May 27th , 2008 Newsletter #65 from the Moores.

Dear Family and Friends,                                                            

“Christ was never in a hurry. There was no rushing forward, no anticipating, no fretting over what might be. Eachday’s duties were done as every day brought them, and the rest was left with God.”  Mary Slessor

“It is good to pause and count our blessings at every birthday. They pile up with the years. God is changeless. He has work for us here and each milestone shows that He chose to have us remain to give Him a hand.”  June Masters Bacher

Greetings from Guinea! Our rainy season is starting and it is so nice to see bright green leaves on the bushes and trees as the red dust has been washed away!

First of all we want to thank each of you who took the time to write to us and pray for us during the time of my (Sherry’s) dad’s passing. We appreciated each expression of sympathy and also your prayers! It was not easy being away from the family at that time but we are looking forward to seeing them for a few days during the month of July. We will be in the States for about three and a half weeks in July. Our third son, Scott, is getting married and while we are home for the wedding we plan to fly to Indianapolis and Tulsa to spend a few days with both of our folks. Please pray that God will help all the travel arrangements come together and that this will be a blessed time with our families.

Now an update on Had. Back in January we wrote that she had to find a new place to live and God opened the doors for her to move into a newly constructed room that had an indoor toilet. (She used to have to share a toilet with about twenty other people in the compound!) She really liked her new place and had made friends with several ladies there. Last month the Moslem man who had built the house came for a visit. (He now lives in Ivory Coast.) He was there for a couple days and he noticed that Had did not go to the Friday afternoon prayers at the nearby mosque. He asked to talk to her. He asked her why she didn’t pray and she responded that she did pray only she didn’t pray in the same way that he did because she was a Christian. He asked her why she was a Christian and she explained to him what Jesus has done for her. She said she would never return back to Islam. The next day he asked to talk to her again. This time he told her that he had noticed that she wasn’t with a man. He told her that he would let her stay in his compound until the end of the month but that he was giving her back the advance rent she had paid him and he wanted her to move out at the end of the month. The two reasons he gave her were: 1) she was single and he didn’t want any problems with guys coming in and out of her place etc. and 2) because she was a Christian and he only wanted Moslems staying in his place. In their previous conversation she had told him that there would be no guys coming and going from her place but he chose not to believe her. (We all knew that the real reason he wanted her to leave was because she was a Christian.) Now she had to find another room! For several weeks she walked around the city going through various neighborhoods where she felt she could live in safety. Time after time she was told that she wouldn’t be able to rent a room because she was a Christian! (Most of us have no idea what it is like to not be able to live where you want to just because you are a Christian! When she would come to visit us we would pray that God would provide the right place for her.) Finally, a week ago she found someone who would rent her a room but there is no indoor toilet. However, Had is thankful for your prayers for her and for God constant protection and provision for her. God also provided a bed for her and little Alpha (the five year old boy she is taking care of) to sleep on! She is so grateful! She said her bones don’t hurt her anymore since she no longer has to sleep on the cement floor! Thank you for your prayers for little Alpha! He is in good health now and has been able to return to school. (We have no word about Yo.)

We held our national conference at the Sonfonia Gare Church from May 7 th – 10 th . The pastor and evangelists who work in the forest region came down to Conakry for the conference! It was so good to see them and to hear the updates about their work. Right before they came one of the daughters of the pastor who oversees the forest work became sick with malaria. The next morning she work up and was paralyzed on her left side. (She is only 28 years old!) During the conference we had special prayer for her and just before the pastor left to return home he received word that she was now up and able to walk but still did not have full use of her left arm. Please continue to pray for Marietta that God would completely heal her.(She is the mother of a three year old girl.)

A lot of evangelism has been going on in the forest region. About six months ago a new village was touched with the Gospel. Over 150 people made decisions for Christ and about 50 – 60 are now being prepared for baptism! We have been invited to attend a conference in November. This conference will take place in the new village. During the conference there will be at least two weddings and a big baptismal service for the new believers! We are looking forward to this big event!

During the conference elections were also held. Jean Fode, who has been the head of the national church for a long time decided to step down and turn the reigns over to a younger pastor. (Thank you for all your prayers for the elections!) We now have a new president, Pastor Joseph Camara and for the first time we have two tribes represented on the executive committee! (All the leaders were from the Baga tribe before.) This is a very good thing! The new committee had their first meeting this past Saturday. Several days before the meeting Pastor Camara got very sick and even had to be taken to the hospital! However, he made the four hour trip from Kamsar to be at the meeting and once here he felt much better! Pastor Maxime forced himself to come to the meeting as he was suddenly very sick when he got up on Saturday morning. He struggled to stay at the meeting but the next day he was much better just a little weak. We all felt that these health attacks were from the devil. There is a new vision and a great desire to increase the work of the Lord in Guinea! Satan would love to stop it. Please pray with us that God will use these new leaders to impart renewed vision to our pastors and evangelists and that this next year will be a great year of bringing souls into the Kingdom of Christ!

 On May 22 nd Tom celebrated his 60 th birthday!! We had cherry pie and were even able to find some vanilla ice cream to put on it! What a special treat that was! God has shown Tom that “He still has work for him here…and that He chose to have him remain to give Him a hand” in Guinea! Tom’s not getting older, he’s just getting better! J

In the past it has always been our policy never to mention finances.However, our mission director has asked that we mention the need to those who partner with us in the work of the Lord in Guinea.All our support comes from individual donors and/or churches. When checks are sent in they must be marked Tom Moore, DM Account. If funds are sent in without being designated in this way, we do not receive them in our account. We are not supported by any other programs. If you do not attend an Open Bible Church through which you can designate your support you may send finances directly to: International Ministries, 2020 Bell Ave., Des Moines, IA, 50315. If you send finances in directly they also must be marked Tom Moore DM Account! You will receive a tax receipt directly from the office at the end of the year. However, if personal gifts are sent in no tax receipts are issued for them.  

Thank you for your love and prayers for us and a special thank you to those who help support the Lord’s work financially! Together we work for our Lord and His Kingdom! God bless you abundantly!

In His Service,

Tom and Sherry Moore