We just wanted to post something really quick to let everyone know we are home! After over 24 hours of traveling and 4 airports we are here. We have a lot to process in the next few days, but we wanted to give thanks to God. We want to thank Him for protecting us while we travel, but most of all for this great opportunity.
Today is the last time we will write you from Cote D'Ivoire. Why? Because today at 9:25 p.m. we leave for the good ole' US of A. There is no way we can possibly explain the feelings we have in leaving this place. Feelings of sadness as we leave our African family. Feelings of excitement as we head back to the Heartland of America. Back to the place we call home. In the midst of all of these feelings we don't want to forget to say thank you to those who helped us on this mission.
Thank you to all those who so faithfully gave to Muddy Water over these last 5 months. We have been so blessed by the generosity of those who have sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom.
Thank you to all of you who faithfully kept us in your prayers. They have been felt on a daily basis. It has been those prayers that have helped sustain us.
Thank you to Pastor Charles Toakesse and your family for the opportunity to serve you and your ministry. Our lives have been forever changed by your love and kindness.
Thank you to World Changers Mission and Living Water Ministries West Africa for allowing us to serve along side of you. Your examples of servanthood and generosity have touched our hearts forever.
To our friends and family in America, we love you and will see you soon. To our friends and family we are leaving behind, we love you and long for the day we will see you again. Au revoir!
OK. First, to all of you out there who went to visit World Changers website. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! They are elated at having their very own website. Then to look at their stats, read their comments, etc. makes them even more excited about this new opportunity to take their mission worldwide. Your words of encouragement have been a wind in their sails. So from them to us and us to you...thank you. Thank you for letting them know you care.
Second, to those of you who have not yet gone to visit their site....go check it out. Now! www.worldchangersmission.org. Check out the testimony of the pastor and his church. Go inside WCM and see what a typical service in West Africa looks like. Check out their missionaries they have sent to the interior. This is such a huge deal to them and they need to know that all of you back in the U.S. and otherwise are supporting and cheering them on. It takes no time at all to visit their site and go to the contact page. When you get there PLEASE write them a short line of encouragement. What seems petty and insignificant to you brings a smile to the heart of a church here in West Africa. We all have times where we need a little encouragement. At the beginning of this new venture, this is that kind of time for them. Let them know their work here has not gone unnoticed. Let them know that there are people praying for them form a world away. Let them know that they have the support of their brothers and sisters in Christ, even though you have never met them. Let them know! www.worldchangersmission.org
We
first want to apologize for not posting in a while. However, we have been very busy. After many hours of work, dealing with
sketchy African internet connections, broken computers, lack of resources and
many other challenges, we are happy and excited to announce: www.worldchangersmission.org
The
website is now up and running! There
were days when we thought it wouldn't be possible. Days where we wanted to just quit. However,
God's grace was, once again, more than enough!
We
are promoting the website right here.
Please go and show this amazing church some love. Learn about their history, see pictures of
their services and testimonies, discover the challenges of the pastor's life,
partner with them or leave a comment for the church! You can also be a part of this project by
sharing the link with everyone you know!
Once
again, the website is:
www.worldchangersmission.org
Check it out!
Last
weekend we had the honor and privilege of attending a Bible School
Graduation. It was in a smaller town
about 3 hours away from Abidjan. The
graduation was held on Sunday with a 2 day seminar before. Because it was a smaller town, we were
expecting "humble" accommodations.
Boy, were we wrong! Apparently,
the town we were in was still a kingdom and because of that there was
money! So we were put up in the nicest
hotel in town: this included hot water,
air conditioning, a T.V. and a real
mattress! And all this for
$30/night! It was a refreshing break
from our normal life here in Abidjan!
Back
to the graduation! Andrew and I had
Friday night off. We enjoyed sitting and
receiving on Friday night. Then
Saturday the madness began! Saturday
there were two seminar sessions. Each
session had two speakers. So, Andrew
spoke in the morning about how to be a disciple of Christ. I spoke in the afternoon on the Compassion of
Christ. We were prepared and so were the people who attended. God showed up and the people were blessed!
On
Sunday our group of 5 broke up and went to two different churches to
speak. Andrew, another missionary (our translator), and I
went to a 4 square church. Man, did we
have fun! Think of old school
Pentecostal dancing meets Africa!
Wow! Praise and Worship was fun,
energetic and tiring to say the least!
Andrew preached and the people received.
We met up with the rest of our group, did a quick change of clothes, ate
very fast and headed on to graduation!
