- August 06, 2008
Our family is back in the States on Stateside assignment and is doing well. We are visiting family, friends, speaking in different churches and having a great time. The kids start a private Christian school in two weeks and Ethan is very excited about it. Caleb is only going three days a week and is a little nervous about it. They are adjusting but missing their friends and dogs back in Suriname.
We have been able to talk with a few people in the interior. They said that the floodwaters had come up again but then went down fairly quickly. The river is now back in its banks and things have been drying out and are basically back to normal. We have not been able to talk with Baa Joti yet but hope to soon.
- May 21, 2008
Wow going from an amazing last trip to about to leave for our last time interior for at least a year. What interesting thoughts. We have been trying to get everything ready for our Stateside Assignment, a Year back in the States. Seems like even the things that should go smoothly simply do not. I have been sick with Dengue Fever and Brittany has had a cold while the kids feel better than they ever have and more energy as well. All of the things I have been planning to do just keep getting put off as I am stuck in bed. I think I will feel better by Saturday so that we can all go interior together. We have to go and close up our house and get everything prepared to leave. The time has arrived but our hearts are not ready. We will continue to rely that God’s timing is perfect. Please pray with us as we fly to the interior this Saturday.
- May 05, 2008
The dental team has come and gone. Who would have ever thought we would have trained four local guys to do dental extractions in four days. It really was
Amazing! Two dentists came to the interior of Suriname and instead of spending their time helping as many people as they could, for four days they spent their time training four men to help their people every day. We definitely believe these men gained the knowledge of sterilization, anatomy, diagnosis, anesthesia, and extractions necessary to help with dental care. The local people, especially the believers, are truly being empowered. We also had a wonderful meeting with the believers in the village of Loabi. George, a believer, from the Saramaccaners shared the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace. He told the believers that he wanted to encourage them to stay strong to God no matter what. This was followed by a very special prayer time with the new believers.
- April 25, 2008
Things seem to happen so fast. It is already time for our next team. Terry a missionary friend of ours who is also a dentist will be leading this team. He will be working with a fellow dentist, Phillip Aday. This team will be training local indigenous leaders how do their own dental work. It is wonderful when dentists come to Suriname and help out the people two or even three times a year with their dental problems, but what do they do the rest of the year? This team is helping to address this problem. We will train five local men, four Aukaners and one Saramaccaner, how to perform teeth extractions. These men will be trained in sterilization, anatomy, diagnosis, anesthesia, and extractions.
We will also be presenting them with the equipment to be able to start their practice. Please be praying for the trainers and the trainees during this time. We will also be spending time with the new believers in Loabi working to further their discipleship.
- April 15, 2008
We want to thank everyone who was praying for the Sterlingwood Mission Trip. We could feel God's hand on the work in the interior. The trip was really amazing. We started Sunday with a wonderful worship time together. Sunday evening we went to the village of Loabi and were able to share with an older lady at her house about Christ. She was not ready to follow Christ, but she understood what we were saying and was very happy for us to pray for her. The next morning we prayer walked the village of Diitabiki. That evening we met with the group of believers in Loabi to start our discipleship training. The believers were so excited to have us come and work with them. We sat and told them Bible stories and allowed God to burn the truths in their hearts. The next day we went to the village of Sanbedomie to prayer walk. God put a young lady for us to share with in our path. We prayed for her and shared the Gospel with her. After we finished she said she wanted to follow Christ, and she prayed to follow Him. That night as we met with the believers in Loabi, she showed up as well. She was so excited to hear more about God. We continued to meet with the group of believers every night during the week. The trip was incredible, and it was very encouraging to see God so at work in the lives of these new believers. We want to thank Dale Jones, Mickey Whitfield, Pat and Norma Hoock, and Brittany Aries for coming to Suriname and working among the Aukan people.
- April 05, 2008
This next week we have a team from Sterlingwood Church in Houston, TX coming to help with discipleship. This is Brittany’s parents’ church. The trip will consist of the pastor, Bro Dale Jones, Pat and Norma Hoock, Mickey Whitfield (Brittany’s dad), and Brittany Aries. Please pray for us as we work in discipling the church in Loabi every evening. We will also be doing evangelism and prayer walking in the neighboring villages. We are very excited about this trip. We expect God to do great things among the Aukan people.
Brittany and the kids are doing great. They are growing so fast (the kids, not Brittany). I will try to put some updated pictures on the website. The family has been fairly healthy this past month. Please pray they continue to stay healthy
February 27, 2008
Things are going great! I just returned from the interior. I spent
a week at our place among the Aukaners. I was able to meet with the
group of believers that is in Loabi. As I was walking to the meeting
a man stopped me and asked if I could come and meet with him. I told
him not right now but I was going to a meeting at Baa Japin's house
and he was more that welcome to come. He said,"Great, I will be
there in just a min." So we had one more person at our meeting.
I also went to the Saramaccan village of Asinodopo. This is the
village of the Gaanman of the Saramaccans. We went to help train
workers of a new radio station. The radio stations name is Radio
Mia-Fe. They were having a lot of trouble and it seemed that our time
with them was very helpful. Please pray that God will bless the work
of this radio station and that this station will send out God's Word
to all the Saramaccan people.
February 09, 2008
We have two teams
coming in April. One is a discipleship team and the other is a dental
training team. The discipleship team will be witnessing to
nonbelievers, discipling new believers and prayer walking. The dental
training team will be training some of the believers in dental work
so they will have a means of support alongside their Christian work.
Please pray for both teams as they prepare to come and for us as we
start to prepare for them. A phone company in Suriname is looking to
put a cell sight on the radio tower on Mt. Lely. This will bring cell
phones to the interior. Please pray for wisdom as we are talking
through the details with the company. During our last trip to the
interior, we met in the main Aukan village of Diitabiki and told a
bible story. This was a major break through for God's work. Please
pray it will continue and that next time more people will come to
hear about Christ and trust Him as their Savior. We also met with the
group of believers in Loabi again. It was a very special meeting. God
seems to be doing great things among these guys. Please be praying
for them. Charles' mom, dad, aunt, brother, and brother's girlfriend
came to Suriname for two weeks last month. Also, Brittany’s sister
and mom came the last week of the month. We had a great time with all
of them. We want to praise God for the fellowship we had with our
families. The kids especially enjoyed it, but they now think that
Christmas is a two-month holiday. We are planning to make a trip with
the Saramaccan Gaanman to one of his villages named Asinodopo, on
February 20-23. Please be praying for this trip. The Family has been
sick this past week but it seems that we are getting over the worst
of it. Please continue to pray for our health.
January 08, 2008
Well Christmas is
over and the new year has begun. We had a great Christmas here in
Suriname. The week before Christmas Charles, Ethan and Caleb went to
the interior and brought some Christmas bread to some of the
believers. Then in the city we had some friends over for a Christmas
Eve party. It was a really good time. After Christmas, however, was a
different story. We started moving the day after Christmas and we
finished on January 5. We are still hanging lights and moving things
around but we feel like we are starting to settle in. We do rejoice
in the fact that we moved into a Mission owned house and know that
this will be our last move while we are in Suriname! As we finish up
the final parts of moving we are now preparing for the arrival of my
family. They will be coming to Suriname to visit the end of next
week. We are very excited to have family visiting.
Dec.
3, 2007
The
Hei that had a Purpose
On November 10, 2007 I was in
the interior with a friend, Ted Jantz. That night we went night
fishing with two Aukan Friends. This involves using two 500-watt
halogen lights on the front of the boat so you can see into the
water. There are two or three guys in the back of the boat push
poling you through the rapids looking for fish to shoot with a bow
and arrow. It is a lot of fun but at the same time very dangerous. As
we left to go fishing for the night I saw my friend Baa Joti, and I
told him that if we had a good night of fishing we would bring him
some. We left for our fishing trip at 8:00 p.m. and returned at 1;00
a.m. When we returned we had only found three fish that night. We had
given two to the guys who pushed poled the boat and had one left for
us.
