‘J’ is our team leader in northern Nigeria where persecution of Christians is tragic and common. He quietly works with believers to reach and disciple people, many of whom are from Muslim backgrounds.
Caution: the following story is more graphic and disturbing than we usually publish. ‘J’ shares this firsthand account…
We are celebrating farms planted in the desert area of Turkana where many children are fortunate to get even one meal each day.
“Knowing that we are commissioned to preach the good news to every creature, my fellow believer and I made up our mind to take the gospel of Christ Jesus to those people who spend their lifetime living in jungles, swamps, and forests where there is no one willing to take the good news to them.” Siyawezi from Tanzania
Bahizi of Burundi tells the story:
We did water filters and distributed them in Cibitoke province where we have found a community almost forgotten and isolated. They received the Gospel with joy and already have a passion to take the message to other areas. God has not forgotten them!
“Insisting we sit, they told us that this was how they wanted to express their love for those who had come to the Banjuri people, not to get something from them, but to tell them about God and his love for them, a message they had never before heard!”
John, the Kenyan team leader, along with several others had traveled a very long distance from western Kenya to the heavily populated Muslim coastal region to check on a new church planting work they had begun a couple of years ago.
“We visited a 68-year-old woman who had a son with a mental problem.… No group of believers had ever visited this family.”
Though we have just arrived in Africa, this story (following) was shared with us by Solomon, a new leader from Zambia, who has been receiving online training for the last three months. Because of his progress, we will meet with him next week in Rwanda where he will receive intensive hands-on training from African leaders. He so appreciates what he has received so far:
“In Bubanza a drunkard became a storyteller and then he went to the witch doctor and now that old man has become a church planter and even now the whole village has embraced the Gospel.”
Your gift of water filters and clean water was the catalyst! They often use water filters as a way to show the love of Jesus to those suffering from sickness due to the polluted water carried from the river for drinking, washing, and cooking.
During disciple-making movement trainings Roger oftentimes chooses a random person to ask questions about themselves and their work. Typically, this is someone he knows very little about, so he has no idea what or how successful they might be in their efforts to share Jesus Christ with others. Here’s just one of their stories (Rebecca is pictured in the middle):
But the church planting team from Burundi came into her village this year. Here is their story:
In May we spent an afternoon with Peter and his family to hear firsthand the impact the new farm and borehole is having:
“My home was in very poor shape and we were not even protected well from the weather. We had to walk far for water just to cook and wash with.
“We were provided a borehole and then seeds to begin our farm. We were given coaching and technical farming knowledge. Since then, we have been able to build a new home, feed our family, and provide school fees for the children".
