Today, the team will enter into the heart of darkness.  A country that is labeled by voices of the Matyr as hostile to the Gospel.  Pray that we may have wisdom in sharing and discernment of our surroundings.

Please pray for the families back home of the team that they may realize that our God is watching over us.

I big day for prayer.  Pray for Trunk of Treats as the church has potential to minister of thousands of people that do not know Christ.

Also, pray for the Central Asia team as we leave for our second country tonight.  Last time it took us 4 hours to get to the airport we leave from.  Pray that we get there quick and safe.  We also fly out close to mid-night and we fly all night.  Please pray for strength and sleep.

Today will be a neat day.  We will be able to worship with our Central Asian family.  This will be an underground church.  Pray that it will be a time of sweet fellowship and that God will work in a powerful way.

The team has arrived at their first destination country where they will spend a couple of days and then head to the next country. Pray for a good night’s sleep for the team.

They will hopefully have the opportunity to meet with some fellow brothers and sisters while there. Pray it is a sweet time of encouragement for all!

Well, a new day and we are still traveling.  We will reach our first Central Asian country today around 5pm their time.  This is a huge metropolitan area.  This city is so overpopulated, it took us close to 2 hours to get were we are going:(  Please pray for a good night’s sleep for us.

5 years ago

Five years ago, we moved into our home in Ayorou. We had been in our new country a mere week & we moved into a converted mud house in a town in the middle of nowhere, 3 hours from the capital city, & couldn’t speak a lick of anything except English. We had no idea what we were doing & had no idea what lay ahead of us. We were just plain clueless!
But in the last five years, we’ve learned a thing or two & realized that we still sometimes have no clue what we are doing!

Five years ago, I had no idea how to speak French or Songhai. I could barely get out a greeting. I sometimes felt paralyzed by the language barrier & wanted nothing more than to speak!

Five years ago, I had no idea that I would come to call a village in the middle of a third world country my home. I had no idea I’d fall in love with dirt roads, animal trodden paths, mud brick homes & the faces of so many people that looked nothing like me. I had no idea I’d miss it more than anything 5 years later.

Five years ago, I had no idea what day to day life would look like in that village. I had no idea that I would sleep outside 9 months of the year. I had no idea that I would actually get used to it. I had no idea that it would be 108 degrees in my kitchen while I tried to cook.

Five years ago, I had no idea what having malaria felt like … or a scorpion sting … or being electrocuted. I would like to forget all of those, thank you.

Five years ago, I had no idea what it felt like to live among people that were so impoverished, so “without” on a daily basis, so lost & dying, worshipping a false god that could not save them. I had no idea the emotional toll it would take on me some days. I had no idea that I would beg for their salvation. I had no idea that God would grant me the grace to see Him answer my prayer over & over.

Five years ago, I had no idea what prayer could do. I had no idea that hundreds of people on the other side of the world would pray for & with me & that we would all see God be so faithful to answer prayer after prayer after prayer. I had no idea what God could do through the prayers of His saints.

Five years ago, I had no idea what it was like to be a mother. And then … and then … May 15, 2008 came & I held the most beautiful baby girl in my arms. I had no idea that I would literally hurt with how much I loved this little girl. I had no idea what a mother’s love was until that day. I had no idea how much more I would love her day after day. I had no idea how much more I would love my God because of this gift He gave me. I had no idea how much more I would love my husband. I had no idea that I could feel this kind of intense love for a human being.

Five years ago, I had no idea that almost 2 years later I would feel it all over again. I had no idea that my love for my children would double. As I held my precious baby boy on that snowy morning in February 2010, my heart literally ached inside of me all over again for how much I loved him. I had no idea that I could love him so much & still love his sister equally.

Five years ago, I had no idea how hard it was to be a mother. I had no idea how fulfilling it was yet how hard it was to raise 2 children. I had no idea that it would be harder than sleeping outside for 9 months of the year or getting malaria or a scorpion sting. I had no idea that I would have to pray daily for grace, patience & wisdom to raise my children in the Lord. I had no idea that I would have to ask for forgiveness so many times for failing. I had no idea how much grace the Lord could show me.

Five years ago, I had no idea that Mark Phillips would be a father. I had no idea that I would fall in love with him all over again the moment I saw him with that little girl in his arms. I had no idea what a great father he would be. I had no idea how much he would bless me & serve me by being the father to our children. I had no idea that I would love him this much more than I did five years ago.

Five years ago, I had no idea that one word would rock my world: dementia. I had no idea that I would learn to grieve the living. I had no idea how to do that. I don’t know if I still know. I had no idea that I would be worlds away from the people I love as my world crumbled. I had no idea that I would wrestle over & over & over again for an answer, for something to cling to & be left with God’s Word & His grace only. I had no idea how much His grace is sufficient for me.

Five years ago, I had no idea that I would not be the same person I was five years ago. I had no idea how much God would teach me about myself by bringing me to this devastated land. I had no idea how much He would teach me about Himself in a dry & weary land where there is no water. I had no idea that I would love Him more than life. I had no idea how great a God He truly is. I had no idea.

