Eliki and Lavenia Drodrolagi spent 16 years church planting in Chad. We asked them about their experience….

Looking back, what were your greatest challenges?
Eliki: Streets full of soldiers, extreme heat, our house being stoned, my wife harassed, and two occasions of serious illness, one in which I just wanted to die.

A young Kiwi guy has taken a beating and is sitting dazed by the kerb.  It’s easy to walk passed, after all, everyone else is.  I look at my watch...I haven’t got time anyway, I’m already running late...  besides what am I going to do for him, surely no one would expect me to go so far as to take him to a doctor or the hospital... I’m sure it’s not as bad as it looks, it seldom is, I’ll look silly if I approach him and it turns out he’s really just fine...

My greatest memories of my mother are her strong work ethic and her passion for the poor, the suffering and the women of the young Liberian church. 

The real church, as we see it, is one in which its members lives are being continually transformed by the gospel.  It sounds obvious, but as the following examples show, genuine Christian faith takes time to settle into people’s character. 

South Africa is a beautiful land of stark contrasts. I had the privilege of spending a month of summer in a little town in KwaZulu-Natal. But that was barely enough time to soak it up. A blend of races coloured the streets, rich and poor lived next door to each other, alcohol, drugs and immorality lurked behind the hope of a nation on the page of a fresh start.
 

New Zealanders Keith and Pauline Whiting, serving in South Africa, have been leading a Rainbows of Hope ministry team focusing on children in crisis.   More recently they ran a course called Farming God’s Way (FGW) at their community training facility.  Africa, while rich in natural resources, remains largely characterised by deficient cropping practices.   A host of challenging realities have contributed to severe crop failures and the continent’s “begging bowl” status.

Have you ever endured a sleepless night because of a decision you have made? This happened to Eileen Sommerville, an advisor to the national church and church planter amongst least-reached people groups in Burkina Faso for over 30 years.

A WEC Trek team to Africa early this year witnessed a witchdoctor set aside his amulets and turn to follow Christ.  Trek team member Lindsay recounts the story.