Five Young Men Graduate from The TEE Leadership Training Program

The five graduates from left to right: Manzan Eugène, Assomoa Nestor, Ehye Sebastien,
Koffi Émile, Douti Emmanuel
(Émile's wife sneaked into the picture and that's Damon in the middle of course!)


The silence on our part these past few months, doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything. On the contrary, we've been extremely busy on all fronts of the ministry. We're wrapping things up before we head to the States in early June. We're finishing school and packing up our house and getting the Djoula work to a place where we can hand it over to Andy Gable, our CMF team mate. We've been visiting several villages as a family and we've also been continuing with the TEE program with Damon teaching an Old Testament course in March.

This weekend marked a really important day in the history of the leadership training program. In 2006, five men graduated from the training program, some after almost 10 years of study. This weekend five more young men graduated the program. These men have worked very hard studied many late nights and attended courses over several years, all on their own time, with no compensation other than a free education, and have finally meet the requirements needed to graduate the program.

Nestor, Ehye, Eugene, Emmanuel and Emile proudly accepted their diplomas this weekend and promised to lead to serve, not to be served. It was a great weekend long celebration bathed in prayer and rich in fellowship. Saturday evening the graduates invited four family members each to a nice meal with the missionaries and church leadership. After the meal they participated in a candle light ceremony symbolizing the light that Jesus brings to the world and how we are the carriers of that light.


Dinner with the families of the graduates the night before graduation where we had a candlelight ceremony symbolizing the importance of sharing our light (Jesus) with the world who lives in darkness.

Sunday morning, during a six hour (yes SIX!) worship service/graduation ceremony, over 200 people were in attendance as these men received their diplomas and recognition and immediately pointed to Christ, whom they recognized as the only One worthy of any glory.

The graduates arrive all decked out in their Sunday Graduation Best,
marching to "We walk in the light of God"

Their humility was inspiring for all of us, but especially for their fellow Ivoirians because status and honor are a very important part of their culture. They were wonderful, shining examples of servant leaders, following the true Servant Leader, Jesus Christ.


The Graduates and their diplomas. They chose the theme "To serve, not to be served" for their graduation

We all had a small reception afterwards with lots of good snacks, great photos and fun. We were so glad to be able to be here and celebrate this momentous occasion with our brothers in Christ. When we first arrived in 1998, these young men, were just boys. (well most of them. Émile was a man even way back then) It's been such a blessing to us to see them grow up and mature in Christ and now be in positions of leadership in the churches of Abengourou, Adjamé, Bébou, Ebilassokro and Bétié.



During the ceremony, each graduate received a staff symbolizing that they are now shepherds and are to lovingly lead God's people.

We hope you'll keep these five young men in your prayers as they lead God's people here in Ivory Coast. We're so very proud of them!

Heinz 57!

As Juli mentioned recently, we are bringing one of our Bible storytelling groups to a conclusion...or to a whole new beginning, hopefully. After hearing all 57 stories in the chronological series we use, we are asking these Muslim-background guys to make up their minds. Last Saturday I asked them to begin thinking if they want to "cross the bridge'' that will take them back to God. I explained again how Jesus is the only thing to help them bridge the gap of sin which their lives have created. And I said that if they can tell me about another bridge that will take them into heaven then I sure want to hear about it! Today (Wednesday 4 pm here, or 10 a.m. in Missouri) is the day I've asked them for a decision!

Will you please be praying for the group? The practicing Muslims in the group are Salifou (the guy who owns the laundry shack where we meet), Mr. Diarra (who irons there) and Alassan (our plummer). Then there is San-San, Edouard (Catholic backgroud), and a kid named Bernard. It would make angels dance in heaven to see any of these guys accept Christ as Lord, and we would be pretty thrilled too. Ask God to bring them back into humble submission to Him and receive eternal life. Pray for their salvation today! Thank you!

Kayatou Update and an End to Storytelling

The family adopting Kayatou finally made contact, yesterday, with an international adoption lawyer in DC that they think will be able to help them. The deadline for their appeal is this Friday, the 23rd, so the first item of business is to get the appeal deadline extended and then we'll work on getting more paperwork that will hopefully make US Immigratio happy and bring Kayatou to her new home. Here's a picture of Kayatou at her home yesterday. She continues to do well and to spend two days a week at our house in preparation for her eventual move into an American family. (Please Lord!)

