Warning: VLE (Very Long E-mail)
Treasured Islands—What I Discovered in Cape Verde
An Abundance Without Boundaries
In 1656, Portuguese sailors landed on a few barren rocks jutting out of the ocean about 400 miles (640 km) west of continental Africa. They found no inhabitants except for a few birds, probably like the sailors, stopping to rest on a long journey home. In the hopeful fancy of early European travelers who tried to put the best image on their discoveries, they named this barren, uninhabited rock “Cabo Verde” or Cape Green. Today, Cape Verde is anything but barren.
This group of ten small islands comprises a modest country of 1550 square miles (4030 km2) of 450,000 citizens. Each island has its own unique culture, specialty foods, and landscape. One island is all sand and beach resorts (Sal), another is home to a volcano (Fogo), and on another is situated the hometown of my Regional Director (Brava). On maps used by ancient navigators, Cape Verde is greatly enlarged and right in the center of the world. Discovered by these ancient mariners, this country is a crossroads between four continents—Africa, Europe, South America, and North America. It is no surprise that there are more Cape Verdeans living on these other continents than on the islands. It should also be no surprise that the Church of the Nazarene in Cape Verde has planted the first churches in Senegal, France, Holland, and Portugal, as well as offered leaders to Brazil, Indonesia, New England and Kansas City in the United States.
Cape Verde has many leaders—lay and clergy—to offer the world who have excelled in ministry, government, business, finance, and education. After church service each night, I shook hands with the secretary of the leader of the National Assembly, the former minister of justice, bank leaders, business owners, Ph.Ds, embassy workers, etc., etc., etc. I spoke with many in English, since Portuguese is only one of the languages taught from early on in the government schools along with French, Spanish, and German. Just how easy is it for Cape Verdeans to move between languages? On the island of Sal, where there is an international airport and many vacation resorts, there is a church where 70% of weekly attendees do not speak Portuguese. Another example, I usually just found a random seat before each evening service. I waited, but it never took long for someone sit beside me. Every night but one the person next to me was able to give me the gist of what was said from the platform. Amazing.
Cape Verdeans are descendents of Europeans, Pan-Americans, Africans, and Asians, yet they do not belong to any of these places. Humanity has many shades and on these islands I saw them all. This once-barren island has produced an over-abundance of spiritual fruit that the sandy beaches and rocky seaside cliffs could not contain. After more than a century of its existence on Cape Verde, the Church of the Nazarene here has extended the influence of the Gospel and the optimism of the holiness message to five continents.
While I was there, church leaders received a phone call from a Cape Verdean in Norway who has planted the first Church of the Nazarene in this Scandinavian country whose boundaries extend into the Artic Circle. (I don’t think Kansas City knows about this yet, so do not say you heard it from me!) Is there any place these island people have not gone with the Gospel? I saw Lebanese and Chinese among many other nationalities that traverse these islands on their way to or from home. Did I mention that a spouse of a pastor who is also a local Sunday School leader calls Cuba her homeland? The route into many countries around the world, I believe, might just begin on these islands. Sure, we might have churches in some of these sensitive places, but where will their leaders be developed and nurtured? Maybe right there in Cape Verde.
An Old Church with Young Leaders
Early in the week, I asked the District Superintendent, David Araujo, if a Youth In Mission team had ever come to Cape Verde. Youth in Mission is a Nazarene-sponsored program founded in the late 60s that sends small teams of university students to points around the globe for five weeks every summer. He thought for a moment and said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ I thought that was pretty incredible. I mean, how is that possible, since this part of the Church of the Nazarene is 105 years old? I started right then working on a plan to get a team there, not because Cape Verde needed them, but young leader-type, university students from North America needed to experience this place. On Thursday night, during the NYI (youth) service, I realized that Cape Verde didn’t need to host a YIM team as much as it needed to send out at least four teams. But, I can still gladly say there’s a YIM team going to Cape Verde next summer (if there’s enough student volunteers to fill up a team). By the way, the West Africa field will have three teams: one to Cape Verde, one to Senegal, and one to Benin-Togo.
This place is packed with young and talented leadership. Pastor Francisco Vaz, the NYI (youth) president, with his guitar strapped to his shoulder led a thirty-voice, swaying choir singing a song he wrote, “You’ve heard of John Lennon, You’ve heard of Bob Marley, Let me tell to you about Jesus Christ, He is greater than all of them, He is my Champion, He is your Champion, Because of Him I am a Champion.” How cool is that?!? The former NYI president, Orlando Crispim, translated this service for me in impeccable English. He is a layperson who works for an oil company there.