As we were returning to the
house in the dark, I thought of Baa Joti and how we did not get
enough fish to give him one. As we returned to the dock I went up to
the house to put up my fishing bow. When I did, I saw our cat walking
towards me. Then off to the left I saw a large red eye. I was curious
what it was, so I walked slowly toward the red eye. When I got close
enough, I saw large white spots on his back. It was a Hei. This is a
rabbit-like animal that lives in the jungle. It was about two feet
tall and three feet long. As I approached, it ran into the bushes
between our house and the river. I could hear that it had not run far
but was hiding in the bushes. I called Ted to help get the Hei, but I
did not have a gun. So I went and got my hunting bow from the house
and a spotlight. As we walked toward where the Hei was, Ted held the
spot light and I the bow. We were about 15 feet from the spot where
he had gone in. He said he could see an eye in the bushes. As I stood
beside him, I could see it, too. The problem was I only saw one eye
and did not know which way he was standing. I moved to one side then
the other looking to see his spots. The bush was so thick that you
could see nothing. Ted then said, “You see an eye; shoot the
eye”. So I drew and released on the eye that I could see. As
the arrow struck the target I could hear the Hei fall backwards. It
ran off to the side where the bushes were not so thick, and I could
see it running by the river. The Hei decided to swim across a small
creek to an island on the other side. The night was very dark and Ted
decided to cross a log and follow the Hei to the island. I took the
boat around to the other side of the island. Ted found the Hei and
tried to cut it off so that it could not go back into the water. His
efforts were to no avail, and the Hei plunged back into the water.
Now, on its last leg Ted felt that the Hei did not have enough energy
to make it across the creek. As Ted was making his way through the
jungle, wasps, which are attracted to light, decided to attack
him. He shut the light off and stood in complete darkness. Then
he heard some splashing on the other side of the creek, and
reluctantly lit the light to see if he could locate the Hei. As
he located the Hei emerging from the water on the other side of the
creek, a wasp found his hand. Ted dropped the light and held his hand
in pain. As he waited he could see the light from the boat as I
rounded the corner. He yelled and told me to look on the other side
of the river. I saw the Hei lying on the bank. I picked up the Hei
and placed it in the boat then I picked up Ted. As we pulled into the
main river at 1;30 a.m., I turned and asked Ted, what we should do
with it. He laughed and said he didn’t know. I asked him if he wanted
to go and give it to Baa Joti. He said that sounded like a good idea
since neither of us wanted to think about having to clean the Hei at
this time of the morning.
As we entered the village, it
was deathly still. There was no one awake and not even a light in the
village. The roosters were not even crowing. Outside Baa Joti’s house
I called four or five times before I heard movement. Then Baa Joti,
still asleep, came out of the house. He asked if everything was OK. I
told him that if a friend comes and wakes you up at this time of the
night he better have something really good to give you. He looked at
me strangely, and then I held up the Hei. A big smile came over his
face. I told him that we had brought this for him. He thanked us, and
we turned back to the boat and headed straight for our beds.
The next morning as I thought
through all of the earlier activities, it really hit me as to how unusual
the night had been, even for the jungle. I thought about all of the
variables that had to fall into place, and all I could see was God’s
hand. It was awesome to see His hand at work, but I really wanted to
know why. I wanted to know the rest of the story.
Later that afternoon Baa Joti
came over to the house. He again thanked me for the Hei. I told him I
only wanted to know one thing. I wanted to know why God wanted him to
have the Hei. A big grin came over his face. Then he told me this
story. “Baa Charles, it has been two days and I have not had any food
of substance. Yesterday morning I got up and had some bread. I then
asked my son Jerry where we where going to find some food that day.
He told me he did not know. I told him he was my son so he should. I
then told him not to worry. I then turned to God and told him, ‘You
know that I have not had any food of substance in two days. You know
that my whole life is in your hands. I am asking you to help me.