Another newsworthy item is that Damon finished the storytelling series with the car wash guys, who are now the laundry mat guys. Today they studied the Day of Pentecost and talked about the need to be born again and how that only happens through Jesus. They had to end there because it was getting too dark to be sitting outside plus Harmattan is here (75 degrees with 40% humidity) and the Ivoirians are freezing so they called it a night and will be talking more again at their session Saturday afternoon. Damon feels like Salifou, SanSan and Monsieur Diarra are very interested in getting to know Jesus personally, so pray for them as they mull over this very important decision in their lives.

Prayer for a Very Special Little Girl

The Karambega Family in 2006

We met the Karambega family in 2000 when they brought their 3 year old little girl, Tenin, to our clinic. She was quickly diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and we spent the next few years teaching her family how to take care of her. Imagine their discouragement when in 2005, her little sister, Ramatou, at the age of 6, was diagnosed as having juvenile diabetes as well. Harouna, the father of the family, is a subsistance farmer, meaning that he works to grow the food to feed his family. Occasionally there is enough extra food leftover to sell but the profits are meager and quickly eaten up with daily needs like soap, medicine and schooling for his children. Their family couldn't care for one diabetic child and now they had two.

Then in 2007, the unthinkable happened. Kayatou, the Karambega's 5th child, who was 15 months old at the time, became ill with an ear infection which became worse and worse and refused to respond to treatment. I was working at the clinic when Harouna came in carrying Kayatou saying that something wasn't right and she wouldn't wake up. I immediately checked her blood sugar and my heart sank as I read the results; 650. Kayatou was also diabetic.

I gave the news to her parents and asked someone to run to their home to get the insulin. Harouna sat still for a few minutes with his head in his hands. Finally, he looked at me and said, "Enough is enough. This is too much. I can't take care of another diabetic child. It's impossible. I'm exhausted in every way. God gave her this illness and He will take her with it." He was refusing treatment knowing full well that it meant her death. Miriam, Kayatou's mother was next to me crying, holding her uconscious baby and begging for the life of her child. It was a very difficult situation.

Before anyone judges Harouna too quickly, remember that this man had nothing. He is responsible for caring for his ailing parents who both have heart conditions and live with him along with his sister who has been abandoned by her husband and her two children, his brothers two children and his wife and five children. He was living without electricity and running water in a mud brick house just trying to grown enough food to feed the many mouths he was responsible for. On top of that he was caring for two diabetic children. Administering four insulin injections every day. The thought of adding yet another sick child to the mix, of giving six shots instead of four, of monitoring 3 blood sugars instead of 2, of now watching three of his children slowly suffer and die, was just too much for him. He had reached his breaking point and out of mercy was choosing to let his child suffer the natural consequences of her illness, knowing that it meant her death.

Understanding all this, I still couldn't sit there with a dying child in one hand and the medicine to save her life in the other. For more than 45 minutes, I reasoned with Harouna promising him that if he would let me start treating her diabetes, then I would find a way to ease his burden. I promised I wouldn't leave him alone to sink under the weight of his overwhelming responsibilities. He finally relented and Kayatou's life was spared that day.

A year earlier, in Sept of 2006, we had the privilige of hosting a team from our home church in Rolla MO. They had come to help the Karambega family build a home that would be more secure and be able to shelter their large family. It was small, 3 bedrooms and two living rooms for 16 people and they still didn't have electricity or running water, but the walls were made of cement and the door closed and locked. The trip was a blessing for all involved, the Karambega family, the team from Rolla, and for us.

Rob, the team leader for the Rolla group, returned to the US feeling unsettled. He prayed along with his wife and others, that God would show him what God wanted from him as a result of the trip. After awhile it became clear to him that God was wanting him to adopt a little girl from Ivory Coast. Rob's wife Heather was supportive when he told her what he was feeling and together they made the decision to add an Ivoirian girl to their family which already held three beautiful little girls. Rob and and Heather contacted me about this decision in the spring of 2007 and I was preparing to contact an Ivoirian orphanage for them.

Then Kayatou got sick and I promised to help her if only her father would let her live. I remember praying that evening outside of the local hospital that God would show us what to do to relieve Harouna's burden. Then He answered, because He knew this was coming and had put the help into place before we even knew that we needed it.

