Africa-an unforgettable trip

18 Americans. 6 men and 12 women. One 17 year old, one 74 year old. Most over 40. Some lay people, some full time Christian workers.  Some on their first international trip, some old hands. When I think of who the Lord pulled together for this mission trip, I can't help but think of the verse in Acts 4 which describes the disciples as unschooled and ordinary, yet used by God to accomplish courageous, extraordinary things for His glory. With the help of 15 or so Baptist Churches in Freetown this group of ordinary believers saw 5,120 people make salvation decisions in just one week!! May God be glorified!

Jeanie Taylor (my friend from Fort Worth) and I were assigned to work with Victorious Christ Baptist Church, planted 4 years ago by Pastor Samuel Ojo and his family right in the heart of the city.  I was asked to share the morning message on the first Sunday in their new building. They had been meeting in a tent on the property for a good long while so the fact that the building was unfinished didn't deter their enthusiasm.

I shared from John 4, the story of how Jesus approached the woman at the well with the Good News. I  encouraged them to think about how they might reach out to a friend or relative in a similar way that week during our evangelistic outreach.        

Samuel and Dorcas Ojo are church-planters from Nigeria and their time of ministry in Sierra Leone is almost up. Samuel has trained Pastor Thomas (pictured in the suit) to take his place, so it is Thomas who is responsible for following up all the decisions that were made.  We gave him  contact information for 86 new believers.  He will be busy for quite awhile!

             

This is Jeanie with one of the first people we met who wanted to accept Jesus. Actually, we met very few who didn't want to receive Christ once we explained the gospel.  The openness of the people was astounding actually. It seemed as though everywhere we went, a crowd gathered to hear what we had to say and when we asked if they wanted to receive God's gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins by following Jesus Christ, there was almost unanimous agreement.

I mentioned that our church was under construction, so one day Pastor Ojo gathered all the plasterers and had me share the gospel using the Evangecube (https://www.e3resources.org). That is what I am doing in this picture. Jeanie counted about 20 men. All were listening intently and most all prayed to receive Christ.  Can you imagine that happening here in the U.S.? Me either.

At the end of the week, a mass baptism was performed in a river outside of town. It wasn't the cleanest water, to say the least, but the result was just as effective! The participants joyfully sang "I have decided to follow Jesus..no turning back, no turning back..."

One of the things that gave me pause was when I learned that in this African culture, the day of birth is considered a sad day and the day of death, a day of celebration.  At first, it was hard for this American mind to understand such upside down thinking. But I think I figured it out. Our life in America is easy in comparison and rife with opportunity. Not so in a culture where the average wage is $1.25 a day. Life is hard and children, though everywhere, are a trial and burden to parents who can't take care of them.

The Good News of the Gospel says that both birth and death are cause for celebration because Jesus gives hope for this life and the next. That is the message we brought and the message that will be shining forth from the local churches we had the privilege of working with.  Will you join me in praying especially for Victorious Christ church and Pastor Thomas as they continue the work in Freetown? And a heartfelt thanks to all who gave and prayed so that I could go. I hope this isn't my last trip to Africa!!