I think I counted six women among the 60 ordained or licensed ministers—a good start.
During reports from youth, Sunday School, and missions lay leaders, I think maybe 70-80% were 35 years old and younger. Many gave their reports without notes.
Another Orlando last-named Baptista led a worship band most nights that played incredibly cool, bluesy, jazzy versions of familiar hymns and choruses. One time I caught him playing a little classical guitar between day-time sessions. Almost every night I saw different people at different instruments, playing mostly without sheet music, but with a whole lot of natural talent.
What More I Learned
So, with all this talent and leadership there, you might be asking yourself, ‘So, why in the world was Matt there?’ I asked myself the same question several times that week. Officially, I was there to speak at the seminary graduation ceremony (I spoke from Mark 4) and conduct two days of seminars on holiness theology. Besides the official reasons, I came to the conclusion that I was there most of all to learn. I remember spending time with many people, including David and Eunice Araujo, Soccoro Fontes, Odette Pinheiro, Aderito Ferreira, Sergio Duarte, Orlando Crispim, Antonio Paulo Almeida (from Brockton, Mass.), Antonio Barbosa Andrade, Lottie Gay, Debbie Jefferson, Antero Fontes, Edelyze Ferreira, Sharnian Araujo, and mostly with Jorge and Manuella de Barros, who were presiding over the District Assembly. Jorge is from Cape Verde.
Jorge’s grandfather, General de Barros, was an island governor from Portugal who married an African woman. There’s a street in the capital Praia named after him. Jorge’s father was one of the pioneer Nazarene pastors on these islands. One day his father went to a seaside village to evangelize. The people in the village didn’t want to have anything to do with him. And, none of the hotels would offer him room. So, he went to the beach and lay down on the soft sand to sleep. Around midnight, some villagers came to bring him into their home—they couldn’t stand the thought of an old man sleeping under the stars. Did I mention I met the current pastor of the Nazarene church in that village now a small town? I also heard about the turbulent years prior to independence when Jorge was pastor in Praia and the church was persecuted by the former dictatorial government. From this week, I remember most strolling down the cobblestone streets of the Platô district surrounding Praia First Church, with Jorge holding my elbow and telling me stories of faith from his seven decades of experience. I soaked it up like a sponge, man. You can’t put a price on an education like that.
One day we were eating lunch in a restaurant. The owner-manager walked up and tapped Manuella on the shoulder. She said, ‘You probably don’t remember me, but I was one of your French students when I was in high school.’ They hugged and reminisced of that time forty years ago. This kind of thing happened several times that week to Jorge and Manuella. Jorge and Manuella left Cape Verde and moved to Kansas City in 1972 to head up Portuguese translation and literature production. I didn’t mention that I was just learning to walk about that time. During services, we’d sing hymns that either Jorge or Manuella translated from the English into Portuguese. Jorge’s travel schedule sends him all over the globe. We usually don’t recognize “apostles” as a ministry option in the Church of the Nazarene, but I think Jorge comes pretty close to a modern-day apostle, one who is sent to cross cultural and language barriers with the Gospel. Did I mention that Jorge was the Faith Promise (missions day) speaker at Sonya’s home church in Anderson, Indiana last April? That’s where I first met Jorge. Small world, huh?
What I Remember Most
I also remember the incredible tuna, fish cakes, cachupa (a traditional mixture of beans, rice,and potatoes), and the amazingly strong coffee from the island of Fogo, Also, mangling a mango at dinner almost as much as I mangled the local language Crioulo to the amusement of my table mates; and, the free finger food banquet given to the assembly by the restaurant hosting the daily meals. I remember the fact that I stayed in an amazing apartment overlooking the National Assembly building, the residence of a prominent US embassy worker, and the Atlantic Ocean. And, I remember the fact that the district paid all of my expenses except for travel to and from Praia. I left with many gifts, such as four sacks of that incredible Cape Verdean coffee and two tins of their delicious tuna, three good-looking shirts, hand-made wood work by the Cape Verdean pastor who planted the Nazarene church in France, and lots of memories.