To make a long story short, Rob and Heather agreed, after more thought and prayer, to add Kayatou to their family. The decision to adopt a child is a huge decision, let alone a child from another country and language and this one is sick with a chronic disease that will need to be cared for for the rest of her life. I'm still amazed at their willingness to answers God's call and welcome this child into their home to love as their own. Harouna and Miriam were overwhelmed at the idea of someone loving their daughter as they loved her and agreeing to care for her. They felt hope again and were thrilled at the idea of the possibilities that now would be available to Kayatou.

Last winter, we began the long process of international adoption. I, personally, had no idea how complicated the situation could be. Paperwork and translation and fees and waiting periods, dragged on and on. The Ivory Coast side was basically easy but the US side was very thorough, which is a good thing for many reasons, but everyday that Kayatou didn't have the medical help she needed was another day that endangered her health.

Finally by the end of 2008, all of the paperwork was done, the approval for adoption on both sides was granted and we were simply waiting for the clearance from immigration as the final step in the US adoption process. The letter from immigration arrived a few weeks ago, but unfortunately the news wasn't what we were hoping for. According to US law, Kayatou isn't available for adoption because she is from a two parent family. In spite of the fact that her parents can't care for her and in spite of the fact that Rob and Heather are willing to, according to immigration, only children who

A) Have been unconditionally abandoned by their parents
or
B) Have lost both parents
or
C) Has become separated or lost from the parents
or
D) Lives in a one parent family where the remaining parent is unable to care for the child

are able to be adopted internationally. There are no exceptions.

So, if Harouna and Miriam would have just walked away that day when Kayatou was in a diabetic coma, she would be available for adoption. Instead they stayed and did the best with what they had, hoping that God would provide help for them from somewhere.

WE STILL BELIEVE HE HAS.

We just have to find a way around the immigration adoption law, and that's where you come in. Rob and Heather have until Jan 23rd to appeal the decision from immigration. They have contacted an immigration lawyer but still have no word on any sort of plan of action. Others have contacted our state's Representative, JoAnn Emmerson, and asked for her help in the matter. Any ideas you have as to how we might be able to move ahead would be very welcome, but even more than that, we covet your prayers.

Kayatou is a delightful little girl. She's been coming to our house two or three times a week,for over a year now, spending the day with us and getting used to life in an American family. We've grown to adore her and have been full of hope for her future with Rob and Heather and their family. That hope has not been abandoned but we're discouraged to have come this far and found what appears to be a brick wall in our way.

Harouna even said the other day, that if he could sell some rice after the harvest, he'd like to help the family in the US pay for an attorney so that his daughter could have the hope of a future. I couldn't help but think of the story of the widow's mite when he mentioned that and was reminded that we serve a God who does the impossible and who always has a plan. We covet your prayers in this situation so that Kayatou can come home and grow up a very loved little girl with two sets of parents. One, in Africa, who loved her enough to give her away and another, in America, who loved her enough to take her in.

We'll keep you posted.

Joyeux Noël

Tabaski Time!

Did you know that yesterday was New Year's Day in Ivory Coast? The Muslim holy day called ''Tabaski'' has come once again. Though it goes by other names in other Muslim countries , Tabaski marks the end of the hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It's a commemoratioin of Abraham's sacrifice of--according to them--his son Ishmael.

Tabaski begins with a huge common prayer service at 9am. All the mosques are filled to capacity and even overflow into the courtyard, street, alleys, and parking lots. I typically go watch the mass prayer service up town. I take pictures for friends and then give them as souvenirs later (roaming photographers charge $1 per pose). I'm also there to pray with them and for them. This year, as you can see in the accompanying ''aeriel'' photo, I was able to take video and pictures from the roof of a new apartment building.

Let me tell you how impressive it is to watch several thousand people simultaneously put their faith in everything BUT Jesus Christ. They pray for God's forgiveness of old sins as they begin the new year. But they don't know that the blood of Jesus was spilt in order to wash us white as snow. They humbly repeat praises to Allah and prostrate themselves through submission and ritual. But they don't realize that by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ they can be saved, they and their entire household.

