Newsletter Update

IT IS WHAT WE DO TAKE 2...

IT IS WHAT WE DO...

PREPARING FOR THE HARVEST

The Republic of Liberia struggled for many years due to civil unrest and war and faced many challenges. The post-war (almost 20 years of civil war) economy and infrastructure have been the greatest of these challenges to this point. The country continues to reel from the devastation of the Ebola virus that claimed over 5,000 lives in Liberia. Public education was very intermittent during the war years. This means that today there are many men and women who do not even have a high school education.

The Assemblies of God in Liberia feel that the church is the answer for the oppression that citizens of Liberia are facing. Yet even the church struggled during the war. Many pastors were among the one million people who fled the conflict, becoming refugees in other countries. Various rebel groups destroyed churches, Bible school facilities, and confiscated church property. But there remained a remnant that were able to continue the work. In 2012, there were about 350 to 400 A/G Churches spread across the country.

It was at this time the national church established a goal of planting 800 churches by the end of this decade: 2020. Since 2012, there have been between 100 and 150 new churches planted making a total of about 450 to 500 churches. In January 2016, the national church re-launched their 2012 church planting initiative of planting 800 churches by 2020, naming the project Vision 2020/4x1: 1) every church, 2) will plant at least one church, 3) send at least one student to the Church Planter School or Bible School, 4) within one year.

In strategic planning meetings, the national church leadership identified several problem areas to overcome if any traction would be made in planting 600 new churches (before 2016 there were 100 to 150 churches planted, thereby reducing the total number from the 800 projected in 2012). The leadership team realized that they must establish specific goals if the project would prove successful.

There were three immediate goals established during the strategic planning meetings:

1. Establish an Assembly of God presence among the 5 unreached people groups and the 3 to 4 groups with very little attention in respect to the gospel
2. Launch a campaign whereby each established church would plant one church and send at least one student for pastoral training within one year
3. Establishment of national fundraising events to cover costs of this project

Even though the challenges were many, the national church determined to find a way to successfully navigate each of them and fulfill their vision of planting 600 new churches in Liberia by the year-end of 2020.

The existing Bible school, Liberia Assemblies of God Bible College, was not producing enough graduates to offer the number of trained people needed for this project. LAGBC offers a BA and a B. Th degree that would be more than adequate in training students for church planting, but, given the fact that either degree required at least 4 years of classroom training, there would not be a pool of qualified candidates to fill the needed positions before the year 2020.

There are many potential candidates within the AGL churches – Sunday School teachers, deacons and deaconesses, young people feeling a divine call to the ministry, and others who would recognize the need and make themselves available to the Lord for His work. But they would need training.

The leadership agreed that some type of program could be developed that would meet the present need. The team came up with the idea of the Church Planter School. Church Planter School would offer courses that would give students Biblical and practical knowledge that would enable him/her to launch a new church plant with the help of a sectional presbyter and the district leadership team. By design, the school would run for a short period, six to twelve months at most. Each new student enrolling would also be required to sign a pledge that he/she would plant a church within one year of graduation.

The graduate of the Church Planter School would receive training along with their own personal textbooks that would serve them in their first training and would allow them to build their own personal library for future use in the ministry. Upon graduation, the national church would award them with the basic level of credential. The leadership felt that being a credentialed minister with the Assemblies of God in Liberia would give the church planter validity in the eyes of those to whom they were ministering.

Over 150 students enrolled in the first offering of the Church Planter School. On Saturday, July 8, 2017, the first 58 graduates received their certificates of completion. Almost 100 more will graduate within the next few weeks. Six months ago, we were all wondering how it would be possible to train 650 workers for this project. Today, we realize that we not only can reach the goal, but with God’s help we can overcome every challenge!

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. John 4:35 (KJV) 

                          

                                     

RESPONSIBLE…

Responsible – “to have control and authority over something or someone and the duty of taking care of it, him, or her” (Definition of “responsible” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

I have heard this word used almost all of my life. “That man is truly responsible.” “She is a responsible person.” “Those young people are not responsible.” When you think about it, the word really carries a bit of weight, maybe more than we realize or would like to think.

