Finally An Update

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from Nigeria.  We arrived safely and have actually completed the first phase of our purpose here.  I have not had internet access which is the reason I have not updated the site.  Now, I have a few moments to share with you my happenings and some prayer requests.

Our flight was long.  We had a delay in Atlanta.  An extra hour in the terminal and many extra hours on the plane as they fixed a mechanical problem.  After that, it was just another long flight....like every flight overseas.  Praise the Lord that we arrived safely.  The first day was one of settling in and adjusting to our new environment.  Our hotel was nice.  I will say that it is HOT here and HUMID.  I am sweating all the time...a shower seems to bring only a few moments of relief.  My sleep is good for the most part.

We have been in meetings throughout the day.  We took the first part of our time to hear testimonies.  It was exciting to hear the testimonies of our Nigerian friends---Muslim backgrounds until Christ moved in a claimed their hearts for him.  Their ministries are also exciting.  They are "getting it done" in training men and women to reach the Muslim world for Christ.  One ministry in particular is of interest to me---a missionary training center in Jos, where our own missionary, Bello Misal, resides and ministers.  This training center seems very exicting to me.  They need about $18,000 to complete a building project to house 60-70 missionaries in training per six month training cycle.  Let's pray for God's provision!  Maybe the Lord could use our "first fruits" accoount to come alongside of them and complete this strategic project.

The first phase of our trip is almost complete.  We have created the beginnings of a plan to bring training to this country.  In the days ahead we will try to finalize some of these initial plans.  We will not have a lot of time because we are at the GoFest Conference, where 10,000 young people have gathered to seek the Lord about missions.  I2 Ministries, the group I am traveling with, will be presenting their ministry during this time with the hopes of mobalizing young people to this important task.  Be in prayer about this important time.  Pray that God would work in the hearts of these young people and lead them toward the task of completing the Great Commission.

The next few days we will be at this conference.  We will attend sessions but also try to squeeze in times to continue to strategize future plans.  Pray for all of us as we need strength.  There has been varying degrees of sickness, struggles with jet lag, weariness from meetings, etc.  We need your prayers.  The days have been long, and we have worked hard.

Praise the Lord that I will also be meeting with our missionary, Bello Misal.  He is flying to Lagos to join me for the day tomorrow (Thursday).  I am very excited about meeting with him.  From what I hear he is a very respected minister and plays an important role in the building up of the body of Christ at the seminary where he serves.  I will bring a report back about his ministry.  Pray for our time that I will encourage him and make it clear our love and support.

After the conference we hope to have more time to reflect on what we have learned and try to make more final plans for the future.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to lead these discussions.  Working cross-culturally requires insight and wisdom.  The Spirit needs to lead these times.  We will also attend a church named Glory Tabernacle and worship with them on Easter.  This church has already committed to hosting a training center to try and mobilize the church in the task of completing the Great Commission.  Pray for continued partnership during that time.

We may try to come home a day earlier than planned because schedules will make continued meetings somewhat difficult.  Overall, that would be good as the majority of our work will be complete and we will be ready to return home.

We are being well taken care of.  Our hosts are very hospitable.  Thanks for your prayers.  Continue to pray for us in the days ahead.  We want this trip to be profitable for the greater work of the kingdom.  Praise be to the Lord.  I am enjoying meeting God's servants here.  Pray that I will be a blessing to them.

Thanks for your partnership,

Dave

Nigeria: A New Adventure

Nigeria: The Next Adventure

Greetings from the Ukraine

The Lord is doing a great work through His people here in the Ukraine.  It has been such a blessing to see the perseverance of our brothers and sisters here though the pressure of the government increases.

 I am now in the middle of our conference and extremely tired. Though I have been able to sleep well, teaching twice a day for two hours through a translator and then trying to do all my other communicating through a translator as well, has left me exhausted. I also miss my family greatly and can’t wait until I am back home with them.

I have come across some very interesting situations during my trip. One of these situations happened while we were visiting a church and decided to sit in the front row. Right before the service was about to start a man came up to me, strapped a mic onto me and informed me that I would be preaching. He then told me I had 30 minutes to preach, which was including the time in took for translation. I had already begun studying Ezra for a chapel I was going to be preaching at Talbots Extension Seminary and quickly prepared what I would say. Praise the Lord for preparing me for such a time.

I have three days left of teaching and on Friday I will be on my way home.

Prayer Requests:

1. For strength for the entire missions team as the work here is exhausting
2. That the Lord may continue to work in the lives of these people as they persevere in the faith.

Done in Moscow...On the way to Kiev