Devotional for Week of
Note: This week, as we prepare to
hear from Shannon Selmon of the Shine Foundation we will concentrate on praying
for the ministries currently taking place in the African country of
Day One Inspiration
“Our
inspiration (the Shine Foundation) originated in the small West African country
of Liberia; we were challenged by the gripping story of a woman called Ma Feeta
and the orphans in her care:
On a sunny afternoon in 1997, Feeta
Naimen was sitting in front of a house she had fled to during
In 2004 our
family adopted six-year-old Christiana from Ma Feeta's orphanage. Her young
life had known nothing but war and the horrors that accompany it: hunger,
homelessness, loss of loved ones and perpetual fear. She spoke of dead bodies
in the road. She spoke of running from the soldiers in the night, of the rocks
and sticks that would tear at her bare feet as she ran. She spoke of loud
gunshots, people yelling, fevers from malaria, and eating rat. But what we
found so amazing about Christiana was that in the midst of unimaginable
suffering, she had unwavering faith. Ma Feeta has taught her children not only
how to survive, but how to thrive on very little with joy and thankfulness;
they look, without question, for the beauty in the ashes. They have great hope,
hope that God will restore their ravaged nation, hope that they will be free of
war, hope that their futures, once in question, will be enriching and
significant. Their valor and devotion touched our family more than words can
say; Ma Feeta and her children continue to teach us lessons every day:
perseverance, patience, peace, and thanksgiving. They inspired our family to
action and to service, and thus, the Shine Foundation took root.
Read Proverbs 22:6 and Matthew 18:1-5
Pray for the work going on with Ma Feeta
and in all of
Day Two Personal
Story (written by Lisa O’Donnell,
Zac Selmon, a tight end for
As Selmon began another set of bench
presses, he uttered the name of one of the orphans: "Faith." He
lifted the weight. "
Selmon, a religion major, is a redshirt
junior. Last year, he played in all 11 games for the Deacons, catching 10
passes for 120 yards. Athletics run in Selmon's family - his father, Dewey, and
uncle, Lee Roy, were All Americans in football while playing at Oklahoma
University, and his three older sisters, Shannon, Megan and Lauren, all played
college basketball.
Compassion is a family trait, too. In 2004, Lauren Selmon worked with Samaritan's
Purse, an international relief agency based in Boone. While working in
"It was heart-wrenching," he said.
"In American cities, you drive through an inner-city ghetto and then into
a good neighborhood. In
Last November, he and Shannon Selmon started
the Shine Foundation, a nonprofit relief group that wants to build schools in
impoverished areas around the world. The
first project was to build the school in
Thompson, Selmon said, is a "good
Christian guy, and I knew he would have a tremendous influence over the kids,
as well as a great help to the construction." But when Selmon first approached Thompson
about spending two weeks of his summer in war-torn
Thompson was sitting in
The orphanage where Selmon and Thompson
worked is run by a woman called Ma Feeta. In 1997, a soldier pointed a gun at
her and demanded that she take care of 75 orphans who were tied to each other
with a rope. The soldier told Ma Feeta that if she didn't take the children, he
would have to kill them all and her. She
took the children, found shelter in various homes in the Liberian countryside,
and worked at a farm in exchange for food for the children. Samaritan's Purse
learned of Ma Feeta and built
Selmon and Thompson were both touched by
Abraham, a little boy who begged to eat lunch with them at their compound, not
far from the orphanage. Shannon Selmon fixed Abraham a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich. After he finished, she fixed him another. Abraham wrapped the
sandwich in foil to give to his younger sister at the orphanage. But when they got back to the orphanage, he
gave half to his sister then broke off small pieces for the rest of the kids.
Ask
God how He would have you to be more personally involved in missions.
Day
Three
From the International
The West
African pastor and his family were frantic at a nephew's disappearance.
Finally, after much searching for him, the young man was found to be dead. His
throat had been slit, and all of his internal organs had been cut out --
offered as a sacrifice to the practice of animism. This tragic story of
lostness is not uncommon among West Africans -- even in Abidjan, considered to
be one of the most modern cities in the area, says Leah McGuire (not her real
name), a Baptist missionary who works in the region. Although most of the
people in Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Liberia -- the area on which
McGuire and her husband, Tom, concentrate -- claim to be Muslim, they are
actually practicing folk Islam, a mix of Islamic and animistic beliefs, she
says. Animism is the practice of worshiping inanimate objects, such as rocks,
trees or statues, rather than the true and living God. "Unless God's love
penetrates into the hearts and lives of these people, they will go on living in
fear," she says. "They believe that they either must be good enough
to earn their way to heaven (Islam) or sacrifice to unknown gods (animism)."
Animists exist in the some 130 unreached people groups that the McGuires live
among in West Africa. These people have never had the opportunity to hear the
gospel in their own language and do not have the Bible nor the
"Jesus" film in their native tongue. For example, says Leah, the Bozo
are a group of nomadic fishermen numbering more than 180,000 and living along
the Niger River in Mali. Only 23 known Christians live among this group. In
Mankono, a small village in the northern Ivory Coast, there are 45 mosques and
no churches. The McGuires travel throughout this area, researching these people
groups, so outreach strategies can be developed and needed materials can be
provided. As Ivory Coast mission administrator, Tom supports and encourages the
area missionaries, who have left their "city" homes in Africa to move
closer to the people and demonstrate God's love to them on a daily basis. The
McGuires see West Africans responding most readily to oral presentation of the
gospel, known as "storying." In one village, where missionaries
shared the Bible story by story in a way that the people understand, 10 of the
13 village chiefs accepted Jesus as Savior, Leah says. "This is important
because in the Muslim context, if an individual converts to Christianity, he is
disowned. However, if the majority of a people group accept Jesus at the same
time, this would not happen," she says. The missionaries' goal is to train
Africans to story as well. "Africans are very intelligent people,"
Leah says. "They speak fluently many languages and memorize easily. If
they can tell the Bible stories in their own language to their families and
friends, imagine how the gospel can spread." In another instance where a
high total of decisions for Christ made simultaneously brought security in
numbers, more than 100 U.S. volunteers witnessed one-on-one to the people in
Abidjan. As they went out together and shared their testimonies, more than
10,000 people accepted Jesus -- another group response that hopefully will
eliminate some of the persecution, Leah says. Follow-up becomes the
responsibility of the local churches. The McGuires regularly sacrifice
permanency and creature comforts in an effort to get close to the animist
people. Although they live in Abidjan in a concrete-block, three-bedroom home
that has running water and electricity (not always common among West Africans),
the McGuires choose to travel throughout the region, staying in West African
homes, among missionaries, or in other temporary housing to perform their
tasks. Their two children are in one of their country's boarding schools.
"Our children tell their dorm parents that 'home is wherever our parents
are,'" Leah says. The McGuires must make themselves available to share
with animists who otherwise "will die and go to hell never having heard
the message of God's love," she says. Their greatest physical need at this
point is more missionaries to work among these 130-plus unreached people
groups. A high priority is for medical helpers in hope that the people's average
life span will increase. For example, among one unreached people group -- the
Dyula in Ivory Coast -- almost half the population is under age 15, with only
about 13 percent living beyond age 45. With such a low life expectancy, the
period of opportunity for hearing the gospel is limited. To meet physical needs
in other ways, wells are being dug, films are being shown, cassettes are being
made in local languages and radio programs are being developed, Leah says. All
these projects cost money -- and represent highly tangible needs as U.S.
churches give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.
The McGuires see God moving in a mighty way among the animists and expect whole
people groups to come to Jesus. Recently they visited a village that needed
rain. Seeing clouds all around, Tom told a villager that God would soon send
His blessings. The African man replied, "No, the clouds are going to turn,
and the rain will not come to our village." That evening, as the McGuires
visited with the missionary couple who worked in the area, Tom asked everyone
to pray for rain. Rain fell all night long. The next morning, Tom said (to the
man), "God sent His blessing." The man replied: "He sure did!
Now you can pray that He will send electricity to our village." The
McGuires want to have all the people groups in their area researched by
December 2000 and hope to see many more missionaries working there so that all
people would have at least an opportunity to hear the gospel message. Although
the McGuires and their missionary colleagues now journey from village to
village, they want to see more and more African Christians soon traveling among
their own people to share the good news. Despite discouraging stories that
signify lostness in this sun-scorched land, the McGuires long to see the day
that each animist, through Christ, will have "no worries in a year of
drought and never fail to bear fruit" (Jer. 17:8).
Pray for healing and ministry opportunities in the
country of Liberia.
Day
Four Basic Facts
Basics: Liberia, officially
the Republic of Liberia, is a
country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone,
Guinea,
and Côte d'Ivoire. Liberia, which means "Land
of the Free," was founded as an independent nation with support of the
American government, for free-born and formerly enslaved African
Americans. Since 1989 it has witnessed two civil wars,
the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996), and the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003), that have displaced
hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed the country's economy.
Geography: Liberia is situated in Western Africa, bordering the
North Atlantic Ocean. The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling
coastal plains, which rise to rolling plateau and low mountains in the
northeast. The climate is hot and humid with a lot of rainfall. Winters are dry
with hot days and cool to cold nights. Summers are wet and cloudy with frequent
heavy showers.
Demographics: As of
2006, Liberia has the highest population
growth rate in the world (4.91%). Similiar to both its neighbors and
many Arab countries, it has a large youth population.
Read Matthew 28:19-20.
How can you go to a place such as
Day Five Making
It Personal
Spend time today in prayer
for