Ministry Update from 8/8/07

There was a pause, Sunday, in the hectic activity of the last three months. It's been so busy alternatively with regress and progress that it's been emotionally draining, even numbing at times. Sunday, I read about restoring Sabbath, and found a kindred spirit who once quipped 'My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered the interruptions were my work'. That statement resonates here. It even reverberates to the bone! It's the way to think of ministry in West Africa andstay in it over the long haul. It keeps you sane. Servants working here with that attitude endure, and leave an impact that reproduces.

Because we've been so long in writing, this overdue and overlong update has been broken into three separate notes focusing on CHE, family, and the other ministries of God we see. This one is about CHE. There are 5 points for prayer.

COMMUNITY HEALTH EVANGELISM (CHE):
Completed a Training of Trainers 1 (TOT1) course in Abidjan with 23 trained. They represented 9 ministries (5 in one facility) and were mostly not from Free Will Baptist ranks. They represented God's touching other evangelical or fundamental groups through us. We invested 40 hours of instruction plus another 70 in preparation, neither counting the travel time, nor the hours given by fellow instructors Alice Smith and Henri Buregea. Results? Two months later: 1) one ministry integrated some of the ideas into their teaching that very weekend and is determining what else they can do to adopt CHE principles; 2) another structures a separate and additional CHE outreach; 3) a group of self-funding Abidjan Christians has done the initial site work and will extend their outreach in San Pedro using CHE; and 4) two other groups feel called, but are waiting on God to provide a means that they can see before acting. Pray for their self-discovery of the faithfulness of Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide) and their development of trust in Him.

CHE gardening techniques attract attention. Passersby note that our plantain and bougainvillea plants seem to thrive, while other's suffer during a dryer and cooler than usual rainy season. Selective composting and mulching techniques with credit given to God (Ex.23, Le.25) lead to witnessing opportunities. A recently released prisoner, whose faith has been so piqued, grows loaned seed on 4 hectares of land donated for use with contributed labor. He plans to give a tithe and feed prisoners he's recently left behind. The demonstration garden has not yet even really begun. Pray the piqued become converted, grounded in the faith, and discipled.

A young Christian (our data entry typist) slept with a seductress last year. He tried to hide the sin. He experienced the loss of God's presence. He wanted Him back. She became pregnant with possibly his child. His conscience and her family bothered him. He planned to marry another. He confessed the sin. He's working on the repenting part. He typed and learned from the Bible what was needed to reconcile with God, himself, the woman, and his employer. He listened to other restored Christians. He drew up a plan by himself to avoid the sin, increase his Christian fellowship, and restore the woman using Scriptural verse anchors. He's started working the plan with accountability. Pray for his faithfulness. The unsaved do not understand. Pray Romans 6:18-19 and/or 2Thessalonians 1:11-12 for him.

The Goumere (goo-may-ray) CHE team does step planning for the first time. Step planning is a group process meant to develop simple, measurable, and written objectives, goals, and interventions that provide for later evaluation and improvement. This may not sound significant in our culture (where so much planning is done that even being spontaneous gets planned), but such redemption of time being done here, at a rural-church level, is rare. It testifies of a
God who changes life and tradition. The team prepares a simple school health screening in Karako. A local doctor has helped and will help. The list of human, material, and community resources is prepared and they're putting the screening together. In the same timeframe, while they sense progress in the work, two CHE team members suffered store thefts costing them months of income. Two others fight to salvage their 2006 bird-flu bankrupted chicken farm from
crushing debt. Another obtained his first computer complete with the resulting learning curve while yet another travels to see family. Is Satan sifting them? Will cares of this world choke their fruitfulness? Pray for them, their ingenuity, and their perseverance in faith.

Well, thank you for making it this far. That's not even all of our CHE news, but it highlights current activities taking a week or more during the last few months. News from family and related ministries will follow in the two weeks to come. For now, believe with us that God is healing Debbie from some longsuffering pains while she's in the U.S. She's helping Cason settle into stateside life and start at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Trust Cason is there on God's call. Know that Corbin is there too, camping, playing, and being with family. Realize that Cara has spent an intriguing summer here in personal growth and ministry. And understand that, in related ministries, there's been a lot more of God-activity here to preserve life, and bring eternal life into view for many others, because of what's being done. Thankfully, those stories are mostly written now, but just too long to add here. That way they can get to you sooner than another 3 months from now.

Blessed to bless others,
Verlin for the Family

Prayer Points:
1) Pray that we never think of interruptions in terms of ourselves, but in terms of what God wants to get done at the moment through us.
2) Pray that budding CHE trainers will bloom and discover faithful Jehovah-jireh.
3) Pray for the conversion, grounding, and discipleship of those being touched through demonstration garden techniques.
4) Pray Romans 6:18-19 and/or 2Thessalonians 1:11-12 for Romeo (the young man) as he learns how law and grace get balanced as God reconciles men to Himself, themselves, and others.
5) Pray for the Goumere CHE team and this team's wisdom in how to best be alongside them through difficult times.