Mission - AdventistMission.org - 2020 QUARTER 3 WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION

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Mission - AdventistMission.org - 2020 QUARTER 3 WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
Mission
                             YOUTH & ADULT

                 2020 •QUARTER 3 • WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION

                        AdventistMission.org

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Mission - AdventistMission.org - 2020 QUARTER 3 WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
Contents
                                                 O n the Cover: Angelique Abeme prayed for six years for her estranged husband, Peter, to know
                                                                God in Gabon. Then something incredible happened. Story, page 10.

                                                 LIBERIA                                           18 Fasting for a Family | Aug. 22
                                                    4 A School for Liberia | July 4                20 Crawling Like a Baby | Aug. 29
                                                    6 Reading Made Easy | July 11
                                                                                                   22 Odd Dreams and a Girl | Sept. 5
                                                    8 Long Road Back Home | July 18
                                                                                                   24 Illiterate but Able to Read | Sept. 12
                                                 GABON
                                                                                                   26 Murderous Mother | Sept. 19
                                                  10 Prayer Saves Marriage | July 25
                                                  12 Betting on Horses | Aug. 1                    28 Thirteenth Sabbath: Free at Last | Sept. 26
                                                  14 Sweet, Gentle Voice | Aug. 8                  30 Future Thirteenth Sabbath Projects

                                                 GUINEA                                            31 Leader’s Resources
                                                  16 Prayer and Persecution | Aug. 15              32 Map

                                                   = stories of special interest to teens

                                                                   Yo u r O f f e r i n g s a t W o r k
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                       Three years ago, the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped
                                                     build a Seventh-day Adventist high school in Gabon’s
                                                     capital, Libreville. The school, pictured under construction
                                                     in March 2019, was scheduled to open for 280 students
                                                     in October 2020. You can read stories from Gabon on                  © 2020 General Conference of
                                                                                                                    Seventh-day Adventists ® • All rights reserved
                                                     pages 10-15 and download the above photos and other                    12501 Old Columbia Pike,
                                                     Thirteenth Sabbath project photos at: bit.ly/WAD-2020.               Silver Spring, MD 20904-6601
                                                                                                                      1-800-648-5824 • AdventistMission.org

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Mission - AdventistMission.org - 2020 QUARTER 3 WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
D e a r S a b b a t h S c h o o l L e a d e r,             Andrew McChesney
                                                                             Editor

           This quarter we feature the West-Central       we traveled together to the three countries.
        Africa Division of Seventh-day Adventists,           He noted that 75 percent of the Adventist
        which is comprised of 22 countries: Benin,        schools in the division are located
        Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde,               in Ghana, where roughly half of the
        Central African Republic, Chad, Congo,            division’s 834,183 church members live.
        Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,             “The church is not strong in French-
        Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast,               speaking countries,” Alexis said. “We
        Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria,        need to help them with schools and even
        Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Its              small clinics.”
        headquarters is in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.           Guinea and Gabon are French-
           The region is home to 436 million people,      speaking countries, while Liberia and
        including 834,183 Adventists. That’s a            Nigeria speak English.
        ratio of one Adventist for 523 people.               The three Thirteenth Sabbath projects
           The significant role that Seventh-day          for this quarter are listed on this page.
        Adventist education plays in spreading               If you want to make your Sabbath
        the gospel became abundantly clear as I           School class come alive, we offer a
        collected mission stories in three countries      variety of photos, videos, and other
        — Guinea and Liberia, which will receive          materials to accompany each mission
        part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering           story. More information is provided in
        to open schools this quarter, and Gabon,          the sidebar with each story. Download a
        which received a Thirteenth Sabbath               PDF of facts and activities at bit.ly/WAD-
        offering to construct a school in 2017.           facts. Also, follow us at facebook.com/
           “Education is key to developing the            missionquarterlies.
        church in West Africa,” Alexis Kouadio,              For photos of tourist sites and other
        assistant Global Mission officer for the          scenes from the featured countries, I
        West-Central Africa Division, told me as          recommend searching on a free photo bank
                                                          such as pixabay.com and unsplash.com.
         Opportunities                                       You also can download the PDF version
                                                          of the Children’s Mission magazine at
                 The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering
                                                          bit.ly/childrensmission and the youth
                 this quarter will help to:
                                                          and adult Mission magazine at bit.ly/
          Construct Kobaya Academy, a K-12               adultmission. Mission Spotlight videos are
           school, in Conakry, Guinea                     available at bit.ly/missionspotlight.
                                                                                                                  AdventistMission.org

          Open an elementary school/center of               If I can be of assistance, contact me at
           influence in Buchanan, Liberia                 mcchesneya@gc.adventist.org.
          Establish a medical center in Abuja, Nigeria      Thank you for encouraging others to be
                                                          mission-minded! 
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Mission - AdventistMission.org - 2020 QUARTER 3 WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
A School for Liberia
                                                                                             LIBERIA | July 4
                                                                                             B . D a r l i n g t o n Te a h , 5 9
                                                                                             because we want to plant our farm, and we
                                                                                             want the farm to prosper.” When Mother
                                                                                             was pregnant, Father prayed, “O ancestors,
                                                                                             we have come to you to give our daughter
                                                                                             who is bearing a child.” When an illness
                                                                                             swept the village, he prayed, “O ancestors,
                                                                                             we have come to you because of the
                                                                                             sickness in our village.”
                                                                                                Every time, he sacrificed a chicken
                                                                                             and offered plates of white rice to the
                                                                                             ancestors. He left the plates and chicken
                                                                                             on the ground and returned home. Later,
                                                                                             he went back for the plates and, seeing
                                                                                             that the food was gone, believed that the
                                                 B  . Darlington Teah grew up in a
                                                    Christian church where his father
                                                 was a deacon and his mother prayed for
                                                                                             ancestors had agreed to honor his prayers.
                                                                                                Darlington didn’t have any choice
                                                 ill members.                                about joining the secret society. He
                                                    Mother was very dedicated to the         couldn’t say yes or no. But Mother had a
                                                 church, but Father was not so committed.    say, and she bluntly refused. Whenever
                                                 He belonged to a secret society and, when   Father prepared to go to the mountains,
                                                 Darlington was 7, he invited the boy to     she took the boy to another village.
                                                 become a member.                               “I want him to become a Christian,” she
                                                    “Son, your great-grandfather and other   told Father.
                                                 ancestors were members,” he said. “You         Darlington attended Sunday School every
                                                 should join so you can replace me when      week, but he didn’t understand the Bible.
                                                 I die.”                                        When he was a young man, a Seventh-
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                    But Darlington wasn’t interested in      day Adventist evangelist came to the
                                                 joining the secret society. He knew that    village and spoke about the seventh-
                                                 members worshipped dead ancestors in        day Sabbath. Darlington read about the
                                                 the mountains of Liberia. Every so often,   Sabbath in the Bible for the first time,
                                                 Father walked four hours from the village   and he asked the Sunday pastor to explain
                                                 to the mountains to pray and make           whether Saturday or Sunday was the
                                                 sacrifices to the ancestors. When it was    correct day. The Sunday pastor could
                                                 time to plant crops, Father prayed, “O      not show any Bible verses that supported
                                                 ancestors, we have come to you today        Sunday worship.
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Mission - AdventistMission.org - 2020 QUARTER 3 WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION
“My son, the seventh day is the

