We were blessed to have a volunteer group from Willowbrook Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama. Willowbrook has come out several times and is always great. The point man, Nelson, is a laid back guy - perfect for Africa. They always bring us a breath of fresh air and renewed vigor for the work.
They worked in Remagwe (lay-mahg-way). It is a village just off the main road. The church in Remagwe is mostly children. The usual congregation is made up of about 50 children and youth and 10 or so adults. The first time I visited there I was very disappointed. I was sad that the church was all children and wondered how it could make an impact in the community.
Then God woke me up. He reminded me that today's children are our future leaders. "Children are the future" has become a stale line, but it is never-the-less very true. We have learned from our own past experiences that these young disciples will become the strongest church leaders.
So we asked our volunteer team to lead a Vacation Bible School program. This is often a "busy time" provided for kids while other, more serious work goes on. But in this case the children's work was vital. The group did an outstanding job. They taught the story of the Bible in 4 days - hitting some important events from Creation to Christ. It gave the children an overview of the world from a Biblical perspective.
They also taught some fun songs and played games. Our daughter, Chloe, helped out one day. I asked her if she wanted to go witnessing with the group I was joining or stay with the kids. Melissa, one of the volunteers, was teaching the kids the song "Pharoah, Pharoah" and Chloe was helping. She said, "I want to stay here. This is hilarious!" She had a great time.
During the children's program, other volunteers broke into groups and headed out with translators to witness hut-to-hut in the village. People often come out quite intimidated by the thought of witnessing. After all, in America no one wants to hear it and people are often offended when you bring it up. But it is different here. Everyone is thrilled to welcome a guest and they want to visit. Even Muslims will sit and talk about God and faith very openly. In the afternoon there was a Bible study for adults who made decisions, or just wanted to find out more. Every evening was a crusade led by our pastors - who came from near and far to help - and a showing of the Jesus Film
We do not yet have the number of decisions made, but at least 25 new adults attended church Sunday. We praise the Lord for His good work through these that were willing to sacrifice their time, money, and energy to work for the Lord in a foreign land. We do not take their sacrifices for granted, and neither does God.
It doesn't take a miracle to come out and work with us. If you are interested, please let us know. There is so much more to do!