I still think I have no idea sometimes. I definitely have no idea what the next 5 years hold. But I know that whatever God brings my way or wherever He takes me, He will show me more of Him.

Here is the link to see the pictures with this post: http://www.phillipsfamilyblog.com/2011/10/5-years-ago.html

Another article on the “M’s” we work with in West Africa:

NIGER — As the only believers in a village with no previous Christian presence, John and Jennifer Smythe’s* job was to stand out. Striving against a prevalent Islam and animism, the Smythes began with prayer.

“We spent about three months walking about the streets,” John Smythe recalls, “meeting people, praying for them, telling them why we were there.”

The Songhai highly value hospitality, and many villagers welcomed the Smythes, hearing them out even if they silently disagreed. Slowly, the couple began to share Bible stories with their friends and neighbors, and a few believers soon multiplied.

“We got to see just amazing things, things we never thought we would see, as a large group of people came to faith in Christ,” Smythe recalls. “We were able to plant the first church ever in our village, a church that is now seeking to plant other churches.”

Their ministry philosophy among the Songhai is “really simple,” Smythe claims. “We speak the name of Christ boldly and often, in places it’s never been spoken to people who’ve never heard it, and we do that as often as we can.”

Response varies, but a general pattern has emerged, he indicates. For example, the team will “share the same story with a group of six people; two will immediately walk away, two sit there and kind of talk amongst each other, and two sit there and listen like they’re hearing the voice of their father.”

Many of those who listen attentively decide to become followers of Christ, and the Smythes intentionally encourage them to share their new faith with others.

“The only way the Songhai are going to be reached is with Songhai believers going out,” Smythe claims, “and so our goal is to disciple Songhai believers, and then send them out to Songhai lands.”

Discipleship is especially vital in areas with only one believer, providing a sense of connection to otherwise isolated Christians. On a visit to Niger, men from an American mission team spent the week counseling the sole believer in one village.

Smythe grants, “People may look at that as foolish … [but] I believe that this one man is going to be the catalyst for a great thing among the Songhai.”

Converts often face persecution and exclusion from their families, friends and neighbors, but consider the truth worth the cost and deeply value their new family in Christ. They also enthusiastically share their new faith. For American church members participating in mission trips to the Songhai, their zeal is a striking example of devotion.

“They know that they serve a mighty God and they do not fear,” observes mission team member Reggie Almondine* of Living Hope Baptist Church (LHBC) in Bowling Green, Ky. “They go at it full force.”

LHBC team member Charlotte Painter* recalls witnessing an exchange between a village elder and a national believer: “How many times do I hear [about] grace every Sunday, and then I’m sitting on this cot with this old man laying on a bed, with the banter going back and forth, and I’m hearing grace.” Coming face to face with a living examples of obedience to Christ has a lasting impact on volunteers.

The Songhai team’s partnership with churches like LHBC (which is the Smythes’ home church) is another part of their strategy to reach their people group – they ask churches to adopt certain Songhai areas – or the Songhai people as a whole – and commit to go there to share the Gospel.

LHBC sends four teams per year to Niger, and has an array of programs and initiatives to keep the Songhai immediate in the minds of church members. Even the children’s ministry has weekly activities related to the Songhai. “We just have truly adopted these people,” Almondine shares.

Adopting a people group enables churches in the United States to more fully engage with the conversion and discipleship of believers. Smythe notes, “They’re able to go back with names and stories, and then the next team comes back and asks about those, and it develops those relationships, and over time they build these connections.”

LHBC member Ann Marie Mooney* agrees: “For us at Living Hope, when we start seeing those faces, and knowing names to those faces, it has a huge impact.”

Having received a heart for the Songhai, LHBC members who visit Niger look forward to increasing awareness about the Songhai in the United States, even reaching out to immigrant Songhai communities. By partnering with churches like this, the Songhai team has expanded its reach well beyond the traditional Songhai territories, touching even exiles of the kingdom for Christ.

*Name changed

Jacqueline Gordon is serving for five months as a writer with the IMB’s Global Communication Team.

Be in prayer today as LH’s Central Asia team heads out.  Today, we will be traveling a long time to get to our first destination.  Pray for endurance for the plane flight, for us to be able to sleep some, and for our families as we are gone.

These people in this article are the people we are working with and who you have been praying for:)

NIGER, Western Africa — Timbuktu. The name inspires images of far-away lands, mythical realms and immense wealth. Many people are unaware the city actually does exist. Timbuktu was only one of a myriad of splendid cities within the Songhai Empire. For more than two centuries, the Songhai dynasty ruled most of central West Africa, supported by a flourishing trade in gold and salt.

“They were a rare combination of military and mystic might – they had these great warriors, but they also were these sorcerers and magicians who controlled the spirits, and could master the spirits of the river,” says John Smythe,* an IMB missionary who’s been working among the Songhai of Niger since 2006.

Ruled by a dynasty of Muslim kings, the empire expanded through a combination of practical politics and holy war. The meteoric rise of the Empire was matched by its sudden invasion and downfall in 1591.

