Greetings from West Africa!
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get an update out to everyone; we have only been with Internet for about 2 weeks now and I am only able to use it about once a week (assuming that the power is working that day). I feel like my head has been spinning with everything going on, so I will try to catch you up to speed on where we are!
We left the States on Monday, August 8 and after many long hours of layovers and actual time in flight, we arrived in Côte d’Ivoire on Wednesday, August 10. My team is staying with four other teams (about 32 people total) at the Mission Ephrata compound in the city of Abijan (the main city in Ivory Coast). We have beds to sleep on, A/C units to use at night, electric lights, and indoor plumbing, so we feel very very blessed!!
Each of our teams are paired up with some of the local pastors and have been working with them on different ministry projects and outreach opportunities. My team and one of the other teams have been paired with Pastor Sam (whom the locals endearingly call “Daddy Sam”). We have participated in 2 all-night prayer services, a concert at the church, door-to-door evangelism in one of the local apartment complexes, and then an all-morning service in that same apartment complex, where we preached and gave a presentation of the Gospel.
I’m learning that some of the most precious parts of this month have been the unscheduled ones. Schedules and structure have been a real struggle for everyone in our teams this month, as most of the time here has been very free-flowing and constantly changing. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal but when you don’t have plans to go on, or when your plans literally get delayed for no reason by 3 hours (it’s a real thing), it’s hard to keep the focus on God’s perfect timing instead of being frustrated because things aren’t going MY way. Praise God for His patience with us!
One of our days that our schedule was cancelled, we decided to go and turn the unexpected free time into some intentional ministry time. We quickly hit up Google Translate to figure out some phrases in French (the local language; of which none of us speak), our musicians grabbed their guitars and ukuleles, and we started walking around the local neighborhoods on foot asking the Lord to give us opportunities to connect with people that He has already been working in. We ended up on the side of the road playing songs and about 30 of the neighborhood kids came out and surrounded us, dancing and laughing with the music, and we played with them for nearly an hour. It is such a beautiful thing to see that Joy and love truly do transcend words and language barriers. After we had been there a while, a man came up to us talking in broken English, essentially saying, “You! I am so pleased about the way you are interacting with these children! I see that you are different, and I want to know you and find out why!” These words blessed me because THIS is why we are here, and THIS is evidence of God in us- standing out as being different, being known for our Love (which comes from the Father), people asking why we are different than normal. Praise God for this open opportunity to launch into the Gospel!
Another one of our off days we ended up going to visit the local zoo. It was fascinating to be able to see monkeys and lions and zebras and an elephant while realizing that we are IN Africa! On our way back, we chose to walk for a good portion instead of having to pay for a local taxi. After walking for a while, we ran into some people who spoke English (I suppose 15 white people walking in a straight line on the crowded sidewalk deep in Africa makes for a funny sight!), and after we stopped to speak with them, we found out that they were Believers. They ended up taking us to their church, which as of now is still without walls or a roof, and we were able to pray for one another and worship our One God together with multiple voices. Because our conversation with them was still in broken English, a neighbor, named Mohammed, stepped in to help us communicate. Turns out that Mohammed (called Momo by his friends) actually attended school in Georgia for a while, so his English was very good. At first we assumed he was part of the church group but as we spoke we realized that he was Muslim. We exchanged phone numbers with him and invited him to our Christian service the next day, not really thinking that he would be interested in coming. To our surprise, he said he would come, and come he did! At the service the next day he gave his life to Christ. What a beautiful, wonderful “coincidence” that God caused our paths to cross the day before! I am so thankful for a good Father who is above all and never makes mistakes!
Our time has flown by so quickly and we are finding ourselves getting ready to head on to our next destination, Ghana. Our whole squad (50 people) will be taking buses to Accra, Ghana next Tuesday, September 6 (the trip being about 12 hours), and then my team will be headed to a town further north, Sunyani, which is apparently another 8 hours or so.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Here are a few specific prayer points:
1) That God’s Schedule would reign over all, and that we would be thankful and submissive to His perfect timing and His divine appointments, not giving way to the Evil One of getting frustrated when things don’t go our way
2) For Mohammed, our Muslim friend who gave his life to Jesus last Saturday, that he would continue to pursue Christ and be involved with the local Body here
3) For further fruit to come out of the Gospel presentation we gave at the apartment complex
4) For health for our squad; a lot of people have been getting sick or dealing with stomach problems while we have been here; for wisdom with the food and strength for our bodies
5) For continued unity among the teams as we live and minister together, that we would glorify the Lord in all of our actions
In case you haven’t heard, I am FULLY FUNDED for the rest of this trip!! My website is not showing it yet, but all the money has come in. I am so overwhelmed with the love and support of the Body and the faithfulness of our Father. Thank you all so much for making it possible that I can be here today!