                                                                                                              L I B E R I A
       Sabbath,” the pastor said. “We worship on      Stor y Tips
       Sunday to remember Christ’s resurrection.”
         Darlington wanted to follow the Bible,         Watch Darlington on YouTube:
                                                         bit.ly/Darlington-Teah.
       and he was baptized into the Adventist
       Church. Father wasn’t pleased with               Download photos on Facebook
       the decision because he knew that it              (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
                                                         (bit.ly/school-for-liberia).
       meant his son would never worship their
       ancestors. Mother was happy that her son         Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath
                                                         projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
       loved God.
         Darlington longed to become a pastor,
       and he prayed about it constantly. The
                                                      Mission Post
       Adventist Church didn’t have a seminary          The GC Daily Bulletin of Oct. 24, 1889,
       in Liberia, so he would have to travel            referred to “Bro. Gaston from Liberia,
                                                         who recently embraced the truth, and has
       to Ghana or Nigeria to study theology.            gone back to his country to sow the seeds
       Knowing that his parents didn’t have              of precious truth among his kindred.” In
       money to help him, he worked hard                 reporting his 1892 visit to West Africa
       to save money for tuition. Civil war              at the January 1893 General Conference
                                                         Session, Lawrence C. Chadwick appealed
       interrupted his efforts and, in the 1990s,        for a missionary to be sent to open a
       he entered politics and was elected to the        mission “at or near the home of Brother
       national parliament.                              Gaston” (GC Daily Bulletin 5:2, Jan.
         He thought, “If I can’t save money              29, 1893). However, Liberia had to wait
                                                         another 33 years for the first official
       to study theology abroad, I can at least          Seventh-day Adventist missionaries.
       establish an Adventist seminary in Liberia
       so young people can study here.”                 On April 30, 1930, the first four
                                                         Adventist converts were baptized at
         A year after his election, he sponsored         Seahn. Among them was Willie Helbig,
       a bill creating the Adventist University of       who later became the first Liberian
       West Africa in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia.       ordained minister.
         After six years in parliament, he left         About 85.5 percent of Liberia’s
       amid strong pressure to accept bribes             population practices Christianity, and
       and to join secret societies. He enrolled         Muslims comprise 12.2 percent of the
                                                         population, mostly Malikite Sunni, with
       in theology classes at the Adventist              sizeable Shia and Ahmadiyya minorities.
       University of West Africa.
         Today, Darlington is a pastor and the
       president of the South-East Liberia Mission,
       which will receive part of this quarter’s        Thank you for planning a generous
       Thirteenth Sabbath Offering to construct a     Thirteenth Sabbath Offering to construct
       K-6 school in the city of Buchanan.            an elementary school in Buchanan,
                                                                                                              AdventistMission.org

         “I am very thankful that the Lord            Liberia, to replace a school destroyed in
       has called me to work in His service in        Liberia’s civil war.
       preparing people for His soon coming,”
       Darlington said.                              By Andrew McChesney

                                                                                                                   5

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Reading Made Easy
                                                                                                 LIBERIA | July 11
                                                                                                 S.E. Joe Seeyah, 66

                                                 JSeeyah,
                                                   oe Konyon Seeyah couldn’t read.
                                                      There were no schools in his village,
                                                          in Liberia. As a boy, he worked
                                                                                                    “I can’t open the Bible and teach from
                                                                                                 it,” he said.
                                                                                                    Willie wasn’t worried. He invited Joe
                                                 on the family rice farm. When he grew           and five other newly baptized church
                                                 older, he married and had nine children         members to attend a Bible training school
                                                 and still worked on the farm. He had no         in Dehyu. On the first day of classes, Joe
                                                 reason to read.                                 looked at the other five men in Willie’s
                                                    One day, a Seventh-day Adventist             classroom. None of them had gone to
                                                 evangelist, Willie Helbig, arrived in the       school. None of them could read. He was
                                                 village. Joe was interested to learn from       in good company.
                                                 the Bible, and he and other villagers asked        Willie prayed and gave a new Bible to
                                                 the evangelist to study with them. Willie       each man. Then he opened his own Bible
                                                 agreed and, a month later, all 50 adults in     and showed the men how to find important
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 Seeyah and a neighboring village, Dehyu,        verses. He read each verse out loud and
                                                 were baptized.                                  explained the meaning of every word.
                                                    Willie, the first ordained Liberian pastor      Joe prayed earnestly. He didn’t know
                                                 in the Adventist Church, told the new           how he would remember all the verses. He
                                                 church members that it was their turn to        wanted to speak to others about Jesus’ soon
                                                 spread the gospel message. Joe didn’t know      coming, but he didn’t know how he would
                                                 what to think. He loved Jesus and wanted        ever be able to do that.
                                                 to share the gospel. But he was 45 years old       Every day, Joe and the other men met
                                                 and couldn’t read.                              with Willie to learn from the Bible. Every
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day, Joe prayed for the Holy Spirit to bless

                                                                                                                  L I B E R I A
       their classes.                                  Stor y Tips
          One day, as Willie guided the men
       through important verses in the Bible, Joe       Know that Seeyah village is named after
                                                         Joe’s family.
       noticed that he had no trouble finding the
       verses on his own. As Willie read, he was        Watch Joe on YouTube: bit.ly/Joe-Seeyah.
       able to follow along in his own Bible. He        Download photos on Facebook
       looked over at his classmates. They also          (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
       were able to find the verses and to follow        (bit.ly/reading-made-easy).
       along. Joe and the other men stood up and        Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath
       began reading the Bible out loud to the           projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
       astonished evangelist.
          Back at home, Joe tried to read a            Fa s t Fa c t s
       book other than the Bible, but he                The Society for the Colonization of Free
       couldn’t understand a word. He found              People of Color of America, commonly
       another book, but he couldn’t read it             known as the American Colonization
       either. However, he was able to read              Society, was a group established in the
                                                         United States in 1816 that supported
       the Bible easily.
                                                         the migration of free African Americans
          Joe went on to become head elder of            to the continent of Africa. The society’s
       the first Seventh-day Adventist church            supporters included both religious and
       established to serve Seeyah village               political groups who opposed slavery, and
       and several other villages in 1937.               slave-owners who considered free blacks
                                                         to be a threat to the stability of the slave-
       Although he never attended school, he             holding system.
       energetically taught and preached from
                                                        Liberia is known for its detailed
       the Bible at the new church, located in           decorative masks, wood carvings of
       the village of Newcess. He died in 2003           realistic human faces, and carved
       around the age of 90.                             accessories, particularly combs, spoons
          “It was the work of the Holy Spirit,”          and forks. Liberian wood sculptures are
                                                         heavily influenced by ancient history,
       said his son, S.E. Joe Seeyah, 66, who also
                                                         folklore, proverbs, spirituality, and rural
       is a church elder. “It is the Holy Spirit         life and show the artist’s attention to
       who gives knowledge, and He wanted the            detail and their connection to the people
       Seventh-day Adventist message to come             and objects sculpted.
       to our region. He allowed my father to           The food of Liberia has been influenced
       read the Bible.”                                 by contact, trade, and colonization from
                                                         the United States, especially foods from
                                                         the American South, interwoven with
         Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth               traditional West African foods. The
       Sabbath Offering will help to construct           diet consists largely of rice and other
       a K-6 school in Buchanan, Liberia, to             starches, tropical fruits, vegetables, and
       replace a school destroyed in Liberia’s civil     local fish and meat. Liberia also has a
                                                                                                                  AdventistMission.org

       war several years ago. Buchanan is located        baking tradition the settlers brought
                                                         from the United States that is unique in
       near Seeyah village.                              West Africa.
       By Andrew McChesney
                                                                                                                       7

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Long Road Back Home
                                                                                             LIBERIA | July 18
                                                                                             Alphanso Peter Juah, 48

                                                 Atfledthecivil
                                                           age of 19, Alphanso Peter Juah
                                                                war in Liberia by boarding
                                                                                             For four years, he sold heroin, tricked
                                                                                             people out of money, and laundered
                                                 a train and traveling to Guinea.            money. Seeking more opportunities, he
                                                    Little did he know that the trip would   traveled to Tunisia and then to Jordan,
                                                 take him to eight countries and that he     India, Thailand, and Indonesia. In each
                                                 would return home with an Indonesian        country, he sold drugs, tricked people,
                                                 wife 14 years later.                        and laundered money, earning enough to
                                                    Times were tough when Alphanso           live on and to move to the next place.
                                                 left in 1992, and he quickly abandoned      He found money could buy anything,
                                                 the Seventh-day Adventist Church of         including visas to pursue his travels.
                                                 his childhood.                                 In Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta,
                                                    With the help of a humanitarian          Alphanso began to think hard about
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 agency, he finished his studies in Guinea   life. He remembered attending church
                                                 but then found himself homeless. He         on Sabbaths. He felt bad because he
                                                 resorted to any scheme that he could        knew that he wasn’t obeying God’s
                                                 think of to earn money. He sold heroin.     commandments. One day, he spoke about
                                                 He tricked people out of money. He          God while playing pool with a Spanish
                                                 laundered money.                            stranger. The stranger invited him to visit
                                                    After a year, he longed for new          his church the next Sunday. The U.S.
                                                 opportunities, so he illegally bought a     missionary who led the Sunday church
                                                 Guinean passport and moved to Senegal.      listened to Alphanso’s story and offered
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to help pay his house rent. In exchange,

                                                                                                              L I B E R I A
       Alphanso worked on the church grounds          Stor y Tips
       and managed its sound system.
          Alphanso kept thinking about the            Pronounce Alphanso as: alf-ON-zo.
       Sabbath. He found the address of an            Pronounce Wastinah as: was-TIN-ah.
       Adventist church and began to attend
                                                      Watch Alphanso on YouTube:
       worship services every Sabbath while still      bit.ly/Alphanso-Juah.
       working at the other church on Sundays.
                                                      Download photos on Facebook
       With only a high-school education, he
                                                       (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
       longed to study at a university, but no one     (bit.ly/long-road-home).
       seemed able to assist him. The Sunday
       church didn’t help. The Adventists also        Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath
                                                       projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
       didn’t help, but they did reconnect him
       with his parents in Liberia. He hadn’t         Fa s t Fa c t s
       spoken with them since fleeing Liberia.
          Three years passed, and the Sunday          Monrovia is the capital and largest
       church stopped supporting him.                  city of Liberia. The city is named
                                                       in honor of U.S. President James
       Alphanso returned to selling drugs,             Monroe, a prominent supporter of
       tricking people, and laundering money.          the colonization of Liberia and the
       But something big happened in his life          American Colonization Society. Along
       around that time. He got married. While         with Washington, it is one of two
                                                       national capitals to be named after a
       working at the Sunday church, he had            U.S. president.
       fallen in love with Wastinah, a relative
       of the missionary’s housekeeper.
          After a while, Alphanso felt the           Buchanan, and Wastinah sells rice, oil,
       familiar desire for new opportunities and     and other groceries from a roadside stall
       moved to China. After four months,            in front of their house. They have three
       he sent for his wife. While in China,         children ages 12, 8, and 5. Alphanso
                                                     readily shares his story about God’s grace
       his thoughts returned to God, and he
                                                     in his life.
       found an English-language Bible at
                                                        “The fear of the Lord is the beginning
       a bookstore. One day, his eye fell on
                                                     of wisdom,” he said. “When I felt guilty,
       Ecclesiastes 1:2, which reads, “Vanity of
                                                     the fear of the Lord emerged in my heart,
       vanities, all is vanity.”
                                                     and He made me wise.” 
          “My life is filled with vanity,” he
       thought. “I need to go home to Africa.”
                                                       Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
          He and Wastinah flew to Liberia
                                                     Sabbath Offering will help to construct
       in 2006. Back home, he had a tearful
                                                     a K-6 school in Buchanan, Liberia, to
       reunion with his parents. He gave his         replace a school destroyed in Liberia’s civil
                                                                                                              AdventistMission.org

       heart to Jesus and went to church every       war. Alphanso hopes to send his children
       Sabbath. Wastinah joined him and, after       to the school.
       some time, gave her heart to Jesus.
          Today, Alphanso works as a logger in       By Andrew McChesney

                                                                                                                   9

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Prayer Saves Marriage
                                                                                                 GABON | July 25
                                                                                                 Angelique Abeme, 45

                                                                                                    The pastor didn’t argue with her.
                                                                                                    “What you have been told about Saturday
                                                                                                 is the truth,” he said. “You have learned
                                                                                                 the truth. Try the Adventist Church.”
                                                                                                    Life grew more complicated after
                                                                                                 Angelique was baptized. She asked Peter
                                                                                                 to marry her but he refused. When she
                                                                                                 asked him to leave the house, he moved
                                                                                                 across the country to Port-Gentil, a city
                                                                                                 250 miles (400 kilometers) to the south.
                                                                                                 Angelique prayed every morning and
                                                                                                 night that Peter would know Jesus.
                                                                                                    “Lord, You have allowed me to know

                                                 AThengelique Abeme fell in love with
                                                    Peter when she was 15. He was 20.
                                                       couple moved in together and
                                                                                                 the truth, and I wish that You would also
                                                                                                 grant Peter an opportunity to know the
                                                                                                 truth,” she prayed.
                                                 had two girls in Oyem, a city in northern          She sent Bible studies to Peter by mail.
                                                 Gabon. Life was hard. Peter drank and              In Port-Gentil, Peter ran into trouble.
                                                 smoked. Angelique loved him.                    An employer accused him of theft
                                                    When Angelique was 25, Seventh-              and, even though Peter professed his
                                                 day Adventist neighbors invited her to          innocence, he was imprisoned for three
                                                 evangelistic meetings. She had many             months. In prison, he had a lot of time to
                                                 questions about the teaching that the           think. He had nothing to do. So, when an
                                                 seventh day is the Sabbath, and she wasn’t      Adventist chaplain offered Bible studies,
                                                 satisfied with the evangelist’s explanations.   he readily accepted. Shortly before his
                                                 On the final Friday of the two-week             release, he was baptized.
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 meetings, the evangelist suggested that she        Angelique learned from a friend that
                                                 ask her own pastor about the Sabbath. She       Peter was in prison, but she had no idea
                                                 determined to do just that.                     about the Bible studies. She continued to
                                                    Walking home that evening, she met           pray for him every morning and evening.
                                                 her pastor on the road.                            “Lord, You have allowed me to know
                                                    “Pastor, is Sunday or Saturday the true      the truth, and I wish that you would also
                                                 Sabbath?” she asked. “The Adventist             grant Peter an opportunity to know the
                                                 Church says the Sabbath is on Saturday,         truth,” she prayed.
                                                 according to the Bible.”                           After Peter was released, he called
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3Q20 AY.indd 10                                                                                                                         5/16/19 1:25 PM
At the camporee, Peter greeted
          Stor y Tips                                       Angelique with a big smile and a
                                                            warm hug. They had a warm two-hour
            Pronounce Angelique as: anzhel-EEK.            conversation, and Peter left. Angelique
            Watch Angelique on YouTube:                    saw that his life really had changed. He
             bit.ly/Angelique-Abeme.                        wasn’t smoking and drinking. He had a
                                                            sweet disposition.

                                                                                                                     G A B O N
            Download photos on Facebook
             (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank                  Peter returned for more conversations
             (bit.ly/prayer-saves-marriage).                during the camporee. After the camporee
            Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath          ended, Angelique stayed in Port-Gentil
             projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.                     for another week to talk with Peter. That’s
                                                            when Peter proposed.
          Mission Post                                         “I love you,” he said. “I miss you, and I
                                                            want to get married.”
            The Gabon Mission was established                 “Yes, let’s get married!” Angelique
             in 1975 and organized in 1978. Its
                                                            said happily.
             headquarters is in the capital, Libreville.
                                                               That was eight years ago. Today, Peter
            The Adventist Church was officially            serves as a church elder in Gabon’s
             recognized by the government of Gabon
             in 1981.                                       capital, Libreville, and loves Jesus with all
                                                            his heart. Angelique couldn’t be happier.
            About 73 percent of the population                During those dark days, she found hope
             practice at least some elements of
             Christianity; 12 percent practice Islam;       in Matthew 6:33, where Jesus said, “But
             10 percent practice traditional indigenous     seek first the kingdom of God and His
             religious beliefs exclusively; and 5 percent   righteousness, and all these things shall be
             practice no religion or are atheists.          added to you.”
                                                               “Our first goal should be to seek the
       Angelique to tell her about his new faith.           kingdom of God,” Angelique said. “If
          “Now I understand why you wanted me               you are a believer but your spouse isn’t,
       to move out,” he said. “I am so happy to             keep praying because God can work a
       be an Adventist.”                                    miracle in the heart. After six years, God
          Angelique was overjoyed. She still                answered my prayers.” 
       loved Peter. She changed her daily prayers
       to ask that Peter’s life show the fruits of            Three years ago, part of the Thirteenth
       his faith. She wanted him to never drink             Sabbath Offering helped construct a high
       or smoke again.                                      school for 280 students in Angelique’s
          Peter called regularly to ask about               hometown, Libreville, in Gabon. Thank
       Angelique and their daughters. During one            you for planning a big Thirteenth Sabbath
       call, Angelique told Peter that she planned          Offering this quarter to help build schools
                                                                                                                     AdventistMission.org

       to take their younger daughter to a week-long        in two other African countries, Guinea
       Pathfinder camporee in Port-Gentil. Peter and        and Liberia.
       Angelique agreed to meet at the camporee.
       It had been six years since they separated.          By Andrew McChesney

                                                                                                                     11

3Q20 AY.indd 11                                                                                             5/16/19 1:25 PM
GABON | August 1

                                                                                               Betting
                                                                                               on Horses
                                                                                               Christophe Minsta Mi-Owono, 44

                                                 H    orseracing caught Christophe’s fancy
                                                      when he was 27.
                                                    Christophe’s father, a math teacher, had
                                                                                               and cautioned him against it.
                                                                                                 Christophe didn’t want to listen to them.
                                                                                                 “It’s a game where you can exercise your
                                                 become infatuated with betting on horses      mind,” he said. “You have to know math in
                                                 while studying at a university in France.     order to play.”
                                                    When he returned home, he found that
                                                 horseracing also had become a popular         An Accident
                                                 pastime in Gabon.                                One Sunday morning, Christophe lost
                                                    But no one went to the tracks to bet.      3,000 francs on a horserace at a kiosk.
                                                 Instead, they went to roadside kiosks         Returning home, he double-checked his
                                                 where they could bet on live races            betting forms and realized that he had
                                                 televised from France.                        failed to bet on a certain horse. Seeing
                                                    Father took Christophe to the kiosks       that he still had 2,000 francs, he went
                                                 to bet.                                       back to the kiosk.
                                                    Christophe didn’t have a job, so Father       As he stood outside the kiosk, filling out
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 gave him money so they could play             the betting form, a car veered off the street
                                                 together. Soon Christophe was betting         and struck him and two nearby women.
                                                 5,000 Central African francs, or U.S.$10,     The driver didn’t stop and sped away.
                                                 every day on the horses. He neglected            Kind strangers rushed Christophe and the
                                                 meals and sleep in order to try his luck on   two women to the hospital. One woman
                                                 the horses.                                   soon died. Minutes later, the other woman
                                                    Seventh-day Adventist friends in           died. Christophe — lying in bed, his legs
                                                 Gabon’s capital, Libreville, noticed          paralyzed and his blue T-shirt soaked in
                                                 Christophe’s fascination with gambling        blood — feared that he would be next.
12

3Q20 AY.indd 12                                                                                                                         5/16/19 1:25 PM
He began to pray.
          “Lord, I understand,” he said. “You have    Stor y Tips
       told me many times to stop gambling, but
                                                       Watch Christophe on YouTube:
       I didn’t listen. Now I will listen.”
                                                        bit.ly/Christophe-Minsta.
          He had no way to contact his family,
       and he couldn’t move. Without any               Download photos on Facebook
                                                        (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
       money, he received no medical care in the

                                                                                                              G A B O N
                                                        (bit.ly/betting-on-horses).
       hospital for two days. Finally, he managed
       to pull himself out of bed and to crawl to      Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath
                                                        projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
       the street to hail a taxi. He spent his last
       2,000 francs on the ride home.
                                                      Fa s t Fa c t s
       Complete Recovery                               The official name of the country is the
          At home, a sister, who was a nurse,           Gabonese Republic.
       tended to him. He prayed for healing.
                                                         The official language is French.
          “Lord, You spared me from death,” he
       said. “If You protect me and help me walk         Low population density, abundant
       again, I will surrender my life to You and        petroleum, and foreign private
                                                         investment have helped make Gabon
       stop gambling.”                                   one of the most prosperous countries
          Three weeks later, he was able to walk.        in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the third
       He immediately gathered piles of old              highest GDP per capita (after Equatorial
                                                         Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
       betting forms and burned them in front of
       his family.                                       Local Gabonese cuisine is based on
                                                         staples of cassava, rice or manioc paste,
          “I don’t care if I am rich or poor,”
                                                         fish that is found in plenty along the
       he said. “I will serve God and never              rivers and coastal belt, game meat from
       gamble again.”                                    antelopes, porcupine, wild boar, and
          He never did gamble again. Today,              snake, as well as tropical fruits like
                                                         bananas, pineapples, and sugarcane.
       Christophe Minsta Mi-Owono is 44 and
       works as a housepainter.                          Gabon is home to hundreds of dolomite
          “It’s better to work for money than to         and limestone caves With a large part
                                                         of Gabon hidden under natural forest
       play in hope of easy money,” he said.            cover, many of these caves remain
                                                         unexplored. These caves, especially the
         Three years ago, part of the Thirteenth         Abanda caves, are home to the rare
                                                         Orange cave-inhabiting Crocodiles, a
       Sabbath Offering helped construct a high          cave crocodile only found in Gabon. The
       school for 280 students in Christophe’s           caves also hold hundreds of thousands
       hometown, Libreville, in Gabon. Thank             of bats. Gabon caves have a very rich
       you for planning a big Thirteenth Sabbath         underground biodiversity not found
                                                         anywhere else in the world.
       Offering this quarter to help build schools
                                                                                                              AdventistMission.org

       in two other African countries, Guinea            Gabon is home to 80 percent of Africa’s
       and Liberia.                                      baboon population.

       By Andrew McChesney
                                                                                                              13

3Q20 AY.indd 13                                                                                      5/16/19 1:25 PM
GABON | August 8

                                                                                                  Sweet,
                                                                                                  Gentle Voice
                                                                                                  Jean Obame-Efayong, 58

                                                                                                    Jean went to the church for three nights
                                                                                                  in a row to see whether Rosette really was
                                                                                                  attending. He stood outside and watched.
                                                                                                  On the fourth night, a young woman who
                                                                                                  owned the church building demanded to
                                                                                                  know what he was doing.
                                                                                                    “Why are you coming and not
                                                 Jealousy  changed the life of police
                                                  officer Jean Obame-Efayong.
                                                                                                  entering?” she said. “Come in today or
                                                                                                  don’t return again.”
                                                    Every night, his wife, Rosette, came            Jean went in. The church was
                                                 home late in Libreville, capital of the          interesting, and the church members
                                                 West African country of Gabon. Jean              were friendly. When he had an out-of-
                                                 didn’t know what she was doing or where          body experience — a not-unheard-of
                                                 she had been. His imagination ran wild,          occurrence in traditional African religion
                                                 and he feared the worst. Finally he asked        — the church members made him a
                                                 her directly.                                    church leader. During the week, Jean
                                                    “I came from my sister’s house,” she said.    worked as a police officer and, on the
                                                    The next night, he asked the                  weekends, he led the church.
                                                 same question.                                     One day, Rosette abruptly stopped
                                                     “I came from my sister’s house,” she said.   attending church services. Before Jean
                                                    She gave the same answer every night.         could learn why, she unexpectedly died
                                                 Jean couldn’t believe that his wife was          during childbirth. Grief-stricken, Jean
                                                 spending so much time at her sister’s            reassessed his own commitment to the
                                                 house, so one morning he asked her to            church and prayed.
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 take him to her sister’s house.                    “If this church isn’t the true church,
                                                    Rosette took him to a church with             help me to leave easily,” he prayed.
                                                 a sign reading, “Eternal Life.” Jean was           He never returned to the church, and
                                                 surprised to see a church when his wife          he didn’t have any trouble.
                                                 had said she was at her sister’s house, but        Three years later, Jean was walking
                                                 he was relieved that she was at church           home one evening when he saw a huge
                                                 every night and not doing something else.        tent pitched in a soccer field near his
                                                 The church taught a mix of Christianity          house. He heard a sweet, gentle voice
                                                 and traditional African beliefs.                 speak to him.
14

3Q20 AY.indd 14                                                                                                                         5/16/19 1:25 PM
“Sir, we came here for you,” the
       voice said.                                   Stor y Tips
          Jean stopped and looked around to
       see who was talking, but he didn’t see         Watch Jean on YouTube:
                                                       bit.ly/Jean-Obame-Efayong.
       anybody. As he took a step forward, the
       voice spoke again.                             Download photos on Facebook
                                                       (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
          “Sir, go inside and sit down to hear the

                                                                                                                G A B O N
                                                       (bit.ly/sweet-gentle-voice).
       gospel,” the voice said.
          Jean entered the tent and sat in a chair    Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath
                                                       projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
       in the back.
          It was the first night of a 10-day
       evangelistic series. The Seventh-
                                                     Fa s t Fa c t s
       day Adventist evangelist called for            Libreville is the capital and largest city of
       repentance, and Jean wept as he listened.       Gabon. The city is a port on the Komo
       Jean came back the next night with a            River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a
                                                       trade center for a timber region.
       paper and pen to take notes.
          At the meetings, he felt an irresistible    The region was initially inhabited by the
       urge to get baptized. At home, he felt an       Pygmy peoples; later the people of the
                                                       Bantu tribes immigrated to the area.
       irresistible urge to get baptized. He spoke
       with the evangelist.                           About 85 percent of Gabon is covered by
          “I don’t know anything about your            rainforests, 11 percent of which has been
                                                       dedicated for national parks, making
       church, but I want to be baptized all the       these some of the largest nature parks in
       time,” he said.                                 the world.
          The evangelist smiled.
                                                      Gabon comprises a largely young
          “The Lord has revealed Himself to you,”      population with 40 percent of the total
       he said. “Come and be baptized.”                population being below 15 years of age.
          Jean was baptized.                           About 56 percent of the total population
          Today, he is an active church member.        is within the 15-64 age bracket. Less
                                                       than 4 percent of the population is above
       Every day, he remembers the sweet, gentle       65 years.
       voice that he heard as he passed the tent.
          “The voice helped me to find the right      Mask making and ritual face paint are
                                                       important parts of Gabonese culture, and
       path,” he said. “Jesus lives in my life.”      styles vary dramatically between groups.
                                                       The Gabonese people use masks to praise
         Three years ago, part of the Thirteenth       the ancestors and to mark important life
       Sabbath Offering helped construct a             events by signifying transformation. They
                                                       are part of funeral and agrarian rites, and
       high school for 280 students in Jean’s          Gabonese people use them to promote
       hometown, Libreville, in Gabon. Thank           fertility, provide spiritual protection and
       you for planning a big Thirteenth Sabbath       express cultural identity. Masks vary
       Offering this quarter to help build schools     in style and include geometric shapes,
                                                                                                                AdventistMission.org

       in two other African countries, Guinea          stylized and exaggerated features and
                                                       realistically detailed faces.
       and Liberia.
       By Andrew McChesney

                                                                                                                15

3Q20 AY.indd 15                                                                                        5/16/19 1:25 PM
Prayer and Persecution
                                                                                               GUINEA | August 15
                                                                                               Maimouna Bangoura, 29

                                                                                               the Adventist visitor talking with my
                                                                                               husband on the porch. He asked Alpha if
                                                                                               he had any prayer requests.
                                                                                                  “I need work,” said Alpha, an electrician
                                                                                               by training. “Also, when I earn money,
                                                                                               it goes too fast. And my wife is having a
                                                                                               difficult pregnancy. Please pray for her.”
                                                                                                  Hearing those words, I marched outside
                                                                                               and told the Adventist something that
                                                                                               even my husband didn’t know. During my
                                                                                               last visit to the hospital, the physician had
                                                                                               told me that my baby was no longer alive.
                                                                                               The baby was in me but dead.

                                                 W     hen the Seventh-day Adventist
                                                       showed up, my husband and I spoke
                                                 with him for a few minutes on the front
                                                                                                  My husband was shocked at the news.
                                                                                                  “Please pray for me,” I asked the Adventist.
                                                                                                  He prayed, “If the baby is to come,
                                                 porch of our house in Conakry, Guinea.        please Lord, give her the baby. But if not,
                                                   But then he handed me a pamphlet,           Your will be done.”
                                                 and I saw the word “Jesus” in small letters      When he finished, he picked up the
                                                 in the corner. Without even touching          pamphlet from the porch and wrote his
                                                 the pamphlet, I told him to give it to my     name, Tranqulle Fassinadouno, and cell
                                                 husband, Alpha.                               phone number on it. Handing it to Alpha,
                                                   The pamphlet was in French, which           he said, kindly, “Maybe your wife will hold
                                                 Alpha doesn’t read, and he thrust it into     onto this and even read it to you one day.”
                                                 my hands.                                        As soon as he left, I tore up the pamphlet
                                                   “Read this to me,” he said.                 and threw it away. I liked his prayer, but I
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                   I threw it to the ground.                   didn’t want any part of his Christianity.
                                                   “I’m not a Christian!” I said. “I can’t        That night, I slept well for the first
                                                 touch something like this.”                   time in months. The pain and bleeding
                                                   I opened the door and went                  subsided. When I went to the hospital,
                                                 indoors. I didn’t want to hear about          I learned that the physician had made a
                                                 Christianity. Moreover, it was time for       mistake. I never had been pregnant.
                                                 my evening prayers.                              Then my young son Anthony fell ill. I
                                                   But I couldn’t pray. I was so upset that    bought him medicine at the hospital, but
                                                 my mind couldn’t focus. I could hear          nothing helped. I remembered how my
16

3Q20 AY.indd 16                                                                                                                           5/16/19 1:25 PM
illness had gone away after Tranqulle prayed.
          “Why did I throw away the pamphlet            Stor y Tips
       with his phone number?” I berated myself.
          The next day, I was thinking about the          Ask a woman to share this
                                                           first-person account.
       phone number when I heard a knock on
       the door. It was Tranqulle.                        Pronounce Maimouna as: MY-moon-a.
          “I’m so glad that you’re here!” I cried.        Pronounce Tranqulle as: tran-KEEL.
       “I was just wishing that I had your phone
       number. Please pray for my sick son.”              Read Tranqulle’s side of the story
                                                           next week.
          Tranqulle prayed, and my son recovered
       that same afternoon.                               Watch Maimouna on YouTube:
          Alpha and I were amazed, but I still             bit.ly/Maimouna-Bangoura.

                                                                                                                   GUINEA
       didn’t want to go to church. However, I            Download photos on Facebook
       kept remembering Tranqulle’s prayers, so            (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
       I decided to go to church after a month.            (bit.ly/prayer-and-persecution).
       I was deeply touched by the sermon and             Download photos of Thirteenth Sabbath
       resolved to attend every Sabbath.                   projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
          Alpha, however, only went for two
       Sabbaths. He stopped going when friends          Mission Post
       warned him that he would lose his mind.
       Alpha also didn’t want me to attend, but           The work in Guinea began in 1987,
                                                           when a lay couple from Europe quietly
       I went without telling him. After a while,          witnessed to their faith. In April 1992,
       he noticed that I was leaving the house             the first war refugees from Liberia
       every Sabbath, and friends told him that            arrived in Guinea, including a number of
       they had seen me enter the church.                  Seventh-day Adventists and a licensed
                                                           pastor, W. Oloysius, who soon began
          Alpha started beating me. Once he beat
                                                           witnessing for their faith.
       me so badly that I had to go to the hospital.
          But I kept going to church, I learned
       in Sabbath School how to live better.              Despite the persecution, I have peace
       Tranqulle, who I learned is a Global            of mind because I have Christ. Could you
       Mission pioneer, gave me Bible studies. I       please pray for me? With the Lord, victory
       resolved to become a Christian when we          is on our side. My husband will one day
       read about the seventh-day Sabbath in           become a Christian. 
       the Ten Commandments.
          Alpha still beats me. Every time I open         Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
       my mouth to talk, he slaps me and refuses       Sabbath Offering will help construct
       to speak with me. We no longer share the        Kobaya Academy, a K-12 school where
       same bed, and he refuses to support our         Maimouna’s sons and other children can
       sons. I pray for him every day.                 study in Conakry, Guinea. Thank you
                                                                                                                   AdventistMission.org

          One of my favorite Bible verses is John      for remembering Maimouna and the
       14:1, where Jesus says, “Let not your heart     Adventist work in Guinea in your prayers.
       be troubled; you believe in God, believe
       also in Me.”                                    By Maimouna Bangoura as told to Andrew McChesney
                                                                                                                   17

3Q20 AY.indd 17                                                                                           5/16/19 1:25 PM
Fasting for a Family
                                                                                              GUINEA | August 22
                                                                                              Tr a n q u l l e F a s s i n a d o u n o , 3 4

                                                                                                 “Here is some good news,” I said,
                                                                                              handing the pamphlet to Maimouna.
                                                                                              “This is the word of God.”
                                                                                                 She glanced at the pamphlet and said,
                                                                                              “No, give it to my husband.”
                                                                                                 “No, I can’t read it,” Alpha said. “Give
                                                                                              it to my wife.”
                                                                                                 Turning to Maimouna, he said, “Read
                                                                                              this for me.”
                                                                                                 She threw it to the ground and went
                                                                                              indoors for her evening prayers. I asked
                                                                                              Alpha whether he had any prayer requests
                                                                                              and, as we spoke, Maimouna returned with
                                                                                              a request for me to pray for her health.
                                                 T    he house gate was open, so I walked
                                                      right into the yard. A man and
                                                 woman were chatting on the front porch,
                                                                                                 I realized that no one wanted to read the
                                                                                              pamphlet because Jesus’ name was written
                                                 and two boys were playing nearby.            in small text on the cover. For people of
                                                    “Good morning, brother and sister,”       their non-Christian faith, it is a sin to even
                                                 I said, smiling. “My name is Tranqulle       read something bearing Jesus’ name. Seeing
                                                 Fassinadouno. I’m very happy to meet you.”   they were not interested, I left the house
                                                    I went over to the children. Seeing one   but resolved to pray and fast for them. As
                                                 boy was of school age, I asked, “How is      soon as I exited the gate, I wrote down
                                                 school? What did you learn today?”           their names on a piece of paper and placed
                                                    The boy smiled and began reciting his     it in my Bible. For three days, I didn’t eat
                                                 ABCs. “Your children are smart!” I told      food or drink during daylight hours. In
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 the parents.                                 the evening, I ate a light meal of bananas,
                                                    The parents relaxed when they saw that    oranges, and rice porridge.
                                                 I appreciated their children. I asked for       I didn’t have much time to pray for
                                                 their names.                                 the couple during the day because I was
                                                    “My name is Maimouna Bangoura,” said      busy giving Bible studies and making new
                                                 the woman.                                   contacts as a Global Mission pioneer.
                                                    “I’m Alpha,” said her husband.            So, I asked God to wake me up at night.
                                                    I pulled out a pamphlet called “God’s     For three nights, God woke me up at
                                                 Love for Man.”                               midnight, 1 a.m., and 4 a.m.
18

3Q20 AY.indd 18                                                                                                                            5/16/19 1:25 PM
“Thank you, God, for allowing me to
       meet this family,” I prayed. “I want for Your    Stor y Tips
       will to be fulfilled with them. I want You to
                                                          Ask a man to share this
       visit them before these three days are up.”         first-person account.
          The three days ended on a Sabbath.
       I decided to visit Alpha and Maimouna              Pronounce Tranqulle as: tran-KEEL.
       after church services, and I prayed before         Pronounce Maimouna as: MY-moon-a
       leaving the house, “I’m not trying to
                                                          Read Maimouna’s side of the story
       convert this family. It is the Holy Spirit          last week.
       who will convert them. Be with me as I
       just visit them.”                                  Read more about Tranqulle next week.
          During Sabbath School, I felt an urge to        Watch Tranqulle on YouTube:

                                                                                                                        GUINEA
       visit the family immediately in case they           bit.ly/Tranqulle-Fassinadouno.
       weren’t home later in the day.                     Download photos on Facebook
          Maimouna greeted me enthusiastically             (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
       and said she had been healed after my               (bit.ly/fasting-for-family).
       prayer. She asked me to pray for her son,          Download photos of Thirteenth
       who had fallen ill. I prayed. That evening,         Sabbath projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
       I returned to ask about him.
          “He’s over there, playing with his
                                                       own and announced, “It’s Jesus and me
       friends,” Maimouna said, pointing. “I’m so
                                                       forever.” She gave her heart to Him.
       happy for what you have done.”
                                                          Alpha still beats her, but Maimouna has
          I asked Maimouna to call the boy so we
                                                       found strength in Matthew 10:37, where
       could pray together. Seeing Jesus’ hand in
                                                       Jesus says, “He who loves father or mother
       the matter, I took the courage to mention
                                                       more than Me is not worthy of Me. And
       Him by name.
                                                       he who loves son or daughter more than
          “It is Jesus who healed your son,” I said.
                                                       Me is not worthy of Me. … He who finds
       “So, we are going to pray in Jesus’ name.”
                                                       his life will lose it, and he who loses his
          Bowing my head, I prayed, “Thank
                                                       life for My sake will find it.”
       you, God, for You are worthy of honor
                                                          She and I fast and pray for Alpha.
       and glory because it is through You that
                                                          I am so happy that she loves Jesus. Real
       this miracle has happened. Thank you for
                                                       joy is being able to show the truth to
       healing Anthony. In the name of Jesus of        people and to see them embrace it. 
       Nazareth, Amen.”
          A month later, Alpha and Maimouna               Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
       came to church. Alpha soon stopped              Sabbath Offering will help construct
       attending, and he beat his wife every           Kobaya Academy, a much-needed K-12
       evening for still going. That didn’t stop       school in Conakry, Guinea. Thank you
                                                                                                                        AdventistMission.org

       her, and she said to me, “Please teach me       for remembering Tranqulle and all Global
       the Bible. I want to know the Bible.”           Mission pioneers in your prayers.
          We began to study the Bible. After a
       while, she began to read the Bible on her       By Tranqulle Fassinadouno as told to Andrew McChesney

                                                                                                                        19

3Q20 AY.indd 19                                                                                                5/16/19 1:25 PM
Crawling Like a Baby
                                                                                                GUINEA | August 29
                                                                                                O u m o u To u r e , 5 5

                                                                                                she climbed out of bed and crawled on her
                                                                                                hands and knees to the next room.
                                                                                                   “Please, pray for me, too,” she pleaded.
                                                                                                   The visitor, Tranqulle Fassinadouno, was
                                                                                                astonished to see the old woman crawling
                                                                                                on all fours. He didn’t pray.
                                                                                                   Three days later, Oumou heard a knock
                                                                                                on the door and, a moment later, Tranqulle
                                                                                                was standing over her bed.
                                                                                                   “Mama, I have come to pray,” he said.
                                                                                                   Oumou was overjoyed.
                                                                                                   Tranqulle opened his Bible and read
                                                                                                1 John 4:4, which says, “You are of God,
                                                 OHerumou Toure fell terribly ill after her
                                                   husband died.
                                                      knees swelled up, and she suffered
                                                                                                little children, and have overcome them,
                                                                                                because He who is in you is greater than he
                                                                                                who is in the world.”
                                                 serious pain. She could not sleep at night.       Then he closed his eyes to pray.
                                                 She could not walk. Although she was old,         “Lord, thank you for the life of your
                                                 she crawled like a baby in the family home     daughter,” he said. “You allowed me to be
                                                 in Conakry, Guinea.                            here. You gave me courage to fast and pray
                                                    An elderly uncle, Amara, took her to        for the past three days for her. Now I ask
                                                 various hospitals, but no physician could      you to heal my sister Oumou in the name
                                                 help. He took her to witchdoctors, but none    of Jesus.”
                                                 could help. She stayed in bed at the family       That night, Oumou slept well for the
                                                 home, where she lived with her uncle, a        first time in years. Her pain subsided.
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 younger sister, and a dozen other relatives.      The next day, Tranqulle returned and
                                                    Four long years passed. For four years,     prayed with her again. He prayed and
                                                 Oumou suffered. For four years, she            fasted for Oumou for two weeks.
                                                 couldn’t walk.                                    One day Oumou abruptly asked him,
                                                    One day, Oumou overheard her sister         “Where is your church?”
                                                 talking with a visitor in another room.           He told her the address of a Seventh-day
                                                 The visitor read from the Bible and prayed.    Adventist church. It wasn’t far from her
                                                 Oumou wasn’t a Christian, but she wanted       house, but she couldn’t walk. She asked
                                                 someone to pray for her. With great effort,    for help. On Sabbath morning, Tranqulle
20

3Q20 AY.indd 20                                                                                                                        5/16/19 1:25 PM
our holy book, you will no longer be part
         Stor y Tips                                    of our family.”
                                                           Oumou thought about her four-year
           Pronounce Oumou as: OO-moo.
                                                        illness and how she had been healed. She
           Pronounce Tranqulle as: tran-KEEL.          lifted her eyes to heaven.
           Read more about Tranqulle last week.           “I choose the Bible, that black book,”
                                                        she said.
           Watch Oumou on YouTube:
            bit.ly/Oumou-Toure.                            Uncle Amara sneered at Oumou.
                                                           “Now that you have chosen the Bible,
           Download photos on Facebook
                                                        take it and preach to us,” he said.
            (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
            (bit.ly/crawling-like-baby).                   Tears formed in Oumou’s eyes. She
                                                        didn’t know how to read.

                                                                                                              GUINEA
           Download photos of Thirteenth                  “You know that I cannot read,” she
            Sabbath projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
                                                        said, weeping. “I never went to school.
         Fa s t Fa c t s                                But the man who prayed for me read from
                                                        the Bible and I was healed. I believe the
           Guinea’s mineral wealth makes it            power in the Bible can do more for me
            potentially one of Africa’s richest
            countries, but its people are among the     and for you, too.”
            poorest in West Africa.                        Uncle Amara angrily ordered family
                                                        members to pack Oumou’s belongings.
           Only 27 percent of adults in Guinea
            can read.                                      “You have become a Christian,” he said.
                                                        “Go to the Christians. We don’t want
                                                        anything more to do with you.”
       carried Oumou to his motorcycle and
                                                           Oumou had no place to live, and she
       drove her to church. He took her again
                                                        slept in various friends’ houses. It was
       the next Sabbath, and the next. Every
                                                        difficult, but she refused to denounce
       day, Oumou grew stronger. On the fourth
                                                        Jesus. When church members learned
       Sabbath, she walked to church alone.
                                                        about her situation, they offered her a
          Tranqulle was amazed to see Oumou
                                                        place to live on the church compound.
       walking around at the church.
                                                        That’s where she lives today.
          “This is a miracle of Jesus!” he exclaimed.
                                                           “I thank God for my new family,”
          Oumou’s uncle and other family                Oumou said. “I will be with the Lord
       members were happy that she felt better,         Jesus forever.” 
       but they did not like seeing her go to
       church. They weren’t Christians, and they          Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
       felt that Oumou was being disrespectful of       Sabbath Offering will help construct
       their family’s religion. Uncle Amara called      Kobaya Academy, a K-12 school in
       a big family meeting. As a dozen family          Conakry, Guinea, where the love of Jesus
                                                                                                              AdventistMission.org

       members watched, he held up a black Bible        can be taught to many children from non-
       and the family’s traditional holy book.          Christian homes.
          “Which book do you choose?” he asked
       Oumou. “Remember, if you don’t choose            By Andrew McChesney

                                                                                                              21

3Q20 AY.indd 21                                                                                      5/16/19 1:25 PM
Odd Dreams and a Girl
                                                                                                GUINEA | September 5
                                                                                                Maria, 29

                                                                                                on her mind when she fell asleep that
                                                                                                night. As she slept, she dreamed that two
                                                                                                small children were talking to her, but she
                                                                                                couldn’t understand what they were saying.
                                                                                                   The next night, she saw the same
                                                                                                children again in a dream. But this time
                                                                                                she could understand them.
                                                                                                    “The solution is not visiting the
                                                                                                witchdoctor,” one child said.
                                                                                                   The next night, Maria dreamed again.
                                                                                                This time she heard a voice as she walked
                                                                                                on the street. The voice said, “The solution
                                                                                                is our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.”

                                                 S  ince the age of 2, Maria had
                                                    accompanied her mother to the
                                                 witchdoctor to obtain a blessing for the
                                                                                                   When she awoke, she was puzzled
                                                                                                because she wasn’t a Christian. She
                                                                                                belonged to another major world religion.
                                                 family business in Guinea.                        “How could Jesus be the solution?”
                                                   The visits were part of life, and the        she wondered.
                                                 blessings seemed to work. Mother became           She told her mother about the three
                                                 a wealthy businesswoman with many shops        nights of dreams.
                                                 across the West African country. She also         “Why do we have to make a human
                                                 made her daughter rich. Maria owned a          sacrifice?” she said.
                                                 house in a gated compound, two cars, and          Mother didn’t like the dreams at all and
                                                 a big store selling stylish clothing and       told Maria to buy a cow for a sacrifice.
                                                 handbags in Guinea’s capital, Conakry.         Maria obeyed. As the witchdoctor prepared
                                                   The witchdoctor, however, caught             to slaughter the cow, he assured her that
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                 24-year-old Maria by surprise when she         the dreams would stop.
                                                 visited him for a blessing in 2013.               That night, Maria had another dream.
                                                   “If you want to be rich, you have to offer      By the end of the week, Maria was
                                                 a human sacrifice,” he said. “The sacrifice    exhausted from the nightly dreams and
                                                 must be an albino.”                            decided to go shopping. On Saturday
                                                   Maria had brought cows to the                morning, she drove her car to the
                                                 witchdoctor to sacrifice but never a human     compound gate and stopped for it to be
                                                 being. The thought of a human sacrifice        opened. As she waited, a small girl darted
                                                 deeply disturbed her, and it weighed heavily   into the compound and approached the car
22

3Q20 AY.indd 22                                                                                                                         5/16/19 1:25 PM
could be of assistance.
         Stor y Tips                                     “This little girl asked me to come here,”
                                                      Maria said, motioning.
           Adventist Mission is not identifying
            Maria by her real name to protect her        But the girl was nowhere in sight.
            safety. She is pictured in the photo.     Maria looked out the gate and back into
                                                      the compound. No girl. She returned
           Read more about Maria next week.
                                                      the puzzled gaze of the kind woman and
           Download photos on Facebook               suddenly felt a strong desire to tell her
            (bit.ly/fb-mq) or ADAMS databank
            (bit.ly/maria-in-guinea).
                                                      about her dreams.
                                                         “Can I ask you a question?” she said.
           Download photos of Thirteenth
            Sabbath projects: bit.ly/WAD-2020.
                                                         “Of course,” the woman said.
                                                         “I have had many dreams,” she said.

                                                                                                                GUINEA
         Mission Post                                 “I have sacrificed a cow, but nothing has
                                                      stopped the dreams. I don’t know what
           The life expectancy in Guinea is
            56 years.
                                                      to do.”
                                                         “Wait for me,” the woman said. “My
           The majority of Guineans work in the      husband is a pastor. I will ask him for help.”
            agriculture sector, which employs about
                                                         And that is how Maria, a non-Christian
            75 percent of the country.
                                                      in a country where many people are
                                                      hostile to Christianity, learned about
                                                      Jesus. Today she is a Christian who loves
       window. “Do you want to go to church?”         Jesus with all her heart.
       the girl asked.                                   “My conversion to Christianity is a
          Maria was surprised.                        miracle,” she said. “No one came to me
          “I’m not a Christian,” she said. “Why       with the Bible, and I didn’t read any
       are you asking me to go to church? Who         Christian books. It was a call from God.”
       are you looking for?”                             Maria never saw the girl again. She is
          “I want to go to church,” the girl said.    convinced that the girl was an angel. 
          Maria looked at the girl closely. She
       wondered whether the girl was lost and           The Seventh-day Adventist Church
       seeking her parents. She didn’t know           faces enormous challenges in spreading
       about any churches in the neighborhood.        the gospel in Guinea, where only 7
          Seeming to read her thoughts, the girl      percent of the population is Christian, and
       said, “I know the way.”                        many people are hostile to Christianity.
          Maria decided to help the girl find the     Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
       church, and she got out of the car. After      Offering will help construct Kobaya
       a short walk, Maria and small girl reached     Academy, a K-12 school in Conakry,
       the gated headquarters of the Seventh-day      Guinea, where the love of Jesus can
                                                                                                                AdventistMission.org

       Adventist Church in Guinea. A group            be taught to many children from non-
       of people were standing near a church          Christian homes.
       building inside the compound. One of
       them, a woman, asked Maria whether she         By Andrew McChesney
                                                                                                                23

3Q20 AY.indd 23                                                                                        5/16/19 1:25 PM
Illiterate but Able to Read
                                                                                                 GUINEA | September 12
                                                                                                 Maria, 29

                                                                                                    “This is your Bible,” he said.
                                                                                                    “What would I do with that Bible?” Maria
                                                                                                 said. “I don’t even know how to read.”
                                                                                                    Pastor Jacob asked whether anyone in
                                                                                                 her family was literate, and she conceded
                                                                                                 that she had a cousin who could read.
                                                                                                    Jacob wrote Maria’s name inside the Bible.
                                                                                                    “Take your Bible and go,” he said.
                                                                                                    Maria was annoyed with Pastor
                                                                                                 Jacob, and she left without even
                                                                                                 saying goodbye. “Who do these people
                                                                                                 think they are?” she thought as she
                                                                                                 walked home. “They tell me to read

                                                 M     aria wasn’t a Christian, but she
                                                       kept dreaming about Jesus. She
                                                 sacrificed a cow in hope that the
                                                                                                 the Bible as if I don’t know God.”
                                                                                                    At home, Mary placed the Bible in a
                                                                                                 drawer and closed it. She wanted to relax.
                                                 dreams would end, but she was still             Turning on the television to her favorite
                                                 disturbed every night for a week.               channel, she saw a program about Jesus.
                                                    Then a stranger directed her to the office   Click! She changed the channel. The
                                                 of Jacob Gbale, president of the Seventh-       next channel also had a program about
                                                 day Adventist Church in Guinea. He              Jesus. Click! Another program about Jesus.
                                                 worked just up the street from her luxurious       Maria called her satellite television
                                                 house in Conakry, capital of Guinea.            provider. “What is wrong with your
                                                    As Maria described her dreams, Pastor        channels?” she demanded. “Every channel
                                                 Jacob began to smile.                           is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”
                                                    “Glory be to God!” he exclaimed.                The male voice sounded puzzled.
Adventist Mission West-Central Africa Division

                                                    Maria was shocked. She couldn’t                 “Everything is in order,” he said.
                                                 understand why he was so happy.                    “No, it’s not that!” Maria shouted.
                                                    “You don’t need to make any more             “Come here and fix my TV.”
                                                 sacrifices,” Pastor Jacob said, lifting up         A short time later, a man arrived and
                                                 Bible from his desk. “God is calling you.”      flipped through the channels. Everything
                                                    “I think your God has made a mistake,”       worked normally. Maria was speechless.
                                                 Maria said. “I have always belonged to my          Maria went to bed, but she couldn’t
                                                 family’s religion.”                             stop thinking about Jesus. Then she
                                                    Jacob held out the Bible.                    remembered the Bible. The only way to
24

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