you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to
teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will
hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’
whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:20-21
Greetings to you all and gratitude to our Father
for your journey with us in 2012!!
After our c0up refuge in S3neg@l and our return to M@li, the great
debate was whether people should return to M@li or not, should
volunteers come to serve alongside us or not. These questions can only
be answered by those whom G0d is calling. These questions had to be
answered by 4 women who had been called by G0d to come to M@li at the
beginning of the year, they had been preparing, and the day the c0up
happened, they had bought their tickets. By f@ith, their choice was to
come, to continue to believe G0d and follow His call!
Because they came out of their love for G0d, for the sake of the
G0spel, and the hope we have in J.s.s. Chr!st, G0d poured out His Sp!r!t
and brought salvation. One Sunday afternoon as we sat on the street
where O works selling peanuts, we sat visiting with others. O was
attending a wedding. G0d specifically lead us to talk with a man who has
been wishy washy and living a life where he talks like a M.s1mWe when
he is with M.s1ms and talks like a Chr!sti@n when he is with Chr1sti@ns.
We had talked with him many times but his heart never seemed sincere.
His name is S0. We had a powerful conversation with him as well as
answering personal questions he had about following J.s.s. G0d’s
Presence was felt as G0d guided the conversation and filled our minds
and mouths with the words He wanted to share.
Someone came and needed something and the conversation was stopped
for a few moments while S0 took came of their needs. Behind us were 2
young men sitting in what we will call the peanut gallery. They were
listening to our conversation even though they were not a part of it.
While S0 was away, the 2 young men came around to sit in front of us and
said, “Your words have touched our hearts.” With that confession, we
began a conversation with them listening to one young man (Lasi) share
with us the experiences of his life and how when his mother was very
sick nothing they tried (African Traditional Religion and 1sl@m) healed
her. Then one day some Chr!sti@ns came to pr@y for her and talk to her.
J.s.s healed her and she became a f0ll0wer of J.s.s. That day this young
man said, “I have tried everything to find peace, to find help for my
life. Your words have touched me and I want to choose to walk on the
road of J.s.s. with my mother.” Then he said, “It is not only me, but my
friend wants to talk with you too.” Then his friend, Ama, began to
share with us how our words had touched his heart. We listened, talked,
explained f@ith in J.s.s. and s@lvat!on. Both Ama and Lasi left that
day, changed men, filled with joy and peace, hungry to know more about
how to follow J.s.s.
We took them each a B!ble and each day Ama would share with us what
He was reading and we would talk about it. He would call his friend
Lasi and tell him we were there on the street. Lasi would come to greet
and sit with us for awhile. During the first week, Lasi came to us so
excited. He had been looking for a job for a long time. He came and
exclaimed, “J.s.s has changed my life and He has given me a job!” He
even brought his friend who is a f0ll0wer of J.s.s and who has walked
with Lasi through some very difficult times–loving him when he didn’t
deserve it, being J.s.s to him when he was traveling the wrong path.
Together we all rejoiced at what G0d had done for Lasi!!
After only a few weeks, Ama returned to his country and to his
family to help with the planting and harvest for this year. We miss him
and pr@y for him daily. We look forward to his return and hope we will
see him again in just a few weeks. We cannot wait for him to join us in
w0rship and B1ble study!!