About noon, Wednesday, we along with our team piled into the truck to head out to the village.  After about forty minutes of driving, we reached the end of the road and unloaded the truck.  We had still not arrived at our destination, but we had to make the rest of the journey up the mountain on foot.  Each of us grabbed some of our baggage, and we began hiking the rest of the way.  At points the trail was steep, and our load seemed to grow heavier with each step.  Finally, just ahead, we could see the gate to the village.

We entered the village and were greeted by the villagers.  They were happy to see us and guided us to the room where we would be spending the night.  They brought us oranges to eat, and we spent the afternoon visiting.  At one point, we took the opportunity to have a story time for the children.  They heard the story of the creation and Adam and Eve.

As the sun began to go down, we set up our video projection equipment outdoors.  We hung a sheet to serve as a screen.  However, we nervously eyed the foreboding clouds in the distance.  When our host told us the rains were on the way, we hurriedly took down all the equipment we had just set up and moved it indoors into the largest room we could find in the village.  We used a generator for power.  We tested the equipment and were grateful that it all worked properly.  Then, we had a quick meal of rice and meat and then waited for the people to arrive.

Little by little the room filled up.  The children sat on the floor in the front and the adults sat in the rear on chairs and stools.  Before long, the rooms was packed full and a crowd was gathered around the doorway and in the hallway.  We counted over seventy-five people in that one little room that probably measured about 15 x 20 feet.  It was time to start the film.

A national believer gave a brief introduction and we started the film called “Jesus”.  It was dubbed into the Pular language.  It is a retelling of the life of Jesus, mostly drawn from the Gospel of Luke.  The people watched very attentively.  I watched the film and the people both.  When the nails were driven into Jesus hands, the older women cringed.  I could tell, the story of Jesus was greatly affecting them.

When the film was over, it was very late.  The people quickly cleared out to head home to go to bed.  We, too, went back to our host home to sleep.

The next morning, we arose early.  We had breakfast and then headed to a neighboring village for a baby-naming ceremony.  We carried in our backpacks copies of Scripture portions in the Pular language.  When we arrived at the village, we greeted the people there.  There were many people gathered for the celebration.

At an opportune time, we announced ourselves as teachers of The Book and offered Scripture for sale.  We had copies of Genesis 1 to 4 and the Gospel of Matthew.  People began to buy up what we had.  Little boys came to us and took the Scripture we had around to the crowds and sold more of it.  Before long, we sold all we had brought.  Yet, the people still wanted more.  We hope to return to the area before long with more Scripture.

After a while, we headed back to the first village and had lunch.  We said goodbye and thank you to our gracious hosts.  We packed up our things and headed back down the mountain.  This time, the village children helped us carry all our baggage.  One strong young man carried our fifty pound generator on his head all the way down the mountain, an impressive feat since he himself probably weighed no more than a hundred pounds.

By God’s grace, he has opened a door for us in this village.  We intend to follow up that open door until we see people put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Jesus Christ is the foundation of our life and ministry.  He is THE Firm Foundation.  Still, we do not take for granted the sacrifices and investments made by those missionaries who have gone before us.  In this picture, you can see the foundation of the hut that once belonged to Harry Watkins, the first missionary to this region of Guinea.  He served in Guinea beginning early in the first half of the twentieth century.  The legacy of his work lingers to this day.  His hut may be gone, but the foundation he laid remains, not merely in the ground, but in the hearts and lives of the descendants of those he impacted.

Not far from Labe perched on the side of a mountain is a little village.  A few years ago, a woman in that village had a dream which she shared with her husband.  In that dream, she saw a white man with a brightly colored shirt who came to share with them a message from God.  Not long after, a missionary colleague of ours stumbled upon their village while he was out riding his motorcycle, looking for a way to the top of the mountain.  He was wearing a brightly colored shirt, and he did share God’s Word with them on that occasion and several times after.  After that, circumstances prevented him from visiting the village again for over two years.

Yesterday, we accompanied this missionary back to the village for the first time.  It was quite a challenge to get there.  We left at dusk, because that is when the people would be returning from working in their fields.  We rented a taxi, because that is the way a typical Guinean would travel.  The road was rough and pitted from the rains.  Some potholes nearly seemed to swallow the car, and there were times we weren’t sure if the car could make it.  We got lost along the way in the dark and had to stop a few times to ask for directions.  Finally, as we asked another person for directions, we invited him to ride in the taxi with us to show us the way.  Fortunately, he consented and before long we found ourselves near the foot of the mountain.

The taxi could only go so far, so we had to walk the rest of the way.  The full moon gave us enough light to see by and we set off up the mountain.  We hoped the taxi would wait for us to take us home when we returned.  We walked up the steep incline and eventually came to a gate.  It was the gate to the village.  We entered the village and made ourselves known.  The people were so happy to see us.  In particular, they rejoiced to see our missionary colleague again after his absence of two years.  We introduced ourselves and greeted many people.  Our colleague spoke with a village leader and presented him with the Gospel of Matthew and a Scripture calendar.  He obtained permission for us to return to the village next Wednesday to show the Jesus film, sell Christian literature, and spend the night.

All too soon, it was time for us to return to the taxi and head home.  We said goodbye and hiked back down the mountainside.  The village children accompanied us the whole way.  At the bottom, we found our taxi driver had indeed waited for us, although he had taken the time to smoke some marijuana while he waited.  We prayed that he was not too impaired to drive us home.  We headed back toward Labe over the rough roads and at times it seemed the car would rattle to pieces.  We also anxiously watched the driver’s low fuel light which was flashing between green and orange.  By the time we pulled up to our house in Labe, it was on orange.  Praise the Lord, though, we made it home safely.  Pray for us as we return next Wednesday to share the Gospel with the people of this village on the mountain.

On our way to the capital two weeks ago to drop Georgia off at the airport, we stopped for a picnic lunch at the Bridal Falls. These are two of the few falls that can be directly accessed by SUV. We parked at the base, enjoyed the view and our sandwiches, and bought a few wooden sculptures from a local artisan.

In some of our previous blog entries we detailed how the soldiers in Guinea rebelled a couple weeks ago against their leaders.  They made many demands and the government has met most of them.

Now, taking their cue perhaps from the soldiers, we have news of even more strikes.  Last week, the teachers announced their intention to strike on June 19.

Not wanting to be beat to the picket line, the police in Conakry began a strike today making many demands similar to those of the soldiers.  The traffic is gridlocked in the capital, and there have even been reports of police taking their commanders hostage, firing off weapons, robbing civilian vehicles, and pillaging a police armory for more weapons.

Hot on the heels of the police, the customs agents announced that they are on strike as well and submitted a list of demands.

Please pray for a peaceful resolution to these situations.

People all over the world are struggling right now with increased food and fuel prices.  We are hit by the rising prices as well, but the hardship for our neighbors is far greater.  Today, I went out to buy some fuel.  First, I stopped at the gas station.  I bought 114 liters of diesel.  That is about 30 gallons.  That wasn’t quite enough to completely fill both tanks on our vehicle.  The cost?  800,000 Guinea Francs which is about $180.  Next, I drove into town to buy propane gas for our refrigerator.  (It cools the food by burning the gas; I could explain how, but I don’t want to get off topic.)  I bought enough gas to run the fridge for one month.  Cost?  210,000 Guinea Francs - about $47.  The next time you feel the pinch in your pocket book when you are at the gas pump or paying the bills, take a moment to pray for the people in Guinea and around the world who are hit even harder by rising food and fuel prices.

Time and again, God has proven himself faithful to answer prayer. With that record, you would think our first instinct in every situation would be to lift it to the Lord in prayer. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Over a month ago, our neighborhood was once again plunged into darkness when thieves stole several important power lines (for the second time in six months). The electric company is not quick to make repairs here, and we knew better than to expect electricity any time soon. In the meantime, we made do with cold showers (no hot water heaters) and limited solar and battery power to charge our computers.

Then, last Thursday, I sent out an update to our prayer partners. In it, I asked for prayer that the power would be restored in our neighborhood. The very next day the repair work began! By Monday night, we had city power once again.

Don’t ever doubt the power of prayer. God listens, and he answers. Why don’t you take a moment and lift up your problems to the Lord right now?