I will wrap up this very long newsletter by quoting a novel by Orson Scott Card that I was reading during this trip. Valentine says to her younger brother Ender, “You are what you remember.” I hope that’s true for me after my short time among the amazing people of Cape Verde.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Price Family Update 2 -- 26 August 2006
From Sonya:
Thank you for praying for Moise's family in Benin! This is a picture of Moise and Rosaline’s baby.
She is so very cute and sweet!Please continue to pray for Rosaline as she recovers from a hard labor and delivery.
The name? They don’t name their babies in this culture until they are a couple of weeks old because of the high [infant] mortality rate--so she doesn’t have a name yet, and that is normal.
Thank you for praying for Moise's family in Benin! This is a picture of Moise and Rosaline’s baby.
She is so very cute and sweet!Please continue to pray for Rosaline as she recovers from a hard labor and delivery.
The name? They don’t name their babies in this culture until they are a couple of weeks old because of the high [infant] mortality rate--so she doesn’t have a name yet, and that is normal.
Price Family Update -- 26 August 2006
It’s been an interesting week since I returned from my long trip to Cape Verde and Senegal.
When I arrived at home, I found out that Rosaline, Moise’s wife, had been staying at our house since last Monday—almost two weeks. She had been having false labor. Sonya took her to the doctor and then offered for her to stay at our place while the doctors determined why she was having contractions. Sonya took Rosaline to the doctor several times over the past week. The doctor said the baby could arrive at any time.
We’ve learned a lot about Rosaline and Benin, and Rosaline has learned a lot about us and Americans. It has been time and effort well spent. Finally, on Tuesday we had to go to Lome, Togo to renew my visa. We returned on Thursday evening and Rosaline came back over.
Yesterday Rosaline went to the doctor for a check-up. Last night she was pretty quiet. Then, last night around 2:30 a.m. it was time. Sonya took Rosaline to the clinic. Around 4:00 a.m. Sonya returned. Then, around 11:30 a.m. Sonya called. Rosaline gave birth to a little girl. Sonya called Moise and then me. No details yet, it literally occurred during the last half-hour.
Blessings from Benin,
Matt
When I arrived at home, I found out that Rosaline, Moise’s wife, had been staying at our house since last Monday—almost two weeks. She had been having false labor. Sonya took her to the doctor and then offered for her to stay at our place while the doctors determined why she was having contractions. Sonya took Rosaline to the doctor several times over the past week. The doctor said the baby could arrive at any time.
We’ve learned a lot about Rosaline and Benin, and Rosaline has learned a lot about us and Americans. It has been time and effort well spent. Finally, on Tuesday we had to go to Lome, Togo to renew my visa. We returned on Thursday evening and Rosaline came back over.
Yesterday Rosaline went to the doctor for a check-up. Last night she was pretty quiet. Then, last night around 2:30 a.m. it was time. Sonya took Rosaline to the clinic. Around 4:00 a.m. Sonya returned. Then, around 11:30 a.m. Sonya called. Rosaline gave birth to a little girl. Sonya called Moise and then me. No details yet, it literally occurred during the last half-hour.
Blessings from Benin,
Matt
Price Family Update -- 18 August 2006
Just show how it rain when it pours, here’s an E-mail from Sonya on Wednesday:
“Moise [the Benin D.S.] had to go north overnight because of what happened with the pastors there. I told him to send [his wife of almost one year] Rosaline [who is nine months pregnant] to me so she took a taxi and then a ZIMM (that’s a taxi moto!) to get [to our house]. She doesn't seem too bad, but I can tell she's having a hard time. Her back is hurting her and the baby's head seems to be over to her left side, not quite in the correct placement--I got to feel her tummy and I think the feet are over on her right side, up a little bit. If I understood correctly, she said she was starting to dilate, but I'm not sure if she or I understood that conversation or not.”
Before I left Senegal, one of the few places in Africa blessed with very fast Internet service, I talked to Sonya on a netphone service. She had been back and forth to the clinic where the doctors were observing Rosaline. Apparently, today the doctors said that an infection was causing the false labor. At least that’s the story for now.
Rosaline has been staying at our place since Monday or Tuesday night. Right now, they are at home and eating ice cream and graham cracker pie—not fair! But, I’ll be back there just after I send this E-mail.
Then, Mark L., the Field Strategy Coordinator and other leaders, including myself, received this follow-up E-mail today from Moise, the Benin D.S., about the happenings in northern Benin.
Just imagine the stress of what’s happening at home with your pregnant wife plus all of this. The following is translated from French:
“After the sickness from earlier this month that I survived and the pregnancy of my wife that has had so many complications, and now this, Satan wants to attack the Church of God on all sides.
