2021 01-17 Missionary Sunday

Okay High.

I'm going to come down here around a little closer. at least to start with and

so how have you kids? I don't know you you don't know me. My name is Gordon. I live in Africa in the country of Liberia. And I just want to have you kids go to school you're in school. Who else is in school year in school? There's one over there. Okay. How old are you?

11 what grade are you in? Can I ask? Fifth grade. How old were you when you were in second grade?

Okay, okay.

First grade. How old are you? 7. Okay. Let me just tell you a quick story about a girl that is it one of ours was one of the things we doing libraries. We have some schools and I'm just going to call a Rebecca. I'll be honest with you. I can't remember her name at the moment. But I'm going to call Rebecca and Rebecca lives out in a small town small village out in in Liberia where we live. And I don't look out in the jungle. Is there no school where she lives? and so

her parents and family arranged for her to move into the city where we live in Liberia the city of Monrovia to live with her aunt and her aunt was going to let her then seeing that should get to school. We know how old she was something like 12. 11 or 12. Can you imagine being 11 or 12 years old and just being in first or second grade? I thought that's not how old you are and it's not because she's flunked a lot because she never got to go to school. So so she came into the City and living with her. and I think it was to go to school and then he decided that she no longer could afford to have her go to school little kids have to pay to have to pay to go to school there and when they don't have to be a lot of money, it's a lot of money for them and the school shoes going is probably about $50 a year for tuition, but that's kind of a lot of money for her family to come up with and so she what's going to have to drop out of school because there wasn't money for for them to continue to pay for her to come to school. Well the schools actually help then there's been some scholarship money. Give us that she can go to school but you know kids a lot of kids in Liberia. They don't get to go to school or they don't get to go to school when they should get their start right away. And so we have kids in school. You know, we have kindergarteners that are 7 8 9 years old like free Kinder even on because they just have never had a chance to go to school. But what are the things? Why were the we do as as missionaries in letters were trying to help with our schools. And we sometimes can give money to help our kids to come to build afford to come to school. And then when you go to school, do you get hot lunch at school? I don't know what the what is like here in Dallas when I when I went to school here in Dallas many many years ago. I'm a Dallas boy and I went to Lyle grade school. I don't even know if I'll still exist and then I went to Junior High right down the street here down at Academy and then over to La Creole and in the high school and that's a long time ago, right and and back then we had hot lunch if you want it. I never wanted it. I never thought was very good to be honest it since I just lived next door to the church and is downtown. What lunch time at when out of the Cabbage watch home and had had my mom every day much better than this. Do a library a lot of our kids to come to school if they don't get lunch at school. They don't get fed. And that's their main meal for the day for a lot of them because they're their moms and dads. They just don't have much money to be able to provide them with with good meals everyday. So that's one of the things that we do lunch for the kids and for the teachers because the teachers come to school hungry as well some of them and so the school lunch help revising and we do that because that's one way to show them Jesus is Love. You know, I know it's important that they have food in their stomach. I know that but it's even more important that they know that Jesus loves them. And so I can share that with you today. You're actually pretty lucky here in the states to get to go to school and you may not think so. I understand that but you're really pretty lucky that when you're five years old or 6 years old. You can be in the right grade at school and and insulin is hope. All right leave because about to leave leave if you're staying stay, whatever I don't know.

I am

I think I'm going to stand up here because then I can I see this site. then I can see you better and also might just be easier to share a little with you this morning before we get to the actual presentation about Liberia and

Pat already stole my sermon with her Bible Code moment. I didn't know she was going to do that.

So I don't need to preach much of what I was going to say if you listen to her.

You know.

I want to just share a few thoughts become from the from 2nd Corinthians before we actually start with the presentation about Liberia. and 7 Corinthians In your new in the New Testament was written by the Apostle Paul. It's a letter to the church at Corinth is probably at least his third letter to them. Although we call it 2nd Corinthians. We don't have one of the letters, but he's riding to this church at Corinth and Corinth was a problem Church gay. It just was they had every conceivable problem you can imagine and One of the biggest problems that develop was that some new people came to town. And they came to the church and they begin to tell the people in the church that the Apostle Paul didn't know what he was talking about and he wasn't anything and and they should no longer listen to him instead. They should listen to them and they kind of called themselves super Apostles and they claimed they were so much wiser and and so on then

Then Paul was Paul had to defend himself not because his ego was hurt, but he had to defend himself because the very God was it steak? Android this this group of Corinthian Believers were going to continue in the Gospel of Jesus or where they're going to continue in something else. And so Paul writes defending 2nd Corinthians in part to defend themselves and and in the process of doing this he says this and this really isn't part of his defense in the way it is way too but he interrupts himself and he says but thanks be to God this is chapter 2 verse 14, but thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through US spreads and every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God Among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing to the one fragrance from Death to death to the other a fragrance from Life To Life who is sufficient for these things, but we are not Peddlers of God's word like so many but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity as person sent from God and standing in his presence has he already talked about this? Ye hear Paul uses the image. It's time about Believers and he says that that we are part of Christ's triumphal procession. I'm Paul's using an image that came from rural. When when when Rome wanted to honor a general who had done a really fantastic job and had conquered somebody and when they wanted to really honor him, they gave him a triumphal procession and the Magnificent thing. First would come the state officials. The members of the Senate they would be marked it would be marching down the street first and then they'd be followed by trumpeters blaring blaring their Trump has attracting everyone's attention.

And and then there would be men. That would be carrying The Spoils of War that have been brought back from wherever the war had taken place and they would bring those two showing everybody and then they be followed by flute players who are leading oxen that we're going to be sacrificed to their gods out of Thanksgiving for this this victory. And then following the auction would come the prisoners of war and these would be often the important officials of the place they had conquered and and you know, these folks weren't so happy to be in the procession because they knew they were headed to their execution and they were going to be killed and then following them they would bring the the Insignia wrong, you know, why on a pole the banners and all of that and the musicians and there was a priest and swing their sensors of incense that was burning it would send out this odor and then find play at the end would come the general who's being honored and it was a magnificent thing. He would be followed the general would then be followed by the by the Roman soldiers. So isn't there is something to see if you were rolling. I mean that was a pretty impressive thing and Paul takes that picture and he says that as Christians it's like We're being lead in this triumphal procession, right? Because Christ has won the Victory and he's freed us from sin. He's freed us from death. And so now is as though we March in his procession. And this is the victory not that we have one, but it's a victory that Christ has won. And Palvin says as Christians were kind of like the incense that was being burned.

Dresses that incense to the Roman people that smell that and it added to this idea of Victory and Triumph over their enemies and yet that same incense was a horrible reminder to the prisoners who were walking that every step took them closer to their death. Europol says as Christians what kind of like that in the sense that they were throwing her in a swing around and their possessions? Because we live our lives for Christ.

And Hannah's were faithful and obedient to him our lives let off an odor. Okay. I'm not about body odor here, but you know our lives. Say something about Christ. And to those who see us and they want to have what we have that influence is a very positive thing of all sizes from life to life because it's leading people to Christ. but then he also says but for those who won't believe Are lies put off an odor? He says of death? from Death to death Our Lives if I'm living for Christ my life will convict people who have chosen to not live for Christ the post saying and and as Christians as we live our lives for Christ Christ is able to use our lives to influence others Impulses who was able to do this and he says not me by myself. This is Christ in US. doing this it's not me Gordon Elliott missionary. That's so wonderful that brings people to Christ or it's not your pastor cuz he's so wonderful bringing people to Christ, you know as Christ in US. As we live obediently to him then we have this impact on people around us. So finally Paul says so because that's true. He says, I'm not a peddler of the word of God. That word Peddler is a negative term. And in in the Greek and what Paul saying is I Don't Preach so that I can get rich. I Don't Preach to manipulate you to do something that I want you to do it was defending himself here against the super Apostles cuz that's what they were doing. They were preaching to get rich or they were preaching to manipulate the people I don't do that. I don't deceive.

Because it's Christ in me.

Google who does the ministry?

Not you know putting on a show so people will look at us and say my aren't they wonderful people we need to be sincere as we follow Christ and allow his fragrance. His life the flow through us and to be an impact on the people around us. You know, that's

that's kind of what we're trying to do in Liberia. So we're going to just kind of switch for a little bit if you want to wait and start the the presentation back there. Thank you. That's one of the first picture. On to the next one. All right, that's what family. And in case you don't know it, I'm bored with my wife. Nikki is here this morning and our youngest son mark. and we just want to share a little bit. What what is happening in Liberia? That's one of the next picture next thing there's a person here that I heard the voice of the Lord saying, how do I send who will go for us? And I said here am I send me that some Isaiah chapter 6 verse 8. My dad was 11 years more or less. And so I did a chunk of my growing up here in Dallas and it's while I was at this church won't living here in Dallas off of Youth Camp the Lord news this verse in my life to affirm to me. I thought I always want to be a missionary and he use this verse in my life to a firm to me. That was okay for me to do that in the want want to do that? And this has been a verse which is kind of been an anchor for me in a sense because there's sometimes you wonder what in the world am I doing, you know? And this verse is help to be an anchor to me that God has cover. Let's go on. when God when I felt God calling me and went through, you know college and all that the place that I felt that God was leading me was to Bolivia and When I lived here in Dallas when I still lived in Oregon, I was a single guy got through college without getting married got to Seminary without being married and I was heading for the mission field heading for Bolivia. And that's when I met my wife Nikki I moved from here. I moved back to Danville Illinois. And you know, our church is a connectional system and we move pastors around. So I was asked to go back to Illinois to Pastor a church there in the pasture. I was replacing was Nikki's father who is being moved to a church in Minnesota and Nicki also felt the call of God on her life and wanted to to be a missionary wanted to go to Bolivia app actually spent part of a growing up in Bolivia her folks and served as missionaries with her mission for a time in Bolivia as well. And so it was convenient. We got married and off to Bolivia we went and let's just go ahead. There is our family that's our family portrait from from Bolivia in what way in Bolivia a lot of different things. I was involved in pastoral training. I taught in our Seminary our Bible school. I was the Rector of the cemetery for a while that a lot of children's work working with children's workers Nikki help some with Seminary wives and some classes that were conducted for the wise of our students and so on and so forth and a whole bunch of things that we were assigned there for for 30 years. And one day we were asked was it a Sunday school class there in Bolivia. About why do we do what we do? For me that was like, okay. So why am I a missionary in Bolivia? And would you sing for me? And this is what I finally figured it out. Why was there Jesus said go and make disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you and it suddenly dawned on me everything I was doing was tied in with making disciples weather was working with children children's workers weather was working in the bible school or whatever the thing the tight it all together was making disciples. That's what Jesus is called us to do. And it was kind of aha moment for me that morning to finally figure out how it all fit together. I mean, I always knew the Great Commission II not like this was new to me, but suddenly realizing that really is this is the thing. Making disciples for Jesus. We are leading us to calling us to leave Bolivia and they had to a new continent. So if you want to go to the next one there.

Well, that was not an inconstant copy. All right, let's see it as the next picture copy that we go. Okay. This one on this side was supposed to been Africa again. I don't know what happened there. But we felt we have been called to Africa. Africa was never on our radar never thought about going to Africa our mission and never had work in Africa, but we felt God breathed leading us to life specifically the Liberia and sent you can't see that other man, but it's library is on the hump the sticks out there in the Atlantic right here on the bottom.

Picture that's the Liberian flag Library. I just isn't just some basic facts about Liberia is the oldest Republic in Africa. I was established July 26th 1847 and it has been a continuously independent nation since then it had some really rough times recently. But if is it has been the oldest an independent republic in Africa are the population not particularly large 4 and 1/2 to 5 and 1/2 million people, but the interesting thing is that oh, I'm sorry about 16 ethnic groups that are recognized by the government. Probably 16 to 20 ethnic language is depending on how you define. What's a language in which is the dialect in that kind of thing and then let's go on. And the average age this is what's interesting. The average age in Liberia is 17 years 7 months old now when you think of that An average age. What does that mean? That means that half the people are over 17, but that means half the people are under the age of 17. and specifically if you want to break it down a little more 44% or age 14 and under That means Liberia is a very very young Nation. The fact we have one of the youngest populations in the world. So everywhere you go and no matter what you're doing. There are children. I mean, they're just everywhere. You can't get away from them. In other on the street there a church any meeting you have any place you go children, very very young population. Let's go ahead and just some pictures here ahead of the next one as well. As some of those those kids are very beautiful and fun. Loving children. Let's go to the next are there we go. So we work with Evangelical Church Evangelical Church missions, which is part of our denomination The church here in Dallas is part of a larger. Group, right or not just didn't depend a little church just a little bit here, But we're part of a larger than nomination and we work with the Evangelical Church missions, which is a part of our denomination and in Liberia. We just have two families that are assigned there right now and there's our family over here the old people and then the other side is the other family that's also assigned to Liberia. And if he looks a little bit like me, he should because it's my other son and his family that's an old picture. They just had they just had number for so there should be really for kids instead of 3, but anyway, I don't have a picture to put in there yet, but we work together in Liberia. let's go ahead and and we work there. Alongside the Liberia Evangelical Mission the other Library Evangelical mission is a denomination is a group of small. It's a small group of churches and a half in Liberia and we work with the right now we have about seven official. Full-time member, so to speak 11 scuse me, 11 full time full member churches that's on trying to say and then we have another 5-6 maybe as many as 9 or 10 that are in process that will become part of us in these next. Hopefully the next month and that's what we work with, you know this group of churches back when they were first starting to work together. They were just two of them are three and they

they were they were working with a pastor here in the United States or he was trying to organize them and it just didn't work to have him in the United States and their in library and he's a librarian too. But he's here and there they are in it. It just didn't work too well, and so let's go to the next slide there and so they asked us to come over to Liberia and help us actually in the book of Acts. You have a story of where the Apostle Paul wasn't sure where he was supposed to go next in the night. He had a vision and he sees the man from Macedonia saying come over to Macedonia and help and and Paul didn't win so far. Well, I use that verse because that's kind of how we got involved in Liberia. Does this group of liberians over trying to organize and work together? Said to the Evangelical Church. Can you come to Liberia and help us and can we can we have a missionary to help us in our in our work? And so we've done that so there we are library has asked us to come. Let's go to the next line here. I wanted to give you the story of Pastor Bill. He's one of our pastors there in Liberia bills kind of young. That's the far corner there.

and and bills life kind of illustrates why the Evangelical Church why the elliotts are in Liberia Liberia are the sexual mores and I know it's also a problem in the United States in Liberia people instead of getting married. What happens is a guy in a gal will move in together. They'll maybe have a baby or two and then when they get tired of that the guy I'll go off and find some other girl the girl go off and find another guy and and you know, they do it all over again. And of course the end the end result of that is we got all these kids growing up in Liberia specifically without fathers and and that's not a good thing. We saved him and his wife Martha Lynn were living together. They were in this group. They weren't married. They were living together. I know Bill had at least one child, I think by a previous relationship and when they got saved and then Bill begin to feel that God was calling him into Ministry. So you went to the pastor that was in charge of the little church that we were starting in their Village. And is told the pastor in and this the pastor sister and he says so what do I need to do to become a preacher pastor and the pastor that said the first thing you have to do is get your life in order your personal life. And so he told Bill and Martha line that they would need to. separate and live apart for a while and he would check up on them to make sure they were doing that and then after a certain. Of time that would plan a wedding Come Back Together, Like A New Beginning right in and start a marriage and a home when a Christian foundation and you know Bill love Jesus and his becoming a disciple of Jesus and so he was willing to do that and he and Martha line is separated for over. Of time came back together and we got to be at their wedding. We arrived in Liberia not too long before their wedding and there was a lot of fun there. This little flower girl came in and when the poor little thing saw me, she's Frozen or track so she started to cry and and this white face and and she never did finish for disciples. Do what Jesus said. They should do the next thing. Another issue in Liberia is the poverty and most people in Liberia are poor 87% of the population live in poverty.

The average daily wage at this point or I'm sorry hourly wage run somewhere between a dollar AT&T $2.60 an hour if you if you got a job and that's not enough to live on in Liberia. Sometimes we have this idea that third world countries is expensive and poverty is a very real issue and bill and his wife and their children live the experience all the results of poverty. No poverty brings on health issue. because if you can't afford to eat good nutrition in all your give you're very vulnerable to all kinds of diseases and Bill's family has been gone through it. I mean they've had all kinds of of sicknesses involved.

And then poverty it put you in a Perpetual search for food. There's no social network and no social safety net in in in Liberia. No one's giving you money to live. If you are turning it. There's no government program to to feed you. And so Bill sometimes, you know, he's got to go out and search for food and one time he was out. He found a group of palm nuts on a palm tree without cutting them off in the branch broke or something and going to end up in the hospital for falling out of the tree, you know poverty have a place I prune a place to live. Of the house. They've been living in the landlord wants them out because the landlord wants to improve it and bills trying to build a house there still trying to get enough money together to be able to finish this house. We just poverty that's a problem in Liberia for most of the people and for many people the problems of poverty brings will separate them from God.

Because the way they react but not Bill bills a disciple of Jesus and okay, they struggle with poverty. They go without eating sometimes. But it's okay. Because he loves Jesus and they're trusting that the Lord will take care of them. And then another huge problem Liberia's is that a lot of false religion next religion a significant portion of librarians. Will say they're Christian. Okay, if you look up on the internet, you'll find a statistic. Maybe it'll say 80% 85% of Liberia's Christian and you wonder why we sending missionaries, right? That's not true. Many people will say I'm a Christian because they're not they're not muslim. Okay, because Islam is in library about 12 % in because they're not Islamic so that's a chunk of those Christians. And then there's another segment of the population that practices traditional African religion African culture. And and and what happens is that part of that culture is good. Not all bad part of his demonic. And it is bad some of the things that go on and yet there are people that will say they're Christians, but yet they're still following. The traditional African religion which involves the money things at that time. And so you take those away. It's so you come down to really about 14% of Liberian population are actually what you would consider Christian in the biblical sense. And Bill he grew up. Being a part of What's called the poro Society. It's a secret society and its for men and boys is also one called the Sandy Society this for women and girls and build you up a part of that and the Sandy society and the poro Society are demonic in some of the activities they doing that his term not mine. So when his daughter and his daughter is not his daughter, it's his wife's younger sister going to get sister, but they're raising her as their as their daughter and when his daughter was invited by a friend to go become a part of Sandy the secret society. Bill said no. You know, my daughter is not going to be involved in that because of what it is and because of that he was basically publicly shamed for refusing to let his daughter go. He was fine and a fairly significant size fine for them on because of his refusal to let his daughter be taken in by this this this Society.

The other real problem in Liberia is the gospel of prosperity.

And the gospel Prosperity says if you give enough money to the preacher. You have enough faith in God and in the preacher there for God will bless you. God has to bless you financially and he has to give you a good job and lots of money in and no one in your family will ever be sick and so on and so forth. Well bill has had to deal with those kinds of things he but he he he he's not into that because he's a disciple of Jesus and he knows that he has to follow Jesus. He can't follow traditional religion. He can't it'll give us children over to demonic things. Because he loves Jesus disciple of Jesus.

It's all that's her goal.

In Liberia did Purdue's disciples much like Pastor built. So how do we do that?

Christ is the one and only way to God proclaim the gospel and we're not ashamed of that Lem art Library Evangelical Mission Evangelical Church missions. We are not primarily a development Mission. Okay. Our goal is not to necessarily dig Wells, you know or no? Do the physical stop? Although we do what we can our goal or a main priority is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ because Liberia's problems are so serious and so deep the only way they'll ever be changes when there's change hearts and you know, what another well for another Village or building another hospital or building another school in all those things are important and we're working on schools, but those things will not change people's hearts.

Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change people's hearts and that's specifically what I do or do what I do have a weekly Bible class with a group of Summer pasture summer. I hope going to be Pastor someday and number of them are School teachers we meet together in in in study kind of on a Bible Institute level. We trade leaders were involved in trading pastors. We have a good and we have a good ghetto 12 to 15 pastors at this point that are associated with us and many of them have had almost no training and so were involved in in training them so that they can adequately for playing the gospel and a noodle do it correctly the score of the next. picture

we do it to planting churches and Lem has a vision especially to plant churches and Rural Villages because there many many rural villages in Liberia that have no church and so have a vision to plant churches there. This is one of our new new churches and let's go on keep moving here. So I don't get too long now primary schools. I've already mentioned those into the kids laam has a real Vision to plant schools and those schools become an opportunity to present the gospel. The children and hopefully to their families as well R-1 school for instance right in Monrovia. We're in a slum and we have a significant number of Muslim children who come to our school. They know we're Christian school and what they're sending their kids if parents are sending their kids and it's a real opportunity to present the gospel to these children and and hopefully have an impact on their lives for good school feeding program at the children cuz I said many children come and that have not eaten and it and they might not eat much that day anyway, and some have a school feeding program that we subsidize the amount of what it cost them. We expecting parents to still pay something but we are in the process of subsidizing so the parents can afford. the feeder kits

and then we also another thing we do to address these problems and make disciples is what we call shine which is a program aimed at teenage girls and young girls in the mid-20s understand that they're their value is not in having a boyfriend is not in being in bed with her boyfriend and giving him a baby because that's what Liberian culture tells them. That's why they're valuable but their value and their worth is found in Christ. And Jesus died for them. They're made in His image. Jesus gave his life for them. He loves them and they have value. And so that's what our shine shine program is designed to do you keep going It's what we have a lot of open doors. God has given the library Evangelical Mission Evangelical Church missions a lot of open doors in Liberia. There are as I said, there are many villages that need churches and schools. There are Villages that literally are asking us to come and plant a church and a school in their Village. So we have lots of open doors and it's pretty amazing library is one of these few countries in the world where Americans are welcomed with open arms the government puts no stumbling blocks in our way as missionaries or is America's they love us. It's easy to get visas. It's just amazing and the doors are open. In order for us to walk through these open doors are some things we need to do if we go to the next line, please.

And just keep going. We need people who will pray if we're going to meet the challenges that are available to us in Liberia and be able to reach these Villages that are asking for churches and someone we need people to pray for us. And I know some of you here do that and I thank you for that. I say that sincerely Paul tells us also in 2nd Corinthians that as we pray like that you help And it's not just it's not just a little exercise you do. It's actual help. And I I think those of you who pray for Liberia, I would encourage you to continue to pray for us. If we have a couple of things we a couple of lists we can put you on if you're interested in receiving kind of up to more up-to-date prayer items to know how to pray more specifically for Liberia. We have a monthly letter that we send out because our champion report the sort of a monthly summary of what's going on and always contains prayer request of what the current you know needs are we also have another group that we can send out prayer requests as they happen in so people can play. Student getting either of those things you have probably in in your C3, there's a white sheet and you can just give me your email address your name and write on there that you want to either be a champion or do the on the prayer list and I'll add your name. how to do that and then we need not only mean people to pray we need finances and I'll just be honest Ministry in the 21st century is expensive and as missionaries an Evangelical Church, the way it works is we each individually have to raise our financial support that's different than the way some Churches doing but our denomination does it this way and we have people who give regularly Week or monthly to our support. We have people that maybe give once a year. We have people that maybe only give once and you know, we were very thankful for that and I just would encourage you today to ask God if you want to become involved financially with the working Library again. There's that sheet in the Pew that this there you can indicate that you can talk to us. Also, and I'm supposed to mention this and so let me do it quickly. We have an app. The mission has a nap and there's some it's called we are on Mission. We are on Mission and it's a convenient way to get prayer requests. And also if you want to contribute financially it's a convenient way to to do it that as well and you can get the app is within the Apple store. It's on the Play Store on Google. So that's another way you can receive prayer request and give if your if the Lord would leave you to do that and then finally almost done hanging with me and you're doing well. We need more personnel.

We need more Liberian pastors. And I would ask you to pray that God will call more of our young men and women.

into Ministry in Liberia Are these Villages or mention? They're asking for churches. They need pastors. We need password. Lem does not have people to send. Call these places Jesus said pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out work. Would you do that? Ask God to raise workers in Liberia is young guys? I work with in my in my Bible study group for some of them. You know that God will get a hold of their hearts and for Ministry, but they're willing to do the work of ministry. And then we need more us missionaries already mentioned us missionaries in Liberia. So unique opportunity. We're wanted and the government doesn't the government does not. Try to keep us out welcomes us and we need more missionaries Nikki and I we're not getting any younger. You know, I got to have somebody to replace us and there's a whole smattering of evil Ministry that needs to be done. And in the u.s. Church, we have some experience and some expertise that we can offer to the light of day to the library in church to help train them and so on and so forth. And so we need more missionaries. I appreciate if you would stay with us for that as well. The God will call young people middle-aged people would ever become a minister Library. We also need some basis school teachers that can come give us a couple weeks even to do training with the teachers in our schools for instance. Lots of opportunity. So would you pray with us the God will call more workers in Liberia in from the US to go and work alongside our librarian Brothers. Unless you pray ask God. Did he want you to become involved? And that would be a really good thing. Okay, I really am done.

Says who will go for us? That question about Liberia who will come to the library and help the Librarians are calling who will come over and help us. And my question this morning is how will you answer that challenge? And you can just throw up that last slide if you want just a little boy there. Thank you for letting us share. It's always kind of scary to come back here. Come home.

Even though I know it's not like you ever newest but still told his kind of little bit scary little bit daunting to come from back to your home church and where you grew up and and see things but thank you so much for the opportunity Pastor Dave. Thank you for for letting us come to pray with you and then I will sit down. and though faster finish up Lord we thank you for your great. Love Church of Dallas. What you do for me? I have a lot of memories and lot of good memories here. And I thank you for the ministry that this church is having here in Dallas and Lord of the know. It's not a huge church, but the Outreach through celebrate recovery and and the closing the clothing and so on that this going on here and we thank you for that. And I pray you will continue to bless the church and its Outreach give wisdom to to the pastor of the church leaders as they do these things Lord. We're going to a difficult challenge right here in Dallas. Then Lord I Thank You for Your Love that goes beyond our own cultural boundaries. I think you could love for liberians and the country of Liberia are thank you for guys my pastor Phil four calling you and disciples. And it Lord I Thank you for the privilege of being involved in in part of that process. And we pray that you would. Call the u.s. Postal workers are becoming work work alongside as work alongside the librarians. Northern Library itself to the you would be raising up our young man young women there to meet the challenges in the doors that are that are open to us being able to plant churches and spread the gospel. Thank you that you have sufficient God and you provide what we need we do that in in am so thankful in God, we realize that what we do what we do because you're in us and it's you that were you think you for the mercy you show us the fact that your call has to do that and that you're that fragrance through us to the people around us. But thank you baby. Love you. Are you this week and what we do in Jesus name? Amen?