It's July 1st! Happy Canada Day, to our Canadian friends up north!

Bible storytelling with Salifou continues to move forward. Since we meet outdoors the rain poses a problem some days. But yesterday we listened to the parting of the Red Sea. It might surprise you how many people living in Ivory Coast have never actually seen the coast, nor the ocean. Nevertheless, this most famous of miracles from the Old Testament is still pretty impressive when people hear it for the first time.

We're moving toward the 10 Commandments, of course, and the importance of God's covenant with a (dis)obedient people. Please pray that our Muslim listeners will begin seeing that human effort to be good can only take us so far. Pray they understand that salvation is free and it's only found in the spotless Lamb of God.

Attending Monday 10 am June 30th was Salifou, Kassoum, Stephan, and a new guy named San-San. He's Lobi, a people group up north who is Muslim-background. He was very interested and wants to attend the next session. Lord willing we'll meet Thursday July 3 at 10 am GMT.

On a personal note, this past Sunday, June 29th, was a big day for me (Damon). It was my 30th ''rebirthday.'' (You would have never guessed I was ''thirty-something'' huh!) The day gave me a chance to tell the kids how I became a Christian, why and how I was baptized at Gasconade Christian Service Camp, and how the Lord has been so faithful. It also made me think of people who had such a big impact on my life: Mom and Dad, Crocker Presbyterian Church, Gary & Linda Squires, my best friend Little Gary who took me to the Christian Church, Mac & Reva McMillan, Charlie Worstell, and others. What John 1:16 says, ''From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another,'' seemed especially true on Sunday as I thanked God for the significance of 6/29/78. It's part of my personal story of what Jesus did for me, and part of why I'm here in Africa.

Thank you for helping us tell the Old, Old Story of Jesus and his love!