Bavule

Check back here often to read stories of the Bavule preaching point and fellowship with them in the name of Christ.

After an interesting trek out to Bavule today (I wasn\'t sure I would be able to find it again, as it goes through some pretty bushy country), we had a great worship service. Last time I was there before furlough, we were only a month into the evangelism curriculum, and I was leaving their teaching in the hands of the neighboring village church Nyi-Kpier. Today, we arrived and found 10 adults ready for church to start, with more that gathered as soon as the singing started. They were thrilled to get the chance to see the kids; as expected, Melissa didn\'t get to hold Amelie much throughout church. It was a fun service. My one critique would be that they didn\'t take communion. I saw that they had biscuits ready, but there was nothing for the blood portion of the rememberance. Most places will go ahead and have a one-element communion service if they are lacking something, but I guess in Bavule they wanted to wait till they had everything they needed. Hopefully that will pick up in the near future.

Andy
Posted: 11/13/2007 9:35 pm - GMT

23 April 07
Kpe-zuo apparently taught the Noah lesson here again. We seem to be having confusion, because Andy had preached up to lesson 8, but Kpe-zuo wont progress beyond this lesson and keeps going back and reviewing the lessons that have been already taught. At the same time, he keeps asking if the folks in Bavule can get baptized. We had told him that it would be better for them to hear the whole story of Jesus first, but since he still doesn\'t seem to want to teach that, we\'re in a really weird situation. Please pray that God will clear up the confusion, either to help us understand better what\'s going on or for Kpe-zuo to accept and follow the advice we\'re giving him. Also, Mebar and Nyikpier Christians were supposed to be helping him with this church plant, and I\'m not aware of their doing so.

Aaron
Posted: 04/26/2007 10:55 am - GMT

11 April 07
Kpe-zuo from Nyikpier had invited somebody to come and help him on Tuesday with baptisms out in Bavule. He was not able to find someone to come. So he told me on Wednesday that there were several there that wanted to be baptized. However, he had told them that he could not baptize anyone, because none of the white people had come. We had a good long talk about all of that and I discovered that his main problem was that he didn't know how to baptize people. We talked a lot about the meaning of baptism and he took notes on how to explain that to the folks in Bavule and what to ask them and say to them as he baptized them, etc. I told him I would come and check on him again next Wednesday after the baptisms are supposed to take place next Tuesday. Pray that all the people that wanted to be baptized last Tuesday will come and be baptized this next Tuesday. Pray that Kpe-zuo would grow into his new role as evangelist.

Aaron
Posted: 4/12/2007 8:59 am - GMT

20 March 07
Today was a very exciting outing. First off, I was reminded that that which makes a bike trail exciting is simply annoying in a truck -- the back way is passable by truck, but very, Very bumpy. Second, Elijah was a hit as always. This was their first time to get to meet my boy, and they loved him. He behaved admirably well, all things considered. There was one problem -- I was teaching on the prophet Elijah, and he kept getting frustrated b/c he kept hearing his name, but then I wasn't talking to him!
There were over 30 adults from Bavule present, plus 6 that came from Nyi-Kpier and one from Mebar. It was my last time out there, and the Nyi-Kpier and Mebar folks have promised to keep the work going while I'm on furlough.
At the end of the lesson, one of the guys had a question. I had spent a lot of time talking about how one must choose one path to follow, that one can't follow God and idols. He asked if God could really forgive someone that had prayed to idols and made sacrifices. He said that he has followed Satan up until now, but he's afraid, and he wanted to know if God could really forgive him. I told him, absolutely, that Jesus' sacrifice can cover over every single sin, that we cannot sin so badly as to make ourselves unredeemable. I told him that salvation is there for everyone -- all we have to do is accept it. After hearing this good news, people burst out clapping.
Also at the end, they asked me to pray over an older woman, that God would give her back her sight. All in all, it was a great outing, and I'm praying that God will continue to develop this preaching point even more in my absence, that He will really go to work now that I'm going to get out of the way!

Andy
Posted: 03/22/2007 8:49 am - GMT

13 March 2007
I didn't go b/c of the team retreat in Ouaga. Apparently, no one met b/c of a funeral.

Andy
Posted: 03/22/2007 8:49 am - GMT

6 March 2007
Today was both a really encouraging visit and a really discouraging one. It was great b/c it was the first time I rode my bike there and back using the back way, and I never got lost once! It was also exciting b/c there were over 60 adults, many of whom had been at the previous lessons. On the other hand, no one from Mebar or Nyi-Kpier showed up. I am really worried about what will continue to happen in Bavule once we leave on furlough. It is going so well, but, obviously, someone needs to keep the ball rolling. I'm praying that this will be the challenge the Mebar and Nyi-Kpier folks have needed to step up and do something!

Andy
Posted: 03/22/2007 8:49 am - GMT