Tuesday, Nov, 10th

Today's entry was written by Steve Niemeier

Hello to all!

We left the room about 10:15 A.M. today after our breakfast and some private studies. We knew today would be another tough day of teaching. It was much hotter than yesterday as there were no clouds today. It had to be about 105 it seemed inside the building. When we speak they try to put a fan on us but it blows our Bibles and causes more chaos. John and Jim leave it on them and certainly it is needed. I admire them for being able to do this. I have them turn it away from me when I am teaching and man do I get hot but at least it does not blow the pages from my Bible. In fact when I finished (I am usually the last one to speak which is fine as John goes first and then Jimmy and then I finish) and we get in the car to come home I actually get Jim wet as he is sitting close to me and my clothes are just soaked in the sweat. There is a question that we always wonder about and that is who “stinks” the most and let me tell you there are three S L citizens in the front seat and we do not know if it is us them or all of us!!!

We went back to the African market today on the way to spend a little more time in looking at what these carvers and locals including women make – it is really amazing. They follow you around and they make most of their items – some are really talented and yet they are so in poverty. The ditch along the side of most streets seems to carry the sewer. We actually saw a pig in a stream in the middle of town along with trash everywhere and yet people were washing themselves and their clothes in the same stream. Little children are happy playing but not with toys – they play with items they find laying around such as a stick or a rag or some trash – people are literally everywhere you look – on top of each other – crowded together – streets are mostly dirt and rugged except for a few paved that need repaving – most streets are full of people and the cars have to honk the horn to get through – chaos is everywhere and just when you think you have seen everything you see 4 Sierra Leones on one motorcycle!

John taught about the Lord’s Supper to start us off today and it was an excellent lesson. John worked so hard in his lesson and the sweat just poured off of him. John is a great teacher and yet his physical condition gets to him at times – he taught his heart out today and it was very effective. Jim taught “Why we are not converting the lost” and drove home the point of teaching the unperverted gospel is much different than trying to convert the world to a perverted gospel –many like to hear a perverted gospel because it allows them to do what they want. John and I are so pleased with him. John and I have traveled together before of course and we get along like brothers - fight and tease and hug and cry together – Jimmy Lee has become the third brother it seems as he takes no slack from us and yet gives us so much of himself – he is a good one!
Today he had to stop right before the end of his lesson as he just preached until he was exhausted – he slowed down and made a closing statement that was very good to close his lesson. Both of these men literally wore themselves out for the Lord on this hot and humid day.

One of the things we are faced with is that we are trying to “un teach” the perversions of men they have listened to in the past. They have women “pastors” young men “pastors”, etc. So today I started the study on the eldership. I explained the Greek words to them. I explained the work to them so they could understand why there were qualifications for such a position. I explained Eph. 4:11 to them and that we do not have apostles or prophets today. I then started with the fact that it had to be a man, had to be a husband. I asked the women “pastors” if any of them were a man or a husband – this brought a laugh out of them but it quickly changed when I briefly taught what Paul stated to Timothy and the Corinthians the role of a woman was (John will now drive this home tomorrow). I then asked the men “pastors” how many were husbands – about one half raised their hands – I then asked do they think they are still qualified – in fact I did more than asked I called a couple of them by name and stated you call yourself a “pastor” and yet you are not a husband – I also asked one of them to read the first part of the qualifications so that all could hear it from a S L citizen – the audience got real quite – I got down on one knee ( which getting down was not a problem but getting up was) and told them I loved their souls but we came with an unperverted gospel and we were reading it from the scriptures and they were turning a deaf ear to it – I then called for them to repent. I finished with this and the audience was still in silence.

Afterwards many came to John, Jim and myself and had some questions – folks , the Lord is doing wonderful things here – this world of perversion in S L is being turned upside down by the unperverted gospel and Joseph made that statement at the end of the session.

Thank you for your prayers and support – please keep praying for us – the work in Moldova can be tiring but it is a different type of teaching – a sitting down and teaching for hours in cool temperatures – this is teaching that is more like preaching – standing and driving home point after point – fluctuating your voice on points – getting in the audience to make sure you put it on their level and then trying to maintain your strength in the extreme heat. I am not sure I will ever complain about the heat in our building at Greenwood again!!!!