Dear Prayer Warriors,

~Our leadership training trip with Matt Fleck, Steve Meador and Pastor David Gray to the towns of Bouake (boo-walk-aye), Gagnoa (gahn-you-ah) and San Pedro was excellent!

~We praise God that rebel disturbances happened after we left the rebel region. (See below)

~Kari and Victoria have arrived in Mali--althought their luggage didn't!

~Pray that God would use the teachings taught to dynamically affect the lives of the pastors, deacons, pastors' wives and women's leaders.

~Pray that God would restore peace to the rebel zone here in Cote d'Ivoire.

Matt and his team arrived in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, Monday night, June 9. Pastor David, though, didn't see his luggage until we were three days into our trip! Already the next morning after their arrival we were on our way to Bouake (arriving late afternoon) where the men taught leadership and peace making starting that night. Our session lasted all day Wednesday, Wednesday night, and Thursday morning. We then left Thursday afternoon for Gagnoa and started teaching that evening! And the schedule continued as such until we returned to Abidjan the following Monday evening. Intense! (The team left on Tuesday, June 17)

The pastors were moved to repentence and living their lives of leadership differently before Christ. I studied with the women Bible stories dealing with different aspects of forgiveness and discovered that most of the women, although claiming to have given their lives wholeheartedly to Christ, still believed that if they sinned and died they would still pay for that sin for eternity in hell. We diligently acted out and thoroughally discussed the stories, scriptures and applications so they would understand what they were "saved" through Christ from! What "justification", "redemption", and "forgiveness" mean. We also followed through with the havoc that sin causes in the life of a Christian. After looking together at many scriptures concerning what God calls sin the women freely admitted that many of these things they'd overlooked, or due to their culture, didn't regard as sin. May freedom and a greater zeal for evangelism be imprinted in their lives now that they know the fullness of salvation from the punishment of their sin!

The men in Bouake reconciled their differences and understood better how to deal with the tenuous life situation they are presently in (in rebel territory). In each place the men didn't want their teachers to leave. Each was greatly motivated to a deeper commitment to Christ.

We praise God for your prayers!

While still on tour with Matt, Steve and David (great men of God and excellent teachers), but having already left Bouake, which was the only town in the rebel zone we visited, we heard that the rebels had blocked all the roads in Bouake and were shooting into the air in anger that they'd not been paid.

In the peace process between the rebels and government, the government has intergrated the rebels into the army. We were quite impressed with the peace and freedom with which we moved while up in Bouake this time. More people had been coming back into the town from where they were scattered and we were greatly encouraged about the state of affairs. But we didn't know about the money.

Since the government had promised to pay their salaries and hadn't for three months, the rebels in Boauke, which is the center of the rebel activity for Cote d'Ivoire, took to the streets. Two days after the first manifestation the rebels again shut down the streets, shot in the air and this time started taking people's vehicules (which they later returned). One person was killed in the market. Two rebels were attacked by an angry crowd and killed. Just yesterday Jeff talked to one of our contacts in Boauke who said that now 5 people have died.

It is amazing how quickly things can change from peace and calm to disaster.

All of this information is available through public news and internet sources.

We praise God we were not caught in the middle of this situation, but are very concerned for our precious brothers and sisters in Christ who live in Boauke.

Yesterday, Friday June 20, Jeff and I were to travel back into the rebel area to teach the same seminars in two different villages with our churches and leaders. In Dananae (don-ah-nay) the pastor had invited all the Baptist churches from the entire area to come for the conference--but after much consulation with pastors here, our mission and with contacts within the UN posted in Bouake, we were advised not to do any further travel at this time into the rebel zone. We were disappointed to have to abandon our people, but felt the peace of God to cancel our trip. A more local Baptist leader agreed to go to Dananae to lead sessions with the people that gathered. Out in the bush it is impossible to actually contact folks to cancel an event! Please do pray for this conference as it is continuing through Sunday (tomorrow).

We'll give you more updates and stories on everything in the days to come!

We praise God for you!

Laboring where the laborers are few,

Barbara and Jeff