Missionaries to Senegal
Rev. Melanie Elms Preached on 10/20/2026
Loading…
0:00
76:15
Summary
Missionaries to Senegal, the Sullys, share stories of planting the first Apostolic work in a predominantly Muslim nation, emphasizing that God rewards the quiet faithfulness of those who simply continue to show up for the Gospel.
Key points
- •Missionary work in Senegal involves navigating a 95% Muslim population through 'Taranga' (hospitality) and mutual respect.
- •The church in Dakar is growing through Bible school training and planting home groups, despite the spiritual darkness of localized 'folk Islam' beliefs.
- •Women in Islamic cultures can have a profound spiritual impact by operating under authority and showing respect for cultural modesty.
- •Faithfulness is often just about 'showing up' repeatedly, even when you aren't the one being picked for the spotlight.
- •God rewards the process of planting and watering seeds just as much as He rewards the harvest.
Scripture
Faith
Evangelism
Perseverance
Purpose
Discipleship
Life application
This week, practice being 'faithful to the process' by showing up for a small, unseen task at church or in your community without seeking recognition, trusting that God values your availability.
Reflection questions
- How can I show respect to people of different faiths in my neighborhood while still standing firm in my own beliefs?
- In what areas of my spiritual life have I felt discouraged because I haven't seen an immediate harvest?
- What does it mean to you to abide under the shadow of the Almighty during times of fear or uncertainty?
- Am I willing to keep 'showing up' in the marketplace of ministry even if I am not chosen in the first hour?
Have a question about this sermon?
Ask our AI and get an answer with citations.
Full transcript
0:00information center following the service. All right, if we can all stand, I want to
0:02introduce our speaker for tonight. It's not just our speaker, but he's a hero to
0:08us. Anyone that leaves the comfort of America to preach the gospel around the world
0:13is a hero to me. And Brother and Sister Sully, they traveled to... I want
0:18to make sure I'm saying it right. Is it Sene... Senegal, West Africa, I believe
0:24it is. We're so honored that you are carrying the message over there in a
0:28much needed place. I know it's needed everywhere, but you have a heart for that.
0:32And we're so honored for you to be here. So if you can come up
0:36here, I invite Sister Realms as well to interview tonight. We look forward to hearing
0:40more about West Africa and what God is doing. So if you can, let's just
0:44clap our hands and thank God for what he's doing. And welcome, Brother and Sister
0:48Sully. Thank you.
0:55Y'all may be seated. I
1:01think we're gonna start with
1:07the video if that's okay
1:13with y'all. Get a little
1:18read on what we're gonna
1:24be talking more about tonight.
1:30Praise the Lord. You can
1:36turn those bright lights off.
1:41Those circus lights, those Hollywood
1:47lights. Praise God. From the
1:53shifting sands of the Sahara
1:59to the windswept Atlantic coast,
2:04Senegal is a nation rich
2:10in beauty, culture, and diversity.
2:17With nearly 19 million people, including a third concentrated
2:22in Dakar, Africa's most expensive city, this country represents
2:28a vast and vital harvest field in far West
2:34Africa. Since 2016, we have
2:39faithfully labored in Dakar and throughout
2:44the nation. We are grateful for
2:50a thriving, growing, apostolic church that
2:56is centrally located and reaching both
3:01Senegalese nationals and an international community
3:07seeking a genuine experience with the
3:12Lord Jesus Christ. Dedicated men
3:18and women have committed themselves to
3:24ministry and Bible school training, ensuring
3:29a strong future for our Dakar
3:35Church. Our vision is to plant
3:41additional congregations across this expansive city
3:46and in the coming years throughout
3:52the nation, sharing the Acts 2:38
3:58message far and wide. Our calling
4:03extends beyond Senegal We currently lead Africa
4:09Aflame, the United Pentecostal Church Africa Literature and Media
4:14Ministry for Africa and serve as area coordinators for
4:20the Far West Zone, encompassing nine nations and more
4:25than 85 million souls. At present, we are seeking
4:31financial support for church rent and development, assistance for
4:36national churches and their field accounts, and resources for travel,
4:42regional conferences, and Bible school training. Continued investment in Africa
4:48flame is also very vital, as is new or increased
4:54PIM support to sustain our long-term ministry in West Africa.
4:59On behalf of the souls already reached,
5:04And
5:08the
5:11many
5:15more
5:18yet
5:22to
5:26come,
5:29we
5:33simply
5:37say,
5:40thank
5:44you. The fact that, now he's
5:50Canadian so we won't hold that against him. No. We like our Canadian brothers and
5:56sisters for sure. And I really like her because she's a southerner. She's from Alabama.
6:01Do we have any people from Alabama here in the house? No? That's okay. I'm
6:07from Louisiana so we're sisters in that way. And my mom was born in Otter
6:13Creek, Florida. Okay. So, well, see the connection is even stronger here. So we're
6:19grateful to have y'all tonight. We just we know this there's not enough time to
6:24really scratch the surface of what your calling is about your burden the field that
6:29God has called you to labor in and in the effects that's had on your
6:35family spiritually physically all the things and I'm But we want to just tap into
6:40some of that tonight. And we're going to turn it over to y'all in a
6:44minute at the end. And we want you to take your liberty in the Holy
6:48Ghost because the Lord is already here. And we want to make sure that we
6:52acknowledge him in this place tonight. Have you felt the Holy Spirit already here tonight?
6:56Amen. We're people of the name, y'all. We're people of like faith. And when we
7:00gather together, there's a promise already given to us that where two or three are
7:04gathered in his name. Guess what? The Lord is right smack dab in the middle
7:08of us. And anything we need, we lay it at the altar. These people, I
7:13am sure of it, have story after story about they met to the very precipice
7:18of the urgent need, and the Lord came through. Listen, he's an on-time God. Yes,
7:23he is. And maybe his answer is not what you wanted, and maybe his answer
7:28means delay, but he always answers. So we are grateful to know that the Lord
7:33is in this place tonight. So we're going to start with, if y'all don't mind...