“But, that’s talk instead of what has happened so that glorifies the Name of our God. In Tabota, the political chief was converted in one our our new church plants. In Ganvie, the chief fetischeur [witchdoctor], who followed the god Hevieoussou (the god of thunder) has given himself to Jesus Christ and aroused much anger among the other fetisheurs. The Nazarene church building was nearly ravaged in this place. In Fifajdi (a neighborhood in Cotonou) in a new church plant, an aged operator of a temple for fetish worship was converted and gave all of her house for the new Christian believers’ meeting. My friends, these testimonies are almost too much to believe possible without living here among them. I promise to write all of these testimonies solely for strengthening other Nazarenes and Christian believers in Africa and even around the world. This is what the Lord has done to have a divine revolution in Benin.
Now, to the follow-up concerning the situation in the north.
“In [the center of our work in northeast Benin], it’s a notable Muslim that closed firmly his Koran in order to follow Jesus in a nearby village. That’s when things started to go bad. I’ve seen the wounds and those dispossessed of their goods and their motos. Our main pastor in the area was one of the ones who offered a complaint to the police.”
[Let me summarize and paraphrase]: The local mayor is a Muslim and sided with those who injured the people and destroyed or stole property. He also refused to recognize our church in the area, although we presented the formal documents showing we are fully recognized by the country. He refused to acknowledge that any goods were damaged or stolen. He fully sided with those of his religious persuasion and against us.
“We then turned to the national authorities. We will have a meeting with them on Friday [today]. We will ask them to affirm that our church is recognized to operate throughout this country and that they help us recover the stolen motos and repair some of the damage. We also want fellow believers in this area to have a certain amount of protection as citizens of Benin.
“We ask that all pray for us that we seek and find justice in this situation . . . That God will be blessed!
“I will inform you of the situation in the hours to come . . .”
I just got off the phone with one of the pastors there. He said that the meeting today with the authorities has not been entirely cleared up the situation. And that Moise is on his way back and will meet with me tomorrow to discuss the whole situation. I assured the pastor that hundreds, and by now, even thousands of people around the world were praying for him and this situation.
Should I add that Moise sent a separate E-mail to say that seven churches were planted during the month of July? One of the churches planted in January has already planted two more. Right now, that’s an average of one church planted per week during 2006.
To top it all off we got a box full of PopTarts from a new friend in Florida.
I still hope to write that E-mail about Cape Verde soon.
Keep all of this in mind as you head into the weekend. Do not forget to pray it all out and toward God.
“Moise [the Benin D.S.] had to go north overnight because of what happened with the pastors there. I told him to send [his wife of almost one year] Rosaline [who is nine months pregnant] to me so she took a taxi and then a ZIMM (that’s a taxi moto!) to get [to our house]. She doesn't seem too bad, but I can tell she's having a hard time. Her back is hurting her and the baby's head seems to be over to her left side, not quite in the correct placement--I got to feel her tummy and I think the feet are over on her right side, up a little bit. If I understood correctly, she said she was starting to dilate, but I'm not sure if she or I understood that conversation or not.”
Before I left Senegal, one of the few places in Africa blessed with very fast Internet service, I talked to Sonya on a netphone service. She had been back and forth to the clinic where the doctors were observing Rosaline. Apparently, today the doctors said that an infection was causing the false labor. At least that’s the story for now.
Rosaline has been staying at our place since Monday or Tuesday night. Right now, they are at home and eating ice cream and graham cracker pie—not fair! But, I’ll be back there just after I send this E-mail.
Then, Mark L., the Field Strategy Coordinator and other leaders, including myself, received this follow-up E-mail today from Moise, the Benin D.S., about the happenings in northern Benin.
Just imagine the stress of what’s happening at home with your pregnant wife plus all of this. The following is translated from French:
“After the sickness from earlier this month that I survived and the pregnancy of my wife that has had so many complications, and now this, Satan wants to attack the Church of God on all sides.