Please give me some food. I am also asking you to give me something I
really enjoy.’ I then told no one else of this, only God. I knew He
would take care of me. Then early this morning you came and gave me
the Hei. Hei is my favorite animal. It is wonderful when you
only tell God something and He shows you the answer though someone
else.”
As I heard this story, I sat
back and thought of how great a God we serve. He allowed me to
be used to answer someone else’s prayers. I then told Baa Joti this
reminded me of a story. I told him that Mary, Jesus’ mother, had
heard some amazing things about what would happen to Jesus in the
future. When she heard these things she hid them in her heart. I told
him she hid them so that when the trials came she could look back to
them and she would know that God is in control and would help her
through the tough times. I told him he should do the same thing. He
should take these wonderful things God is showing him and hide them
in his heart so that when the times get rough he can look back to all
that God has done, and he will know that God will see him through. He
smiled and said, “That is true. “
---Charles Shirey
November 02, 2007
On October 12 -
22 an evangelism/discipleship team from First Baptist, Moss Bluff, LA
and one person from Tennessee went to six different villages
witnessing one on one with the people. We saw many Aukan men and
women come to meet their Savior in the divine appointments He had for
them at this time in history. God used the team to encourage the new
believers meeting together in Loabi and showed the first part of the
Acts film. Some of the team also took the believers in Loabi fishing
and were able to catch fish with them to feed their families. Also,
we had people in several different villages want us to come and start
meeting with them. One of them is in the village of Diitabiki (the
capital village). One woman in Diitabiki was witnessed to, and then
she walked back to her house, watched the Jesus film and cried. She
received Christ as her Savior and now wants to come to the meeting
God is starting there. Also, one of the head wintimen in Mainsi
understood what Christ did for him and told the team if God will
reveal Himself to him, he would come to know Him as his Savior
(Please pray for him).
Again, we praise
God for His hand on the Aukan people and give Him the glory for it!
We want to thank Randy Partin, Carmen Miller, Gil Broussard, Bob
Shirey, Stefanie Cooley, Ted Jantz and Joel Shumate for being God's
feet in Suriname.
October 02, 2007
The volunteer
team of five from Knoxville, Tennessee was a great success! The eye
surgeon, Paul Froula and his team, Dana Froula, Chris Corby, Seth
Miller, and Tiffany Glandon did twenty-eight cataract surgeries. They
were able to pray with the patients before their surgery. One of the
patients was a man named Um Longa. He is a new believer who has been
meeting with three other new believers in front of his house for
Bible study, prayer and worship. The team was able to do surgery on
him successfully. The men on the team also met with Um Longa and two
other Aukan men for Bible study in his village.
September 23, 2007
Five volunteers
from Knoxville, Tennessee are arriving tonight, September 23 and will
go to the interior this Monday for a week to do cataract surgery. Paul
Froula, the surgeon, and four members of his staff are bringing all
of the surgical equipment and cataract kits in their luggage. The
surgeries will be conducted in the clinic in Diitabiki.
September 06, 2007
The Medical Team,
twelve from Moss Bluff, Louisiana and two from Knoxville, Tennessee,
was able to work in the clinics alongside the clinic workers in three
different villages for four days. They saw an average of 375 patients
and were able to leave medication for the clinics to use in the future.
This team was not only able to help medically, but also able to
participate in prayer walking and evangelism. We prayer walked five
villages and were able to pray with the people and share Christ
throughout the villages. One man said he was not a Christian but knew
the power of our God and wanted us to pray for him. This wonderful
team ministered to us as well as the Aukan people.
August 13, 2007
The Dental Team
from Knoxville, Tennessee spent seven days in the interior. We held
clinics in the villages of Diitabiki, Karmel, and Godoolo. In these
three villages we saw over 350 patients and extracted over 1000
teeth! We were able to pray with most of these patients and show them
that we truly care for them. This was a great team that ministered to
the Aukan people as well as to us.
