October Newsletter 2022
How beautiful it is to serve a God who goes before you. In our prayer letters for over four months, we have asked for these things. Pray for God to send more laborers to The Gambia. Pray for future partnerships with local Christians. Pray for Alison and the weight she carries at the clinic and pray for the future of the medical clinic. We are rejoicing as God has heard and answered our prayers.
As you know, we are closing our medical clinic and have been praying for God's leading on what to do with the property. Over six months ago, we were approached by a Gambian-led international church fellowship, Omega Church, who were interested in starting a new ministry and providing healthcare while sharing the gospel by taking over the day-to-day operations of the Ndungu Kebbeh Health Centre. We couldn't believe it ourselves when God answered this prayer. However, the distance between saying you want to do something, and actuality can be miles apart. People like you and our field team started to pray. Patrick started on a host of things such as meetings, contracts, NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) affairs, the Board of Health, and ABWE IHQ, which doesn't take partnerships lightly. But only a God who goes before us would bring a previous (March 2017) contract-writing businessman to The Gambia for this exact purpose. God just opened one door after another and just a few days ago, representatives from the Omega Foundation, Alison (Medical Director), Joan (Team Leader), and Patrick (Mission Director), went to Ndungu Kebbeh for meetings with the village leaders and clinic staff to announce the new partnership. When announced that we will not be closing but instead will enter a partnership with the Omega Foundation in January, there was a literal round of applause! This partnership will not only continue to provide healthcare to the people of Ndungu Kebbeh and beyond, but more importantly, the gospel will continue to be shared. This partnership also releases some of the weight carried by Alison. As of January, she will be heading back to the USA for training as she moves her ministry to wherever God leads her in The Gambia.
You also prayed for God to send more laborers to The Gambia. ABWE has had 24-hour demos, and in January we even called our sending church to send a team. Time went by with what felt like little to no response. Well, God has responded in a way that reminds us that His ways are far beyond our ways. Most recently, we had a time of encouragement with a missionary God sent all the way from New Zealand. God is on the move all over the world and over the next 5 months, the guesthouse ministry is filled to almost capacity with laborers for the Gambian harvest field. One of the most recent teams to come out was from Central Tampa Baptist Church, led by a previous missionary here in The Gambia. They had a full schedule of events, from loving people at medical clinics, elementary schools, children with special needs, and even ministries the missionary started years ago. We pray that the upcoming teams that God provides in these next few months are just as much of a joy to accommodate. One team we know we will be delighted to accommodate is our fellow partners in Christ, the Smith Family, who are coming specifically to work with us in ministry here for 3 weeks in the urban area. God put a burden on their hearts only three months ago and they have already raised almost 70% of their needed support. On faith, they have bought their plane tickets for January, knowing that our Lord will provide the rest before their departure date. Upon their arrival, they can bring us packages, so mail your packages or cards of encouragement to PO Box 162, Hurlock, MD 21643 and they will get delivered to us with the Smith Family in January.
Praise and Prayer Requests
~Praise God for a new partnership with OMEGA Foundation
~Pray for upcoming theological training led by Patrick
~Pray for Alison and God’s leading.
~Pray for Joanne as she returns at the end of November
~Pray for the relationships we are developing with the purpose of sharing the Lord.
~Pray for the Smith Family and how God will finance their trip to come minister with us.
In Christ,
The Reeds
Patrick, Michele, Alyssa, Danielle, and Luke
