God is at Work in the Africa Area
The past month and a half since the last edition of Bits & Bytes have been especially busy and especially marked by God's blessing. Here are a few highlights of what God has been doing across the Africa Area in recent days:
Bob spent a week and a half in Ghana where he met for two days with the District Board and guided them through a process of strategic planning. He also visited the work in the north of the country as well as participated in Easter celebrations at Sakumono Wesleyan Church near Accra. (To view a slideshow of photos taken during the trip, click the following link: Ghana visit.)Issah Osman and Joe Ocran
The Wesleyan Church of Ghana has just launched mission work in Burkina Faso. They are sending Pastor Issah Osman as their missionary (pictured here with Joe Ocran, Ghana District Superintendent). Issah has been serving as a church planter in north east Ghana among the Wa people for the past two years, having planted three churches in that time.
Jerry Manwaring visited the work in the Congo (DRC) over Easter and reports that the new classrooms at the primary school have been completed (thanks to World Vision) and we now have 523 students enrolled; Faculte Wesleyene de Theologie (FAWETH) uses the classrooms at night with 15 students enrolled; another 4 ministerial students are studying at the Campus Crusade Bible College; plans are progressing well for the launch of a Jesus Film team next month; Easter revival services at Source de Lumiere Church resulted in a number of conversions, culminating in a baptism service with 10 candidates; in an effort to help the church become self-sustaining, the church has begun a banana plantation having planted one hectare in what will ultimately be a ten hectare plantation.
Rev. Graça Nhathelo, Mozambique National Superintendent, recently visited a new congregation planted in Tete Province. This means that the Wesleyan church has congregations in all 10 provinces of the country, a goal set by the church about 15 years ago.
Doug Dennis, Brian Matherlee, Phil HarringtonWe hosted Pastors Doug Dennis (Asheboro, NC), Brian Matherlee (McAdenville, NC), and Phil Harrington (Dallas, NC) as they led a seminar at Wesleyan Evangelical Seminary for around 40 Wesleyan pastors in the Johannesburg area. Following the seminar and speaking in Sunday services in local churches, we traveled with them to the annual Africa Area Missionary retreat. Along the way we spent a day in Kruger National Park where we almost got trampled by elephants. We like our guests to have an unforgettable experience!
Missionary Randal Cheney spent a week traveling with Rev. Doctor Galela (Southern Africa Regional Superintendent) visiting Zimbabwe on a scouting trip in preparation for their ultimate deployment. Valuable connections were made to ease their transition into Zimbabwe in the near future. Meanwhile, Randal and Candice continue working on raising the support they need before they will be cleared to go.
The annual Africa Area Missionary Retreat met in White River, South Africa, for a time of reflection and renewal. The NC pastors (above) ministered effectively around the theme of "Maintaining your Spiritual Passion in the Midst of Ministry." (To view a slideshow of photos taken during the trip, click the following link: Missionary Retreat.)
Retreat 2012
Support Report
We've got a combination of good news and bad news on the support front. The good news is that we've added several new faith promise supporters in the past month. The other good news is that so far for the financial year, donations for our support has kept pace with our budgeted need. . . . The bad news is that we still lack $20,000 ($1,671 monthly) in faith promise support (monthly commitments). It does keep us dependent on God and grateful to those who stand behind us making up the gap.
Thank you so much for your faithful, sacrificial, and generous support!
Online donations or monthly commitments can be made online by clicking here.
Bagley Backers on FaceBook
For the most up-to-date news and prayer requests visit the Bagley Backers group on Facebook.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord that Brenda finally received her permit to reside in South Africa. (It was actually approved 3 months ago, but officials gave contrary information.)
2. Praise God for His help and protection as we and the rest of the GP-Africa missionary family have travelled extensively in recent weeks.
3. Praise God that GoNet missionary Lisa Karr has been approved to become a long-term GP missionary continuing to serve in Ethiopia.
4. Thank God for new souls added to the Kingdom over the Easter period through evangelistic emphases across the Africa Area.
Prayer Requests
1. Ask for God's blessing on the new works being established in Tete Province, Mozambique and the country of Burkina Faso.
2. Pray that God will lead in the selection of a new leader for Global Partners at the General Conference in early June.
3. Pray for God's help as we return to North American at the end of May for General Conference and other meetings.
4. Ask God to provide the remaining support needed for Lisa Karr and Randal & Candice Cheney so they can be deployed to their respective ministry fields without delay.
5. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will call workers to fill needed positions within the missionary team in Africa. (medical, theological education, church development)
Africa Area Prayer Calendar
A prayer calendar with requests for every day for April - June, 2012 is now available by clicking the following link: Africa Area Prayer Calendar Feel free to share it with others who are interested in praying for God's work in Africa.
Lauren Gross, GoNet missionary to Zambia, recently put together prayer maps with photos of African leaders and GP missionaries to use as you pray. You can access them by clicking on the following links: Missionary Prayer Map, and African Leaders Prayer Map.
BagleysPrintable Version
An easy to print version can be accessed by clicking the following link: PRINT VERSION Thank you for sharing a print version with those who cannot receive the email.
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Bob & Brenda Bagley | RBagley112@gmail.com
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