
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.
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