January 13th at CBC (Missions Month)

January 13th was the start of the missions month at CBC.  During the morning service Mark and Doug both gave a testimony and William preached from Jonah.  

Doug and Debbie Crawford's Testimony 

Our journey in missions really started when my wife Deb who had been on previous missions trips and such began to pray that God would stir in my heart a desire for missionary work. But this prayer wouldn’t be answered until the fall of 2006. We had just started attending 2nd Baptist Church in West Frankfort, IL my home town. We were asked by our Pastor Brett Beasley if we would be interested in going to Mozambique with the church on a short-term mission trip. We both said “yes” not knowing how God would use this trip to change our lives. 2007 was our first trip to Xicumbane, Mozambique with Samaria Mission. God touched both of us through this trip. We felt God was calling us to work here with Samaria Mission that first year. We wanted to make sure we were not being led by an emotional experience of our first mission trip. We began to pray about our desire to come and minister to the people of Mozambiqe. We continued to pray and came on outreaches again in 2008 and 2009. It was during the last day of our 2009 trip that Bro. Joe Zibenden also from 2nd Baptist shared Matt. 9:37, 38 in our morning devotion: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” He shared that we shouldn’t be surprised if when we are praying for workers God wants to use us as His workers. When we returned to Polokwane we spoke with Pastor Johann about the possibility of coming to be a part of the mission. He encouraged us and after seeking counsel with our pastor in 2009 we took the step of faith and said “Yes, we will go” and asked our church family to join us in prayer. We worked on paying off our debt and put our house up for sale. We continued to pray and began reading books on missions. God in different ways made Psalm 96:2, 3 very real to us: Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim good tidings of his salvation from day to day. Tell of his glory among the nations, his wonderful deeds among all the peoples. This became our missions verse. We began to realize that what we knew in our hearts was truly from God. We did not come in 2010 because of our house being up for sale. God sold our little 1100 sq. feet home in a matter of three months in a very down market. He also sold our van in a way He could only put together two weeks before we were to leave but that story is for another time. So in June of 2011 we came with our church team, 4 suitcases and 6 action packers filled with what was left of our belongings to begin our new life in service to the Lord. While I will still be a part of leader training, I am going to start spending more time with Sean and learning more about well-drilling. Upon Gabriel leaving, Deb and I have started overseeing the orphan ministry. Deb teaches the women leaders each month in Xicumbane and takes care of the clothing room ministry. We give God all the glory for us being able to be here. We are thankful also for you all as a church family that have welcomed us and allowed us to not just be a part of the body but to be able to be a part of the ministries here within the church also.

for more pictures of Doug and Debbie's journey to South Africa click here

Our Testimony  

Good morning: I am Mark and this is Alicia. I was asked to give my testimony this morning, so I would like to start by saying it all began in 1969… It was a day of torment as much as it is a day of torment for you to have to listen to this sob story. Okay William told me not to go that far back for my testimony so I would like to begin 10 years ago. I have been in law enforcement since I was 21. Alicia had studied to be a teacher, but took a position as the preschool coordinator at our church. In 2003, Sean Mullin came to our church to present Samaria Mission to the congregation. Afterwards, our pastoral staff decided to organize a trip to join Samaria Mission. For many years, I have had a deep inner feeling to go to Africa but had never pursued it. This opportunity presented itself and I put my name on the list. Alicia decided to attend the first meeting with me and the others wanting to go on the trip. Before we left the meeting, Alicia had put her name on the list as well. So we made our vacation dates with our employers and proceeded to raise funds. This is when our real journey begins… In October 2003, we went on our first outreach trip to Matsilele, Mozambique, and both the Mullin’s and the Vaughan’s lead this team. The Lord began to open our eyes to missions and the importance of taking the Gospel to the unreached. October 8th is our anniversary, and on that evening, we sat underneath a full moon in Mozambique reading the Bible. Alicia and I questioned each other as we both knew God was calling us to be involved in missions. Upon returning home, we were very careful not to make any decisions on a "mountain top" experience. Several church members would randomly approach us about when we were going to be involved in missions full-time. God opened our eyes to the work He was inviting us to join Him with. The following year (2004), I had an opportunity to go to Guatemala and work with Pat and Charlie Reynolds, who at the time were involved with taking the gospel to the local law enforcement. I spent 2 weeks there and had a great time and enjoyed the work we were able to do. The Lord used this trip to continue to grow a love for missions in our heart, especially for Mozambique. In 2005, we once again joined Samaria Mission on an outreach. The desire to move to Africa became stronger and we began to talk to people about serving full time in missions. In 2006, we went back on outreach to Mozambique and took our 2 children with us (age 6 and 11 at the time). We felt like the Lord was continuing to open a door for us to move and join Samaria Mission and we wanted Brit and Luke to experience it. We were able to come on outreach again in 2007 and began to talk to the mission staff about the possibilities of joining them full time. They invited us to stay for one extra week after the outreach in 2008 so that we could meet and interview with the staff and elders of Christ Baptist Church. After returning in 2008, the Lord continued to work in us and was moving us to join Samaria Mission but we just were not sure of the timing. We prayed and sought wisdom from the Lord on what to do. This was not a move we could do on our own but one that had to be guided by Him. Together we studied Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby. Chapter 18 is titled, "Joining God Requires Obedience." It is a great chapter and in it Henry Blackaby says that obedience is costly to you and those around you but disobedience is far more costly. God was opening a door for us to serve as full time missions and we knew we had to obey him. We have to trust that His plans are perfect for our family. We began to make steps toward the move, with LOTS of prayer, trusting the Lord to open or closed doors as we walked. As 2008 ended and 2009 begin, we started raising full time support, resigned from our jobs, sold our house and vehicles, and moved in June of 2009. We arrived at our new home on June 24th. We are so grateful for Samaria Mission and CBC, who together, made us feel at home in South Africa. It has been and continues to be a journey, one that is sometimes difficult but most of all we praise the Lord for allowing us to serve Him here. We love working with the mission and being able to build relationships with the people of Mozambique and South Africa and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. I think about the twelve apostles, particularly Matthew. Matthew was not the best qualified to be a priest, but he was a tax collector and publican, he was despised by the Jews for the position he held. Yet, God called him to be a follower, an Apostle. We may not have been the best qualified or educated to be involved in God’s calling on our lives, but God’s calling on our lives qualifies us to join Him at His work.

 

 

for more pictures of our journey to South Africa click here

 

Sunday morning William preached from Jonah about "Having God's heart to love God's ways".

 

God not only has compassion for "us" but also for "them."  Jonah was all consumed with himself.  He was happy about his own comfort and NOT in the fact that God wanted to save Ninevah.  

 

We were challenged to show compassion, as God has, to a world that He made and loves.  We can't be who we need to be unless we have the heart of God!  The questions asked ... 

What about my own heart?  

 

What is my heart like before God today? 

 

Is it a heart of compassion to tell the world the Good News of Jesus Christ?  

 

Am I busy collecting things in life that make ME happy or am I busy sharing Christ ...  investing?  

 

Sunday evening, William, Sean and Gordon shared with Christ Baptist Church about the Past, Present and Future of Samaria Mission. It was a great time to inform the our local church about what the Lord is doing in and through Samaria Mission.