Events: March - August 2008

August 2008
August has been a busy month of training national pastors. We have just finished hosting two weeks of seminars for the pastors and church leaders. The first seminar was in Blolequin (north west of the country), and the second was here in San-Pédro. Dr. Larry Fogle, a missionary with Baptist Mid-Missions with the PEP Pastoral Enrichment Program, did a wonderful job teaching on discipleship. It was so nice to have someone come that could teach and preach in French! The people really enjoyed him, and he was a blessing to us, too. We praise God for his ministry.

July 2008 Trip to Abidjan (the Capital)

On July 13, we were invited to a Baptist church in Koumassi, in the Capital city of Abidjan. They were celebrating their end of year ceremony for their children’s club. After I preached for the morning service, the pastor asked the people if they would be willing to listen to God’s Word and give their all to the Lord. We were amazed when most of the congregations stood. Gayle even had the privilege to lead a lady to Christ!

We enjoyed a wonderful meal of Senegalese Rice (CHEP). Then in the afternoon we witnessed the many children who quoted scripture and acted out skits. I shared with them the story of the turtle and the hare, and then related with them about running the Christian race from Hebrews 12. We are thankful for the church and for the many who worked with these children all year long. Since I was saved in an AWANA club at Townsend Avenue Baptist Church when I was 12 years old, I am so thankful for those who give their time and money to reach children for Christ.

We had planned to return to San-Pedro the next day. But I noticed a problem with the car, so I took it to be repaired. While talking to one of the men, he received a call saying that one of the other workers was dead. The coworker had arrived there that morning for work and fell down. By the time they took him to the hospital, he was pronounced dead. It shocked everyone! God used this as an opportunity for me to share with them concerning the brevity of life and the importance of having a saving faith in Christ. Later when Gayle and I returned to get the car, we found everyone ready to leave for lunch. We passed out tracts and a John & Romans booklet, encouraging them to make certain of where they would spend eternity. It is always amazing to see how God uses something as simple as a problem with our car, to open up the opportunity to share Christ with people! Please pray for those men and women that their hearts will be changed as they read the Scriptures.

Baptisms in San Pédro

	At our last baptism, both Raphaël and his son, Roger, were baptised. See "Lives Changed by Christ" for the story.

Father's & Mother's Day in San Pedro

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Invitations were sent out the week before to invite Fathers to come to church. It was a joy to see around 9 new fathers, and each one received a New Testament. A Christian book was given to the other fathers who come regularly.

One man who stayed after church to talk, told us that his 4 yr old son came home immediately afer church the week before with an invitaion. His son said, "Daddy, you need to come to church with me." His father couldn't refuse. Praise God for those who came! Please continue to pray that this church ministry.

Sunday, May, 2008
In the Ivory Coast, we celebrated Mother's Day on May 24th. The children sang, did a Bible sketch, and Steve preached. There were 18 mothers who visited for the first time. Every lady was delighted to receive a piece of jewelry that had been donated by churches in the USA. Even Gayle was surprised when Pastor James presented her with a gift of a pagne (cloth) from the church.

Evangelism in Divo - June / March

Saturday, June 7, 2008
Steve traveled to Divo with Emmanuel and Seth for meetings with Bertin and Agnes. Before the Saturday night meeting, Steve and Emmanuel prayed with Bertin and Anoh. There were about 500 people that came to the Saturday night open air meeting; many of them were Muslim. After seeing an evangelistic video and Emmanuel concluding with a clear Gospel presentation, 12 people came forward to accept Christ as Savior. This elderly man (in red) came straight up to Steve and said, "I want to have Jesus in my life."

Sunday, June 8, 2008
On Sunday morning, it was exciting to see 5 of the people who were saved the night before (including the elderly man) come to church. After Steve preached and gave the Gospel message, 6 people prayed to accept Christ. It is exciting to see what God is doing in the ministry in this new church plant. Please pray for Bertin, Agnes, and the small group of believers.

March 2008
We visited Bertin and Agnes Tougnon in Divo, and held an Evangelism program in the village near their home. Gayle showed a Power Point story for the children and then the Jesus Film was projected on a sheet between two poles. As each scene was shown, more and more people came to watch it. Many youth attended as well as adults. Steve preached a gospel message. As a result of the meeting, several prayed to accept Christ as their Savior. Heidi Brant, who was helping us for two weeks in the ministry, was a great help. No one wanted her to return to the United States. Bertin, Anoh and others followed up with those who were saved in the days following the program. As a result of this, three new families are now attending Bertin's church, and on 4/20/08 ten people were baptized.