. It is a privilege to be a part of this change and to see the work of God in the lives of those who serve us so faithfully. We are truly blessed to be able to lead and direct this program.

2010-04-19T04:16:00.000+02:00

I just wanted to do a little update on our fun times so far this year! So here are some pictures from Ezekiel's 2nd Birthday party and just some fun around campus. I hope you enjoy!

The Mission Builder Dodgeball team!

Ezekiel enjoying a day at the Beach

2009-11-19T09:47:00.000+02:00

This is all of the staff here in Kona Hawaii. Good luck finding us in the mass but I am wearing a black shirt in the picture :)Our little Ezekiel isn't so small anymore and he loves the beach!

Andrea & Steph enjoying Ice Cream after a hard day of cleaning around Hale Ola where we live.

All of our Mission Builders crew during our BBQ after a hard day of cleaning.

2009-11-19T09:07:00.000+02:00

It is almost the holidays and it’s been a great year. We are now working with the Mission Builders program on campus and it has been an amazing reward. Mission Builders are all such amazing people who desire to come and serve with no expectation for personal gain but simply to be blessing. We have been amazed to work with all of these wonderful men and women and of course our staff too! We have three ladies who are on staff with us and they are great, without them we could never lead this ministry. They cover all the bases from pastoral care to caring for our facilities and prayer and worship. It’s been a learning experience in leadership and in what we need to be doing to be good leaders. It has also been a learning process to make sure that we are also doing what we need to be doing in order to be good parents too! God has been so faithful to us through and we are completely astonished by God in this season.

Recently we had a wonderful woman of God come to our base and spoke for three days to us. Her name is Landa Cope; you may have heard her before but if you haven’t you should. Her teaching style could be described as being in your face in order to make you think, or as she herself put it, “hurt you in order that you may be healed.” One thing that she talked on was unconscious incompetence. Basically if I could put it in just a few words, it was that we are all incompetent in our knowledge of God and righteousness. We really don’t understand how much of God we don’t understand and that we often make the most mistakes because we think that we understand Him when we really do not. Surprising as it is to write, upon hearing that word, I realized that God was already working that same idea in my own head. Often times, I think that I understand who God is and I think that I am starting to “get it” but then just like that, I realize that I don’t truly “get it” I am totally and completely off the mark. This has been even more so since beginning our journey in Mission Builders. I realize that although we are doing well and things are all being taken care of, I am still not “there” yet. However, the best thing now, is that I know I am not there yet, and I can just move towards God the best I know how, and be confident that He will continue to show me how I am progressing and where I need to do it more. It sure is good to work with God.

Our time here...

2008-11-05T22:06:00.002+02:00

It is already midterm here in Kona for this last quarter of the year. Time has flown by very quickly and we are amazed as we look on the calender as Thanksgiving is only three weeks away. Ezekiel has flourished here in this tropical weather, growing an inch each month and putting on the pounds even faster. We have seen God do some great and mighty things among us here on campus. Week after week, we have seen God challenge us as a campus as well as the entire body of believers, to live a life of purity and righteousness before him. We are so excited about being apart of this base, just this last week, there has been great things happening. To mention a few, there was a team who went out into the community to prayer for some locals and one of them ended up requesting to come back here to our coffee shop on campus with a friend of his to learn more about God, and that night they both gave the hearts to God. Its awesome to see that we aren't just sending people out to other places to do this work but we are being apart of reaching out to this community here in Kona. Another amazing testimony is that Monday morning during a prayer time for one of the classes, they were praying for an older gentleman who was so hard of hearing he had to wear hearing aids, and during that prayer time, God completely restored his hearing after 18 years of being hard of hearing! We do serve a God that heals us!!! So these are just some of the stories we are apart of by serving and working here and you are apart of them too as our friends and supports. So thank you and rejoice in the work of the Lord.

Confessions of the Soul

2008-11-05T21:50:00.003+02:00

Recently, I read in a book that there is no addiction so powerful as self-addiction. This statement hit my heart with a sledgehammer, see I have always prided myself in the idea that I am not an addictive person. Yes, I have my habits but I do not become addicted. But when I read this statement, God convicted me so strong, it became tangible. I felt it surround my heart and mind, suddenly realizing that I am an addict; I am addicted to myself. Philippians 2:3,4 has become my prayer, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." I have found the grace of God and have been encouraged to change. Daily I work to lose a part of this selfish addiction. I lay down my rights to myself, and everytime I want to complain or have a selfish thought, I stop and thank God for something I have. I have found that cultivating a heart of gratefulness in all that I have, looses the grip of selfishness in my heart. Everyday, I let go of spending time the way I want to spend it and instead let God chose the best use of my time. Here is another thing God has told me, in order to truly love others, you have to be willing to sacrifce your time. In America, we have a saying that time is money, which is true, it is the strongest currency we have, so my challenge to myself is where have I have been spending that currency. For Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." Time is a treasure so where am I spending that treasure, on things that matter, which for me I have come to know that all that matters are people. This is my confession and I hope that it challenges and encourages you today.

