Background

Jeremy:  Originally from Welwyn, Jeremy became a Christian in his late teens.  He trained as a teacher and taught for 3 years in a state secondary school before going to Senegal in 1989 to teach in a school for missionaries’ children.  He returned to study at Moorlands Bible College where he met Rachel.  After graduating he worked as caretaker in his home church Emmanuel, Northwood.  They were married in June 1994 and after French language studies left for Burkina Faso in July 1996.  In 2003-04 Jeremy took a year’s study leave to study for a Masters in Missiology at All Nations.

 

Rachel:  Born and raised in New Malden, Rachel is a member of St Johns and became a Christian in her early teens.  After gaining a geography degree at Durham and spending 7 months in the Civil Service, she went to Kenya with Mission Aviation Fellowship on a short term ‘missions experience’ and a love for Africa was born.  She also did short term work as an administrator with Campus Crusade in Germany and Africa Inland Mission (AIM International) in Kenya.  She then took a year at Moorlands Bible College planning to go back with AIM long-term.  However, God had other plans for her.  She is now working alongside Jeremy and caring for her three children in Legmoin, Burkina Faso.  Her desire is for her family to love the Lord and desire to do His will, whatever that might be. 

 

The Children:  Jeremy and Rachel have three children.  The eldest is Katie (Born 29/02/96).  Her birth, at Kingston Hospital, made it into the Surrey Comet by virtue of the unusual date!  She moved to Burkina Faso when only 4 months old.  Her schooling to date has been a mixture of at home with Mum and at the Sahel Academy in Niger.  Timmy (Born 22/04/98) was also born at Kingston during the Nashes first home assignment.  He continues to be home schooled in Legmoin where the Nashes live in Burkina Faso.  Toby (Born 04/06/03) was also born at Kingston during the Nashes third prolonged study leave furlough. 

 

God’s Call

 

God gave Jeremy a desire soon after becoming a Christian to serve him overseas.  He was already very concerned about people’s physical needs even before becoming a Christian, and was interested in development work.  However, he soon realised that people’s deepest needs are spiritual and so he decided to do mission rather than purely development work.  The country he was most interested in was Burkina Faso (previously known as Upper Volta).

Following God’s leading is not passive but something active that we need to engage in whole heartedly. It would have been easy to have been side tracked and never to have gone overseas.  However God’s leading was always gracious and clear.

 

As part of his Bible College placement he was due to spend 10 weeks in Burkina Faso with WEC.  Before going, however, God seemed to be telling him through various people to look at other missions.  His interest was in evangelising those who have never heard of Jesus and rural church planting.  During his placement he heard about a new outreach among the Dagari.  However WEC had invited another mission, the Qua Iboe Fellowship (now Mission Africa) to send workers for this new outreach.  Whilst Jeremy had never heard of this Mission, the Holy Spirit clearly testified in his heart that this was for him – and he now realises why God had been telling his to look at other missions!

 

Current Work

 

Jeremy’s vision is to evangelise all 60-plus Dagari villages in the area.  In so doing, Jeremy is following Jesus' example who said “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” Luke 4:43

 

In 1989 the first church started in the region.  This quickly grew to 6 churches with several other locations hosting mid week prayer meetings.  The Nashes desire is to stay until the Good News has been preached in all the villages, and vibrant churches with godly leaders have been planted that can continue to witness and grow.

 

The Nashes are also involved with development work, financed from gifts to the Burkina Faso Poor Fund.  Projects such as loan schemes for fertiliser and ploughs/oxen have been established.  In addition, many individuals have been helped with medical and school expenses.  Each year, wells are dug in villages with poor water supplies, and in 2007 a fencing project for a handicapped group in Dankana village was approved.  The mission has helped to finance the building of several of the churches and pastors’ houses.