December 2018

We DO wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS.  I hope you are not worn out with running around shopping.  I am really glad that we "miss that scene;" buying things out of necessity for people who don't need them.  Life is a lot more calm and simple out here without all of the commercialism.  I do hope you enjoy the Christmas musicals, activities, the beautiful snow, and the extra opportunities to witness and share God's love.

I have another GREAT IDEA for outreach!!!  This one is good, and we have already been doing it and NEED some help. It is hard to find gifts for MEN.  Dan has made two different memory chips; one for evangelism and the other for discipleship. They have Christian music, the tract of The Lamb, the audio Bible, books, Evangelistic and other Christian movies that are in French, the hymnbook that we put together for church, and other materials.  For the unsaved, Dan leaves off the books and the study guides.  Two songs are sounding in my head: "Let Them Know" and "By All Means Tell Them" (Psalm 126:5-6 and Acts 26:18).  There, I did not preach, but if you look these up they are wonderful verses. I have been misapplying Acts 26:18.  That verse is to us; God has sent US to open their eyes; God has given all power to US to open their eyes —preach the Word; wow, what a privilege.  We continue to PRAY.  All that to say, YOU can be part of this ministry. 

Paige is having their second baby girl in January.  Hannah is having their first child in March. I am planning to go to America in February to assist with that birth.  If YOU WANT to be a part of the Evangelistic outreach with the memory chips, you could order some online and have them shipped to:

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Timblin

3161 W. Avenida Isabel

Tucson, AZ  85746

Then I can bring them back out when I come.  Dan gets the 16 GB Micro SD memory chips on Amazon for about $4.00 each.  We have already been giving out many of these. In this age of technology, the people love this. I pray that this will be a great tool for God to take back some of what the devil has spoiled.  This is not just random passing out memory chips on the street, but giving to people we have witnessed to or are teaching and discipling — teaching tools. We do believe that people here will use this since they don't have these materials available to them and since they love to do things on their devices.  Let the Word of God be heard! 

Maybe the bugs in the woodwork are dead, and hopefully the water leaks are fixed. Dan preached at a funeral and the burial service (you would be appalled at the details--ask, if you want a short paragraph).  Besides our regular teaching and preaching, we have helped with a wedding, a ladies' outing at the beach, organizing a Christmas play, and another birth in our home.  There is no space to include the details of each of those things.

Thank you for your prayers!  May God bless you!

Merry Christmas,

Dan and Joan

We made it!

April 2018

News gets old so fast, but life has been exciting. Josiah went to spend Easter weekend in Petit Pedro.  He was funny —went just like that —shorts and a T-shirt. It was HOT; no window.  Josiah called and asked us to bring him a battery-operated fan —Ha. The food was good. One of Dan's men in his class came to town to talk to Dan, so I sent Josiah some Sunday clothes and shoes, food, and a sheet. Saturday, they went and worked at the church's farm.  One of the members gave the church a plot of ground, and they are growing corn on it —small food and money helper. The Africans love Josiah; he seems to fit in well with them, makes friends, and plays soccer too. What does that have to do with a prayer letter? I pray that our kids will be future missionaries and know the language IN ORDER to preach.  We have godly goals for our kids and intentionally bring experiences into their lives to help them along the way to serve God better in the future.  

I witnessed to Fatiha —the whole Gospel again (Moses, Passover, the first Easter, to Jesus on the cross, our Passover Lamb, and risen again).  She says she reads the Bible I gave her —larger print and well marked with salvation.  I pray and will keep praying.  She is my lost Moslem friend (help me in prayer?). 

We had a great time with Laurel, Misty, and the two girls. Yvonne liked it so much here and SAW THE NEED that she transferred to Word of Life in Canada to learn French and come back here as a missionary.  Our goal is to let them see the need and the openness here and encourage them to come back, Lord willing.

They arrived and we promptly ran out of ALL water the very next day —to the tune of them having to go to an African friend's house to take showers.  They had to do that AGAIN on Monday after the beach. Still no water and all the tanks were empty.

I took them to the public high school to see the directors, and we walked around and "popped in" to the English class.  The teacher was very nice and offered to have me say a few words!  It was SO GREAT!  I taught some grammar from John 3:16 and quickly moved into French and salvation.  I love the Gospel again and the Gospel again.  Wow.  Anyway, we had a great time, and the group could see that there are always opportunities to witness —it just takes time; just GO out of your house and you WILL FIND someone.

