Glenn and Linnea Boese are now “Global Specialists” with WorldVenture, retired missionaries with ongoing ministries. They served full-time from 1977 to 2019, working in northern Côte d’Ivoire, based in Ferkessédougou. They focused on church development among the Nyarafolo, a least-evangelized people group in the region surrounding that city, in addition to ministry at the Baptist Hospital and reaching out to the needy. Now living in Detroit, they maintain connections long-distance and have been able to make yearly trips back as well.
Nyarafolo was an unwritten language, so learning it was a long project. However the Lord provided a connection with the village of Tiepogovogo through their first language helper. They did not know it then, but the Lord had incited two other young men to look for Jesus, and eventually they asked Glenn and Linnea to come teach them about him. That small group developed into a thriving church, and one of the young men there became the first Nyarafolo pastor to be ordained. Through that ministry churches and teaching groups were developed in other villages as well. Glenn mentored the pastors; Linnea mentored Sunday School teachers and encouraged women.
It became obvious that the Scriptures needed to be available to this people group. Linnea focused on linguistic analysis of Nyarafolo, then a literacy and translation project. The New Testament, Pentateuch and Psalms were completed and given to the Nyarafolo in 2021. Now the translation team is working on finishing the Old Testament, with two translators forging ahead as in the past: the director, Abdoulaye, who had been sent for seminary training as one of them, and Moïse working with Linnea as his exegete (explaining the original text) as he has since 2000. The Internet makes this long-distance partnership possible!
Glenn, a medical technologist, developed the hospital laboratory and trained its national workers. He created a financial program that allowed the hospital to keep track of data and conform to the French accounting system. He was also involved in the field leadership team in various capacities over time. Then compassion ministries became a major focus. Nyarafolo widows are often in desperate straits, so he encouraged a group of them in Ferkessédougou to begin a chicken farm. It has been a learning curve for them in business management but gives them hope. He continues to mentor them long-distance.
Blogs and Articles on WorldVenture.com:
* Move Over, WorldVenture
* Why Does Bible Translation take So Long?
* Breaking Down Babel
* The Impact of Jim Gould’s Death