August 2020

Greetings

Good morning and God bless you,

Reverend Alfred Kweku Akumbie says, “Missions is the heartbeat of God.”

After 30 years of Mission work, I am convinced of this statement and continue to work as the Mission’s Pastor for IHDV, concentrating on international missions. There are 7.8 billion people in the world. In 2018, 820 million people still did not have enough to eat, and 11% of the world’s population was without access to an improved water supply. The most unreached area in the world for the gospel is the 10/40 window. This corridor has an estimated population of 4.4 billion and includes places like West Africa, Pakistan, and India. This is where we are pursuing Mission outreach work today.

Goal

We will concentrate on reaching one person, one village, and one country at a time. We will do this by partnering with believers in these areas who have compassion for their countrymen and a desire to win them for Christ; believers that want to disciple others to be effective and productive kingdom builders.

Daily Devotion

We currently broadcast a daily devotion, in both Spanish and English, via WhatsApp which reaches many countries (USA, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Columbia, Nicaragua, Cuba, England, to name a few of the 20 countries). We have several partners helping us with the devotions such as Joseph Batausa in California, Nadine Quintero in California, Hayford in West Africa, Dr. David in East Africa, Marques in Puerto Rico, Oscar Gomez in Kansas, Liticia in West Africa, Rev. Akumbie in West Africa, and many others. If you would like to be part of receiving this daily devotion, please send a message via WhatsApp to +1-707-853-4847, and we will get you going. The diversity of the teaching will surely uplift your spirit in

the Lord.

India

We have partnered with two brothers in northern India, Kumar Ramesh and Himanshiu Max, who are businessmen and operate as Pastors/Evangelists. We are helping them with funds to feed between 2,000-2,500 people per day on the roadside. They run several ministries, including an orphanage, a house for people with leprosy, a Bible school, and a church. On July 7, their church property was vandalized, and everything inside was destroyed.

Local Hindus want to take control of the property to establish a Hindu temple. Please pray for our brothers. They continue to experience much persecution, and the believers are scared. Our brothers are currently in court fighting to legally protect their property from a hostile takeover. In this part of the country, where only a minority of the population are believers, Christians are actively being persecuted. We hope to send them $100 per month as we continue to pray about visiting them to learn more about their ministry and join them in their efforts to evangelize. India has 1.353 billion people, and many do not know Jesus.

Pakistan

We continue to support Sheva and her family. They have been feeding a group of children and widows. They have also opened a home for some of the children who live on the street. Our support of $40 provides enough funds to feed the children for an entire month. We are also praying about visiting Pakistan, where the church is under persecution, to learn more about the ministry in Faisalabad and other cities where we have established relationships with pastors. We are seeing many opportunities to feed the hungry like the group of widows and children living in a brick factory. Thanks to Sister Lori for putting together the care packages of Sunday school supplies, which we are sending. Please pray for wisdom and God’s timing.

In Karachi, Pakistan, we are working with Pastor Patras, who runs Right Way Ministry. They are disciple-makers and reach out to unbelievers daily. Wow! We could all learn from him and his team of 6 pastors who have hearts full of evangelism.

Ghana, Africa

Sometime around 2017, we planted a church in the middle of a Muslim village called Nanton, which was supported by the work of Pastor Josiah and his wife Ayisha. They continued this work until 2019 when, due to poor health, Pastor Josiah went to be with the Lord. That day was a horrible day for me. Pastor Josiah was my friend and had taught me many things through the work in Nanton. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that when we plant a church, we need to make sure we help the pastors with a sustainable clean water source along with supporting the raising of a farm. This all will supply a food source for the pastor and the new believers. The dry season in Nanton presented a challenge for Pastor Josiah. When food was scarce, the new believers would abandon the church to eat with their Muslim families. The families of the new believers said things like, “If you want to go to that church, let the scriptures feed you.” We were not ready in many ways.

This month we re-established a relationship again with Pastor Josiah’s widow, Ayisha. We have begun to help support her in her business venture of making backpacks and dresses to sell. She and her daughter are grateful. We thank God for Pastor Scott Nalley of Bridgeway in Vallejo, for his generous offering for the widow. God Bless him as we obey James 1:27.

We continue to pray for the revival scheduled for October 2020 at Kurugu and Banawa in the WaleWale district. These communities have extremely poor water sources and still do not have electricity. We hope to supply two medical outreach teams, two freshwater wells, and plant two new churches. The team in Ghana is ready. All we need is to raise the necessary funds to supply what is needed.

Pray for wisdom as we make plans to join the work of God in Ghana for October 2020. May God give us a clear understanding of His desire for us.

In Bugubelle, Ghana, we support Pastor Matthew in is farming efforts by sending a monthly stipend. We pray the late October harvest season is fruitful. Please pray for Pastor Matthew’s continued work in Bugubelle and Welebelle. We ask that God raise up the workers, that He brings new disciples, and that the farming will be successful. We also ask that God send Pastor Matthew a helpmate.

Many Thanks

We want to give a special thank you to Sister Cara Hawkins for putting together a couple of fundraisers. Nadine and Jennifer have been strategizing for ways to raise funds as we work towards our goal. We have raised $17,000 already but hope to reach at least $30,000 to support the work. We recently sent $400 to aid Reverend Akumbie as he travels to the bible college to teach for two weeks.

Thank you for your prayers, and all you do to support God’s work. Please, let us pray with you. Send us a quick message on how we can best pray for you and your family. May God Bless you and keep you safe during these crazy days we live in.

For all those who have sent support for Missions we offer our sincere thanks, and we ask that God bless you. If you still want to give, for Missions offerings only, you can send funds via Zelle using (707) 704-1168. (This is the number associated with the IHDV Missions fund.) Alternately, checks can be mailed to IHDV at 640 W K St., Benicia, CA 94510. Lastly, you could go to Cara Hawkins, GoFundMe page at https://gf.me/u/ymzhgz

Thank you again for your support. We are grateful for your partnership in the work of God in Missions.

Love you,

Pastor RENE

P.S. Please note “Missions” on any checks sent. If you prefer not to receive updates on Missions, please send me a quick text, and I will gladly take you off the list.