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.