(Future followers of Jesus)
The last 4 weeks have been really busy. It's been full of Thanksgiving celebrations, kids Christmas party's, a baptism, and much more. What a privilege it's been to see our God working in this village, nation, and my life this past month. And like I said in the last post, all the glory has to go to His great name and no other. If this post doesn't point to Jesus, then it's not even worth reading. He is worthy of all! Hopefully you will be encouraged once again by seeing just how great our Savior is. So here we go...
Thanksgiving. Even though it's technically an "American" holiday, and i'm in North, Africa, it was such a great day! All of our team (and a few others serving here) gathered at one of our houses to hangout, eat great food and play some games. There was, and is so much to be thankful for! Food, clothes, finances, family, and most of all the salvation thats only found in the name of Jesus. I think sometimes in the United States, and yes, even us serving here can be ungrateful for what we've been given. But in those times, lets just think about or look at the family's that live here in Niger. They literally have nothing. And yet, they can be some of the happiest people you'll ever meet. Most them don't even know the love of of Jesus Christ! How much more should we (the ones who do know Him) be thankful? We've been given the greatest gift of all time. When we do think about all we've been given, I pray it will drive us so much more to show the people where we are, and the rest of the Nations who He is. Praise His name.
(Thanksgiving meal)
(Us being us)The Lord is definitely working. Here's a short story of what I'm talking about. For the past 7 months, the sister of my best friend in the village has been fighting some kind of sickness that she couldn't seem to get well of. They had tried several things and nothing seemed to work. Yacouba, (her brother) a Christian and follower of Jesus, also the one who just got baptized, told the team about what was going on with his sister. Soon after, some of the guys on the team went over to see if they could pray for her. Well they did, and not long after, her sickness was completely gone. It was, and is such a testimony to the God we serve. Others are hearing about what happened and are asking questions. The only thing we can say is there is power in the name of Jesus. Pray that others continue to see the changes He is making in lives here and they also accept the free gift of salvation and follow Him.
(Yacouba's baptism)
On December 7th, we were able to put on a Christmas party for the kids of our village. Over 200 came and heard the gospel of Jesus Christ! We had games, lots of music, balloons, and popcorn. It was so great to see so many little faces singing songs to the King. Some of those who came are regular attenders to the saturday program we put on. But there was so many new faces we got to see! It was probably the first time that most of them had ever heard of Jesus. There were also several adults that got to hear as well. Just continue to pray for the salvation of each heart that heard. Another thing you could pray for that I won't go into to detail about right now, is we are working on a kids center in Kawra Tagi that should be done in the fall of next year.(Christmas party)
(Gifts)(Pro soccer player that came)
The Lord has been opening so many doors here to show His love. Please pray that I will be faithful daily to what He has for me. And also that I will know Him more. Because by knowing Him, others will know Him and His love too. Thank each of you who support me with your finances, love, and most of all your prayers. If you have a specific request that you need prayer for just send me a privet FB message and I'll definitely pray for you.
(My little friend)
