Monday, August 31, 2009

From the Shadows into the light



From the Shadows



Into the light!


Items of witchcraft to be destroyed

This story is a huge one in the life of a small village near us called Nabilasso.Yesterday after Pastor Youssouf preached at the small church service there in the village, this woman came forward and accepted Christ. Her name is Zele Kone, she is a widely sought after witch-doctor. She brought her magic articles, and she and the pastor destroyed them together.

People (And other sorcerers) come from all around to consult her and learn from her as she is old and has done this for a long time. Now she is leaving all of it behind for Christ. It makes a song like "I have decided to follow Jesus" have a deeper meaning for someone like this...
(Or maybe Bloodgood- "Out of the Darkness----Into the light...." :D) Of course we were all dead in sin before Christ, But maybe not so mired with the devil?

Pray for her as she embarks on a life of Faith. Pray that the new presence of Jesus would remove the evil spirits' power in this village, and that others would come to Christ now that the devils influence is diminished.



The praying neighbor,
Pastor Daouda (holding items of witchcraft to be destroyed),
and new believer Zele.


The accompanying story is represented in this picture. On the left is an old man, he and his wife have been believers and have been praying for this woman for a few years now, since they themselves accepted Christ. They have prayed and witnessed in spite of her cursing them, and putting spells on them. Have you witnessed to your neighbors recently? Have you said "My neighbor Sam is too embroiled in his sin. He won't accept Christ, He's lost." If anyone was lost it was this woman. Yet this older couple prayed for her, and Christ changed her heart. Take heart friends! Christ is in the business of changing lives! Don't give up!



Pray for our village pastors as this is the kind of things they face in their villages. Rocky soil for the gospel. But Jesus is not deterred by rocks.
Thanks for stopping by for this newsflash!

Tom & Lisa





Sunday, August 30, 2009

Pastor Training Seminar


Our seminar group picture.


Tom teaching in french, Pastor Youssouf translating into Bambara.


Pastors very interested and taking notes.

Friday and Saturday this week we held a Pastor's training seminar on leadership. Our village pastors and some lay leaders came for the two days to study what it means to be a leader, and to have vision for a church. Tom R. from Fourou came and taught. He taught in french, and Pastor Youssouf translated into Bambara. (Tom drove a dirt road that is normally a bumpy 45 min drive, but because of rainy season was a squishy, mushy 1.5 hr drive...) Thanks for coming out, Tom!

This was kind of interesting because some of the key words are hard to translate into Bambara. So there was a lot of discussion over what word was best to describe "vision" and a few other words. It was a bit annoying at first, because it was a bit disruptive to the seminar... (Western point of view--- get the material out!) But I soon realised that this discussion was processing time, and they were getting it way better than if we "glossed over" the glossary. Anyway, the seminar was well recieved, and each pastor was challenged to come up with a measurable vision for his church.

One pastor shared that his vision was for his church to reach 23 villages around his village in the next 10 years, and to see leaders raised up amongst these new villages. (He has a church of about 120, he counted 4 adults he considers trained and ready to go now...) God bless a man of agressive vision for Christ!!

It is really a privilege to be with these pastors, and encourage them. They are the future of the church in southern Mali. I'm expendable. They are vital. Pray with us that God would protect them physically and spiritually. Pray that God would grant these men their aggressive visions for the cause of Christ. Pray that we would be a help to the process, and an encouragement to these pastors...

Oh- did I mention that these pastors' salary is $50 a month? Who among us is willing to sacrifice and work like that for Christ?

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sunday

We wanted all the adults in the picture,
so Caleb was our photographer. Thanks Caleb!
This is our group at Amandines today.

Hi. We had a fun weekend getting to know the McKlurkins. Pete & Debra have come to Mali for 1 year to be the guest house managers. We're rejoicing because now we are free to do our ministries. We are thankful for the Mcklurkins who now have a bit of a learning curve ahead of them. They've been to Africa before, but Kenya, not Mali. And they will be starting french study with language school we've found here for them.

Saturday night we had a fun time with them and Eadelmans playing a card game called "Hand and Foot". We also shared testimonies, and enjoyed getting to know one another better.

Sunday we had a service here. We watched a video "How great is our God?" this is an amazing peice of work, and really makes you see the grandeur of God in nature and science, as well as focusing in on His signature written in every one of us as creator/designer. We were all impacted by this message this morning.

We went to Amandines for lunch. Mcklurkins' first time to go to the restaraunt mecca here in Bamako. When you visit, we'll take you there too... :D

Please pray for Pete & Debra as they are just getting started out here. Pray for Ernie & Jan as they are working to finish well. Pray for us, Tom, Lisa, Caleb today as we ride the bus down to Sikasso, pick up our car, and drive to Kadiolo.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Leaving Dakar


Here is a picture from Ben's dorm at supper time. I got to eat supper Monday night with them. Pizza night.
I'm thankful that Ben has had an easy time making friends at Dakar, he's off to a great start. He likes his dorm, its a good setup. only 7 boys in the dorm, so its very family/homey feeling...

Please do continue to pray for Ben & Hilary at school this year. Pray that they both continue to grow in Christ.