We trusted that the news media were responsible in their reporting of the 2016 US Presidential campaign during the past 11 months or so, and we hoped that the political aspirants were making campaign promises in a responsible manner as well. At the end of the campaign, when the election was held, we all realized that the media was not very responsible after all. We all listened to the mainstream media, on both sides of the issue, declaring who was correct and who was not, only to find out that they, the media, were not being totally responsible in their reporting.

What happened to the days when news reporters did just that - report the news? When did journalism shift to the place of trying to become the guiding light for society and its mores? Perhaps it began with the sitcom, “All In The Family,” (which ran from 1971 through 1979) where Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin presented society a mirror with which to view itself. No one can deny that they actually did change some of society’s values through the everyday lives of Archie Bunker and family.

It was in 1972 that we were introduced to yet another in your face event: the Watergate scandal. Watergate, according to Wikipedia, was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. in 1972, and President Richard Nixon's administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement. When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the U.S. Congress, the Nixon administration's resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis.

Gone are the days of Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, and Walter Cronkite - reporters you could trust. It seems to me that news reporters today don’t look for the story to share with us; they try to manipulate the story and, thereby, direct us. In my opinion this is journalism at its worst. I don’t buy a paper or listen to the evening news in order to tweak my moral compass. These mediums are not responsible for that task.

There is another side to the word responsible, and it has to do with us, the receivers of information. All one has to do is follow Facebook, Twitter or a myriad of other social media networks for only a few minutes to find information from around the world. Social media is full of information, and much of it is false information. But do we let that small fact bother us? It doesn’t seem so. People are frightened by the most ridiculous reports – from failure to forward an e-mail, to not posting a certain story on their own wall. People gobble it up hook, line and sinker – true or false; it really doesn’t seem to make a difference. We don’t even let it bother us that the same report has been making the rounds for the past several years. We ingest it like fresh manna.

We must all take the word responsible to heart. Give us responsible reporting. Let us be responsible in our acceptance or rejection of what we hear. And let us be responsible in how and what we communicate to others.

You Never Know What You Will See!

Continuing to share unexpected things that we see…

We went to the grocery store the other day for a few things.  It is always interesting to see what is stocked on their shelves or in their cold cases.  A few times we have found Jimmy Dean’s frozen sausage patties – a real treasure!  Every stop at the store now includes a search for the elusive package of Jimmy Dean’s frozen sausage patties.  Today we did find pork, but it wasn’t the exact thing we were looking for…  Yep, that is a whole pig in there – trotters and all!  (trotters = feet)

While searching the frozen food box I came across this little jewel, or should I say this box of fungus…  I guess it would help if you are Italian.

And then there was this… I think it is time that someone produced a show teaching the world how to make real, TexMex tacos.  Just say ’n!

You never know what you will see!

You Just Never Know What You Will See!

To say that travel in Monrovia is an adventure is quite the understatement!  Traffic, potholes – some the size of a small car, no road at all, 2 lanes that are turned into 6, 7 or even 8 lanes of traffic, people everywhere, hawkers selling their products while playing frogger in the traffic, and… well, surely you get the picture.  Or maybe you don’t.

How about this one… 

Yes, that is a coffin in that small car!  Someone is being taken to their final resting place – no ropes, no tie-downs – just sitting there, hanging out.

If you think I was surprised to see this, you are mistaken.  The first time I saw a car with a coffin in it I was surprised.  Not any longer – I have sort of grown accustomed to the site.  In town, up country, on the highway, in the bush – I have seen this many times.

You just never know what you will see!

