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.