September Prayer Letter (rather late!)

[I should have posted this in September but forgot. Sorry about that!  Here it is, very late.]

Dear Prayer Supporters,

As I left church one Sunday morning, there was a lot of activity in a walled compound just around the corner from the church building, with what sounded like a sizable crowd inside. Traditional drums were hammering out a pagan rhythm from somewhere in the center of the compound. People could be seen sitting on the walls all around, which were apparantly functioning as overflow seating. But they weren’t there to watch a movie or a sports match. For in that compound, practically next door to a strong gospel-preaching church, a thoroughly pagan and idolatrous initiation ceremony was in full swing. For in spite of nearly a century of gospel witness in this part of Chad, the spiritual battle with paganism still rages.

The Ongoing Battle against Initiation

Thanks to all who prayed for Desiré, the teenage boy whose family was threatening to force him to undergo pagan initiation rites. God answered your prayers in a way we did not expect. In an unexpected development (unexpected to us, but not unexpected to God!), the rites for Desiré’s area have been postponed. Undoubtedly they will try again to organize them next year. In the meantime, Desiré has some time to focus on growing in his new faith. He is becoming increasingly active in the church plant he attends, and God is gradually molding his character. Pray that he will continue to grow.

However, Desiré is by no means the only one who has faced such a dilemma, and initiation rites in other areas are actively taking place. Many young people are being forced or persuaded to participate. Others are resisting, but in resisting they are often taking quite a risk – and they may suffer more than just rejection and ridicule. These are not idle games, but serious spiritual warfare. Even death threats are not unusual for those who publicly denounce initiation.

Please pray for wisdom and courage for the church leaders who are fighting against initiation, and pray for the carnal and half-hearted believers who are the most tempted to give in to the temptations to participate in the rites, that God will change their hearts. In spite of the long gospel witness here, this is a spiritual battle every time initiation rites are held.

Translation Progress Update

In July and August, I had two workshops with the Sara Kaba Deme translation team. We made good progress in checking the book of Ezekiel and other passages, but these workshops were historic for the Sara Kaba Deme for another reason: Thanks to the generosity of God’s people, we have been able to acquire a computer for this team! Until now, they have had to make due with a battery-powered machine similar to a typewriter. Now they will be able to make corrections to the text themselves, much more easily and quickly. They are thrilled and very grateful for this special blessing from God, but it has been quite a learning curve for them, since they had never used a computer before. I have been teaching them computer basics as I have time, but there is much to learn. Pray for them as they learn to use it, and pray that it will be a great asset to them as they work on completing their translation.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support for the ministry of Bible translation in Chad.

In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell