Growth in the Beoumi Region

In 2013 two church planters lived and ministered in the Beoumi Region.  Two churches had already been started the previous year with many new believers.  The first couple months were extremely difficult, but they and the new believers persevered and God blessed the work.  Just after this past Christmas we headed back to Beoumi to bring them back home.  Again, we encountered vehicle trouble with the van starting to overheat after only 1/3 of the way home.  Thankfully, the new truck is amazing and we were able to take it slow and tow it back the rest of the way without incident.

During this last year they were able to see three new churches started along with another cell group.  They placed a primary emphasis on discipleship and leadership development among the new believers.  They completed three training courses and already have four young men who participate in the teaching and preaching.  Instead of focusing solely on growing things quickly and trying to win as many as possible, they mentored the new leaders and together they taught and spread the good news of God's saving grace through Jesus.  16 new people were baptized and many others are currently being taught the baptism class by the new leaders among the five churches.

This past year was a great learning experience for all of us.  There were many difficulties encountered and overcome: the loss of a pastor's wife on the field, too many vehicle problems to count, some conflict among some leaders, but as James tells us, the trials we encounter test and purify our faith.  I am truly proud and excited about the resiliency and solidarity of the young leaders in Beoumi.  Greater things are yet to come among them.

I am really excited to see how things develop this year.  We have another church planter working in Beoumi this year.  Jean Kouame will be there with his family.  He is an incredible leader.  He is filled with passion and humility and lives his life with great integrity.  He will be training and mentoring the young leaders in T4T (Training for Trainers) which is a disciple-making program focused on training people not only to share their faith, but how to train those who come to faith in Jesus to do the same.  We will also be training the churches in CHE later this year.  The opportunity and potential for growth this year is so tremendous.  The young leaders have the desire, passion and unity to do great things for God's kingdom among them.

Please continue to pray for Jean Kouame along with the four new leaders: Laurent, Arnold, Guillaume and Privat.  Pray for Andy as he teaches, trains and mentors our pastors and leaders in God's work.  Pray for the new believers in Beoumi as they encounter spiritual warfare and difficulties in living out their new-found faith.  Pray that the region of Beoumi will be transformed holistically by the good news that Jesus brings.

Our two vehicles loaded down with the baggage our our returning pastors.  Our new vehicle was able to tow all that without any problems.  Really thankful and enjoying the new truck!

Praying over the four newly chosen leaders for the Beoumi Region.  Left to right: Laurent, Guillaume, Arnold, Privat

The new church planter in Beoumi Jean Kouame.

Even through the difficulties, God is faithful.

In January, we were able to send our two church planters along with their families to the Beoumi region to live and work there for all of 2013.  Last year we were able to start two churches in the region, and our goal is to start four new churches this year (two in the first half of the year and two in the second half).  The first three months for our church planters in Beoumi have been very difficult, however God has remained faithful and we have started to see tremendous growth and the Spirit's moving in the ministry out there.  

It started with the trip out to Beoumi.  What normally is a half-day trip (6 hrs.) took a day and a half (they left at 10am on Monday January 7th, but didn't arrive until Tuesday around 7pm: 33 hrs.).  During the trip they had 3 flat tires.  After their second flat tire (the spare) they had to drive slowly with a flat tire in the middle of nowhere to the next village in order to spend the night in safety.

They were able to find another spare the next morning and headed toward the big city of Bouake, about 90 minutes away, in order to purchase a new tire and finish their trip.  Before arriving in Bouake, they had their third flat tire. Nestor, one of our pastors and coordinator of leadership training who was accompanying them, got on public transportation to Bouake, purchased the two new tires, then took public transportation back to the stranded Land Rover.  Beoumi was less than two hours away, but the errands took all day and they arrived just as it became dark.

Not even two weeks later, on January 20th at the very end of the worship service in the Beoumi church, Clementine, Pastor David N'Dri's wife, collapsed as she was closing the service in prayer.  Pastor Jean-Claude (David was visiting the Belakro church) carried Clementine to the nearby hospital and called us back in Abengourou to pray for her.  Soon after, the doctor arrived and pronounced her dead.  To say that it shook the two young churches and our two pastors is an understatement.  The mission assumed the cost of the paperwork and transporting her body back home near Abengourou.  The total was around $1,300.

January 31st, we headed out to Bouake and Beoumi to help bring Clementine's body back for the funeral in Kodjina and accompany David, Jean-Claude and the Beoumi church members.  On our way to the morgue February 1st, I started having vehicle troubles.  We sent everyone on ahead and I returned slowly accompanied by my friend Joel.  Thankfully the others arrived safely without any problems, but Joel and I finally broke down and had to call our mechanic to send the Land Rover to tow us back to Abengourou. We arrived late at night and headed out to the funeral early the next morning.

Following the funeral, Jean-Claude returned to Beoumi with the other church members while David stayed back in Kodjina to recuperate (he had been battling a case of dysentery) and recover.  Later in the month another one of our pastors, Emile N'Goran, went out to assist Jean-Claude in the work in Beoumi.

The Beoumi region is known as a place of tremendous spiritual warfare.  There are faith "healers" throughout the region and idolatry is rampant (including various sacrificial offerings).  Though our leaders have been praying regularly, they decided to increase their focus in prayer and since the beginning of March, everyday the church in Beoumi lead by our church planters, begins the day from 5:30am-6:00am in prayer.  Since then God has opened wide the door to two new villages near the town of Beoumi.  

They have visited the village of Assenzé at least three times.  The first day they were able to meet and evangelize 14 people.  The following week the met with 16 for Chronological Bible Storytelling (CBS) and last time they met with over 20 people.  The other village of Diacohou has been a tremendous experience. The first day they met with the village chief who said they are welcome to do as the wish and consider it their village.  That same day they met a family and began teaching in their courtyard.  People passing by kept coming to them as they heard them speaking and teaching.  By the end of the day 14 people were listening.  The second visit over 20 people were waiting for them to arrive and over 30 people were listening to the CBS lesson by the end.  The last visit, they were not sure how many people were there (because it was nighttime), but of those they could see and count in the darkness the number was over 106!

Already in both villages people have expressed the desire to be baptized (4 in Assenzé and 8 in Diacohou).  We have not started Sunday morning services in these two villages yet, but already more than 15 people travel by foot from their village to attend the Sunday morning worship service in Beoumi (Assenzé is 4.5 miles away and Diacohou is 2 miles away).  The believers in Beoumi have been accompanying Jean-Claude and Emile and have grown in their faith so much already by seeing God's faithfulness despite the trials our leaders have experienced.  Their example of faith, zeal and courage builds the faith of these new believers.

Please continue to pray for Jean-Claude, Emile and their families as they continue to serve in Beoumi.  Pray for the new believers to grow in their faith and service to Christ.  Pray also for these four new churches to grow and shine as a testimony to the power and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We know that the spiritual warfare will continue and there will be other difficulties and trials to come, but we also know He who is greater than any other power in this world.  Pray for us too as we continue preparations to do a mobile clinic and evangelism campaign in Beoumi mid-June.  Pray that the light of the gospel would shine brightly and the darkness would flee before it.

Exciting News in Béoumi

I'm so excited to be able to update you all with great news about the new church planting project in Ivory Coast. The Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast in partnership with CMF have been praying and planning to plant 4 new churches in the Béoumi region, with the hope that is will start a new church planting movement in central Ivory Coast. Several of the leaders and missionaries have visited the area and have taught and preached on several occasions last year. They were well received and invited back.

Once the political turmoil hit the end of last year, no one was able to travel throughout the country safely. We had hoped to send two church planters this past January to the region, but it just was not possible. We continued to pray for those who had heard the message of Jesus Christ and that God would open the doors for us to go again.

Last month, the door opened back up. Since the dramatic political changes happened in April and May (the conclusion of the electoral crisis), things in Ivory Coast quickly began to improve. Our teammate, Christina, along with our friends and fellow CMF missionaries from Burkina Faso, the Hausers, returned to Ivory Coast. When the Hausers returned to Burkina a week later, they made a side trip, accompanying several of our church leaders to Béoumi to encourage and share God's Word with them.

One group in particular were overjoyed to receive them and their message. In fact, their story is amazing. They actually come from an odd religious sect. Unlike so many other indigenous groups, they worshiped and prayed to the one “Creator God” while also rejecting the traditional amulets, charms and statues that permeate the african culture. Their founder had even at one time cleared their region of the various masks, charms and idols and stood up to many different witch doctors. However, they had no concept of salvation and had never heard the good news of Jesus Christ!

Upon hearing the story of Jesus and the salvation that God has given through Him, they cheered and praised God for revealing the complete truth to them! They listened so intently, that even our national church leaders said they had never experienced a group of people so hungry and thirsty for God's Word. On the final day of teaching 58 people stood up to say they wanted to be baptized into Christ (everyone from the local sect who was present that day).

In one week, four church leaders accompanied by our teammate Christina, will travel back to Béoumi. They will make a trip to a nearby lake (because there isn't sufficient water in their area for baptisms) with those who have put their faith in Christ for a baptism celebration... rejoicing for their new lives in Christ. One of the leaders will stay with them; teaching, encouraging and visiting others for a month. Pray for Nestor, one of the national pastors, who will be staying and sharing with the Béoumi believers.

It is so exciting to see God’s Spirit leading us to harvest fields that He has been preparing well in advance. It has been exciting to see people respond with incredible enthusiasm to God’s love through Jesus Christ. We wait in great anticipation to see where God leads us and how the Holy Spirit will move in this new region. This coming January, Nestor along with another national church planter, will return to Béoumi to stay and work for an entire year. Please lift up these two church planters and their families as they serve the Lord sacrificially.

May God be glorified and honored in our service to Him!

Andy

Moving Forward...

Some folks lately have mentioned that they have not seen any news about Ivory Coast for a while. I've been telling people it's because there hasn't been much news to share (which is probably a good thing). Since the arrest of former President Gbagbo, politically things have turned around and are slowly improving. In parts of the country there remains a spirit of mistrust and apprehension, but the economy has restarted and overall people seem to be hopeful that the country is and will continue moving forward.

While there isn't much political news, the mission has been busy and has been moving forward. I know I have said it before, but I want to say it again, God has blessed us tremendously with great friends and ministry partners in Ivory Coast! Our Christian brothers and sisters who serve alongside us and have continued the ministry while we have been gone are incredible servants. I truly thank God for these precious friends and colleagues. This past month has seen a lot of great steps forward in God's Kingdom work in Ivory Coast.

The PIM Clinic was finally able to receive its medicine order! We have been trying to get these medicines into the country since last December, and it finally was able to make it into the country late May and get through customs (despite the political difficulties and governmental change issues) in June. Hats off to our Clinic Administrator, Konan Emmanuel, for his hard work and repeated trips to Abidjan.

We also have been blessed to partner with IDES in supplying aide to displaced families from the electoral crisis. The mission was able to provide over 150 families whom fled Abidjan, and had little to no resources, with two months worth of rice, oil, soap and bleach during this difficult time. The hope is that these gifts will help sustain them until they are able to either return home or get established in our community. It was a great testimony of the love of Christ by the mission, our church and the clinic. The mayor's office and our partners in the HIV/AIDS ministry (PEPFAR, EGPAF) heard of the aide program and decided to make a ceremony out of the distribution, including radio coverage on both the local and UN radio stations. Since then, 70 more displaced families have been identified and we are looking for resources to aid these new families as well. We thank the Lord for providing the means and partnership with IDES so that we could impact so many families and provide opportunities to follow-up with them and share more about the love of Jesus.

I'm excited to share that our teammate, Christina Skelton, recently returned to Abengourou. She left Ivory Coast with our family in March and then joined the CMF Burkina Faso team late April and stayed with our friends and former teammates in Ivory Coast, the Hauser family. Christina, the Hausers and their interns arrived last week and Brian Hauser was able to lead a spiritual retreat for our key church leaders. Our national friends and partners were excited to see the Hausers again and have Christina back. The Hausers and their interns headed back towards Burkina Faso Wednesday, but accompanied some of our pastors and Christina on a visit to Beoumi on their way home.

