Thank You!!!!!!

We want to thank our supporters for all that you do. We want to thank our prayer partners for your faithful prayers for us and our ministry. Below is thanks coming to you from 4 of our African friends that you are helping to sustain.

Pulcheire from the orphanage in Benin wrote to say:
Greetings from Benin. How are you?
We received the 1.100.56 USD sent for the orphanage.
Thank you very much for that you are doing for orphanage.
Thank you for sending the support.
We hereby thank all the donors may Lord bless them all.
WE LOVE YOU


Dieudonne from Abidjan, Ivory Coast wrote to say:
DEAR FRED
I am sending you greetings from Abidjan.
I really appreciate what you are doing.
I thank you very much for the money.
May the LORD continue to keep and protect you in the NAME of JESUS.
Extend my greetings to Mummy Debby.
I love you all. By Blessed.
(Note: You may remember, he was an interpreter for us in Abidjan at the Bible School and has had 2 strokes and can barely stand, use his arms or be understood when he talks – pray for his healing.)

Augustin in Benin wrote to say:
Hello Dad,

I was so excited to hear from you. I always give thanks to the Lord for having you as the right mentor I needed. I am proud of you and Mama. Thank you for all you have done for us, the church, Parakou and Benin.
(Note: We took him some equipment – like the new printer you see in the picture and we always preach at his church and do conferences with him.)

Albert and Aldous from the Video Bible School in Accra, Ghana wrote to say:
Albert - Pastor Fred - The first week of the Video Bible School has been very encouraging and inspiring. The attendance of majority of the students was excellent and they all took their home studies very seriously. Their understanding level has also not been bad at all. In a nut shell I will say week one of the VBS has been wonderful though there may be one or two minor lapses which we dealt with without any difficulty. The only unexpected problem we encountered was on friday with the TV. In the course of the afternoon session, the lights (power) was constantly going off and on and so in the process affected the TV. So we've taken it to the repairer and he working on it so we don’t yet know the cost but he promised it will be ready before Sunday.
THANK YOU.
(Note: The TV has been repaired and the school has continued.)
Aldous - Pastor Fred - I'm happy you're ok with the bible school so far and we're believing God that things will move on smoothly till we graduate. I'm also happy you're doing fine back there in the states. My regards to Debby and Mary Louis. Thank you and hope to hear from you. STAY BLESSED


So, Debby and I wanted to say a special, “Thank you.” We could not begin to do all we do with out you! Also we wanted you to be able to read some of the, “Thank you” emails that we receive, that really are for you.

What does VBS Mean to You?

VBS to many American churches means Vacation Bible School = a 1 or 2 week church event in the summer for teaching the Bible to children. But for us VBS means Video Bible School = recorded teaching for use in other countries. Not every Christian Worker in the world has the possibility of attending a real, live, Bible School. It is reported that less than 10% of the estimated 2 million church leaders in the developing nations have had any formal ministry training! The workers need training. VBS is, “the Bible School that comes to you.” Any church can have it’s own Bible School when it has these DVD’s. And we want to make these teachings available in the languages of tribal people that perhaps don’t read or write any major world language, like English or French, because they are the ones to take the gospel into the unreached villages.

The VBS at the church in Accra, Ghana was suppose to start a few years ago, but it just never got going. Pastor Geoff Bretches and I have been teaching there and wanted to see this Video Bible School get going. After I taught there the first of April, we dedicated the VBS. After I traveled on, they continued the school with the videos. At this point this school in Accra, Ghana has been going for a month, and we have received a good report of how they are doing.

Here is a picture of me teaching them how to print, copy and assemble the booklets that accompany the videos. I had to buy that printer there in Ghana for them and it is a used, refurbished notebook computer that my brother Bob Davis supplied for them. In many cases we supply computers and printers as well as DVD players to accompany the video discs.

Please pray for this VBS in Ghana and the others. We have just sent the 8th set of discs to Ivory Coast. We have placed 17 in Benin, 3 in Senegal, 2 in Togo, 3 in Mali and 1 in Burkina Faso. We have sent 1 to Nigeria, 1 to Central Africa Republic and 3 to Congo. Visit our website dedicated to the Video Bible School at http://spiritandwordvbs.com/ or go to our regular website http://www.davismission.com/ and click on the Spirit and Word Video Bible School button under our picture.

One of the Sundays we were in Accra, I (Fred) preached about forgiveness and reconciliation and I shared a story from my own life. At the end of the service I prayed for those who responded to the message. Tuesday after that, when I was teaching Bible School, Pastor Aldous, (he is the first person on the left in the above picture) who interprets English into Ga for the students who don’t hear American English very well, didn’t make it to class. He showed up as we ended the class - 3 ½ hours late. As I took him aside and began to speak to him, he shared why he was late. Early that morning his dad called him and his brother and asked them to come immediately to meet him. (Of course when a person suddenly calls all the children around, this usually means the person is about to die and you have to go right then.) Aldous went on to share with me that his father was not dying, but wanted to ask forgiveness and make reconciliation with his sons. This was an incredible miracle and an answer to the prayer I prayed for Aldous and the others on Sunday morning. Praise the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers and support for this tremendous ministry.

