We wish to seize this opportunity to thank you for being our faithful partners in Missions, and to share “good news from a distant land.”

We are proud to report that every one of our Mali Bible School graduates is involved in full-time ministry!

“I heard a voice and saw a bright light for the third time that night....When my Muslim community threatened and discouraged me from ever reading the Bible, the voice said, ‘I will show you things that eye has not seen, and ear has not heard....’”

Meet Dauda Djeme, a Muslim whom we led to Christ following a unique spiritual power encounter, and who responded to the call of God in spite of tremendous obstacles. He is one of our Bible School graduates, and he is presently pioneering a church in Kalabankura, a new neighborhood in the capital city of Bamako.

Sheikna Traore now 45 years old, was preparing to replace his father, a Muslim priest, when he heard the Gospel and was transformed. It was our privilege to train him and see him through to graduation from our Bible School. Even though Sheikna was persecuted in the past, he told me not long ago that he is going back to establish a church in the same town of Kati where his father was a leader in the mosque. “I know it will be hard, but if I perish, I perish. I must go; I can do no less. God has commissioned me.” Please, remember him in your prayers.

The testimony of Makono Jarra is a miracle story. Raised in a village close to our Bible School, Makono was shunned by the Muslim people because he was insane. Unkempt and wandering aimlessly in the streets of Bamako, he came upon a small gathering where pastor Adama Traore was sharing the Gospel. In a brief moment of lucidity, Makono was attracted by the message of love. After another encounter with pastor Traore, and after a period of loving care and intense prayer, Makono was delivered and transformed. He immediately began to share his faith with others. God called him into His work. Makono has graduated from our school, and now he (and his bride!) are planting a church in the ancient city of Koulikoro.

In a nation where women are traditionally illiterate and undervalued, we are proud to present to you our first student wives graduates. Their biblical training and ministry skills will enable them not only to help their husbands in the pastorate, but also to launch Women’s Ministries and children’s outreaches. Makono’s wife, Anne, is first on the right; Sheikna’s wife, Josephine, is next to her; Dauda’s wife, Marie, is in white; and next to her, in red, is Silas’ wife, Cecile.

Silas Ouattara, the young man who was savagely beaten by his Muslim family for his faith in Christ (see our previous newsletter, Converted), and for whom so many of you prayed, is among our first Bible School graduates! He and his wife, Cecile, are sacrificially laboring in the small town of Sirakoro, a suburb of Bamako. God has honored their faith by giving them their first two new converts, and the unexpected early purchase of a piece of property for their future church building!

Meet Abdel-Rahman, a man originally from the country of Zaire (now the Democratic Congo Republic). He was born into a nominal Catholic family, came at a young age to the country of Mali, and was then converted to Islam. His keen interest in religious matters opened the way for him to receive training at a prominent Ahmadiya Islamic center for Muslim missionary work. (The Ahmadiya branch of Islam is somewhat unorthodox and is considered a sect by the majority of Muslims).

Abdel-Rahman heard of me through someone who had attended a seminar sponsored by the Center for Ministry to Muslims where I taught on how to reach Muslims for Christ. He contacted me by mail, and then traveled far to meet me in Bamako. I sensed immediately that though he was well versed in Islamic thinking, his heart was searching for a peace that still eluded him. After many weeks of progressively sharing the Injil (the message of Christ) with him, Abdel-Rahman yielded his life to the Lord. He has been changed! Please pray for him as he seeks God’s will about what he is to do with his life now and in the near future.

We are loving our time in the States with family and friends, even the chilly winter (what a nice change from Mali!), and we especially love visiting with you and the churches. Thank you so much for upholding us in prayer during this furlough!

In the grip of His grace,

The Arzounis