May 24 2007 Newsletter #57 from the Moores.

Dear Family and Friends,

“Every time I think I have a problem that is too overwhelming…that’s too big for one person like me to make a difference, I look at this clipping I keep on my desk: On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: ‘Why did you permit this? Why don’t you do something about it?’ For a while God said nothing. That night He replied quite suddenly, ‘I certainly did something about it. I made you!” Sis. Mary Rose McGready

Greetings from Guinea! The rains will be starting soon so right now it is very hot! We actually got a good rain last week and it is so nice to see the green leaves on the trees as the red dust has been washed away.

Thanks for your prayers for Pastor Joseph Kofta Camara’s family. His wife and son are completely over their typhoid fever and Pastor Joseph did receive his visa to come to the convention in the States in June! We thank God for answering prayer and we are glad that Pastor Joseph will be able to represent the people of Guinea at the convention. (We are sad to say that Pastor Milton Godwin, from Sierra Leone, was denied his visa so he will not be able to come this time. Please continue to pray for Milton as he leads the work in Sierra Leone.)

We have a lot to share with you about Had this month. Thank you for your continued prayers for her! About a week after we wrote our last newsletter Had encountered her uncle again! She was coming out of the entrance of one of the main hospital compounds in Conakry when she looked up and saw her uncle coming through the entrance in his car. She said she began to tremble inside but she didn’t feel she could turn and run as it would create a scene along the edge of the main road. Her uncle stopped his car and got out. He was very angry and he began to yell at her! He asked her why she hadn’t kept the last appointment when she was going to meet him to discuss her change to Christianity. He grabbed her on the upper arm and began to pull her toward his car. (He grabbed her so hard that he bruised her arm! Two days later when Had came to see us she had dark black bruises on her arm where each of his fingers had grabbed her!) He began to yell insults at her calling her “a dog” and “an infidel” and other derogatory words he uses for those who are not Moslems. Lots of people began to gather around and they wanted to know why this man was treating a young woman this way. Her uncle began to yell out that she had left Islam and that she had become a Christian. Had realized that her uncle wanted to embarrass her in front of all the people there (and of course others driving on the main road slowed down to see what was going on) so she openly declared that she was a Christian and that she had left Islam but that it was her choice and her uncle should just accept it and let her live her life that way she wanted to. Her uncle told everyone that she had disgraced her family and since he was her “blood” uncle he had the right to talk to her that way! (Had told us that she has never before spoken badly to any of her family members that have come against her. But this time she did.) She told her uncle that he was not her uncle because if he really was related to her he would not be treating her this way in front of all these people and especially along one of the main roads in town! Her uncle got so mad he tried to slap her hard in the face. But God intervened on her behalf! There was a young man who had been in the car with her uncle and he had gotten out to try to help calm her uncle down. When this young Moslem man saw that Had’s uncle was going to slap her he grabbed her uncle’s arm and wouldn’t allow him to hit Had! Her uncle began to scream that since she was of his blood and she had treated him this was that he was going to kill himself! Had told him to go ahead and kill himself because then he would really meet God and God could tell him what He thought about what he was doing! The young man who had gotten out of the car pulled Had’s uncle back toward to car and told him just to let Had go. Had was very shaken and she had to get some medication to help with the pain and the bruises on her arm. Once again God touched the heart of a Moslem woman and she gave Had the medicine she needed plus she gave her some money to help her! “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform…” Please continue to pray for Had’s protection and that her faith remains strong through all the persecution she is going through.

The next event that happened to Had took place a little over a week ago. When we first started writing about Had we explained that she had a set of twins when she was very young – around sixteen years old. She had a boy and a girl. The twins were taken from her after a few months by the father’s family and they were being raised by their paternal grandmother until she died about a year ago. (Had had not seen her children since they were about five years old.) When their grandmother died Had went to extend her sympathy to the family and she was able to see the kids, who were thirteen now, for a few minutes. She had to talk to them in secret. The children were then taken by one of their paternal aunts and they have been living with her for the past year. Had was told that she could come and visit the kids but because of all the problems she has been going through with the family she couldn’t go visit them. About ten days ago, she found out that her daughter had been sent to a neighboring country for now with the intention of being sent to yet another destination as the family had decided to give her daughter to another paternal aunt who had just lost her own daughter who had been ill. Had was overwhelmed! How could they just give her daughter away without even consulting her?? Would she ever see her daughter again?? She came to us extremely upset and we encouraged her to go to the school where her children attend and try to see her son and talk to him. The first day she went he wasn’t there. The following day when she went she was able to see him. She took him behind a building nearby and talked to him. He cried and cried. He was glad to see her but he missed his sister terribly! He said that his sister had been taken early in the morning, two days before, and he had been told that she was being sent out of the country! She was his only comfort! The two of them would encourage each other as they were constantly told that they were “bastards” and that they had no parents! She reassured him that he did have a mother who loved him and he had a father too who loved him. (The kids’ father is working in another country.) She took her son’s hand and told him that she was going to pray with him that Jesus, who she followed, would be with him and watch over him and that God would also be with his sister wherever she was. After she prayed with him he calmed down some and went back to class. She is going to try to see him at school at least once a week to encourage him. Please pray for Had and her children! She is very upset also because the children are being forced to memorize the Koran. If they don’t they will be beaten! Her heart aches for her children and she so much wants them to be able to know about God and His son Jesus! Right now things look pretty impossible for Had, her kids and their father to all be together again. But we know that with God all things are possible! The children’s father has become a Christian also. We thank God for that!

We have a pastors’ meeting this coming week. Their vision for Guinea will be discussed and many decisions need to be made. Please pray with us that God will give His wisdom to the executive committee as they lead the meeting.

Thanks again for all your prayers and financial support for God’s work in Guinea! We couldn’t do it without you backing us up! Together we are working in the harvest fields of Guinea! God bless you as you work where He has placed you!

In His Service,

Tom and Sherry Moore