Update from Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Scenarios Part 10
Story written by Paul and Sharon Martin
Sierra Leone Scenarios
Ibrahim, the husband of a charter member of No. 2 River Church of the Nazarene, was raised in another world religion. His wife prayed for him and regularly invited him to church, but her pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. However, God was at work in Ibrahim’s heart. He saw the peace, love, unity, and forgiveness of Christians, something missing from his religion where hard-hearted cruelty and killing are too often experienced. And he had questions about what he was taught in his religion – things that didn’t make sense to him.
Finally, one Sunday Ibrahim attended church with his wife. That very day he asked for prayer that he would turn to Christianity as his faith. The pastor at No. 2 River also had background in the same religion. He spent time in discussion with Ibrahim, and led him into a personal relationship with Christ. A new joy and radiance filled Ibrahim’s countenance as he has been faithfully attending church and membership classes.
His hunger for God’s Word and passion for bringing others to Christ are evidenced in his life and in his church and community activities. Ibrahim changed his name to Abednigo! He said, “I am a new man with a new name!” Last week Abednigo was taken into membership of the No. 2 River Church of the Nazarene!
We hosted our first team in 
Sierra Leone! A team of 12 people from JESUS Film Harvest Partners came carrying the first ARK presented for ministry purposes on the field. This ARK is a quality mobile structure. It will be an incredible blessing to the work here. We expect to use it for TE classes, district gatherings, zone trainings, holiness
conventions, JESUS Film showings during rainy season, and many other ministry events. While in Sierra Leone
, the team not only trained our JESUS Film team members in setting up and tearing down the ARK, but they also participated in three JESUS Film showings, a Service of Affirmation, two women’s mini-conferences, help with a church construction project, as well as visiting an orphanage and bringing gifts for the children. The team also enjoyed a tour of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and a boat trip to Banana Island off the coast from No. 2 River Village. It was a joy to have them here, and to sense their big hearts for God and His kingdom work.
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Thirty new members were taken into eight Churches of the Nazarene during the recent Service of Affirmation! God is building His church!
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Saturday classes for Theological Education began in September – in addition to our regular monthly one-week intensive
classes. We now provide these Saturday classes for those who work or are students during the week. This has opened up more possibilities and has increased the number of students attending the classes to receive pastoral and leadership training.
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The work in Sierra Leone moved to a new level in November this year when national teachers began teaching the TE courses. Two of our brightest and most diligent students have progressed through most of the courses and are ready to begin teaching these classes! What a thrill to sit under their teaching and sense that they are connecting with the students with spiritual and practical training in ways that the missionaries could never do.
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A few weeks later, the young man met him again, and asked if he had checked out the classes, encouraging him again to do so. Robert still didn’t take him seriously. Finally, a few weeks later, the same young man encountered Robert a third time, addressed him as “Pastor” (though Robert had sensed no call yet), and urged him again to check things out. By this time Robert felt the Spirit of God encouraging him to take the young man seriously, so he visited the class that Dr. Enoch Litswele was teaching in February 2006.
Robert had never seen that young man before, and he has not seen him since those encounters. I don’t know . . . was he an angel? Whoever, he was, he was certainly used as an instrument of God to bring us a great Bible Storyer and church planter!
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Some praises:
1.The start of Saturday TE classes along with the regular one-week intensives.
2.Emerging national teachers to help teach the TE courses.
3.God’s saving souls and His calling pastors and church leaders.
4.The ARK structure for use as special venue for ministry.
5.Sierra Leone hosting its first team from JESUS Film Harvest Partners bringing the ARK to us!
Some prayer needs:
1.God will continue to bring us the right pastors and church leaders who will move the work forward for years to come.
2.God will continue to open the pastors’ hearts and minds to grasp the wonderful truths of Wesleyan holiness teaching, and to experience its reality in their own lives and ministries.
3.The pastors will catch God’s vision for a harvest of souls and a passion for church planting.
4.Finding land to purchase for our District Center has become a big challenge. Please pray that God will clear the way and open the right door soon so we can have a piece of property of our own for TE classes and other district events.
5.As we move to new levels in the work, pray that pastors will rise to the challenge of more and more transferred leadership responsibilities to them as emerging national church leaders.
Thank you for partnering with us in prayer.
May this Christmas and New Year be your best ever!
Joyfully on the journey,
Paul and Sharon Martin
Ministries Coordinator
Church of the Nazarene
Sierra Leone, West Africa
Thursday, February 7, 2008
