Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,
Hello! It's a beautiful day with just a little nip in the air. Terra Gobble, from Cleveland, TN arrived last night and will stay almost two weeks working in the Manyire area. Seventeen folks from Elk City, OK arrived today to work in that same area. We know a lot of good will be done there to help the local church grow.
When visitors come, much teaching is done and we report the studies and baptisms. However, there are always results that linger after the visitor has left. For instance, Alexander (with whom Steven, Jimmy's nephew, studied but did not baptize) called Jimmy this morning wanting to attend church in Kisongo. We were thrilled to have him and everyone was very friendly to him. What seems to be holding Alexander back from being baptized is that his job requires him to serve alcohol. Jobs are not easy to obtain and he is struggling with this decision. Jimmy taught the Bible lesson on John 4 and had a wonderful sermon on Galatians 5 and 6. Trina’s ladies class joined the adult men because she still has a hacking cough.
Then, yesterday, after asking our neighbors where we lived, a man named Salim came to our gate and talked with Abigail. About 2 weeks ago, Salim saw Trina at the recreation place with her Bible and asked if she was a "teacher of the Bible." He was very interested in learning so Trina set up a study with Steven. However, when Salim did not show up for the study, we felt that there had to be a good reason (because he was the one who requested the study!) Yesterday we were happy to learn the reason. Salim's neighbor had died the day of the study. In Africa, when a neighbor dies, nearly everyone in the village or neighborhood is expected to help (preparing the body, digging the grave, mourning and helping cook for days). Salim took the time to track us down and let us know he still wanted to study God's Word.
Immediately after services Trina’s friend, Janet, said her sister (Joyce) wanted to study the Bible. At first, Trina said she couldn't study this week because the translator was going with the visitors this week. Then, Janet informed me that Joyce speaks and understands English well so we set the time for 2:30 tomorrow!
In our last report we spoke about the Personal Evangelism class to be taught by Hannah Box. Approximately 15 ladies attended and were eager to learn to teach others. A big thanks to Hannah for her effort and time that made this class a success! We KNOW it will pay off and this class will help the church at Kisongo to grow. Lindsey and Abigail volunteered their time to entertain the children while their mothers learned.
Last Tuesday, both Candace and Stuart, were diagnosed with the mumps. While they have had some discomfort and pain (especially when chewing), both are doing better now and much of the swelling has gone down. They wouldn't allow us to get pictures of their chipmunk cheeks, though!
Expect to hear about all the good things that will happen this week in next weeks' report. We appreciate every one who makes this work possible. It's almost too easy when you have people approaching you asking for a Bible study. "The fields are white unto harvest." There's more to tell, but our page is complete.
To God Be the Glory,
Jimmy, Trina, Lindsey, Abigail, Heather, Candace, Stuart, David, Naomi, Elijah and Matthew Gee