July, 2015 Newsletter (pdf)

The Transforming Power of God’s Word in Senegal

THIS IS THE STORY of Brother D. “I was born in Senegal into a Muslim family with Wolof traditions. My father was working as a civil servant in Mauritania, where he settled our family and we attended the best of schools. Tragic political tensions in 1989 ended hopes of a promising future, as in one night my family became poor and homeless.

“Forced to leave Mauritania and hunt for a job back in Senegal along with other refugees, my father and some friends ran into a church-owned bookstore. Rather than be idle, my father chose to read books there. After doing a comparison study of the Bible, the Holy Spirit convinced him that the Bible was indeed the Word of God. He kept all of this secretly in his heart. But one Sunday morning he took our family to an undisclosed place. It was the first time we set foot in a church.

“When it was seen that my father no longer prayed and fasted as a Muslim, we were excluded from our extended family and chased out of our home, as we were seen as evil. I hesitantly accepted Jesus as my Savior. When my mother was pressured by her family to divorce my dad, I prayed, ‘Lord, if You would mend my broken family and give us a permanent place to live, I will testify that You are truly God and that Jesus is the truth, and I will follow you whatever the cost.’ The family situation soon improved. My father began to lead evening family Bible studies, and the Word of God became our source of inspiration and truth.

“During the course of my theological studies, the Lord taught me how to reach out to the Wolof community of 6 million people (99.9% Muslim) with the gospel of Jesus Christ, which I began to do in 2004. This was the kind of work I yearned for – winning lost souls in my tribal group and throughout Senegal.”

Because of the Sufi mysticism practiced among the predominantly Sunni Muslims in Senegal, sharia law is more loosely interpreted than in other Islamic nations. This secular, multiparty democracy enjoys considerable religious freedom and a culture that prizes hospitality and tolerance. More than half of Senegalese are under 20. While Christians are a small minority, and most Muslims seem content to retain their faith, Christian missions in Senegal are on the rise.
On the whole, Senegal seems open for evangelism. Nowhere is this potential sensed more than in the nation’s capital, Dakar, which Operation World calls “the most strategic location for evangelizing the entire country.” More than one-fourth of Senegalese call Dakar home, with every ethnicity in the country represented, and the majority of Senegal’s Christian congregations based there.

   A hotspot for Trans-Atlantic commerce, including the shame of past European slave trade, Dakar smacks of both enterprise and bondage. It is fitting, then, that gospel literature from World Missionary Press should enter Senegal here, where Brother D. lives and worships. Brother D. has been distributing WMP literature since 2012. Serving as WMP’s national coordinator in Senegal, in 2013 he received a 20-foot container of WMP literature in various local languages, which “enabled the Church in Senegal … to reach out to homes, build bridges … and for each ethnic group [reached] to hear the message of the gospel in their own dialect.”

Brother D. has stressed the need for titles in Wolof, spoken and understood by 80% of the population (the Wolof ethnic group represents 43.7% of the population). With a master’s degree in Russian, French, Wolof, and English and having been a Wolof professor for seven years, Brother D. is uniquely qualified to lead translation efforts. He has already translated How to Know  God into Wolof – the first WMP booklet in the Wolof language – now being prepared for future printing.

When asked why How to Know God was needed in Wolof, Brother D. responded, “We don’t have many resources giving a clear-cut message about God. The content is understandable and accessible. The Wolof people are extremely religious and have a great interest in anything about God. They don’t deem it a waste of time. These booklets are pocketable and readable everywhere.”

Brother D.‘s deep desire is to see many Senegalese people saved. He believes this can be realized only through Christians who are fortified in their faith and well-trained in the Word of God, which is possible only by having the Word of God available in local languages. Then as churches have opportunity to distribute it, they will become known “as places where people can go in order to know God.”

Like Paul in Athens, the Church in Senegal finds itself among many pious worshippers. The Christian minority has the wonderful opportunity to freely proclaim the love of the unknown God to Senegalese Sufis, so that they should seek God  “in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27). They need to hear that God is not distant and impassive, but that He is actually not far from each one of us.

  [You can help by praying and giving for WMP‘s next shipment to Senegal (containing Arabic Scriptures) and for the production ofHow to Know God in Wolof, spoken as the first language of 40% of Senegal‘s population.]

   Read Brother D.’s fascinating testimony in its entirety by going online towww.wmpress-restofthestory.org or scanning the QR code.

 

Grateful Quotes

“A Booklet Saved My Life”

“In the middle of my problems, while I was in jail,” wrote Dario from Argentina, “I remembered a booklet titled The Power of God. Some of the biblical texts were etched in my mind, and I began to remember that when Pastor Sosa made a crusade to every home, evangelists came to my home and gave me Christian literature. Among other literature, I remembered the booklet, The Power of God. Pastor Sosa prayed for me and invited me to go to church.

