Going Forward

Well, time marches on. The last blog entry was about our grief over the loss of the new baby. But like I said, time marches on. The days pass. Thank you for your prayers for the parents of this baby! Not only have they lost a baby, but they are facing some stiff opposition from family members (a father!) over their recent baptism and decision to follow Christ. Their families follow traditional Islam. But this couple's faith is growing and maturing, in the midst of these trials! Thank you for your many prayers!

I would like to show some pictures of the outreach time....but we currently don't have any! When I get some, I'll post some. I'm home with the children and Victor is out with the team in a village with the camera. Maybe when he comes home, I'll have some pictures.

But here are a few verbal snapshots of highlights so far from the outreach time of our Discipleship Training School:

Hearing their voices over the air waves: One team spent 2 weeks in a Yao village where there is a Yao community Christian radio station. Our students were able to share testimonies and Bible stories on the air! One student also gathered a group of children to sing songs for the radio station. We hear from the missionaries there that the team was a blessing there!

Now that team moved on to a village far north. Victor drove them there. While there, he saw some elephants! Cool, right? Well, not for the locals whose garden the elephants were trying to invade. The elephants are protected because that land is a game reserve. But do the locals ever have a nightmare trying to shoo the big beasts out of their gardens! You thought bunnies were bothersome!

Another team stayed a couple weeks with a Christian family in a village of about 800 with only about 6 known believers! The team was a great encouragement to the few believers. Even the way the 9 of the team members lived together peaceably was a testimony!

They faced some opposition from community members who didn't want more Christians around! But overall, they had a good time. They had a "Nicodemos" friend, a young man who would come at night to learn more about God. He came in the dark because he was afraid of his father.

The team that stayed here in Lichinga is finding openness among the neighborhoods that surround the YWAM base. It is good to have their efforts focused here.

The neatest part is watching (or for me hearing second hand) the students blossom in their spiritual gifts! They began their outreach time enthusiastically but also hesitantly! Would they be able to teach, preach, evangelize, and share their testimonies? For most of them, these are new big steps they are taking! And they are finding that God is enabling them to do what He has called them to do! They are beginning to find out what their giftings are and that is exciting.

Please continue to pray for the outreach teams, and their leaders.