Safely in Hawaii

2008-09-22T01:14:00.001+02:00

I am sitting here amid half-empty suitcases and half-full cupboards, yes, we made it to Hawaii and it has been an interesting ride. We left Colorado a week ago today and traveled to Sin City which we left quickly and made our way towards the ocean, California to be exact, where we spent several days with my Grandfather who is not only aged but also been afflicted by numerous illnesses which could claim him at any moment. It was wonderful to spend a few days with him, acquainting him with Ezekiel who took very kindly towards him. We then travelled back to Sin City where we once again made our escape this time our destination would be this Island Paradise. Our travel time from getting on the airplane in Las Vegas until we landed in Kona was nine and a half hours. Despite the many hours, Ezekiel did wonderful and was the lest tried. We did have some of an adventure after landing, as it seemed that we landed in a third world nation instead of the famous paradise island. See there was some miscommunication and we did not have a room to stay in when we first arrived so the first empty room found became our temporary home. Additionally, there have been electricity problems on base since the day of our arrival with multiple power outages and therefore a lack of hot water. Needless to say, it has been a test of our patience and expectations. However, we have since been moved to our semi-permanent room, which I will say was worth waiting for as it has a small tub perfect size for Ezekiel's baths as well as a walk in closet, (nothing like what most of you are imagining but great for YWAM standards). So there is nothing to complain about and we are excited to be apart of the campus here as there are great things happening. The Greek School is expecting five students for sure with one student wanting to come but uncertain due to visa issues, so you can keep him in your prayers.
God was amazingly gracious to us and provide us with enough for our immediate needs here and we are trusting him for the coming months.
Ezekiel is already eating us out of everything we have, his appetite surprises me every meal. He is already the talk of the campus as we have many strangers telling us how adorable he is and how they have told their friends about him, already Mr. Popular.
Thank you all for the great support you have given to us and for all of the prayers you have prayed on our behalf, they have been answered in might ways.
As you continue to pray for us, please would you consider these needs? We are still without any form of transportation and that has become quite difficult when trying to keep up on diapers and formula for an actively growing boy. So if you could please pray that God would provide us with a vehicle that is easy to maintain and cheap. Also we are hoping to find a church here that we will be able to be active in and enjoy and so will you pray with us that God leads us to the Church he desires for us to be at. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and for us continued relationship with us. We would love to hear from you all, we will place our new address at the end of this update and our cell phone numbers have not changed so please feel free to call us anytime.
Thanks for taking time to read this and staying updated on our life!

Joseph and Meleah Ouedraogo
University of the Nations
75-5851 Kuakini Hwy #15
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740-2199

2008-07-31T22:01:00.002+03:00

Once again, it has been a long time since I updated this blog but I wanted to let you who are faithful to check up on us, know how we are doing and what we are up to. The summer has been busy but great so far. We have stayed busy enjoying family and friends as well as doing many activities with the youth group at church. Ezekiel celebrated his first 4th of July in two exciting fashions. First off, we started the celebration by going to a local concert that included some of our favorite bands like Super(c)hick and Grits than after most of the fun was over we traveled up to the mountains and went camping with some good friends of ours. Ezekiel greatly enjoyed his camping trip, as he loves to be outside and caught up on sleep with the river being his lullaby. He did great and we really enjoyed that time with our friends.
The most exciting event we have yet to look forward to and that is our return to Hawaii. Yep it's true we are moving back to Kona, Hawaii and we have set up the tentative dates for the 12th of September. We are excited about this new adventure as we both have been in Hawaii before but it was a new experience with a baby along for the ride. We are looking at this as a long-term move as we are planning to be on staff with the campus there and are looking forward to at least a year of service. Joseph will be apart of the staff for the Greek School which starts September 25 and than will be apart of two other schools those being the Old Testament Hebrew, and the school of Humanities and Science. Meleah will be spending most of her time with Ezekiel as well as returning to her studies online.
We do have some pray requests that if you remember us, would you please lift these up for us? We are currently in need of monthly support for our finances, which is looking to be about $2000 a month, as well as about $1000 to travel to Hawaii.
We also would love your prayers for our travel as we venture with a seven month old, and we are praying that he does well during the many flights and layovers we are expecting.
Being on staff can also be very challenging and Joseph needs your prayers, as he will be taking this time to the next level as he figures out a way to take this school back to Africa one day.
We want to thank you for all of your prayers and the time that you have invested into our lives, we greatly appreciate all that you have given to us during our many adventures with God. We look forward to sharing with you the many ways that God answers our prayers.