Juli and I went visiting in the afternoon as is customary. We drop in on our Muslim friends, bringing them cake and soda to top off the huge feast of roasted ram long since gobbled up by the extended family. Muslim blessings are exchanged, the bonds of friendship reinforced. And we pray that these good people one day know the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

One sixth of mankind (the world's 1.3 billion Muslims) celebrated Tabaski yesterday. That means it is time once again for us to be on our knees in prayer for them. Thank you for doing so.
Thank you for caring.

Halloween, and other Scary dates on the Calendar

October 31st: Our kids really like Halloween and always have. We host the team Halloween party, which Juli and the kids tend to do-up very nicely. The kids trick-or-treat by going around the house and coming up to all the entrances of our (big) house where an adult is waiting with candy. We even post someone in the laundry room. We usually conclude by watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, by our VCR is on the blink, so we sang ''pumpkin carols'' and kept eating until it was time to put kids in bed.

November 1 was All Saints Day. In Catholic countries like Ivory Coast, it's a state holiday and marks the beginning of a week off from school. It always becomes apparent during these religious holidays how many people at least think of themselves as Catholic.

Since our focus is the Muslim background Djoula we remain concerned with how to help these friends become ''Saints'' themselves and know Christ's salvation. So I kept my Bible storytelling appointment with my group of Djoula guys at 4 o'clock. We talked about the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the water. We had four regulars, one visitor, and one guy missing, but an amazingly good discussion.

Nov. 2nd we went to church. The service was nearing FOUR HOURS LONG with no end in sight, so we politely excused ourselves.

And today, November 3rd makes exactly TEN YEARS since we left Rolla, Missouri and headed off to Ivory Coast as a missionary family. Way back then we had a 5 year-old and a 3 year-oldi in tow with our 25 pieces of luggage, and a baby not even three months old in our arms when we stepped off the plane into the warm West African evening.

There's no way to sum up in this blog all our memories of that day or of tomorrow, Nov. 4th, as we celebrate ten years in Africa. But we want you to know how thankful we are to God and to you for all the faithfulness we've seen in that time.

The only thing truly scary is to think where we would be without Christ's great love.

La Famille Jones
Mission Chrétienne
Abengourou, Ivory Coast
www.djoulajoneses.blogspot.com

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

What We've Been Up To

The problem with blogging is that when there's not much going on, there's plenty of time to post, then when there's a lot going on, there's no time to post. That's where we find ourselves this month. Busy busy busy...but in a good way.

The kids and I finished up school on July 11th. That was a relief! Now I'm frantically getting lesson plans ready for the 2008-2009 school year starting at the end of August. We're bound and determined to get started on time this year and finish on time. Check with me in a few months and ask how well we're doing. Ü

Our teammates, the Bledsoe's hosted 5 summer interns this year and we spent some time with Casey, Amber, Scott, Teresa and Melissa. We enjoyed having them around, especially for our annual Jones 4th of July complete with tug of war, 3 legged and sack races and all the fixin's of an American picnic. It was great fun. We had them over for dinners on occasion and movie nights and got used to seeing them at the clinic, or on our couch in the afternoon playing with our kids. They all left this week, and we were sad to see them go.

We also hosted a team from Springfield MO through Extend Global. Erin, Debbie, Nicole and Jeff spent two weeks with us and were such an easy team to have around, we wonder if they really "got their money's worth". They helped us visit our Djoula Muslim friends and invite them to Tess' baby naming ceremony on the 20th, then they helped us prepare for the great event. I use the word "prepare" loosely, as we invited 25, "prepared" for 40, and ended up hosting between 60 and 75 people. Talk about making a meal stretch!

Tess received the Djoula name "Rokia" rhymes with "Nokia" and although i'm not really keen on the name, we were able to host our Djoula friends, share in one of their traditions, and at the same time share the gospel with them, as one of our church leaders shared a message from the Bible before the ceremony began.

While the Extend Global team was here, they did a LOT of praying. Everywhere we drove, everywhere they walked, every courtyard we visited, they prayed. We were able to see some amazing fruit to their prayers, one of which has to do with the Bible storytelling sessions with Salifou and Sansan at the car wash. I'll let him tell you more about that later, but God is working and it's amazing to be a part of it.

If you're interested in reading about the team's trip, their blog and photos can be found at http://www.web.mac.com/john_erin. It was great to have them and we hope they went away touched blessed from this part of the world.

