Gospel For Africa

On Sunday afternoon June 14, 2009 a bunch of our church family piled into a large troop transport type truck and headed for Bingerville about 30 minutes outside of Abidjan. Our mission was to fulfill the great commission and baptize the number of new converts the Lord had sent to us. Matthew 28:18-20  -  ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (See baptism photo gallery)

We had a wonderful service that morning. The teaching was on Worship. The Holy Spirit was moving mightily in the midst of the people and many were blessed. It had been raining for four days and people were still coming to church even in the rain. Many were late, but they came expecting.

The rain continued all day. The transport truck was very large and heavy. It didn’t take the potholed roads very well. Everyone was so filled with joy, singing and praising the Lord all the way to Bingerville. Then we turned off the main road to make our way about 6 miles to Plage Marie Therese where we would baptize. The dirt road was so steep and full of so many holes the people became frightened. The singing stopped and everyone held on as the big truck rocked and rolled down the incline. A few times we thought the truck was going to turn on its side.

At the base of the hill the truck was stopped by a group of young men who had appointed themselves as a road construction crew. They demanded a large sum of money to allow the truck to pass.  We pleaded and begged them to allow us to pass, but they refused. They held us up for almost an hour before allowing us to go. We ended up paying them a smaller amount. The Lord had one of our number speak with the leader of the young men in his own tribal dialect. The young man then felt bad about holding his brother hostage and let us pass.

It was still raining when we finally made it to the drop off point. The truck could go no farther. The roads narrowed to nothing and the ground was soggy. The peple walked the final mile to the beach. As we reached the beach, God answered our prayers and stopped the rain with a burst of sunshine. Everyone began to praise the Lord again. (See baptism photo gallery)

After singing some songs and praying for a while we began the baptism. It was a great joy to see all these wonderful children of God going into the water to bury their old lives and then emerge with a new beginning.

After the baptism we sang, worshiped, danced and rejoiced before the Lord. The ladies of the church had prepared food for all, and we sat down on the beach to eat. Everyone was satisfied with the food and the great fellowship. It was the finish of a beautiful day.

After eating and relaxing it was time to go back to the truck and another bumpy ride home. But this time, nothing could steal our joy. Everyone was so blessed and happy. We were talking about the wonders of God all the way home. (See baptism photo gallery)

God Bless You All,
Pastor Chris

Filed under: Notes to myself