I left Dakar yesterday. Rode this taxi at 6am to the airport, however we got a flat tire on the way. So I took the taximan's picture as he fixed his tire. We still made it to the airport on time.

I'm back in Bamako with Lisa and Caleb now...
Looking forward to heading down to Kadiolo.
Haven't had any word on our car yet. It was in a mechanic's shop in Sikasso. We were hoping to have the turbo fixed. We'll see if he found a part.
If it is not fixed yet, not sure what step to take next, other than waiting.
But we can continue down to Kadiolo anyway, I think.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Dakar Academy again



I leave Dakar on Tuesday to go back to Mali. Shortly after I arrive we head back down to Kadiolo. We are excited to get back to our good friends there, and to sleep in our own bed again. Hopefully our little cobra friend has found another home outside of our yard.

Hilary and Ben are both off to a good start at school. Continue to pray for them. Days are busy with classes and activities. They need to be able to weigh good friendships, and to be good friends in return. They need to continue to grow in Christ as they apply their relationship to him to this new school setting. This is a Christian school, and should encourage them in their faith. But we all need to constantly and actively apply our faith to our daily tasks at hand, don't we? I pray for that for my kids. Especially as how it relates to their choices in friendships.

Other news: Pete & Debra McKlurkin have arrived in Mali. They will now be running the guest house. Erne & Jan will be helping them with getting acclamated, and getting a tutor for french study. We are glad for their arrival, and look forward to being teammates with them.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for praying!!
Tom & Lisa

Thursday, August 13, 2009

School starts in Dakar

Yes, it is the beginning of the school year. A very different one for our family. Hilary has been at Dakar Academy for 4 years now, and it is like home away from home. Ben just started 8th grade. I (Tom) am still here in Dakar, where I'm spending the first school week helping them settle in, and have the things they need to make it more comfortable for them.



Ben is in a new dorm, his dorm parents are the Walkers. Pray for them as they guide middle school boys. There are 7 kids in the dorm including Ben, we're thankful for this as it allows for a close family atmosphere. 5 out of the 7 play guitar. So Ben started in right away playing with the others.... He hit it off well right away.
Ben's roomate is someone he hasn't seen for a long time, we have a long history with Karlins' family, having known each other since the boys were 3 yrs old. And now they are roomates. So that is great. Ben was a bit concerned about being 8th grade, and being cool. Karlin brought a big box of Legos... This softened Ben right up, and they have a lot in common. (You are never too old for lego, right?)


Ben with his classmates at lunch. Karlin is seated to the right of Ben.

Hilary has a new situation in her dorm. Senior priviliges. The Vantlands are her dorm parents for the 2nd year. Pray for them as they are parents to (14?) High school girls. One of these new priveleges is a senior girls' suite. They have 2 rooms, one with 5 beds for them to sleep in, and one for laundry and desks...
So that will be interesting to see how that all works... Its kind of a party room now... That is mostly a good thing I think... Hilary's addition to the decor was a 60's style bead doorway... The girls liked it and voted to put it up.


Hilary at lunch with friends

So all is off to a good start.

Pray for the dorm parents, pray for our kids, that they would really soak in the mentoring, teaching, and new experiences they can have here that I can't give them on my own. The principal spoke yesterday, and said the value of a school like this is that our kids get pushed beyond what we give them on our own, and have enriching experiences that they come back to the parents and share and process. We covet that enriching for our kids. We want to see them grow further in Christ, and own their faith. We pray for these Christian teachers, mentors, and dorm parents as they partner with us in this process...

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa

Jessica's house


We have mentioned Jessica's ministry to street kids a couple of times. These kids are abandoned or sold by their families into slavery. Some are in the sex trade, others beg for money, that they must turn over to their masters at the end of the day, or risk being beaten and abused. These kids have nobody to care for them, and eat garbage, and turn to non-drugs to get high. (gasoline in a rag, etc...)

Jessica is a woman who came to Bamako from Nigeria. She is a believer, and when she saw these very rough, difficult-to-love kids all over the streets, she began a ministry to them. She offers them safe shelter to sleep. She feeds them. She does her best to keep them from illicit activities and drugs. She is trying to get some of them into formal school, but does what she can to teach the others.

We met Jessica, and were won over by her heart and commitment to this ministry, which she describes as difficult, but rewarding.



Kids gathering for a meal. Street kids are not taught politness or manners while eating. It is eat fast or you may not get any...



Jessica started her ministry in this small storage building where 50-70 kids would come to sleep safely at night. She is now moved into a larger home, and sees 70-80 kids now...



Jessica is Nigerian, so does not yet speak the french or bambara the kids speak. So she needs help from local believers to accomplish these tasks. Here is a man teaching the kids some basic literacy lessons.

We really think highly of Jessica's ministry. There is a project that can recieve funds for her if you would like to give, or if you would like to do some kind of 1 quarter project for a Bible study or Sunday school class.

We believe the world is changed 1 heart at a time. Which of these hearts has the Spirit prepared to recieve the word of God? We don't know, have to preach to all of them.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa Seward