MaozIsrael March 2008 Adar I - Adar II 5768 Since 1976

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1 MaozIsrael r e p o r t March 2008 Adar I - Adar II 5768 Since 1976 Founded by Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram Burkinabe child at Nouna-Israel conference Maozisrael Burkina Faso: the beautiful land By Tony Sperandeo Cinema, Cinema, Cinema Ye. No, these are not the words of the latest chart song heard on radio. We are located in a small northern village in Burkina Faso, West Africa, third poorest country in the world. We are in a small village close to the border with Mali, a sub-sahara area where only one out of five adults knows how to read or write. This semi-desert village has been transformed into a three-day campground conference. More than 1200 adults are registered from all the mud huts near and far. Among them are 82 pastors. They have come to hear the Israelis, the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This number does not include their hundreds of children who play in the red fine dust amidst pigs, goats and bees near the central water well where women draw their precious water. They sing, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. These were the words we heard, translated into Dioula, one of the fifty different tribal languages spoken in Burkina Faso and the predominant one in this remote area, close to the city of Nouna. The music is authentic. The instruments, percussions and special xylophones made of wood and gourds are a By mail: Maoz Ministries P.O. Box Grand Prairie, TX By phone: U.S G.B CAN By fax: U.S G.B CAN Online via our secure web sites:

2 2 MaozIsrael Report march 2008 musical treat to the ears and marvelously exalt the Lord. This music is still ethnically unspoiled by the west. The worship is genuine. The singing is simply beautiful. The prayers in unison, invoked with great intensity, all indicate a thirst for God and a desire to hear from Him and His Word through His servants, the Israelis, who have come from so far away just to meet them. These Israelis who live in the land of the Bible, the land of the Hebrew prophets, the place where their Savior lived, died, resurrected and will be coming back again! The atmosphere is electrifying. Welcome to Africa. It was just yesterday when our plane left Israel to arrive in Ouagadougou, the capital city and home of one million of the 14 million Burkinabe. There our team joined with Shira and the Maoz team who were already in the land to work on an agricultural project that could revolutionize the future of the entire country. The prayers and vision of the local leadership combined with Israeli technology and financing by western bornagain believers is creating a great impact on this blessed but underdeveloped land. Now we are all together eight of us representing two different congregations from the Tel-Aviv area. We drive in a van with a local driver, Moslem-born, but very open to the warmth and love the team is expressing to him. We travel with Ram Zango, a very special leader and visionary, a man of faith and actions. A man we all learned to love and respect and who becomes a very precious friend. He is our main translator and link to his culture. We see from speaking to him that he carries the burden of his people. He deeply believes in what God can do to bring blessings to this land. The trip to Nouna takes six hours. Having slept only a few hours since our arrival in Burkina, the testing of our character has already begun for some of us. Before we can minister to others in an effective way, we need to be made aware of our complete dependency towards God. We know we need to adjust to the situation quickly, to release all our rights to comfort, to complain, to rest, or to feel clean. His grace is being poured upon all of us in a very special way. Maozisrael FROM TRIBE TO TRIBE The conference in Nouna was our first exposure to the nine days of ministry we were involved in. We took turns in speaking, preaching, teaching, giving testimonies and singing some simple Hebrew songs of worship all with generator-powered microphones and one small florescent light over The worship and praise are indescribable. There is probably no professional recording of this Dioula-language music and worship. What a pity! North African Muslim states invest hundreds of millions of dollars for the building of mosques and the islamization of Burkina Faso.

3 march 2008 MaozIsrael Report 3 Maozisrael the preacher. At night the people sat in the dark but they never grew tired of hearing us, drinking in the words spoken to them. We criss-crossed the entire country, traveling north and south, almost reaching the border of Ghana. We would travel two to four hours on the red dust-covered roads until we arrived at our next destination, to immediately begin preaching. The services lasted more than 12 hours (with breaks for food). Day after day. In fact, it seemed everywhere we went, people always wanted to hear more. I have the sense that God was making history. There were divine appointments and a spirit of revelation was being poured out upon the people. Ram also sensed the same and he started to arrange even more meetings in our limited time, in even more remote areas! He said, You have brought the fire, and he wanted more people to hear us. The last few days we split the team in two for more effectiveness and strategy. Different translators, different languages; every message was translated into two or three tribal languages. It was clear that God was directing us to focus on the remote rural areas those who had never seen Israelis or Jews in their lives. We visited and prayed for pastors ministering in villages plagued by witchcraft and animism. We made public declarations that Yeshua is King of Kings and Lord of Lords over villages and towns in Burkina Faso. Maozisrael One of Ram Zango s schools: Members of Congregation Tiferet Yeshua in Tel Aviv provided $70 each for a class of 70 Burkinabe students which enables them to attend school for one year. Members of Maya an Congregation in Kfar Saba, together with Adonai Roi Congregation in Tel Aviv, took on a similar project for a second class of 70 students. The Bible is an integral part of their education. Maozisrael

4 4 MaozIsrael Report march 2008 EDUCATION: THEIR CHANCE OF A LIFETIME We were also eager to visit the school in Yako where both of our congregations have sponsored a total of 140 children so they could attend one of Ram s middle schools. These children have no other opportunity for schooling, and they know they are privileged. This town is a strong Muslim center, and the school is a powerful bulwark for the forces of the One True God. Indeed, Yako is a very special village for Israeli believers because it was there, back in the 1950 s, where a Jew, Zeev Kaufman, found his faith in Yeshua the Messiah brought to the Lord by a Burkinabe believer. Born in the Ukraine, Kaufman studied in France and then joined the French Foreign Legion. Burkina Faso, then called Upper Volta, was under the rule of France and Kaufman was stationed in Yako. He later became the Tony Sperandeo preaches in French. We ask ourselves, how many spirit-filled, Frenchspeaking preachers of the Gospel are there who also understand the teachings of the Bible concerning Israel? Tony noted that in this particular church in Kingria, he just had to read the French verses on the wall for his sermons. Behind the pulpit is the scripture, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper who love thee first pioneer pastor to establish a local congregation of believing Jews in Jerusalem in the early days of the new state of Israel. At the Yako school we distributed T-shirts, writing materials, pencils, sweets and toys and soccer balls!! These soccer balls were a very special treat to the kids who are all soccer fans. One day on our way to a conference, our car broke down and we found ourselves close to a village. We took a soccer ball and started to play with the kids of the village. A crowd started to form contact was quickly made! You should have seen the joy it brought to these kids when we gave them the ball as a gift from Israel! Another blessing was that through a friend of mine, a pastor in France, we received 15 French Study Bibles with concordances. We were able to distribute these precious gifts to the pastors and head representatives of churches of the various regions. The highlight of my journey was definitely on the last day when my translator and the Christian driver asked me to pray and bless them. We stopped on the side of the road and there in a field they knelt. As I was blessing them, the Holy Spirit fell upon me and them together and we stayed one hour in silent awe and worship, His peace and presence being upon us, the Lord met us there on the side of the road to Ouagadougou. There I definitely heard the Lord saying to me that I will be back in this beautiful land. He deeply loves these gentle people and has just begun His work in this nation. This is the time to water Africa with the water of life. To invest in the spiritual future of this continent. Israel is becoming a light unto the nation of Burkina Faso! I came to Burkina Faso as an answer to a prayer I made four years ago to bless the brothers from Burkina who had sown into our ministry through their tithes. I thank the Lord for allowing me to fulfill this wish and bless in return the believers to bring an even greater harvest for His Kingdom. To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. Tony Sperandeo is pastor of Ma ayan Congregation in Kfar Saba, a suburb of Tel Aviv. He and his two elders were part of the team who ministered in Burkina Faso. Tony, who was born in France, speaks fluent French, making his preaching extremely effective in this officially French-speaking country. In addition, all sermons were translated into one or more tribal languages. maozisrael Want to know how to effectively pray for Israel? Request our weekly prayer letter via Please us at maozisrael@maozisrael.org

5 march 2008 MaozIsrael Report 5 About Burkina Faso: Third poorest country in the world, ranks 175 lowest out of 177 by the UN The approximate size of Colorado 14,000,000 citizens Landlocked Languages: French plus 50 indigenous languages Surrounded by five French speaking countries, one English (Ghana) Average income: $400 - $460 a year (rest of sub-saharan Africa averages $842) Average age: % of population 14 years and under Average Life span: 49 Literacy rate: 22% Religion: 50% Muslim, 40% pagan, 10% Christian Population of subsistence farmers 90% Unemployment rate (9 months of the year) 77% 2% of 8,633 villages have electricity (home to 94.5% of population) Sanitation, mostly non-existent, a great need. Natural hazards: Reoccurring drought, malaria; at present, a meningitis outbreak due partly to dust-laden winds Facts from CIA World Factbook, BBC News country profiles, World Bank Group, Engineers without Borders Canada Poverty: A typical dwelling of a subsistent farmer in Burkina Faso. maozisrael

