missionary boards and missionaries are wonderful ways to reach areas of the world in trouble. a way where you are more sure that any money you send will get to the people in need. if your church supports missionaries you will probably be able to check their missionary board to see if they have any missionaries or humanitarian aid efforts in the country in crisis. i will be checking baptist mid missions website to see what they might do in Japan. right now they know that all the missionaries with their board are safe and one missionary couple was able to help send a tsunami alert through the Christian radio station. well, here, i'll let BMM say it better:
All BMM missionaries confirmed safe after Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunamis.
We are thankful for the Lord’s protection of all our missionaries in the affected areas of Japan, Chuuk, Guam, and Hawaii. In Japan, missionaries report extensive damage to property as dishes, bookcases, and other items fell. Clean-up will be a large undertaking. On Saturday, missionaries will focus on cleaning up their churches to prepare for Sunday services. Other areas have no electricity and are flooded because of tsunamis. Aftershocks and tsunamis continue.
Baptist Mid-Missions has one missionary family serving on the Micronesian islands of Chuuk. Through their Christian radio station, they notified people on nearby islands of the tsunami warning, enabling them to find safety on higher ground.
Pray for our missionaries’ own needs and for their ability to conduct physical and spiritual ministry in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, for open doors and open hearts.
i wanted to post some missionary letters a week back but was waiting on the email of one letter....well i have it so i'm posting them, finally. remember the king's? well, they are missionaries to the ivory coast and while they are home bound delayed in their return due to the crisis in government another missionary couple, messers and their children, are there. it makes you really consider what me think about what i am doing for Christ and rethink what i consider as sacrifice.
Kings on furlough from their work in the Ivory Coast: WILL YOU HOLD THE ROPES IN PRAYER?
Dear Praying Friends,
Acts 9:25 - "Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket."
The words here speak about the persecution against Paul just after his conversion. The anger against him was so heated and the danger was so intense, that the disciples helped Paul escape by putting him in a basket and letting him down the wall with a rope. The analogy is evident: when we are in danger we need help; often the help comes as God's people act. Things in Côte d'Ivoire are increasingly getting worse. At this point you can't be there, but you can ''hold the ropes'' in prayer for saints you have never met who are seeing difficult times.
The source of the problem is the results of the elections in November 2010. The presidential incumbent, Mr. Laurent Gbagbo, who was reportedly defeated has yet to step down. The president elect (which is a disputed issue), Mr. Alassane Ouattara, has been holed up in a hotel in the economic capital and has taken steps to assume the office. The international community and the UN have declared Mr. Ouattara the legal president. Both men have been setting up their governments.
There is increased fighting in different areas of the country, especially this past week. There have been ethnic clashes in different areas and the situation does not look good. It has been reported that there are at least 30,000 refugees who have entered Liberiaand many more are displaced all over the country. Amnesty International reports that there are countless human rights abuses. The northern suburbs of the capitol, Abidjan, have been a real battleground this week, and missionary personnel of one orphanage had to evacuate. Today, I spoke with a friend in Abidjan who verified that there are armed youth who are terrorizing the foreign African community.
With the embargo of both ports, there is no import and export of anything. Some of the stores have only enough food items to last roughly three months. We were told the pharmacies are in the same condition. No propane gas is being delivered to many towns (meaning no gas for cooking), and there is a shortage of gasoline as well. In addition to all this, two weeks ago the banks in the country started closing one by one, and only a few are still opened.
We are praying for the country. Although some areas have been in crisis with the fighting, San Pedro, where our ministry has been, is calm at this moment. I was on the phone with several Ivorian believers today and people really don't know what is going to happen next. They are looking at a meltdown of the country going into civil war. They continue to pray that peace will prevail and be restored. Our heart breaks, realizing that within a short time they may be suffering and lacking the basic needs of life. PLEASE ''Hold the ropes'' for the dear saints, pastors, and bible institute teachers and students who love the Lord.
We are still in the US and were planning to return to the field at the end of April. Yesterday we talked to Pastor Harris, from our sending church. With the political situation as it is, he feels that it is best for us to wait until we can see more stability in the country. We agree. Although it saddens us to delay our “going home”, this will enable us to present our ministry in a few more churches. Please pray that God continues to guide and give us wisdom.
Thank You! We appreciate all you who support our ministry by prayer.