7:38Just telling us a little bit. We saw a little bit about the field
7:44of Senegal These are they went in 2016 originally to that country but 1991
7:50to Africa West Africa they went I'll let you guys talk a little bit
7:55about how y'all met and Because it's not every day an Alabama girl meets a
8:01Canadian guy. That's culture shock. Lord have mercy. I can only imagine. Still y'all having
8:05culture shock. Get the reverence or whatever from that. Okay. So tell a little bit
8:10how y'all met. And then I would like to hear more about your calling in
8:14a moment. We'll get there. Okay. I'll start with my side. And that is that
8:18I got saved while I was in college. and quickly felt the call of God
8:24in my life. Went off to Bible school in Canada, graduated from there in 1987.
8:29And within a few months, I headed to Africa and arrived in the nation of
8:35Nigeria in 1987, thinking I'd be there for just a short time. And here I
8:40am today, still working in Africa. But while I was there, God was good to
8:45me and allowed me to see and experience many things as I developed that
8:51burden, that call for Africa and lo and behold in 1988 I
8:57arrived with my 50 pound carry-on and we met for the first
9:03time in the Lagos airport and when he picked up that carry-on
9:09and carried it out of the airport for me I said this
9:15guy's worth a second look. Growing up in the church I was
9:20blessed. I'm fourth generation in this wonderful truth I'm very thankful for that
9:26and I'm honored and humbled at that responsibility of that that burden Passing it on
9:32to the next generation But when I was about 10 or 12 years old we
9:37had a missionary at church and they said if we just had some helping hands
9:43to help with our kids we could do more for the kingdom of God on
9:49our field we could teach more Bible studies if there was somebody watching our little
9:54kids and And I thought as a little girl that loved kids, sounds like
10:00a great idea to me. At 10 or 12 years old they weren't going to
10:06let me go to the mission field. Time passed and that kind of faded just
10:11a little bit. But then when I was in university, God renewed that call and
10:17gave me a specific call to Nigeria at the time. And I believe it was
10:23a specific purpose. not just to find my husband but to find myself and
10:29to find my calling and my mission in life and so I graduated from
10:35University in December of 87 and in September of 88 I landed in Nigeria
10:40and the rest they say is history if you want the real romantic stuff
10:46he asked me to marry him on Christmas Day
10:54So we continued our ministry from that point forward together. And in 1991, as was
11:00mentioned, we were appointed to Nigeria. And then we transitioned to French-speaking West Africa. We
11:05actually have more French-speaking people in Africa than there are in France. And so a
11:11huge... population of French-speaking people. We work in that language and multiple others. We did
11:16step out of missions. I pastored in Canada for eight years and then came back
11:21in specifically to go to where we are now, which is predominantly Muslim, French-speaking, although
11:26we do have Arabic, we have Portuguese, English around us. But we're just thrilled that
11:30we get to be a part of the kingdom and moving the gospel forward. So
11:36you mentioned to us at dinner that y'all were also in the nation of Togo,
11:41right? Or is it okay? We were in Burkina Faso and Togo. Oh, that's right.
11:46I knew there was another one. So they know a little bit about Africa, West
11:51Africa. And the Nigerian, we do have some Nigerians that attend our church too, and
11:56they're very special people. And we know that that's quite different than Senegal, though. From
12:01what I understand from Senegal, Muslim is very much a predominant, not just
12:07religion there, but way of life and culturally it's very much impacted. And
12:13in fact, Islam really is cultural as much as it is religious. And
12:18in Senegal, we have divergent aspects of Islam that you won't even find
12:24in other countries. What we call folk Islam and it's built around brotherhoods and they
12:30follow certain imams. Like Sufi is mainly in Senegal, yes? Do you say Sufi? Is
12:35that how you say it? Yeah. And even more so we have specific imams that
12:41historically have raised up their own followers and they've introduced even doctrines or teachings that
12:46Muslims from outside of Senegal actually come to our country to convert them to
12:52the true Islam. Oh, I see. So it's complicated. Yes. We have one group,
12:58in fact, that actually believes that a couple hundred or a hundred and so
13:04plus years ago that their imam was actually Muhammad reincarnated and his son was
13:10Jesus reincarnated. Oh, So we've got some weird things that go on. So it's spiritually
13:15very dark. So can you just give us a little bit, let me ask this.
13:20I saw this and I just realized when I went home today from dinner. that
13:25this lake is in Senegal and it's pink. Is that close to y'all? It
13:31is. Is it Retka? It's called Lacrosse. Okay, but... Lake Rose. Retina. Yeah. I
13:37just need to hear about that a little bit because I know it's about
13:42the salinity and the algae and all that, but it turns pink. Yes, it
13:48does. And we've been to it multiple times and you can float. It's kind of
13:53like the Dead Sea. Like the Dead Sea with all the salt. Because it's very
13:57salty and they pull out tons of salt. Literally tens of thousands of tons of
14:02salt are pulled out of this lake every year and yet at the same time
14:06it's only about three to four feet deep. So you can go out on it
14:11in a little boat and a guy with just a pole is pushing you around
14:16on the lake as you go. And you can dip your hand in the water
14:21and it looks like you're holding pink lemonade or something in your hand. Yeah, I
14:26heard it's like pink lemonade or strawberry milk. Yeah, yeah. And depending on the sun...
14:31Depending on how long it's been since it rained, it can be light or it
14:36can get a stronger color. A number of years ago, we had some very heavy
14:42rains and it messed it all up. So for a few years, it has not
14:47been very pink, but it's coming back. So we're all happy. Yeah, that's so cool.
14:52It's a major tourist. Yes, I would imagine. And it's nothing fancy. Well, neither is
14:58the Dead Sea. I've been there. Haven't we, Brother Shawn Hickson? That's an inside story
15:03for the church family. My husband dunked him in the Red Sea. I mean the
15:09Dead Sea, so the salt wasn't very nice. So tell us a little bit about,
15:14and I read about this, and I guess it's kind of like a national personality,
15:19if you would call it that, Terenga. Okay, can you explain a little bit
15:25about that culturally? Taranga is a Wolof, which is our local dialect word that literally
15:31means hospitality. And Senegal is the land of Taranga, or Taranga, depending on how you
15:37like to pronounce it. And what's surprising is the Senegalese themselves sometimes criticize themselves because
15:43it appears they're very welcoming, but a lot of times they really aren't. You know
15:49what that's like? The South. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Bless her heart. They'll love on you, but
15:54behind your back, they may just chew you up. Yes. It wasn't until last year
15:59that somebody actually invited us to their home to celebrate Tabaski, which is a Muslim
16:04feast with them. And when we told them this is the first time, that's when
16:09this whole discussion came up. Yeah, we say we're welcoming, but look, you've been here
16:14a decade and we're the first people to ask you. Didn't they name your national
16:20soccer team the Lions of Taronga? Indeed we are. African champions. See? I'm thinking of
16:25South Africa with the rocks. What are they called? Box. Spring box. Spring box. Yeah.