Happy Easter!  What a day to witness!  Thanks for praying for us. I put together flashcards to go teach a group. They are listening and I am praying. Dan continues to disciple and train the men. Today, four boys prayed in the boys' class.  I have two favorite verses now:  Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that WINNETH souls is wise" and 1 Corinthians 9:22, "that BY ALL MEANS I might SAVE some."  It is time to bring in the net.  It is time to see the fruit.  It is time to SAVE SOME.

On April 8, we had a baptism. We are encouraged to see the kids and youth follow the Lord in baptism. These are our future church. Dan baptized seven, and a man that Dan has been training baptized his daughter. That was very sweet to see happening —the father saved and baptized with Dan, and now to the point where he could baptize his daughter, an 18-year-old.  

Before I lose some of my exuberance, there has been a lady WANTING me to do her delivery before we left. She had been not coming in labor for a while. To make the story VERY short, she came April 12 at 1:30, and had a baby girl at 10:28 a.m. This was a lady who has a 21-year-old, and then has had miscarriage after miscarriage.  Praise God, she carried this baby to term after taking the baby aspirin. The baby was 4 1/2 kg, (10 lbs.)!!  She looked like a two-month-old!  It was a very difficult birth —very stuck baby; I was sweating and praying. All went super well.  Praise the Lord!!! We can ALL sleep well again.

On Thursday, Esther's brakes on her bike did not work, and she ran into a pole.  She gashed her forehead 2-in. to the point we could see her skull.  Praise God it was not worse, and we were able to put it all together with super glue, steri-strips, and a good douse of oils. She is doing great.  Praise the Lord that it did not hit her eye.  Thanks for praying for us.

We are here safe and sound with our bags —37 hours of traveling. We are here, Lord willing, until the end of May.  Ruth and Richard are to be married on May 5, and Hannah and Nathan on May 8, here near Shelby, NC.  If we missed sending you an invitation, YOU are invited. We would love to have you celebrate this wonderful time with us.  

Thanks for praying for us.

Praise God,

Dan and Joan

March 2018

            I DO love to tell about all the Lord is doing here. We had a great time in December when Seth, Paige, and Eden came and spent Christmas with us. Then Richard and Ruth also came so that we could get to know Richard a little.  He has now proposed to Ruth, and they are planning their wedding on May 5.   As you know, Nathan Schrock and Hannah are planning their wedding on May 8.  What a busy, wonderful week this will be. These weddings follow the graduations of Nathan Schrock, BA of Biblical Studies with an emphasis on Missions; Ruth, BA of Elementary Education; and Seth, Master of Biblical Studies with an emphasis on New Testament. We are planning, Lord willing, to come to America from April  15^th through May for all of these memorial events.  Please pray for all the travel and details.

            While they were here, both Seth and Richard preached to our boys' class Saturday mornings.  A young man in our youth group, Brice, has been growing in the Lord and is helping as well teach this class.  Brice has also matured to the point of leading the singing in the church. We are so encouraged, not only when our own children walk in truth, but also when our children in Christ are growing up.  There are several young men now helping to lead the youth.

            Every Tuesday evening, Dan leads visitation and passing out tracts in the church area.  Our kids enjoy this, and I cannot estimate the hundreds of tracts and pamphlets of John and Romans we have distributed.  Pray for the tract ministry that people will read, understand, and accept Christ.

            Dan spoke at a dowry ceremony in the village; it was interesting.  This ceremony is the two families having a meeting with witnesses, to accept the man as a spouse for their daughter. It is THE MARRIAGE in the African mind.  On this particular day, the young man was sick and could not come.  The ceremony went on none-the-less; a wedding without the groom? 

            On February 10 Dan and I went on a trip to a northern city, where Dan was speaking at another wedding.  It was a wonderful weekend centered on God's Word and lots of fun African culture.

