December 26 was David’s 30th birthday. We planned to get together with our colleagues at 8 p.m. for cake, cookies, prayer, and worship. At 7:30, after the buffet was set and the cookies were just coming out of the oven, a co-worker called to cancel. They had already baked a birthday cake for David when they remembered it was the first night of a country-wide 8 p.m. curfew. The wife quickly brought the cake to us, returning to her own home minutes before eight o’clock.

Just a few minutes after 8, gunfire could be heard all around our home. David quickly ran in from the office, bringing the computer with him. We turned on our two way radios so we could be in contact with our colleagues, turned off all our solar lights so we wouldn’t draw unnecessary attention to our home, locked all the outside doors and retreated to our bedroom on the back side of the house, the furthest room from the street. We prayed that a stray bullet wouldn’t hit us, our car, or our solar panels.

As we waited for the gunfire to stop, we watched a recently borrowed movie. About half way through, an extremely loud bang came from the office building that sits just beside our bedroom. “What was that?” I asked. David paused the movie, turned, with wide eyes and said, “I don’t know, and I’m not going to look.”

At about 11 p.m. the shooting stopped and David was able to go to the office to call his mom for a birthday chat. He opened the office door and saw that a stray bullet had come through the tin roof and landed beside his office chair.

It was later reported that soldiers were firing into the air to both to honor the late president, and to celebrate the fact that the new president is a military man.

We were thankful there was no serious damage to anyone or anything, and we were able to reschedule David’s party for the next day.

Today, we are living in a changed country.  This past Tuesday, the announcement came that the president of Guinea had died.  That very day, a military faction launched a coup in order to topple the government.  They took over the radio and television broadcasts announcing that the constitution was suspended and the current government dissolved.  For a day or so, the outcome seemed uncertain, with the government denying the success of the coup, but eventually, the government leaders were forced to concede defeat.  And so, today, Guinea is a changed country.  The old government is dead and we must wait to see what the future will reveal.

Personally, we feel safe for now.  Living seven hours from the capital has its advantages.  In our city so far, life goes on.  We haven’t gone out much, but when we have, we haven’t seen many signs of change.  Shops are open, people are buying and selling, people are going about their daily lives.  We appreciate your prayers during this uncertain time.

Last week, we finished formatting the 2009 Scripture Calendars and sent them to the printer in Conakry.  We expect them to be finished soon and ready for distribution.  This year we are printing 4755 total calendars.  One calendar is in the Susu language, another in Maninka, another in Pular, and the last includes both French and English.  These calendars will be used by over nineteen missions and/or missionary families throughout Guinea as a means of sharing the Gospel.  If each calendar touches ten lives, which is certainly possible if it is hanging in a prominent place in a family home, then these calendars could impact up to 50,000 lives!  The theme for the 2009 calendar is God’s Law and Justification by Faith.  The first ten months each deal with one of the Ten Commandments.  The last two months are drawn from Romans 3, and explain the purpose of God’s Law (to reveal our sinfulness and need for a Savior) and God’s provision of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.  The calendars include artwork for each month illustrating the teaching of the verse.  Please pray that there would be no problems with the printing of these calendars.  Pray that God would use them greatly to share the Gospel with thousands of people throughout Guinea.

The year 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of Guinea’s independence from France.  In honor of the occasion, our colleague, Eugene, wrote the following that I wish to share:

“We prefer liberty in poverty to slavery in riches.” On these words the Republic of Guinea fought for and gained independence from colonial rule. During the next five decades true liberty has proven elusive as political, socioeconomic, and religious (spiritual) poverty gnawed at the very fabric of individual and national life.  (more…)

Our latest newsletter is available to read online.  Click on the “Newsletters” link to the right to access our fall newsletter.  If you do not know the password, click on the “Latest News” link above and scroll down to the “Request a Password” form.  We keep our newsletters confidential for the protection of other Christian workers.

We have been back in Guinea for about a week now.  It is good to be back home after all our travels.  Some things in Guinea haven’t changed.  This past Sunday, riots broke out in Conakry over fuel prices.  The government lowered the price of fuel by about twenty percent.  Since the price of a barrel of oil has fallen more than fifty percent on the international market, the people were not satisfied with the price reduction.  Some people blocked roads, burned tires in the streets, and threw rocks at passing cars.  The police and military began clamping down.  The demonstrations have continued for about three days.  News reports have listed at least three deaths resulting from the unrest.  Fortunately, we are about 400 kilometers away from the capital at our home in Labe.  All has been peaceful here.  Please pray for peace in all of Guinea.

For the past week, we have been in the country of Ghana.  We came to Ghana for a Pioneers Area Conference with other Pioneers missionaries from West Africa.  We have had a wonderful time here.

Ghana is a wonderful country.  The influence of Christianity is very strong here.  On Sunday, we went to a church that had a huge sanctuary.  In all their services, they probably have close to five thousand people who attend.  Ghanaian Christianity is very vibrant and lively.  The influence of Christianity is strong in the community.  As you drive down the road, you see that many businesses have Christian names.  For example, you might find “The Lord is My Shepherd Hair Salon,” “In Jesus Name Car Parts,”  “The Glory of the Lord Shop,”  and many more like that.  It is quite a refreshing change from our life in Guinea, a country that is nearly completely Muslim.

One day this week, we went on a trip to the city of Cape Coast.  There we visited a national park.  The park had a pathway built through the canopy of the trees high above the ground.  We walked on suspension bridges from treetop to treetop.  After that, we toured Cape Coast Castle.  It was an important center for the slave trade in Ghana.  It was sad to see the cells where slaves were kept as they were waiting to get on boats to North America.

During the conference, we met many other Pioneers missionaries.  We had teaching sessions dealing with various missions topics.  We learned a great deal.  We will be staying in Ghana a few more days and hope to see more of the capital, Accra.

Our latest quarterly newsletter has been posted.  Click on the Newsletters link to the right to read it.  You will need to know the password to access the newsletters.  If you do not know the password, you may request one by visiting the Latest News link above, and scrolling down to the password request form.  Thanks for your prayers!

sharing the story of Adam and Eve

We returned last week to the village of Mountain.  We strengthened relationships there and shared Bible stories with the children.  Please keep the village of Mountain in your prayers.

Tonight, we will be heading to the airport to pick up our newest team member.  Karilyn will be visiting for the next seven weeks as part of a missions exposure program.  Please pray that she will arrive safely.  Pray as well that God will give her a good experience here and show her how she fits into his plan to reach the nations.