Dear Praying Partners,

We want to thank each of you that have been praying and supporting our ministries in Ivory Coast and the orphans around the world for whom we are responsible. God is so, so good and we have much to praise Him for.  Each new day brings us closer to His return and we are working hard to push the Gospel forward that many more would receive the Good News!!!!

I start with our news on Denise. Your continual prayers for her are so appreciated. We have been seeing her HMG numbers drop again each week. Our insurance approved the Epogen shots, which help stimulate the bone marrow to produce blood, when her level reached 11. However, they told us that they wouldn’t administer the shots till she was down to 10, even though she was pre-approved at 11. In other words, you have to get worse before we can help you get better. Ugghh!!!

She has reached 10 and now starts her 10 weeks of shots. She receives one shot each week for the next 10 weeks. These shots cost over $3,000 and after insurance, we pay out of pocket $483.00 per shot. That cost equals almost $2,000 per month which takes up over half of our monthly support. It is unattainable for us without your help. Please pray about helping us through this period of her treatment. Denise is doing water rehab twice a week and is able to do some things on her own, although she struggles with her strength. After she exerts herself, she tires quickly. Pray God will continue to increase her strength. God is good and will see her through this. The doctors have since said she will continue to have lupus the rest of her life and that her body does not respond to the treatments as readily as the average lupus patient does. I have been able to get on the road and promote our church planting efforts in Ivory Coast and FMI’s orphan ministries, for which I am thankful.

In addition, our family is in need of $1,000 of monthly support. We lost over $1,500 during the Covid years and have been able to recoup $500 of that through some of your increased giving. That has been a blessing to us. However, with the inflation and the many medical expenses, we still need help in recouping the $1,000 still lacking. This is not to pad our monthly support, but simply to bring us to a level of just meeting our simple monthly needs. Every little bit of increased giving will greatly help us reach this need. Thank you in advance for your help!!!!

Our church planting ministries in Ivory Coast continue to grow at an exciting rate. We recently purchased a motorcycle for one of our pastors who reported, “Since receiving the motorcycle, our children’s ministry has increased from 25 children to over 55 children as I am able to help transport these children to church from the neighboring villages.” He said this transportation has been a blessing to both him and the church.

In addition, we are receiving encouraging news from our new church plants:

1) The church in Toumoudi reports that “our congregation is growing, and we now have land to put up a church building. We are praying God provide the $15,000 to put up a building. Due to inflation, a building we normally could put up for $10,000 is costing over $15,000 today.”

2) The church in Guidry is also seeing growth in their church planting efforts. “We have been able to purchase two plots of land and now are in need of $15,000 to put up a church building on this land. It’s exciting to receive the reports of men, women, and children being saved each week, however, with that rapid growth, we need to build church buildings to accommodate the growth.”

3) The new well that we recently put in on our Bouake property is now successfully serving our community in providing fresh, cool, clean water for a much-needed area. This well is also serving as a ministry tool to witness to those who stand in line waiting for their turn at the pump. God is so good!!!

4) Our church in Vavoua is also reporting a need for evangelism equipment to help them evangelize their surrounding area in hopes of winning more to Christ. “We are reaching our surrounding areas with the Gospel. However, if we had evangelism equipment, it would make our job much easier. The goal is to go into the surrounding villages with the Jesus film. This cost would be around $4,000.”

5) Our IGM pastors recently met in the town of Guidry for a time of sharing and strategizing for the coming year in our church planting efforts. They met to pray about the best plan in moving ahead in reaching the rest of the country with the Gospel. This was a blessed time of sharing and praying for our country. It also allowed for each pastor to share their struggles and difficulties they each face in ministry. They left this meeting knowing how to best pray for each other.

Lastly, our Faith Ministries International (FMI) continues to work hard at getting donors for the many orphans on our rolls. These are children that need a donor to come along side of them and support them with $40 a month to help with meeting their basic needs of food, clothing, and education. These are children that are without parents and are being raised through our local churches and orphanages. These children are raised in a Christian environment and are being taught through our local Christian schools. Please keep these children in prayer.

God is so good even during these difficult days of war, sickness, inflation, and much corruption. He is coming back, and that day is fast approaching. We must redeem the time that is left for His glory. Thank you again for your faithfulness in praying for our family and the many ministries that we are currently involved in!!!

 

With Much Love,

Jim for the Arnolds

 

 

 

Prayer Requests:

That God will continue to bring healing to Denise and meet our $483 needed weekly for her shots

That God will provide the needed $15,000 per church that need to be constructed. We currently have two churches that need a building.

Pray for protection and wisdom as our National Pastors serve alongside with their families in each of their communities. Pray God will provide for their everyday needs.

Pray for the much needed $1,000 that we need in monthly support. If you can help or even increase your giving, it would be such a blessing to us.