Greetings from the Mid-Atlantic US & the Motherland of Africa!
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“The following night the LORD stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)
Dear Raul, Lynda and FOMM Family,
Greetings from the saints in Washington DC, the “Rome” of the modern-day world! Patrique and I have been grateful for the strength God provides as we have seen His power at work throughout the churches in the Africanus World Sector. We traveled to Lagos, Nigeria from June 26 through the 30th to celebrate the West African Leadership Conference (WALC) in Lagos, Nigeria, along with disciples from Ghana, Mexico City, Nigeria, Uganda, and the United States. After an inspiring conference, we traveled to Johannesburg on July 3rd to oversee the leadership transition of Kwaku & Ashley Sarkodie as they took the helm of the mighty Johannesburg Church. Then we returned to DC to prepare for Mid-Atlantic Congregational Service on July 14th, which included the official sending out of three mission teams and welcoming disciples from Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Oklahoma City for the work in the DC area!
The LORD blessed our efforts as we witnessed an attendance of 213 souls; the sending out of three mission teams to Morgantown (WV), Columbia (SC) and Raleigh (NC); and the baptism of a joyful campus student from Gallaudet University, a school for the hard-of-hearing and deaf! To God be the glory! The LORD has added five souls to our number in the past four weeks, we have another three predicted for baptism this week. Please pray for God to strengthen our efforts in both the BRAVE (Mid-Atlantic) churches as well as our Motherland (Africa) churches as we strive to please Him! |
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BRAVE: Washington, DC, USA
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| Colden Wilkins (a retired Marine) and Valencia Kamobaya (a nurse) are spiritual twins in the LORD as they were baptized on July 7th! |
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| It was a joy to host the members of the three mission teams and the disciples coming to DC on the weekend of July 12th through the 14th – many had never been to DC or seen the monuments at the National Mall, such as the Washington Monument! |
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| Despite the hot weather, the disciples was eager to see many of Washington DC’s iconic monuments, such as the Lincoln Memorial! |
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| The majestic statue of Abraham Lincoln inspired us all to help many souls be “emancipated” from spiritual slavery! |
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| After a scrumptious welcome dinner and fellowship on Saturday night, we celebrated the sending out of the mission teams to West Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina! Ashton Hughes, JP Thrasher, and Michael Schafer preached the word powerfully on Daniel chapter 3, entitled, “God is Able to Deliver Us!” |
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| It was a joy to also welcome the 10 valiant souls who have come to serve in Washington, DC (from back row to front) – Melissa Erana (San Francisco), Kionna Russell (Portland) Clarissa Nunez (Los Angeles), Erin Fischer (Los Angeles), Ricardo & Alejandra Jaramillo (Oklahoma City), Daniela Velasco (Los Angeles), Brandon Willingham (Los Angeles), Eric Artola (San Francisco), and Brandon Vo (Seattle)! |
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| The LORD also blessed us with the incredible baptism of Ebahili Eigbefoh, a campus student major in Information Technology and Business at Gallaudet University! Our daughter Naomi (in her orange Kids Kingdom shirt – she is now serving as a teacher) rejoiced as she was in many of Eba’s studies! |
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| The three mission team Evangelists & Women’s Ministry Leaders (Michael & Stephanie Schafer – West Virginia; Ashton & Kara Hughes – North Carolina; and JP & Makayla Thrasher – South Carolina) preached and shared the word powerfully as we celebrated the completion of Operation Eagle! |
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| Patrique and I are honored to be in the Battle for the MId-Atlantic US States as we oversee such a talented group of young ministers for the LORD! Please pray for the Inaugural Services of Morgantown (WV) on August 25th, Columbia (SC) on September 8th, and Raleigh (NC) on September 22nd! |
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Motherland: Lagos, Nigeria
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| Despite the West Africa traffic, heat and humidity, disciples traveled from miles away to greet Patrique and me as well as Nick Bordieri who was on the same flight – Denise was able to bravely join us later after overcoming an illness! |
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| The West Africa Leadership Conference was inspiring as we celebrated the impact of MERCYworldwide in Lagos and beyond! God blessed also blessed us with two baptisms at the conference! |
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| It was inspiring to celebrate the impact of Operation Motherland in West Africa, as we are praying to plant Freetown, Sierra Leone and Monrovia, Liberia by 2026 and 2027! A recent UCLA graduate and football player, Femi Oladejo (right), was eager to join us for the conference as his family lives in Nigeria! |
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| Excitingly, Femi was able to bring his dad to the conference, and he was able to join us for both the general session and the worship on Sunday! Please pray for Femi’s family as they live in Ibadan, a major city just two hours away from Lagos. We already have a remnant group there – pray that Femi’s Dad can connect with them! |
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| In addition to inspiring lessons and powerful preaching, the conference participants visiting from abroad had the opportunity to travel two hours southeast of Lagos to Badagry, a city which was a major slave port for the Transatlantic Slave Trade for hundreds of years (1445-1888). 3 out of every 10 enslaved West Africans came from the port city of Badagry. |
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| The majestic monument of enslaved Africans breaking their chains is a centrepiece of the Badagry Heritage Museum! |
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| Please pray for Bolaji & Chinyere Akinfenwa as they dream to raise up the leaders who will help grow the Lagos Church to 500 disciples and beyond! |
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Motherland: Johannesburg, South Africa
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| It is always a joy to see the Joburg disciples as they have stood their ground despite the betrayal and insidious false doctrine of their past leaders – they are on fire for the LORD! The disciples were able to meet us at the airport early Wednesday morning as we arrived to oversee the leadership transition later that night on July 3rd! |
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| Patrique and I are so proud of the new Joburg Evangelist & Women’s Ministry Leader – Kwaku & Ashley Sarkodie! Please pray for God to bless their faith as they serve to win all of Johannesburg and Southern Africa for the LORD! |
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| Patrique and I took the Joburg Ministry Interns out for lunch to thank them for “holding the reins” of the church until the Sarkodies’ arrival! We are so proud of their faith, unwavering convictions and loyalty to God and His kingdom! |
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Motherland: Nairobi, Kenya
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| Our church in Nairobi is full of faith for East Africa as Arnold Niragira was baptized on July 7th! Arnold is a physical trainer who first came out in December of 2023, but wasn’t ready to make the Bible his standard. After Nairobi Evangelist Tolani Abiodun and others persevered with him, he overcame several sins in order to make Jesus LORD! |
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| Excitingly, Arnold’s baptism was also on the day of his physical birthday – his 24th! His mother (right), was full of gratitude as she had personally witnessed Arnold’s transformation by becoming a disciple of Jesus! |
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| By the grace of God, Arnold’s friend, Andrew (center), was baptized on July 14th and his mother was also in attendance! God is moving to win friends and family in Nairobi for His glory! |
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| The Nairobi saints also welcomed Didi Ledwaba, a former ministry intern in Johannesburg, who has moved to Nairobi to support the work of the ministry! Please pray for Kate Abiodun (Nairobi WML – front row in blue), as she prepares to give birth to their second child this week! |
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| Praise God for giving us all the strength as we dream to evangelize the nations in this generation! May God help us to be “humble, holy, and hungry for the Harvest” as we seek to please Him! Thank you for all your love, prayers and financial support. We look forward to seeing you in Chicago for the ICLS!
Much love,
Andrew & Patrique |
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