Beoumi is the region where the mission and the Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast are working together in a new church planting venture. We had planned on sending two church planters this past January to start four new churches, but were forced to delay the project due to the electoral crisis. Three leaders from Abengourou left this week to visit, teach, evangelize and encourage the contacts the have already made on previous survey trips to the region. We hope to send two church planters this coming January following our family's return this fall.

Our family continues to visit supporting churches and make new contacts in support raising. We have raised most of our Outgoing Expenses (i.e. visas, tickets, etc.), but have little new ongoing monthly commitments. We decided to try something new by asking people to provide a month's rent of $220. We are looking for 36 donors (individuals, groups, Sunday school classes, etc.) for a one-time gift of $220 to cover one month's rent during this next 3-year term in Ivory Coast. If you can't cover an entire month's rent, we can partner you with someone and you can cover half a month's rent at $110. If you are interested in helping send me an email (gablecmf@hotmail.com) or you can even donate online via e-check (preferred) or credit card by clicking on the link: https://p2p.paperlesstrans.com/default.aspx?i=cmfms&c3=GABLE+Andy+and+Stephanie&c4=55600

Our goal is to return to Abengourou, Ivory Coast late-September and no later than the end of October. Our family is looking forward to returning and continuing the work God has set before us. The kids keep asking when we are returning to Abengourou.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Here is a list of things to be praying about this next month:

-Our family's support raising efforts to be fruitful (both financially and spiritually).

-Our teammate Christina's re-entry into Ivory Coast as she settles back in. (Actaully, this past year has been crazy since her arrival and she has yet to really settle in well.)

-The church leaders' visit to Beoumi. That their teaching and encouragement would bear fruit and sow seeds for a great coming spiritual harvest in that region.

-Funding for an additional 70 displaced families in Abengourou (about $4,750). And a prayer of thanks to IDES for their partnership and previous funding. Also for fruitful follow-up visits with the families that have received aide.

-The relaunch of the initiation of CHE in the Cocoterrain community (primarily Muslim) in Abengourou.

Blessings and peace to you all. May God continue to lead and move in us to do great things for His Kingdom.

Andy

New Beginnings

The beginning of the new year reminds us of the importance and need for change. People start working out, they plan to be more organized and they start a reading plan for the Bible. It's also a time when some start new activities and opportunities, both for individuals and organizations. This sense of need for new things and change at the new year is international. New Year's Day is the biggest holiday in Africa. No matter how rich or poor a family is, everybody gets nice new clothing, shares a special meal and visits their friends and family.

One of the most exciting things that this new year brings for the ministry here in Ivory Coast is the growth and new phase for the Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast. The Association is made up the various church leaders from all eighteen Christian churches. Since the beginning of the mission here, the overseeing of the church planting and leadership development was done by missionaries. For some time now, the bulk of the preaching and teaching among the Agni and Attie people groups has been done by the various church leaders, however, the mission organized most of the activities. This is the first year that the Association will officially take over the overseeing responsibilities of the work among the Agni and Attie peoples.

It is a huge step in the life of the church here in Ivory Coast. Our goal as a

mission has been more than simply starting new churches in Ivory Coast, but creating an indigenous movement that naturally reproduces both new churches and capable church leaders. It's exciting to see the Ivorian church responding too to Jesus' Great Commission to make disciples. They have many great projects for this year, including starting three new churches, even sending a church planter to a new area of Ivory Coast!

The past several months we have been working hard in preparation for this historical step; we have done some reorganizing of the leadership training program, specific training for the ministry area directors and Executive Bureau, and another first of hiring a full-time ministry coordinator for the Association. Edoukou Jean-Claude, one of our most mature and respected pastors, has taken on this role of organizing the activities of the Association and encouraging the churches in the mission and vision of the Association. Please pray for him in his new role for strength, endurance and flexibility and he travels and learns new things. Pray also for Deahon Tro (known as Papa Tro), the Executive Director of the Association. Pray for wisdom, insight and passion as he leads the Association in these new endeavors.

