As I’m writing this, it’s hard to even fathom that I’m in Africa right now. It was only a week ago that I was in Central America and after 3 long days of travel, my team and I are in Cote d’Ivoire. We’re in a new culture that speaks a completely different language than the first four months I experienced and it’s been difficult to adjust. And not only am I in a different part of the world, I’m also on a completely new team! Last week over our debrief, our leadership team created new teams for us during this next season of the World Race and it’s be a new dynamic of community. Our new team is AWESOME and I’m excited to see the growth in each of us as we live life together.
We arrived in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire early Tuesday morning and we were completely exhausted. After two long flights and with a 17 hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal in the middle, most of us had no idea what time it was or even what day it was. Our ministry hosts picked us up from the airport and took us to the apartment where we are staying. They gave us all day Tuesday and most of the day Wednesday to rest. We all slept most of the day as the jet lag took a toll on us.
Our ministry this month is called “Trucker Ministry”, meaning we minister and evangelize to truckers in the Abidjan port. Abidjan is the largest port in west Africa and hundreds of truckers come from all over to come pick up goods and transport them to various countries. Most of them may spend up to a couple weeks at the port just waiting for their next shipment. The ministry was formed in order to bring these truckers to Christ but also build a network of truckers throughout west Africa.
On Thursday, we took a couple hours to go pray over the place where we will be evangelizing. We walked around where the truckers park their trucks and prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill the land and prepare the hearts and minds of the truckers we may come in contact with. We had the opportunity to interact with a few truckers and also pray for a few.
Yesterday was our first official evangelizing day where we split up in groups throughout the port to talk to the truckers. The very first group of truckers I talked to, I had the opportunity to share a little bit of my testimony. There were 6 truckers who looked about my age or even younger. Even though they were Muslim, they were so eager and receptive to listen. The next thing I know, we were leading them in a prayer to accept Christ in their heart. Four of them accepted Christ and are taking steps to radically change their lives! It was so neat to see how the Holy Spirit worked through my words, my testimony, and in their hearts. And at the end of the day, out of the three groups, we had 15 people come to Christ. It’s amazing to see how the Holy Spirit is working throughout this ministry and in the lives of these truckers.
This next month won’t necessarily be easy as we are bringing Christianity into a Islamic world. We’ve only been here a few days, but I’m super excited to see how the Lord uses my team and I during this month. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to build the kingdom for our Lord.
