Mali APR09 - salvation, assurance, baptism
April 22, 2009
This morning in Village X we had seven baptized - four men and three women - the first three women baptized that village. Last night we had a very long discussion with the hunter and all of the key believers there. After going through the plan salvation in a number of different ways emphasizing grace and Christ’s sacrifice in our place and trusting only in Him for salvation, the hunter assured us that’s what he was doing even if he might not have communicated that clearly with Penny. He just assured us in emphatic terms that he was truly trusting only in Christ for his salvation and many others in the area echoed that. So hopefully that’s the case.
Anyway, we feel a lot better about it after that long discussion. Pastor Bart also is convinced of their understanding of what the true nature of salvation is.
We had a good drive over to Kedougou, a good visit with Audrey [a fellow believer] tonight, and ready to head out early in the morning toward our safari near Kola Koba National Park. We’ll be spending the night over there tomorrow night. We’ll try to call just to let you know we’re safe and not much of a report other than wildlife sightings perhaps. Anyway, we will see you soon and thank you for all your prayers. Bye bye.
Mali APR09 - back to familiar turf, and teaching
April 22, 2009
Lawrence called about 8:30PM Mali time after a long day of rough travel. Seven to eight hours of driving at <10MPH were interrupted with a few stops in the villages between Village L in the new area and Village X, home of Phillip and the hunter. Two of the villages were very large and more industrial, with virtually everyone in the village using large metal mortars & pestles to crush stones to be washed for gold. A member of Pastor Bart’s church lives in one of these villages and was delighted with the short time of fellowship that they enjoyed.
The road is fraught with steep hills, deep ruts, and many low-water crossings. Even now, begin praying that the MAY09 team cross on dry ground and will have the determination and discipline to come-and-go as the Spirit leads.
TONIGHT, right now in fact (4 to 6 PM US Central), the team will be teaching from the DOCTRINAL LESSONS that are in the heart language of our regular Yalunka villages - Jalunga is the actual name of this language. By teaching from this series of lessons, the team is training the believers in Village X to meet together and study as sound doctrine is revealed with the prayer that the Church will be established in this village, also. PLEASE PRAY TO THAT END.
As God wills, they begin the trip home tomorrow through K’ba, home of Pastor Bart and the African evangelist. From there the road should be smooth and straight (mostly). THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING IN YOUR PART IN SUPPORTING THE TEAM IN PRAYER AND HELPING FULFILL OUR COVENANT TO ESTABLISH THE CHURCH AMONG THESE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD.
Mali APR09 - the message is received & a chief believes!
April 21, 2009
Hello. This is Lawrence Duhon calling from Village L Mali. This is a new village and the first trip we’ve been here on. We found the two believers we were looking for: two men who received Christ in 1996 and were discipled for about 3 years. No believer or Christian has been to visit them in over 10 years. So it was a great joy to find them and see their response and have a chance to encourage them in their faith.
They’re able to read the Bible in the Bambara language so they are able to stand firm in the Lord and they still are. There were 37 people back in the early days who were seeking to learn about Christ and all, at least for now, have fallen away because no one had been with them to help teach them. The village asked us to come back and teach, even the chief of this village is interested in the Gospel, which is very, very difficult to get to.
We found there were a lot more so-called modern conveniences here from a peanut grinder to plastic dishes and that kind of thing to more motorcycles, even some houses built out of brick and concrete for those who have sold some gold and gotten some cash.
We were able to show the Jesus Film last night and it looked like about 50 people or so at the peek time and at the end there was about 20, and we preached the Gospel after that. although no one made a public commitment to Christ there was one man, kind of a spokesman for the village, saying we want to follow Jesus if you’ll just come back and teach us.
This is Bryan Blain calling from Village L out in the remotest part of Africa that our team has been to yet. We just finished a teaching time for the last two and a half hours with the village chief who we met earlier today who wanted to hear about Jesus. Tonight after the teaching he wanted to give his life to Christ and follow him and realized that he was a sinner that needed a saviour and that only salvation is through Christ and Christ alone. It is an incredible time, and what a privilege it is to serve our wonderful God. The chief is just excited about Jesus. He wants us to come here and wants a church here. He just wants to learn all he can about Jesus.
We’ve also met a couple of believers here that have stayed strong over the last 10 years just pretty much isolated and so we spent some time discipling them. We’ve been able to give them some materials that were provided to us. We went through that with them today. God is definitely working here and it’s a privilege for our church to be involved.
The path back through Village F is the roughest experienced to date. Then, the familiar road will begin to smooth out.
- Pray for the team as they conclude their teaching in Village L, that they will finish well.
- Pray that the church will begin emerging in Village L as a result of the years of faithfulness of just 2 believers, and the prayers of the African evangelist and Pastor Bart.
- Pray for the team’s journey: for their safety and for those divine appointments still established along their path.
- Begin praying for the MAY09 team, departing May 20, that God will provide clear direction as they serve on two fronts - in the familiar area (Villages F, X, Y, and K) and in this new area.
Mali APR09 - report from the new village area
April 19, 2009
Here are the reports from the team today. The road into the new area has been very slow going with washboard flats interrupted by long sections of small boulders. Though they are tired, spirits are high.
As they came into the main village they were looking for, Village L, one lady recognized the African evangelist and was very excited to see him. While she is not yet a believer, her son is among those who were saved in 1996. It appeared he is still in the area, though was away working today.
