You have been praying, and God honored those prayers as I have just returned from over two weeks of trainings in Mali and Central African Republic (CAR). Yes, the trip was packed with challenges, but the work that God did far eclipsed difficulties along the way.
A few days before the trip, I received notification that Air France had cancelled my flight to Mali, offering no alternative suggestions. On the way back, they delayed my flight home for an entire day. Admittedly, they didn’t score any points in my “favorite airlines” book on this trip, but through many hours of work I was able to figure out alternatives and things worked out. Once I reached Bamako, Mali, all was forgotten as I delighted in getting to know Emmanuel, the translator and primary administrator for Tyrannus Bible School (TBS) in Mali, as well as the other students.
These students have been studying at the school for seven months, learning many subjects in preparation for being sent into unreached parts of Mali to do church planting. The class was made up of several married couples as well as several singles. Since it was my only time with the group, I tried to select sessions from our three-year, nine-workshop curriculum that I thought would be most helpful. They responded well to the training, and grew much in their ability to handle God’s Word throughout the week.
Praising God with the students and watching them absorb healthy Bible study principles throughout the week was a joy. Check out this brief video:
Following a week of training in Bamako, I spent a day traveling to Bangui, CAR where another group at a Tyrannus School was waiting to be trained. This school had 26 students who would be sent into various parts of CAR to do church planting and mission work.
Beforehand, I went out with the students doing “door to door” evangelism. Actually, they were the ones who did it, and it was easy to gather groups of people who were happy to sit and listen to the students explain the Gospel.
The next day, I was invited to preach at a church, which was quite an event. The offering time alone took about 20 minutes of various groups slowly coming forward and depositing their offerings in one of 10 boxes at the front.
I gave a message working through Ephesians 2:8-10 and the Lord moved in the hearts of about 50 people in the church to come forward, kneel, and place their trust in Christ for salvation instead of their works. Wow! All glory to God! I challenged the pastor that he and the church leadership had a lot of work to do in discipling these new believers.
The class in Bangui processed the material well, although it was the last week of the seven months, so they had graduation in their sights.
The organizer, Sameh, was a delightful man from Egypt who spoke broken English and had a huge heart to bless the students.
Along the way, I was able to take a few runs and saw a bit of the area, including looking across the Ubangi river at DR Congo.
A highlight with both groups was the training in the Whole Story of the Bible, one part of which is teaching them the Whole Story in one sentence complete with actions. You can see a video of the CAR group doing that definition here, along with other elements of the church service and training.
Just moments before departing to the airport to begin my long journey home, I gave the graduation sermon for the students as they completed their seven months of training.
ReachGlobal was concerned about me making this trip due to the fact that the US State Dept placed both Mali and CAR at a travel advisory threat level 4 – Do Not Travel. However, we developed a host of preparations, contingencies, and security protocols, and I am so very thankful that all worked well and I was able to do the trip. Exhausting, yes, and worth every minute. Frequent power outages in the humid heat (whether day or night) did not stop the Spirit from working, preparing these men and women from planting healthy churches based on God’s Word.
