Looking for God this Christmas

Today I was reminded of the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah which led me to remember Sarah and Abraham and even Abi and her husband...how easy it is for us to forget that God wants to show His Power to us! He wants to show Himself to us! He wants to reveal to us that HE IS REAL and worthy of our FAITH! He wants us to know this Christmas season that He is Emmanuel...GOD WITH US...no matter the struggles we face, the hardships we must overcome, the battles we must fight...He wants us to look to Him, asking and believing Him for our needs and our desires! What do you need? What desires do you have that only God can meet?

The Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever

His Word is True...Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! I continue to marvel at how God works, shows His power, and makes Himself known to people in the same ways as He always has!! In June 2008, a team came to tell the story of Hannah among the Samogho women...it was the beginning of God developing a hunger in hearts of the Samogho women to know and understand the stories of God...the testimonies of people both past and present to the greatness and power of the One True God. It was also the beginning of God spreading His Story from woman to woman and village to village. In December 2008, another team came and God placed in our path a young woman from another village who had heard the story of Hannah from some women and told us she had been unable to conceive a child. She asked us to pray for her. We talked with her about the faith of Hannah to believe God for the gift of a child. We boldly prayed for God to do the same in Abi's life that He had done in Hannah's life...give her a child! This week as we went to greet and visit in the same courtyard where we met Abi, the woman we went to visit began telling us how we had prayed and now she is pregnant! She had two praises for our God...first that we had prayed for her rice harvest and God gave her the best harvest ever. Second, that we had prayed for Abi to have a child and now she is pregnant. Abi now lives in a neighboring country so we may not have the opportunity to celebrate with her the gift of this child, but nevertheless we celebrate the God who is the same yesterday (Hannah's Day), today (Abi's Day), and forever!!

Return to Kar

After 10 months away, it was a joy to return to one of my favorite places in West Africa...the village of Kar. I have many friends there...most of whom I consider family. The friendships are strong and they are being used by God to make Himself known among the Sam people. Our first day was spent greeting and getting settled in for the week. Many are working in the fields because it is the end of harvest and there is much work to be done to get the crops into the storage huts. It was amazing as always to see 4-6 women walking in a straight line coming in from the distant fields with loads on their heads that weighed more than they did. What a sight! I could not wait to give the customary "Ka Fai!!" to each one, giving them thanks for the work they were doing. I love that about this people!! The work someone does never goes unnoticed and never passes by without encouragement! Wouldn't work be much more fun if that was the response given to all of us for the efforts we make! The men and children were awaiting the women so they could transfer the harvest into the storage huts."Ka Fai!" to them too. Most mornings we are met with lots of greetings and visits from the people of the village, but this trip the mornings were amazingly quiet. As we went to greet, we found that the people were already out in the fields working to bring in the harvest. This time of year means a lot of work--long days and short nights! The harvest this year is described as ok but not enough. Please pray for God to show Himself to the Sam in ways that will cause them to look to Him and put their faith in Him!

Songs of Truth

On the night we prayed for the woman who was possessed by evil spirits, an interesting and significant thing happened. After the intense time of prayer was over, one of the ladies in the woman's compound called my name. She looked me dead in the face and began singing a song about Jesus. It was a song she had learned on our visit in February. She clapped her hands and sang from her heart.
The next day we went to check on the woman, to see how she was doing, and how her night had been. She reported that the demons were gone and that she had rested for the first time in months. We prayed again for her and told her the story of the woman who reached out to touch the hem of Jesus robe. We told her that her body had to heal from all of the destruction the demons had caused. We prayed again with her this time with most of the village standing at a distance watching...even the chief was instructing her to call on Jesus for help. How incredible! The whole village was seeing the power of the All Powerful God through His Son Jesus!
Again as we left, the woman in the courtyard called my name. She began singing another song about Jesus--a different one from the night before. This happened again the next day. Another song...this time one she had made up herself. How incredible that a woman who does not know Jesus herself would step out to sing songs of praise to Him! Now only God can do that!
Later this woman came to visit us at our courtyard. She allowed me to record her singing on my voice recorder so I too can learn those songs and sing them with her on my next visit. I asked her how she knew the second song. She said, "My brother is a follower of Jesus. I have heard him sing that song many times."
Pray that the words of each song would ring out the Truth in the heart of this woman, as well as in the hearts of all who have seen the Power of Jesus displayed in her courtyard!

