June 28th , 2008 Newsletter #66 from the Moores.

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                   

“Another word for liberty is privilege. We are not to use our liberty or privileges as children of the living God to serve ourselves. Liberty is to be used to serve others. There is freedom in serving but bondage in slavery. A slave is one who has to serve while a servant is one who lives to serve. A slave has to – a servant gets to. A slave feels robbed – a servant gives. A slave fights for his rights – a servant lays down his rights.”

The Bait of Satan by John Bevere  

Greetings from Guinea! We want to start this newsletter with a testimony of God’s protective power! Martin is our electrician. He has eight children. His youngest son, Christian, is seven years old. This past week during one of the heavy rain storms several of Martin’s children went outside to bathe in the rain. (The kids usually take a bar of soap and suds down in the rain as this is a free shower that they don’t have to tote the water for!) Christian wandered away from his brother and went quite a ways from the house. As he was playing in the heavy rain there was a sudden rush of water and he lost his plastic slippers. Not wanting to get in trouble with his mom for losing his slippers he chased them through what was becoming a rushing stream of water. He caught up with his slippers but in the process he was swept off his feet and carried away in the water.  Down the road there happened to be a metal grid over a drain that went into the sewer. Thankfully Christian’s foot got caught in the grid and this stopped his descent!The water was rushing over him now and he was barely visible. Some men at a nearby garage saw something in the water. One of them yelled that it was a person! They rushed over to the drain grid. They tried to pull Christian free but knew that if they did so they would break his leg which was already badly sprained. Finally they managed to break the cement wall around the grid and they carried Christian to safety then they carefully removed his foot from the grid! Christian was taken to a neighboring hospital and they confirmed the bad sprain. (Because the prices at the hospital were so expensive Martin chose to take Christian to a man who is known to be good at setting bones and massaging sprains.) Martin thanks God for watching over Christian. He could have so easily been swept away and they would have never known what happened to him! Christian knows that God spared his life! We believe that God has a special plan for this little boy in the future!

When we returned from our trip up country to Kamsar (4 ½ hours from Conakry) Martin shared this testimony with us. I later went into the back yard to burn trash and I noticed a lot of big snails climbing our walls eating the moss. These snails ranged in size from two to four inches. Martin told me that the rain had brought them into the yard and he was letting them grow but one day soon he would heat water and harvest the snails and take them home for his family to eat! Yummy! He said that the money he had for food this month was very low because of Christian’s medical expenses so they would add the snails to their sauce one day. After they boil them they remove them from their shells then fry them with onions and garlic. I’m glad he’s the one eating them and not me!

 We got an update on Mariettatoday. (She is the young woman who had a stroke and was paralyzed.) Thank you for all your prayers! She is up walking again and although she has not completely recovered yet the family is very encouraged because she is doing so much better! Please keep her in your prayers!

Had Update:  

Had got moved into her new place however, the landlord didn’t tell her that the tin zinc roof leaked! Since we’ve been having some heavy rains water has been coming into her room! She has several buckets put in strategic places in the room to catch the water. She’s afraid that the water will spoil all her things in the room! When she asked the landlord to repair the roof he said that he didn’t have any money to do it. (She paid rent for a year in advance and he took the money and traveled with it. Now it is all gone and he says he can’t repair her roof!) Please pray that God will change his heart and help him to fix the roof. Had got a call from her nephew recently. He said he was calling to greet her because he would never forget that she was the one who carried him around on her back when he was a baby. He told her that her older sister’s vision is getting a little better but she still can’t see clearly. (This is the sister that tried to kill Had several times because she was a Christian.) Had said that she would continue to pray for her sister to regain her sight. (Most of the rest of Had’s family seems to have accepted the fact that she is a Christian and that she will not return to Islam. They have not been actively pursuing her as they did before.) Thanks again for your prayers for her!

This coming Tuesday we will fly to the States for our son’s (Scott’s) wedding. We ask that you pray for us as we fly across the Atlantic to San Francisco. After the wedding we will fly to Indianapolis to visit my (Sherry’s) mom and family and then onto to Tulsa to visit Tom’s folks and his extended family. Please pray for protection for us as we fly all these miles and that we will have a blessed time with our families. Thank you!

Once again we extend our thanks to you for your faithfulness in praying for and giving to God’s work in Guinea! We pray that God will bless you and keep you and use you greatly in the mission field where He has placed you! May we have servants’ hearts and have a joy in giving and reaching out to those who so desperately need a personal relationship with Jesus! Only what we do for eternity lasts!

If you wish to be a financial partner with us in ministry just e-mail us and we let you know how and where to send the funds. If funds are not designated correctly we do not receive them for the work in Guinea.

 In His Service,

Tom and Sherry Moore