I am pleased to share with you that I’m home safe and sound following another excellent Pathways training, this time in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa. Yes, the travel protocol was a pain, with multiple COVID tests required, masking throughout travel, etc. But again, the inconveniences paled in comparison with the joy of being with these dear brothers and sisters, witnessing their excitement at studying the Word and being reunited again after a 20-month separation.
For this trip, I was joined by teammate Steve Hudson and colleague Tim Brannagan. Tim’s specialty is training non-literate ministry leaders in biblical storytelling, so we were able to strategize how to work collaboratively and utilize Pathways and his ministry for the benefit of pastors and communities globally.
Sleep was at a minimum (first four days I got a total of eight hours sleep), but God sustained us, and the time in Abidjan was a whopping success. After our arrival late Saturday night, our ministry began with me preaching at an early morning (7AM) service Sunday. Then, I was picked up by another pastor and taken to his church where I preached again. Power flickered on and off throughout the service, but it didn’t faze anyone as I continued sharing the Gospel from Mark 2. By the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit, He drew six men and women to Himself as they placed their faith in Christ for the first time following my message. Hallelujah!
When we showed up for the training, we had twice as many pastors as usual, half of whom had never been through any of Pathways. So Steve took the newbies and gave them Pathways workshop 1 throughout the week, and I worked with my 14 experienced Pathways trainers giving them a refresher workshop. They desperately needed this, and their enthusiasm was palpable as rusty principles were shined and refined. More than any other group I work with, this group exuded a camaraderie filled with energy, passion, collaboration, and fun relationship together as they playfully teased each other, digging into the Word, and pushing each other toward textual integrity.
^^ Click above for a taste of my class praising God. ^^
Coordinator Daniel Sahin said, “Over the past several years going through this training, I have learned that I can no longer step into the pulpit and just start sharing my own ideas. I have learned that I must preach the ideas in the text and follow the text. Thank you for teaching me.”
Carmielle added, “Through Pathways, I discovered God by myself through His Word. I don’t need any other additional books. … Before God, we commit to take this training and share it with many others.
Moving forward, the plan is that Steve will continue working with this group which will free me to start new networks in other locations that are waiting for Pathways.
As we were preparing to head to the airport, we were surprised to find that the previous president Gbagbo, who had been exiled for many years, returned at the same time, and the city was erupting with a variety of emotions. Our coordinator was very worried about heading to the airport amidst the chaos, but God had the situation under control and we made it to our flight with no problems.
Thank you much for your prayers. Next month I had planned to be in Zambia working with our Lusaka network, but a recent surge in Covid cases in Zambia may jeopardize that training.