Freedom through Faith

A husband came seeking prayer for his wife. She had lost her sight and was having very painful headaches. After explaining to the man, what prayer is and how Jesus taught us to pray, we shared with him the story of how Jesus healed a blind man. He asked us to come and pray for his wife. Upon arriving at his compound, we discovered through talking with the wife that she had been tormented by demons for over 3 years. She explained the time when they took control. She had sufferered physically from bad health because of all the things these demons required of her. Her husband had tried all kinds of things to help his wife and they had spent all of their money trying to find help. We told the woman the story of Jesus healing the demon possessed man to show her and her family that Jesus alone has power over the demons. She agreed that she wanted to believe Jesus could could help her and agreed for us to pray. Before praying, we explained to her and her family that all other potions and trinkets had to be removed from her and her house. It was through faith and belief in Jesus alone that would heal her. After an intense time of powerful prayer, the woman was free from the demons. We taught her to call on the powerful name of Jesus when the pain was too great, if the demons confronted her again. She began doing that right away, trusting Him to help her. She rested for the first time in months that night!
We give praise to the One and Only...the All Powerful One...The One to Whom All others bow!

Faith Comes By Hearing

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and tired and strength to the powerless."

All along the frontiers and faraway places of every nation are peoples who have never heard about the Everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth, and the Promised One who came to show us the way to have right relationship with God. All around us are people who have never understood the peace and joy, the hope and healing that comes through Him. This is true of the people of village S along with the people in all the surrounding villages, but that is beginning to change!! Because of God's call on the lives of His people, the news is spreading through volunteers and the people of village S are beginning to hear and understand!
You have been praying with us for the stories to be translated into their heart language so that all can hear, so that followers of J can understand how to walk as He did. We began that process this week...join us in praise!! The first draft of the first story was translated!!!! The joy and smiles on the faces of the 2 followers as spoke and listened to God's Word in their own language was priceless! The process of creating an oral set of stories for this people groupo has just begun, but join us in praising God for this new beginning!! Continue to pray for direction, clarification, and the development of these stories so that the people of village S and all of those who speak this language will be able to hear, understand, and place their faith in the Everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth!

Power of the One Who is True

This is a story from God's Word...
One of God's chosen spokesmen challenged the spokesmen for the god known as Baal. He challenged them to a contest between Baal and the One Who is True. To make the story short for the sake of this blog, all day the spokesmen of Baal called out to him to come down with fire and burn up the offering on the altar...all with NO RESPONSE. Then the chosen spokesman for the One Who is True saturated the altar and the offering with water until the trench he had dug around it was filled. The chosen spokesman called out to the One Who is True, "Prove today that you are God and that I am your servant...Answer me so these people will know that you are God and that you have brought them back to yourself." Immediately the fire flashed down and burned up the offering, the altar, and even all the water in the trench. When they all saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, "The Lord--He is God!" This is a story from God's Word.
The Power of the One Who is True was displayed over and over in the 3 short days we spent with the people of village S. The holidays of 3 major religions all celebrated within those days proved to be the way the One Who is True had decided to show Himself and His Power to those who were seeking peace and long life. He showed His Power over the spiritual world by inviting several to trust Him for their physical health instead of the unseen powers and potions they had previously believed in. When they did express their faith and trust, He brought health, peace, and a display of Who He is...The One Who is True. He showed His Power as the One Who is True with every story that was told...with the revelation of truth that comes from speaking His Word alone. He showed His Power as the One Who is True and the One Who Provides by feeding the entire village until all were full with 75 kilos of rice and 2 goats. The words of the chief, " Everyone ate and the whole village is full, and there is food left over!"
Praise The One Who is True with us today and everyday! He is True and He longs for us to know Him and make Him known...
lori