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…)

I believe prayer is important.  I believe it impacts ministries, changes lives and is an essential part of our relationship with God.

We frequently post and update praises and prayer requests on our website.  Here are all of our pending prayer requests for this year.  Would you invest in our lives and ministries by bringing these requests to the Lord on our behalf?

September 29, 2008

• Pray for us as we travel home tomorrow
• Pray for us as we will be traveling a great deal the next two weeks
• Pray for us as we apply for entry visas for Ghana.  We are to fly there the second week of October
• Pray for our 2009 calendar project.  There is a paper shortage in Guinea that may create printing problems.
• There is also a cooking gas and toilet paper shortage in Guinea.  Pray that the needs for these items will be met.

September 25, 2008

• Pray that we will return home from vacation rested and ready to face the 5 month journey ahead of us before returning to the States in March for our home assignment.

August 30, 2008

• Pray for the Muslim world as Ramadan begins on Monday, September 1
• Pray for the safety of our house and car when we travel

July 16, 2008

• Pray for our financial support level as we will lose a large financial supporter this fall

July 10, 2008

• Pray for David as he works on a translation project.
• Pray for our neighbors who come in contact with Billie through our garden.

June 27, 2008

• Pray for language learning
• Pray for a neighbor girl who is thought to be demon possessed
• Pray for God to reveal His role for us in reaching the Fulbe for Christ
• Pray for unity and a passion for evangelism among local believers
• Pray for extra time and energy to complete administrative and personal tasks

June 9, 2008

• Pray for Georgia as she continues French language studies in the US

May 26, 2008

• Pray for our language study
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to be upon our lives and our ministries

April 29, 2008

• Pray against further theft of items in our home and car. Last week someone broke into our compound at night, during a rain storm, cut the fuel line on our car and tried to steal gas.
• Pray for Georgia as she has still not recovered from a fall on ice before she left the States
• Pray for David as he sets up all the solar/electrical equipment for our homes and office

April 6, 2008

• Pray for energy to complete all that we have to do each day

March 26, 2008

• Pray that we would be energetic and productive in language study and ministry.
• Pray for God to send more long-term team members to join our team.
• Pray for the ongoing translation work of Scripture and Bible lessons into Pular.

February 8, 2008

• Pray for opportunities to share despite growing opposition to our message
• Pray against the escalating spiritual attacks on us and our colleagues

January 16, 2008

• Pray as we continue to learn Pular
• Pray for us as we seek opportunities to share Bible stories with Mr. B. We plan to share the story of the Wise Men with him this week.
• Pray for wisdom and discernment as we live and work in this spiritually oppressed place

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.

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.

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?

It rained last Sunday night. When it rains in Guinea, the water pounds on the tin roofs so hard you can’t hear a screamed conversation at the dinner table. The storm began with winds blowing so fiercely that David wondered aloud if the roof was tied on sufficiently. It was.

Ironically, I slept so soundly that night I didn’t know the storm raged for hours. Apparently our guard slept deeply too.

In the morning David found someone had climbed our fence, hacked off, and stolen a ten foot section of our garden hose. In the intensity of the storm, we didn’t hear anyone climbing the wall or walking on the stones in the courtyard.

But why would someone want our old garden hose? That was the hose we stretched across the road to the neighbor’s house every week to share our water. Without our water they have to draw water from a well ever day. That’s a lot of work for a huge family like theirs.

Georgia and I thought about it all day. Why would someone steal our garden hose? Georgia was the first to check a hunch and notice chipped paint around the small door to the gas tank on our SUV. With gas prices at $7 per gallon, stealing large quantities of gas from a vehicle like ours could feed a family for a long time.

Thankfully our gas tank door locks, and after what appeared to be two attempts, the thief discovered he wasn’t getting gas that easily. Unfortunately, a locked door wasn’t enough to deter him.

Next the thief crawled under the car and hacked off the fuel line to our gas tank. Then, using our garden hose he tried to drain the auxiliary gas tank into large, empty, oil containers to be sold later on the black market.