16:31That's rugby. Rugby. That's right. We're the Lions. Yeah. I like rugby. We like to
16:37roar and make a lot of noise. Yeah. There you go. So... Quickly, before we
16:43get into a little bit more of the spiritual side of everything, what does a
16:47practical day look like for you all as missionaries in Senegal or week? Like, how
16:51do you go about your business there? Do you all mind just giving us a
16:56little bit of picture of that? Mama, tell us. Well, it's just like here. I
17:00get up every day and I have to make him breakfast. Oh, you have to
17:04make him. And I have to clean the house and I have to wash the
17:08dishes and I have to wash the dirty laundry. Six months out of the
17:14year, the temperature is beautiful. Low 60s to mid 70s, it's perfect, no
17:20AC needed. We get the Atlantic sea breeze blowing through the house, it's
17:26cold. The other six months can be a little different. Where we live
17:31in the capital city, it's not as bad as the interior, which is
17:37part of the Sahara Desert. But the humidity rises, and you know about
17:43humidity. And so the humidity rises. Now our temperatures may only get to the high
17:4990s, but the humidity might be 85, 90%. So then we're thankful for the air
17:54conditioner. And I will say I'm thankful for the ladies giving because you provide me
18:00with a washer and dryer. And so I don't have to wring his clothes out
18:06by hand. And that's just. Yes, that's our mother's memorial offering. Wonderful. The
18:11stove and fridge make our lives so easy. But life is pretty much
18:17just like it is here, with the exception. In between all of that,
18:23I'm developing Sunday school material for our kids. I'm developing Vacation Bible School
18:28material. activities and lessons and decor and everything
18:34that goes with it for our kids. I'm developing ladies
18:40lessons. Brother Sully works a lot with translation and sometimes we
18:46get things from other missionaries within Africa and we work on translating that,
18:51formatting that, adding to it as a project to send it back out
18:57to all of the French countries and some of the English also, but
19:03a lot of the French countries so that they have materials to use
19:09also. So Monday through Thursday, we're kind of there. Tuesday nights, we've
19:14had Bible school. Thursday nights, we have prayer and Bible study. And Sunday is
19:20church. And Sunday, we're at church by about 8.30, and we might get home
19:26about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That's one church service with Sunday school
19:31on the front end of it. So when they come, they come once a week.
19:37And some of them, that's all they can get there because of traffic, because of
19:41work, different things. And so when they get to church, they're not in a hurry
19:45to leave. And so we just worship and we pray and we listen to the
19:50word and we pray again. And then they love to sit in fellowship and they
19:55will stay there all afternoon. And we just say, finally, we say, hey, we got
20:00to go. But that's when if they need to talk to pastor or if they
20:05need to talk to me, That's the time that they do that. So counseling can
20:11go on after that. We also, through the weekend, he can expound more on it.
20:16There's Bible studies going on. There's meeting people throughout the city that is taking place.
20:22So... It's just church. We do have home groups that are developing and we're trying
20:28to reach into other areas of our city. Our city is about six million, I
20:33think about the same size as Miami. And it's on a peninsula for the most
20:37part and traffic is horrific most of the time. But we do try to get
20:42out and connect with not only our people but use home groups as a means
20:47to reach new people and Just to introduce people to Pentecost, it's a nation 95%
20:53Muslim, and so Pentecost really isn't known there as it would be in a lot
20:58of other places, and so we're in the business of getting the word out, and
21:04we love doing that. I also travel extensively, sometimes with my wife, a lot of
21:10times without, just because of responsibilities outside of Senegal. in nations surrounding me and just
21:15encouraging the churches that we already have and aiding the new churches to develop with
21:21literature with just encouragement as much as we can. What you told us at dinner
21:27really struck me because this is to me very special. When they went to Senegal,
21:33they went just them and they planted, they started the work there. There was no
21:38other work to their knowledge there. So you're dropped off, that's what it probably felt
21:44like, in a foreign land, in a foreign nation. They had been in other parts
21:48of West Africa, of course, and did some work, but when you know that that
21:53big of a burden in that large of an area is resting on your shoulders
21:57that can be I would imagine very overwhelming and to know that there is not
22:02like well there's at least a Pentecostal Church they don't you know you know an
22:07hour away we can go over there and fellowship there was nothing like that so
22:11it takes a very strong constitution you know I would imagine to go there and
22:16say we're gonna just dig in break up the fallow ground here and and y'all
22:20we are all missionaries in this building right now. It looks different than theirs, but
22:25in a way, especially here in South Florida, we've talked about it, and you all
22:30may know this, but every nationality, pretty much, you can think of, we have it
22:35in our neighborhoods, you know? And so we are sitting in a mission field in
22:39our own neighborhood. Like our next door neighbor on this side, he passed away recently.
22:44God We've known him for all these years and it's just so sad, but he
22:49was a Jewish man on this side, and they're Cubans, and on the other side,
22:53they're from Columbia. And then we've got just, we had Muslims that used to live
22:58there, so it was all just around us. But it's got to be daunting to
23:02go there and say, okay, God, this is all you got. We're here, you know.
23:07So hats off to you all. Thank you for answering that call. Thank you for
23:12that. Because as fellow laborers, we appreciate y'all taking that dive. We really do. And
23:17in heaven, y'all, we're going to be able to see the big whiteboard that God's
23:22got, you know, about who win and the true success stories that we don't know
23:26about. Yeah. The effects that we've had, our testimonies, our life, Proverbs 11, 11
23:32says, the blessings of the upright or the righteous bless a city. Mm-hmm.
23:38So everywhere we go, we're carrying the Holy Ghost with us. So we're blessing our
23:44city. We're blessing our world by where we're going and what we profess and believe.
