Foyer Evangélique Mennonite de Ouagadougo, the Mennonite Church of Ouagadougou, began as a church plant nurtured by Mennonite Church Canada workers Jeff and Tany Warkentin to provide a place for university students to live and worship. Most university students leave familiar rural lifestyles behind to pursue higher education in this city of almost 2 million people. The change can be overwhelming.
The Foyer began just as Paulin Diarra finished high school. He arrived in Ouagadougou with nowhere to live. “I thank God for this Foyer,” he says. “You can’t have success in your studies if you don’t have a good place to live.”
Another student, Zacharie Ouédraogo, agrees. “Because of the Foyer, we have a place where we can sleep in peace, study and relax.” He says that living together with other students in the building that serves as both a church and a residence has allowed them to pray and study the Bible together.
“It’s a place where we are taught to live together, to appreciate our differences and to abide in our faith,” says Johanna Dakio.
And it’s a place where future leaders are taking shape.
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