Future plans

2008-05-09T23:02:00.001+03:00

Many of you may be wondering what our future holds now that we are no longer just two but three. Well, we are still passionate about missions and feel God has called us to return to Youth With A Mission, and we are just seeking his face for the right timing to go. We desire to serve back in Hawaii at the University of the Nations campus specifically with Joseph being apart of the Humanities and Science school, in addition to the Hebrew and Greek schools. Meleah's first priority obviously is Ezekiel but still desires to be apart of the campus in anyway that she can while bringing Ezekiel with her. It will be hard to leave Colorado once again as we have put down many roots and built many great relationships since coming here last summer, however we look forward to what the future holds and how God can continue to enrich our lives with many more relationships throughout the world.
We would love for you to come aside us in prayer for these plans that we have. If you could just pray that God would confirm his timing for us to return to YWAM and also that he would give us the provision to do so. We desire to serve God in every area of our lives and would you just pray that in everything that we do we would glorify his name alone. Thank you once again for your commitment to us and for your friendship. May God bless you greatly!

2008-05-09T22:55:00.005+03:00

Ezekiel is getting to be so big already; it is so true that they grow so quickly. He has already doubled his birth weight in only two months and is the best child I have ever seen. He is learning so much everyday, smiling and even starting to laugh. I know that I am biased when I say that he is a beautiful child but I can't help to believe it when whenever we leave the house we are stopped by a stranger and told that he is a beautiful baby. Here is some recent pictures to show you just how true it is.

This is one of my favorites with Joseph showing off how closely they look alike.

Ezekiel's first bath. He loves to take baths and had never cryed during one.

And of course you have to have a picture of the sleeping boy. He loves his swing and we are ever so grateful for it.

Long over due

2008-05-09T22:52:00.001+03:00

First off, I would like to apologize to everyone for such a tardy update. When people say life is very busy with a newborn they are correct but personally I find the bigger obstacle to be sleep deprivation. Being awake 80 percent of the day and night taking care of the baby and then in the few hours of his sleep during the day trying to take care of the daily necessities of running a household is the life of every parent especially us new ones. However, I have thought of sharing much with you for a great amount of time. First off, I want to thank all of you for your sweet words and gifts to us since Ezekiel was born. We appreciate everyone and treasure your words and thoughts towards us in this precious gift of parenthood. We feel like Ezekiel could not have come at a better time in our lives and is so much more than a precious gift to us for he has been used by God already to teach us so much about God's heart for us and has been instrumental in healing our hearts and minds in many areas. For Meleah, she struggled with her identity as a woman for much of her life and God used this pregnancy and thenceforth the birth of Ezekiel to minister to her heart, affirming her femininity in ways that only becoming a mother could. For both of us, God showed us that it is not us who is the provider for Ezekiel despite what we have been taught, that is still God's job and he alone can give us what we need to provide a loving and safe home for our son.
Since Joseph has returned from Africa, his job situation has been much like a roller coaster ride in that it has had many ups and downs and many unexpected turns. However, God has been so faithful to us in providing everything we have needed. Never once has a single bill gone unpaid nor have we lacked food or any other necessity. In getting everything ready for Ezekiel's birth we were just amazed by God's provision, the only thing we spent our own money on was Ezekiel's baby book, every thing else was given to us by a great deal of different people and trust me we have everything that we could possibly need for him. From crib to swing to baby monitor to clothing, everything was provided by God to show us that he wants the best for us and will provide in whatever way he desires. We have learned to rely on nothing outside of God himself. Nothing is reliable but God.
So thank you to all of you who were apart of this work of God, your obedience to God has made a lasting impact on our lives and has been used by God to teach us a great deal. We pray that whatever you have need of, that God will provide in greater ways than you can imagine. A life serving God is truly the only a life worth living. We are forever grateful for his provision and grace in our lives.

Pregnancy Update

2008-01-16T00:30:00.000+02:00

I am sure that many of you are wondering about Meleah and the soon arrival of our little boy, and I will admit that an update is shamefully over due.

Meleah has been doing great and having a wonderful pregnancy, having no complications and relatively few complaints.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks to update you on the growth of her belly, as we near the end of this exciting time.