6 Christopher holt Conference in Nouna: Burkinabe

7 Tony sperandeo Shira in native dress (great for bad hair-days in the desert) teaches on how God is again turning to His people Israel. Burkinabe Christian children are taught to love and pray for Israel from childhood. The Burkinabe Christians love to dance hunkered down! The amazing believers in Nouna, near the border of Mali. The three day conference was one of the most phenomenal experiences of our lives. maozisrael Christians gather to hear the Israelis maozisrael

8 Loumbila Agriculture Training Center Maoz, together with Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, have initiated a program headed up by Ram Zango (West Africa Initiative) to establish an Agriculture Training Center that has the potential to ultimately change the economic status of Burkina s farmers. The program s goal is to train Christian farmers in modern irrigation and crop technology that will bring them into the 21st Century. Standing with Ram are Maoz representatives plus Shlomo Sasson, (far right) Israeli agriculture expert, who is the project manager. Behind them is the framework for the nursery which will be used to grow seedlings on the 25 acre farm. The following is needed before the first crop can be planted A fence to keep the ever-present animals out of the crops. 2. Electricity connection to the farm. 3. Sma

9 all pictures by maozisrael Look carefully at this picture, top right. In the background is the large Loumbila lake created by a dam funded by international agencies. Now look at the woman in the foreground who can not be more than a five-minute walk from the lake. She is watering her plants with a bucket. Burkina Faso does not yet have the technical know-how to irrigate its fields, even though 90% of the people are farmers. 4 5 ll water tower. 4. Water connection to the lake. 5. More containers for storage of equipment and crops.

10 Special Report Burkina Faso: Rising to its Destiny by Christy Wilkerson I knew I might never view the world the same again after a visit to Africa but I did not know how profound my understanding of poverty would be after just 16 days in Burkina Faso. We have all seen the pleas on television for drilling water wells and feeding hungry children. But until you see for yourself, you cannot imagine the conditions in which the majority of these West Africans are living. Ram Zango, a godly, highly educated man who is an extraordinary visionary, can see beyond the poverty. By faith, he sees into the future the shanty towns of the bush country in Burkina regenerated where farmers will plant and harvest crops 12 months a year, rather than only in the rainy season (three-four months a year). He sees schoolrooms filled to capacity with enough books for every student, teachers who have been educated, supplies for every student, and students who will be able to read and write, and fulfill their God-given potential. He has a vision of the Gospel going out to 3 million people via radio proclaiming the Word of God through solarpowered radios given to villagers in the bush. He has seen the favor of God and men as government dignitaries give him licenses, customs exemptions, lands, authority to impact his people with clean water, electricity, active farms, excellent schools, medical clinics and services. And every he sends to anybody, he ends with WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Ram is a man who is humble, yet bold. Teachable, yet authoritative. He could be living a very comfortable life in the United States preaching, teaching, talking about bringing the Gospel to his people. But he was chosen by God to change his nation! And that is exactly what he is doing every moment of his day right in the middle of Burkina Faso. Even as a boy, Ram was driven by something inside him to learn, to study, and to prepare himself for the purposes of God. He just knew it! Ram has five beautiful children 2 girls, Rebecca (11) and Micaiah (10), and three boys, Samuel (7), Abraham (5), and Israel (2) and a praying, supportive wife, Francis. Together they work to bring transformation to their people. After 16 days, I became almost overwhelmed with tears as I visited Ram s home and family. Here they live in a tiny unfinished structure, in the middle of Ouagadougou, the capital city Ram and Christy inspect green bean plants on experimental field supervised by Israeli agriculture expert Shlomo Sasson. raising their children, employing people on their ministry staff, preaching in churches all over the nation, establishing an agricultural training center which has the potential to literally transform farming, and, in turn, change the economic status of hundreds, yes thousands, of farmers and their families, as they learn, implement, and teach others the newest techniques, educating young men and women ages who would have no place to learn at all, except for the schools established in their villages (the poorest of the poor), monthly supporting 71 pastors from 14 denominations blanketing the entire nation, and providing medical services to stop the spread of malaria and other common diseases that are so easily treatable with simple remedies. God cares about Burkina Faso. God needs Ram

