powell derek 1998 benin

7/24/2019 Powell Derek 1998 Benin

1/4

Derek

Powell

Missionary t o Benin

UEEB/SIM

BP

5

Parakou, Benin WEST FRICA

Phone:011-229-610749

E - m a i l : s i m p a r @ i n t n e t . b j

H - 2 .

CMF NTERNATIONAL rayer Newsletter

October 1998

Bon o i r(Good vening) from

Parakou,

Benin West

Africa and

of

h e

f r i e n d l y ,

French-speaking

B e n i n o i s , l a n d of

e d

d i r t

r o a d s

l e a d i n g t o v i l l a g e s i n

t h e g r a s s l a n d ,

an d

l a n d of r o p i c a l ,

s t i c k y h e a t .

Mike and I have been

gone

a month. I have never

experienced

a month w i t h

so m a n y n e w

t h i n g s t o

see

and

c o n s i d e r .

I

cannot h e l p b u t n o t i c e e v e r y

nuance

of

t h e

c u l t u r e h e r e , and I cannot

h e l p

but

see

home

it h

new e y e s . These a r e

good

e x p e r i e n c e s

f o r

an a r t i s t t h i s

w i l l d e f i n i t e l y have an impact

on my r t w o r k . Th e

people

d r e s s v e r y c o l o r f u l l y .

The

market

i n

Parakou

i s v e r y loud, u s y , and f u l l of

goods from

l l over

t h e

w o r l d . Mike and I have been

e n j o y i n g

walking around

i n

i t

and

p r a c t i c i n g

our

b a r g a i n i n g s k i l l s ( i n our broken F r e n c h ) .

People

w i l l

b a r g a i n a

h a l f

an hour

o r h a l f a

dozen eggs These

glimpses

of h e

Beninois c u l t u r e

have given me

b r o a d e r p e r s p e c t i v e on what t means t o be a human.

These

glimpses of

West

f r i c a n s have

made

me ware

of

what a r i c h

and

complex world God a s

c r e a t e d .

Know hat the Lord i s God. t i s

He

who made

s ,

and

w e are

His;

w e

a r e His

e o p l e ,

t h e

sheep

of is

p a s t u r e . . . .

The Lord r e i g n s ,

l e t

t h e e a r t h

be

g l a d ; L e t t h e

d i s t a n t

shores

r e j o i c e .

salms 100:3

7 : 1

The outine

Our a i l y r o u t i n e , t h o u g h o f t e n s u b j e c t t o change,

s

shaping up as

o l l o w s :

8-11

.m.

1 1 a.m. 1 2 p.m.

12:30-

1:30 p.m.

1 : 3 0 - 3 p.m.

b r e a k f a s t

{ l e

p e t i t dejeuner),

devotions,

a n d e-mail If am o

f o r t u n a t e ) .

l e s s o n

d e rancais, taught by

Nouerdien,

a

member

f

the

church

we

r e p r e s e n t l y a t t e n d i n g ,

lunch

{ d e j e u n e r ) ,

l a

s i e s t e

( T he

s t a n d a r d

joke i s

"Mike

' m

going

t o s e e E s t a " ) . Eat

your h e a r t out n i n e - t o - f i v e r s A

ap

3-6 .m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

7:30 ?

i s a c t u a l l y recommended by

t h e

SIM

issionaries

here

(due

to

the

often extreme h e a t ) ,

m i n i s t r y work; hanges from

day to

d a y . Many

l l u s t r a t i o n

p r o j e c t s ,

sometimes

t e a c h i n g ,

dinner {diner).

time for l e t t e r s , reading,

or working

i n

t h e

darkroom d e v e l o p i n g p i c t u r e s .

The eople

Mike nd

I

have

met

issionaries from A u s t r a l i a , New

Zealand,

France,Germany,

u s t r i a , and t h e g o o d o l e

USA. everal of

these

m i s s i o n a r i e s

have

an impressive

20

l u s y e a r s

of

e r v i n g

God

n

Benin.

They

a r e

e x c e l l e n t s p i r i t u a l mentors

f o r

Mike an d

me.We

ave

also made riends w it h

two ren c h

short-term a s s i s t a n t s ,

Thomas nd Marc. They

a r e

helping

us

with

t h e i r

P a r i s i a n French.

We lso

wo rk

closely

with

Gordon and Rosewitha

Baynes, from New ealand and A u s t r i a , r e s p e c t i v e l y .

They a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r

d i r e c t i n g

a good

p a r t

of our

a r t i s t i c

e n d e a v o r s

here.

Rosewitha

as

a eal vision fo r

t h e

a e s t h e t i c s of

h e

m a t e r i a l s

w e a r e

going t o produce;

her

enthusiasm has proven contagious.

