The CSEN boys dorm and girls dorm on the new property. Continue to pray as the Directors office/house is built

May 2012 Update

April Kid's News

ACEN Church Choir, March 18 2012

Here is a sample of the Gourma songs sung by the ACEN Church Choir

Motorcycle Evangelism

What does repairing a motorcycle  have to do with evangelism? A lot as relationships are formed and hearts are opened to the story of Jesus.

Baby Dedications

It is a privilege to be invited to a ceremony where our national friends announce the name of their new baby. Recently we had the opportunity to attend two different styles of these ceremonies.

The first ceremony, though a "Christian" family, was very much in the tradition of the Muslims. Where the baby is kept in the home with the mother, surrounded by friends, family and sometimes beggars. The baby is shown to you and a gift is expected to be left for the family.

It would be wonderful to see Christians having a time of dedication and prayer for their child in their church with Christian brothers and sisters committing to pray for this child rather than to continue a Muslim tradition.

We were delighted by the second baby dedication that we attended. It was for our fellow workers Hassand and Mary Dan Karami. They had had a little boy born to them in late February. On the following Sunday, they brought thier baby ( still not formally named) to church where the pastor prayed, and presented him to the congregation. Announcing Joshua's name to all. It was such a joyus time. Everyone praying and praising for the birth of this little boy. It was then followed by a meal for all in attendance.

What a difference. We pray that in time young belivers of Niger will see the importance of dedicating thier children to the Lord. Of seperating themselves from the ways of the past and looking to scripture to see how even Jesus' parents brought him to the temple "to be presented to the Lord" ( Luke 2: 22)

Fishing for Men

" Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed." Mark 1:16 - 17

Pray for us we seek to be fishers of men & women. We have had opportunities over the last couple of months to share with men of the river, building relationships that we pray will lead men to God's saving grace.

Phil & Sumana

The Proclaimer

"But unless Christ's word is preached, there is nothing to listen to. "

Romans 10:17 The Message

In December, Phil had an opportunity to go out to a small village west of Niamey. He was joined by one of the ACEN church elders as they attended a Campus for Christ training session for the "Proclaimers."

The "proclaimer" is a solar powered/hand cranked MP3 players that is housed in a box with a speaker for protection and group use. The proclaimer has prerecorded portions of scripture in it that are used in small group settings to teach, and disciple the young church.

Many Nigerien are unable to read, so the use of oral language learning is very vital. The Proclaimer gets the word of God to the people of the church first, helping them learn scripture, ask questions in the small group setting and then with understanding go outside the church to evangelize their village neighbors.

It was a privilege to be present as the Proclaimers were handed out to the elders and pastors of churches from surrounding villages.

Their faces lit up as they heard the Bible passages read in their own language, Gourma.

Pray that these Proclaimers will be well used to strengthen the young church of Niger.

Pray for the leaders of the Proclaimer small groups, to be prepared for each meeting ready to answer questions and encouraging their members to learn more.

Pray that the Proclaimers are protected from damage and continue working for many years.

Pray for the follow up on the initial hand out of the proclaimer. That there will be good documentation of its use and small group feed back.

UPDATE! Training for The Proclaimer use was begun at the small Gourma church we attend in Niamey. We look forward to seeing how it is used there and growth in scripture understanding of our church members.

Road Work

Some jobs are just too big to be done by a couple of people. Sooooo, we rounded up a crew of energetic teens from Sahel Academy, along with their youth leader and the orphanage children to repair the road in front of the CSEN Orphanage.

It was a 2 week project as we could only work for about 1 1/2 hours on a given day.

But with some good old heave hoe, strong backs and a few laughs on the job, the broken rock, and latarite were put in place.

Holes were filled and a car could once again pass on the road.

We are grateful for ways to reach out -

with our hands and practically help with day to day needs. This was a need not only for the orphanage personally, but it touched the lives of their neighbors as well.

We are thankful that these opportunities bring the community teens & our children together,

so that they work shoulder to shoulder with the children of Niger.

There are many practical ways that CSEN can use help. If you are not able to come and serve, maybe you would be able to give. Gifts can be contributed through Maxwell Ministries.

Time with Teens at CSEN

Each week, Shannon goes along with up to 6 high school students from

Sahel Academy for a time of community outreach.

The teens use the hour to love the children with hugs, games, crafts,

lots of pushes on the swings and just sweet companionship.

This is a great time for the orphans, to be with older children, have some one one one

time and for the teens to reach out to others.

PRAYER NEEDS OF CSEN:

Pray for the orphan chidren as many are growing into the teen years and facing some of the same teen struggles that teens around the world face.

Pray for the health of the children at CSEN

Pray for Bernard and Jose as they care for 32 children

Pray for the small staff that works with B & J - that they will work in unity and be able to have time to share & pray together.

Pray for us (Phil & Shannon) that we can be an encouragement & support to CSEN.

Back on the Blog

The lack of good internet service can be somewhat discouraging when there are many people that you want to keep in touch with. So today, I am trying to once again up date our blog site.
Perhaps I can do this more regularly now.

I would like to find a way to EASILY post our email updates and news letters. If any one has no how on this - I am reading/listening.

Here's to a new beginning.

Missionary Shoes

Here is a blog spot just for fun!!

Hope it makes you smile.

Can you choose which shoes belong to a "missionary"?

If you chose all of the above you are right!

Each shoe belongs to a "missionary", one who is a testimony

in his home, community & work.

SO

maybe we should re- word that question.

Can you choose which shoes belong to "THE" missionary?

If you chose the ones on the left you are correct.

Each Sunday, Phil, along with Lenny and Etienne, joke about "missionary shoes" and how everyone wants a pair.

Four years ago, Lenny (the man in the middle) bought Phil's old "missionary shoes" and they are now his "Sunday shoes". They joke that Etienne needs a pair for himself.

HA!! SMILE! HA!!

Glad that all these "missionaries" have shoes to wear.

CSEN Orphanage & The American Ambassador

On September 11th, the American Ambassador hosted a "United We Serve" Day of Remembrance here in Niger.

By special invitation CSEN was asked to come and bring a group of children to be given a gift from a local handicapped facility. It was to be a gift of chairs and shoes hand made by the "handicapped" people of this group.

Local TV & Radio were present to record this event. This helped not only remind people of the need to work together, but gave an opportunity for the orphanage to share its desire to raise orphaned children in a godly home.

Phil was able to attend the meeting along with Bernard and several of the children from CSEN.

We praise God that the Ambassador has been supportive of CSEN and was willing to choose them as a recipient of this gift.

If you would like to make contributions to the CSEN orphanage -

gifts can be given through Maxwell Ministries .

First Sunday in Niger

Our first Sunday back in Niger, we found our way, via Taxi, to the ACEN church of Niamey. They had been praying two years for our coming.

It was a special day to be sitting in the cool shade of the church




listening to the ladies and children sing.


We were introduced to the church (sorry no picture) & Phil was able to share,
in French,a brief testimony of our arrival to work with them
as well as his history with the founders of the church.

The boys enjoyed the children & playing drums after church.




Pray with us, that in time, we will build strong relations with the people of this church, that will lead to greater spiritual growth in all of us.

Pray that we will grow to love one another & serve
side by side.

Provison In Niger

God has provided since our arrival in Niger:

Guest House Accommodations

For our first month in Niger, we were able to stay at the Southern Baptist Guest house.

This was a great provision as we had room to spread out, generator power, air conditioning and Internet connection. It also had a great place for the boys to play.

A "New" Car

After 3 weeks of car shopping God provided a small Toyota "Picnic", for our family. Though it is over 12 years old, it is in relatively good shape. It can seat more than 4 and is small enough to maneuver the crowded streets. We are grateful for God's provision of our vehicle. Pray that it will stay in good running condition.

Reunion of Friends & Coworkers

We were grateful for the reunions we had with co-workers, Muslim friends and missionary friends. Many of them provided meals, rides, car shopping and house hunting trips for us.

A New House that will soon be "Home"

It was actually our African co-workers who found us a house. Before leaving for Niger they had looked for a house in the area of the church and orphanage. They had sent us pictures but we were not confident enough to say yes, without seeing the house in person.

When we arrived in country we were brought to the house and though it was VERY dirty

we saw potential. We wanted to pray more and look more.

Phil spoke with other "house hunters" and saw a few, but was always brought back to this same house. We sensed that it was God who was directing and we were able to negotiate a good price on the house from the land lord.

Pray that this house will be a home of peace. That once all the "fixing up" is done we can find rest and peace here. That we can open our home to share with many in need of rest or coming to serve.

Arrival of our Bags & Container

We were grateful for the way God provided the arrival of our bags. After a four day flight delay in Paris, our bags arrived 3 days after us in Niger. They had been "missing" for a week, but arrived in good shape, nothing broken or missing.

Our container also arrived, having been sent the week before we left the United States. It arrived in Gods perfect time, the day we took occupancy of the house.

These are just a few of the ways that God has provided.

Prayer, Patience, Planning, Packing & Providing

It has been some time since we have posted on this blog site. During this time there has been much prayer, patience and planning going on and then a lot of packing & providing

We had been in prayer for over a year about our return to Niger with Maxwell Ministries. We had been waiting patiently (most days) when the Lord spoke to us that we were not to wait for all of our support to come in before moving forward. We were to step out in faith. Start planning to go. God would provide, in His time.

So, we started planning our return to Niger. That meant, telling family, getting plane tickets, sharing our testimony of this "step of faith" with Sunday School classes, co-workers and friends. As we begun to share, God began to provide; we were given a large gift to help kick off our return, one of our churches in Evans agreed to pay our air lines tickets, new supporters stepped forward and co-workers prayed and showered our family with gifts for our time in Niger.

With a container already waiting to be packed, the packing was able to be done slowly, over a 3 month period. God seemed to expand the sides or shrink the contents so that almost all of our household items could be shipped ahead of us to Niger.

Along with all the ways God provided finances for us, he allowed Shannon and the boys to finish out the year at school. He also brought a buyer, rather than a renter, for our house in Georgia, the week we were to leave for Niger. Though we did not meet the buyers we later learned that they were a Christian family and began attending the same church we had in Evans.

God also provided a special time with Shannon's parents before we left the US. We are so thankful for our supportive family.

As we are now here in Niger, it is good to reflect on all the ways that God lead us here.
For even while we are here we are still practicing the "P" words; Prayer, Patience, Planning, (un)Packing and Providing.

Ministry in Niger 2002-2003

A look back at ministry in Niger in 2002-2003

To play the video, simply click the play button on the lower left.

Co-workers for the Kingdom

This picture is late in posting, but it must be shared. Phil was thankful for the opportunity to spend time with Hassane, though brief, as he flew through Atlanta back in August. Both Phil and Hassane have a heart for the people of Niger. Hassane was able to share with Phil his joy in returning to Niger(after several years of study in Kenya) to serve his people. Hassane and his wife Mary, lead, disciple and encourage the church and lay leaders in the country.

Phil is in prayer daily for this ministry as well as Hassane. Phil prays earnestly that he might soon be able to join Hassane in Niger to help minister along side him. Pray for these coworkers, separated by a big ocean, but one in heart and prayer for the men and women of Niger.

ACEN Church video

Leadership Training in Evangelizing and Discipling New Beleivers, March 14-19