Dear Praying Partners,
What a wonderful weekend of fellowshipping we just shared with many missionaries at a recent missions conference in the Georgia mountains. The theme for this weekend was, “Prepare Ye the Way!!” It was so good to hear all that God is accomplishing through His servants working tirelessly around the world. The highlight of the conference for me was the time of prayer at the end of the conference when members of the congregation came forward to pray for each of us and our various ministries and to ask us to pray with them for their needs. What a blessed time of uplifting each other before the Throne. It was a weekend filled with much blessing. God is so good.
Our church planting ministries continue to push forward in the country of Ivory Coast. We are currently completing 3 church constructions in three different areas of the country. Two of the churches are at the roof level and the third one has just had the foundation finished. The completion of these churches will be a great encouragement to our people and allow them a meeting place. The Ivory Coast gov’t recently passed a law that stated all home churches will be dissolved if they are not in a church building. As a result, we were forced to get busy raising funds to complete buildings for these churches to keep them from being dissolved. We are still in need of $8000 to finish the church where we just put in the foundation. Please pray with us that God will provide for this need.
In addition, Pastor Janot, who works in Guitry, shared that recently they evangelized the village of Ngokro with the Jesus film and had 30 children and 12 young people give their hearts to Jesus. Praising God!!
Also, Pastor Kouame shared that they organized an evangelization program in the village of Akoupé Zeudji. By the grace of God, more than 180 people participated of which 13 people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God is so good!!
Pastor Benjamin shared that recently they led a young man to Christ who was a Muslim. He asks that we keep this young man in prayer as he faces some family challenges ahead due to his receiving Christ.
In addition to Ivory Coast, our ministries in Burkina Faso continue to move forward in spite of a third of the country being overtaken by Muslim terrorists. These terrorists are bent on killing Christians, burning down churches, torturing pastors, and committing atrocities on women and children. Even so, Pastor Yonli writes that they are delighted to inform you of the significant progress made in the construction of the medical clinic building being constructed in the village of Big Togo. Your invaluable support has made this first step possible, and we are grateful to each and every one of you.
However, we would like to inform you that we are facing unforeseen financial challenges due to the modification of the initial plan and the impact of the current crisis on the cost of materials. Initially, we had planned a 130 square meter building, but when we wanted to start construction, we went to the Ministry of Health to inform them of the project. We were advised to revise the plan to facilitate the administrative procedures for the creation and opening of the medical clinic with the relevant authorities. The new plan submitted to us was for a 240 square meter building. If we were to build this clinic, we would have to comply with their proposal. This affected our initial costs and resulted in a budget deficit. In addition, the cost of building materials also increased greatly due to all the terrorists activity which makes materials hard to come by.
Our current need is to buy the doors, windows, and finishings needed to make the building usable. The amount needed to complete the building is $8,667. Your continued support is crucial to overcoming these obstacles and we ask that you prayerfully consider helping us complete this much-needed clinic.
Pastor Lompo shared that the new church plant in the village of Fada is growing since its beginning last June. They are pushing almost 40 members in this difficult area. They are continuing to evangelize the village and push door-to-door evangelism.
Lastly, please continue to keep Denise in your prayers as she struggles daily with her new normal. This past month has been more difficult for her as she has struggled healthwise to become more mobile without using the wheelchair. At times, she feels like giving up, but God is her Rock, and she is trusting Him even during these difficult times. Please pray with us for complete healing on her behalf. Again, her medical needs run almost $300 a week out-of-pocket and we ask that you prayerfully consider helping us with this financial struggle.🥹 God is good even in the midst of the storm.
Thank you for keeping our family and our ministries before the Lord. We love you all and appreciate so very much your prayers and financial support in helping us reach Africa for Christ!!!!!
With Much LOVE,
Jim for the Arnolds
Prayer Requests:
Pray for healing for Denise and the meeting of her $300 medical needs per week.
Pray for the $8000.00 needed to complete the three church buildings in Ivory Coast.
Pray for the $8,600 needed to finish the clinic in Burkina Faso.
Pray for wisdom as we strategize new locations for planting churches in both Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.