I realize that we have not posted any pictures of Meleah's belly during this pregnancy up until now so we will start with this one, which as at only 13 weeks.

This next picture below is from our time in Africa when Meleah was about 18 weeks.

This one on the right was taken at 22 weeks along. Slowly getting bigger...

This picture is from Christmas Day with Meleah being 31 weeks.

This picture is from two weeks later, a last minute picture in front of the Christmas tree before we said goodbye to Christmas decorations until next year. Meleah is 33 weeks along in this picture and is greatly looking forward to the end.

A White Christmas and a New Year

2008-01-16T00:15:00.000+02:00

A late Happy Holidays to all of you!

Life has been very busy since Joseph's arrival home from Africa in the beginning of December. We managed to make our new house a home and decorate for Christmas before the even actually happened, something Meleah was suspicious about happening.

We woke up Christmas morning to a snow storm that piled more snow on us in one storm than I had ever seen in Montrose, it was truly a white Christmas to remember.

Christmas was another wonderful event for us as we spent some time with Meleah's family, it was especially wonderful to be able to spend sometime with Meleah's sister, Melodie and her family who lives in Missouri. Joseph celebrated another year of his birth in tradition of a Christmas breakfast made only once a year by Meleah just for the event of his birthday. This is a picture of him showing off his new Birthday outfit, in front of our beautiful Christmas tree.

It was a great time for us as a family and are thankful for all that God has given us during 2007.

We celebrated New Years by spending time with family, old friends and new ones at our house. It was a small get together but very fun with lots of laughter and games. A wonderful way to spend the last moments of 2007 and an even better way to start out this new year.

We hope and pray that you all had a wonderful holiday season and that you are able to see all of the many blessings that God gave you during this past year and for the new year to come. We pray that you all are able to find joy and hope for the upcoming year as well.

A Long Overdue Update

2007-11-06T08:04:00.000+02:00

Please forgive us for not updating this sooner. Its been a very busy four months but exciting things have happened since then. Most of you already know that Meleah is pregnant and we are expecting our first baby in February. We travelled to Burkina Faso in September to finally visit Joseph's family after two years of marriage. This was the first trip for Meleah to Africa and also the first time Joseph has returned home since coming to the United States four years ago. It was the trip of a lifetime for Meleah, since Joseph and her had been engaged she has wanted to meet Joseph's family and felt that part of her heart was incomplete without this meeting. It has since been complete and fulfilled in every way. God did some awesome works in opening doors to allow us to travel and we are so thankful for all of your prayers in making it happen.
Joseph continues to travel within West Africa, teaching in different regions and Churches. He is currently in Nigeria teaching at a Biblical Studies school and will be returning to Burkina Faso at the end of this week. Please keep him in your prayers during his travels as it can be dangerous to travel in Nigeria. I am including a link for our Picasa web albums of our trip, so that you can see pictures of our time there. Please email us if you have an additional questions and we will try to update with more regularly. Thank you all for being apart of our lives during this season of our lives.

Some Prayer Requests

2007-06-15T13:41:00.000+03:00

We have reached the end of our time here in Switzerland with less than two weeks left and we are excited about the time we have spent here.
We are almost ready to start packing and heading out of Europe towards the USA, however we have some prayer requests during this transition time. We are still in need of about $1000.00 dollars in order for Joseph to graduate and for us to be debt free, we have been actively fundraising and just as we continue in these efforts we would ask that you would stand with us in prayer that we would receive the necessary finances before we are finished.
Please be praying for us as we travel, that we would have safe flights and nothing would go wrong. Would you also pray that we would have complete guidance on our next steps and adventures. Thank you all so much for me being so faithful in our lives and for your continuous support.
We will be back in the states on the 27th of June and look forward to seeing those of you in Colorado!

Only 5 weeks left!

2007-05-18T13:17:00.000+03:00

We are currently half way through our time here in Switzerland and I finanlly have some pictures to show you from around our small village here.

This is my favorite tree on the base and I know it looks just like every other kind of tree but I liked it so I thought I would share it with you.

These are our cows, by that I mean the cows this YWAM base owns which live in the field behind and produce all of the milk we drink here.

This is a small stream that is very near the base, once again I just liked the picture so thats why you are seeing it.

This is the Clock Tower that is just a little up the road from us but can been seen cleary from our window. It chimes

every hour and than once on the half hour, starting at 7 am and stops at 10. So needless to say it is my alarm clock.

This is one of the many fountains around the village, they used to be used for different purposes, from washing clothes to providing water for the homes. Now they simply remind us of the history of this small village.

