Half way through the trip we got the opportunity to share at the believers meeting. At the meeting there were 4 men and 2 women and the kids that came a long with them. It was such a small group compared to the size of the village. There were some ways that you could look at this small group and wonder what God has been doing. The missionary I was staying with had been there for over 20 years. Yet among that small group of believers 2 of the men had met with our leadership just 2 days before to talk about reaching out to other villages around them through teaching literacy. Such a small insignificant group in our eyes, but yet I know God sees them differently. This village has seen a revolving door of missionaries that have had to leave for one reason or another. I look at the reality of this and wonder what God is doing. But this trip I was reminded that God knows what he is doing and that even when the results seems small perhaps those small seeds will be the beginning to a work that can be attributed to no one, but God.
I was reminded that we need to not over look this small group of believers, but to look at how we can work alongside them to see Gods truth continue forward.
Pray as well for Joel who is still traveling for another week. He crossed the Ivory Coast and Liberia boarder yesterday for the last leg of his trip, but I could tell from his voice that he was starting to feel the tiredness of the journey.
Bless you (and your family) for the work you do and the sacrifices you make to live where you do. Thank you too for telling us how we can best pray to encourage you and support your work there. It means a lot (at least to me) to be able to pray more than “oh, and bless Joel, Andi & the boys in Africa”. May God be with you dear, every moment of every day. Carolyn ?
Thank you for sharing God’s work through you with us. It is always a pleasure to hear what is going on. Prayers and blessings to you and Joel and the others on the field with you including your kids.