July 18, 2007
At the end of
June the family went to our Annual Mission Meeting. This year it was
held in the Dominican Republic. We had a great time fellowshipping
with friends from our region.
After our mission
meeting we went to see family in the States. We are currently on
vacation in the States. We will return to Suriname July 27.
We will be having
a volunteer dental team coming August 3. This team is being lead by
David Brooke and Stephen Malone from Knoxville, TN. The team will be
going into different villages pulling teeth. We are very excited
about the team coming and filling a great physical need among the
Aukaners.
June 19, 2007
The evangelism
team from Acts church in Olive Branch, Mississippi, spent a week in
the interior going from village to village witnessing and showing the
Jesus film at night. The Spirit of God moved mightly among the
Aukaners and 45 adults and over 20 children gave their lives to
Christ!
May 27, 2007
An evangelism
team will be coming June 1-15. They are from the Acts church in Olive
Branch, Mississippi. They will join three city Aukan Christians and
Charles to go village-by-village interior witnessing one on one to
the Aukaners. They will also be showing the Jesus film at night.
May 24, 2007
I know it has
been a while since we have updated our “What's Happening.” We were in
the States for medical reasons for about 5 weeks. We are now back in
Suriname and things are going well. We are now preparing for
volunteer teams that will be coming to help work with us this summer.
Please pray for our first team from Olive Branch, Mississippi, that
will be here in June.
February 13, 2007
Satan is still at
work in the interior. The men who are working in Pikin Peesi are
still there. Things have slowed down a little but are far from
stopping. We are trying to get the pastors interior and in the city
together to organize the work. This is difficult and will take time,
but we know it will be very beneficial. Right now we are in the city.
One of our dogs has come down with distemper. For the last four days
we have been at the vets office every morning and evening getting
shots and IV. It looks like he will make it but we still have a
little while left. Abigail is doing great. She is getting so big.
Ethan and Caleb really enjoy holding her and loving on her. They also
love telling everyone that Abigail is their sister.
January 17, 2007
We have made it
back to Suriname and everyone has adjusted back and is doing well.
The transmitter to the radio broke and has recently been fixed. I am
going up to the mountain this week to put it back into place so the
radio station will be up and running by the end of the week. I met
with a group of believers in the city about sending believers from
the city to the interior to do so more witnessing. A group is forming
together and we hope to have them come to Diitabiki very soon.
December 08, 2006
We are now in the
States. Abigail Christina Ajeeba Shirey was born November 22. Both
mother and baby were able to go home on the 24th. We have had an
opportunity to share at First Baptist Church of Moss Bluff and
Homewood Baptist Church in Alexandria, LA. this past Sunday. We
should be returning to Suriname the first week of January after Brittany
and Abigail are released to travel. Thank you so much for your
prayers during this time.
November 06, 2006
This Past Monday
three Aukan Believers, from the city, and I went to the interior to
deal head on with the man that is working with the spirits and the
work he is doing. When we arrived we first visited the Gaanman. We
presented him with a good strong witness, but he was not very
receptive. He did say that he was still very open to Christian work
coming to the interior.
After this we
went to the village of Pikin Peesi. This is the village where the man
lives that is working with the spirits. This village usually has no
more than 20 people in it. At the time we arrived there were over 200
people on the small island. They said there had been as many as 600
there previously. Many of these people are from the city, or French
Guiana. All of these people are seeking help. Most of them either
feel that a spirit is oppressing them or they have sickness related
to a spirit. They are seeking this man and his helpers to rid them of
these spirits. The cost of removing a spirit is almost 200 US
Dollars. This man and his helpers are also selling red bands to put
around your arm to protect you from spirits. You can get one of these
for about $5. Everyone is in fear, but at the same time they are
following this man.
When we
arrived, the man was in the city and the police had placed him under
arrest. From what we have heard they do not have adequate evidence of
wrongdoing and will have to let him go. This will only make his
following stronger. As you can see, Satan is working overtime in the
interior. Satan is working so hard because he knows his time is
drawing near. While in the interior, we witnessed to many people and
had three Aukaners come to know Christ as their Savior--three more
people who now see the light!
