Volunteer Testimony: Mt Olive Baptist Church (Sept 2011)

"If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land..." Isa 1:19

When we are obedient, God will reward us with His power, presence, and supernatural blessing... all in His good timing. What an honor and privilege it was to have been chosen by God to be His hands and feet...

The days we spent visiting the villages were some of the hardest days for me... being bold for Christ... walking down the streets, meeting complete strangers, in a foreign land, and the only form of communication were through our translators, Biba and Cephas... So, how do you proclaim the name of Jesus Christ when the only words you know are FO FO, which means Hello.

But God knew we were ready, He knew I was ready, even when I didn't think I was. As the days went on, we were becoming more familiar with the Songhai culture and becoming more engaging and the Songhai continued to be hospitable and receptive.

On Day 1, I had been given my African name, Aissa...which means grateful.

On Day 4 we arrived in this village. I sat down and had the most enjoyable time with one of the ladies in this village. Her name was Aissa. I felt an instant connection with this woman. I was able to talk with her, and about 15 others, about this great God we serve. I sat there, opened my Bible, and began this love story that God had written to me and that I would love to share this story with them as well.

I talked about creation... about the fall and the broken relationship between God and man... and when I got to Noah, I realized that I was sitting in a time such as Noah's time... they were in the desert... we were in the Sahara desert... there was no rain... there was a drought here... and in Genesis it said that "people on earth did what God said was evil and violence was everywhere"... this is true today... and then God asks Noah to build a boat in the middle of the desert... how crazy is that... I continued on to tell them about the sacrifice of the perfect and spotless lamb and the laws... that God said in Deuteronomy... "Respect the LORD your God, and do what He has told you to do. Love Him. Serve the LORD your God with your whole being, and obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good" ... I went on to talk about the Prophets talking about a coming Messiah that would right our relationship with God again... and I talked about Jesus, this Messiah that did come... about His birth, His life, His burial, and His resurrection... and I ended with Romans that "as the Scripture says, "Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved."

The entire time I'm reading this story about God's love for me and His people... I looked up into eyes that were completely captivated by the words of God. I could see the work of God in the eyes of Aissa. She would listen intently to me as I read from this great book, and then she would listen intently as Biba translated. When I finished, Aissa turns to me and tells me... "thank you for sharing this incredible story... I will remember what you said about what God did in the beginning, about the flood, about Jesus... and I will tell everyone else about what you have told me..."

At that moment, I was reminded about what the Bible says in John... about Jesus being the Good Shepherd... "And the sheep listen to the voice of the Shepherd. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out" ... and Jesus says... "I know know My sheep and My sheep know Me."

The next day, our last day, we visited our last village... Kouli Kwaara... David is a recent believer... His story goes back about 20 years ago when he recieved a NT Bible. This summer, a mission team had come to David's village to paint a clinic... David aproached them and asked them why they were here... and they said with boldness, "We're here to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ." David's eyes lit up and he said, I've waited 20 years for someone to explain this book to me... they shared and David said... "I believe! I want Jesus."

What an honor to have read about his story this summer and then meet him. Sadly, though, David was sick with malaria... there was much sickness here and in many of the villages we visited... cholera and malaria... So, as a team, we circled in front of David's house and prayed for him.

Afterwards, Laura, Biba, and I walked down those dusty streets...praying that God would lead us to His sheep... it was very quiet... Biba said it was very unusual... and like we'd done every day in all the villages we visited, we prayed that God would send the rain, His peace, His presence, His blessing, and health.

We saw the evidence of our prayers... darkness was fleeting... God's sheep were hearing His voice... and the miracle of rain... one day it rained for about 5-10 minutes... another day, thunder and lightning rain on and off for an hour... and another day 2-3 hours of a steady, soaking rain.

His power, presence, and supernatural blessing were most evident...and all we brought was our obedience to pray, to declare the Name of Jesus Christ, and His Word. It was very simple and basic, because the greatest need for all people, not just in Niger, Africa, but in all nations, is the Gospel.

I will end with this verse that God gave me to promise me that He was preparing the way and that He kept His promise....

"Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19

post mission trip

 A friend of ours forwarded this great article on 10 Things to Remember After a Mission Trip from theresurgence.com. It's a great read & highly practical for trips here.