“But, that’s talk instead of what has happened so that glorifies the Name of our God. In Tabota, the political chief was converted in one our our new church plants. In Ganvie, the chief fetischeur [witchdoctor], who followed the god Hevieoussou (the god of thunder) has given himself to Jesus Christ and aroused much anger among the other fetisheurs. The Nazarene church building was nearly ravaged in this place. In Fifajdi (a neighborhood in Cotonou) in a new church plant, an aged operator of a temple for fetish worship was converted and gave all of her house for the new Christian believers’ meeting. My friends, these testimonies are almost too much to believe possible without living here among them. I promise to write all of these testimonies solely for strengthening other Nazarenes and Christian believers in Africa and even around the world. This is what the Lord has done to have a divine revolution in Benin.
Now, to the follow-up concerning the situation in the north.
“In [the center of our work in northeast Benin], it’s a notable Muslim that closed firmly his Koran in order to follow Jesus in a nearby village. That’s when things started to go bad. I’ve seen the wounds and those dispossessed of their goods and their motos. Our main pastor in the area was one of the ones who offered a complaint to the police.”
[Let me summarize and paraphrase]: The local mayor is a Muslim and sided with those who injured the people and destroyed or stole property. He also refused to recognize our church in the area, although we presented the formal documents showing we are fully recognized by the country. He refused to acknowledge that any goods were damaged or stolen. He fully sided with those of his religious persuasion and against us.
“We then turned to the national authorities. We will have a meeting with them on Friday [today]. We will ask them to affirm that our church is recognized to operate throughout this country and that they help us recover the stolen motos and repair some of the damage. We also want fellow believers in this area to have a certain amount of protection as citizens of Benin.
“We ask that all pray for us that we seek and find justice in this situation . . . That God will be blessed!
“I will inform you of the situation in the hours to come . . .”
I just got off the phone with one of the pastors there. He said that the meeting today with the authorities has not been entirely cleared up the situation. And that Moise is on his way back and will meet with me tomorrow to discuss the whole situation. I assured the pastor that hundreds, and by now, even thousands of people around the world were praying for him and this situation.
Should I add that Moise sent a separate E-mail to say that seven churches were planted during the month of July? One of the churches planted in January has already planted two more. Right now, that’s an average of one church planted per week during 2006.
To top it all off we got a box full of PopTarts from a new friend in Florida.
I still hope to write that E-mail about Cape Verde soon.
Keep all of this in mind as you head into the weekend. Do not forget to pray it all out and toward God.
Price Family Update -- 15 August 2006
I just returned from an amazing visit in Cape Verde. I want to write all about that visit, but it will have to wait.
Reality strikes again. It requires your prayer in action for the young and growing church in Benin.
Here is an E-mail from a young leader in Benin. He has been in our home many times. We attended his wedding last summer. He is a dynamic preacher who can communicate in nine languages. And, we have been watching carefully the new work he has undertaken in one of the most difficult places in Benin.
I was copied in on the E-mail he just sent to Moise, our district superintendent, and translated it from French:
“Several weeks ago I met a Muslim named [name withheld] to whom I spoke about Jesus and through the Holy Spirit he came to believe in Him. This man invited me back to his home after many conversations.
“This past Friday I went to his village accompanied by two pastors. We evangelized all day Friday and Saturday. We were to spend the night in the village on Saturday to lead a worship service on Sunday morning. It was around 1:00 a.m. that we heard loud shouting and arguing outside. We looked out the window and saw around thirty individuals armed with machetes and sharp tools for digging. They were threatening our host to put us outside. If not they would destroy our host’s house. Having understood that this was a declaration of war, God helped us escape by a side window while abandoning our two motorcycles.
“We had walked quite a while before reaching the main road, where we alerted the local police. Unfortunately, it was too late, the house [belonging to our friend and new believer] was ravaged, our host and his family were in the hospital, and our motorcycles were gone. For the moment police are investigating, but they have no leads.”
Please pray for this young leader, his pastors, and his new friend in Christ. Not to mention, the men who created this havoc. I do not feel as if I can write his name, but volunteer teams to Benin have met this young leader and spent time with him. They know him personally.
For me, these are not headlines or stories about faraway places. It was difficult to see the screen through tears as I typed the translation. We do not live in a world where everyone agrees with us and who believe it is their obligation to silence the message we have of hope and new life. They spread fear through intimidation, we believe something else: “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). That’s my hope and my message. I hope I can be as courageous in living and proclaiming this message as these young heroes from Benin. They are my courage and my champions in the faith as they live at risk to their lives as Christ would. I only hope I can live up to their example.
Reality strikes again. It requires your prayer in action for the young and growing church in Benin.