We ave

met everal a r t i s t s in

town lso.

One r t i s t ,

Zacharie,

s

also

a

inister

of

a

mall

church.

Zacharie

works

for s e v e r a l SIM i s s i o n a r i e s ,

i l l u s t r a t i n g

educational m a t e r i a l s used

to

p r e s e n t t o Gospel t h a t

inform

about

h e a l t h and

hygiene,

and teach t h e

Beninois o read.

Mike and

I i ll work

with

Zacharie ften.We ave

been

impressed w i t h

h i s

h e a r t f o r

t h e

Lord; he prayed

and thanked God o r sending us d u r i n g

one of

our i r s t

m e e t i n g s . We i l l be honing

h i s drawing s k i l l s ,

showing him

ne w

t e c h n i q u e s , and g i v i n g him i d e a s f o r

artwork

t o s e l l i n order t o supplement h i s income. t i s a

r e a l c h a l l e n g e

t o

f i g u r e out

h o w t o

use

t h e

l i m i t e d

materials here.


2/4

Please pray t h a t God

would g r a n t

us

c r e a t i v e

s o l u t i o n s

t o t h e

problem

of i m i t e d r e s o u r c e s .

t w i l l a l s o

be a

c h a l l e n g e

t o s u i t

t h e work v i s u a l l y

t o

t h e

s p e c i f i c

c u l t u r e s

t h a t

t h e

i l l u s t r a t i o n s

a r e b e i n g done f o r . SIM

works w i t h

t e n

d i f f e r e n t

languages

i n

Benin. For

each

language

spoken,

u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s a r e a l s o i n h e r e n t .

The s e

c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s

c a l l f o r nuances

of change

i n

our

drawing

s t y l e s and f o r m a t s . A l l of h i s , of o u r s e , i s

v e r y f a s c i n a t i n g

t o

Mike

and m e .

These a r e problems

t h a t

a r e

q u i t e rewarding

and e n j o y a b l e

t o t a c k l e .

The Amoebas

Apparently s o m e o n e

informed some m o e b a s

t h a t

my

i n t e s t i n e s

w e r e

a h o t e l ,

s o the a m o e b a s checked

in

for

a

f e w

n i g h t s . However, f t e r a

couple

of days, h e s e

p a r t i c u l a r a m o e b a s

r e a l i z e d

t h e m i s t a k e

t h e y had m a d e

and d e c i d e d t o

e x i t

t h e b u i l d i n g . L e t ' s j u s t say t h e r e

wa s

p l e n t y

of reading m a t e r i a l i n t h e

bathroom

for a c o t

of

days.

The

inal

Notes

I f any of you have been tempted t o worry about my

s a f e t y

or

w e l l - b e i n g ,

d o n ' t allow y o u r s e l f t o be. God

has

t r u l y

proven

worthy

of h e

n a m e Jehovah

J i r e h , as

every

need of

mine

has been met.Mike and

I

have

a i c e

house t o

l i v e i n ,

p l e n t y

of

u p p o r t i v e p e o p l e ,

s u b s t a n t i a l

meals, and

p l e n t y

of p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r s p i r i t u a l growth.

"But seek

i

r s t

His

Kingdom

a n d

His Righteousness,

a n d

l l

t h e s e t h i n g s

w i l l

be

g i v e n t o

you as w e l l .

Matthew 6:33

P r a y e r Requests

hat

God

would

make our French s t u d i e s effic ient and

organized.

hatGod

would

direct

our

e c i s i o n s on

which

) r o i e c t s to undertake (there are many o s s i b i l i t i e s ) .

Tnat

uod would d e l i v e r t h e B e n i n o i s of h e h o p e l e s s

bondage of voodoo and f e t i s h - b a s e d animism.

Thank

you

f o r

a l l

of your

p r a y e r s

and

f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t .

Your Brothe r in

Christ,

Derek Powell

P .S. P ic t u r e s will follow in

t h e

next e w s l e t t e r

Mike

and I j u s t

got

our darkroom underway Note my

".dress:

Derek

Powell

UEEB SIM

BP

5

Parakou, Benin

WEST

FRICA

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3/4

Derek

Powell

Missionary t o Benin

UEEB SIM

BP 5

Parakou, Benin WEST FRICA

Phone:011 229 610749

E - m a i l :

s i m p a r @ i n t n e t . b j

CMF

NTERNATIONAL raver ewsletter

December

1998

If nyone

i s t h i r s t y l e t

him

come o

me

and

rink...