Thanks for going on this tour of Burtigny with us, I hope that you have a better understanding of what our small village looks like now. Check back often because we will be adding more soon!

1 Down, 79 More to Go!

2007-05-18T13:09:00.000+03:00

Yes, its true, Joseph and I have finally been married one year. We celebrated our anniversary here in Switzerland and God once again was so good to us.

My deep desire was to spend our anniversary in Geneva, as it is a truly unique city, yet due to our financial circumstances, that didn't seem possible. However, God always knows our desires and helps them to come true, the morning of our anniversary one of Joseph's classmates informed us that they were going to spend the day in Geneva and invited us to come along. Needless to say I was overjoyed, we quickly accepted the invitation, and off we went. Joseph had never been in Geneva before and so it was great to wander around the city and the lake. We were also given some money and so we found one small souvenir shop open (since it was a Sunday no shops are usually open) and in it we found this cow.

As most of Switzerland is farming country with cows being a major source of income, most of the souvenirs are cows. Despite not really liking cows, I loved this one, as it was prefect for being our souvenir from this lovely country. It really has been a huge blessing to experience our first year of marriage, God has continually shown his faithfulness in our life and we are both very excited to see what God has in store during this next year. We want to express our thanks for all of your support in our life during the past year and thank you for your wisdom and input during this learning process of marriage.

2007-05-15T12:41:00.000+03:00

Hey Everyone,
It seems that the pictures have a problem, so I will try to fix it soon. The Internet is having problems here so I will fix it as soon as the Internet works again properly. Sorry Everyone!

Pictures Finally!!!

2007-05-03T16:40:00.001+03:00

I know that you all have been anxious to see pictures of beautiful Switzerland and so here they are.

These are pictures from our retreat during Easter weekend to a town called Einigin. As you can see, it is a beautiful place.

This is the house Joseph and I stayed in. It is beautiful on the inside as well and still has that old Victorian feel to it.

As you can see the lake was beautiful and we find it to be an honor to be in this beautiful country during this season of our lives.

Contact Information!!

2007-04-18T09:19:00.000+02:00

Here is our address in Switzerland so you can feel free to mail us letters, cards, care packages or anything else you think of!

Joseph and Meleah Ouedraogo
SCF
U of N/Jeunesse en Mission
1268 Burtigny
SWITZERLAND

Thank you so much for all of your support in our life and for your prayers. Please continue to pray for our needed finances and that Joseph does not get tried from continuously studying without a break between quarters. Thank you once again and if you would like our phone number please email us and we would be happy to email it to you!!

In Switzerland!!

2007-04-18T09:12:00.000+02:00

We are in safely in Switzerland and first off, I am sorry that this update is so over due.
On March 30, Joseph and I left Kona, Hawaii; we went directly to Montrose, Colorado and spent two and half days with family and a few friends. In reality, it really was only an enough time to pack and then repack. We would have loved to stay around longer but unfortunately, that was impossible. As mentioned last we were in need of having at least $1300 dollars in order to arrive here in Switzerland and amazingly, thanks to God's faithfulness, we received a phone call the night before we left, that we were being given $1000 dollars for our time in Switzerland. It was a great testimony of God's never failing faithfulness to us. We are still in need of about $5000 more to finish paying for our stay here but we are very confident in God's goodness in our lives.
It has been amazing to experience Switzerland thus far. It is a beautiful country and Burtigny is a great base. Burtigny is in the hills that surround Lake Geneva. It is a small farming community with no stores and one restaurant, and plenty of cows, which I understand brings quite the lovely scent around at times, for those of you have lived very near cows you know what I mean. The base itself is small, with most of the base contained in one building with the exception of one office and some long-term staff housing.
It snowed the first day that we arrived and I myself did not step foot out of the building for the first two days after arriving, due to the cold weather. Need less to say, it's been quite the adjustment from Hawaii! The weather has heated up and it is has been pleasantly warm.
Joseph's class has about 17 students and 4 staff members, with representation from 12 nations and every continent except Australia. Two of Joseph's classmates are already friends of ours and many are quickly claiming the title as well.
The first weekend the class had a school retreat and it was wonderful. We traveled to the German-speaking region, about 2 hours away, to a place called Einigen. It is also an YWAM base but serves more as a retreat center. It sits on a hill next to a large beautiful crystal clear lake and behind it was the alps, up close and personal. The weekend was beautiful and warm which was great for Joseph and I, since all the activities were outside. The retreat was a time of getting to know everyone better and seeking God for direct during this season. It truly was a great way to start out the school, it was also Easter weekend, and we celebrated it with the base staff there. They lead us in a time of meditation and pondering on the reality of Jesus' death and resurrection. It was a unique experience and not one I will soon forget.
I hope to be able to add some photos on here soon, so check back in the next few days. Thank you so much for your prayers during our travels, it was very smooth and we are thankful to have arrived safely.