23:49So we're just grateful that a light was sent to Senegal and the Lord's doing
23:55such a work there. Let me ask this of you, Sister Sully, as a female
24:01going to a Muslim country and nation and city. And we talked briefly about
24:06this at dinner, and so I'm glad we had that dinner because I got a
24:11few thoughts on what I wanted to ask. But I would imagine we're all in
24:16here saying, okay, well, how did that affect you going over there? Because we know
24:20a little bit about Islam here and some of the head coverings and certain things
24:25you say and don't say and do and where your eyes look. I mean, you
24:29know. So how does that, how do you navigate, you both, how do you navigate
24:34that? a 95% Muslim nation and city, and you do it with respect,
24:40and yet you openly declare the gospel. How do you do that? I
24:46guess I stick out more than just my skin color because I am
24:51someone that is not African, and I walk around modestly dressed. How I
24:57am tonight is how I am there. I don't overdress. I will say
25:03this. I wear comfy shoes to church. But just the
25:09fact that I dress modestly in this culture because we
25:14have such a huge influence from France and from other
25:20areas of Europe as far as expatriates in that nation.
25:26And the sky's the limit and the ocean's the depth
25:32of the different sites you will see. Walking
25:37around knowing, okay, I am in a Muslim country and for
25:43the most part they are a modest people. Just dressing modestly
25:49gets a second look and not necessarily in a bad way.
25:55It's like, oh, there's someone that's being respectful of our culture.
26:02And several times we've been in government offices. I would have to be with my
26:07husband or in different places. And of course, the majority of the officials, the majority
26:12of the businessmen are Muslim. And so I'm with my husband. I'm walking a little
26:17bit behind him just because I got short legs and I can't walk as fast
26:22as him. But I'm behind him and I just keep a smile on my face
26:27and I nod my head. And if I'm spoken to, I respond. And if
26:33not, I'm just there. I'm a fly on the wall. In their
26:39eyes, women are looked at very low. Their position is very low.
26:45They're not worth a lot. And yet, I'm there with him. I
26:51keep my place. I don't assert myself into whatever is happening unless
26:57I'm asked. And that speaks a lot. If Some areas I do
27:03put on a headscarf and I left mine over there in my purse. But I
27:08don't, we don't have to cover up like in some nations. I can just take
27:14a thin scarf or a shawl, drape it over my head and I'm good. And
27:20I'm being respectful. If we go and visit in a village and there are going
27:25to be elders there, Men or and or women I will wear a
27:31scarf not because I have to not because I'm told to But I do
27:37it out of respect for them. I like to be respected So I want
27:43to show that same respect to them it Wearing the scarf doesn't mean anything
27:48to me in fact sometimes it makes me hot, but I will do it
27:54and Out of respect for them. Because I'm wanting to show them
28:00love. I'm wanting to show them that this Jesus that I serve loves
28:06them and respects them. He's a gentleman. And he will not force you
28:12to do anything that you do not want to do. And so out
28:18of respect I do that. And by doing that, by showing them that
28:24respect, then... doors open sometimes for me, but mostly for my husband because
28:29I have shown them respect. I have been respectful to them. Then they will listen
28:35to what he has to say and give it credit and give it the validity
28:41that it deserves. For myself and my ministry going in, no one unfortunately handed me
28:47a book and said, do this, you'll win Muslims. There's all kinds
28:53of books out there that'll tell you exactly what to do and they do have
28:59valid points I'm not discrediting that but every culture every situation is unique and what
29:04we have discovered in Senegal and it's been affirmed by some very good ministers that
29:10have actually come in and also evangelize administered alongside of us is that Senegal is
29:16very open to the gospel and that was one of the biggest first surprises is
29:21how easy it is to actually speak to people about the Lord to share the
29:26gospel As I mentioned, historically, there's people there that believe Jesus was reincarnated there, but
29:32it also means it's easy to talk about Jesus because he's not some unknown in
29:38the equation. There may be very different opinions of who he is and his role
29:44and all of that, but we have freedom. both legally and socially, we have
29:50freedom to speak about the Lord and have great conversations as we try to
29:56introduce people to him. I am very quick to make it known that we
30:02are, non-trinitarian in our belief and that opens up huge doors of opportunity and another
30:07thing I have no opinion to share with anybody about Muhammad because I don't know
30:13anything about him I never met him but I have met Jesus who I have
30:18a lot to say about him and so that's how I approach any conversation because
30:24they want to know what do you think of this and I don't know I
30:29don't know him but I do know him and I'm very happy to talk about
30:35the only man that you and I both know never sinned, lived a perfect life
30:40and is considered holy and is coming again as you also affirm with me and
30:46so we do share what we can share and open up conversations. I got more
30:51I could say but we'll just leave it right there. - Well, we wanna know
30:56more. Have you had success? I mean, as far as your congregation there, are there
31:01Muslims that have come in and have been saved over the years? - We have
31:06had a number of Muslims that have come into our congregation. Interesting story. There was
31:11actually a young man that was attending our church for a while. He's a brother
31:16to someone who works in our church, part of our team there. And he was
31:21there, very quiet, introverted, and we came home on deputation. I was just there about
31:26a month ago. I had to do some meetings in South Africa, came through Senegal,
31:31and he was there that Sunday morning, and as always very introverted and but after
31:36service we were kind of getting ready to to leave and we had a flight
31:40that night to come back here to continue this and uh they said he'd like
31:45to speak to you and so I said okay so I went over and talked
31:49to him and and he said pastor I have to tell you something I said
31:53well what is it he says well this week I converted to Islam and I
31:58was shocked That here's somebody that we've been discipling and talking to and working
32:04with that they decided to convert. And he said, Pastor, I've never regretted anything
32:10more in my life. He said, will you baptize me today? And I said,
32:15before I get on that plane, I'm going to baptize you in Jesus name.
32:21And we were privileged to do that. And part two of that amazing story
32:27is that this Sunday, just a couple days ago, we had our first ever Bible
32:33quiz in our church. And there was a big money prize, not big for you
32:38probably, but for them it was a huge amount of money. And he won.
