From: Matt Price Date: April 27, 2007 |
From: Matt Price Date: April 20, 2007 |
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Coincidence? Less than seven hours after sending out the last PFU with a request (screaming plea) for prayer about our attitudes in light of our lack of electricity, we had electricity for five days straight. Thanks for praying, it makes a difference.
Also, Parker and I are just about over whatever we had. He’s been on antibiotics all week and seems to be doing pretty good. I was better and then contracted/attracted a little something-something. If it’s not one thing it’s another, but we have just learned to work through it.
Ashley, Sonya, and Moise went north last weekend to Tanguieta and Parakou. After two flat tires and a couple of close calls with oncoming traffic, they arrived in Tanguieta. There they discovered the guesthouse, along with a lot of places in the area, recently had their electricity cut. Matt Murdock, the missionary, hooked up a fan to car batteries for them. The next night they tried a hotel not far from there (I’ve stayed there with John Watton and Russ Lovett at different times). As soon as they moved in—click!—the generator quite working. You’ll never believe where they stayed for their third night in the area.
During the day, Ashley gave a message at a Nazarene youth camp with over 300 youth from dozens of churches and villages. The African teenagers were thrilled with the fact that Ashley jumped in and joined the local voice and dance chorales as they performed. On Sunday, Ashley, Sonya, and Moise visited a new church in a small village called Pingou about 30 km (18 miles) away from Tanguieta. When Ashley gave her testimony, it resonated with one of the women in the church in particular, although many came forward during the invitation at the end of the service. In this northern Benin environment, the culture is very similar to that of the ancient cultures of the Bible. The woman talked with her husband. The husband decided that their family would become Christians. About 30 people in that family have taken a new step in the journey with Jesus Christ. I asked Moise why the woman was so impressed with Ashley and her testimony. He said that she couldn’t get over the fact that someone would come all the way from the U.S. to this little village, when many times someone will not even come from the closest town to visit them. Ashley and Sonya did not come bearing gifts, medical assistance, food aid, promises to cast out demons or hold an evangelistic campaign. “They just came to worship Jesus with us,” she said.
The next day they moved down to Natitingou where they were given a room in a hotel where the President of the Republique stays when he is in the area—no worries about electricity or water there! They spent the day with Moise and one of his childhood friends visiting a Tata Somba (two-story huts made of mud and surrounded by a mud wall). They talked a lot about Africa and African culture. The next day they made their way to Parakou and visited a couple of new churches. During the night Moise helped a local team of Nazarenes show the JESUS Film in a village called Boko. After two nights of showings, they gathered a cell group of 160 people—many new converts and some others that were part of a smaller cell in the town. They had to meet in the market area because there was not a building large enough to hold everyone.
They returned to Cotonou on Wednesday after a full day on the road (and one more flat tire). They drove the last three and a half hours without a spare, but they made it in spite of it all.
I stayed home with the kids: we organized some of our piles, watched movies late, hung out with their friends and just spent some time together. It was good for Sonya and I to switch places for a short while to appreciate what the other one usually goes through while traveling.
Ashley is entering her last weekend in Benin . Next week we expect another slate of visitors to arrive before the big conference of district and educational leaders held near Lome in about ten days.
Pray for Ashley as she reflects on her time in Benin. Pray for the boys as they figure out what to do during the next two weeks of vacation from school. Pray for Sonya as she directs the traffic in and out of the guesthouse over the next few weeks. Pray for our visitors—Stephane and Sondra Tibi as well as Tim Eby in a couple of weeks. Pray for our educational and district leaders conference near Lome , Togo . Pray for the teams of university students from Mount Vernon and Youth in Mission that are finishing up classes and course work while preparing for their trips to Benin . Pray for the preparations for the construction of the district center and the Work and Witness team from Yuba City , CA that is coming in July.