Our next step of Faith

2007-03-14T04:38:00.000+02:00

In only three weeks we will be in Switzerland working towards Joseph's final goal of finishing his degree. It has been awesome to see how God has been providing the finances for this next step. In addition to the car wash, mentioned below, we shared with our church here in Hawaii about our future goals including our plans for Switzerland. They were amazingly generous to us in this effort, even through the church is 50-75 people weekly, we received over $850 dollars! It was such an awesome experience to see God working in the hearts of those generous people towards us.

We also did one more fundraiser here on campus. Meleah made some HUGE ice cream sandwiches which we sold during lunch and was blessed with another $50 dollars. That fundraiser caused us to have the perfect amount for our tickets which were almost $300 dollars less than we were expecting. So in an act of faith we purchased our tickets and are still trusting God for the rest of the money before the end of the month.

We are both in awe of God's hand in our life during the past three weeks, He has shown himself more than faithful and we are both have total peace to see the rest of the $5000 to come in before the end of the month.

Another praise report is that we recently found that Joseph will not need to apply for a visa to travel to Switzerland or study there, thanks to him having an US Permanent Residence card, it being the only exception for him needing a visa. God is so awesome!!!

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers on our behalf and for your continued support. We love hearing from you and can't wait to tell you of how God provided the rest of our money!

Working at the Car Wash

2007-03-14T04:03:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago we held a car wash at the lower end of the campus and it was fun. God was so faithful to us during this time. We had cars nonstop from 9 am to 2 pm when we finally called it quits. Even after we took down the signs we were still having to turn cars away that kept coming anyway.
We had some awesome friends who helped us all day long. But above all else, the most amazing thing was God's faithfulness in using this time as a way to provide for our trip to Switzerland. After six hours God provide $900 dollars to us!! Never have I heard of anyone making this much during a car wash and it just goes to show that God is our ultimate provider.

It was not only an awesome fundraiser but it was a great opportunity to share what the University of the Nations is all about, to those in the community .
As you can see in the picture we had some nice cars to wash.

It was such an awesome day, thanks be to God alone!!!

2007-02-07T23:51:00.000+02:00

I wanted to show you around campus some so you can feel apart of our life here. This is a sunset view from the top of campus. One of my favorite spots.

To the back of campus is one of the smaller mountains on the island called, Hualialai.

This is a picture of our Thursday night meeting at the Ohana Court. This was one of the nights when Loren and Darleen Cunningham was sharing that night. The Ohana Court is nice and open with only one main wall which is great until we have monsoon rain storms like the other night.

I added in the picture of the sunset because I thought it was pretty and I am sure you would agree. I hope that you enjoyed the tour and the pictures, I love to show them off!

2007-02-07T23:02:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago the Old Testament class finally got some time to have some fun. The leader of the school, Robert Evan, invited us over to his house to help celebrate his birthday but I think that we were more spoiled more than he was! His wife, Bev, cooked us steak for dinner and we even had a Pinata!

Starting on the left is Bev, Makanna, Robert, Timothy, Ansuka. On the right is Jo, Terri, myself and Joseph. Jose is taking the picture but he is also in the class.

We played a trivia game about the birthday boy and although some had an advantage we all won a prize.

After the game we watched a movie together while enjoying coffee and cake.

It was nice to get out of the campus and just have some fun for this night.

More to come

2007-02-05T09:25:00.000+02:00

There is a problem uploading our pictures but I will try again so check back in a few days to see some pictures.