32:48We have had the Muslim chief of our area, of our city, in service
32:54with us. He clapped. He rejoiced. He just couldn't believe it. He's been in
33:00our church several times, and we've prayed with a lot, and we are making
33:05inroads, but one thing about reaching Muslims with the gospel is that it takes
33:11time, a lot of patience, a lot of love, but it will happen in
33:16Jesus' name. Amen, amen. And that's something we can join with you all and partner
33:22with you in prayer. In fact, I want to ask, before we get on, I
33:27want to turn this over to you in just a moment and just let you
33:32share with the congregation what you feel the Lord is saying to the church at
33:37large and then maybe to this church and just share your heart. But I wanted
33:42to ask Sister Sully, too, you had mentioned at dinner about the role of a
33:47woman there in church, how culturally it also speaks and seeps into the
33:53church on the role of a woman and being able to teach, like you
33:59taught Sunday school. And then he asked, if you'll tell that story, if you
34:05don't mind, how he told you to. When we were actually in Burkina Faso,
34:11this happened, the churches that we had at the time, they were fine with
34:16me teaching the children. But they didn't think that a woman
34:22could teach them anything about the Word of God. And they
34:28really didn't want me teaching their wives anything because they didn't
34:34want them to get this North American mindset. And so I'm
34:39not a preacher, okay? I'm not licensed. I don't ever want
34:45to be. You don't want me to be. But I did
34:51have some experiences that I could share and I could help.
34:58And so my husband was teaching some Bible school classes, and he was teaching
35:03a family life course. And he said, I want you to come, and I
35:09want you to talk about the wife's role and the wife's part of this
35:15partnership of this family. And so, okay, I'll go do it. And so
35:21I went with him and he started the class and had me teach and
35:27I taught. I told him, you know, men and women are very different. God
35:33made us that way on purpose. Together we're a great team. But we're very
35:39different and gave them some examples of that. And they sat there and they
35:44were very kind. They were very respectful. And we
35:50finished the class and went home. The next day when he
35:56was back for class, they said, Pastor, we owe you an
36:01apology. And we owe Sister an apology. What? Why? Well, we
36:07didn't think she would have anything to tell us. We didn't
36:12think she could teach us anything because she's a woman. And
36:18so we listened to her out of respect for you. But
36:23when we got home, Those of us that are married,
36:29everything she said happened. And so can she come teach us some
36:35more? Can she teach our wives how to be good wives? More
36:41than just our children. And so that door opened. But I didn't
36:47force myself into that. And even in Senegal where we are at
36:53now, the culture's a little more open to that. We have women
36:59in government. We have women... in the nation in high
37:04roles, but there's still that little bit of an edge. And
37:10so anytime that I teach, anytime that my husband has me
37:16speak to the whole congregation, I started off and I tell
37:21them, I'm doing this under his authority. He has read my
37:27notes. He has listened to my notes. He has commented on my notes.
37:33But this is what God gave me for someone here today. And so
37:39the door opened because I showed respect, because I honored them, I honored
37:44their culture, but I also honored my husband and the Word of God
37:50and the spiritual authority that comes through that. And so if you
37:56are trying to reach someone, if you can keep things in
38:01order, God, your pastor, your husband, if you're married, ladies, men,
38:07your pastor, your spiritual authority, if we follow after that, God
38:13will open doors for you. It may not look like you
38:18think it will look. It may be sitting over a cup
38:24of coffee. It might be having a meal together or working together
38:30on the job, but the Lord will open that door if you follow his
38:35plan. And if I can just add one little thing, and that is that we
38:41have an AIM worker that works with us. She's older than us, so that tells
38:47you that she's really old. But she's been with us three different times now. The
38:52last time she was there, she actually kept track of how many people she witnessed
38:57to and taught Bible studies to, and the list is somewhere around 2,000 people.
39:03And that was in about five, six months, I think. And to
39:09show you the impact of her ministry, she has actually produced for
39:15the church more male converts than female. So it is possible when
39:21you do it in a humble way with the right spirit to
39:27Women can impact this culture. So we're just rejoicing and what God is
39:33doing. God is in it. Amen. Amen Where do you see the Lord
39:39moving in Senegal? Maybe right now either where or how that gives you
39:45immense? Hope a couple of things number number one. We have a huge
39:51number. When I say huge, I'm not talking hundreds, but we have an amazing number
39:56of people right now in our Bible school program. Uh, we've run a Bible school
40:01program since we started and we had three, four, five. And right now, while we're
40:06here, uh, In our Bible school problem, there's about 15. And so we are just
40:11so excited at the prospect of these men and women that are giving themselves over
40:17to study that when they complete this first program, they're going to be powerful tools
40:22in the church that God will use to open up all kinds of new congregations,
40:27new groups in homes and what have you. Doesn't necessarily mean they will all be
40:32pastors, but they will be useful and powerful in the kingdom. The second is that
40:37during our last term, we actually encountered a group in the southern part of our
40:42nation, which is called the Casamance, and come to find out that around the time
40:47that we arrived, that a man got a revelation of who Jesus was and God
40:52convicted him about his baptism and they began to baptize in Jesus name got kicked
40:56out of the church they were in for obvious reasons and just started their own
41:01thing thinking they were the only people in the whole world that believe like this
41:05And we came in contact with them through some very interesting circumstances. And
41:11we had a recent meeting with them. And we are looking at affiliating
41:17with them to advance the kingdom. They probably have a couple of hundred
41:23believers and quite a number of churches. We already... lead their people in our city
41:28we already pastored them they've entrusted them to us so we've got a foothold there
41:34and we're just believing that through these two different things these two different arms of
41:39evangelism God is really going to open the floodgates in Senegal and we're going to
41:45see incredible revival in the next few years Amen. And we believe that. We stand
41:51on that. That's a promise from God. Amen. Do y'all mind if we open it
41:55up for a couple questions before we just let you take this out? Does anybody
42:00have any questions? It could be about the culture. It could be about the city.
42:04It could be about their journey. They have two children, grown children, 35 and 30.
42:09Their son's 35. He and his wife and five kids. Yes. They have five grandkids
42:13up in Snowflake, with their son, yeah. Snowflake, Manitoba. Yeah, that tells you all
42:19you need to know. It's cold. It ain't Miami. It's not Miami. And then
42:25their daughter and family live in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Home of the Corvettes. Oh,
42:31I didn't know that. Yeah, so they raised their children over on the mission field.
42:37Would you like to speak to that real quick? Or if anybody has a question
42:41about that, I can only imagine what that's like. I mean, when we came down
42:46here, we didn't have any children in 1992 yet, and our friends thought we were
42:50a little... wild and weird about it. They thought we loved the beach or something.
