West African Mission Update

“We do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5)

“You also joining in helping us through your prayers” (2 Cor. 1:11)

Steve & Patricia Phillips

West African Update 10-05

West African Update 7-05

West African Update 4-05 

November 2005

Dear Brethren,

We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen [Isa.26:18]

Our Lord Jesus instructed us to candidly confess, “We are unprofitable servants” [Lk.17:10]. It is a sober and wise assessment that accords with the facts of the matter.

Too often, we clamor for the extraordinary and sensational to bolster our conceptions of serviceability in the kingdom of heaven. If we can catalog enough religious meetings, tally an impressive number of converts, or boast of successful testimonies, we assure ourselves that it is well.

But in reality, what have we really accomplished; or rather, who are we actually in the inner man during the oft repeated tedium of day to day necessities? The quantifiable and tangible make for impressive reporting, but may not reflect what abiding spiritual advances have actually transpired. And, if at the end of the day, these be superficial and anemic, what matter all of the sanctimonious hurrahs participated in during our fleeting days of vanity under the sun?

The sentence of heaven peals its clarion with no uncertainty: “Behold, You desire truth in the inner parts” [Ps.51:6]. It is there, in the secret chambers of the heart, that truth must be found, for “out of it flow the issues of life” [Prov.4:23]. Seemingly spiritual exploits are no substitute for barrenness of soul. Christ must be formed within.

This was the consuming objective of Paul’s burning selfless passion: “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” [Col.1:28, 29].

Every man complete in Christ; all else fades into irrelevancy in light of this one necessary thing. Brethren, it is for this that we labor and strive and I will be the first to evaluate the outcome of my efforts: We are unprofitable servants.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; stuck down, but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” [2 Cor.4:7-11].

And it is thus that we solicit your prayers.

I returned to Sierra Leone from three weeks in Nigeria on the 14th of this month. There I taught the Scriptures on 38 occasions in addition to numerous times of private discussion and counsel. Brother Titus accompanied me on the trip.

After making ample provision for his family in Nigeria , Titus had joined us in Sierra Leone for five months of discipleship. During that time he completed the 150 sessions of The Discipleship Experience, studied through Are We Like Christ? and read through the entire Bible, as well as bringing questions for daily discussion and visiting people in Regent village where we live.

Titus is now back in Nigeria with his family, where he is presently discipling Timothy, Adeosun, Kunle, Samson, and others. He is doing the final editing work on a Yoruba translation of The Discipleship Experience. He has also teamed up with brother Yinnkah to train 12 other disciples in Ibadan .

In some respects, Titus’ history parallels that of Moses’ early days. Acts 7:22 describes Moses at age 40 as being “mighty in words and deeds.” At age 80, Moses himself confessed, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant” [Ex.4:10]. God can use such a man who is emptied of self.

At age 58, Titus confesses that he has no ability and knows nothing. God is using such a man. I’m sure he would be encouraged to hear from any of you, and I know that you will be encouraged to hear from him directly. His e-mail address is: toadisciple@yahoo.com.

Brother Yinnkah is a burning and shining light there in his home town of Ibadan , Nigeria at age 29. He has been teaching up to 30 brethren at a time from The Discipleship Experience since July. His intention is to join us here in Sierra Leone beginning the first of January for an intensive three-month discipleship. He will be staying in Titus’ former room at our house.

Brother Solomon in Benue state, Nigeria , continues in the consistent godly and loving service that has characterized him for many years. He is raising up his own disciples as well as preaching and teaching in several villages in his vicinity.

Dr. George and brother Jairus are influencing some 35 brethren in Otukpo, Benue state, through their teaching efforts and weekly fellowship for the breaking of bread. Just a short while before I arrived, they had gone to a staunch Roman Catholic village to preach the gospel among the unreceptive and somewhat hostile residents.  

The Lord blessed their efforts despite the opposition, and several people were saved, among whom was brother Ignatius, a 70-plus year old man with snow white hair. He testified that this is the message he had been longing to hear throughout his entire lifetime, but had never heard it up until the day that these brethren came to preach. A church fellowship is now established in that village.

The brethren in Enugu state have been growing in grace, knowledge, and numbers; up to about 75 now in fellowship. We had a blessed time among them. though they complained that the eight hours of teaching was too brief.

I was able to visit Papa Steve once again during our stay with them. Some of you may recall that he was the now 90-plus year old head of the village, and the leading juju man [witchdoctor] among them, who was wondrously converted through my coming to preach to him some five years ago. Who can describe the radiant joy coursing through his whole being when we embraced in his mud-block room? May the Lord bless him indeed.

Pawlos is a dear Ethiopian brother whom we met several years ago in Nigeria . He had been cast out of his home in Ethiopia since he chose not to worship the Virgin Mary and bow before and pray to the ark of the covenant in the Coptic church of his family. He became converted to Christ after becoming deaf at age 17, and it was then that he was disowned.

He managed to come to Nigeria , where he studied at a Bible school operated by the former Sudan Interior Mission. We met him at the Christian Mission for the Deaf in Ibadan .

He is a sincere, intelligent, and devoted servant of the Lord Jesus. He is planning to join us in our home here in Sierra Leone in order to conduct gospel work among the deaf here, who are woefully neglected and abused. As soon as his immigration papers are in order, he plans to come. Do pray that the Lord will make all things possible for this to occur.

Brother Quintin has a sincere burden to reach the Provinces here in Sierra Leone . Fifty percent of the population lives in poverty, ignorance, and wretchedness – no roads, electricity, stores, clinics, schools, water systems, medicine, communication, or transportation.

His desire is to build a mud block house there among them in order to preach the gospel, teach the word of God and literacy, and raise up disciples to reach these areas with the gospel, the majority of which have not even one church. He is in the process now of getting ready to plant some varieties of fruits and cassava on several acres that he was able to purchase for $65, in order to contribute to his sustenance while he carries on the gospel work.

If any of you wish to know more about his endeavors, he would be glad to correspond with you. His address is: qbsgem2000@yahoo.com.

Peters is reaching out to many through his biblical writings, which he posts bi-monthly on the internet. He has contacted many here in Sierra Leone , Nigeria , other African nations, and has at least two brethren in the USA who have obtained his permission to post his teachings and exhortations on their websites and in their newsletters.

This area of writing is how he believes that the Lord will use him to reach others that he can disciple for the work of missions. He would be happy to send you his one-page write-ups on a variety of relevant and helpful topics. His address is: hardey_piethars@yahoo.co.uk. [There is an underscore after hardey].

Time would fail me to include more at the present. But these are some of the things that the Lord is doing in the hearts with whom we have the privilege to serve. May the Lord cause them all to abound yet more and more in true grace and all discernment.

Love,

Steve and Patricia Phillips

oyinbosteve@yahoo.com

www.phillipsmissionforum.org

The Gospel for West Africa