I will be
returning to the interior Wednesday. Please pray for us as the war
continues.
October 20, 2006
I went to visit
Captain Pasensie today. He is the captain that was beaten in the
interior. He is at a house in the city resting. We sat and talked
about what had happened, and he told me that he knew it was God that
kept him alive. I told him I knew he had head knowledge of Christ but
not heart knowledge. I then asked him if he wanted to become a true Believer.
He said yes and then prayed to receive Christ. We rejoice that
another Aukaner has come to know Christ!
October 19, 2006
The showing of
the film was great. Everyone said they really liked the film and
understood every part of it. The VMS team has left, and now they will
master the video. After this we will make copies of the movies and
work on getting them back to Suriname.
Spiritual
Warfare is at an all time high in the interior. Satan is using a man
in the interior to perform what we would call "Witch
Hunts". This man is naming people in the interior that have put
spells or curses on other people in order to either have power over
them or kill them. Once the person has been singled out, the
individual or family members of the individual that have been cursed
or killed take revenge on that person. Captain Pasensie of Kisai, to
whom I have been telling Bible stories over this past year, was one
of the accused. They beat him severely and burned his house. He has
just come out of the hospital and now recovering in the city. There
have been many others as well. I know this will only increase. Please
pray for the people in the interior.
Wednesday, as I
was leaving the interior a friend of mine, Baa Moni, came up to me
and said he wanted to become a believer. After a long discussion to
make sure he understood what becoming a believer meant and that he
was serious, he prayed and asked Christ to come into his heart. In
the midst of all the turmoil God is very much at work. Pray that more
people will come to know Christ in the following weeks. Also pray for
Baa Moni as persecution will surely come.
October 14, 2006
The recording
phase of the Genesis project is complete! We finished reviewing and
rerecording any mistakes on Friday. The Vernacular Media Services
team will finish up any small touchups this Saturday. Monday we will
fly to the interior. We will have a preview showing of the film
Tuesday night in the large meeting house of Diitabiki. We are very
excited about this. Please keep this in your prayers.
September 26, 2006
The recording
phase of the Genesis project has been going great. We have recorded
over 500 clips and have about 600 left to record. Fifteen Aukaners
have lent their voices to the project so far, and we expect another
ten to join them. The days are long and tedious as we record from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
September 18, 2006
Monday morning we
will begin our recording phase of the Genesis Project. Peter Nash and
Wayne and Carroll Allen, the workers with Vernacular Media Services,
arrived Saturday morning. They are excited and ready to work. It will
take them four weeks to dub the Aukan voices over the original film.
September 3, 2006
The first piece
of the Genesis Project is complete! The proofing of the text was
finished on Friday, and Monday the text will be finalized. Then we
will make two master scripts, begin selecting actors, and have them
start practicing for the film. We will start recording on September 16.
Please be praying for us as we prepare the recording room. Brittany
and the boys will be traveling back to the States the last of
September in preparation to have the baby. Fortunately my Mom, Nancy,
will be flying down to help Brittany and the boys travel back to the
States.
August 28, 2006
We are working
everyday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. proofing the translation of
Genesis. These are long days of sitting together in front of a
computer screen discussing what words to use to make sure the
Aukaners can completely understand the book of Genesis. We are
working with Louis Shanks, the SIL translator who originally
translated the New Testament into Aukans, and three local Aukan
believers. We hope to be finished by September 2.
August 22, 2006
The Team from
Longville, LA has finished their work on the building. The building
looks great and is now able to be used! They worked tirelessly to
complete everything. We had a great time. I think this team found
more wildlife around the house than I have ever seen! We are now back
in the city working with Louis Shanks, who is one of the key SIL
translators for the Aukan New Testament. Louis has come to proof the
translation of Genesis. This translation is what we will be using for
our script in the Genesis Film that will be taped next month. We will
begin the work Monday morning along with four Aukan helpers. Callie
has continued to be a great help throughout her time here. Sadly she
will be leaving Aug. 24.