We praise God that our second, auxiliary gas tank was empty because we had just returned from a trip to Conakry. In the end, the thief only got away with our garden hose and little or no gasoline. The fuel line cost about $5 to fix. Now we’ll have to get a metal guard welded to the bottom of our car, covering the fuel line to deter future theft.

We praise God for His protection, that nothing else was stolen or damaged, and that no one was personally threatened.

After reading a helpful book on church planting, I was prompted to post a sign above my desk. The sign reads: How many Fulbe will hear the Gospel today? Every time I see it, it reminds me why we are here in Guinea. We are here to glorify God by sharing the Gospel with the Fulbe people. Everything we do must contribute to that goal. Reflecting on this question has given me a renewed zeal for language study and helped me gain a sharper focus in ministry here.

Maybe you should post a similar sign somewhere you will see it often. How many ______ will hear the Gospel today? You can fill in the blank with whoever you want, be it friends, co-workers, neighbors, fellow citizens, children, family members, etc. Then, make it your goal to help as many of these people as possible hear the Gospel today.

We buy fresh vegetables here. Really fresh. When I opened this pea pod, it seemed so perfect; I just had to take a picture. The peas were flawlessly formed and the pods were thick and waxy. I realized I had never seen a more perfect pea.

Sitting on the front step shelling peas for three hours gave me a lot of time to think. I thought about sowing and reaping; gardening and evangelism:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:7-9

I also thought about a card a friend once gave me. It had a picture of a pea pod on the front and it said, “We’re two peas in a pod. I’m the one on the left and you’re the one on the right.” I’m convinced we are “peas in a pod” because we sow love, joy, and encouragement into one another’s lives:

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
1 John 4:19-20

I’m learning a lot about gardening these days. Georgia and I are going to plant a garden when she arrives. I’ve been gathering information, noticing other gardens, getting our plot of land ready, ordering seeds, and planting a few fruits and flowers in advance. As I sow this garden, I am reminded to sow into the lives of my friends thousands of miles away through prayer. I’m reminded, too of how hard the soil is in the hearts and lives of our national friends. I wonder how long it will take to reap a harvest.

I also wonder how many of you labor alongside me. Faithfully praying, sowing, planting and waiting for the harvest. Surely our work together is better than my work alone:

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

David has gone to the market, Phoebe (our new kitten) is running all over, and I am once again unpacking our things into a new home. We finally moved to Labe two days ago. David is happy as a clam; on cloud nine. In fact, he doesn’t mind not having any electricity, the leaky toilets, no hot water, the bucket baths, or the mice that get into the food. For him, this is the place on which his heart has been set for the past thirteen years. He has finally arrived in his target city for ministry.

I’m excited too. I’m excited to finally have a place to call home. Somewhere I can paint the walls and buy furnishings. Plant a garden and have fruit trees. I’m excited that we can settle down and not have to pack up and move in six months or a year. I’m excited that little by little, I’ll learn the language around me and I’ll understand what people are saying.

We’re both excited that as we learn Pular we can share the life, ministry, and purpose of Christ. It will be great to host visitors from the U.S. who want to be empowered to pray for missions more effectively, and get a closer look at God’s heart for the nations.

The cooler weather here is wonderful! Even now I am wearing a cardigan and the quilts on the bed are piled high.

The other missionaries in our area have given us a warm welcome. One couple had us over for dinner the night we arrived and sent us on our way with a loaf of orange and cranberry breakfast bread. The couple from an hour away came by yesterday and gave us a welcome bag full of plates, tools, books and food. The mission community in Guinea is very close, and we are grateful for all they have done to take us in and show us the ropes.

We have a long way to go, and our house needs a little work here and there; but if the coming months are anything like the past two days, God is going to lavish on us blessing upon blessing. I pray that we will be faithful to pour out Christ’s love to those around us, and be vessels God can use to bring Guineans to Himself. And I hope you catch a bit of the excitement we have for Guinea, for the Fulbe people, and for our purpose here.