Read RAD's Heart

On the plane, that’s where you will find the Africa team today. First stop, New York’s JFK for about a four hour lay over and then it’s off to Paris! Once in Paris, sometime tomorrow morning, the team will be meeting up with Rob and Nicole Plaster, our missionaries there, who recently visited our church and spoke at Four-14, and will be spending our twelve-hour layover seeing the sites of Paris. We are hoping to be able to encourage the Plasters in the work that God has called them to.

Thanks in advance for your prayers for our team and the success of this, our first church partnership effort with the village of Pama.

On a more personal note, I wanted to share my heart about some news that I received this morning. While we were at the church loading up the luggage trunks I received a phone call that a homeless man that I had recently had a chance to minister to and with was killed this morning in a motorcycle accident. The man’s name is Billy Walker and if you haven’t heard his story, it’s a powerful one. Billy was living on the streets of New York for the last years and when the Lord led four14 to the city earlier this month, our paths crossed and my heart for this Vietnam Vet was born.

Long story short, we ended up bringing Billy back to Ohio with us from New York, in an effort to help him reconnect with his family out in Arizona. To my knowledge Billy was not a believer; however, in the long ride back to Ohio and the night he spent at my house, afforded me the opportunity to share with him about Christ and the hope He offers for those who have lost all hope. We spoke openly and I don’t know at this juncture if Billy knew Christ for sure or not, but he did call me just two days ago to let me know how much he had appreciated our ministry in his life and that he would be praying for me, as he knew I was leaving out for Africa today.

HOW can you pray? Simply put, that Billy would have a burial that is honoring for one of God’s children, something homeless people are unaccustomed to, and that our church would continue to be a church that values the lives of people regardless of their station in life. Pray that we will spare no effort to bring everyone to the knowledge of Jesus.

If you wouldn’t mind, I as well am feeling a bit on the broken hearted side with the loss of this man and yet leading out the four14 Africa team is where the Lord would have me be. Thanks again for taking the time to read our blog and for caring enough to tie your hearts to ours as we serve the world that God so dearly loves.

Until I wake up tomorrow in Paris,

RAD

We are not ignorant of his schemes...

"The Team" -- looking good at the beginning of their trip

This morning at about 10:30, we surrounded our Four-14 Africa Team and prayed for them before they started their trip. We took a break from our staff meeting to do this because we know how important prayer is for the success of this endeavor.

"Saying good-byes"
No sooner had we finished praying the enemy of our souls was up to his old tricks. Pastor RAD came into the room where we were meeting to inform us that he had just received a phone call saying that his "homeless friend," Billy, had died in a motorcycle accident.

Our jaws dropped almost in unison as we heard the news. To understand the impact of this you simply need to know that while in a recent mission trip to New York City, God really moved

RAD's heart and broke him to the point that he gave a homeless guy a ride on the church bus,

housed him in his house, bought him new clothes, and fed him before this man, Billy, went on to his next destination. No one realized that this would be the last time RAD would see Billy alive.

We could not believe the time of this news that dropped on us, and especially on RAD, like those metal balls that are used in huge demolition jobs. We were astounded at the attempt of the enemy to sap the energy out of this team even before they stepped onto the plane that would carry them on the first leg of their journey.

Jana, checking last minute details -- got prayer??

So we ask you to pray that God will protect RAD and the rest of the team against discouragement. Pray that the enemy will not succeed in his efforts to frustrate what God has in store for this team in the CAR.

Praise God that Billy experienced outrageous love that is only possible through Christ. I pray that all of us will have the courage to follow RAD's example in reaching out to "the least of these."

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade

It's time to pray for our CAR team

Team (from left): Chad Kohler, Natalie Kohler, Matt Carter, Sarah Carter, Jillian Moomaw, Pastor RAD, Sonia Spires, Jim Roe, Sue Peters, Jana Slater, Dave Slater, Pastor Tom Peters)

Picture in your mind a village of 4,000 people with no hospital, no adequate school facility, no sanitation, no t.v., no Internet connection. Now imagine hundreds of little kids running through the dusty roads, coughing, sneezing, their skins covered with sores, their bellies bloated from malnutrition, their hair turning orange, many of their Moms and Dads gone from AIDS.

Welcome to PAMA, Central Africa Republic, where our young adult team will be serving from July 31-August 17.

The reason this trip is so important is that it will be the first team we are sending to the actual village our church is partnering with in this three year partnership that we started this year. Our goal is to be Christ's light in the midst of a place covered to despair as thick as the red dust that sticks to your body in that part of the world. We go as servants of the Risen Lord to bring the hope of Christ into the lives of "the least of these."

Would you pray for our team?

That God will protect them and give them complete unity as a team;
That they will not hesitate to serve the people of the village of PAMA and go out of their way to bless them;
That the weather will cooperate so they can finish the school building in the village;
That God will change their lives in a radical way for the Kingdom and that it will reverberate throughout our whole church;
That relationships will be built that will result in people coming to Christ.

Over the next several weeks, I will be posting entries in this blog. I hope you will check in daily, but please, don't be disappointed if you don't find something new every time. Remember the description of the village above. I can only put in what the team sends me and they are relying on a satellite phone, and will be very busy. They have, however, been warned, to send those stories daily, or else... Smile!

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade