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.