Mountain Bible Church

Update from Africa

Teleqan Update – June 4, 2013

Dear Prayer Partners,

Greetings to you in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We highly appreciated your prayers, financial support and you, being a part of our team. Please see below an update about us since my last letter.



A US Visa for Five Years

In my last newsletter, I wrote a note about my visa application saying:

“I have filled out the US visa application form on line, as I am planning to come to America at the end of August. I was delayed in the process by poor Internet connection and trying to identify the type of visa that I have to look for. But I just got the information on the specific type of visa I need: Tourist Visa (B-2) is the specific one I should obtain. So I now have an interview for the visa on Thursday, May 9. Please pray that all would go well.”

The Lord’s answer to this prayer request went beyond my expectation. In fact, my visa interview went very well. During the interview, I explained to the man who was interviewing me that I am a Bible translator translating the Bible into the Language of the Teleqan (living mostly in West Africa), and he seemed to be very impressed about this and was very nice to me. I was asking for a visa for a few months, but have been granted a visa for five years with multiple entrees to US. Praise the Lord for His goodness and blessings! Also, I am so grateful to the Lord for your prayers:

“The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.” (James 5:17).

Also I am grateful to the Lord for His provision for my air tickets to the US, and thank you so much for giving your money and taking your time to make this happen! Now, I really look forward to seeing you all soon in America and to thank you face to face. [Note: Each supporting church has committed to sharing the travel costs so please contact the church you are affiliated with to see if you can help them raise their portion of this.]

A Good Consultant Checking Session

We praise God for a good consultant checking session we have had in May. It was on Exodus 1-12 into a language group close to the Teleqan language. I was doing the consultant work assisted by my wife Isabelle, in order to help the team have a faithful translation into their language. Earlier Isabelle worked with the team on the whole Book of Exodus. At this time, I had to do a final checking of this team’s translation. The team was unfortunately not completely ready, but we praise God for being able to check the chapters 1 to 12 of Exodus. The “oral back” translator of the team, a Muslim, was very interested in the Biblical story I checked with them. He even showed a great interest in faith in Jesus. Please pray that God would continue to speak to his heart and that he would come to know Christ.

Jonah, Exodus and Parts of Numbers are Ready for Publication
We already have Exodus and part of Numbers and Jonah ready in the language of Teleqan. A translation consultant approved them and now they only need to be typeset for publication. I hope to do this before coming to America. We now also finished the last part of Numbers and Deuteronomy and plan to do a consultant check before the end of this year. We want to print some copies of these scriptures and also make audio recordings of some parts of them for distribution among the Teleqan people.

Prayer Requests
We would appreciate your prayers for:

1. For the new Teleqan believer in Jesus (Esau).
Please pray that he would grow in his faith in Jesus and that God would protect him against any danger. He went to our church once and then stopped going as he fears for his life. But he keeps studying the Bible with us and helping us with the Bible translation work. He had been staying with a refugee Teleqan family, but just told me today that this family is now about to go back home to their home area and he has no place to stay. So since then, he is in our house.

2. For me (Daoud) as I will be in a neighboring country June 14-27, in order to attend a Workshop on how to translate the Book of Hebrews.
There will be several African translation teams and I will be teaching them some parts of Hebrews. This fits into my training as a Bible Translation consultant. Please pray for a safe trip and stay there and also for my family while I will be there.

3. The security situation in West Africa and the Sahel.
The security situation has improved a lot in West Africa, but the jihadists are still scattered throughout the region and threaten the lives of many people. Please pray that the God of peace Himself would bring down this peace on the Sahel! Also please, pray that God would protect us against any danger from these Jihadists and that God would speak to their hearts, to give up this life of violence they lead.
During the last five years of significant Al Qaeda violence very near to the Teleqan home area no shots have been fired, or anyone physically hurt. This is an amazing expression of God’s love to the Teleqan in this area. This is certainly an answer to your faithful and constant prayers to the Lord for my people. May the name of our God be praised forever!

God bless you all … Daoud

Teleqan Visit – Summer 2012

Our sojourn through Africa is winding down. Today (Thursday, July 19), five members of our team returned to the United States after spending five weeks in West Africa. Delayed in New York for some hours, John and Kim Haak, Glenn Davis, Lori Batten and Sydni Denues finally arrived home. They will have many stories to share with the congregation.

Staying a while longer in West Africa are Rob and Judy Panza and Mark Adams, who will return in early August. And our missionary Todd Brown has a little under two weeks left in The Gambia before he returns to Jamaica.

The Gambia through Todd Brown’s eyes

Of his sojourn Todd writes:

We are now in Banjul staying at the YWAM base. My base director left [for Jamaica] at 3am (which is a normal time for flights from here) early this morning, and three others leave on the 20th.

I have 12 more days before heading back to Jamaica. Until then, I will work with the DTS here at the base, and see what else the Lord will do. We have the African leadership team teaching this week on relationship, and I joined them for worship with my drum, along with two other drummers in the class.

Our team from Mansajang upriver has two days left here in the city, so I will join them for a well deserved fun day. I was dad for the three girls over our stay in Basse which you will hear much more of at a later date. I taught the girls how to drum, with a book I made for them using cymbals and timing bars.

Last night, I made a hard decision to give them the drum I had made for myself in Banjul three weeks ago. For some reason I thought it was the right choice, even though I brought my Djembe bag and everything ? They were overjoyed with the gift, and I know it was the right thing to do.

The mom’s name is Miracle, or Kumba is Fula, and she just had a breakthrough with the Christian school she ran up until 14 months ago. The goverment was demanding she allow a mosque be built on the school compound in compliance with new standards here in The Gambia. The officials met with her just Monday, and now have agreed to not build the mosque, and to pay for the teacher of Islamic studies !!! There was so much celebration, we could hardly contain her, and we planted a tree in honor of the occasion.

The report I will share is too much for an email, but rest assured that the trip has already been amazing, and I just met a young christian man today that’s eager to learn more, and possibly do a YWAM school here next year. I have also met several young men that invite me for tea and conversation each day, so pray that I can share more truth with them in the last week and a half.

Blessings, Todd Brown
http://drummingforthenations.com

In West Africa, we continue to see God’s miraculous deeds. A [religious leader] visited with us as we spent an afternoon picknicing on the dunes. He did not come as on a holiday, but to meet us, for he greatly desired to meet the people who established the well. He lives in [this West African] helping the Teleqan people there, most of whom are here for medical care. He assists them in getting the appropriate medical care, and has dedicated a good part of his life to this work. He spoke of the Teleqan as a “forgotten” people, a people living on the margins, a people marginalized. As we sat on the dunes, sharing the tea, he told us about the situation. There is much that can’t be shared here on the Internet, that we will share when we get back home. Rob spoke to the [religious leader], offering him words of encouragement and truth. It was a very moving experience to witness.

Continue to pray for the team (both the part that is back home and the part that remains in West Africa) and continue to pray for Todd Brown.

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Here are some photos from our day on the dunes:

John Haak and Glenn Davis

The tea being prepared

Mark Adams enjoying a round of the tea

The boys playing on the dunes

Glenn Davis in traditional West African garb — Glenn was a missionary in West Africa some time ago

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