Coming Saturday July 12th!

Do you remember that we had begun Bible storytelling with a group of HIV+ patients who are members of a support group? They're part of a group known as ''People Living With AIDS'' or PLWA. Well, we've been reorganizing our storytelling group since our return from Ghana and having baby Tess. A new group will begin meeting this coming Saturday! Eight people signed up in June and we're going to try to meet every-other Saturday. To make it easier on them, we'll plan to serve a little meal before everyone heads home.

Please be praying for this group. One of the original members will be joining us, and this is a mix of about 2/3 Muslim and 1/3 Christian. We'll furnish you some names once we see who attends. But pray now for their hearts and their homes touched by this awful illness. Thanks!

Our Lopsided Bible

Monday morning's chronological Bible storytelling session with SALIFOU went well. We were in Exodus 19 & 20 and taking a good look at the ''decalogue,'' aka the 10 Commandments. Thank you for praying because it became a good lesson on the foundation of the whole Old Testament, or Alliance as we call it in French. Read Ex. 19:3-6 and you'll see what we're talking about.

The Bible is, admittedly, ''lopsided.'' A good three-fourths of the content talks about the old covenant formed with ancient Israel and how they were incapable of fulfilling their part of the covenant agreement, i.e. obeying the law. In a nutshell that's the story of the Old Testament: God chooses Abraham and forms a chosen people, gives them the Law through Moses, and Exodus through Malachi shows how they messed up royally.

So I was trying to help Salifou, Kassoum, and San-San see something very important for people with virtually no Bible background: if three-fourths of the Bible talks about the old covenant, what's this last part in the back, the ''new testament,'' for anyway?

Pray for us as we meet again Wednesday morning, about 5 am Missouri time. Thanks!

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!

Learning To Be Still. (yeah right)

Oops

On Friday afternoon after doing some yard work with Daddy, Kate broke her upper left arm (humerus for all you medical people). After having some juice to cool off, Daddy swung her up on his shoulder and somehow, swinging her back down, her arm snapped. At the moment we're trying to take care of it here at our clinic but we're checking with some orthopedists in the US just to be sure we're doing the right thing.

We'd appreciate prayer for her healing and that she'll stay still enough for it to heal in the first place. Since she's been feeling better the past few days, and getting up and around, she's already fallen on it twice. We're trying to follow her everywhere, but boy that girl is quick AND stubborn. Ü

Devouring God's Word

Bear with me for a minute while I tell you something strange, before telling you something more important about our current work.

They're devouring God's Word. Unfortunately I'm talking about the roaches. Yes, ROACHES. We recently spent seven weeks away in Ghana, as you know, for the birth of baby Tess. One thing that always happens in our absence is the dreaded invasion of the roaches. They sort of have the run of the place when we're gone and we have to do some major exterminating when we come home. Actually it's more like hand-to-hand combat, but those are stories better told over dinner.

Anyhow, this time the roaches were literally gnawing away at two of our Bibles left behind. One is my French Bible I do essentially all my mission work with. They managed to buff the edges down quite a bit so that I can now open my Bible to the New Testament just by feeling around the edge. The second Bible was a keepsake copy of the Psalms I found for Juli. It's like an old grade school primer, black cover, large print, just the Psalms in old King James. The roaches really enjoyed it! They removed all the black faux leather on the cover except for one patch that, if I hold it just so, looks a lot like the shape of Greece.

People we know here are likewise hungry for God's Word. Juli mentioned that our storytelling sessions with Salifou have resumed. Salifou (SALLY-foo) runs the car wash, as you recall, and I go there several times a week to do a story. We have completed the book of Genesis and the patriarchal age. This morning we cracked the pages of Exodus and began the story of Moses. (We've moved the study time from the afternoons to the morning, so if you're praying that's about 5 am Missouri time :-)

Please pray for these guys. Salifou's wife just gave birth to their fifth child and hasn't been feeling well since. Vandals also came the other night and stole the spigot for his car wash along with the good buckets, and broke the rest of the things. It was pure meanness, whoever it was.
The next day the city came by to collect their monthly payment for his ''business license.'' Still, Salifou is absorbing the stories and seems encouraged by their message.

Kassoum is his young car wash guy. He's 18, appers to be pretty industrious, and at times catches things in the story that Salifou plainly misses. They tease him, because that's what you do when there's a ''kid'' around. Pray that he finds something really life changing in the sessions.

Diarra (JAR-uh) is our other regular participant. He's actually from Abidjan and came to Abengourou to visit his sister who lives about 200 yards up the hill. He came for a few weeks and has never left! He's about my age, knows the Koran quite a bit, and a knows a whole lot about a whole lot of things (politics, geography, history). Because he's out of work, I wonder why he's come to Abengourou ''for such a time as this,'' as the book of Esther says. Can God possibly have him right there on the wooden bench day after day just so he can hear the Good News of salvation before it's too late? I think so!

Ishmael is semi-regular. He's a student, studying computers, and likes to talk a lot. The first time he came I secretly hoped he wouldn't come back. But he's calmed down, maybe that he was able to impress me with his knowledge. He prays, meaning that as Muslim he fairly regularly observes the prayer times during the day. He also knows these early stories from their overlap with the Koran. But Ishmael also has a good dose of myth and superstition thrown in with some of the stories, things that the Bible would never say. We don't debate the details, but try to stick to the main point of the story.

Pray for us, please, while we keep moving forward in the weeks ahead with these guys. We'll let you know about some of our other possible sites soon so you can be praying for our selection of new storytelling groups. THANKS for your time--and prayers--today!

Back to Reality

We made it back to Abengourou on May 27th, the day after our 17th wedding anniversary and the day before Austin's 15th birthday. We ended up staying in Accra a little longer than planned to wait for Tess's passport and Certificate of Registered Birth Abroad from the US Embassy, making our total time away, almost 7 weeks.(We had only planned on 5) Needless to say we were glad to be back home, settled in one place, and to have more than 5 changes to clothing to pick from.

Damon jumped right back into the swing of life here by meeting with the leaders from several of the churches and holding storytelling sessions with Salifou at the car wash. He has visited several Djoula families and a few of those who were attending the storytelling sessions from the HIV support group. It appears that they aren't interested in continuing the sessions just yet because they are all very busy. It's hard to know if they really are just too busy or if they aren't interested. Damon is going to keep visiting them and try to resume the group. He'd also like to establish another one or two in the next few weeks. Pray that God will show him where to do this.

The kids and I jumped right back into school, trying to make up for the extra time we lost when we were "stuck" in Burkina and "stuck" in Ghana. I've even suspended working at the clinic this month to really try to cram in those last few days so we can be DONE with the 2007-2008 school year and I can have enough time to prepare for the 2008-2009 school year before it starts in August.

The kids are all doing great. Tess is growing like a weed and continues to delight us all.

For those who come to this blog wanting in depth updates on the work, I'm really sorry that you aren't finding it. The problem is that I'm the computer person in the family and Damon is the one doing the "mission" work (for the most part). He has every intention of updating the blog with real ministry information but he's often busy or out of the house until late in the evening and we often have visitors then. When he finally gets a minute to himself, not being a computer person, the last thing he thinks about doing is sitting in front of a computer. Therefore, for the most part, you're stuck with me and the things I know most about, and that's family news, with a little ministry thrown in here and there.

Hope you're not too disappointed. Ü

Tessa Caroline Jones Has Arrived!

On May 3rd, 2008 at 12:05 am, Tessa Caroline Jones made her grand entrance into this world in Accra, Ghana, 10 minutes before a huge thunderstorm rolled in and knocked out the power. She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches long. She has a head full of dark hair, and a sweet and calm disposition (thank you Lord!).

Juli says the labor was the hardest yet and it was a bit worrisome for the last 4 hours as there was some bleeding and the doctor suspected a placental abruption, but after doing several tests she decided that the problem was coming from something else and decided to continue with a natural labor. As it turns out the bleeding was from a hematoma on the baby side of the placenta and the doctor's good judgement call saved us from an unnecessary c-section, so we were pleased.

Tess is absolutely adored, spoiled by, and doted over constantly by her 5 older siblings. Mom and Dad hardly get a minute alone with her but that's okay because without a doubt she will never be lacking in love or attention. Take a peek here if you want to see for yourself how beautiful she is: http://picasaweb.google.com/damonjuli/TessaCaroline

Join us in thanking God for His newest blessing to the Jones family and thank YOU for praying along with us for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. Your prayers made all the difference.