Karen and I were in Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa. My intention was to get Karen back into my life after a time apart and by the end of that summer we were engaged! Earlier this month we finally had the chance to return to the country we both still call home.
As we drove into the small village of Dabakala on a very nice paved road (THAT wasn’t there 34 years ago!), I was shocked to find that most things had changed very little. One of the pastors my father worked with back in the 1970’s, Pastor Andre, remembered me and our family and we had a sweet time together. We heard stories of the ongoing translation work in the Djimini language, still an unreached people group despite years of faithful work. Our French was rusty, but the love we felt from our brothers and sisters was deep and full.
Despite the deteriorating state of the road, we made it to the northern border town of Ferkessedougou, where Karen grew up. The hospital her parents had ministered at for so many years is still running, with primarily national staff.
One evening Karen visited a friend of her father’s, Vieux Brahma (Old Brahma) . Now in his 90’s, Brahma still practices the Muslim faith, despite years of telling people to follow the “Jesus Road” when he worked at the hospital. Karen told Brahma her father, Dr. John, was now in heaven with Jesus, and that she hoped Brahma would one day chat with him again. Please pray with us for Brahma, that he would truly follow the Jesus Road.
It was an amazing time of renewed friendships and a renewed sense of God’s work in northern Cote d’Ivoire. This is an area with many new mosques and significant Muslim growth, along with a resurgence of animistic practice in the name of cultural preservation. There are still unreached people groups here and one of our ministry partners, Radio Sinai in Korhogo is using radio to broadcast to many of these groups (see picture above of the Radio Sinai staff).
Pray for a deepening of partnerships and future ministry potential for Reach Beyond in this beautiful, but scarred country.
Grateful as you journey with us,
Curt & Karen
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