Sunday, March 26, 2006

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Hello again everyone!
We're pleased to bring you some new snapshots of this last week.
We wanted to present you with a pic of the scorpion we found at our new house this week. Lisa captured him in a jam jar. He wasn't very big, but was one of the extremely painful ones. But we couldn't put his picture in because out of 7 pictures, not one turned out. We had guests come up from Cote D'Ivoire this week to stay at the guest house, It turns out they only stayed one night because they found a scorpion, too. Rather it found them. One of the party was bitten, and
couldn't sleep all night, so they went back to the hospital in the morning. Hot season is scorpion season apparantly. Fun.

Here is a pic of Lisa's new hobby. She is varnishing all the furniture that we brought up from Cote D'Ivoire. It all looks so much better now, and will be helpful for when we move into the new house and use it. The new house is coming along. I had our mason, Moussa put in two extra windows this week. The kitchen and the room that will be my office are corner rooms, and we put in a second window in each to have a
nice cross breeze. It will help these rooms be a little cooler...
While I was doing that I measured the door. It is 10 cm too small to bring our fridge through, and at least 20 cm too small for our couch to come through. I'm glad we realised that now. I'm going to have to order a new door, and ask Moussa to knock out more bricks to fit it into. Each of these projects brings us closer to
moving into our new place...



Here is a pic of fresh fruit. Girls are always coming to our gate to sell fruit. These girls have fresh mangos. They cost about 5 cents each. If you like mango, its a real bargain. :-)


Here is a pic of Ben and Calebs friends. They were all playing a bit of soccer this morning before church. These kids play nicely for the most part, and the kids are doing well with their language as a result. You should hear Caleb in french these days! One of these kids, Yaya, has been coming to Sunday School with us for about 6 weeks now. Some of the other kids would come but their parents will beat them if they find out about it. Yaya himself was in trouble the first couple of Sundays, but seems to be okay now. Today he prayed to accept Christ. Pray for him, a
young boy about 10 years old, that his faith would grow, and that he would be nourished at church.. And that his parents will continue to let him come after his announcement...



This last pic is Lisa singing at church. Joannie doesn't like to sing in front of the crowd, but she did sing along as long as it was Lisa singing into the mic. "Si tu aimer le seigneur, bat les mains!"

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Ministries update March 18th



Sunday School
In church, the Sunday School kids are preparing for Easter. They are putting together some songs to share for Easter Sunday. Here is a pic of them performing in the Christmas program. They work very hard, and sing with such vigor and enthusiasm.

Womens Ministry
At our women's meeting this week, we got the names of the women who plan on attending the Conference in Sikasso at the end of the month. Thanks to two supporting churches, we have 18 women who can go fully supported, with tee-shirts publicizing the Pain de Vie (Bread of Life) in Kadiolo. There was enough
money to make sure each woman has her own Bible in either French or Bambara, so as she begins to learn to read, she can practice with Bible passages. We're hoping that starting in the Fall, most of the women can begin a correspondence Bible study on her own. Please pray that as the women travel on Monday the 27th to the conference, returning the following Monday, God will give them safety, good fellowship, and edifying teaching while there. Also, that He'll bless
and protect their families while they're away. I, Lisa, plan on going over for the day on Wednesday to enjoy the singing and dancing and fellowship, as well as teaching from God's Word. I'm unable to attend the entire conference because of colleagues visiting from Senegal during that time, and we're leaving for
Bamako on the 2nd for kid's school testing and mission meetings.

A subject of prayer for us is the fatigue that comes from being asked for money on a daily basis by both strangers and friends. Being undersupported as we are, and trying to renovate housing and also start some new programs and help get Ivoirian friends/refugees installed in new jobs and housing here is stretching us to the limits. Because of the locust infestation last year at the end of the growing season, and now a long dry season with no rain since the beginning of November, wells at people's houses are dry, so finding water to drink, wash with, and cook with is a growing problem. Pray for God's wisdom in knowing who to help, how to follow up with them for future opportunities, and how much to help.

One regular need is children's schooling. We have two families that help our ministry who can't afford to send their children to school. So we've been helping them as we can, but are considering setting up a special project account where people could "sponsor a child" to attend school and have as much regular
contact with the child as they want. The cost for a child's school year is $5 a month for tuition plus the books needed. It is so small a price for us as Americans, but when the parents have 3 kids of their own, and 3 other kids from family members, it is difficult for them to put their kids in school. Often it is the girls
who are left behind. (then we see them later in women's ministries needing to learn to read.)

We have another student who wants to follow an automotive training course next year
in Burkina Faso. He's gathering the cost information for us so we can consider how we can help. If you would be interested in contributing to a child's schooling costs, drop us an email and we'll get back in touch with details.

Kids-School Pic
All of these kids at our gate are kids whose families can't afford to send them to school. So they spend a lot of time wandering around town. Sometimes getting into mischief, sometimes looking for odd jobs they can do to help their familes...


Our kids continue to adjust to life in Kadiolo. They have a lot of local friends now. Caleb functions in french as he plays with them. The kids love to swing on our hammock.


Here is a pic of Ben and Caleb together at the waterfall.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Water Tower & Waruni







You can't see in the photo, but although the tower is done, Our cement guy is making a cement pad for the tower to be bolted into for strength.
Please pray for us as we get closer to finishing this stressful remodeling so we can move into the house.
Life will seem so much more organised then!

Today was Saturday, we had an outing planned with the youth. We took them to the waterfall at Waruni.We had a fun time splashing in cool water, and enjoying God's creation together.Then we had a campfire sing time, and shared Scripture.
We were blessed to share this time with the youth. 16 of them came!


Here is a photo of some of the girls together under the pounding water!


Please keep praying for us as we work with the youth in Kadiolo. Both the Christian youth at church and the youth we meet through the study room have a need to grow in Christ. Many at the study room have yet to "meet" Him. Pray for our conversations with them that our sharing will help draw them in.

Thanks again,
Tom & Lisa

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Womens ministry



We've been promising pics of the women in the literacy ministry/Bible study.
This ministry is a new one, barely off and running, but we are already so pleased with the excitement of the women to come and learn to read and write.
Joannie and Lisa both are involved, and it is a blessing to see the women learn.

We also want to thank two church groups for giving funds so that women can go to the women's conference in April. We are excited about them getting to go and be spiritually fed in an environment for women, and in their own language.

A big thank you!!



Here is a pic of Tom teaching the youth today. The youth ministry is starting slowly.
They are in a sing n preach mode. We are working to encourage them through small groups, and to deepen their involvement in the meetings, and their relationship with Christ. We want them to see that they can study the Bible and understand it. We also want them to get to a level where they can build up one another, and pray for each other, etc...

On another front, the house is going well. I had paid $80 for a truck to deliver metal for our water tower. He didn't come the next day nor the next. I heard from the guy that helped me hire the truck, he told me the guy was going to come a week later. Oh no! I'd have to wait a week for the metal. I was a bit discouraged, but Africa can be like that. Anyway, he showed up Saturday. So I am thankful I don't have to wait until next Thursday. So tomorrow I can start the work as planned.

Thanks for praying, and giving, and being interested.

Tom & Lisa Seward

PS. We just heard that our church in Ft. Wayne has voted to support us regularly. We thank God for how He works on our behalf...