1. Your identity is in Christ, not in what you do or have done for Christ. (1 John 3:1)
2. The greatest need for all people, in all nations, is the gospel; not to become more or less like another culture. There are beautiful expressions of culture in other contexts. There are beautiful expressions of culture in America. There are sinful expressions of culture in both. Be careful not to pit one against another and neglect the gospel which is our greatest need regardless of the culture in which we live.
3. Be patient with those who know nothing about the country from which you just returned. Patiently endure questions about food and dress and other stereotypical questions.  Think through carefully how you will answer typical questions graciously and in a way that points people back to the gospel and the reason for why you went in the first place.
4. Even though you have experienced a lot, your knowledge about your host country is not exhaustive. Remember you have only begun to understand their culture. Keep being a learner about the culture that you just began to experience;  not an expert.
5. This world is not your home––in either place. Fight against the temptation to make your identity in any one culture. We are all away from the Lord, from our true home (2 Cor 5:8,9) and our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20).
6. Fight romanticism. Your trip (especially if longer than a month) was not all a bed of roses. Take time to journal and remember the hardships of living in a foreign culture. The temptation will be to be to romanticize missions and minimize the difficulties you encountered. Romanticism does not help promote and mobilize people to missions because the hardships are real. Be realistic with others who would consider such a project in the future.
7. Fight pride. You did not gain standing with God because you lived in a foreign context for a year or a lifetime. We can only stand before God because of the death and resurrection of Christ not because of what we do for Christ. (Romans 8:3; 1 Peter 3:18)
8. Fight Laziness. As you re-acclimate to life in the States, fight against the temptation to be lazy by neglecting the Word of God and cultivating your relationship with Christ. Relax and be encouraged but be intentional in how you do so in order that you do not fall into sinful patterns of behavior and thought.
9. Remember to pray for those to whom you ministered. In most cases, you will never see the men and women with whom you spent so much time. For the brothers and sisters in Christ that you met and worshiped with, pray for them as Paul prayed as he remembered them.   (Philippians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:3)
10. Proclaim the need for the glory of God in the gospel to to be brought to all peoples. Keep the least reached peoples of the world before people who may not know of the need. (Matt 9:38)

 **Taken from theresurgence.com/2011/08/26/10-things-to-remember-after-a-mission-trip; "10 Things To Remember After a Mission Trip" by Jeff Brewer***

Weekly Prayer Focus: SP & team

Please be in prayer for a team of 3 men who are here this week. These 3 men are from Kentucky & Illinois & are here serving alongside us in various villages. They are starting the week in village "N.D." where they will be investing in the lives of 7 new believers. Next, they will head to Ayorou for 2 days to encourage & strengthen our brothers & sisters there. They will then head down to Boubon to meet with Sam* while also doing a "labor of love" & begin moving some items into the Fox's new house!! On their last day of ministry, they will head back across the river & up to village "KK" to meet with David* for a time of discipleship.

We are VERY excited that these 3 men are here. This is not a "traditional" trip where their time is focused on one village. These are just dear friends of ours (one a long time friend & now 2 new friends) that wanted to come, do life with us & invest their lives into the Songhai. We are so grateful for them & their willingness to serve.

Please pray for them this week as they travel many roads & miles. Pray for their time with each believer - that it would strengthen & encourage everyone mutually, that the times would be uninterrupted, that each believer would grow in boldness & wisdom & that God would add many to their numbers. Pray for the health of the team as the temperatures are high this time of year! Pray for God's name to go forth & for His sheep to hear His voice!

september 2011

Dear Prayer Partners,

Wow! Another AMAZING month of ministry among the Songhai! Doors are being opened, Light is being shone into the darkness, God's sheep ARE hearing His voice!! Words can really, really not express our gratitude for your prayers each month. We ask, you pray & God answers! God is doing amazing things as you pray & come to serve the Songhai. We are so grateful for your support in prayer for us, our family, our team & the Songhai people. We simply stand in awe of a mighty God who is calling the lost to Himself & using us (including you!) as part of His plan. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please continue to lift up the Songhai as you have done so faithfully every month! And please check out the blog for current prayer requests and awesome testimonies of what God is doing among the Songhai! We can't always fit it all into the newsletter but we've got lots more to share on the blog!

that ALL may know HIM,

Mark & Parker <><

Volunteer Testimony: FBC Hurst (July 2011)

After the death of my parents, people kept saying, "God is going to do something so big and so amazing out of such a terrible thing." When people would say that, I would get angry, hateful, and even more angry at God. How in the world would something good come out of my world being shattered at such a young age? 

I was 18 and had only been home from a mission trip to Russia for six days when all this happened. I questioned everything that I had ever known about God. I couldn't stand to listen to worship music or even touch my bible. I was infuriated by the idea of this God that would do this to me and my sisters. 

Time passed and my heart was softened. I was able to listen to worship music and hold those words close to my heart to help pull me through the hard times. But in the back of my mind, I still doubted the fact that God was going to do something amazing from the death of my parents. 