We
arrived on time (which is a feat in itself in Africa)! The graduates were there (13) and maybe
twenty other people. I was really
disappointed for the graduates. They had
spent two years of their lives preparing for this day and no one showed
up? Alas, so quickly I forget African
time! Within the hour the place was
full! We praised, we worshipped, the
graduates were encouraged, when they received their diplomas we cheered, wives
ran up for a kiss, moms hugged, supporters cheered! It was so fun! The students' faces said it all! By the time they walked out of the church,
diploma in hand they were beaming! We
didn't know any of their stories, but we know that each one of them has
one. Each one of them made sacrifices to
follow Christ. Each one counted the
cost. Each one endured. Each one was experiencing God's greatness in
their lives! And we were part of that!
After many pictures, hugs and goodbyes we all packed into the SUV and took the 3 hour drive back to Abidjan. God is doing some amazing things in Cote D'Ivoire. There is rich soil and a rich harvest is coming! We are honored to be a part of it!
Well, we finally have a fairly stable internet...so, here are several pictures of life in Africa. Some are funny, some strange, some sobering, but all are things we have experienced while we have been here! So, tell us, what do you think? We want to know! Let us know you are there.
As of Friday, April 17, we were officially in the last half of our trip! The trip has been exciting, busy and full of new experiences. Nothing has been scary or out of the ordinary....until that day! Once again, my wonderful husband wanted to add some excitement in our life and he did just that!!
On Friday we were invited to shoot the photography for a wedding. We started the morning at the salon and everything was going just fine. In true woman fashion, the bride was running late so we were in quite a hurry to get to the ceremony. In addition to being late, there was a lot of traffic. Andrew decided that we were not late enough and here the story begins! While we were sitting in traffic a huge and awesome military truck pulled up next to us. Within it, there was about 15-20 military personal armed with fully automatic weapons. I had the camera on my lap and I saw Andrew look first at the truck, then the camera. All I said was, "No." Being the man who wants to document everything, especially something as cool as this truck, he snapped a shot. It all seemed like it was going well, he didn't get caught and we got a great picture!
Would I be posting something if this was the end of the story? Absolutely not! All of a sudden, in the middle of traffic, the truck stopped and two of the military men ran over to our vehicle. Now, we are learning French, but still are not fluent. By the way they were yelling and the looks on their faces, I don't think they were happy. One of the men reached into the back seat, where we were and grabbed the camera out of Andrew's hand. Andrew and the man struggled a few seconds with the camera. Andrew decided to let him have it, as he says, "Because I didn't want him to break it!" So here we are, no camera, in the middle of traffic, already late for a wedding and now following a military truck full of armed soldiers.
I just want to thank God for the bilingual people He has given us on this trip. That day, our driver was bilingual. Once the truck pulled over and we stopped behind it, our driver was trying to get our camera back. We found out that taking pictures of military and their equipment is apparently illegal in Cote D'Ivoire. oops! The military men explained that because of the political tension between France and Cote D'Ivoire, this was a law. Much to Andrew's dismay, the military thought that he was French, hence the reason for the "freak out." Once our driver explained that we were indeed proud citizens of the U.S.A., they apologized, gave us our camera back and shook hands all around.
And that was it. No one in the car said another word about it, the military truck took a different route than us and we proceeded to a beautiful wedding. Thank you Jesus that Andrew is not locked up in an African jail somewhere! Even more evidence that He is with us everyday!
On a wifely note: I do want to take this opportunity to wash my hands of this situation! I did tell Andrew not to take a picture. I didn't know it was illegal, nor did our driver, but I was not going to take the chance with 15-20 fully automatic weapons!! So, husbands....just listen to us! Sometimes we do have the voice of reason!!
Andrew's Rebuttal: For those of you who's hobby is photography
(Mocha and Amie); when that shot comes along, you just have to take it. This was that shot. However, upon receiving my camera back, I was
forced to erase the photo. Man!!! All that mess and I don't even have the shot
to show you. However, here is a photo
from the wedding we attended.
Blood covenant. That was the topic for this years Easter celebration at World Changers Mission in Cote D'Ivoire. The really cool thing about celebrating here, was that it was a 3 day passover celebration. I have never really been a part of something like that. I recognize passover, but I normally just celebrate Easter. So... to celebrate the weekend was amazing to say the least.
Before I tell you how things went, I need to tell you the set up. There were 3 speakers for this 3 day seminar/celebration. Representing Cote D'Ivoire was Pastor Charles Toakesse( the minister we are here serving). Representing France was a Prophet named Frederik from Marseilles. And... representing the good ol' US of A was me(Andrew Conley)! There were flyers all over town with our names and countries we were representing. Talk about feeling a little intimidated. These great men of God and then a former janitor of Destiny Church. However, God had a plan, and His plan was in full swing for that weekend.