God bless you for being faithful in your part of carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
TRANSCRIPT: LD telephone report, 04-19-09 AM
8:00 AM Mali time
Hello. This is Lawrence Duhon reporting from Mali. This is a Melinke village, not a Yalunka village, but we were able to show the Jesus Film here last night kind of on an impromptu basis as we were finishing supper. We started the film at about 10 o’clock at night and finished about up midnight [unintelligible] with about 25 or 30 people gathered around watching it.
Pastor Bart presented the Gospel afterward and we had two come forward. One of those actually received Christ, a young man from this village; and the other one was very interested in learning more [unintelligible] able to be taught more about the Gospel. There were probably many more from behind the scenes that followed along with the prayer that didn’t come forward. This is an unplanned time of ministry that we’re very excited about. This is a village that, as you go toward the new area, you have to pass through on every trip. So, it’s a good place of ministry among the Melinke people.
We’re looking forward to, in just a few minutes, leaving to go to the new Yalunka villages about 2 or 3 hours away and find out what God has in store for us there. Thank you once again for your prayers and have a great Lord’s Day.
TRANSCRIPT: LD telephone report, 04-19-09 PM
4:00 PM Mali time
Hello. This is Lawrence calling from Mali and the village we were trying to reach today. We made it safely after [unintelligible] over roads [unintelligible] rugged footpaths. Some parts [unintelligible] we reached [unintelligible] anybody here except for one man. They’re all out working in the mines so we’re sending word with a guy on a motorcycle to where the people are at the mine about 6 miles away for them to [unintelligible] will be here for two nights so we should have time meet with those guys.
We’re grateful for getting here safely. It was quite a trip to say the least [unintelligible] four hours [unintelligible] a little under 40 miles. You can do the math and see that it’s tough.
Everyone is still well. It’s a very beautiful place. And we’re looking for God to do some good things here [unintelligible]
Mali APR09 - Team arrives safely / Next steps / Trip Prayer Requests
April 16, 2009
The team arrived safely and are about 2/3rds of the way to the village area. Lawrence commented that the roads were in better repair than in January, even on the first half of the trip. They are spending the night in a mission compound hosted by New Tribes Missions. NTM has been a blessing from early in our travels, and recently God has mingled our interests and efforts in sharing the Gospel in the villages where we’ve been serving.
Tomorrow, they will arrive in K’ba and pick up Pastor Bart around noon. They will continue to Village X to pick up Phillip or another Christian brother to take out to the new area. They will spend the night Village X and visit Village K on their way to the large village, Village F. In Village F, they will greet Chief B who has been our strong ally from the first trip. After spending Sunday night in Village F, the team will depart early Monday morning for the new area.
Thank you for all you do in sharing the Gospel here and around the world!
Mali Mission Team Prayer Requests
APRIL 15-25, 2009
Team Members: Bryan Blain, Lawrence Duhon, Tony Richmond
- Pray for each team member’s health and safety throughout the trip.
- Pray for the health & safety for their families here:
- Whitney Blain, Ben & James
- Eva Duhon, Daniel & Jonathan
- Kristen Richmond
- Pray for the team’s driver, Oury, to remain alert and careful throughout the trip. Also pray for his salvation.
- Pray for Pastor Bart. As the team’s sole interpreter, he will be sharing with them in the dialect of a neighboring people group.. Ask that God would give him the ability to communicate clearly to the Yalunka people whose heart language he does not speak or understand.
- Pray for the believers in the villages of F, X, and K to grow in their faith and in their understanding of the true Gospel of Grace as the team visits these villages once again.
- Pray that Phillip or another Yalunka believer will be able to accompany the team to a neighboring Yalunka region where no FBC-K Teams have been before so that our church can begin a new area of work in other Yalunka villages.
- Pray that the team will be able to find the new villages an believers (whom Pastor Bart knows) without any problems, and that the road into that area will be passable.
- Pray for an open door for the Gospel in this new area where the few believers have been persecuted for their faith in years past.
- Pray for wisdom for each team member as he seeks to share just the right Bible stories and passages in both evangelism and discipleship.
- Pray for effective use of the written doctrinal and literacy materials in the Jalunga dialect that the team now has available for each village.
“All my forefathers have passed away into darkness
without knowing anything of what was to befall them.
How is it that your forefathers, knowing all these things,
did not send word to my forefathers sooner?”
- African chief to David Livingstone
MALI MISSION MARCH09: Three more baptisms in Village Y, more Scripture taught, departure for Senegal
March 27, 2009
The last two days in Village Y, the team has had sweet times of worshiping and teaching Scripture. Yesterday, they had the blessed opportunity to lead three young men into salvation, and then baptize them.
The team has now split up, with Pastor Barry, the Journey Girls, and translators returning to Bamako through K’ba, and Keith and the missionary heading toward Dakar. Their long journey will soon be over, with Keith arriving back in Texas on Sunday afternoon. Please pray for safety in travel.
Praise God:
· for building and refining His Church in Mali this week;
· that Scripture is God-breathed and effectively used by Him to instruct and purify us;
· for the many seeds of the gospel that were planted this week (may they be watered and harvested in His timing);
· for Greg Pruitt’s willingness to spend many years of labor in translating the Bible into the Yalunka language;
· for using Penny Warner as an integral partner on this trip to Mali;
· that someday we, along with many from the Yalunka tribe, will be around His Throne giving Him glory:
Revelation 7:9-10
9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
10and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
**Thank you for playing a crucial part in this trip through your prayers!**
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