A Midnight Adventure

2007-02-02T04:33:00.000+02:00

I have had an experience while here that I feel God is compelling me to share with all of you. But first I must share some background information for those of you who do not know. Since before I could remember I have suffered from Asthma and it was extremely bad as a young child. Growing up my asthma had been getting better and better and I had actually not been on medication for it for 5 to 6 years and had been using a over-the-counter inhaler for the past three years. Well that has since changed.
Since arriving I have struggled with being able to breathe and yet not feeling the need to seek out medical attention despite consistent use of my inhaler. Last Thursday night I went to bed with the realization that I had gone through an entire inhaler in less than two weeks (normal it took me three months to go through one) and I was completely out for the night. Unable to sleep, due to lack of oxygen, I began to pray with Joseph around 1 am and we continued to do so for about an hour and an half. Until Joseph decided that I was in need of emergency medical care and went to wake up his classmate who owns a car. Thankful this classmate's wife is a friend of mine and is a nurse practitioner by profession and was unalarmed by our intrusion in the middle of the night.
After spending 2 hours in the hospital I was released and went home and slept. It had been a very long time since I had to be on medication and it was even longer since I had to spend any time in the hospital. I came home broken in my spirit and confused as to why this happened. I knew that God had purpose and reasoning but I was unsure as to why at that moment. On Friday I had an experience that answered all of my questions and that is the most important thing for me to share with you.
I went to a seminar in the afternoon and although the topic of the seminar is irrelevant the thing God did through the person leading the seminar is not. During the seminar, the speaker felt the need to stop and pray for a person in the audience who was struggling with an issue in their life that they felt was holding them back from doing all that they wanted to do and he began to pray for that person. During this prayer I was completely unaware of the lasting effects of this prayer, thinking the whole time that the prayer was for someone else, such as the person next to me who began to cry during it. So at the end of the seminar I left without much more thought and was chased out by the man who had lead the seminar. He quickly informed me that he had to stop me from leaving because I was the person he was praying for during the seminar. I am sure most of you already figured that out but I was oblivious to that fact and as this man began to share what God had put on his heart for me, I began to cry realizing the awesome love of my God. Towards the end of our conversation he prayed for me and shared that he felt the God was truly desiring to heal me but it was more than a healing like it was never there but that it was to be a healing that was much deeper and complete.
I was overwhelmed by this encounter and not fully understanding it all but God was faithful to show me all that he had in story for this experience. I now understand that God allowed me to have this asthma attack that put me in the hospital in order to expose what was truly in my heart and that was shame. I realized that through out my life I had hid in shame over asthma and tried not to have to deal with it. I saw that God has the desire to heal me completely of asthma but first he needed to heal me of my shame and that is why this post is the first step. Shame is a lie and in order to fight a lie you must expose it to the truth. I realize now that for most of my life I have believed that some how I was inferior to everyone because I was unable to physically compete with them. I felt that some how I was defective and that asthma held me back from all that God was calling me to do especially in reference to missions. But God has truly redeemed my life for His glory and I believe in His promises and that God will completely heal me inside and out.
It would be awesome to have you stand with me against this lie and for my healing process to be complete. It would also be awesome if you would stand with us in prayer on the matters of finances as well. We do have insurance but have not heard back from them as to whether or not they will pay the entire hospital bill or not. Also the medicine is really expensive and we really have to trust that God will provide to pay for it. I am honored to be able to share this with you and I trust that you will stand with me in prayer. Thank you for all of your support in our lives up to now and for the future as well.

Some Things We've Learned Lately

2007-01-25T04:10:00.000+02:00

Wow, I can't believe that we have been here for almost a month now. Time always does escape us. Joseph is learning so much in his class, and its more than just the language. He shared with me that they were discussing how when God spoke through the burning bush to Moses and God told Moses to take off his shoes because he was on Holy ground, most of us when reading that assumes that the reason is because God is so holy that he didn't want Moses' shoes which were dirty to touch him. But they were talking in class how it was a picture of God's desire for relationship with Moses. He did not want anything to be between Moses and Him, he wanted Moses' flesh to feel His holiness. Isn't that awesome? I have never thought of it that way and yet it makes so much sense in considering God's character. Even later on in Moses' life, God spoke to him face to face as a friend. This just shows how we take our own image of what God looks like and even read the bible with that image in place, which causes us to miss out on really seeing God as he is.
On to my experiences here, I am learning the art of how to 'talk story'. If any of you have spent much time in the islands you know what I am talking about but for the rest of you I will explain. Talk story is simply listening to a person's story and it is something that I think most Americans have lost. Today in the coffee shop, I met this wonderful old man, and it is very just of me to call him an old man because he is close to the age of my Grandfather. Our conversation started by him asking me if I thought President Bush was a handsome man, a humorous question if you ask me, well after that he just started talking story. He told me all about being in World War 2 and then he went off on Big band music and was very excited to learn I liked Big Band music. Well we spent about 30 minutes just talking about the things surrounding WW2 but the best part was the look on his face when he talked. There was this sparkle in his eyes as he talked like suddenly he was in his youth again. It was a great experience and I hope that he decides to come and visit me on Friday too.
We sent our applications to the base in Switzerland for April and are praying that God opens the doors in that area so we can go. Joseph really desires to finish his schooling and if we are unable to go to Switzerland, we will have to wait another year before being able to do the school again. So would please join us in prayer for that as well as the finances to go along with it as well. Thank you so much and we hope you are all doing well and would love to here from you all!