42:55I had not been here before in my entire life. Florida was like, it was
42:59a foreign country. It was Senegal almost to me. I thought it's Senegal. But we
43:04had our kids here and had to raise our kids here, you know, and without
43:08any family, without any of that support. It's not the same as going to West
43:12Africa, I can tell you that, but it's still, it's not that easy. But God
43:16provides and takes care of, he gives the wisdom when you need it, and you
43:20can make some mistakes along the way, but God makes up for it. He always
43:25does. So anybody have any questions? We open it up for questions. Questions? I know
43:30y'all do. Don't be texting me at 3 in the morning. Melissa. Sister
43:35Melissa. Yes, they want to know what the food's like. Amazing. Amazing.
43:42Our city is a foodie city. There's every kind of food you
43:47can imagine from Middle Eastern, Oriental. We got a taco truck. Man,
43:53we're living it up. There's over 40 places you can eat, and
43:58I'm not talking about a lady sitting on the side of the
44:04road with a plastic cooler serving food out of it. Over 40
44:10restaurants within... a kilometer of our house, our apartment. Yeah, any kind of food.
44:16And the Senegalese food is very flavorful, and it's a blend of Northern African, West
44:21African culture together. So we eat a lot of couscous, a lot of rice, a
44:27lot of seafood, anything but pork. Oh, yes, that's right. Although... Although I make great
44:33bacon in our house. Every Friday. No, not every Friday. And surprisingly, on Friday, that's
44:38when I smoke it. And they can probably smell
44:44it as they walk by. The Mosfets next door. They don't know
44:50what to do with y'all, do they? They don't know what to
44:56do with us. But they watch out for us. They really do.
45:02So the food is amazing, unlike some other places I've been. Yes.
45:08Any other questions? That's a good question. Morgan. I did not at
45:14first. Yes, we actually spent 10 months in language school in France.
45:20This was way back in 97. And so
45:25I went from being able to say bonjour, not with
45:31a good accent. I said bonjour, oui, non, un, deux,
45:36trois, merci beaucoup, s'il vous plaît. And it was about
45:42that bad. I went from that to being conversationalist. I teach Sunday school in French
45:48without many notes now. If I'm doing something more than that, if I'm teaching Bible
45:54school or whatever, I either do it in English with translation or I have every
46:00word written out that I'm going to say. So, yeah, he's the brainiac with the
46:06French. But I know if it's not right. So you can learn it.
46:12It is possible for someone from the South to learn French. Do y'all
46:18sing in the services all in French then? No. No, okay. In
46:23a typical service, in fact, what they were singing there was Lingala,
46:29which is from Congo. We have so many different cultures in our
46:34church. We typically would have 10 plus, even our small congregation, we
46:40have 10 plus. So we'll sing in English, French, Wolof, Lingala, Harambe, Hausa, Yoruba,
46:46you name it, man. If they've got a song that sings about Jesus, we're going
46:51to sing it. South Europe. Yeah. And they love all. And I insist that if
46:56you're going to sing in anything besides English and French, you need to spread it
47:01out. Because we are not a Congolese church. We're not an English church, French church.
47:05We are the church of the Lord. And everyone's welcome here. And so we're not
47:10going to focus on one whatever. We're going to make sure if someone comes in,
47:15we're going to try to give them the atmosphere where they can worship with us.
47:21I love that. Yes. There was one
47:26more question. Yes, Sister Lynn. Yes, Janine.
47:32Still back on the lake. It turned
47:37murky brown. Murky brown. And what happened was there was so
47:43much rain, it actually broke through the banks of the lake and it drained off
47:48basically and when it filled up it lost a lot of its salinity and so
47:53it took a while for it to build up and now it's back. And so
47:57it's very colorful again, so it's beautiful. We'll take a couple more questions and then
48:02we're going to turn it over. I think I saw someone in the far back,
48:07I think it was... Yeah, there's a couple there. Oh, if I... I'm so
48:12sorry, the lights. Oh, yes. Lisa and that
48:18Rob. Yes, Rob. Go ahead. And then on
48:23this side, we have someone right in the
48:29middle. Yes. Go ahead, Rob. Answer you this
48:34way. In Senegal, legally, we can preach, teach,
48:40evangelize. But anytime I visit government officials, they'll
48:46tell me that that legal covering does not
48:51protect you from being stupid. So...
48:57I'm wise in what I do. If I meet somebody and, you know, can we
49:03talk about Jesus? And I've had great conversations on the street with Muslims. But I
49:08don't go into the mosque on Friday and preach to them and tell them how
49:14wrong they are because the outcome would be pretty negative. So it... You develop,
49:20and this is both with the African culture, the people, and also with
49:26Islam, you develop that... for lack of a better term, a spider sense.
49:32You just kind of know, you kind of get a feeling how things are and
49:38you can extract yourself pretty quick if it starts going south. So again, with all
49:43my years there, with our years there, we kind of know and if someone is
49:49coming as someone new, we'll teach them the ropes, how to be careful,
49:55what signs to look for. But typically, yeah, people are pretty easygoing
50:01and don't mind. Although we also work in areas extremely hostile outside
50:07of Senegal. But I do work and have people that follow us
50:12in areas extremely resistant and there everything is underground, everything is very
50:19persecuted if we could say and so I have to
50:25be extremely cautious about everything. We'll just have a couple
50:31more. Sully's over here by the way and her name's
50:36Sully. Awesome. And then I think she had her... Yes.
50:42And at first these lights are just... Yeah. Okay Sully.
50:48Education. There are schools everywhere. You normally have to pay
50:54to go to school monthly. an enrollment fee and monthly fee.
51:00You have to pay for your uniform, you have to pay for your books, you
51:05have to pay for everything. So if your family has money, you get to go
51:11to school. If they don't, usually the oldest child will go to school. And then
51:17as their funds work down the ladder, we have a lot of universities in Senegal
51:22and especially in Dakar. And so we have people from all over the world coming
51:28there to do higher education. They do value education to the point they
51:34follow the French system and to when you get what we would call high
51:40school and you're going to graduate, their last year before you're finished there is
51:46an exam. It's a standardized exam that you have to take. It's called the
51:52BAC and if you don't pass it
51:57It's hard to get into university, it's hard to get into some
52:03kind of other training or learning, and it's very difficult and people
52:09really sweat bullets, if I can say it like that, to pass
52:15that exam. Thankfully, my first Sunday school student, she graduated early.
