When the team
arrived in Zuenoula
we were greeted
with shouts from
the children in
the tribal language
of the Djoula, "Tubabu,
Tubabu, Bangladesh,
Bangladesh."
Which means,
"White man,
White man,
Bangladesh, Bangladesh."
Apparently
the kids were used
to chasing the Bangladeshi
UN peace keeping
troops around as
they made their
patrols. By
the time our
Gospel campaign
was over the chants
of the little children
had changed to, "Tubabu,
Tubabu, Hallelujah, Hallelujah."
We liked that
chant a lot better!
It was a great
privilege
to join forces
with Eglise Evangelique
de Reveil (Evangelical
Revival Church of
Ivory Coast) to
help plant a church
in Zuenoula. Pastor
Maxime with his
wife, Simone, and
seven children
were meeting under
the mango tree in
their front yard
(pictured top left).
The team helped
the pastor build
an "apatam"
- a rudimentary shelter
made of a simple
wood frame and a
palm branch roof.
There were
so many new believers
that we quickly
outgrew the shelter
and had to add two
tents to accommodate
the overflow. What
a transformation
over the course
of two weeks!
Thousands
attended the crusade
each night giving
their lives to Christ
and receiving healing
for their bodies
and souls. The
woman pictured with
her hands raised
(above middle right)
was healed of a
shoulder problem.
She had a
condition
that prevented her
from lifting her
arms and in turn,
hindered her from
working. In
the village, if
you don't work,
you don't eat. You
can imagine how
happy she was to
be healed! You
can also see the
same woman
in the bottom right
photo wearing a
red scarf. She
came to every morning
teaching meeting,
including the final
Saturday morning
meeting where she
and 200 others were
filled with the
Holy Spirit. On
Sunday Pastor Maxime
had about 250 people
attending. That
was a tremendous
blessing, considering
he had just a handful
of people the previous
week.
A
Muslim woman came
to the meeting and
testified that her
menstrual cycle
had been restored
after not having
it for 10 months. She
came back on two
more occasions to
testify of additional
healings. When
she saw and experienced
the healing power
of Christ, she gave
her life to Jesus
and began coming
to the teaching
meetings. Her
husband threatened
to divorce her.
She told him
she did not want
to divorce,
but she could never
renounce Jesus after
all He had done
for her.
Pioneer
evangelism is not
a "Walk in
the Park".
It's a fight
on every Front!
When
the team arrived
in Zuenoula, we
found out that the
pastor's wife was
hospitalized with
a serious infection
in her thigh. She
was operated on,
without anesthesia,
to drain the abscess
and nearly died
twice that day. After
the set-up
was complete, Dan
and Tom went to
visit Madam Simone.
Her condition
was so grave that
Dan decided the
following day to
drive her to Abidjan
for better medical
treatment. She
stayed a week at
our team base while
Laura and Andrea
took care of her
and ferried her
to the doctor daily.
Later she
moved to a pastor's
home. We will
not share all the
"medical details",
but we will say
that Madam
Simone could not
walk for over a
month, she had fever
up to 105 degrees,
and the infection
was literally eating
her leg away. When
we prayed with Madame
Simone we would
tell Satan to "take
his baggage and
leave".
One morning he did.
She got up
to shower and she
was able to hobble
to the bathroom.
The leg stopped
draining, and she
began to walk normally.
We praise
God for this miraculous
recovery. Some
miracles are instant,
and some are not,
but ALL are Glorious!!!
Here
are just a
few of the many testimonies
from Zuenoula:
Woman
- paralyzed after
a car accident 2
years ago - now
walking!
Man
- 11 years stomach
pain and headache
- healed!
Man
- 8 years ago was
poisoned resulting
in chronic headaches
and body pain -
now completely healed!
Sadly,
we were not able
to get to Bayota,
our final crusade
site, this year.
Our tractor
trailer
truck had a major
breakdown on the
way out of Zuenoula
and the team had
to return to Abidjan
for repairs. I
guess that is to
be expected, as
the truck is over
22 years old!
Pardon
our lengthy newsletter.
It's the last one
of the dry season. We
are so grateful
for all those who
have stood with
us this crusade
season through prayer
and financial support.
We give God
all the glory for
what has been accomplished.
Yours
in Christ,
Dan
for the IEM Team
in Africa
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