“They prayed for me until God made a total transformation in my life. A booklet saved my life.“

WMP’s national coordinator in Argentina sent Dario’s testimony after distribution of WMP’s Scripture booklet, The Power of God. He wrote, “Dario joined the church and is now a completely changed man. He is part of a group from the church taking the gospel to other places to start new churches. The group visits hospitals and prisons, carrying the message printed in the booklets. Please pray for Dario, a changed man by the power of God.”  –Pastor Rino B., Argentina

A new four-color cover has recently been designed for The Power of God Scripture booklet. The life-changing message inside gives glimpses of God’s absolutely unlimited power from His Word.

As new requests come in from Central and South America for more Spanish Scripture booklets, more individuals from Mexico to Argentina will receive a small 48-page booklet filled with words that will be “etched in their minds” and someday bear the fruit of salvation and transformation.

   [At less than 5 cents each, you can help provide Spanish Scripture booklets for many searching souls in Latin America. A gift of $23 is enough to produce and ship a box of 500 powerful portions of God‘s Word!]

Meet the Team

Sylvia C.

OSHA/Safety Compliance Manager

I first heard about World Missionary Press when my husband Greg was contacted about an IT position.  When we told a missionary friend about this opportunity, he said he knew of WMP and had used WMP booklets when he was in Africa.

I wanted to be a part of where God had called Greg and me, so I began volunteering two days a week, opening mail in the finance department. In 2009, I felt God wanted to use other skills he had given me, so I talked with Jay and Vicky Benson and applied to work part-time. I really wanted to be a part of WMP because of the impact it has sending God’s Word around the world.

Since volunteering for 2 1/2 years, I have worked at WMP on staff for 5 1/2 years, doing a variety of things. My primary roles are (1) coordinating the entry of requests from chaplains and individual inmates for the Scripture-text Datebook and (2) serving as the OSHA/Safety compliance manager for WMP. I also help in the order-entry department weekly to make sure all packing slips are “marked as shipped” in the database. I still help in the finance department once a week opening mail. I also read all mail from inmates and coordinate getting their requests for WMP booklets entered in the computer.

What I like best about working at WMP is that we pray for our needs daily in chapel, and there is freedom to pray for each other individually when needed. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up continually.

I like to read, enjoy God’s nature outdoors, and whenever possible talk via Skype to my children and grandchildren, all of whom live in Texas. I like to crochet when I have time. I care for household duties at home, attend our local church’s activities, help Greg lead our small group twice a month, meet with my accountability partner once a week, and mentor a younger woman.

Greg and I have been married for 40 years. We have three grown children, all married. Jason, our oldest, is married to Janine and lives in Harlingen, Texas. Daniel is married to Lety and lives in San Antonio. Rachel, our youngest, and her husband T.C. are the parents of our two grandchildren – Grace, who is five, and Thomas, who is three.

   [Last month‘s Meet the Team featured Sylvia‘s husband, Greg.]

 

WMP Partners Around the World

Soles for Jesus, Inc.

Scripture booklets from World Missionary Press are often distributed alongside humanitarian aid. Caring hearts that see physical needs also recognize the needs of the soul. Following Jesus’ example, they provide bread for the hungry along with the “Bread of life,” which offers eternal joy and peace with God.

WMP has partnered with ministries involved in:

– disaster relief in Haiti, Japan, India and Indonesia;

– well-drilling and fresh water in Guinea and Uganda;

– vocational training for women in India and Samoa;

– rice distribution in Nicaragua;

– feeding the homeless and addicted in New York City;

– supporting orphanages in Ukraine and Romania;

– literacy programs in Africa and Central America;

– medical teams in Guatemala and many other countries;

– resettling refugees in Minnesota.

Wherever there is need, there is opportunity.

One unique ministry partner is Soles for Jesus, Inc. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). When Diane Studer traveled to Ethiopia on her first mission trip in 2009, the Lord gave her a powerful vision of His plan for starting an organization called Soles for Jesus: People would collect shoes in the USA and send them overseas to those who needed them. “The reason SFJ exists,” Diane says, “is to share the love of Jesus throughout Africa, using the gift of shoes and the printed page. Each pair of shoes is given along with a verbal presentation of the gospel message and a printed tract or booklet. I have personally shared many WMP booklets, printed in many languages, throughout Africa. It is a huge blessing to see the Word of God being sent all over the world from His faithful servants at WMP.”

   A strong three-way partnership has developed in Africa between Soles for Jesus, Every Home for Christ, and World Missionary Press. EHC national directors (many of whom also serve as WMP national coordinators) are committed to sharing the gospel, but are also aware of the physical needs in their communities. When a ship container of shoes arrives, local partners move forward with a shoe distribution in the community. During the distribution, the gospel is shared both verbally and through booklets in the languages of the local people provided by WMP, so there are no communication barriers in the various countries. The partnerships with EHC and WMP are essential in accomplishing the mission of Soles for Jesus, Inc., which has seen the life-changing impact of these distributions over and over!

WMP is glad to be involved with SFJ and EHC in bringing the love of Jesus in word and deed to those in need of care and hope.