A Roof for a Church

Just a few days ago, Pastor Xavier and the church council gave the go-ahead for the roof to be constructed on our African home-church building. Xavier and Heather planted the Coastlands in Table View nine years ago. The congregation currently meets in a school until the church building is completed.

If you'd like to follow the progress of the construction of the Coastlands' meeting place, please click here. At this website, you can single-click to watch a slide show, or double-click to go to the album website.

From one indigenous world to another

Jan, who ministers with her husband to native Americans, wished to make a connection with a native African woman. She did this by sending her sunflower turquoise ring with me to give away. At the regional pastors conference I developed a friendship with Laina, a pastor’s wife in the country of Namibia. Let me tell you a little of Laina’s story, for she was the one to whom I gave this beautiful ring.

Laina met the Lord as a young woman, after having lived for herself for several years. Invited to a conference in Zimbabwe, she was attracted to the believers there who lived out their faith in the business world. She promised the Lord that if she could find such a church in her home country of Namibia she would serve Him. Shortly after this, Laina was invited to attend services at a church-plant begun by missionaries Gabriel and Gloria Francis from Nigeria. Laina became their first convert and the first person to be baptized in the Foursquare Church of Namibia. Later she married Festus, who in time became pastor of the church.

Faces in Africa

Conference in Johannesburg

Tomorrow we return to Africa, flying into Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. There we'll attend a conference of Foursquare churches of Southern Africa. This meeting of churches from nine southern Africa countries provides an opportunity for two leaders from each country to gather for prayer, fellowship and planning.

This map shows most of the countries whose churches will be represented at the conference: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia (not shown), and Malawi (not shown).

If you'd like to pray for this meeting, ask God for His love and unity to flow among all present.