Here is our address so you can send us letters or goodies if you would like to:

Joseph and Meleah Ouedraogo
University of the Nations
75-5851 Kuakini Hwy
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740-2199

2007-01-14T10:44:00.001+02:00

One of the most beautiful flowers in the world

The Faithfulness of God

2007-01-08T22:21:00.000+02:00

I am amazed at God's never-ending love and faithfulness to us. He is beyond my comprehension. Joseph and I have safely made it to Hawaii and blessed my husband with a cool cloudy day to adjust back to the heat.
Before leaving Montrose, Joseph and I were unsure as to our finances for this time in Hawaii but decided to trust God to provide and man oh man did he ever. The day before we left Montrose, we received a check for $3,000 dollars, which was from a variety of people, as well as our church, desiring to bless us for this trip. It exceeded our expectations and was a huge blessing in every way. Thanks to those generous individuals, we are able to pay our flight tickets as well as the required insurance and all of Joseph's tuition. This is a huge blessing to us as we will not have to worry over money. We are still trusting God to provide the amount to cover my college tuition which I am doing online but are confident that He will, as He always does.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers during this time and for the prayers during our traveling.
Traveling here to Hawaii was long but after 15 hours and a few mishaps, we made it safe and I am sure we will catch up on our sleep during the weekend. Joseph has already had his first day of class and already has a load of homework due. Please continue to pray for Joseph, that he will have enough grace and strength to learn all that is before him.
From the beautiful state of Hawaii, we send all of our love and thanks to all of you and May God bless you during this New Year.

Winter is here and we're outta here.....

2006-12-21T01:30:00.000+02:00

Christmas has finally arrived and so has Joseph's permanent resident card. This was the one thing keeping us in Montrose for this season and now that he has received it, we are able to return to Kona, Hawaii. We will be moving on January 4th and Joseph will resume his studies in the School of Old Testament Hebrew, with hopes to graduate after one more year. Meleah will be working on the campus as staff as well as doing school full time on the Internet through Colorado Christian University.
This time of being in Montrose has been a huge blessing, we have been able to really deepen relationships here with many different people and with each other. Looking into the future we are very excited to see the changes especially in the weather! Never has Meleah been so excited to leave as now. It's been snowing for two days non-stop and Hawaii is looking more and more beautiful by the minute.
We are hoping to continue to stay in touch with all those here in Montrose and will hope to return soon to visit.
Our plans as it stands now will be to be in Hawaii until the end of March and then go to Switzerland for Joseph to take the School of Communications at the start of April. If this does happen we will be there for three months and are not sure where the next move will be after that.
Here are some prayer requests:

For the weather to be clear during our travels and that the airport in Denver will not be shut down from snow again.
For Joseph to have God's grace while in this next school as it will be a challenge for him.
For our finances, that God will provide enough for us to live off of.
For our relationship as a couple; that we would continue to grow closer to each other as we are both in school.

If you feel that God is leading you to give towards our time on the mission field you may send a check for us to:

Grace Community Church

16731 Woodgate Road

Montrose, CO 81401

Please make the check out to Grace Community and include a note stating that it is for us, so that it can be tax deductable.

2006-08-29T04:00:00.000+03:00

2006-08-29T02:41:00.000+03:00

We finally did it!! Created a spot where we are able to keep you informed about what is going on in our lives and where in the world we are.
Well to answer the latter part of the statement above, we are currently still in Colorado. I am sure some of you are thinking that we will soon be moving to Hawaii which is still correct just not as soon as first hoped.
We have learned that we will be unable to move to Hawaii until Joseph receives his permanent residence, which is still in the process. We are hoping and praying that it will happen before the end of December so that we can move to Hawaii then and Joseph can take a school that semester.
Until then and since the wedding, we must stay in Montrose Colorado. Meleah will continue to work at Chili's and has recently started to take college courses online through Colorado Christian University.
Joseph is helping out at our church and/or friends who are in need of his help. Together we are working with the junior high program at our church, we both love seeing the lives of these kids be changed as they begin to know God in a deeper way and find the life he gives. We have anywhere from 15 to 30 kids depending on the night and it is awesome to be given the opportunity to influence their lives.
We want to thank those of you who pray for us, we are so grateful for you and here is some requests.

For Joseph to receive his permanent residence before December
For Meleah to receive financial aid for her studies and to do well in them
For open doors in the future and to continue to trust God with our future
Also for the Junior high program that the kids will grow deeper and more in love with their Creator and Savior.

Thank you again for all of your support and friendship, and we will continue to update you all.