"I no longer want to worship idols"

"I no longer want to worship idols"--103 year old Mahi upon accepting Jesus as his Savior.  God is blessing the work of our team.

Just talked with Kathryn and received amazing reports of how God is working in Benin among the Mahi.  Yesterday, (Day 3 of the storying camp), about 60 people participated in the clinic.  The goal was to teach 4 stories (all were "long" stories.  Because the participants were so engaged and were asking deep theological questions about the stories, they were only able to teach 3. The blessing is that those 3 are firmly ingrained in their minds and hearts with a clear spiritual understanding of the meaning of the story.

Today, the team divided into 2 groups and walked to nearby villages.  They began around 9:00 this morning and worked until around 1:30 then took a break from the extreme heat. They returned to the villages around 5:00 and stayed until about 7:30.  Kathryn reports an incredible day of prayer walking, sharing stories, ministering to people and praying with them, and just "hanging out".  The hanging out time is critical to building relationships.  Whenever they shared a story, they also told how the story points to the Gospel and were able to share the Gospel.  All together, Marc felt like there were 100-150 salvation decisions.  Of course, some of these may not have been genuine, but the team and the nationals with them discussed the sincerity of the decisions and truly believe that most of these were real professions of faith!!!!

One special encounter was with a man reported to be 103 years old.  He is partially blind and struggled to get out of bed.  Kathryn said he held her hands the entire time they shared with him.  They told the story of Jesus healing the demoniac man.  This elderly Mahi man said at one time he had attended the Catholic church but had gone back to idol worship.  There were many people standing around as the team shared the story. At the end of the story and the Gospel presentation, the team asked the people to raise their hand if they wanted to accept Jesus as their Savior.  Immediately and with great energy, this 103 year old man shot both hands up and said I want to be a Christian and no longer worship idols, but worship the Most High God!!!!!

Another very special encounter was with a man who is the keeper or guard of an idol temple.  Several times in the past Pastor Nicholas has tried to talk with this man only to be told, "Go away, Don't come talk to me."  Nicholas even brought some children with him one day thinking the man would not reject the children.  But he did.  Today, the man listened to some of the team members. They shared the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den illustrating God's power and prayed over the man.  He didn't make a salvation decision, but seeds were planted! Nicholas is committed to following up and is praying for more opportunities to share with this man.

Today the team was in 2 villages.  Tomorrow, Marc has scheduled 10! It will be an extremely long day for everyone.  Pray for the team to stay focused and to remain energized for the task.  The heat alone can be exhausting.  Pray that they will sense a real outpouring of energy from God to endure the long day.

Over the next couple of days, the team will make a strategic move  to work with the Filani people in the area.  The Filani are herdsmen and are nomadic but can be found in the Mahi region much of the time. Because they are nomadic, they are an unreached people group.  Any sense of religion they have would be a mix of voodoo, African traditional religions, and Muslim beliefs.   The team will strive to establish some relationships and begin to open the door for evangelization among the Filani.

Bush Mama