Ibrahim's first baptism

We've tried to instill in our believers from day one their responsibility in the work of the Gospel. We never wanted them to think it was our job (the missionaries) to do everything. When I baptized Ela I told him "this is your job now."

Most of our believers have embraced this and share their faith consistently. One day I overheard Ibrahim tell someone "I don't know a lot of the Bible but here's what I do know" and he proceeded to give one of the clearest Gospel presentations I've ever heard.

We've been trying to work ourselves out of a job from our arrival in October 2006. We were taught at our training a little acronym MAWL (Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave). When we took most of April for a vacation we were anxious to see how our believers did in our absence. They continued to meet for church and Ibrahim led two friends to Christ!

This sort of ministry philosophy can get a little interesting though as we must sort through what the Bible clearly teaches and what sorts of cultural things we (as Americans) bring to the table (our baggage). Just like when I say the word "church" most of you picture a building, people wearing nice clothes, instruments, pews, and all sorts of other things. None of these are wrong or bad but they're not all Biblical mandates. Our church meets on Tuesday mornings at Ibrahim's house. Our new believer's get grilled with questions when they enter the river to be baptized. Ela started this and our believers have all adopted this.

This point was illustrated for me a few months ago when Ibrahim baptized his first person. I had baptized Ela just like I'd baptized people in the States. He adopted this same "style" when he baptized Ibrahim but his finger slipped off his nose and Ibrahim just sort of dropped into the water.

This was the first baptism Ibrahim had ever seen and so (building in the DNA of them carrying on the work) Ibrahim was to baptize the next believer. The following video is that baptism.



My first reaction was "Did Benny Hinn just enter Ibrahim!" Actually I thought "Oh man, he did that all wrong." And then I realized, did he? It was not how I would do it or had ever seen it done for that matter, but that didn't make it wrong.

I'm sure we're in store for many, many more events like this that remind us that the church looks very different in Ayorou than it did in Bowling Green but that's what makes it so beautiful!

Meet Ibrahim

At our church in Ayorou a few weeks ago we read the story of the miraculous catch and the calling of the first disciples. We always end by asking what you will remember most about this story and share with your friends and family. Ibrahim looked at me and said "to follow Jesus means we must leave everything behind."

God continues to remind us that he has plans for Ayorou that we cannot control or even see. When Isa became the first Songhai man to believe we were sure we had found the foundation of Ayorou's first church. Then, he was sent a thousand miles away to serve in the military. Then came Ela. He was so passionate about his new faith we were certain God would build His church with Ela. Then Ela moved to Mali.

And now there is Ibrahim. He is not who we would have thought God would use but that is what is happening. Ibrahim is growing in leaps and bounds and maturing fast in his new faith. He has baptized friends of his whom he has led to Christ.

He faces constant persecution from friends. The other day someone offered him a good chunk of money to convert back to Islam! But Ibrahim said "Jesus has saved me, you can't buy salvation." He is unashamedly following Christ in a Muslim culture.

Each day we are more and more convinced that God is going to build His church with Ibrahim. Here's how you can pray for him:

* Ibrahim cannot read but desires to learn. Two girls from the States are spending 5 months in Ayorou to teach literacy. Pray that Ibrahim will be able to learn to read quickly.

* Ibrahim continues to share with his wife who has not believed yet. He asked me to ask you to pray for Houray, his wife.

* Ibrahim, like most Songhai, lives on almost nothing and never knows if there will be money tomorrow. He has opened a little shop. Pray that God would bless this business as a testimony to God's blessing on Ibrahim.

* Pray for God to protect Ibrahim from Satan's attacks. Ibrahim has suffered from his faith in many ways. The other day he told me "You know, following Jesus is not easy, but it is good."

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

Isabelle celebrated her first birthday. The day before she turned 1 year old she started walking! It is so much fun to walk around with her & to visit friends in Ayorou with her holding onto my hand. We don't get very far, of course, before she gets tired but it's a start. To celebrate her birthday, we had planned to be in Ayorou on her actual birthday (May 15) and then we were going to have a party with some friends on Sunday, May 17. Well, due to some unforeseen events (aka - sicknesses), we were in Niamey for both. Isabelle celebrated her birthday twice. Yes, she had 2 cakes & she loved them both! We'll put more pictures on her blog of all the festivities.


I know every parent experiences this but it's so hard to believe that she is already a year old!


Isabelle & her first cake. She was very dainty with this cake & hardly got messy at all.


Her second cake, a cupcake, was a little more messy ... much to her father's delight.

goodbye America

Our time in the States was terrific. It was busy & went by too quick but we had a great time seeing all of our family and visiting with so many friends. We are looking forward to next year when we will be able to spend a little bit longer with everyone while we are home on our Stateside Assignment. A lot of people asked how Isabelle did on the flights to & from the States and with the 6 hour time difference. On the way to America, she did fantastic. A few whines on the trans-Atlantic flight but, by the end of the flight, I was whining, too. She adjusted very quickly to the time difference in America and never missed a beat. On the way back to Niger, the flights were not as easy but she never full out cried or pitched a fit on the plane. Many different passengers told us how well behaved she was & one man that sat behind us even said, "I didn't know a baby was on this flight." Way to go Belle!