The Stories You Hear…

When you are in the Interior of Liberia, and have time to sit and listen, you can hear a lot of different stories.  I have listened to two in the past few days that I found very interesting.
Last Sunday morning it was announced in church that a young lady was bitten by a snake.  Prayer was offered for her physical being and hopeful recovery.  A few days later I asked someone for an update on her condition.  I was told that she was doing much better.  It seems that a snake had crawled into the hut where she was sleeping during the night and bit her on the foot.  Someone killed the snake, but no one seems to know what kind of snake it was, only that it was very dangerous – poisonous.  The family immediately begin to call for anyone that had a “snake rock”.  As explained to me – the “snake rock” is placed directly on the site of the bite.  The rock will stick to the skin, only releasing itself when all the venom is drawn from the body.  When the venom is completely removed, the stone will fall off by itself.  Everyone knows to not touch the stone with their hands or any body part since the stone is now full of snake venom.  It is carefully picked up with sticks or leaves and placed in a pot.  Milk is poured over the stone and left to sit for several hours.  From the explanation, it seems to me that the milk neutralizes the venom.  After a certain time the stone can be taken from the pot and it is now ready for the next use.  The girl is alive and seems to be doing okay!  By the way, I “Goggled” snake stone. Umm, sure enough – it was there!
One person told me about the time that a chimpanzee was seen roaming the forest.  When news was broadcast of the chimpanzee’s appearance it paralyzed the village.  No one would go to work their farms, or even travel from one village to another.  The sighting of this chimpanzee initiated the forming of several hunting parties.  He was hunted until found, and then was disposed of.  Listening to this story was a bit difficult for me since I was continually trying to invasion a chimpanzee that would terrorize an entire village.  In my mind, I kept seeing the adorable little chimp, all dressed up, and being the almost-perfect pet.  I couldn’t help myself, so I asked how it was that a small little chimp would be considered so dangerous.  The person telling the story looked at me and said, “Rev., that chimpanzee is your size and well able to turn a car over on it’s top.”  Thinking about this I inquired if the name could possible be gorilla rather than a chimpanzee.  He told me that we call it a gorilla, but they call it a chimpanzee.  Phraseology has never been my strong suit!

76 DAYS–WHEW!

 

From January 1 up to today, March 16 equals 76 days.  How much can you pack into 76 days?  A LOT!  Really, I mean a whole lot!  In fact, it is unbelievable what you can do in 76 days.

In January, we traveled to Assinie, Coté d’Ivoiré, to attend our West Africa Retreat.  We joined colleagues from Mali, Senegal, Coté d’Ivoiré, Togo, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Benin.  Other special guests included, Africa Regional Director, Greg and Danna Beggs, and Africa Oasis Project representative Mark Alexander.  This was a great time of refreshing and renewal.  It was good to be together, pray together, and dream together for West Africa!

We returned to Liberia with only enough time to take a good deep breath before traveling to Gbarnga for our semi-annual Assemblies of God in Liberia General Conference.  This year’s theme was Focus 2020 and emphasized missions and church planting.  The goal of the national church is to plant 650 new churches by 2020.  I was both privileged and honored to be the keynote speaker each night during the conference.  The last service of the conference, Sunday morning, a special offering was received for the work of missions and church planting.  This offering was the largest offering ever received in the history of the AGL according to most pastors.  It was an unbelievable conference filled with a spirit of faith, confidence, and the power of God.

In early February, we traveled to Sierra Leone, where I serve as Team Leader.  We met missionaries, Brant and Joanne Jordan, who have just arrived as the latest addition to the team.  Later in March another couple, Danny and Cindy McCollor will join them in the work.  While in Freetown, Sierra Leone, I made a wonderful discovery… Baby Ruth!  Sure enough, I found the candy bar, Baby Ruth!  I was beyond ecstatic!!

The first of March we embarked upon a trek that has taken us to the hinterlands of Liberia – the Interior.  Upon our return to Monrovia – sometime in early April – there will be four new Assembly of God churches.  This trip is challenging in so many different ways it is difficult to explain.  But the rewards are tremendous!  We meet so many friends, make new friends, discover churches and ministries that we did not know existed.  We are privileged to both see and experience what our brothers and sisters endure on a daily basis.  The experience makes us happy and sad at the same time.  And, as always, Fredna is able to find a baby or two – or twenty or… -  to hold!  And this makes her happy.

Today marks 76 days since January 1.  Maybe we will get to rest a bit during the next 76 days – or maybe not!  As they say here, “Only God knows!”

Road To Bahn

When I was a kid I loved the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Road Pictures.  You remember: “The Road to Bali”, “The Road to Singapore”, etc.  I think there were seven in all.  They were so much fun to watch.  Sometimes, traveling Africa, I think of those old movies. 

Last week Fredna and I took the road to Nimba, County, which is in the northeastern portion of Liberia, for the annual Nimba District Conference.  The conference was actually held in a town named Bahn.  Bahn is also the location of a large Ivorian refugee camp with upwards of 15,000 refugees.

