Holiday Greetings from your partners in Mali, West Africa! We have much to rejoice about as we look back and consider what has happened in our stewardship since we got back to Bamako, the capital of this Muslim nation, since January 2000. Allow us to share some facts and faces, as well as a word about the future.

Facts & Faces

Here in Mali, the Land of Timbuktu, where ox and plow are a common sight even in this third millennium, there is a saying that “It is not how wide or straight you plow, but how deep and long.” With the Lord’s help, we are striving to plow deep and long. It has been a year of significant events and strategic involvement in the work both in Mali and in the West African region:

• Joining Hands!
  We joined hands with the church leaders from such West African nations as Burkina Faso and Togo to reopen our Bible School and to target key cities in Mali where their African missionaries would help us plant new churches. Some professors, 15 Bible School students, and 18 new pastors from the Burkina Faso Assemblies of God are coming to Mali to meet those goals. A new work has just been established in the city of Koutiala. It is our shared objective to have a church in every major city within the next three years.

• Thirty-Four Attend First Kinshasa Extension Courses
  Training of key workers for the harvest has been our priority. We work with WAAST, which is our advanced school of theology operating out of Lomé, Togo. In February and March, we taught the very first WAAST extension school session in Kinshasa, Congo. We’ve been touched and encouraged by some extraordinary moves of God in the pastoral training sessions that were assigned to us in our region.

• In The Philippines
  We continue to train Asian leaders for evangelism in Muslim nations through the annual Institute in Islamic Studies which was held again last Spring. That’s a long way from Mali, but well worth the effort! Asian missionaries, pastors, evangelists and lay workers are poised to make significant inroads into heavily Muslim areas.

• Miracle Of Reunification In Mali
  In June, the Mali Assemblies of God experienced a special move of God that healed this church that has been divided for over 8 years. Ever since the US Assemblies of God missionaries have come to labor in this Muslim nation, we have had to contend with the Malian church’s division with the French Assemblies of God mission here. It has been a painful process, but God’s Spirit has triumphed over the chaos. As a result of this new unity, individual churches have experienced growth, and the total number of churches has doubled.

• Out Of Islam
  These formerly Muslim women have been beaten, deserted by spouses, and ostracized in their community because of their faith in Christ. They are faithful members of our church in Kati which is providing for them now.

  It is my joy to share the Gospel one-on-one with many Muslim men. Recently, I led Tidiane Diallo, a Fulani, to Christ. The Fulanis are one of Mali’s unreached people groups. Tidiane has been abandoned by friends and persecuted by family, but, praise God, not the victim of violence. He is an able building contractor, fairly fluent in English and Russian, but he has been unable to get any steady employment since his conversion, because the Muslim community has blacklisted him. Please pray for him!

Faith For The Future

• Believing God For A Resolution Of The Bible School Issue
  American, Swede, French and Burkina missionaries are collaborating together with this reunited Malian national church. Therefore, the two Bible Schools (ours in Tienfala and the French Assemblies of God school in Moribabugu), have also been temporarily merged. It has been decided that our campus will be closed until two parallel French-speaking and Bambara-speaking programs are set in place, hopefully next year.

• Believing God For Strong Churches In Timbuktu, Gao, & Douentza
  A construction team from Oak Grove, Missouri is coming in January to put up several pre-fab churches provided by Evangelism Tabernacles. Three of them will be built in Timbuktu, the historic Islamic university city, in the Dogon town of Douentza, and in the Tamashek city of Gao. All three are Muslim strongholds. Two more tabernacles will also be set up, one in Bamako, the capital city, and one in the southern town of Kumantu, where we have several new Fulani Christians. Please pray with us both for protection and for impact, that these small “ends of the earth” churches would flourish.

• Believing God For Desperately Needed Food & Medical Relief
  Large portions of West Africa, stretching from the eastern part of Mali into Niger and Chad will be experiencing famine this year due to a short, uneven rainy season. Our churches in the north desperately need food for their hungry now. Medical help is also urgently needed for our AIDS patients. We seldom, if ever, solicit any funds through our newsletter. However, we are pleading with you, our supporters, to make a one-time gift to meet these needs. If you wish to help in any way, please send your gift payable to DFM Assemblies of God, 1445 Boonville Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802, USA. Thank you so much for letting the Lord work through you to make a vital difference in this part of Africa.

Family & Friends

Our nest is empty. Our son and his wife live in Roseville, California. Our daughter and her husband live in Auburn, California and are expecting our second grandchild in April. Linda’s parents, retired Bethany College professors, Reino and Bonnie Tilus, have just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

More Photos

We thought you might be interested in seeing some more photos of our ministry here in West Africa. These wouldn’t fit in the printed version of our newsletter, but they can be included here on our website!

The Church in Kati

The Church in Selingue

A Beatiful Malian Baby

Greg and Kiralie, Who Came All The Way From Australia To Help Us!

A New Pump

Thank you for your many, many years of faithfulness to us, and we wish you a truly joyful Christmas and a fruitful New Year!

David (Faouzi) & Linda Arzouni