Ounate-Lare, Sena and Jane, Togo
Ounate-Lare main page
Prayer Letter March 2006
Dear Friends & Family in Christ,
Greeting from Dapaong. The church here and we ourselves are very thankful for your prayers and support. We would like you to know that our youth camps in December that you had prayed for went very well. Pastor Benoit and his family, whom we told you about, have been with us since January to do a four months placement. They are settling well. We were glad to have Mary Higginson Crosslinks’ Mission team director with us in February for a visit. She was a big encouragement to us.
We are planning to come to England for home leave in the Spring for a few months. We are excited and looking forward to seeing you all.
FAMILY NEWS
The Ounate-Lare tribe is doing well and send you their love and news.
Johan : I’m 6 months old now and I am changing fast. Now I can roll and sit which is not as easy as you think! My next challenge is to try to crawl. I like responding to people’s smiles. Finally, I decided to sleep better in the night to give a good night’s sleep to Mummy and Daddy. They seem to appreciate that.
Eloise : I like playing with my dolly and singing. I love animals and I like wearing nice clothes but I don’t like it when Mummy makes me wear something I don’t want to wear.
Joshua: I am the big brother which is a big responsibility. I am impatient to go and see Granny & Grandad, and all my cousins. At the moment I like asking a lot of questions about anything at anytime. It is not always easy for the poor parents but they are coping all right. I love music and I would like to learn to play the trumpet and drums. I started school in February and I am enjoying it.
Jane : I have just started home-schooling Joshua. I am enjoying it very much as he is so eager to learn. I hope that he will grow up with the same enthusiasm toward learning. As a family we are preparing for our home leave. I am very excited about seeing family and friends in UK.
Séna : I am grateful to the Lord for my beautiful family. We have lots of fun together. At the moment I am feeling a bit tired after a very busy month of seminar. It was a blessed time but tiring too.
Please pray: For Jane home-schooling Joshua and for our preparations for home leave in England.
MINISTRY: God in Action
God is good all the time. The church in Dapaong sends their love in Christ. They are praying for you. Please do not hesitate to send us your prayer requests. We will be happy to pray for you and that will strengthen our relationship.
Here in Dapaong the church is experiencing a very special time with the Lord. We have been praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and God heard and answered our prayers. At the end of January we hosted a team from US who came and taught on the Kingdom of God. God used them greatly to revive our church and to show his power. During their time with us, one evening they went to share the gospel with a Muslim Fulani tribe nearby and 40 people committed their lives to Jesus. It was amazing because this tribe is usually very reluctant to hear the Gospel but God is powerful. Since that time God has been doing great things among us as a church. We have now a Fulani cell and have been discipling them. Benoit and I minister to them where they live twice a week ( Monday and Saturday night ). We speak in French and Diallo, one of my disciples, translates into Fulani language for them.
Please give thanks to the Lord for all he has been doing.
Testimonies: Glory to God
We just want to give you a couple of testimonies about what God has been doing.
Dieu-donné is a school teacher. He is married and decided to give his life to Jesus in October 2006. He had got into big trouble and was about to be put in prison. He came to the conclusion that committing suicide was the only solution before finding that Jesus is the best solution. Since coming to the Lord he has been growing well as a Christian. This February his Landlord’s son was serious ill and was lying almost unconscious in hospital. Everybody was very concerned including the doctors. On Wednesday 8th February he went to the hospital. The boy’s parents and he tried to wake the child but it was impossible and in the end he asked to pray for the child. As he finished his prayer suddenly the child woke up. Everybody was amazed and Dieu-donné himself was scared. By Saturday they left the hospital and the child has been fine ever since.
Last week Benoit, Mary of Crosslinks and I prayed for a Fulani woman who was pregnant and had been ill for several weeks. She couldn’t even stand and had to lie down. The whole tribe was worried. The following day I received a message from the Fulani people that the lady had completely recovered. She was even back to her job. The whole tribe is amazed and praising God.
Work has started on our new church building which we hope will be ready for Easter but in the meantime, we will be meeting in a large tent as there is no longer enough space in our current building. We are preparing about 12 people to be baptized at Easter.
Challenges:
When God is at work the enemy is not happy. Suddenly, we have many problems to deal with in the church. Family relationship problems, tension between some members and leaders having health problems in their family. Please pray for us.
Great need for pastoral care in the church. At the moment only a few leaders are equipped to do it.
Please pray for these coming events
- Saturday 4th and 11th March: We’ll be showing the Jesus film to the Fulani people.
- Retreat for the church leaders in April.
- The dedication of our new building followed by a night of prayer over Easter weekend.
- Preparations for Home leave and specifically for Sena’s UK visa.
We wish you a very happy Easter and look forward to seeing many of you soon!
Lots of Love in Christ from
Sena, Jane, Joshua, Eloise and Johan