52:21And last summer she took the Bach for the first time and passed
52:27it the first time. God helped her. God helped her. So it is
52:32there. But they do value education and they do want everyone to have
52:38education. We do have a small school, like an elementary school in our
52:44church that one of our ladies runs. And so when children... age
52:49out of our school and they
52:55go to the next level of
53:01education when they went in they
53:07are ahead of some of their
53:13classmates so we thank the lord
53:19for that last question we're going
53:25to have right here yes
53:32Dealing with
53:37the subject
53:42of polygamy,
53:46actually our
53:51current president
53:56has two
54:00first ladies. And he
54:06is actually celebrated across much of Africa because he is holding this
54:12cultural tradition that is really a part of everyday life that he's
54:18not following the European way, that he's actually holding our African culture
54:24up as a as an example and uh it is totally legal interesting fact i
54:29really don't want to answer your question not because i can't i'll just put it
54:35this way if someone comes into our church converts and wants to be a leader
54:40i'll deal with it then but for me it's it's not a high priority issue
54:45for someone that converts it's not the first thing i'm going to deal with It's
54:51way down the list of things that I'll deal with and it'll eventually probably take
54:56care of itself without me intervening anyway. They'll understand from that. Really interesting in Senegalese
55:02context is that when you go to do your legal marriage, there's actually three weddings
55:07in a lot of African culture. There's a traditional wedding which is where you pay
55:12for your bride. and you meet with the family and you do everything and in
55:17fact I won't marry anybody in a church if they haven't done that because you're
55:21gonna just add to their problems. So there's the cultural wedding, there's the church service
55:26where we would bless them and it has no legal status. The only one that
55:30has legal status in a French country is when you go to the mayor's office
55:35and are married there. In the mayor's office they will read to you the law
55:39about marriage and they will ask the man to declare Are you going to be
55:45monogamous or are you going to be polygamist? And he must make an open
55:51and definitive declaration that is legally binding for the rest of his life. And
55:57I'm glad that when we went there with a family from the church, he
56:03said monogamous. And we all clapped our hands and thanked Jesus.
56:09But that was literally legally binding at that moment. And just to cast
56:15a little spiritual side on that, I think it would do most Christians
56:21well to come to an altar and declare, I'm going to be monogamous
56:27in my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be no one
56:33and nothing else but Him. Amazing. Yes. Praise the Lord. I can't
56:39imagine. Have I seen people getting beat up? The wives? No, you don't. We wouldn't
56:45see that normally, although it does happen a lot. Oh, that's so terrible. So I
56:50want to turn this over to you, brother, and either one of you, whatever you
56:56feel in the Holy Ghost, to share what the Lord is saying to the church.
57:02and that you feel he's saying. And I know that the principalities and the dominion
57:08and the rulers of darkness here in South Florida are not the same as then
57:13the ones over there in West Africa. And doesn't mean they're less or more. It's
57:19just different. And when we go places, my husband and I have been very privileged
57:24to travel the world. And we've been to Africa, not West Africa, but we will
57:29in Jesus' name. Come see y'all over there. But we've been to a lot of
57:34different places. And because it's a fresh visit and you go into a place, and
57:39some of y'all who've traveled, whether it's in the United States, whether it's just from
57:45here to another county, sometimes you can feel a shift. in the supernatural. And you
57:50know... I'm dealing with something different here. We can get accustomed to where we are
57:56with that principality. We just kind of know we've kind of fought that enough. We're
58:01more used to that. You go somewhere else and you can feel it. My mom
58:06had a situation happen when she went to New Orleans many, many years ago. And
58:10it was an oppression that got attached for a couple of years. And still to
58:15this day when we go to New Orleans, she has... She feels like I'm fine.
58:21I'm gonna conquer. Yeah, I conquered that but those memories come back and she's hyper
58:27aware of the supernatural and I can feel that sometimes when I go to either
58:33countries or cities So how can the American Church? How can we as the Cathedral
58:39of Pentecost? pray in the spirit and for you all in the covering
58:45and the churches there that specifically that you feel would really do some
58:50spiritual warfare on your behalf. And just take it away, brother, whatever the
58:56burden is that the Lord has laid on your heart. - Sister Elms
59:01asked me at dinner, you know, well, sometimes your husband travels and you're
59:07alone. And we've been through a lot of situations and it could be
59:13very fearful. But I had to make
59:18up in my mind and I had to settle the issue in
59:24my mind. There's a difference in your mind, in your heart. Yeah,
59:30in my heart, I believe Jesus is there and he's with me
59:36and he's taking care of me. But in my mind, there are
59:42times that there's a voice that says, you don't have to get
59:48off that plane. You can just sit down and go back. So
59:54many times, Especially when he travels to places that I can't
59:59go with him. There can be those moments of fear that come.
60:05And I have settled in my mind, I am not going to
60:10be afraid. Now there's a difference in fear and concern and common
60:16sense. But I'm not going to be afraid because I know without
60:22any doubt that God has called us to this time, to
60:27this place. And so he's going to take care of us. Whatever
60:33his will is, that is what's going to happen. There are times
60:39when I battle that again, just like your mom. And it comes
60:45and it's like, what do I do? I have to get the
60:51word. And I will get that, and I will play it, a recording
60:57of somebody reading the Bible. I will have music going. I will walk around my
61:03day, and if anybody saw me, they thought would think everything is just normal. Nothing's
61:09different. She's still washing dishes. She's still washing clothes. She's still mopping the floor and
61:15cleaning the bathroom. But there's a battle going on. And I know because God has
61:21proven it too many times to me. he is faithful
61:27and that he is true and he will never leave me
61:32he will never forsake me he is always there I wish
61:38I had time when he was beaten and robbed and I
61:44didn't know what was happening But I knew something was wrong.
61:50What did I do? I went to prayer. I sent word to the
61:56Bible school in Nigeria. Go to prayer until I send a message to
62:02stop praying. Because we didn't know what was happening. But God did. And
62:08I just always trust him. I don't see how he's going to do
62:14it. But I trust him. And I go back to a verse, a
62:19passage that has been. Something that when I don't know what else
62:25to do, a lot of times I go to and it's in Psalms 91. And
62:30it says, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide
62:36under the shadow of the Almighty. And if that situation is under the feet of
62:41Jesus, my husband's preached about it a lot lately. But if that situation is under
62:46the feet of Jesus, then I'm under him. under his shadow he's
62:52watching out for me and he cares about me in my little situation
62:58I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress
63:04my God in him will I trust and so when I don't know
63:10what is going on I just say Jesus I don't know what's happening
63:16And I'm human, so I got this feeling of being scared, of not knowing
63:22what's happening. Where is he? What's happening to him? What's happening to the church?
63:28What's happening to our people? I don't have any answers except I have you.
63:34So help me be at peace. Give me your peace. Let
63:39me feel you wrap your arms around me one more time.
63:45And even though I still don't have the answers, I have
63:50you. And I know it's going to be all right. And
63:56so I trust him. I don't know why. I trust him.
64:01He might fail me. She might fail me. You might fail
64:07me. But he's not going to fail. He's not going to
64:13fail me. He's always going to be there and he's going to let me know
64:19it's time to move. It's time to be still. It's time to say something. It's
64:25time to be quiet. I trust in him because he sees it all from the
64:31beginning. He sees what I cannot see. And so I simply trust in
64:37God. Amen. I think it's important, and I will close this out, that we as
64:42a church, and this has guided me through the arrival in a nation where it
64:48was just my wife and I as the only apostolics and 19 million people to
64:54reach up till today, and it will continue to guide us, and that is that
65:00I'm going to trust the process. I'm gonna
65:05celebrate the things that God celebrates. Paul was very clear
65:11about this. There's one that plants. There's another that waters. There's God
65:17that gives the increase. My involvement is in the process. So I've
65:23got to do certain things, and God will eventually, in his time,
65:29give the increase. We as a church, we should celebrate... the process
65:34as much as we celebrate the increase. When was the last time we celebrated,
65:40not when someone was baptized in the baptismal, but we just celebrated because someone
65:46taught another home Bible study?
65:52Why is that important? I'll close, and you can go and read the verses because
65:57most of you already know them anyway. But Matthew 20, Jesus taught about the kingdom,
66:02giving an example that in one way really doesn't make sense. He talked about the...
66:07the master that went out early in the morning and began to hire workers and
66:12he went and he hired some and engaged and settled the price and then it
66:16says he went back the third hour and found some more in the marketplace he
66:21engaged them that sent them and the sixth hour the ninth hour then 11th hour
66:25went back the same place and he hired them and you know the story when
66:30they they all got together those that were hired at the beginning of the day
66:34got angry they expected to receive more than what they had agreed to And I
66:40wondered because if we're honest, that's how we would react. And
66:46so I'm like, okay, Lord, explain this to me. Why is
66:51it that it's so? And here's what I think is part
66:57of the answer at least. And that was that every time
67:03that the master went back to the marketplace, there were people
67:09faithfully showing up. Whether or not they were the star or whether
67:15they were selected, they just kept showing up. They showed up at the first
67:21hour. They weren't picked. But you know what happened? They showed up and they
67:27were there at the third hour. They didn't get picked. You know what? They
67:33showed up at the sixth hour. They weren't picked. They showed up at the
67:38ninth hour. They weren't picked. There was more faithfulness in
67:44the 11th hour workers than there was in the
67:50ones chosen early in the day because they just
67:55kept showing up and that's why they were rewarded
68:01As much as those that labored in the hot sun all day long. There is
68:07a blessing and a reward to some of us. Not because we preached great sermons.
68:13Not because we were in the lights. Not because we got to stand on the
68:19platform and sing. But we just kept showing up we were there on a
68:24Tuesday we were there on a Sunday morning even though we weren't the star
68:30even though we weren't chosen or we weren't celebrated we were a part of
68:36the process and we just kept showing up faithfully time after time after time
68:42and God says to some of us the only ministry we've ever had was
68:48that we were faithful to show up And
68:53God is going to say to that, well done,
68:59my good and faithful servant. I wonder if we
69:05could stand in the house of the Lord tonight.
69:10I say this. Not just because it's a cool thing to say but
69:16I mean it with all of my heart people ask me How did you end
69:22up where you are and I sincerely say this I am where I am today
69:27because somebody with a whole lot more Qualifications said no I just showed up and
69:32when God said would you go I said here am I send me and Not
69:38because of great giftings, not because of great talents, but an availability, a willingness to
69:44just stand there. And if Lord, you can use me, here am I. If today's
69:50not my day, you know what? I'm coming back tomorrow. If they don't notice what
69:56I'm doing, I'm going to come the next time. And I'm just going to keep
70:02showing up. And God will bless some of you
70:08in ways that He doesn't bless the pastor, He doesn't bless
70:14the evangelist, He doesn't bless the song leader, because in spite
70:20of the fact that you're just this anonymous saint in the
70:26church, you just keep showing up. And there's as much of
70:32a reward in that as there is in anything else.
70:39I wonder if we could just gather this evening at the front of this
70:44church. I know it's what you typically do on a Tuesday. A lot of
70:50times, especially in a mission service, and I've been in a lot of them,
70:56we think this is the moment God's going to call me to go somewhere.
71:02And I don't know because I'm not the one who calls people. That's between
71:08you and the Lord. But the fact that you showed up
71:14The fact that you showed up is a testament to your availability.
71:20Here am I Lord. I may not cross an ocean but I
71:26sure am willing to cross the street. I may not preach to
71:31thousands but I will witness to someone who works beside me. I'm
71:37just going to show up and be faithful. to the process. I
71:43may only plant, someone else may water, but let me just be a
71:49part of the process. that brings revival, that
71:54brings healing, that brings salvation. How
72:00many just want to be a
72:06part of the process? And just
72:11to be faithful in showing up
72:17at whatever it is that God
72:22is asking you to do, whether
72:28great or small, I just want
72:33to show up. I just want
72:39to be there. I trust in
72:45God, my Savior, one who never...
72:51♪♪
73:12♪♪
73:34♪♪
73:58♪♪
74:26♪♪
74:55♪♪
75:25so