DEAR FRIENDS,
“THE PEOPLE WHICH SAT IN DARKNESS SAW GREAT LIGHT; AND TO THEM WHICH SAT IN THE REGION AND SHADOW OF DEATH LIGHT IS SPRUNG UP.” MATTHEW 4:16
I am doing better with my throat pains. Nicole is still using a cane to walk because of her knee and back pains. The result of the test done in Lomé is here and she did the other one here in Kara. We went to the doctor’s office last Monday and Wednesday, but the doctor was out of the office. Our daughter, Deborah, is doing well. We are very thankful for your prayers on our behalf regarding our health condition.
The dates of meeting with the other pastors and their wives are coming closer; it will be from the 17th to the 19th of December. Please, pray for safe travelling for each one of us and for good results. We assure you all of our prayers, too.
I believe you will be encouraged by reading the following testimony of a young man from Temple Shalom, the church we are leading.
‘I am Amadi LEMOU. I was born into the pagan and polygamous family. My father Atimou LEMOU married to more than ten wives and my mother is in the six rank. My father was a military; he looked good outside but was hard towards his family in the house. We the children are many and my father favoured the children who worked well in school. From my childhood up to twelve years old, the family is under the dominion of darkness forces. Many of the children (my brothers and sisters) died in a mysterious ways. The witches of the family inflected me with several sicknesses. My mother had five children and three died due to sorceries. It remains my sister and me. The life was so hard for us. In 2006, life became more difficult for us, my mother had to leave our father, and she went and rent a room. We went and stayed with our mother. A Christian family lived in the house where my mother rented. This family and another Christian sister introduced me to Baptist Bible Temple Shalom. I started attending the church because they used to give us small gifts on Saturdays and on Sundays. I did not even understand the meaning of the name JESUS and I never had idea about this name. I have been hearing the preaching of the Gospel but I was not understanding it because I did not know nothing about religion. What I knew then and what I believed was that if there is only power which can exist it will be the one of Satan. When I continue hearing the messages, I finished realising that only JESUS is the solution of the situation in my life. I came to salvation knowledge through this verse from John 3:16 where we read: “For God so loved the world that He gave his begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. This verse let me acknowledge my ignorance. I started having hope that only Jesus can save me from my life full of darkness, because in my personal constant, I realised that I was making sacrifices to idols for nothing. That is how I came to Jesus and I was baptised a year later to prove to the world around me that I have changed my way of living. I can testify up today that JESUS is everything for me’. PRAISE THE LORD!
Towards the end of last month, the government sent a decree out saying that each person had to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within the last 72 hours before entering the churches starting the tenth of this month. None of the churches in the country are abiding by this. Moreover, some of us believe that this is one of the signs that they are going to start persecuting the Church of Christ. Please, we need your prayers regarding this.
The Savior was given to the world and died at the appointed time for all sinners to be saved, and we are among them. At this season when we all will be remembering His birth soon, we are wishing you all a MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS. IN ADDITION, WE DO NOT FORGET TO WISH YOU ALSO A NEW AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022.
MAY HIS WONDERFUL PEACE AND GRACE BE ABUNDANT IN ALL OF YOU.
In the Service of the KING of kings,
Pastor Paul & Nicole ASSIGNON