11 all pictures by maozisrael Zango. And Ram Zango needs you. You can help him. Your gifts, your prayers, your support delivers the Gospel in a tangible way to those who might never know our living, loving God to a corner of the world that you may never see in your lifetime. But you can have a direct impact. As you partner with Maoz for these beautiful people, you are literally blanketing the nation with hope, help, refuge, and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! After 16 days, I almost became weary of the oppression and sheer magnitude of the poverty on every inch of ground the vast red sand, blowing down from the Sahara desert, the children begging with their little red tin A typical village market place. Another one of Ram s seven schools. Presently he is educating a total of 1,000 students. cans at every stop, the vendors trying to sell you phone cards at every corner, the endless makeshift stands trying to sell something anything just to keep going another day, the tiny mudded huts dotted on the landscape literally in the middle of nowhere. It was just almost too much to bear. But then, we visited Ram and Francis home, where Ram has written on his doors, his walls, even his furniture, in chalk God is greater than our need. With God all things are possible. That s faith. That is a man of vision. The needs are monumental. One man cannot do it alone. As Ram said emphatically to me, sharing his vision over the last 16 days, Everything you can do matters. The last night I was in Burkina Faso, I picked up a women s magazine which I had brought with me from America. As I started scanning the pages filled with fashion tips, investment advice, and travel adventures, I was almost sickened. It all seemed so trivial. I want my life to count. I want to please the Lord. I want to use my resources, my gifts, my talents, my abilities to please God. I want to impact lives. I want someone to remember me after I ve gone to heaven. Here is a great opportunity. You can have a part in exactly that changing a nation for all eternity! Christy Wilkerson is the Maoz International Administrator, living in Grand Prairie, Texas, with her husband, Ray Wilkerson, Maoz Ministries board member. Ram and Francis son, five year old Abraham, who came close to death in January after Salmonella B attacked his bones. Maoz prayer partners were among the many praying earnestly that the child would live. He has recovered from the disease to the amazement of the Burkinabe doctors who did not think he could survive. To God be the glory! Our Maoz staff prays with Ram and his family in their living room.

12 Moti Cohen: I love the children of Burkina Faso Moti Cohen, right; Omer Leon, Maoz Media Director on left; with village children. There was no other experience in Burkina Faso that meant more to me than my meetings with the local children. Every village we went to, we were met by children who in a very natural way were curious and usually gathered around our car at the moment we stopped. Over half of the population is under 15, so we had no trouble finding them! I was impressed with how perceptive and sharp the children are, showing great ability to learn anything very quickly. In one of the conferences, one of the elders of Hama ayan Congregation and I taught the children how to sing a song in Hebrew the classic Hodu LaAdonai ki Tov (Give thanks to the Lord For He is Good). In just a few minutes the children knew exactly how to pronounce the words, as well as the rhythm, and soon were singing by themselves. It was an amazing experience for us. While they were singing, we felt the presence of the Lord and the power of praise. Suddenly, the children started to dance while they sang, giving this usually very calm song a rhythm of its own. At the end of that day we invited them to sing the very same song before all the participants of the conference. They did so, again, in Hebrew, and with excellence! I believe the adults understood in a greater way the potential of their children, and how important it is to invest in them. While visiting the clinic founded by Pastor Ram Zango, the doctor there told us that of every three children in Burkina Faso, one will die before the age of 10. This means that one third of the Burkinabe children die before they reach the age of 10! The main reason for this is the polluted water, which causes all the sorts of illness. This statistic caused me to love the children even more and to look for ways to invest even more into their lives. On different occasions, we had the chance to play soccer with them and it was a real treat. The children (and even the adults) in Burkina Faso are usually very friendly, smiling all the time and waiving to anyone who passes by. My prayer is that this young generation will follow the Lord and that they will be the ones to make a great spiritual revolution in their nation which so desperately needs God. by Moti Cohen, Tiferet Yeshua Youth Leader. Give a one-time gift or a recurring monthly donation by credit card from almost any country. Go online to www. maozisrael.org or call our USA office at All credit cards accepted.