Working for Peanuts

Two months ago, I wrote about how we have been praying for God to show us how to move forward with the work here in Guinea. As I worked in my peanut garden one day, the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart that we should take care of our little flock just as I was taking care of my peanut plants. Whenever we ask God for direction, He is always faithful to show us the way as He promises in Matthew 7:7.

It’s hard to believe, but in my rocky little garden I planted three kilos of peanuts, and I recently harvested 20 kilos. I am more than convinced that this is how He wants us to work with our little flock.

With this goal in mind, we have three main programs taking place in our church. The first is called Know your Bible, taking our flock through the Bible chronologically. We encourage them to read a book of the Bible in preparation for a question-and-answer game on Sabbath afternoons. We have gone through the first two books of the Bible so far, and everyone is enjoying it.

The second program is called Visit your Neighbor—people in the hospital, people with special needs and people in prison. It is meant to involve our little flock in evangelism. Every other Sabbath, we divide the group into two. One group goes to the hospital, and the other group visits the prison. They are also encouraged to make friends for Jesus the rest of the week.

The third program is called The good Shepherd. This program doesn’t involve our little flock, but it is meant for them. The oldest elder, one of our first baptized members, and I are working together in this. We visit two church families every Tuesday and Thursday. During our visits, we look at the promises of God in the Bible and talk about how faithful He is with His promises. We encourage each family member to claim a Bible promise.

I chose to claim the promise in Matthew 28:18-20: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” All power in heaven and on earth was given to our Lord for us to freely use. That is why He said in verse 20 that He will be with us always, so we can access His power as we work closely with Him.

Even though you may not be working in the mission field, you can still claim His power:
Power to organize and manage the affairs of our Lord.
Power to give so missionaries can be sent.
Power to pray for missionaries on the front line.
Power to encourage missionaries in the field.

Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Without our Lord, we cannot do anything. You may not have had my peanut-garden experience, and you may not feel called to teach or give Bible studies, but your prayers, your donations and your words of encouragement to missionaries on the front line and in the home office are a few ways you can channel Christ’s power to save souls. Please continue to use your God-given powers for the work here in Guinea so we can have a harvest far greater than my peanut garden.

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