April 13, 2008
Dearest Friends,
NKAMBE STREET SHOW
Can you imagine setting up to do a puppet show beside a mosque where they were praying, across from a bar full of loud patrons, in the middle of a funeral with dancing juju’s (witchdoctors), accompanied by a pickup truckload of men carrying rifles and shotguns, and beside us there was an empty army truck with a stack of AK-47’s and one soldier behind us? This is how we spent Saturday afternoon. By God’s grace, we were blessed with this privilege.
Only a month ago, this whole country was torn a part by riots. People burned and looted houses, cars, and gas stations. Seventy people died and over 700 went to prison. But now, God has given us peace and calm. We have an opportunity.
The Father sent us 400 children, teenagers, and adults. They stood in the street, across the street and a big crowd even gathered behind us. Though we did not pray with them, we clearly explained the Gospel and how to ask Jesus to be your Savior. Praise God! The crowd was very large but amazingly well behaved; we had no problems. We prayed and the mayor gave us permission for this location. More, God sent two new friends who were able to share with six Muslim men as we did the program.
Please pray for all of the people who came to the show today to remember what they heard and trust in Jesus Christ.
TWO MORE SHOWS
At two other shows today we were blessed to see dozens and dozens of children trusting in Jesus! We also saw 4 funerals and 1 wedding. We met Natalie, a wonderful older lady who walked up and down the street in the rain to gather the children for a program. Mostly, the children are very quiet, staring at us in wide eyed wonder. One pastor said, "We have seen and heard things today that we could not imagine or even dream. We will think about these things the rest of our lives."
PEACE
We are far away from all that is familiar and yet we are so at peace, even though we are stared at by children and even adults, we feel safe and loved. We take the attention as an opportunity for the Kingdom. Since we have been in the Northwest, we have only seen 4 other white people, 2 Irish nuns and 2 people doing ministry. It is no wonder that we are a curiosity.
3 H GIRLS
In Binka, we met a lovely group of girls today, the 3 H girls. They wore sky blue dresses and bright red hats. The H stands for head, hearts, and handsÂall for Jesus. This program teaches young girls scripture, spiritual growth, and respect for their parents. They sing, "Christian girls for Jesus, Now that we believe, We will love and serve God in everything we do." When our friend Mary was a little girl, she belonged to this group. There are badges to earn just like Girl Scouts. This is a wonderful ministry!
PRAYER REQUESTS
On Monday, we have programs at church schools, both Protestant and Catholic, please pray.
In Jesus, Linda for
Sam Assistant Director
Silvana
Anna French Director
Heather