Prayer Meeting

 As I continue to share stories of the amazing things that happened during the summer project I want to fast forward to the events that took place yesterday, July 26, 2012.  With the help of the summer project, during the month of June, we were able to share the Gospel with over 450 students.  Of those students that we shared with over 150 of them gave us their contact information.  Many of the Campus pour Christ Ivorian students and myself, spent the weeks following the Americans departure, calling all those contacts to invite them to the National Office July 26 for our weekly prayer and worship meeting. 

Throughout the meeting Thursday, the 26th, students would arrive joining us in prayer and song.  For the first hour and a half there were only 8 students but eventually the rest arrived.  By the beginning of the part that was dedicated to the students alone, we had 40 people and 23 of those were new students.  The students were from 4 different high schools/private Universities.  

We spent the time welcoming everyone, hearing where they were from, singing, a few testimonies of those already involved in the ministry and then challenging them to get involved with Campus pour Christ, joining us to win their nation for Christ.  It was a very exciting time.  Afterwards we had some croissants and cokes followed by multiple games of soccer.  We had so many people we had to split up into 3 teams since our field is not the largest.  The students seemed to have a great time.  Pray that they would continue to get involved with Campus pour Christ that their lives would continue to be changed.  Pray that God would use Campus pour Christ to help them read and understand God's word, pray diligently and love Jesus more.

Singo is a student that just got involved but is very committed and a dynamic/passionate leader.

Keenan was warming up the Soccer ball for us.

Keenan and Elliot met a new friend at the meeting.

Bryn took this picture of the whole group.

Let the games begin!

It was 0-0 after the first game so there was a shoot out as to who would continue.

Even with these little goals they use goal keepers.  

Impacting Students in Four Areas

Touching the lives of students in four different areas, that is our hope.  We truly do want to impact students intellectually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  As I said in a previous post, during the summer project we saw God open great doors.  Lycée Classique was one of those places.  Mr. NGoran excitedly invited us into his classrooms to teach.  The first day we split up into groups and were able to take students through how they could know God personally.  The second day we were on campus Mr. NGoran wanted to try a different way.  He thought that it would be good if one of the American students could share what the educational system is like in the US.  One of the American students stepped up to the task and spent the next 30 minutes explaining our system of learning. After that we asked Michael to share with the students the 4 Spiritual Laws.  He was a little intimidated at first, even after giving the seminar at LKM on becoming a successful student, as he knew the seriousness of the Gospel.  Even still he stepped up to the task.  He did a great job sharing!  

At the 4th point we split up into small groups to make sure that the students fully understood what was communicated up front.  I had the privilege of going around to the different groups to help with the language barrier and clarify anything that was misunderstood.  I was greatly encouraged by the students pressing forward to communicate the truths of Jesus.  A few students accepted Christ that day and many students shared with us that they would be interested in going through follow ups with us so we set a time to take the same class through follow up a few days later.  In the days following part of our group was able to return to Lycée Classique and take the whole class through the first Bible Study/Follow up lesson.  It was great hearing stories from the Americans about the relationships that they were building with the students at Lycée Classique.  

That week we also challenged one of the classes to a soccer match.  On Wednesday some of Mr. NGoran's students got out of class early.  They got dressed quickly and headed out to the soccer field, where we waited.  Our team consisted of all the Summer Project students and those Ivorian students already involved in the Campus pour Christ ministry versus the Lycée Classique students.  We scored immediately and were up the whole game till the last 5 minutes or so.  We ended with a tie.  Everyone had a ton of fun.  It was what happened directly after that game that was key to that time.  Our STINT team had met a student named Emmanuel a few months earlier.  Emmanuel is a Christian and very interested in spiritual things.  Upon meeting him his mom wanted us to come over for lunch at his house.  Since that time I lost his number and was unable to get ahold of him.  He saw us playing soccer on the field and searched me out right after.  We were both excited to see each other again.  He immediately gave me his number and then the following Thursday showed up at our weekly Prayer and Worship meeting.  I was reminded that even playing soccer with the students can play a huge part in connecting with students and helping them in their relationship with God.

Craig Hauquitz

Seminar Time at LKM

LKM is another school that we were blessed to enter into with the Summer Project.  Kouadio, our national Campus director had been working with the school a few weeks leading up to the Summer Project's arrival and had set up an opportunity for us to go into the classrooms.  Upon stepping onto the campus we are ushered around to meet the different staff at the school and then finally into a room with bottles of water.  One of the important part of greetings here in Côte d'Ivoire is the offering of water to a guest.  They offer water to everyone in the room followed by an asking of "the news".  If it is really formal the youngest person in the group is supposed to ask the elder or the leader of the group 3 sets of news (including: How you are doing? How your family is?  Finally, you are to give the reason why you are there).  In this situation they knew why we were there it was just a time of meet and greet, quench our thirsts and then up to the first classroom.  

I have learned while being in Côte d'Ivoire that I need to always have a talk for classrooms on me in case I get the opportunity to give a little seminar.  It was just before stepping in this room that I was asked by Kouadio to give a talk and thankfully because of this lesson I learned previously I had a talk on 10 ways to become a successful student (a talk I heard from Dave Dishman) saved in my phone.  I started by introducing who I was to the classroom and then quickly went through the 10 points.  Afterwards they had many questions that were fun to answer.  One of the questions seemed to be divinely placed and lead right into the opportunity for us to break up into groups to share with them how they can have a personal relationship with God.  I can't remember the exact question but it was along the lines of why prayer and meditation could calm them and thus enable them to do better in their studies and how could they implement this in their lives.  At this time the American students went to different parts of the room and started sharing with students the truth of Jesus Christ.

Something incredible was happening at the same time I was giving my talk.  Another class had come up to Kouadio and asked if we could have someone go in their class right away to give the same seminar on becoming a successful student.  Kouadio asked Michael, one of the SP Students, if he felt like he could quickly take notes and give the talk as well.  Courageously he agreed!  Right after my last point, before Q and A, he headed to the other classroom and began giving the same talk.  After I split the students, in the class I was in, into groups I went looking for Kouadio and was amazed and encouraged by the step of faith that Michael had taken.  I grabbed a couple more students and after Michael had finished we were also in groups sharing with students the Gospel message.  It was a little overwhelming as I had a group of 14 students that I was sharing with.  However it wasn't my group that I was the most excited about but Stéphane's group.  Stéphane is a student that came to Christ through the last Summer Project that took place here in Côte d'Ivoire 2 years ago.  I had the privilege to lead him to Christ and as I saw him sharing the same message I shared with him 2 years ago with students that day I was so thrilled.  Afterwards he was glowing.  He said that it was the first time that he was truly overjoyed to share the message of Christ.  

Open Door at Lycée Classique

Pierre N'Goran (English teacher at Lycée Classique) talking
with Kouadio Jean Bernard (National Campus Director of
                         Campus pour Christ)

Since Cocody University closed down temporarily due to the war, we have had to search out other high schools and Private Universities to be able to reach the next generation of leaders for Christ.  Our desire is to reach the students of today for Christ so that we might change the face of Africa for Christ tomorrow.  Lycée Classique is an idea school to do that being one of the more prestigious high schools in Côte d'Ivoire.  Long before the Summer Project arrived, back in November, our team set out to talk with the administration at Lycée Classique that we might open a door to be able to speak with students about Christ.  We explained to them that our goal is to help students to excel in school through four different domains: Intellectually, Emotionally, Physically, and Spiritually.  The fact that we are native English speakers gives us a great platform.  Many students long to excel in English.  Sadly that day the Principal of the school was traveling and not there.

First day that the summer project steps onto Lycée Classique.

We came back a second time but surprisingly it was not through the administration that the door to go on the Lycée Classique campus opened.  It was through running into Pierre N'Goran, an English teacher that our way on campus came about.  Pierre over heard us speaking English and asked if there was anyway that he could help us.  We explained our vision and he shared with us that he was a Christian and longed to impact his students for Christ.  He asked if we would be interested in coming to his class to help the students with English.  Over the next few months we were able to teach classes on a variety of subjects in English, even one on biology!

Russell sharing with students.

However it wasn't till the summer project arrived that the doors really opened.  We stepped on the Classique campus and Mr. N'Goran was so excited when he saw the group.  He knew that with this many English speakers his students would be in a much more intimate and personal setting to practice their English.  Before that however, he took us around to the different administrators.  After many formal greetings we headed to his classroom full of students.  Immediately he broke us up into groups and told to feel free to share our little booklets on how the students could know God personally.

Davy sharing one of the points of the 4 Spiritual Laws

The Americans jumped in right away getting to know the Ivorian students.  The Ivorians eagerly asked why the Americans were there, enabling the Americans to jump into the gospel without a hitch.  Each group was so engaged.  Conversations had to move slowly since the Americans didn't speak french and the the Ivorians English not yet perfected.  None the less, away they went sharing the great truths of the Gospel.