Nearly a Brawl

Debby and I had planed to spend the week of March 24-30 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, but once again it just didn’t happen. (Acts 16:6-7) Because of the adoption of the twins in Benin, we had to spend more time there. The judges were on strike in Benin, but on March 25th we were finally able to meet with the judge.

Picture of a taxi in Ghana. Not all bush taxis are as well marked or in as good of condition as this one – but it’s an example of what a “bush” taxi looks like in Ghana. Most are old Peugeot 504 or 505 wagons in the francophone countries we work in.

On March 27th we made the trip from Cotonou, Benin to Accra, Ghana. As usual we used a “bush” taxi. This is a car and driver that takes you a distance – city to city. In this case it is Cotonou, Benin to Lome, Togo. Then you cross the border into Ghana and take a different bush taxi on to Accra. I have done this trip countless times with seldom any problem. (Last year we did have a taxi break down on a hot, nearly deserted road.) This year almost every time had some complications. This last time was no exception. My African pastors most times don’t like us traveling by ourselves because of things that can happen. The US embassy warns us to avoid large angry crowds. (I nearly got caught in one in Abidjan in 2000 and had to drive through some stuff to get out quick.)

This time Bill Chapel, Debby and I loaded our stuff and ourselves into the taxi and started off from Cotonou, Benin. Well after we left the driver had to get his friend and give him a ride to Ouidah – not something normal. He didn’t have to go into Ouidah, but just dropped the guy on the side of the road. The driver got back in and was about to start the car when a motorcycle carrying a women with her goods to sell, lost the smaller basket from the top of her head into the road along side our car. Her papayas were immediately smashed by the traffic and Debby turned to tell me what had happened just outside her window.

The Taxi driver said in French, “They hit us.” He got out to talk to the motorcycle driver and his friend grabbed the motorcycle driver and tried to start a fight. It appeared that at any moment fists would fly – but thank God, they didn’t. There was a lot of shouting and an angry crowd began to gather. We gave it a some time and then I stepped out of the car and tried to get the driver to leave it and take us on to Lome – it didn’t work. We waited in the car a while longer. Again I braved the crowd and stepped out into the fray and tried to settle the thing. We determined that the only person that had suffered real loss was the woman that lost her goods into the road. So I gave the driver money to give her – she only screamed and cried more. Someone said the driver himself needed to give something to her himself because his friend and him had really ruffed her up in the tussle with the motorcycle driver.

Back in the car and with no progress, Debby did what had helped in a number of our on the road “hold ups” over the last few weeks, she began to sing, “We’ve come this far by faith…” Now we had been praying and all – but this thing seems to work, so Bill and I joined in. The crowd started to settle down. We stopped singing and praying and it started up again. So we sang again. Finally the driver reached in the window, got some coins, gave them to the lady. Then he was able to get in the car and we headed down the road. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for us.

We stopped for a quick visit with the pastor in Lome that we call the “Bishop.” Then we went through the border checks into Ghana and got another bush taxi. About sunset we arrived at the Baptist Guesthouse in Accra, safe and sound. Then we had to follow my tradition – have a good supper – Popaye’s Chicken. This is not the Popeye’s Chicken you find in America – this is a Ghanaian chicken chain and it’s the best chicken anytime, anywhere. Maybe some day I can take you there.

We really want to Thank You So Much for praying for us!

The Twins

Here is a picture of “Uncle” Fred at the orphanage with the twin girls on his lap. Debby’s cousin, Becky and her husband, are trying to adopt them. Please be praying that this all works out and that it can be an avenue for other of the children to be adopted by loving families in the USA and Canada.

These 2 girls are twins – but not identical as you can see. The one on the left was born “Ella” and on the right is “Estella.” Ella is bigger and is the introvert that holds on to Pulcherie’s (the director of the orphanage) skirt all the time. Estella, on the other hand is the classical extrovert. You see the smile on her face and she loves to sing and be the center of attention.

Their mother was very sick and the father was not around when they were very small. Grandma (the mom’s mom) brought them to the orphanage shortly after it opened, because she couldn’t care for them. Their mother died shortly after that.

On Friday, March 28th they were 4 years old. Debby and I took them to a restaurant in Cotonou for their first Birthday Party. They ate with plates and silverware and drank from cups with straws. There was a play area with slides, things to ride on and the like. They were all smiles and giggles.

This is one of the little side / extra things that Debby and I are involved in with our teaching ministry in Africa. It is a joy to see these girls get adopted. It is a joy when you go to the orphanage and see the children with smiles and singing.

Thanks for sending us and supporting us.