So, Friday night we kicked everything off with the Prophet Federik. Between traffic being insane that evening and the dry cleaning place forgetting to give Him his jacket and having to return to get it, he was about an hour and a half late. I know back home that would not fly and we would have asked someone else to speak. However in African time no one even flinched. We simply praised and worshipped until his arrival. When he arrived, he had a few minutes of prep time and then he was on stage. It was an amazing time. The Word was preached and people were touched. I learned a lot from him that night in regards to handling the pressures of walking into a preaching engagement and depending on the Holy Spirit to guide you in the midst of being rushed.
Saturday was a much longer event. We started everything at 2-3 and we weren't finished until 9. A long but awesome day. I was first in the line up for that day. I was given an hour and I used every bit of it and then a little more. My message was titled The Great Exchange. I talked about how this covenant is an exchange that we make with God. All of me for all of Him. Everything I have for everything He has. When it was all said and done, God showed up, the people were touched, and I was amazed at the ways God had used me. I can't wait for the day I am able to be in full time ministry. I could get used to doing this on a permanent basis. We moved right along with some praise and worship and then next on the list was Frederik again. His message was amazing. He talked about when Jacob put on a different skin to deceive His father into thinking he was Esau. His father made the statement, you sound like Jacob but you look like Esau. In this new covenant we are to be like Christ. What does that mean? That when you hear me, you say 'that is Andrew". But when you see me(my actions, character, etc) you should say "That's Jesus". It was a great message where we realized we are His representatives and that means we should do everything we can to look like Him.
On Sunday morning P. Charles finished us off with an amazing message. He picked up where I left off with my message. He gave in great detail, the things that God exchanges with us when we enter into this Blood Covenant with Him. It was awesome! Afterwards Frederik came up and began a time of deliverance. People came forward and were delivered of spirits, etc. How amazing! What a celebration! What a shot to the devil. The very day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, God shows up and delivers people from the oppression of the enemy as well. It was so amazing. As service came to a close, I went to the pulpit and gave the Word and a prayer for Communion. We broke bread together, poured the wine and shared the Lord's Supper together.
After service, we went outside where a tent was set up and we had a meal together. The entire church body and even the visitors were were invited to share a meal that was free of charge. We had sheep, chicken, veggies, etc. It was a great time of fellowship, food and fun. Needless to say, that night we slept well. Between the preparation of the seminar, the preaching at the seminar, and the nice big meal to finish it off, we were all very tired.
So at the end of it all, God showed up and showed off. Not that we should have been surprised. People were encouraged, delivered, healed, etc., and it was all to His glory. Thank you God!! Thank you for sending your son to die for us. Thank you for raising Him from the dead. We truly do serve the Risen Savior!!!
Only 5 days after the Guessabo mission, we took an even shorter trip! It was only one day. However, this was even more "village" like! We travelled on the highway about an hour and then we pulled onto a road that you had to squint to see! We proceeded to travel about 8-10 Kilometers in 40 minutes! This road was full of bumps, holes, puddles, trees on both sides, giant bugs and no way to know where exactly we were. We were truly in "the Bush." We were almost to the village and the transmission in the car started to fail. great! Are we going to have to walk? Stay here for a few days? We didn't know what was going to happen. Fortunately, the car only needed transmission fluid....the only problem? We were 40 minutes in the bush and didn't have any. So a very kind man on a mope head travelled to buy the transmission fluid. During the wait we sat down in the shade of a bamboo tree and ate our first cocoa fruit! It was very tasty! One of the chief's sons was with us and he tried to find a snake to kill and show us! He didn't find one, much to my relief!
Alyse trying Cocoa. It really was good...ignore my face, the sun was in my eyes!!
We
were supposed to be at the village at 10am.
The car broke down at 10 am. So
after a couple of hours and the fluid was still not there, several men from the
village came down to meet us. They told
us that the village was only about one kilometer away and that they were going
to push the vehicle there. We were
amazed. Within 5 minutes about 20 strong
African men were pushing the Jeep up a hill towards the village! Later we were told that when they heard we
were here, but stranded they immediately wanted to come help! Chants of "Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus!" helped them up the
hill! The whole time they had smiles on
their faces as sweat poured down!
The
welcome we received was indescribable...but I will do my best! First for some background. The village we visited was established in
1982. They had never received visitors
until us. We were the first visitors to
proclaim the gospel to the village. It
was actually 8 different villages who came together. Children came from 14 kilometers just to
attend. When we stepped out of the car
we were greeted with flowers, kisses and hugs!
