Mission Trip to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Rev. Patrick R. Novak D/Min, P.H.D., Senior Pastor of Church of the Valley in Santa Clara, California discusses the church’s mission trip.

Pastor Patrick Novak introduces Marilyn Kibambe and Paige Takemoto, who offer testimony on the D.O.N.E. (“Discipling Our Nations Effectively”) mission trip to Africa.

From Church of the Valley in Santa Clara CA, Paige Takemoto shares the details of her church mission trip to Africa and how it has changed her life and outlook on the world, as well as her relationship with the Lord.

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They were Pastor Kelvonna Warner,  Apostle Lucrecia King, Sister Ethel Gardiner and Elder Petter Carngbe and his wife Bettie Carneby.   During their 14 day visit the team was involved in several activities, including Ministering the Word during worship services, teaching Bible studies, village Evangelism and praying for the people.  Peter Carngbe, a Liberian, and his wife used this time to visit his birth country and also visit our work in Liberia.

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Pastor A who went through the training will also start the 1st principle in Mbour, and Fissel.  The church in Dakar bought a Motorcycle for Pastor A to help accomplish this work.”

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Learn more about Discipling Our Nations Effectively at doneinc.org

DONE leadership training in Senegal started on the 20th of February through March with the first series ‘Becoming a Disciple’ a six-session Bible study, and the First Principles of the Faith by Jeff Reed.  Rev. Doris Ba in her report to the DONE Board writes, “The leadership of the churches of DONE Senegal is grateful to God for the leadership training under Bishop Ba.”  The training will be every Friday and Saturday for three weeks.  After the three weeks training, each leader will find a Man of Peace before starting the second book of the first series”.

Bishop Ba started the training by reviewing the Church Planting Movement  (CPM).  It was introduced by David Watson in his Church Planting Movement (CPM) and is being used extensively on the mission fields through out the world.  Our leaders and church planters have been trained over the last several years in this method.  In this method one goes out into a village or unchurched area as a friend and looks for a person who shows concern about spiritual matters.  They then work with this friendship and under the guidance and movement of the Holy Spirit and in time they can disciple and began a cell group.   Rev. Doris Ba continues, “We are convinced that at the end of our training we will be fully trained in “the way of Christ and His Apostles,” and we will be able to reproduce rapid and sustainable churches base on Biblical principles.

Bishop Abdoulaye Ba challenged us at the end of the first session that every leader should begin to find their man of peace.  Before the end of the six sessions many of the leaders had already found their Man of Peace, including our Bishop himself with whom he had now started teaching  Mamadou Ba and his whole family. Many of the Men of Peace found by the leadership in Dakar are now baptized and will start the First Principle training with the leader.

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The group constructs a place of worship. The church building project will seat more than 400 persons when completed.  (See photo essay below)

PHOTO #1 Shows four members of the construction team cut sticks ( 305 ground poles and 82 for the roofing) to begin constructing the house of worship.

PHOTO #2 A group of women willingly carrying some of the poles on their head.

PHOTO #3 A group of men help cut ground pole to measuring height of the building. After carefully observing the seriousness of the building project an observer declares his willingness to form part of the Cell group as well as the working force. To God be the glory.

The men and women are 50 – 50 up to the task. The men leave early morning to go into the bushes to cut the poles and other materials, and later returned to the site to move on with construction. The women voluntarily assist in transporting the poles and materials on their heads to the construction site and provide meal and safe drinking water for the working men.
It is worth noting that these women walk for about 30 minutes in trying to get the poles to the construction site.  They enjoy being a part of the construction. They are excited about the construction and are always the first to arrive at the site.

It is raining season in Liberia. Most path ways in the villages have become dangerous and almost inaccessible as a result the heavy down pour of rain. This has limited and placed a temporary restricted on our movements between villages.

Second in a series of updates from a 2008 Liberia trip by Rev. Browne. All names and towns are changed or abbreviated because of security concerns in this region.

The community visited is 85 percent Muslim with a few thousand inhabitants.

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During my 2008 visit to Liberia, I received several calls from MA extending an invitation to visit Freetown and see for myself what God was doing through him and the ministry. I did not honor the invitation at the time due to insufficient funds. The church started by MA is an independent DONE church. If funds are availability, I will be glad to visit MA in 2009.

Fifth in a series of updates from a 2008 Liberia trip by Rev. Browne. All names and towns are changed or abbreviated because of security concerns in this region.

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The community visited is 85 percent Muslim with a few thousand inhabitants.

I came in contact with B a former Christian whose bride price was paid by a Muslim and the Muslim village chief compelled her to convert. B informed me that her step daughter was missing for two weeks. During the period of search and comfort I observed that B was not interested in the effort made by her husband and family consulting a spiritualist to locate the girl.

As a result she was always contrary and not comfortable with suggestion given by the spiritual leaders. After consulting the oracle on one occasion, a group of spiritualist told the missing girl’s parents that a group of men had raped and killed the girl.

B refused to accept the result. On one occasion, she angrily told the rest of the family and the others who had gathered at their home, that she did not believe anything the spiritualists were saying, but rather the true God will deliver the girl in due time. She was severely slapped in the face by her husband.

After much tension I seize the opportunity like everyone else to comfort her. In the process I offered to pray with her for the first time. She accepted. I quietly and quickly prayed. We prayed quietly and with our eyes wide open to avoid being noticed by people who were standing around.

The next day while an Elder and I were in prayer meeting, B ushered in a woman and a gentleman who happen to the be uncle and mother of the missing girl. They requested for prayers concerning the missing child. We prayed. This continue for three days. On the beginning of the 4th day, B called my phone saying that God has done it. With a cry of joy she told me that the girl was found tied up in the home of a chief in a nearby town.

From that day B has been allowed to worship her God. With the assistance of her husband she has been provided a place at her parent’s home were a group of 17 people meet every Thursday to fellowship and study the Word of God. Praise the Name of God.

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There were over 350 people in attendance from 40 nations around the world.  Our US Board of Directors, Dr. Rev. Patrick Novak, has been involved and trained as a trainer over several years. This training and program has had exceptional results in the Church Planting Movement in India and is reaching into Africa and well as these other 38 countries.   The method they use in their training is the Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development.  It is based completely on Jesus approach of sending out his disciples and the method of church planting in Acts.

One of our major objectives is to introduce the training into each country individually. Bishop Ba as a Senegalese is fluent in French so he will be doing the training in our French speaking countries.  Rev. Browne is Liberian and he will do the training in our English speaking countries. Since Dr. Novak is a trainer of trainee in the Antioch training methods and has introduced the training in his church in Santa Clara, California, he will be taking a team from his church to West Africa in January and will meet with Rev. Browne.  They will introduce training in selected countries until the end of Spring.

Bishop Ba will be traveling all Spring to most of our French speaking countries, meeting with our pastors and workers, doing training and developing enhanced communication with them.  Our great concern is that we have enough funds to pay for this travel and reproduce needed materials.  If this is an opportunity for you or your church to participate, we would certainly praise God as the need is so great and the field is ready unto harvest.
Learn more about Discipling Our Nations Effectively at doneinc.org

All names and towns are changed or abbreviated because of security concerns in this region.

Learn more about Discipling Our Nations Effectively at doneinc.org