August 02, 2006
The team from the
Act's Church lead by Michael Perry, and Joel Shumate was a huge
success. The team was cut short two days by flight delays getting to
Suriname, as well as delayed by lack of material and rain, but God
blessed this team beyond measure. Within three days of work, the
entire structure was erected, the roof put on, and much of the siding
put up. When we left the interior Saturday morning we all looked at
the building and knew that God had truly blessed this project and
accomplished more than we could have ever imagined. The team from Act's
Church is already planning a trip to help with evangelism next June.
This coming Saturday the team from Longville First Baptist will be
joining us to finish up the building. Please pray for this team as
they travel to Suriname. Callie Jenkins joined us July 16 as a short
term volunteer. She has been a huge help in preparing for the teams,
taking care of the boys, and helping the volunteers. Callie will be
with us until August 26. Please pray for Callie as she works with us.
July 22, 2006
The Team from
Olive Branch, Mississippi lead by Michael Perry did not arrive last
night as expected. Their plane had technical difficulties causing
them to miss their connecting flights. The next available flight into
Suriname will be arriving 1:00am Monday the 24th. We will be
traveling that same day at 10:00am into the interior. These
difficulties only excite us because we know the great things God has
planned for us on this trip. This is the first team in a two part
project to build a multipurpose building in the interior. Pray that
losing these two days will not lower the spirits of our volunteers
and that they will keep their focus on God. The team will be
returning to the city on Saturday the 29.
July 08, 2006
We have also
recently found out Brittany is having a little girl. Her due date is
November 30th.
July 08, 2006
We have recently
returned from our annual IMB meeting in the Dominican Republic and
are in the States on vacation for two weeks. We will return to
Suriname in the middle of July. One volunteer team will be coming the
end of July and another team will come the beginning of August. They
will construct a building that will be used to house guests of the
radio station as well as a discipleship training center. One team
will be coming from Louisiana and one from Mississippi.
June 19, 2006
Last
week Charles met with eight city churches in Paramaribo. The
purpose of the meeting was to organize a trip to the interior to hold
prayer meetings in three major villages. They decided to go in
on Saturday, June 17 to begin praying for the Aukan people. The
week-long prayer trek will begin at Stoliman’s Island and continue
downriver to Diitabiki. Every time a group of believers have
come and prayed in villages, God has honored it and moved among the people.
Please pray for these eight churches, for Charles as he helps in the
one held in Diitabiki, and for the people to come to know Christ. The
meeting took place in Diitabik, one Capitain attended and 4 Aukaners
were saved!!! Praise be to God! The people also asked them to remain
and hold a church service last night. They agreed, but I have not
received the results of the meeting. Keep praying for the people of
Diitabiki!!
June 20, 2006
I want to report
on the prayer meeting held last night in Diitabiki. After the group
of 45 people agreed to stay, Charles announced the prayer meeting on the radio a few hours
before it began. He said about 200 people came and 50 came
forward showing an interest in salvation! Charles and one of the
church pastors who lives upriver are going to follow up on those who
expressed an interest. He said the meeting was held in the main
meeting house. This is the same meeting house we were told to
leave when we tried to start a Bible study there. They told us that
it was no place for Christians to meet. This is also the same
village that at least two different times told Christians to leave
and no church was allowed to start there. Charles said the most
astounding thing was the fact that almost all the people who were
very skeptical about Christianity were there singing and dancing
too. I asked Charles what he did and he said, "I just sat
back and enjoyed." The people holding the prayer service
went on upriver today to pray in two more villages, but before they
left, they met with Charles and asked if they could work more with
him because they see the Aukaners moving toward Christianity like
never before. Needless to say, we are so excited and praising God for
His faithfulness in moving among the Aukan people.
Thank you for
all of your prayers; they are making a difference!
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