Posts Tagged ‘faith’

It’s been a long month…

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Praying at certain times of the day

Praying at certain times of the day

This week brought the end of Ramadan for everyone in our village.  It’s been a month of fasting, special prayers, and feasting at night.  A month more dedicated to pleasing their god than any other month.  It’s been a very long month for me, so I can’t imagine how long it was for all of them.  It was filled with frustrating conversations with moms who won’t drink all day and so have sick, starving babies.  It’s filled with days of watching people work in their fields – sweating terribly – and they won’t even swallow their spit.  It’s filled with special, more fervent praying.  It’s hard for us to sit back and watch all this – watching how hard they are all trying to make their god happy.  To make themselves worthy of his favor.

We’re thankful for the opportunities to learn more about their religion, however, and to learn how we can challenge those beliefs.  We’re thankful that even though we don’t share those beliefs, we are able to still care immensely for each of them.

This month came to an end with a day of feasting, which turned out to be a tough day for us.  In past years we have been a part of the feasting that we were invited to and gave out candy to kids as part of their customs.  But we have been talking with someone who left this religion and became a believer and his thoughts have really challenged us.  He advised us not to share in the feasts by visiting with people and to not follow the culture on this day especially.  He said that we have to stand firm on this or the people will think that we are in fact being won over to their religion.  He shared a lot from his heart and since he knows so much more than us, we decided to follow his lead.

We’re glad for the opportunities to learn from the wisdom of those around us.  We pray that we can continue to use this guidance so that we may make a greater impact here.  Pray for the people here.  Pray for their hearts and minds to see that everything they try in vain to do is really worthless.  Pray that they will seek after Jesus who already did all the work for them.

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A new baby

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
A new baby born in the village

A new baby born in the village

This cute little baby is the new child of one of the believers in our village.   The father is one of the few believers there.  He has struggled a lot in the past with staying strong in the midst of persecution and really feels the pull to go back to his old religion.  The mother is his second wife who is not a believer.  Please be praying for the father – that he may have a testimony that encourages his wives and children to be open to the Gospel.

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Finding our vehicle…

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Us with our incredible new vehicle

Us with our incredible new vehicle

We have seen God answer a huge prayer request.  We shared earlier that we had received the funds that we needed to be able to purchase a vehicle for our ministry in Guinea.  Now came the huge task of selecting just the right one.  We are thankful for a mechanic from our church who offered a lot of his own time to help Steve in this process.  They researched online, talked with dealers, thought through many of challenges that vehicles face in Africa and decided on certain type of vehicle.  Then they started searching for  Mitsibushi Montero’s that were for sale within a few hundred miles of our house.  It seemed like God was leading them to one about six hours from our house – all the pieces just kept falling into place and other doors for other vehicles were closing.  After many phone calls and discussions, Steve and our mechanic friend met the seller of this vehicle at the halfway point and they made the deal.  This is when we found out that the seller goes to church with many New Tribes missionaries – pretty cool the way God brings people into our lives!  Steve will be taking the vehicle to N Carolina in January to put it on the boat to ship over to Guinea.  We are so excited about this vehicle.  It will be such a huge blessing to us in the village.

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Baptism by the river

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Steve reading what Micah and Malachi wrote about their baptism

Steve reading what Micah and Malachi wrote about their baptism

Last year our boys watched as one of their friends was baptized during the Easter service we had at a nearby river.  They have talked about it many times since then and as this Easter approached, they both asked if they could be baptized as well.  The boys have expressed their faith in Christ for about two years now – growing in their understanding of what that means as they get older.  It’s been so wonderful as their parents to hear them tell us that they have decided to follow Jesus. We have gone through the book “the Lamb” several times with them and it’s done an amazing job of explaining God’s plan of salvation in a way that kids can truly grasp.

We sat down with the boys and asked them why they wanted to be baptized and what thought it meant.  We talked about John the Baptist and why baptisms are important.  We wanted to be sure that this was something they understood and choose for themselves.

Easter Sunday our team of missionaries headed out to the river while it was still dark.  We set some chairs up by the river and Steve shared a message on the Christ’s death and resurrection.  We sang some songs afterwards and then Steve shared Micah and Malachi’s thoughts on their baptism.  Steve took them out into the water and baptized them.  It’s a special memory for us – that our boys were able to share their baptism with their dad in such a big way.

We pray that they will continue to grow in their knowledge of what God desires of them and how they can serve God even as young boys.

On a side note, our story wouldn’t be complete without a mention on how their is an “African twist” on things.  Many people go to the river to bathe and wash their clothes, so it wasn’t a surprise that we started to have some spectators part way through.  I got a little nervous when several of the older ladies went topless while doing the laundry, but I think I kept them out of the photos!

Steve sharing the Easter message

Steve sharing the Easter message

Micah's baptism

Micah's baptism

Malachi's baptism

Malachi's baptism

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Prayers for a special boy

Posted by Steve and Casey Cretsinger on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Signing Mo up for classes at his school

Signing Mo up for classes at his school

I walked into their house the other day and saw him sitting at the table working so hard to practice his writing.  I sat there grinning like a proud mama as he worked to write his letters.  We wrote about our little buddy, Mo, in our last newsletter and our desire to see him get a good education.  He is such a special little boy and I know that God has brought him into our lives for a special reason.  I know that it’s hard for him to focus on school because so many of his friends in the neighborhood are not going to school at all.  It would be easier for him to just run free all day and play.  But, I am so thankful that his mom wants to see him getting a good education as well.   His home is not a safe place for him and we were working really hard to find a spot in a boarding school, but there was not a place for him to start this year.  But, we have found a private school in town where he will get a good education in French.  We pray that he will continue working hard in his studies. Please keep praying for him and his family.  I went to see his mom the other day and we talked about the people living in their home that regularly beat on Mo.  She is worried for his safety and yet there is little she can do.  I pray that we can be a source of love and hope for him – even if everything else around him is darkness.  I long to rescue him from his life, but I can’t.  I have to trust that my friendship with his mom and my words to her will give her a desire to speak up.  I have to trust that God can use what the world means for evil to somehow bring good in the lives of him and his family.  I have to just speak truth to his family and put Mo in God’s hands.  Please keep praying that through us he would see Christ.

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