By h e m i d d l e of

November, h e h u m i d i t y

h a d a l l

b u t

l e f t

Parakou, Benin. The

a l l

A f r i c a n

g r a s s e s a r e d r y i n g

u p , and

t h e wind s b e g i n n i n g

t o

p i c k up

t h e r e d

d u s t

o f f

of

h e

g r o u n d .

t i s d r y ; t h e

d a i l y

t e m p e r a t u r e

a p p r o a c h e s

t h e

m i d d l e

9 0 s . Walking

a r o u n d

town o r

t a k i n g a i m i j a h n ( m o t o r c y c l e t a x i ) , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o

wear s u n g l a s s e s o r s q u i n t y o u r

e y e s .

The winds of h e

harmattan,

a r r i e d

down

rom the

Sahara,

i l l be

coming t h e s e n e x t few

m o n t h s .

I o f t e n s m e l l

smoke

i n

t h e

a i r

as t h e Africans bum h e

t a l l

g r a s s e s as they

begin

t o d r y .

I t w i l l

be i v e or s i x months now e f o r e i t

r a i n s

a g a i n .

T h i s

a l l s t a n d s

i n

s h a r p c o n t r a s t t o

t h e

c o o l w a t e r

t h e

Lord h a s been

p r o v i d i n g

me

h r o u g h

my u i e t t i m e s

e a r l y

i n

t h e m o r n i n g .

Some v e r s e s

i n my orning

r e a d i n g have

found

a p l a c e

t o r e s n n T l T e d e ^ e p ~ o r my

s o u l ; God's

W o rd

has

spoken t o me n Benin

i n ways

that

I've

never known t to

before.

The Lord w i l l g u i d e you

a l w a y s ;

he w i l l s a t i s f y your

needs i n

a

sun

scorched

land and w i l l

s t r e n g t h e n

your

frame.

You

w i l l be l i k e a w e l l - w a t e r e d g a r d e n , l i k e a

s p r i n g whose w a t e r s

n e v e r

a i l .

I s a i a h

5 8 : 1 1

These

a r e p r e c i o u s p r o m i s e s t h a t

I h o l d

on t o on d a y s

t h a t

I am

omesick

or

bored

or d i s s a t i s f i e d

w i t h my

seeming

l a c k

of c c o m p l i s h m e n t , o r e v e n when

e v e r y t h i n g

j u s t seems

r e g u l a r a n d o r d i n a r y . T h a t s o n

d a y s I

a m h i r s t y .

I

a m

t h a n k f u l f o r a l l t h a t

f l o w s o u t

o f

our

r e l a t i o n s h i p t o

t h e Lord,

and t h a t

He

e m i n d s u s of

t h e s t r e a m s of i v i n g w a t e r ,

g i v e n

by His Son, h a t f l o w

within us .

I

am

u s t b e g i n n i n g

t o l e a r n

how

t o p l e a s e Him

t h r o u g h

my e a d i n g and

p r a y e r

t i m e .

I

am

ecoming

aware of

what

a p e r s o n a l and l o v i n g

God

He s .

P l e a s e pray t h a t

as my rench g e t s b e t t e r , I w i l l have o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o

share

the

peace and joy

t h a t

I

am

e c e i v i n g from my

quiet

times.

Conference

From Novembc

- 6 ,

SIM

enin-Togo

h e l d t h e i r

annual

c o n f e r e n c e

i n

Parakou. The

e a t u r e d

speaker

wa s

Pasteur Kouminaros from

P a r i s . He

roved t o have

many i n t e r e s t i n g i n s i g h t s , s t o r i e s ,

and

c h a l l e n g e s

f o r

t h e

m i s s i o n a r i e s . I t was a l s o a good o p p o r t u n i t y

f o r

Mike

and me

o

meet

he rest o f the missionaries

in Benin

and Togo

t h a t

h a d n ' t

p r e v i o u s l y

p a s s e d t h r o u g h

Parakou.

We

e t

up

a p p o i n t m e n t s w i t h many of h e s e

missionaries to discuss

artwork that was needed o r

t h e i r m i n i s t r i e s . We ave r e c e n t l y spoken w i t h Martin

K l o t z ,

a

Swiss

m i s s i o n a r y

working

am o n g

t h e

Muslims

i n Parakou.We

i l l

do

arious

materials for Martin,

i n c l u d i n g t r a c t s and pamphlets

o r

Muslims done i n an

Arabic

s t y l e .