Modern Songhai are mainly subsistence farmers, coaxing millet and rice out of the clay of the Niger River valley. It’s a land of flat-topped hills and wide, washed-out valleys, with deep, rain-cut channels between. Pale red clay and dark brown stone contrast oddly, like a bizarre sand painting.

Songhai villages consist of mud-brick houses; walls surround spacious, if bare, yards. Trash litters the streets – there is no other place for it. Animals wander wherever acacia fences do not keep them out. Village life is highlighted by scent. The heat bakes out the odor of moist sand and green growth. The smell of sweat and wood smoke is prevalent.

“Community is life” to the Songhai, explains Smythe. “They understand that tomorrow, ‘I might not have enough rice to feed my family, so I’d better rely on the community.’”

While officially Muslim, the Songhai generally practice animism – alongside daily prayers and reciting the Quran, “there’s still spirit possession ceremonies. … They are involved in all sorts of witchcraft,” says Smythe. Less than one percent of the population is Christian.

Out of the ruins of vanished empires and ancient superstitions, however, a new kingdom is being built among the Songhai, shares Smythe, “a kingdom not built with human hands, a kingdom that’s being built by God made out of living stones.”

This kingdom has not been built without struggle. According to Smythe, Songhai conversion is “a traumatic experience.” Those who step outside of accepted practices are ostracized, even exiled, by their communities. Many villagers refuse to buy or sell with a convert, and family members often shun believers. Pressure to return to the old ways comes from all directions.

One new believer must now eat outside every time he visits his in-laws, as they regard non-Muslims as unclean. Another told his family of his conversion and returned home that night to find all his possessions in a bag outside. Believers are often told, “Only white people can be Christians.”

The harshest confrontation came after Smythe and his family moved away from the small town where they had been ministering for three years, when a believer’s wife died suddenly. Ibrahim had been a dedicated Muslim who prayed five times daily, gave charity, and donated animals for religious festivals. “I thought in my heart if I [did these things], I was receiving forgiveness,” he says. “I could never know that in my heart … if I was being forgiven or not.”

After repeatedly dreaming of a light “that was Jesus Christ” coming between him and enveloping darkness, Ibrahim became a determined Christian despite rejection by his neighbors and refusal of business. His dedication and encouragement soon led his wife to Christ as well.

When his wife died, the village leaders, noting neither Ibrahim nor his wife were Muslim, refused to have her buried, claiming she would be treated like an animal and left to rot. Only if Ibrahim confessed Islam would his wife be buried and prayed for as culturally required. He refused, and set out to bury his wife alone, but the other believers rallied around him and aided him.

This unity in the face of cruel rejection was a turning point for the local church. It demonstrated the church could endure, even without the Smythes’ presence. “It was [a] testimony that, ‘We are not going to go back to our old faith, that we’re here to stay,’” claims Smythe, who now lives two hours away in Niger’s capital city.

In the face of opposition, the Smythes and their team “literally got to watch history change,” as this small group of believers grew into the first church ever seen in the region. That church “has continued to grow and understand what it means to be the church,” says Smythe. “… They are a true community that gives as anyone has need and shares as anyone has need.”

The transformation of believers is apparent to their village. Boubacar, once the “number-one bandit” in town and leader of the local fadah, or gang, was so altered that his friends asked him what medication he was on; he claimed, “My medicine is Jesus Christ.”

Boubacar stopped smoking, drinking and fighting, and even broke off an engagement. Three days after Boubacar’s conversion, Smythe discovered he intended to take a second wife, a practice common and perfectly acceptable to the Songhai. Smythe, with some unease, shared God’s plan for marriage as found in Genesis. Smythe relates: “His eyes just got huge, and I thought, ‘Oh man, he’s gonna hit me!’ And he looked me and he said, ‘I had no idea God’s Word said that.’” Boubacar went that very day to break off the engagement, despite having already paid the bride price. When asked about his decision, he claimed, “Everything Jesus says, that’s what I want to do.”

Boubacar was one of the believers who came alongside Ibrahim to bury his wife. His example has led many of his former fadah members to become believers.

Ibrahim and Boubacar are now leaders in the town church. Men meet in Ibrahim’s compound to sing worship songs, pray together and listen to the Proclaimer, an audio Bible in the Songhai language. Women believers meet separately, or listen to the Proclaimer with their husbands at home.

“You can’t see a building,” Smythe says about the blossoming movement among the Songhai. “Instead it’s a group of men, it’s a group of ladies huddled under a tree praying together, it’s a group studying God’s Word under a hanger, and it’s a new kingdom being ushered in. … It’s that kingdom that’s going to endure.”

To learn how you can partner with missionaries among the Songhai, visit Seeking the Songhai, which has information on the team’s progress as well as prayer focuses, team hosting opportunities, and partnership and trip applications. A monthly newsletter is also available.

*Name changed

Jacqueline Gordon is serving for five months as a writer with the IMB’s Global Communication Team.

This is a video from a group that went out just recently to West Africa.  As you watch the video, praise the Lord for our brothers and sisters there doing great work for His Kingdom.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7JtfC09K28]