Weer Net (Month 3)

God is good, all the time.

The work continues here in West Africa. The month of March I spent working on language and dealing with getting the government documents I need to stay. This past week an American team came to serve, and I had the privilege of serving with them.

During the time the team was here we visited five different villages. When we visit a village the first thing you do is go around and greet everyone. Then you will normally sit with them under a tree and visit. Often times, Bible stories will be shared with the children and coloring pages. Sometimes teams will bring soccer balls, and we will play with the children of the villages. The women from the teams will sometimes help the ladies of the village with preparing lunch. The men will sit and talk and have tea. This is a great time for building relationships. It’s also an opportunity for sharing testimonies and the Gospel.

One of the things this team brought with them is the materially to make the Gospel bracelets. If you are not familiar with it, I will give you a quick overview of the bracelets. The bracelets have six beads, each a different color to represent a part of the Gospel. The first bead is black, and it represents sin and the broken world we live in. We have all made mistakes and done the wrong thing. We can’t be good enough to earn our way to be with God. God is perfect and He has never sinned or made a mistake. Sin separates us from God. However, God is love. He loved us so much that He made a way for us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him. Which brings us to our second bead, a red bead that represents the blood of Jesus. Jesus is God’s Son and one with God, Jesus came to live a perfect life. A life that we cannot live, and He died for us. The punishment for sin is death and Jesus paid our debt by dying for us. Praise God that is not where the history of what happen ends. Jesus was raised to life three days after He died. If you repent and turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus, you will be saved. That brings us to the next bead. The white bead represents putting your faith in Jesus. His blood and death on the cross cleanse your sins. You are forgiven, and now you have a restored relationship with God. You are also given the Holy Spirit to dwell in you.

The fourth bead is yellow. It represents heaven. Once you put your faith in Jesus and turn from your sin, you will go to heaven when you die. You will be with God and other believers who have gone before you. Blue is the next bead that represents obedience to God’s Word. After we are saved, God commands us to be baptized in obedience. This shows that we are now and forever changed. We are washed clean from all the wrong we have ever done and will ever do. We are made new in Jesus Christ. The final bead is green for growth. We are not just to put our faith and trust in Jesus and then never do anything else. No, God calls us to grow closer to Him and to go and share Him with others.

Please be in prayer for those that heard the Gospel this week. That God would remind them of what they heard. That they would have more conversations with other believers and be encouraged to seek God.

Two days of the team’s trip, they spent serving a medical clinic, one day in town and the next in a village. Two members of the American team work in the medical field. They saw the patients who came for the free clinic. Everyone that came was prayed over and shown the love of Jesus. I worked in the pharmacy filling the medications. All the medicine was brought by the team. It was given out free to the people in the community who needed it. The first day, 165 people were seen at the clinic. About 70 people were seen in the village the next day. The doctor went back the following day to see more people, the rest of the team went to another village. In total I think there were about 285 people seen and given medication. Praise God for the great opportunity to serve in this way.

Thank you to everyone that has been praying for the ministry going on here. Please be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in the faith. As someone burned down the house of one of our brothers in Christ because he is a Christian. Also, in a neighboring nation, there has been a lot of persecution towards Christians. Many of the believers there are in danger. Please lift them up in your prayers.

Please also be in prayer for me and the paperwork I need to stay in country long-term. It has been a long and challenging process, and the government workers keep changing the documents I need.

And all the time, God is good.