Jose was supposed to be a Witch Doctor, God had other plans

#50FOR50 UPDATE

RECENT BLOGS & STORIES

This is the story of the eldest son of the village witch doctor. This is the story of a boy born “Christian” in a house that had never once heard the Gospel. This is the story of God reaching into darkness and allowing a new story to begin. This isn’t my story, but I’m thankful to be in it. This is the story of Jose.

The Witch Doctor’s Helper

Jose was born near Mwanza Tanzania. His tribe is Sukuma, the largest in Tanzania. He is the oldest of his father’s seven children. Jose was born into a Christian family, but he had never heard the Gospel.

In Tanzania, you are either Muslim or Christian. If you have a Muslim name, then you are a Muslim. If your parents have Christian names, then you are a Christian.

When Jose was 7 years old, his father divorced his mom, became Muslim, and married a Muslim woman. Just like that, his whole world changed. His entire identity.

Jose continued to live with his mother and siblings for a time, but he became restless. Before long, he found himself in the care of his grandma, the mother of his father, who lived in a village. The stories that Jose told me about his life in the village were dark and scary, he does not look back at those days fondly.

His grandma was the village witch doctor. KEEP READING >>

GET INVOLVED

Want to use your degree to travel to far parts of the world, experience first-hand what God is doing in the hearts of the unreached, and directly impact His Kingdom? Team Expansion desperately needs teachers to serve with our missionary families.

You can serve as a tutor for one family, a co-op teacher for a whole area, or as a teacher in an international school. In every situation, you would play a crucial role in seeing the Gospel spread throughout the world, all while experiencing a colorful new culture and shaping young lives forever. LEARN MORE ABOUT TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

East Asia

• School Teachers
• Homeschool Tutors

Eastern Europe

• School Teachers
• Homeschool Tutors

Japan

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Middle East

• School Teachers
• Homeschool Tutors
• ESL Teachers

North Africa

• School Teachers
• Co-Op Teachers

Southeast Asia

• Homeschool Tutors
• Co-Op Teachers

Africa

• School Teachers
• Principals
• Administrative Roles

View all opportunities

• The annual Sports and English Camp in Taiwan filled up in just 12 minutes. About 200 kids will spend a week with our missionary team in Taiwan, building relationships and learning about Jesus.
• We spent a day sharing all about Disciple-making movements on social media and our website in May. We had a great response leading to new pray-ers, givers, and conversations. Over 16,000 people have a deeper understanding of DMMs and how they can help.
• We had an exceptional Disciple-Making Movement (DMM) training in Asia with 35 adults trained, one group from a Bible Institute and another from a local church. Pray that God will bless their efforts and spark a movement in Asia!

A Few Prayer Requests for June

• Several large conferences are approaching, please pray for these events to be fruitful. Pray for new partners to help advance the work of multiplying disciples among the unreached.
• Pray for our new Pathways Interns (another praise!). These eight young adults are spreading across the globe, joining missionaries around the world to support, learn, and grow. Pray for their safety, health, and for an amazing and fruitful summer!
• Pray for our future sending bases. We are rapidly developing partnerships and performing training to help launch sending bases in strategic countries around the world.

Want to join us in daily prayer? Join prayer force

CAMPUS UPDATE

We care about our workers (and the people they’re trying to reach). So we train them to be resilient. We try to help them:

• Become more self-aware
• Become aware of God’s presence in the midst of their work
• Root their identity deeply in Christ
• Grow in their calling from God
• Create an openness for mentoring
• Develop resources to persevere
• Facilitate a team in which there is mutual respect of one another’s gifts, skills, experience, and contributions
• Participate deeply in their new community, motivated to constantly increase language fluency and trusting relationships
• Develop humility and an attitude of service.

(Read more and learn our sources).

Of course, we also believe that Satan and his forces are real.

Paul wrote, "For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens (Ephesians 6:12). So, as if cross-cultural work already weren’t difficult enough as it is, our workers are also involved in a SPIRITUAL battle.

Military strategists say that one of the toughest opponents ever is the enemy we can’t see. For this reason, we work constantly out of our base at Emerald Hills seeking to build a solid training element, a prayer focus, and a shepherding ministry to partner with local churches to multiply disciples and churches among the unreached.

I just met with a married couple who told me, "This time of preparation has been amazing. I can’t believe we thought we were ready to serve cross-culturally. NOW we are so much more aware of the challenges." Please join us today in praying for resilient workers, and thank you for your partnership.

Doug Lucas
April Financial Report