We could have driven from Monrovia to Bahn in one day, but I wanted to stop over in Ganta so I could look at a couple of locations for future church builds.  I also wanted to visit the Nimba Bible School facilities there.  This Bible school is being built on property in an area that will experience huge city growth in the near future.  Currently, the school is being conducted at the facilities of First Assembly of God church in Ganta.  Progress is good, and the school should be able to open in a few more months.

  

 

The second day we were on the road to Saclepea where we met the Nimba District Superintendent, Rev. Moses Dermie.  He took us to the building site of the new Nimba District Office, which is under construction.

 

 

Now, the road to Bahn.  Just outside of Bahn we stopped to see another location for a potential church build.  Pastor Robert Wandah and the congregation of Duowin Assembly of God is meeting in a grass-thatch temporary structure.  Some of the ladies showed us how they had cleared the jungle and planted rice next to the church.  Two of the area chiefs came to meet me and tell me how they needed this church to be built in their area.

 

 

 

 

On to Bahn Assembly of God church where the district conference was being conducted.  We were able to see old friends and meet new ones.  It was great!  I spoke on the need to plant new churches in Liberia and how we are the 11th-hour workers.  The fellowship was wonderful, and the hospitality was not lacking in any area!

 

  

This lovely couple took us to their home and served us a wonderful Liberian meal!

After the conference we were once again on the road – the road home.  No matter where we go, it is always good to return home!  In fact, this road we are all traveling – life – is a road that can lead all of us home.  Have you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life?

LIGHT BULB MOMENT

A few years ago Fredna and I were travelling in the northern part of Namibia, visiting churches, passing out Bibles and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We drove by a village and saw a lady sitting close to the road by her cooking fire.  The village was not very large, and we didn’t see hardly any people around the open areas.  This woman was sitting there with a baby preparing a meal for her family.

We stopped to visit with her, and ask if there were any churches in the area.  During the conversation she asked for a Bible.  My first question to her was, “Can you read?”  She told me that she could not, but one of her children could because she attended school.  I immediately gave her a book – not just any book – it was the Word of God in her mother tongue.

She was so happy!  She called her children to her so she could show them the new Bible.  Then she looked at me and said, “You people come and tell us about Jesus and the light begins to shine.  Then you leave and the light goes out.  With this Bible the light will never go out.”

For years I have been challenging people and churches to financially support the work of missions.  I believe that it is God’s heart – reaching the lost of this world.  Do people have a right to hear that their Creator gave His life for them?  Do people have a right to hear that God loves them with an everlasting love?  Do people deserve to enjoy the “Light”?

As children of God we have a responsibility to send this gospel to every corner of the earth, to enlighten every individual possible, to share the good news of Jesus Christ!  As they say in Liberia, “I beg you please…” the next time you have the opportunity, give so that others can hear, so the light never goes out!

Proverbs 11:30, “…and he that winneth souls is wise.”

Return To Liberia

We have returned to Liberia!  Here is our latest newsletter.

Liberia's Only Ebola Virus Disease Patient Dies in Monrovia

Monrovia - FrontPageAfrica has gathered that the only confirmed Ebola positive patient in Liberia has died. According to sources, Ruth Tugbeh, 44, who was confirmed positive of the deadly virus on Friday, March 20, putting the gains against Ebola by Liberia at risk of reversal died at about 9:00 AM Liberian time on Friday. The patient was undergoing treatment at the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) managed by the United States public health service.

Recently providing an update on the patient, Dr. Francis Nah Kateh, Deputy Incident Manager of Liberia Ebola Response Team assured that the condition of the patient was stable and said she is being administered the best treatment. “Her condition is stable, she is receiving the best care, we are making sure that she survives to tell her story”, Dr. Kateh said.

Ruth was transferred from the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) run ELWA-3 Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) near Monrovia to the MMU few days ago. The patient allegedly contracted the virus through sexual intercourse with a male Ebola Survivor but health officials have said the man has gone more than 100 days since surviving from the virus.

Dr. Kateh disclosed on Thursday, March 26, during the week, that another person was showing signs and symptoms of the virus and has been placed into isolation.