Our little world traveler. What a trooper - in 25 days she traveled from Niger to Paris to America and back again, went through 7 time zones & back again, visited 3 different States, slept in 5 different locations & was introduced to a slew of people for the first time. It was a lot for a little girl but she did great!


And how did we handle it all? Starbucks baby! Oh White Chocolate Mocha, we will meet again soon! Only 11 more months!

vacation with the Phillips

We sandwiched our vacation in the States with visits to Franklin, Kentucky to spend time with Mark's family. We hung out on Winston Lane while Isabelle enjoyed lots & lots of time playing with Gaga & Papa while Mark and I ran 1001 errands to Bowling Green. Isabelle was also able to meet her Uncle Jon, Aunt Amy & cousins Matthew & Mollie for the first time. They had tons of fun playing together. We were also able to worship at First Baptist Franklin where they gave Isabelle a baby shower. It was a great week of hanging out, catching up on sleep & eating some GREAT food! The highlight of the our last weekend was celebrating Don's birthday with a meal at Shogun & Big D doing the chicken dance!


Isabelle with Gaga & Papa


The crazy Phillips fam


Don't we looked relaxed & rested?


Isabelle meets Shogun ... the infatuation has been passed down from father to daughter


Isn't this a gorgeous cake?! Two fabulous ladies from FBC made this for Isabelle for her baby shower. Thanks Kathy & Wanda!

vacation in BG

Didn't y'all know that Bowling Green, Kentucky is a hot vacation spot? I tell you, it is indeed. Especially if you lodge at the LH Missions House! We spent about 5 days of our vacation in BG hanging out with friends & enjoying the wonderful, fabulous accommodations of the missions house. Our friends Cory & Courtney came up from Dandridge, TN with their 2 girls (Ansley who was born right before we left for the field & Lila who was born exactly 3 months after Isabelle). They were able to stay at the house with us for 2 nights. My friend Amanda took 2 days off work to join in on the slumber party, too! We were also able to meet our friends, the Hastes, son for the first time. It was babies everywhere! When we left in October 2006 & even when we visited last November, there was just Ansley. Well we have definitely multiplied and can fill up a house!

Some of our other BG friends (the Lewises, the Wellmans, the Carwiles, Sarah Bo, Brie & the Barnes) also dropped by. Unfortunately, we only took pictures of the kiddos.


Aunt Badanda & Isabelle reunited! It's been a long 9 months since they saw each other last. But only a few more weeks & she'll be back here in the hot Niger heat once again!


Isabelle & her daddy having fun at the Chucky Cheese arcade.


Isabelle & Haddon playing together. As the older baby of the bunch, the Belle naturally had to show Haddon the ropes.


Lila & Isabelle having a little girl's tea party!

vacation with the Hills

We need to do some mucho catching up on our blogs ... if you haven't noticed! We'll start way back in April with our trip to the States. For 10 days of our vacation we were with my (Parker) family. My parents met us in Kentucky and from there we traveled to South Carolina where we visited grandparents, aunts & uncles. We then spent a week in Tennessee where we met up with my sister & her family. Isabelle was able to meet her Aunt BJ, Uncle Nathan & cousins Chord & Emory for the first time. This was also the first time that Mark & I were able to meet Emory, my sister's 16 month old son. During that week, I caught up on the Food Network while Mark caught up with golfing! Of course we also reconnected with Wal-Mart and a few of our favorite restaurants.


The Hill clan & kiddos


The kiddos goofing off at mini-golf


Oh wait, was that just supposed to be for the kids? Oops!


Grilling up lots & lots of meat. Wind, rain or shine ... the Hill family will grill meat!


4 generations


Isabelle meeting her Mimi (dad's mom) for the first time

after these messages, we'll be right back

You must be wondering, "Where are those Phillips people at? Have they fallen off the face of the earth?" Well, no, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth but we have traveled across it. We went to the States for vacation for 3 1/2 weeks to visit family and friends and to introduce the Belle to her home land. We'll post some pictures later on her blog of all her fun meeting her aunts, uncles & cousins for the first time and reuniting with grandparents. We also think she gained about 5 pounds after we introduced her to American food including her new favorites - BBQ Pork, Zaxby's chicken & Moe's cheese quesadillas. This girl can eat! But I digress ...

I'm sure you are all pleased that we had a fun vacation but are more curious about the state of Ayorou. We didn't even realize that we hadn't updated you on the latest happenings before we left for America let alone what's happened while we were gone. One of our friends in America said something about the 11 new believers and I said, "11? There are like 17 now!" Actually, we're not sure how many believers there are in Ayorou because people have continued to accept Christ while we were away. Mark spoke with Ibrahim twice on the phone while we were in America and he had led 3 people to the Lord & baptized them all! We are very excited to return to Ayorou today & see just what all the Lord has done in our absence.

There is so much to tell and just not enough time. Please excuse our absence in posting during our vacation or since we've been back. Please pray for our bodies to get over this jet lag ... for the last 5 nights, Isabelle has woken up WIDE awake at midnight ready to play! This will make for some interesting times tonight when we sleep outside. We'll be back in a couple of weeks with more stories & pictures & a newsletter.

Until then, here are some pictures of our new believers before we left for America. If you notice, both Hama & little Ibrahim have each led a friend to the Lord & baptized them. Young or old, these new believers are getting it. It is SO exciting to be a part of this & I hope you understand how much you a part of it, too, through your prayers!