48 HOURS AND COUNTING...

In a little less than two days a team of nine from Wooster Grace Brethren will be out of this winter wonderland and into heat and humidity of the Central African Republic! And just to clarify: No, we are not going on a vacation to lift our spirits out of Ohio winter blues. We are going into the heart of Africa to partner with and minister to people God made in His own image and loves just as much as He loves any of us. Grace Brethren churches have been present in Africa planting seeds of the gospel and starting churches for decades. What is exciting and new about this mission trip is that we are now also addressing physical needs as another way of sharing the Gospel.


Although there is bandit activity across much of the Central African Republic, there are still many other things that a team can do at this time of year. We will be helping with some projects around the capital city of Bangui through an organization known as Integrated Community Development International, ICDI. The founder of this organization is a fellow Grace Brethren by the name of Jim Hocking. One of the projects will be to help Dr. Y & his wife in their AIDS clinic in Bangui. There are a couple of rooms in the clinic that need to be renovated to better suit the needs of the patients. Our team will have the privilege of helping with rennovations and also interacting with the AIDS patients there. Please pray for our actions to display the love of Christ to these people who are rejected by society. Also, we hope to be involved in some service projects and show the “Jesus” film in some Pygmy villages outside of Bangui. Please be praying for effectiveness for the team in sowing seeds of the Gospel in the lives of Dr. & Mrs. Y, the AIDS patients, & the Pygmy villagers while we are there. Team members include Rob Miller, Tim, Jeana, Valerie & Zac Harley, Barb Teach, Laura Gibson, Tom and J.P. Peters. Tom and J.P. will stay on until Mar. 11 to do some research of other villages that would qualify for a partnership with someone in the U.S.