Missionary profile – Kassum and Assita Balbone

By Mercy Kambura

Kassum and Assita Balbone

Burkinabe Missionaries to Togo and Nigeria and Mobilizers in Burkina Faso

Growing up in one of Abidjan’s most difficult and dangerous areas, we were young, obstinate, insolent, and Muslim. That once young stubborn boy is now a missionary and a mobilizer in Burkina Faso doing research awareness, mobilization, church planting, discipleship, and training.

Life was tough in a foreign country on a meager watchman’s salary. One afternoon, a young man met us and started talking about Jesus. The Lord captured my brother, who was the worst among us, and changed his life. He no longer argued with our parents, didn’t beat me like before, and even stopped climbing over our neighbour’s wall to steal things.

I wanted to know what happened to my brother, so I started following him. I noticed he was speaking to others about Jesus, and within no time, I, too, was converted. It was shameful for my dad—it looked like he couldn’t control his children.

A Muslim-background believer advised us to keep going to the Mosque, and instead of praying to Allah and reciting Islamic prayers, be praying to Jesus. Afterward, we’d go evangelizing to our friends.

As a deterrent, my dad separated us and sent my brother to Burkina Faso, our home country. The separation was hard on us. We both backslid. I failed my exams and had to go back to Burkina Faso too. I got into trouble after stealing a goat. In my moment of distress, I called upon the Lord.

I started preaching to my peers, diligently following the new converts up. My goal was to go around Burkina Faso speaking the word of God; I didn’t know how yet.

Then I met International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) workers who helped in evangelism and discipleship. I got involved in the evangelizing group in my church. I was a junior pastor in church as well.

I met Assita, who later became my wife, among the people I was following up with. A CAPRO missionary introduced me to missions, and I became a volunteer missionary in CAPRO. I married my wife, Assita, and two months after the wedding, we went to Togo for a short-term mission trip. Four months later, we went to Nigeria for missions training. We went back to Burkina Faso to serve among our people. Later, I studied Sociology.

The churches are spread throughout the country, but the unreached are still unreached. As trained missionaries, we know the means and the way. Mobilization can yield fruit in Burkina Faso, but we must change how we communicate. We don’t ask for resources; we show them how to get the harvest themselves.

As a mobilizer, you can’t tell people to do work that you aren’t doing. So we’re also reaching out and planting churches as we mobilize.

#Pray:

For our safety as we minister. We have lost a part of our country to terrorism; there’s so much insecurity in the places where we have unreached people.
For the missionaries to be encouraged as they work in hard times of terrorism and insecurity.
For God to use the current situation for Muslims to see that Jesus is the truth and peace.
For Burkina Faso to be used as a tool to reach the North of Africa.

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