Wednesday, February 18, 2009
where did i put that?
Izzy loves to eat. I mean this child has no problem eating whatever we put in front of her. Her favorites, however, are bananas, bread & Kossam (liquid yogurt). Lately, she has been learning to feed herself with some finger foods from the States (thanks Aunt BJ & Badanda!). In doing so, I think she gets a little too excited shoving them in her mouth &, temporarily, "loses" her food.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
happy valentine's day
Izzy & I made these pictures for part of Mark's Valentine's Day card. Hey, when there's no Hallmark in town, you gotta do what you gotta do.
believe.
Maybe you’re like me & you’ve heard people talk about the power of prayer. You’ve agreed with your lips but your heart has yet to fully grasp it. Well, now is the time to fully grasp it. From those of you that have ever said a simple prayer for the salvation of the Songhai of Ayorou to those of you that have spent countless mornings on your knees begging God for the Songhai by name to be saved to those of you that have had the privilege of looking them in the eyes & telling them face to face of the saving power of Jesus Christ, you have now GOT to believe that God has indeed heard your prayers & answered them. There IS power in prayer & it is with the humblest of hearts that Mark and I share with you how we’ve witnessed it this week in Ayorou.
For centuries upon centuries, the Songhai have followed after false gods, whether it has been as followers of Islam or having deep rooted beliefs in ancient spirits. Since being here we have seen an openness to the Gospel in Ayorou that is very uncharacteristic to people that have yet been exposed to the Light. We have slowly seen the Songhai one by one take small steps toward counting it all a loss for the sake of knowing Christ - first with Yacouba in April 2007, then with Hama & then with Isa a year later. Recently, you rejoiced with us as Ela took that step. These have been small, but very significant, dots on the spiritual timeline of the Songhai. Last week we saw history in the making as one HUGE dot was placed on this timeline.
Brothers & sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord, we would like you to welcome to the family of God FIVE new baptized believers in Ayorou, Niger! Oh & that’s not all, these are just five of the EIGHT that accepted Christ as their Savior in the last weeks. Three have yet to follow through in baptism & we ask that you would pray for them to have the courage & boldness to do so. One of the greatest joys of this whole event was standing on the shore watching a Songhai man baptize his fellow Songhai into the body of Christ. And then watching that man baptize the next four believers. Oh the joy that floods our soul in seeing this happen!
Some of these people you have prayed for by name & some you have never met. Over the next coming weeks, we will introduce you to them ALL but we don’t have the time or room to do so right now. But let me tell you, there are some incredible stories & we can’t wait to share them with you! For now, we will leave you with a picture of our baptized brothers & sisters & one additional prayer request.
Many of you have prayed for our friend Hamsatou (mother of Yacouba). Many of you have shared with her face to face of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Last week God answered your prayers as she prayed to receive Christ. Hamsatou is deathly afraid of the river & is scared to be baptized there. (For a parallel, it would be like someone telling me that I had to skydive to be baptized. Ummmm, I don’t think so!) Please pray for the Lord to replace her fear with courage.
Your new brothers & sisters!
For centuries upon centuries, the Songhai have followed after false gods, whether it has been as followers of Islam or having deep rooted beliefs in ancient spirits. Since being here we have seen an openness to the Gospel in Ayorou that is very uncharacteristic to people that have yet been exposed to the Light. We have slowly seen the Songhai one by one take small steps toward counting it all a loss for the sake of knowing Christ - first with Yacouba in April 2007, then with Hama & then with Isa a year later. Recently, you rejoiced with us as Ela took that step. These have been small, but very significant, dots on the spiritual timeline of the Songhai. Last week we saw history in the making as one HUGE dot was placed on this timeline.
Brothers & sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord, we would like you to welcome to the family of God FIVE new baptized believers in Ayorou, Niger! Oh & that’s not all, these are just five of the EIGHT that accepted Christ as their Savior in the last weeks. Three have yet to follow through in baptism & we ask that you would pray for them to have the courage & boldness to do so. One of the greatest joys of this whole event was standing on the shore watching a Songhai man baptize his fellow Songhai into the body of Christ. And then watching that man baptize the next four believers. Oh the joy that floods our soul in seeing this happen!
Some of these people you have prayed for by name & some you have never met. Over the next coming weeks, we will introduce you to them ALL but we don’t have the time or room to do so right now. But let me tell you, there are some incredible stories & we can’t wait to share them with you! For now, we will leave you with a picture of our baptized brothers & sisters & one additional prayer request.
Many of you have prayed for our friend Hamsatou (mother of Yacouba). Many of you have shared with her face to face of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Last week God answered your prayers as she prayed to receive Christ. Hamsatou is deathly afraid of the river & is scared to be baptized there. (For a parallel, it would be like someone telling me that I had to skydive to be baptized. Ummmm, I don’t think so!) Please pray for the Lord to replace her fear with courage.
Your new brothers & sisters!
Monday, February 02, 2009
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