Here is an E-mail from a young leader in Benin. He has been in our home many times. We attended his wedding last summer. He is a dynamic preacher who can communicate in nine languages. And, we have been watching carefully the new work he has undertaken in one of the most difficult places in Benin.
I was copied in on the E-mail he just sent to Moise, our district superintendent, and translated it from French:
“Several weeks ago I met a Muslim named [name withheld] to whom I spoke about Jesus and through the Holy Spirit he came to believe in Him. This man invited me back to his home after many conversations.
“This past Friday I went to his village accompanied by two pastors. We evangelized all day Friday and Saturday. We were to spend the night in the village on Saturday to lead a worship service on Sunday morning. It was around 1:00 a.m. that we heard loud shouting and arguing outside. We looked out the window and saw around thirty individuals armed with machetes and sharp tools for digging. They were threatening our host to put us outside. If not they would destroy our host’s house. Having understood that this was a declaration of war, God helped us escape by a side window while abandoning our two motorcycles.
“We had walked quite a while before reaching the main road, where we alerted the local police. Unfortunately, it was too late, the house [belonging to our friend and new believer] was ravaged, our host and his family were in the hospital, and our motorcycles were gone. For the moment police are investigating, but they have no leads.”
Please pray for this young leader, his pastors, and his new friend in Christ. Not to mention, the men who created this havoc. I do not feel as if I can write his name, but volunteer teams to Benin have met this young leader and spent time with him. They know him personally.
For me, these are not headlines or stories about faraway places. It was difficult to see the screen through tears as I typed the translation. We do not live in a world where everyone agrees with us and who believe it is their obligation to silence the message we have of hope and new life. They spread fear through intimidation, we believe something else: “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). That’s my hope and my message. I hope I can be as courageous in living and proclaiming this message as these young heroes from Benin. They are my courage and my champions in the faith as they live at risk to their lives as Christ would. I only hope I can live up to their example.
Price Family Update -- 31 July 2006
I know it has been a while since the last Price Family Update. I began the past month in South Africa and in a couple of hours I will be leaving for Senegal and Cape Verde for 17 days.
I spent a good three weeks with the family in Cotonou. The weather has been very mild and much cooler than the temperatures we are hearing about from the U.S. and Europe. What irony! In other important family news, I’m finally getting to the point where Parker and Payton do not beat me every time I play GameCube with them. But, my thumbs will probably get rusty during the next trip.
We are in the middle of summer break, but it doesn’t feel like it. The boys have a French tutor and Hooked on Phonics with Sonya every morning. Moise is back in Cotonou and healthy, so things have picked up for the local churches. Courses are being taught. In fact, we’ve gone from 22 students in Benin and Togo to over 70 students/pastors in the last year. We have a plan to train teachers of these students which should be starting in the next two months.
Things are moving. Pray that we will sell our old car. Pray that we can get teacher training classes started in the next two months. Pray that Moise will continue to heal. Pray that Rosaline his wife will have a smooth birth for their first child due this week. Pray that all of my travels go well. Pray that Sonya and the boys will be fine during my trip. Pray that my meetings and teaching sessions fulfill their purpose in Senegal and Cape Verde. Pray also for my cousin; he’s had quite a month, no need for details, just praise that things are looking up.
I’ll try to write from the road. Until then . . .
I spent a good three weeks with the family in Cotonou. The weather has been very mild and much cooler than the temperatures we are hearing about from the U.S. and Europe. What irony! In other important family news, I’m finally getting to the point where Parker and Payton do not beat me every time I play GameCube with them. But, my thumbs will probably get rusty during the next trip.
We are in the middle of summer break, but it doesn’t feel like it. The boys have a French tutor and Hooked on Phonics with Sonya every morning. Moise is back in Cotonou and healthy, so things have picked up for the local churches. Courses are being taught. In fact, we’ve gone from 22 students in Benin and Togo to over 70 students/pastors in the last year. We have a plan to train teachers of these students which should be starting in the next two months.
Things are moving. Pray that we will sell our old car. Pray that we can get teacher training classes started in the next two months. Pray that Moise will continue to heal. Pray that Rosaline his wife will have a smooth birth for their first child due this week. Pray that all of my travels go well. Pray that Sonya and the boys will be fine during my trip. Pray that my meetings and teaching sessions fulfill their purpose in Senegal and Cape Verde. Pray also for my cousin; he’s had quite a month, no need for details, just praise that things are looking up.
I’ll try to write from the road. Until then . . .
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