Ivorian students asking Josh a question about the booklet

Pierre was so excited at what was taking place.  He came up to me and said "Isn't this great!  Look at how interested all the students are!  I promised them that I would do a class on religion and now we are doing it together."  That day was the beginning of many incredible times that we got to share with students about how they could know God personally and experience the richness of life found in him.  It was yet another reminder of the openness to the Gospel here in Côte d'Ivoire and the need for workers to be laboring alongside us.

We All Would!

From the moment the day started I knew that it was going to look a little different.  An average day during the Summer Project included getting up early for some time in the Word, eating breakfast, getting Keenan to school by 7:30AM, bringing Elliot back to the house (he loves taking Keenan to school) and then off to the Guest House to pick up the students to go to campus.  This day, however, was a rainy day and over a week into the project.  It's about a week in of sharing the gospel everyday that the newness of being on campus and sharing begins to wear off for students.  To have a little heart check I encouraged the group to share where their heart was and enjoy some praise and worship songs together.  It went incredibly well.  I loved the honesty as students shared how they felt.  The whole group seemed to be refreshed with vision and passion to go to campus.  

When deciding which campuses the different groups should go to it was quite easy because of the time.  It was almost lunch time and the students were excited at the thought of having another egg sandwich from a vendor next to one of the schools.  We decided that from there we would split into two groups to go to the two closest schools.  I thought that while they waited for their sandwiches I would meander through the campus we were right next to and see if any opportunities lay ahead of us.  I ended up going into a classroom where the professor didn't show up.  I asked them if any in the classroom would be interested in doing a little Bible study and they responded "We all would!"  I responded by questioning them if they wanted to go elsewhere in case some in the class weren't interested but they insisted that I stay there and that everyone wanted to hear what we wanted to share.

Over the next hour and a half we had a very lively and exciting Bible Study.  Josh, one of the Summer Project students, ended up following me into the class along with Stéphane an Ivorian student, who lived with us this summer in order to be involved in every detail of the summer project (I will share more about Stéphane in another post).  We bounced back and forth from English to French to English.  The students were asking great questions.  Josh, Stéphane and I were so pumped.  We all took turns jumping in to explain stuff.  A few times Stéphane forgot to translate something so I would do it for him.  Finally he told me, I am so engaged in the conversation and learning so much that sometimes I forget that I have to translate.  It was such a joyful time.  Each of us were all in as God was revealing his Word more and more through all three of us.  I am so thankful that that was just one of many incredible moments that we got to experience this summer here in Côte d'Ivoire.

Shane Oram - RCI STInter

War, poverty, and corruption; not pretty things. However, this is the world in which we live, though it is often hidden on the other side of a television screen. It isn't fun, it isn't pleasant, but it's reality. And this is where a majority of the world calls home and a place where the rest of the world tries to avoid. Fortunately, my heart and God would not let me avoid it. God has proven that His is breaking for the people of Ivory Coast and it is exciting to be in the midst of His work. 

Back in Kansas, I was finishing up my final year at Kansas State University but facing the question of how to use my soon-to-be Anthropology degree. A plethora of pursuits were at my door step, but Cote d'Ivoire was the strong forerunner. Campus Crusade for Christ was assembling a team to go. This country had just been through civil war, crime and devastion, pain and hardship. And on top of that, the public university of sixty thousand students was closed, a rather bleak outlook for campus ministry. 

But God was at greater work than my human knowledge could perceive. The doors were opened for me, we got the green light, and voila, I found myself in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Though many lessons have already been taught to us in our time here, the theme of complete dependence on God has remained constant. We must daily rely on His Spirit to open our hearts, eyes, and ears to follow after His presence. Students are scattered throughout the city, security is always on high alert, and we are constantly struggling through cultural and language barriers. Yet there is no other place in the world I could imagine living. Even in the face of a harsh reality, I am continually blown away by the Ivorians love and generosity, always willing to give and serve with nothing but absolute joy. It's obvious God's presence is resting herein the wake of such disaster.

Matt Strautmann - Stinter - I Believe That God Created us for Relationships

I can't claim to feel this all the time, but I love our STINT job.  Our job is to build spiritual movements among college students in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. These spiritual movements are not buildings or meetings, they are created by individual people that God has allowed us to live life with and together learn more about Him. Our team believes God has placed us here in Cote d'Ivoire this year to communicate positively with the community. Since we believe God created us for relationships, we are spending our days "available to, and involved with, the local people, learning from them and highly esteeming what the people know" (Language Learning is…Ministry, E. Brewster). We are learning and serving and sharing among the students.  

I want to give an example of how we have seen this work in our relationships with students. One of the students we are working with lives across town. He lives with his parents as the university dorms are not open. He invited us into his house for fellowship and a meal. We were able to spend the morning and afternoon with him--sharing stories, encouraging him, and challenging him. He shared with us his dream that the various churches in the city would work in harmony to reach this city and many would be sent out to other nations to share the gospel. He also revealed to us that he struggled to be intentional with his friends in sharing the gospel and living set-apart. This situation was made more difficult because he felt like he couldn't associate with many Christians because he was struggling in an area and had not experienced any grace in communicating with them. Through this interaction, we were able to encourage him to draw closer to God--showing him the grace God constantly extends to him and the truth of how the Bible instructs followers of Christ to live.

This represents our dream for the next couple months. We are praying that God would give us daily opportunities to be with students and pour into their lives. We are praying for a community of believers who boldly use each conversation to point to the gospel as it applies to their lives and those around them. We are praying that our STINT presence and activities are good news to these believers.  

His Love

God loves Côte d'Ivoire, Africa!  He loves the people!  He loves them into relationship with himself.  Thankfully this love is not based on anything they do, how popular they are or whether developed nations love them.  His love is real and his love is continuous.  I know this thought seems simple but it truly is profound.

I've been reading "Communion with God" by John Owen and he says "A man may love another as his own soul, yet perhaps with all that he love he can do nothing to help his friend.  He may pity someone in prison, but he helpless to bring him any comfort.  We may suffer with someone in trouble and yet be unable to help.  We cannot love grace into a child, nor mercy into a friend.  We cannot love anyone into heaven, though we may greatly desire to do so.  But the love of Christ, being the love of God is infallibly effectual.  It produces all the good things Christ desires to produce in his people.  christ loves life, grace and holiness into us.  He loves us also into a covenant of love with himself.  Christ loves us into heaven.  Love in Christ is his will to do good to the one he loves.  Whatever good Christ by his love wills to do to anyone is infallibly done to that person."

Christ loves the Ivorians!  He loves them enough to send 3 single guys and a family from the US to minister to college students.  Oh how I delight in the reality that he desires us to take the gospel to them.  I love being part of his plan.  Yet God's love does not stop there.  In and of ourselves we can do nothing.  As much as we want a student to come to faith, we cannot love that person to Christ.  We can show them Christ, we can love them in Christ like ways but we cannot save them.  Yet Christ can!  He loves people into a relationship with himself.  Our ministry is not "How I hope this works!"  Our ministry flows from a sovereign God who we know will move.  It may not look like we would like it to and it may be slower than we like but God will move!  His love for the people is infinitely greater than our love.

Owen says again that "Our love is like ourselves...We love someone one day and hate him the next.  But Jesus Christ is the same 'yesterday, today and forever' (Heb. 13:8; 1:10-12).  His love will not end.  What great joy to minister under this truth.

Craig Hauquitz

John Howland - Stinter - Life in Ministry

A lot has happened in the past 6 weeks as far as the ministry in Cote d’Ivoire goes. It seems that once again, God has pushed the reset button on how we were used to getting things done and given us a totally new way of doing things. Given that the Hauquitz’s have been gone for the past 5 weeks, Matt, Shane, and myself have been given a lot more responsibilities within the current ministry here, which still mainly consists of walking through any and all open doors God has provided us with. Although, even when some of those doors close for us, I cannot imagine a better way for the three of us to learn how to do ministry work. For me personally, it has been a great time of growth in realizing what I’m here for and how I can carry that out each day.

After attending the 60^th year anniversary of Cru Celebration Conference in the country of Togo from December 12 – 16, I came back to Cote d’Ivoire with a new perspective. God had provided me with a lot of insight into where he desired my heart to be, and I am happy to say that since then, my relationship with God has been deepening much more, and through that I am truly able to pursue deeper, more loving relationships with the students here. The rest of the month of December was mainly a time of personal growth for myself, as I was sick for most of it. God however, proved once again how faithful He is to me through my troubles.

Now, our ministry is much more focused on living life with the students, basically by coming along side them with whatever they are focusing their life on. We have been doing these things by sharing classes along side them, helping them with school-work, or even simply visiting their homes and talking about life with them. Most importantly though, we have been showing them love by becoming true learners of their culture, and putting ourselves in positions of vulnerability so that we may be taught what life for them means. I have no doubt that God is present in each one of these interactions, and by being intentional with the gospel while we are with them, God will use every connection for His kingdom and glory.

All this being said, it is exciting to see how God will use our time at local high-schools, university Bible studies, and seminary English classes to truly change lives because of His good news. As we continue stepping out in faith every day, not very often sure where the day will lead us, we will rest in full confidence of what God is doing and that He is using us.