MARCH - APRIL PRAYER LETTER

TWO BIBLE STUDIES STARTED

Very recently two new bible study/preaching points have been started with the goal to soon see them begin meeting as churches.  One of these preaching points is in the town of Masimba and is led by Matthew Mogire, a graduate of our Bible College and a member of the Grace Bible Baptist Church. The other is in the city of Bukavu in the country of DR Congo. The Bukavu region has a population of over 500,000 and is the capital of the South Kivu province where we have been working.  This preaching point is being led by January, a Congolese national who has moved back to Congo from Rwanda where he had been living.  He was a member of an Independent Baptist Church for eight years and already had a good foundation.  God allowed our paths to cross and after building a relationship with him for nearly two years, he has partnered with us to see the work of God go forward in Congo. Please pray for these two new bible study/preaching points as we endeavor to soon to see them become churches.

HAVE WE BEEN FORGOTTEN?

Recently while surveying some new areas in DR Congo I was asked some troubling questions by a few national believers.  I had never been asked these type of questions in such a pointed way before. As troubling as they were when I heard them, they have continued to ring in my ears since that time.  Why have your churches stopped sending us missionaries?  Have we been forgotten?  Do churches not care about us anymore?  We REMEMBER people used to come, why don’t they come anymore?  When asked these questions, I was quick to respond to assure them of the love and sacrifice of many. I gave what I believed at the time were good excuses that would surely help them understand.  When I finished, their response in essence was, your words sound good but we still have no missionaries.  My excuses I gave to them were:

·   There is still a war going on in this place, and it is to dangerous to live here.

·   It is a difficult place for someone to bring their family.

·   People do not understand that it is possible to come here as a missionary.

·   People here need to pray more so the Lord will send missionaries.

·   Some in America are just not answering the call of God anymore.

I have realized that my words were indeed just excuses, and they ring hollow to the ears of those who need the love of Christ brought to them. My heart is moved at the spiritual need in Eastern Congo and the surrounding areas.  They have not known peace in a generation.  Satan has used the lack of stability to sow the seeds of false and weak doctrine throughout the land.  There is a great need for the Word of God to go forth to both bring salvation to the lost and strength and stability to the saved.   I am thankful that God is allowing us to do just a little bit in meeting this need.