SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS: Michel & Ruth Poirier • Quebec, Haiti, Africa, Dominican Republic
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isa. 41:10)
• Quebec — We closed November and December 2023 with three professions of faith and several life dedications to serve Christ. Looking back on what we have done for our Savior during the last year drives me to do more for my Savior in 2024. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future for us.
I thank the Lord for bringing us people who want to win souls and participate in reaching those without Christ — like a young man who comes to our church from Ivory Coast who was waiting for the bus to get to church. While waiting, he talked to people at the bus station and invited a woman and her son to attend the church meeting. They came to church and have been coming every Sunday since. Others did the same thing — bringing people to church.
Most visitors we get are immigrants from different countries — Brazil, Portugal, Africa, Haiti — with all kinds of doctrines. Some are teachable, and others have their minds made up in a way they don’t want to change. We never know who will come through those doors on Sunday, but we are glad to have them.
• Haiti — The work of Segur in (Port au Prince) is growing, even in difficulty. The gangs now let people travel in the street by paying a fee. The price of gas and food doesn’t help our people’s situation. The Lord allows us to assist in feeding the poor and the homeless who hang around the church. We were able to offer a dinner plate at Christmas for about 200 children of the church and, for the adults on Jan. 14. We expect to feed 300-400 people. We have a group of young men who give their life to Christ for the work of the ministry. We are working on getting fiber optic internet for consistent quality. This will enable us to teach without interruption.
• Africa, Cameroon — The work is doing well, even during difficult times. We love to go and help by giving encouragement and guidance. In Cameroon, the difficulty is to have stability in facing adversity from the Church of God denomination. They have visitors who come with strange doctrines, and this presents a difficulty for the leader. We teach the right doctrine every week, and pray that it will give good fruit among our leaders.
• Africa, Ivory Coast — The group of 75 people is doing well and learning more and more every week how to be like Jesus. They are faithfully serving God and are excited to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. The leaders are faithful in participating weekly in the online teaching. We have a good response of their service to the Lord and are excited to see their willingness to serve the Lord.
• Dominican Republic (DR) — The group is doing well, despite the difficulty of getting to church on Sunday. There was a bad storm last month in the DR and the pastor of the capital, John, could not get to Boca Chica because his car was badly damaged. For that reason, December was dry for the people of Boca Chica. The group is made up of around 25 children and several adults. Last Saturday, pastor John was able to go back and offer teaching to the children with a teacher from his church. We are glad about that, but there is no possibility of going to church on Sunday because no one has a vehicle to take the people to church.
The lady who is in charge of assembling the group for activity and listened to a message on the radio from a strange group who called themselves the Church of Prophecy. I told her, “This is a dangerous and false doctrine they teach; do not go there!” She said, “I did not go, but I need spiritual food, and I am hungry for learning.” I offered to teach her about a Christian’s stability in the Lord, and she is excited about that. But this doesn’t fix the problem of attending church on Sunday. Pray for this cause, and for these needs in each area:
• Quebec — