|
First CAM Service & Baptism |
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yesterday, two young men
declared publicly, to the visible and invisible world, their belief in Jesus
Christ and their determination to follow Him for the rest of their lives, and
were baptized in front of 80 witnesses. What a glorious day!
Koureissi (left saved
10 days ago) and Simeon (right his first birthday) both gave a testimony
before stepping into the basin to be baptized. On the left you see Emmanuel,
who interpreted, and behind me Simon-Pierre, who was responsible for the
sound system. But let me first back up
a little. MEETING THE
NEIGHBORS A few days before the big
day, I grabbed the little packets of tea every Malian drinks daily, some
invitations, and Simeon who happened to be here, and I finally got out to
meet the neighbors; something I had wanted to do for a while. We knocked at
every door around the House, doing the whole block, and talked to a lot of
people. Everybody was so touched that I'd care to come and introduce myself,
wanting to know them and giving them a gift. We had some good conversations. There are a lot of
interesting people living around here, many in higher positions (since this
is a nice neighborhood). Most everybody is Muslim, but we also met some
Christians from the Congo. The most interesting family was the very last one,
just across from the street. A very educated Malian couple that lived in
Austria for 8 years (he with the UN, she a student), speaks fluent German,
loves Austria and is good friends with my own friend and former
Bambara-professor in Vienna. They immediately adopted me into their family
and opened their house to me. This is favor! And it's
only the beginning! THE BIG DAY
FOR CENTRE APOSTOLIQUE MALIEN (CAM) I will spare you all the
details of the spiritual warfare going on leading up to this first service
(including that very day), but I do thank you for your prayers that were
answered! The invitation was for four
p.m., but I knew we wouldn't start until 4:30. And indeed, only the three
whites came on time (which included some of my own people, unfortunately). I
was especially pleased and honored that the leader of YWAM Mali
Jean-Patrick Perrin had come and agreed to pray the prayer of consecration.
We gathered inside to pray for the service, and Jean-Patrick joined us. We
stood in a circle holding hands, and the presence of Holy Spirit became
tangible. Going back outside to get
started, few people had arrived. However, by the time we closed the service,
few seats were left.
Every person received a
sheet with the words to the songs they would not know. I grabbed my guitar,
Emmanuel at my side to join me in singing and to interpret for me. There was
no nervousness, just joy. We started off with the song COME, singing it in
French and Bambara, then BLESSED BE THE NAME, CRUCIFIED and some others. From
time to time I spoke a few words of explanation, already presenting the
gospel. After worshipping the Lord for half an hour (and most people there
weren't Christians), I introduced myself and the church, telling them a
little bit about where I came from and who the church is affiliated with. By
now most people had arrived. Then I opened my Bible to preach about Philip
and the eunuch. I shared about Philip, a man full of Spirit and wisdom, who
did mighty signs and wonders for the Lord, and told them that that was what
CAM was all about to preach the gospel and do the works of Jesus. I also
shared about the eunuch, a man who was looking to know God, and who found Him
and was baptized. That was the logical lead-over to the baptism. Koureissi
and Simeon both gave their testimonies and were baptized. I then called up
Jean-Patrick and asked him to pray the prayer of dedication. Before he did,
he commented on the two flags I had put on the pulpit a red one and a
golden one talking about the blood and the glory. After his prayer, we
moved the pulpit to the side, and I invited people to come forward if they
wanted to know Jesus or be healed, or have prayer for anything else. No one
moved, and it was a somewhat awkward moment. How I longed to pray for them
all, and watch God touch them! (I guess we'll keep that for our evangelism
outings
) I prayed a closing prayer
and thanked God for the food that would arrive a few minutes later (the lady
from the university's mess hall had prepared it). To bridge the waiting time,
I grabbed my guitar again and we did some fast songs. Since Aisha has used my
flags in worship before, I asked her to come forward, introduced her to
everyone, and gave her a flag. Then I also invited the other kids to come and
use them, and they all did. What a sight it was to see those kids waving my
flags! Too bad it was too dark by then to take a picture. Finally the food arrived.
It was a special meal (couscous instead of rice), and everybody had his fill
we had exactly enough for everyone. As people were eating and
talking, I walked around talking to everybody to find out who they were. Many
were simply our neighbors that we had invited, but there was also my little
Aisha with her Mom which was a special joy and a Christian friend whose
kids come every Saturday so I can help them with schoolwork. Then there was a
couple of the Christians from Congo who attend another church, and a young
Dutch couple, new missionaries, who have become friends. Slowly people started
leaving, and it was time to clean up. Finally it was only the guard, Seybou,
and his cousin Hassan left, and God opened the door for another good
conversation as I testified to them about the great things the Lord has done
in my life. They were amazed at what they heard! May the seed bring good
fruit! (By the way, since talking with Seybou about smoking and me telling
him it wasn't good, he's stopped!!!) The big day was over,
everything had worked out well. Yet, though the day we had been looking
forward to for weeks had come and gone, it is really NOW that the work
starts! We will continue having our service on Sunday afternoon, and we're
going to start a mid-week Bible study & prayer meeting as well as Friday
night movies outside shortly. There are some
interpersonal challenges, and Emmanuel has to leave for the rest of this year
(to be with his family up north), which is a special challenge. All your
prayers are greatly desired. OUR SCHEDULE So what is our schedule
like right now? TUE English class As you can see, I'm not
getting bored ;-) I also continue teaching German at the High School Mon-Wed.
The next important step
for CAM will be to obtain legal authorization for the church from the local
authorities (then we can put a sign up), and to become a part of the
association of churches in Mali. The dedication celebration
is over, but it's already time to think about Christmas. Initial expenses for
the church (e.g. benches) have been much more than expected and have caused
some financial strain. With my monthly support still being so far short of
what is needed, I'm storming heaven to release everything necessary to do His
work in Mali, and I know He will answer. Could you be part of the answer? The harvest is ready and
it's time to take it in! Let's go in the power of the Spirit to do what He
has commanded us to do! I want to see hundreds and thousands of Malians
coming into the kingdom, being saved and healed, and equipped to go out
themselves. Is it possible? Absolutely! With God everything is possible! Thank you for sharing in
this task with me, whether by reading, writing, praying or giving. We are one
body, and this little finger out here at the "end of the world"
sure couldn't do it without the rest of the body. Abundant blessings on
each one of you! Loving & serving HIM,
Claudia P.S. I do have more
pictures as well as a 50 min. video of the service. They will be made
available on the church's website. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talk to me online with msn messenger - I'm
"healing2thenations" IMPORTANT: Don't write my name on the check, but add
a note that it's for me. In
Europe: Swift
code: BKAUTWW https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=office%40glorywebservices.com&item_name=Claudia+Wintoch&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD |
