You can never underestimate your role in God’s greater plan, as this story shows. When Ron was the Director of the A&M Baptist Student Union, now BSM, many years ago, one of his students named Barry Nottingham came into his office following a BSU mission trip to the Rio Grande Valley. Barry prayed with Ron about yielding to God’s call to enter fulltime mission work. Soon after becoming an official Baptist missionary, Barry went to the country of Burkina Faso in West Africa between 1988-1989 with his wife and children.

He studied the language of the Mossi people, the largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso and was assigned to the central region of Tenkodogo, meaning “old land” or “old town,” one of the oldest settlements of the Mossi. This people group migrated from their ancient motherland located in the northern region of present day Ghana.

Barry went to work sharing the love of Christ in a village called Dialgaye-Garango. During one of his visits with the local people, a villager gave him water to drink and Barry became very sick the next day. The villagers took Barry to Ouagadougou in the main city for treatment, but they could not help him with their limited medical resources. Barry continued to grow extremely ill, and in an effort to secure better care for him, some other missionaries took Barry to Abidjan in Cotre D’Ivoire. Unfortunately, Barry died from his illness, leaving behind his wife and children in a country thousands of miles away from home.

When news of the young Baptist missionary’s untimely death arrived in America, an elderly lady from the USA sent money to help cover the expenses of his memorial service that was organized by local missionaries. Instead, the believers who were overseeing Barry’s legacy invested the money for a greater good by digging a water well in his memory in the heart of the village where he died. The well is still in existence today and provides much-needed water to the villagers.

During Barry’s short ministry, he shared the Gospel with people in Tenkodogo and in other villages. The Bible tells us the Word of God will not return void or without effect. It is no surprise that one of Barry’s converts became a pastor and is currently a director of a pastoral Bible School in Ouagadougou! God is at work, even in the midst of tragedy, and He can bring His amazing purposes to fruition for His glory.

Centrepoint Articles of Encouragement – Winter 2019/2020