He's working!

     It's been way to long since my last update and I apologize to everyone for taking so long. Sometimes it can be very difficult to post because of the lack of Internet here. In the future I may have to switch over to updating people through an email once a month. I will be sure to let you know if I decide to change over.
     The Lord has been working mightily in this nation and specifically the village where I live. And of course all the glory is His! It's definitely not been anything that I or those who I work with have done. We rely daily on the strength of the Holy Spirit. In the past few weeks I feel like we have seen so many lives that are either really interested in the Gospel or have already put their faith in Jesus Christ. I think of one man specifically. His name is Bonkanno. He started by coming to one of the guys I work with (Johnson) and telling him how he and his wife had been trying to have a child for 12 years now and that they were unable to. They had tried everything from Doctors, to Islamic religious leaders but nothing was working. He said that he believed that Jesus was powerful and maybe he could help him. Johnson, along with one of the local pastors, took him out one night and explained the whole Gospel to him. They told him that yes, Jesus was able give him a child if He wanted too. But first he needed to realize his need for salvation and that there is no other way but Christ alone. With tears in his eyes that night Bonkanno put his faith in the finished work of Christ. This man is truly on fire for the Lord and is meeting several times a week to talk over the Bible and pray with Johnson or the pastor. We are expecting Jesus to use this man in great ways in the days to come. That was just one of many stories of how God is moving here. Please continue to pray!

     We've also been working on building a Kid's center in our village. Here is something that one of my teammates, Jon wrote about it. (sorry for the bad pictures and little print)

We just recently began working on the foundation. Here are some pictures.

 

      Please continue to pray for Niger and all those in our village that we work with each day. Thank you for supporting the work going on here. Here a few more pictures from the past month. In Christ, Madison.
                  
                                   (Me and my brother Yacouba)

 

                                                                                                              

 

 

                                                    (Kids Club)

                                       (One of my little friends)

 

 

                                           (The ROCK team)

 

Celebrating in Niamey!

     (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)

All For Jesus!

I'm on a journey... A journey with an incredible Savior who's name is Jesus Christ. One that I shouldn't be on, but because of His great love, I am. And, it's a journey that I hope to share with you through this blog. I hope it will encourage you to give all you have for the sake of knowing this great King. (Phil 3:8) Let me be clear about something though. This is not to give me credit or glory in any way. It's solely for the name of Jesus! He is the only One worthy of the glory and praise.

 
                             My Support Team (minus a few)  

                               (Me and my sister before I left)

     In this post, I just want to update you on what’s happened since I left America. On September 4th I flew to Tours, France to start my language learning process. I spent 5 weeks with a private tutor trying to get a strong base in French before I went on to Africa. It went really well and has definitely has help me in adjusting to daily life here. Of course, I’m not fluent by any means, but going to France first was great because I was able to learn the grammar I needed to have (I wouldn't be able to get it here). Overall the Lord used the time in France to teach be a lot more than just a new language. He used it to draw me closer to Himself.

                                          (Paris)

     Now on to Africa! October 10th I flew from France to Niger, Africa. It was such a great feeling to finally be back in the country where I knew the Lord had called me to serve. The first few weeks here were spent trying to get settled into daily life. If you've ever spent time in Africa, then you know this can be very hard to do. But despite the difficulty, I was able to buy a motorcycle within the first week I was here! The following week I started to look in my village for a house to rent. My friend took me to look at a house I though I was going to rent until I found out that the owner was out of town and his neighbor had decided that he would just rent it out for him. Welcome to Niger. Soon after, I found another nice house that I was able to put a contract on. This was a huge blessing to find a place this fast because their are some people who have looked in this village for a year and still have not been able to find a house. This house will be great for so many ministries. Bible studies, discipleship programs, and short term teams that come over.In less than a month spent here, I am officially a resident of Kawra Tagi. Praise the name of Jesus for working everything out for me!
   
                                   (My House)

                                     (Living Room)

                                      (Bedroom)

                                    (Bathroom)

  A few days after I arrived in Niger I got to experience something that some of you may not even know still exist. It's a holiday that the Muslims celebrate one day a year. They call it "Tabaski" and basically each family will buy a lamb that most of them can't even afford. They sacrifice this lamb because they believe that their sins transfer to the animal for that year. There are two problems with this. One, they are worshipping a false god who has been dead for a long time and can't forgive anyone’s sins. And two, we no longer need to give a sacrifice because the perfect Lamb of God was already sacrificed for you and me two thousand years ago. Jesus! So pray for these precious people that their eyes will be opened to the one and only true King.

                                          (Tabaski)

     There are so many ministry opportunities for me in this country! Right now I'm working at a kids club we are doing on Saturday mornings. I'm also trying to build relationships with the younger guys around my village so when my French is to the level it needs to be, I can share the love of Christ with them. I will also be running a sports program at a school near me. Please continue to pray for the salvation of the people here and for Jesus to have full reign over me and the others I work with.

                                         (Kids Club)

                             

     And so this is the beginning of a great journey I'm on with an amazing God. I don't know where it will take me or what I will face but there is no greater joy than serving your Creator! He is the "Great I Am".