There

s also

much

work o bedone

for

theSIM

h o s p i t a l i n

Bemberke, which i s about

an

h o u r ' s

d r i v e

n o r t h

of Parakou

( t h a t i s i f your t a x i d o e s n ' t s t o p

a t

every v i l l a g e on t h e way up, which can

take

as

much

s

two and a h a l f h o u r s ) . They

need

p o s t e r s f o r e v e r y t h i n g

from

r e h y d r a t i o n t o AIDS known as SIDA ere)

and

h e a l t h c h a r t s f o r

t h e v i l l a g e s . We i l l t r a v e l up t o

Bemberke

t o d i s c u s s s p e c i f i c s of

h e

work on

December

9 nd 10 .

AdditionalWork

Up n t i l t h e conference, M ike and

1

have been working

with our

r i e n d

Zacharie,

who,

f you r e c a l l , i s a

m i n i s t e r t o t h e D i t - a - m a a r i , a l o c a l

t r i b a l

group.

We

have s p e n t

many

a f t e r n o o n s a t

Z a c h a r i e ' s

s t u d i o

e x p e r i m e n t i n g

w i t h

p r i n t i n g

t e c h n i q u e s ,

d i s c u s s i n g

ways o r him t o supplement h i s modest m i n i s t e r ' s

income w i t h a r t w o r k , and

working on our French

w i t h

him. a c h a r i e does

n o t speak

E n g l i s h , so Mike

and

I

o f t e n f i n d o u r s e l v e s using hand

g e s t u r e s

t o be a b l e t o

g e t

t h e

p o i n t

a c r o s s . We

ave

d i r e c t e d Z a c h a r i e ' s

production of cards

and

s t a t i o n e r y , and hope t o get them

p l a c e d

i n t h e l o c a l h o t e l s and bookstoresf

Discussing

s k e t c h e s w i t h Zacharie.


4/4

Our

darkroom s up and r u n n i n g ,

and

h i s l e t t e r shows

s ome of h e

r e s u l t s .

Though

our

e c h n i q u e

i s f a r

from

p e r f e c t ,

w e h i n k

t h a t t h e b l a c k and

w h i t e

p h o t o g r a p h s

we roduce

a r e

q u i t e

a d e q u a t e . Many f h e s e

photos

will be used

a s

references fo r our

l l u s t r a t i o n s .

Mike

and

I

o n t i n u e

t o t e a c h a t t h e SIM

i s s i o n a r y

s c h o o l

a s

w e l l . We ave

been

working on c r a f t s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e

Roman

u l t u r e w i t h t h e young

boys.We

r e a l s o i n t h e

midst of planning a r t h i s t o r y

l e s s o n s f o r

t h e

o l d e r

s t u d e n t s .

This

has proven

most

n j o y a b l e

f o r

us as

h e

s t u d e n t s a r e

eager and w e l l behaved.

Closing Remarks

a n d

Prayer Requests

Mike

and

I

have been here

for

a l m o s t three

months. t i s

sometimes discouraging t o

t h i n k

o f wha t we

ave

accomplished

i n t h i s

p e r i o d

of i m e , b u t

w e must

a k e

i n t o account language

and c u l t u r a l

a d j u s t m e n t s . I

e e l

a s

i f we

have

established ourselves

i n Parakou, and l e s s

o f

our

h o u g h t s

a r e c e n t e r e d on h e

newness

of

v e r y t h i n g .

Our

h o u g h t s

can

n o w be

e n t e r e d on d i g g i n g d e e p l y

an d

wholeheartedly i n t o t h e work h a t has been e t

before us.

Please

pray:

hat h i s

work w i l l be g u i d e d by God's t r e n g t h and

direc tion.

our our French

language leaming.

Though

we

ave

m a de n o t i c e a b l e p r o g r e s s w i t h i t we t i l l have a

wa y

t o go .

or our r a v e l .

We i l l

be r a v e l i n g

over h e s e

next

two months o

d isc u ss work.

or

our h e a l t h . This i s always a

r a y e r r e q u e s t i n

Africa.

or our r t w o r k , t h a t

i t would be

i r e c t e d b y h e

Lord

and

give Him

h e

g l o r y .

Once

g a i n

thanks

so

much

o r

a l l

of

h e

s u p p o r t ,

p r a y e r s ,

and encouragement.

l l

of

h e s e a r e

needed

and beneficial for our

work

here.

Let

us

e e

t h a t

i n

t h e o r y we

o l d t h a t

God

s f a i t h f u l ;

t h a t

i n d a i l y l i f e

we

ount

upon

t ; and t h a t a t a i l times

and

under

l l c i r c u m s t a n c e s we

r e

f u l l y

persuaded of

t h i s

b l e s s e d t r u t h . Hudson T a y l o r

Derek

A hot o f

me laying

the

r o l e o f

missionary o

a

t n a i l l a g e

i n northern Benin.

i l i i l i i l l i i l i U

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