            Monday, we went to a village farther north off a dirt road. We had a great day of preaching and teaching all day long.  That is what we love to do.  People do pray to get saved —in dialect.  We are starting a church in this town —it is Pastor Konan's hometown, and he is burdened for them.  Their new chief is Pastor Konan's uncle and is already saved.  This is the town where the very old man (138 years old) lives.  This time, the man had a toothache.  He can get no help since everyone is afraid to work on him because of his age. The idea in Africa is to take him to the village to die; don't work on the elderly.  We bought him some amoxicillin and Tylenol; it will help.  They are planning a three-day conference next time.  They seemed to really like the teaching and us. It was super hot and dry as you can see by our dirty feet.  We got home at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

              The roads have not improved at all.  Dan has to take two days for car repairs after these trips. They ARE working on the roads and have detours all around in town. The detours go on BAD DIRT roads, and the people put in big speed bumps so that all the extra traffic has to go slow and not kick up so much dust!! 

            I DID notice that I have a higher personal interest in the villages after having been there and having met the people. It is not just Dan's ministry in the villages; our whole family is praying for them.  (That is also why it is great to have people come and visit us.  We are stretched thin and are praying that the Lord would move Nathan and Hannah to come here as well.  This country is so open.  Our one HUGE goal is to win souls.  He that WINNETH souls IS wise (just witness and bring people to Jesus). You must BE wise if you are to win souls. It is THE MOST WORTHY GOAL. 

            While we were gone on the trip, the kids did great playing the piano and serving at this church in Lac.  One of the young men in Dan's Bible school class from the village came to town and did the preaching.  Again, it is encouraging to see the men get saved, learn, and grow to the point of being able to witness and preach. 

 

Thanks for all your prayers for us. We DO SO MUCH appreciate them and you. May you have a VERY blessed, wonderful day of Easter ---because He lives, we can too. 

 

Dan and Joan Cuthbertson

November 2017

Happy Thanksgiving.  I must say that this is one holiday we do not forget.  We are thankful ALL year round for God's blessings.  We don't wait for one day to celebrate; just be faithful and praise God every day of the year.  A quote on my wall says, "Obedience is better seen in the little things."  Don't wait for a great moment to do a great thing—just live by faith, obedience.

 

While you are preparing for winter, we have had a beautiful day at the beach –"Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all of the earth!" The water is getting warmer and warmer, yet we are having more and more rain and the roads are getting worse than terrible.

 

I come with another message...don't lose sight of THE GOAL.  The goal is to REACH THE LOST.  That was the job God left us to do.  We live pure lives so that...we learn FRENCH so that...we came to Africa so that...God also wants YOU and your MOUTH.  We know that people get saved when the Holy Spirit draws them.  The Holy Spirit lives IN YOU and wants to use your mouth and your life to draw them.  To me, it is a cop out to sit back and think the Holy Spirit is "generally" going to draw them.  So what brought all this on?  Some kids out here are learning German or Spanish or even Japanese!  Are you really planning to go there and use that language to give out the Gospel?  If your goal is to witness to the lost, are you really planning to use that language to do it?  Help your kids pick a language that is useful to REACH the lost.  That was Jesus' final word to us.  What if I were one of those early disciples and the Gospel was entrusted to me.  Would I reach my generation?  All that to say, Cote d'Ivoire is so open. We would love you to learn French and come here to be a missionary. 

 

Church visitation on Tuesday evenings has been going well.  The more people get excited about evangelism, the more the church will grow.  Growth takes time and is promised to us if we are faithful.  Keep praying and God will keep blessing.  Pray for those who receive tracts and John/Romans booklets to get saved and grow. It is about people getting saved, getting their lives straightened out according to God's Word, and then seeking to serve Him. We are all in the race to "finish well."  Keep praying.

 

You have been praying for spouses for our girls.  God has brought WONDERFUL men into the lives of Ruth and Hannah.  Nathan and Hannah are engaged to be married on May 8, 2018.  We are planning, Lord willing, to come to the States the end of April until the first part of June, but nothing is settled yet.  Pray for all the details.  Pray that God will call Nathan to be a missionary here!  We so need young couples who CAN STICK. 

 

I want to introduce Richard Jertberg, a missionary to Madagascar. (His story is on the Internet.)  He is a widower with five children who has been dating Ruth with the intent to marry.  He and Ruth are coming out here to visit us in December.  From what we have heard, we would welcome him with no reservations.  He is a kind, godly man who has been patiently leading his family and seeking God's next step for his life.  It looks like God's hand is all over their relationship-from the individual preparation, to the meeting, to the calling. I am so excited for Ruth and him. 

 

We have so much to be thankful for and ONE of our great praises is the way God is leading with our kids.  Thank you for your interest in our lives and for praying for us.

 

Have a very Blessed Christmas!