A Church is Born and Ramadan Starts Tomorrow!

This picture is of five of your new brothers and sisters in the Lord. The 5 on the left were baptized into Christ last Sunday August 24th. Eugene, the guy on the right is the one who did the baptizing. Besides the amazingness of five more names being written in the Book of Life, is the origin of those names. See the lady in white? Her name is Mariatou. That's a Muslim name. She and the two women next to her are Muslims who are now new believers in Jesus Christ. We are in awe, yet again, of God's work in their lives and their courage to answer His call. Pray for these five people, hat they will grow in Christ and will be a witness to their families and neighbors, a light for Christ that illuminates the Truth to everyone around them.

Another really great thing about these people, from the new church in Adoukoffikro, is that they are an indigenous church plant, meaning the national leaders from the Abengourou church, Eugene, Emmanuel, Douti, Wisdom, Max and Janvier evangelized, taught, baptized and are discipling these new Muslim background believers 100% on their own with NO foreign missionary involvement. We can't tell you how encouraging it is to see the people you've been teaching and training for years, begin to practice and live what you have been teaching them. May God be praised!

Tomorrow is the beginning of Ramadan. Since we're not in the US we don't know if much has been mentioned about it in the news amidst the politics, and prices and hurricanes, but around the world, to Muslims, it's a big deal. This is the month of Ramadan according to the Islamic calendar. This is the month that Muslims fast and abstain from all pleasures during daylight hours, to purify themselves and seek the will of God. Observing the fast of Ramadan is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and is a very important part of their religion.

While some Muslims, use this month to enjoy huge feasts after dark (sort of like Thanksgiving everyday for a month!), many are truly seeking God's will for their lives during this month. We think that's a great excuse to increase our prayers for the Muslim world that God really WILL reveal Himself to them and that through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You can do this in anyway that works for you. Some Christians we know are fasting with the Muslims while praying during daylight hours. Others, we know are fasting one meal a day or one day a week, and others are simply devoting themselves to faithful prayer on a daily basis this month. Regardless what method works for you, we would really appreciate, in fact we covet your prayers for these beautiful people living in the darkness of Islam during this month. A great prayer resource we've found is here at www.30-days.net You can sign up for daily e-mail prayer requests and reminders during the month of Ramadan too here : http://lists.bfp-listen.de/mailman/listinfo/30-days

Ho hum, Nahum?

How do you do with the list of tongue twisters that comprise the (5) major and (12) minor prophets of the OT? What importance do you place on the role played by this odd bunch of doom-and-gloom naysayers? Today our Bible storytelling group of Muslim guys arrived at this important point in the OT chronological plan. We were only able to take a peek into the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah (Nahum, it turns out, is more about Ninevah than Israel). What message brought they anyway, these prophets?

A wonderful one, actually. In the midst of foreign invasion, economic collapse, social chaos, war, decadence, assassinations, and on and on, God's man would speak a message of uncompromising judgment against God's people. The Lord finally had his fill of centuries of idolatry on the part of his children. "Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you,'' declared Jeremiah (4:18). The truth HURT, but God looked past that. The punishment contained promises; the warning also bore a welcome opportunity to repent. These promises focused on the not-too-distant future, like after the seventy years of Babylonian captivity. But they also hinted at something far greater: a coming Messiah.

So today, right here in Abengourou, we were reading verses like Isaiah 7:14: ''The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." Or Jeremiah 23:5: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch." And we looked at Micah 5:2: ''But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.''

Seven guys were there today as we skimmed over the centuries of God's faithfulness. PRAY FOR THEM, PLEASE. Pray for Salifou, San-San, Diarra, Yao, Kassoum, and Alassan. Pray that they recognize, even a little, that they're glimpsing into God's eternal plan. Pray that they see Jesus as far more than another prophet. Pray that they begin grasping God's love for them as sinners just as sinful as idolatrous Israel. Lord willing, we'll meet again Saturday (Aug. 23). We'll learn a little more about the Messiah before we slip on over into the New Testament, the place where the star shone brightly over a little stable in Bethlehem...

We propose a toast to IVORY COAST!

On August 7, 1960, Côte d'Ivoire became an independent nation in West Africa. The late 50's and early 1960's saw a majority of African countries leaving their colonial past behind to declare their sovereignty. The ''architect'' of Ivory Coast's independence was a man of short stature and tremendous influence--Felix Houphey-Boigny. They called him the Lion of Africa. History books show him standing next to Charles de Gualle and countless other dignitaries as he labored to lead Ivory Coast into the modern era.

Boigny enjoyed an unprecedented peaceful ''reign'' of 33 years. He died in 1993. The huge Catholic basilica in the center of Ivory Coast has been filled to capacity only twice--during the dedication by the Pope in 1980-something, and for the funeral of Houghey-Boigny. His picture still hangs in many a business and people talk about the good ole days when he was president. His successor, Bédie, was elected in 1995. Our family came onto the scene in 1998 as missionaries. One year later Bédie was run out of the country in their first ever coup d'état. The phrase means ''to strike at the government,'' and it was, unfortunately, a damaging blow both to Ivory Coast's enviable reputation, and to the meaning of liberty for her people.

I can't get too political here, but suffice it to say that Ivorians need your prayers. Today they celebrate a fragile future. As missionaries we aren't here to encourage them one way or another politically, but spiritually to point them to an eternal hope that can only be found in Christ. Official ceremonies began at 7 am this morning in Abengourou. From the screened in back porch where I was sipping my coffee I could hear a band playing a solemn tune uptown. I took it to be the Ivorian national anthem and the whole thing struck me as kind of sad. Then I read this:

''When anyone is united to Christ, there is a new world;

the old order has gone, and a new order has already begun'' (2 Cor 5:17, NEB).

Thank you for praying for this place, these people, and this work. Together we serve the only One who is truly Sovereign! --Damon, for the Joneses

Abengourou Market Fire

The Abengourou market caught fire today and more than 50% of it was completely destroyed. No one is exactly sure how the fire started but many people lost their stock and some their savings as a lot of vendors keep their money at the market secure under lock and key. The fire began this morning during the busiest market time. Fortunately there were only minor injuries but because it was so populated and there was so much panic and mayhem, many people took the opportunity to steal and run off with merchandise, and vendors' money etc. The Karambega family, with the diabetic children, whome many of you pray for, lost their earnings as well as their stock.

People have no insurance, of course, so what was lost, is truly lost. Pray for them as they try to rebuild and start from scratch with economic times already so hard. Pray for the population of Abengourou too because this was the main source of goods in town therefore it will difficult for people to find food, meat, clothing etc without paying very high prices.

See photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/damonjuli/MarketFire