Speaking at a news conference at the Ministry of Information, Dr. Kateh said specimen from the contact patient has been taken and the resultant lab information will be publicized. Dr. Kateh emphasized that given the current stage of the health crisis, continual information sharing with the public is essential in alleviating fear and suspicion.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kateh has also disclosed that another suspected Ebola patient was extracted from the Clara Town community on March 23 and taken to an ETU for further medical examination.
According to Dr. Kateh,  the IMS is currently going through active investigation to authenticate the status of the suspected patient as well as find out the primary cause of the recent infection which hampered progress to becoming an Ebola-free nation.

This confirmation by Dr. Kateh means that Liberia now has two suspected and one confirmed Ebola cases, a condition which validates that Liberia still faces threats from the virus that killed over 10,000 people in West Africa.
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FPA Staff Report. "FrontPageAfrica - Liberia's Only Ebola Virus Disease Patient Dies in Monrovia." FrontPageAfrica - Liberia's Only Ebola Virus Disease Patient Dies in Monrovia. March 28, 2015. Accessed March 28, 2015. http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news/4807-liberia-only-ebola-patient-dies.

LAST EBOLA PATIENT IN LIBERIA?

The final Ebola patient in Liberia is back home and Ebola-free.

Beatrice Yardolo, 58, spent 16 days in a Chinese Ebola treatment unit, but she returned home today, singing and dancing while her husband looked on and cried. He told ABC News he was so happy that it was overwhelming.

"Words are inadequate to even express how I feel," Steve Yardolo, 61, told ABC News, stopping at times to stare at his wife in awe. "If people could see the inner part of a mind, of an inner being, they would have seen the happiness in me."

The Yardolo family caught the deadly virus from their son, who had been working in another Ebola treatment clinic. Three of their children died in January and February, Yardolo told ABC News. In the days after her foster daughter died, she started to have Ebola symptoms and decided she needed to go to the Ebola treatment unit.

She said the doctors at the Chinese Ebola treatment unit in Monrovia saved her life.

"My walking from here to go to the [Ebola treatment unit] center, it wasn't easy," Yardolo told ABC News. "[My] children crying behind me, 'Don't go! don't go.' I said, ‘If I don't go, it will be bad again.'"

Since the outbreak began in March, the World Health Organization has reported 23,934 Ebola cases and 9792 Ebola deaths in the West African countries where the virus is prominent: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Liberia, WHO reported 9,249 cumulative cases and 4,117 deaths.

According to WHO, 384 new Ebola cases have been reported in the past 21 days, six of which were in Liberia. And one of them was Yardolo. And if there are no new cases for 42 days, twice the length of the virus's incubation period, Liberia can be declared Ebola-free.

Liberia has 19 Ebola treatment units, and none of them has any confirmed Ebola patients now, said Tolbert Nyenswah, Liberia's assistant minister of public health. The country has gone 13 days so far without any new confirmed cases, he said.

"This is significant progress, and this is why we are celebrating, but Ebola is not out yet," Nyenswah said. "We are not out of the woods yet. We must continue all of the measures, and I said it is now up to the Liberian people to maintain the vigilance. And we sustain ourselves to zero and look at our borders to protect our people from the Ebola crisis."

Yardolo, who has four living children, left the ward surrounded by doctors, nurses and her family that isn't under quarantine. Holding bright-red flowers as she stood before a crowd of onlookers, she thanked God and the Chinese treatment unit.

"So this is what I have to say: Xiexie to the Chinese [Ebola treatment unit]!" she said to a round of applause and smiles.

She'd just said "thank you" in Mandarin.

Please pray that Beatrice is truly, The Last Ebola Patient!

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Doe, Carielle, and Sydney Lupkin. "Last Ebola Patient in Liberia Leaves Treatment Ward." ABC News. March 5, 2015. Accessed March 6, 2015. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ebola-patient-liberia-leaves-treatment-ward/story?id=29413567.

RELIEF!

I am happy to know that relief has arrived in Liberia!  The relief is in the form of two forty-foot containers filled with approximately 286,000 individually packaged meals of fortified rice and nutrients. 

One of the side effects of this Ebola issue is hunger.  The country has been placed under Marshall Law by the government.  This action has curtailed most movement around the country by the citizens.  A lot of businesses have closed their doors to operation which means that people have lost jobs.  Markets have closed and that means that it is very difficult to obtain food.  The Ebola treatment centers have also faced shortages of food.