God Bless! Steve and Gayle King
Côte d'Ivoire
Baptist Mid-Missions
Messers currently serving in the Ivory Coast:
Dear Friends and Family,
Hi. So, I tried to be creative with the subject line. J I wanted to share with you something super funny that happened at our ladies meeting last weekend. It may be hard for you to really see how funny it was since you couldn’t be there and understand what was going on, but I’m going to try my best to convey it to you.
So, we were at Dan and Joan Cuthbertson’s church for our monthly ladies meeting (all the ladies from the 5 churches in our fellowship.) There weren’t that many ladies (it’s hard for many of them to get away from home), but those of us who were there were enjoying the fellowship and song time. Caroline (the one who had surgery) who leads our choir picked a song that pretty much no one knew. I mentioned that I did not know the song (when I first read the title…) Then, my sister began to play the music and lo and behold it turned out to be “Onward Christian Soldiers.” So I said, “Oh yeah, I know this one.” I just did not recognize the words in French (the words were saying “Stay Firm and Holy”—rough translation). So, we began singing. Pretty much Caroline and I were the only ones singing and we were really belting it out. I noticed that the syllables were not matching up right, but we were making it work. Some places we really had to sing fast (saying two words where normally there would be one) to make it fit the tune for that line. Suddenly, though Joan was still playing and seemed to be nearing the end of “Onward Christian Soldiers” Caroline and I found ourselves completely out of words to sing. I said, “Well, that is strange.” Joan asked, “What number was that again?” When we told her, she started laughing and said for some reason her book (with the music) did not even have that song in it. She had accidently gone to the number after the one we had picked. Caroline and I about died laughing at ourselves for having sung a totally different song to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers” and if I do say so myself—we did a pretty good job. All except for the part where we ran out of words near the end.
Oh well, maybe you had to be there. We sure got a laugh out of it. You should try it sometime. Just pick a song you don’t know at all and try to sing it to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers.” I know “Amazing Grace” fits many tunes, but trust me, “Onward Christian Soldiers” does not. J
We’re doing OK here. Things are a little rough. They have closed all of the banks and no money is flowing in the country. Our city has five cash machines and they are all shut down. I think if push comes to shove we may be able to change money with the Lebanese business men who work here. There is also a curfew which isn’t so bad as it makes everyone go home by 9 PM. We’re praying for God to do a miracle and somehow work things out. He promised that all things will work together for good to those who love Him and there are MANY here in Cote d’Ivoire who do love the Lord. We’re all praying for peace in the country. Our city is very calm and peaceful (as it has been all along)—but I’m not sure how all of the International sanctions will affect the people. Hard times may be ahead—it may become difficult to get money or food… We are trying to stock up a bit and be prepared, but it’s going to be difficult for those who already have practically nothing. You read in the Bible about a country laying siege on another country, well I’m beginning to relate. For now we have enough to eat and for sure we have enough extra body fat to survive on much less. We trust God will take care of us. Thanks for praying though. It always helps.
The ministry is going well. Souls are being saved and believers are becoming more involved in the work. We will probably be staying with our current church work for about a year until it is ready to call its own full-time national pastor. After that we are hoping to begin the new church plants in the city and into the villages as God leads. On a recent visit in the neighborhood, we had a chance to speak with some young people who wanted to know if they had to go to church every Sunday (sounds like our kids sometimes). We took advantage of a toddler running around to give an answer their question. The child likes to eat and drink, right? They all said yes. Well, when you are born again into God’s family, you get a new spiritual appetite. You will begin hungering for spiritual things. God has given pastors and teachers to the church to help feed the flock of God. We need our souls fed from the teaching of God’s Word. They seemed to understand. So, pray for them that they will be faithful in coming to the church. One of them did come to the church this past Wednesday.
Prayer Requests:
1. Safety during these unstable times in Ivory Coast.
2. Salvation of those who have heard the gospel.
3. Spiritual growth of those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior. During one of our evangelistic meeting last Tuesday, 27 people made professions of faith. All glory goes to God.
4. Strength and wisdom for the ministry.
5. Continued good health for the family.
6. Physical healing of our church members, Caroline (post-surgery) and Marceline (cancer).
7. The spiritual growth of our churches.
Thank you so much for praying for us. May the Lord bless you abundantly for your part in our ministry in Ivory Coast.
Serving a good and great Savior,
Andy and Becky Messer
World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions
PO Box 725
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
Andy and David dressed as nomadic Touregs
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