When the opportunity of going to Africa presented itself, I was excited but nervous at the same time. I couldn't help but question, "Ok, when I come back from Africa, who's going to pass away this time?" It was a stupid fear and no one really understood that anxiety I had about going. Thankfully I was able to push past that fear and go and do God's work. 

I rode with Mark one of the days that we went out to the villages. Its a long drive, so we constantly talked about every topic under the sun. The topic of tattoos came up and I decided to share the story behind mine. It says "Heal the wound" on my back (short for "Heal the wound but leave the scar to remind me of how wonderful You are"). 

We arrived at the village and one group went out to story. They came back all excited to tell us about Dou Dou, a man that had accepted Christ! On the way back to the guest house, we had to wait for the ferry and while waiting, Caroline had told me that Mark talked about my testimony when he was talking to Dou Dou about possibly never seeing his son again (Dou Dou and his son got into a fight and his son ran off). Dou Dou hasn’t seen him since and Mark was able to say, “We have a girl on the team who lost both of her parents in a car wreck and she still loves the Lord. You may never get your son back but, with Christ, we have this peace with us that’s unexplainable!” 

My eyes instantly filled up with tears. It was amazing to me that my testimony had been used in leading Dou Dou to Christ. God was able to use Mark to share my testimony with this man who had only heard about Christ a few times and to me, THAT right there was what people meant two years ago when they said God IS going to do something amazing through this tragedy.

Alicia Brandon
 

Weekly Prayer Focus: New Villages

Please pray for the new villages that were found last week by the team from Mt Olive. The team spent 2 days entering into 7 new villages along a stretch of road that we had yet to encounter. In each village, the team met the chief & gave him a Bible in his language and a set of cassettes with the Gospel message while also prayerwalking & storying with groups of men & women.

In 6 of these villages, the chiefs warmly received us & invited us to share our message with those that lived there & pray for his village. In one village, after the team storied with a group of men, 2 young men asked to hear more. After sharing the Gospel with them in more depth, the men said they believed & asked what they needed to do next. After hearing that baptism is one of the first steps after salvation, the young men asked to be baptized right then & there! While they were being baptized, one of their friends walked up, asked what they were doing, & after hearing a Gospel presentation himself, believed & was baptized!!

The story doesn't end there ... after follow-up today with those 3 young men who believed last week, FOUR more men believed!! Words cannot express how deeply grateful we are for your prayers last week for these new villages. Lives are changed for ETERNITY because they heard the Gospel & believed in their hearts & confessed with their mouths that Jesus is LORD! Thank you for praying that many would hear & believe! Your prayers were answered.

Please continue to pray for these young men who are embarking on a new life & on a new path. They will undoubtedly face many obstacles & persecution. Pray that they would be strong in their faith, they would become unified as a new family, they would seek to grow in wisdom & that God would protect their minds & hearts.

Pray also for the other villages that heard the Good News last week. Pray that many who heard would not forget the words of Truth & Life that were spoken to them. Pray that many would choose to believe.

Weekly Prayer Focus: Mt Olive team

Please be in prayer for Mt Olive Baptist Church this week as they are serving among the Songhai for the next 7 days. They will be spending time on the Southern Banks exploring villages that have ZERO witness, discipling believers in villages towards the Mehanna Road and encouraging the believers in Ayorou.

The team of 5 from Mt Olive is here on a vision trip of sorts. Our goal this week is to show them villages where there is no current work being done, villages where there are a handful of believers & then a village where there is a thriving church. Pray for them as they see & experience each of these villages; pray that God would burden their hearts for the Songhai that have no access to the Gospel; pray that they God would ignite a passion in them to take His name to those that have never heard; pray that they would be faithful in boldly sharing His name in whatever village they are in each day.

Pray for the villages on the Southern Banks that currently have no work being done among them. For some people this week, it may very well be the first time they have heard the Truth of the Gospel. Pray that eyes would be open, hearts would be penetrated, veils would be lifted & lives would be changed.

Pray also for the team's time with the handful believers they will meet with that live in villages towards the Mehanna Road. Pray that the believers would be strengthened & that they would be burdened to carry the Light to their families & friends that live among them so that a church may be started in their villages & the Gospel would go forth.

Pray for the team's time with the church in Ayorou. Pray that they would be able to encourage the believers by sharing Scripture & testimonies with them. Pray that the believers would be challenged to remain unified despite circumstances & persecution and that they would continue to grow in wisdom & boldness.

Lastly, pray for health & safety for the team. It's still a very hot time of year & the team will be doing lots of traveling & lots of walking. The roads to these Southern Banks villages are VERY rough, so please pray for their safety as they traverse the roads each day.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support for the Songhai team & all our volunteers that serve alongside us.