Missing Second Testimony from Parakou Meetings

When you see the pictures in the blogs from Africa, you may notice that there are no pictures of me (Fred). That is because I am the one taking the pictures most time. Really, I was there… really. So, here is a picture of me at the meetings in Parakou at the church of Pastor Augustin that Debby took.

You may have noticed on the blog titled “Parakou Testimonies – March, 17-21” that only 1 of the 2 testimonies of Debby was there. Here is the other story.

After I (Debby) finished speaking on forgiveness, I saw a remarkable sight. From the far right I saw a young woman, in her mid twenties, come crawling across the room on her hands and knees. She crawled right up to an elderly woman and placed her head in the lap of the older lady. The pastor next to me started to cry. He asked me if I understood what was happening. I said no. I didn't know the significance of this act. He said let me tell you the story.

This was a mother and daughter and several years ago the daughter had run away leaving the family in disgrace. She was angry with her mother for some unknown reason and refused to speak to her. She had threatened to kill the mother by poisoning and other means. The mother, stricken with grief had, just the day before, come forward for prayer. She was forgiving her daughter and asking God to bring her home. It was the next day that I saw the young woman crawling on her hands and knees.

The whole church saw this as a miracle of God's mercy and grace. The young woman sobbed and sobbed, crying to her mom, "Please forgive me …please forgive me. I am so sorry."

The next day, the mother stood before the church and said, "I never dreamed God would do such a wonderful thing for me. I never dreamed, that the great God of the universe would come and do such a thing just for me."

Isn't God good?

Land in Parakou, Benin

This is an incredible miracle.

In February, we saw Pastor Augustin in Parakou for a few days on our trip from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, down to Cotonou, Benin. He told me (Fred) that an important man in the town, Mr. S., who has been a Christian a long time and has a large amount of land, had a dream around the first of the year. In the dream he was giving some of his land to the work of the Lord, if I remember the dream correctly.

Soon after that, on a Sunday in February, Bill Hoffman went up to Parakou with Augustin to preach in Augustin’s church. (This was on the weekend when we had the team in Cotonou.) At Mr. S.’s house Bill shared about our desire to build an orphanage and talked about the building plans he has been working on. Bill said that our desire was that the land could have enough space for the boys to have a soccer field and land to plant and grow food for the orphanage. This touched him and he said that he wanted to give a large amount of his land for us to do that in Parakou – 10 hectors. (1 Hector = 2.47105 Acres so that means more than 24.7 acres.)

Before we left Parakou on Good Friday morning, March 21st, we went to visit the land. This is the picture you see. Parakou is in the Northern, dry part of Benin. It is not all the way to the Sahara desert by a long shot, but it not in the South in the jungle area either. It is perhaps what we would call the beginning of the Sahel. Here is what impressed me about the land, it has water and is good, fertile land! This man is not just giving something useless to the Lord – he wants to give the best. He has Mango trees on his farm there as well as Cashew nut trees and Eucalyptus trees. It has 2 ponds – the smaller one is in the picture and in rainy season it has a nice flowing stream. The electric and phone lines are nearby. You can almost see the coconut palm trees in this picture. You do see Bill Chapel, Augustin and 2 of the man’s sons.

Debby and I have never been able to raise any money for buildings in Africa. This would mean the beginning of a whole new phase for our ministry here. Bill and Cathy Hoffman have a real heart for the orphans and Bill is a builder who loves missions work. We believe Bill is God’s man for this job! It will involve lots of money to build – but we believe that, “where God guides He provides.” After the orphanage is built we still will have space to build a residential Bible School and conference center. So, please pray about this with us. Mr. S. will be making out the title for the land for us in the very near future and then we will see what God will do.

Parakou Testimonies – March, 17-21

Bill Chapel and I (Fred) had a Prophetic Seminar, Tuesday – Thursday morning in Parakou Benin. Those that came loved it and said we needed to do again in a bigger place and all the churches needed to hear the teaching. This is the third time I have done the seminar and the other two places, Cotonou, Benin in March, 2007 and Lome, Togo, March 6-8, the people said the same thing.

The picture is of Debby praying for people at Augustin’s church.

Debby had 2 wonderful testimonies from the evening meetings she did in Parakou. She did a church revival at Augustin’s church, February 5-7, while I had a Christian Worker’s seminar in the morning. She did a second church revival there while Bill and I did the Prophetic seminar.

Tuesday (March 11th after we returned to Cotonou) Pastor Augustin came and told Debby one of the woman of his church had called with a wonderful testimony. When Debby was at the church in February she spoke on forgiveness. After the service Augustin asked her if she would pray for a woman who had been unable to have a baby. The young woman had come forward saying that she really wanted to get pregnant but had been unable for more than 5 years. After Debby prayed for her, they talked about problems she had with her husband. Debby told her she had to just forgive him. She said she would. She called Pastor Augustin to tell him that she was pregnant and was praising God. She had forgiven her husband and God had opened her womb. Praise the Lord!