There were banners IN ENGLISH that said, "Welcome! God Bless You!" I had to hold back tears from the elaborate
welcome! The original plan was for both
Andrew and me to speak, but due to time it was only Andrew. It was his first time to have two
translators. First, from English to
French, and then from French to the local language! But he did great. Three people came into a relationship with
the Lord and four came back to the Lord!
Thank you Jesus!
The village then wanted to show us what was going on there. They showed us the school and the children recited a poem and sang for us! Then we went to an empty field. This was the future building site of a church and school. We were then asked to lay the first stone! So, we stood in the midst of the entire village and they mixed water and concrete to form a mortar. We were then asked to spread the mortar and lay the first stone. What! Here I am, a twenty-four year old American girl and I am laying brick and mortar for an African church! God you are amazing! After we laid the stone, Andrew was asked to pray over the land and consecrate it for God.
We
were then given a gift for coming. A lot
of fruits, vegetables and you guessed it...a sheep! The last one we received we were able to take
it home already "taken care of."
This sheep they didn't have time to butcher and cut up for us. So, they did the logical thing: tie it up and throw it in the back of the
car! So, we rode home with a LIVE sheep
in the back of the car! I forced myself
to keep my eyes forward.
We were served a meal at the end of the trip. We were surprised and humbled and they pulled out American Coke and Sprite! They had 3 different types of meat and 3 different side dishes. It was a feast. The thing that meant the most to us though, was the water. We drank bottled water. That doesn't sound like much, but in this village it is a big deal. The village women have to travel 8 kilometers just to get water for themselves. However, as their guests, they provided us mineral water, the best. And they didn't complain. It was an honor for them to serve us. It was worth the extra time and effort and money to provide and bless us with something as simple as a bottle of water.
The farewells of this trip were harder for me than the Guessabo trip even though we were there a shorter time. Before we left all the women crowded around me. They brushed my hair and fixed it for me. They danced with me. They begged me to stay with them. They adopted me as one of their own! At one point I had 5-6 children holding my hands as I went to the car! Wow! It was crazy and over way too fast!
I'm
not sure if we will be doing anymore traveling in the bush, but the experience
has been worth it! The hospitality and
service we have received I will never forget!
We have now been in Africa two months. And what an experience it has been so far! In the last two weeks we have visited two different villages. What an amazing experience: the "real" Africa!
The first trip was to a village called "Guessabo." It was about 7-8 hours away. We left on a Monday and did not return until Friday. Andrew, Pastor Charles and I were going to be teaching at the Bible school there. What was interesting about this particular village within Guessabo was that it was a prayer camp. It was set up and run like a village, but people who needed healing would come to the camp and just live there, spend time in prayer and wait for their healing. The school was in this camp. When we arrived we were greeted by the camp staff. There was basically a traditional greeting we had to go through. It was pretty awesome. Most of the people here speak French, but at the prayer camp, most spoke a tibal language. Before we left the first night the village presented us with a gift....the gift of food....the gift of a sheep!!! They brought out the biggest, cleanest sheep in the flock and tied it to a tree. This was a big deal for them! So, guess what we ate the rest of the week? You guessed it! Sheep!
And here it is!
Andrew
taught in the morning and I taught in the afternoon. So, the in between time was long. Every day Andrew and I made friends with the
village children. This was the first
time I really felt white! They were so
intrigued by my hair and skin. They
wanted to examine their hands next to mine.
Their hair next to mine. It was
like a movie! We actually stayed in a
hotel about 10 minutes away to sleep, but throughout the day we stayed in the
village. There was no running water, no
electricity. However, the hospitality
that was shown us was incredible! We
were given all of our meals by one of the students. They made sure we always had mineral water
(because we couldn't drink the river water).
Many people gave us pentecostal handshakes (yes....in the
village!!!). Blessings continued to flow
the entire time we were there!
The
last day was particularly special to me.
We were going to be taking pictures with all of the students. But Andrew and I were not "African"
enough! So the wife of the head of the
village and a few other ladies brought us back to the small hut we would stay
in during the day. She began to pull out
clothing. She pulled out a skirt,
blouse, shawl, necklace and earrings for me and a shirt for Andrew. Let me explain a side note here. Tribes here have different materials that
they are known by. Basically it is the
same as what gang colors are in the states, but in a good way! This lady gave us the material of her
tribe. She identified us as part of her
tribe! So the material that Andrew and I
were wearing was the same as their family.
It was really neat! As we left we
were told we didn't eat enough of the sheep...so the only logical thing to do
was to give us another sheep! So, in one
week of travel we received two sheep!
It
was a wonderful experience and we thank God that we had this opportunity! Andrew and I were both so humbled at the
blessings they poured out on us and the chance that we had to be instruments of
His grace and love!