The elderly and young children are the most vulnerable.  These meals will make a tremendous difference in their lives.  Assemblies of God World Missions, Convoy of Hope, Christian Health and Alliance of Liberia and the Assemblies of God in Liberia have all partnered together to furnish these life-saving donations to the people of Liberia.

More containers of food, medical supplies, and medical equipment are on the way to Liberia today!

Where It All Began

Lofa county is the epicenter of the vicious Ebola virus that has killed thousands in Liberia.

According to a report from BBC News on January 23, 2015:  Researchers from the New England Journal of Medicine have traced the outbreak to a two-year-old toddler, who died in December 2013 in Meliandou, a small village in south-eastern Guinea. The Gueckedou prefecture in Guinea, where the outbreak started, is a major regional trading center, and by the end of March, Ebola had crossed the border into Liberia. It was confirmed in Sierra Leone in May. In June, MSF described the Ebola outbreak as out of control.

People have stayed away from Lofa County in fear of the Ebola virus. Only in the last couple of months have non-residents begun to travel once again to the Northeast corner of Liberia. Last weekend, January 24-25, 2015, the Executive Director of CHAL (Christian Health Association of Liberia), Mrs. Patricia Kamara, along with CHAL Board President, Mrs. Elizabeth Mulbah and CHAL Board member Mrs. Marion Subah traveled to Mbalotahun (Place of Hope) Leprosy Town Clinic in Lofa, County. The CHAL members were on a mission of mercy. The visit to the Leprosy Town Clinic gave them the opportunity to survey the situation first-hand. There are many Ebola survivors and family that live in this small village.

Kamara and the others were able to deliver 30 cartons of individually-packaged meals to the residents. 30 cartons equal 6,480 individual meals. These meals will furnish vitamins, nourishment and hope to a community that is in desperate need.

A few victims of leprosy and survivors of the deadly Ebola virus along with their children and a staff member of the Place of Hope Leprosy Town Clinic in Lofa, County, Liberia, receiving the CHAL donation. The boxes are part of the 6,480 meals donated by Assemblies of God World Missions USA, Convoy of Hope USA, and the Assemblies of God in Liberia.

CHAL Executive Director, Patricia Kamara, along with CHAL Board President, Elizabeth Mulbah, and Board Member Marion Subah stand with the Officer in Charge of the Place of Hope Leprosy Town Clinic. Those sitting are staff members of the clinic.

The clinic and the community were overjoyed to receive the donations from Assemblies of God World Missions, Convoy of Hope, CHAL and the Assemblies of God in Liberia.

The WHO says Guinea has reported its lowest weekly total of new confirmed Ebola cases since the week ending 17 August 2014. Liberia has also had its lowest weekly total since June. Sierra Leone has reported a fall in the number of cases for the second week running and recorded its lowest weekly total of new cases since August.

We thank God that there have been over one million meals donated by AGWM and Convoy of Hope. Within the next couple of weeks one million more meals will arrive in Liberia to be distributed to the needy and hungry. More food, medical supplies and medical equipment will be arriving in Liberia in about 40 days. Due to the generosity of many people, many people are receiving life-sustaining gifts!

The Effectual Fervent Prayer…

"We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth." -- Andrew Murray

When asked, “What are your greatest needs?” most every missionary will tell you two things – prayer and finances.  They will always tell you that prayer is the most important thing you can do for them.

There are countless stories of missionaries being delivered or saved from a situation due to prayer.  Like the story of John Paton and his wife.  Dr. Billy Graham relates this story in his book "God's Secret Agents" about missionary John Paton and his wife in The New Hebrides.  It is said that one night they were surrounded by hostile natives who wanted to kill them.  They prayed through the night for protection and at daylight, saw that the attackers were leaving.  A year later, the chief of the tribe of the attackers became a Christian and Paton asked him about the night of the attack and why nothing had happened.  The chief was surprised and said it was because of all the men who were there protecting them, hundreds of them in shining garments and with drawn swords.