Blessings from Benin , Matt |
Well, for the last four days we’ve been without electricity for almost 65 hours with only hit-and-miss water pressure. Parker and I have had malaria or malarial symptoms that kicked in last weekend. Besides that, everything’s going okay here.
Ashley Reeves arrived from Ohio to volunteer for the month of April. Last weekend she preached in a church near Lome , Togo . She has spent a week shadowing Sonya plus part of last week and this week at an orphanage near the Nigerian border. They conducted home visits to evaluate the situations of various children. On Tuesday they visited triplets who were recently orphaned. It took Ashley a while to get used to the kids living in dirty underpants, taking naps on the dirt floors, and eating everything with their hands. Actually, I don’t think Ashley got used to it, and who could blame her? Today, Sonya and Ashley venture north to Tanguieta for a youth camp.
Last weekend in Lome , Parker got really sick, initiating Ashley into what it’s like to be in an enclosed space, like the backseat of a vehicle, when someone, like a child, throws up all over the place. Actually, Parker had pretty good aim and most of it went into the plastic bag. We figured out a few hours later that Parker had malaria that has turned into bronchitis. He’s been out of school all week long until this morning. He went and we will see how he feels.
I spent time on Monday with Moise who just returned from establishing a zone of churches north of Cotonou . The district doesn’t just plant individual churches any more but constellations of churches. Moise had much to report. Since January, three current zones have added nineteen churches. This includes the Mono zone which began with one church last October. Two churches were added when the JESUS Film team from Oregon visited in January. Two months later, eight more churches were started in this area. There are over 40 students taking ministry courses in this zone. Since January, three new zones have been started with a total of ten new churches. One of these zones was part of the Cotonou zone, and this area had one of the oldest Nazarene churches in Benin and the pastor was the first one ordained at a Benin district assembly. This church had planted two other churches up until January. Since then, they have started four more churches with a goal of 100, according to Pasteur Victorien. If you’re keeping a count like those guys scribbling on scorecards at the baseball game, that’s twenty-nine (29) new churches since January 2007. Moise is disappointed but not discouraged. Why is he disappointed? The district has a goal of 200 new churches this year. “We’re a little behind,” Moise told me, smiling.
As Field Education Coordinator, one of the hats I wear, I decided to assist with the funding of a church-planting conference in northern Benin led by three newly ordained elders from the Tanguieta area. They held the conference February 26-28 in Cobly with 123 participants. Pasteurs Norbert, Firmin, and Theophile led workshops on such topics as Obstacles to Church Planting and the Solution, Growth of the Church: Obligation or Option?, and The Influence of the Local Church in Society. These three pastors have planned two more conferences in other areas in the coming months.
Also, I have been catching up on the work the Global Theology Conference created. By the way, the conference went very well—300 participants from nearly 65 countries on six continents. This time around it was very collegial; there was much dialogue; and the future looks bright.
Keep praying, it’s obviously making a difference.
--Pray for Moise, Sonya, and Ashley as they travel to Tanguieta (today through Wednesday) --Pray that Parker will get over this bout of illness (and me too). --Pray for the Africa West Education Conference followed by the D.S. Conference coming in May to Lome , Togo . --Pray for several visitors that will be spending time in Cotonou before and after this conference. --Pray for Ashley Reeves that her time here will be transformational. --Pray for the team of students coming from Mount Vernon Nazarene University at the end of May. --Pray for the Youth in Mission team (of either four or five university students) that will be in Benin and Togo during June and July. --Pray for the Work and Witness team from Yuba City , California coming at the end of July. --Pray for us. It makes a difference.
Blessings from Benin , Matt
J. Matthew Price, Ph.D. 01 B.P. 1350 Cotonou REP DU BENIN Ph: (00.229) 21.30.90.48 Portable: (00.229) 97.68.67.69 E-mail: mprice@awfcon.org Photo Albums: http://community.webshots.com/user/pricefamilyupdate Blog: http://pricefamilyinfo.blogspot.com
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