Mike & Pam Hillhouse - Burkina Faso
Pam's Story
I was fourteen years old when I accepted Christ as my personal Savior. Having
grown up in a Christian home, I had heard the Gospel message many times in my
life - how He died for the sins of the world, and how He rose again on the
third day. But I did not accept His gift of salvation as my own until that
night in March. I realized that Christ died for me. Because I accepted His
gift of salvation, I know that I have eternal life with Christ in Heaven.
Just over two years later in a missions conference, I surrendered my life to
full-time service. I had no idea what God had in mind, but I desired to be
obedient to His calling for my life. It wasn't until my Sophomore year of
college that I realized God wanted me to be a missionary. My heart was broken
for all the people around the world that are being deceived by other religions
that do not teach the Truth. God gave me such a desire to share the Gospel
message with these people. Later, He would lead my heart to the people of
Africa.
Mike's Story
If there was such a thing as a "Christian Poster Child," my face would be on
it. I had wonderful Christian parents who brought me up in church. In fact,
their philosophy was if the doors were open, the Hillhouse family would be
there. I'm so thankful for this testimony because at the young age of five I
began to understand there was a penalty for my sin and Jesus Christ paid that
debt so I could have everlasting life. One Sunday morning after the Sunday
School hour, my parents had the opportunity to share Christ with me. It was
then that I accepted Jesus as my Savior.
I grew up in a family owned construction business where I ran heavy equipment,
and I loved it. All my life, my only goal was to join the business with my
dad and brother. However, God had a different plan. After high school, at a
welding institute I was attending, God began dealing with my heart about
missions. For a year I fought God's call in my life. Finally, I told the Lord
that I would attend BBC for one year just to prove to Him that He had the
wrong man. I was there for only two months when I finally surrendered to
God's will for my life. What a privilege it is to serve the Lord. I'm so
thankful He didn't give up on me!
Ministry Bio
We arrived on the field May 10, 2006. After a year of language school, God
allowed us to plant our first church in a northern suburb of the capital city
of Ouagadougou. Despite the difficulties of starting a church in a Muslim
community, God has blessed and more and more people are giving their lives to
Christ. One of the unique ministries of our new church is a Manna Feeding
Center. God is using this ministry as an avenue to reach poverty stricken
children and their families who might not otherwise listen to the Gospel
message. God has also allowed us to partner with BBFI Missionary Charlie
Joyce in the L'Institut Baptiste Fondamental ‡ Ouagadougou. This has proven
to be a very important and time consuming part of our ministry here in
Burkina. The goal is to train Burkinabe men and women for the ministry of
God's work.
Please pray for Mike & Pam Hillhouse who are currently serving as missionaries in Brukina Faso.