In her book "The Spirits of Mindoro" published in 1988 by Overseas Missionary Fellowship, Catherine Davis talks about a woman who worked in the jungle on Mindoro Island in the 1950's.  She was sleeping alone in her house one night when she heard men outside talking about killing her.  She prayed for protection and the men suddenly grew quiet, then ran away. The next day a woman from the village said that the men did not carry out their plans because of two large people dressed in white who were standing on each side of the path to the house.  I doubt we will ever know the times that we have been protected or delivered by the hand of God due to the fact that someone, somewhere was praying. 

Yes, enlisting prayer partners is extremely important for the missionary.  Some might have a desire to pray, but they do not know how to pray.  Wycliffe Bible Translators have a great page on their web site titled, “How To Pray For Missionaries.”  This is a good outline to use when praying for missionaries:

1. Pray for open doors Colossians 4:2–3, NIV
2. Pray for boldness in witness Ephesians 6:19, NIV
3. Pray that God’s Word will spread 2 Thessalonians 3:1, NLT
4. Pray for protection 2 Thessalonians 3:2, NLT
5. Pray for their ministry 2 Thessalonians 3:1, NLT
6. Pray for God’s guidance Colossians 1:9, NLT
7. Pray for their refreshment Colossians 1:11, NLT
8. Pray for partners in prayer Romans 15:30, NLT; 2 Corinthians 1:11, NLT

One of our prayer partners recently posted this picture on her Facebook wall. 
“Was encouraged during Missions emphasis month to upgrade in the area of intercession. God put it on my heart to create prayer cards for the missionaries we support.”  What a neat idea, and how blessed we are to have such prayer partners!

Yes, missionaries need financial support.  Without the “sender” missions will not work.  But what we really need is people that will take on a burden to pray for us.  Without prayer, missions will not work.  It takes both!

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16 KJV)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

TO ALL OUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & SUPPORTERS:

WE PRAY YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!

NOT JUST ONE…

On September 23, 2014, Rev. Moses J. Brown lost his battle with the Ebola virus disease (EVD).  He becomes the eighth Assembly of God pastor, or pastor’s wife to die of Ebola.  Moses was my friend, and together we constructed Missio Dei Assembly of God church in New Georgia, Caldwell, Monrovia.
Today I learned that Moses’s sister has become yet another victim of the disease.  And, his wife and one of his two children are presently in an Ebola treatment center in Monrovia fighting for their lives.
EVD seems to have an insatiable hunger for death, rarely stopping with just one family member.  All too often it is the overpowering enemy that wipes out entire families and even villages.
We, here in America, are beginning to panic over the fact that one person has died, and two others are in the hospital receiving treatment for the virus.  We should be concerned, we should be careful, we should be watchful and do what we can in order to stop this dread disease.  But…
According to the WHO, there have been 9,191 probable, confirmed and suspected cases and 4,546 deaths in West Africa from EVD reported up to the end of October 13, 2014 by the Ministry of Health in Liberia.  Entire families are no more and thousands of Ebola orphans have no where to turn.
How bad does this epidemic have to be in West Africa before the World comes to the rescue?  Please pray for the victims in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

HELPING THE PEOPLE OF LIBERIA

Food, or the lack thereof, is becoming a huge issue in Liberia. With the Ebola treatment centers and the areas that are presently under quarantine, many are struggling to find adequate food supplies. In many African country's food preparation by hospitals, clinics, or treatment centers do not exist. A person that has been admitted for care to one of these centers is dependent upon family members for their personal care. Bedding, clothing, and meals are the responsibility of the family. At most hospitals you will see people cooking over an open fire at the hospitals as they prepare food for their loved ones. Can you imagine an Ebola treatment center? When a person enters these centers, they are under strict quarantine. No family member is able to attend to them. The health care workers do not have time to take care of the volume of deathly-ill individuals, let alone cook for them. What do they do? How do they eat? With a partnership between AGWM (Assemblies of God World Missions) and Convoy of Hope, we are reaching out to bring help to those who desperately need help. These individually-packaged meals of rice, nutrients, and vitamins will allow those who need it the most to eat. The 40’ container shipped last week will furnish 280,000 individual meals. Another 40’container holding another 280,000 meals is scheduled to ship this week. The two containers will furnish over a half of a million meals! AND, there are more to come. I thank God for this partnership of AGWM and Convoy of Hope for sending life to Liberia!

 

 

SENDING FOOD TO LIBERIA