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.

A Baby in the Bush

I imagine this story started out in ordinary circumstances here in an Ivorian village.  A young woman discovered she was pregnant and waited expectantly for the arrival of her new child.  After carrying the baby within her to term, she gave birth to what appeared to be a healthy baby boy.  She nursed and cared for the child as any good mother would.  However, as several days went by there was a serious problem... the child did not have a bowel movement, nor could it because it is missing an anus.  The opening seemingly closed off by an extra patch of skin.  

Overwhelmed by her child's health problem and her own poverty, she decided there was nothing she could do nor afford to help her new baby boy and she could not watch her child die.  Her only solution was to abandon the child, hopefully for someone else to care for.  The shame in openly abandoning the baby is too much to bear, so she picked a spot between two villages not far from the road, where she knew someone would likely pass by and find the child.  

Yesterday morning Delem, the uncle of my good friend Nouffou, found this baby boy in the bush 2 km outside his village, Zamaka.  The crying baby was lying on the ground completely naked in the cool morning air.  Delem removed his shirt and wrapped the child and returned to his village to see what they could do for the child.  He arrived in his courtyard to show the others what he found and to check over the infant.  It is then they first noticed the baby's physical problem.  They headed to the village chief's courtyard to explain what happened and to find a solution together.  

The chief and some of the other village elders decided to send a delegation with the child to the nearby Catholic Mission and clinic.  The sisters at the mission said they would try to care for the child, but he needed to be declared to the police first.  The delegation returned to Zamaka to inform the chief and they prepared to head to the police station in Abengourou.  

Yesterday I was in Zamaka to make my weekly visit to Nouffou and his wife Fatou's courtyard to teach.  However, everyone else from our Bible Storytelling Group was gone so we were mostly talking about life in general.  As we began reviewing the previous weeks story and previewing the stories to come, I mentioned that our next story was about the birth, discovery and childhood of Moses.  At that same moment, Nouffou saw Delem coming in the distance.  Moses' story reminded him of the day's earlier events and the news his uncle was likely bringing.  He filled me in and once Delem arrived he gave us the news from the chief.  They needed a ride to Abengourou so Delem, a lady caring for the child, the chief's messenger and I headed for Abengourou (at this time all I knew was that the child was abandoned and there was some sort of health problem... I thought they meant he was constipated).  

Madame N'Guessan

We arrived at the police station around 5:30pm and filed the report.  The police informed us we needed to go to Social Services and declare the infant there as well.  Since we work with Social Services I called to make sure someone would be there shortly after closing time since it was an emergency.  When we arrived and started the report, the folks from Zamaka mentioned the physical problem.  She took the child and examined him.  It was then that the Social Services Agent, Madame N'Guessan, and I realized the gravity of the child's situation.  We thanked the group from Zamaka for their help, shared phone numbers to stay in touch and Madame N'Guessan and I headed to the local hospital while they headed back to Zamaka.

We arrived at the hospital to see what could be done, but unfortunately the necessary operations cannot be done in Abengourou, but only are available in the commercial capital Abidjan.  There were a few things to get at the pharmacy to help the infant boy, but we had to wait until the next morning to send him to the specialist in Abidjan.  Thankfully, our teammate Christina Skelton is headed to Abidjan this morning and is able to give them a quick and smooth trip to the hospital.  

Now we continue to pray that God will bless this child and work in mighty ways.  Many will ask why this happened.  I believe it's an opportunity to show the love, grace and compassion we are called to live out in this broken world.  I myself consider it a privilege to be able to be a part in God's intervention in the life of this tiny infant boy, that some of the villagers of Zamaka decided to call "Moses".  Be praying for little Moses and his healing.  Pray too for those who are charged with his care.  Pray too for his mother who left him in the hands of God.  May all these events lead us to honor and praise God for His goodness in our lives.

Maternity Project Video

Click on this link to give online for the Maternity Clinic.