It is exciting to see how God is moving among the people here and his ministry. I am greatly encouraged by our leaders vision, conviction and desire to serve God and make his salvation through Jesus Christ known to all. It not only is expanding their witness and influence, but has and will continue to free up more time and opportunities for us in the mission to focus more on the Djoula Muslim outreach. Please pray for the Association and Mission as we serve alongside each other to make Jesus and his love known to the people of Ivory Coast.

**The photos were taken during our planning meeting with our ministry area directors. The first photo includes Jean-Claude at front-middle. The second photo has Papa Tro in the back.

August Update

Last month we were blessed to have a group come from the Second Church of Christ in Danville, IL work with us in several different projects. There was a lot going on at the same time, but everything seemed to come together and a lot of good work was accomplished for the Kingdom. All the various activities gives us a good glimpse into what has been going on here in Abengourou with the Mission Chretienne en Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast Christian Mission).
Dental Clinic
A dentist, Dr. Phil, headed up the dental team with Dr. Sally (an emergency room physician) assisting him. Over a span of four days, they were able to see over 120 people (I think they lost count of how many teeth they fixed or took out). Many of the patients were some of the PIM clinic's HIV+ patients and members from our church. During the weekend they went along with our clinic chaplain, Wisdom, to make a few home visits of some of the HIV+ patients. It has been quite some time since the last time our mission hosted a dental clinic (at least 7 or 8 years) and good dental care is something most cannot afford nor find for that matter. It was a nice added bonus for our two missionary families to be able to get our teeth checked out and cleaned as well.
Mother-in-law Moral Support
Stephanie's mother also made the trip with this group. The kids were pretty excited to get to see Granny. It was nice to get to visit with her, though personally I was rarely home during her time here. But the rest of the family got a good dose of family that makes missing home a little easier. She also helped Stephanie paint our living room and side porch (not all her time was fun and games with the grandkids). It was nice to see her and get a bunch of goodies (which has not helped my weight-loss program... oh well) from the States.
Mission Compound Landscaping & Training Center Maintenance
A handful of folks worked hard on getting things looking a little better around the mission property. They helped get the church entrance looking better and created a few walking paths with some stone and brick pavers. They also painted the large meeting/classroom in the training center and making a few repairs throughout the center's interior (many thanks goes to Dr. Sally's husband, John, who headed it all up and did much of the work himself). It will help the mission and Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast have not only a nice place to hold their various trainings and meetings, but also rent out to other groups in order to help with the ongoing costs of the training center.
Leadership Training Seminar
Over the past several years the Mission and national Association of Christian Churches has been working towards the transition of oversight of the church planting and leadership training programs among the Agni and Attie people groups from the Mission to the Association. Two years ago Stephanie's Uncle Dale, who is the Executive Minister at Second Church of Christ, came to teach a seminar on strategic planning to the Executive Bureau of the Association.
Dale returned with this group and lead another seminar called "Lead Like Jesus." All the national and regional directors of the various ministries of the Association along with the Executive Bureau (a total of 30 people) took part in the three day seminar. Not only did we expand on the strategic planning principles previously taught, but the necessity of following Jesus' example not only as disciples, but as leaders as well. We talked about how leading and serving are not antonymous as most believe, but two essential aspects of leading like Jesus.
Coco-terrain Prayer Walk
On one of the final days of their trip, we went down to the region of Coco-terrain, where we are hoping to start a CHE plant. We spent the morning walking around seeing the area and meeting some of the folks we have been getting to know over the last couple of months. It doesn't take long to see the needs surrounding you, but at the same time the generosity of the people of Coco-terrain. We ended our walk on the outskirts of town, overlooking the region, praying for its leaders, the various families, that CHE would take hold, but most importantly that Christ would take hold of their lives.
I sincerely thank the Second Church of Christ Mission Team for not only their hard work, but that they poured their hearts into the lives of the people here in Abengourou. May the Lord bless them and those they came to serve.