letter

     When too much has happened, and you do not know what to write, where do you begin?

      December was a lot of evangelism with Jesus' birth — evangelistic films and distributing plates of cookies with John and Romans booklets. God's Word does not return void. The people here are so open; we just smile and give them a tract.  How much time do you have? 

      Dan also had a Christmas Bible study at the public high school where there are about 6,000 students. One of our church members is a student there, and we are helping him reach some of his fellow students. We went back and distributed boxes of John and Romans (they have the Roman's Road printed on the backs). With Isaiah and Stephen helping, we were able to distribute 800 booklets in two locations in 40 minutes. Crowds of students and others mill around to receive whatever you are handing out.  We have done that twice, and Dan is getting permission to show an evangelistic film in their largest room. 

      Over the break in school, Dan got another schoolroom built at the church.  Our church has an elementary school with 120 students. Thanks to a church that wanted to help with this project, we were able to get that almost finished. I teach Bible on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and have to move all the benches into my classroom, still putting kids on a mat on the floor.  Sometimes I get tired and discouraged and think, "What is the use?" But then, I see the children learning verses, and I KNOW God's Word does not return void!   

     Friday evenings at the village continue with Dan preaching and Lydia and me teaching the kids outside on mats. Dan is planning to start building a larger building there as well before the rainy season starts again.  Building is a great need to have.

      Sundays continue to be very full with Sunday school, church, and village Bible school in the afternoons. People are growing; it just takes time to prepare spiritual food (study), feed the flock (teach the lesson), and clean up all the happy mess (correct all the papers and listen to verses to see that some learning has taken place).  Praise the Lord for health and strength.

      My sister Laurel accompanied my mom and came out for a visit. Ruth arrived at the same time. It was great to spend time with Laurel and show her the ministry here.  Ruth will be staying until August – more about her ministry in the next letter.

      I was able to perform another delivery. Actually, I assisted Ruth, who did the delivery. We are always happy to save someone from the system here.

      The baby animals abound as well. The horse safely delivered its foal (a huge prayer answered), the cat had kittens, and the dog had puppies. Praise the Lord for all the little babies around here.

      Thank you for your prayers and financial help, which make all these projects, buildings and helping people possible. My latest challenging questions are "Who is in control of your soul?" and "Who are you listening to and obeying?"  Those are the big questions to keep in mind throughout the day.

      May God bless you.

 

Love in Christ,

Dan and Joan, Ruth Marie, Hannah and Seth in college, Lydia, Susanna, Isaiah, Stephen, Rebekah, Josiah, Joseph, Esther and Gideon

Update - Hannah

I myself am going to write soon. Some of you have already heard from Hannah --Praise God for His hand in her life. Praise God for His Word which leads us if we will only read it and take heed.


Dear Friends,
It's hard for me to believe I've just finished the first month of my second semester here at Ambassador Baptist College. I am learning so much here and am absolutely loving it! For Christmas break Ruth and Seth and I went up to New York and spent Christmas and New Year's with our cousins on Staten Island. We were able to help Aunt Karol by doing a lot of cooking and baking for church feasts and activities. It was fun to be a part of the growing ministry up there and to be able to spend time with family. For those who may not know, Uncle Nate and Aunt Karol are working with the Liberians of Staten Island where they are pastoring a church (well, Uncle Nate is pastoring--smile). We had fun eating African food and being around people that remind me of home--smile. When it was time for Seth and I to come back down to school, we had to say goodbye to Ruth who stayed in New York for another month before flying out to Africa.

There is not too much to say other than that we are enjoying going to classes and learning, enjoying making friends, and enjoying the music and preaching. Life is good :) I just heard a message this past week on Psalm 119 that was so encouraging to me. The Bible is everything we need. Verse 161 states, "Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word." And verses 129-130 read, "Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. 130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." Verse 140-143 reassures us "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. 141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts. 142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. 143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights." The Bible is all that we need to live a victorious life. It is the source of truth and it supplies us with peace, comfort, joy, hope, understanding and wisdom. We can delight in it even in adverse circumstances or when we are discouraged or persecuted by those around us. No matter what we need or where we are in life, the Bible can sustain us, give us direction, and carry us through. Wow! After reading Psalm 119 I just wanted to sit and read my Bible for hours. It is so full and rich. We can never exhaust the power of the Bible. We need to read it and read it and read it again! We should love it!

I recently procured a job for which I am very grateful. I am housecleaning once a week for a couple from a church close to here. They are very nice people, and I am enjoying working for them. God is good! Our church family here has been a huge blessing and encouragement to us as well.

Thank you for your prayers. God has kept us healthy, protected us from harm, and provided for our needs, and He continues to do so. We serve a mighty God!
I hope you are doing well and are continuing to glorify God in this year 2014!
Love,
Hannah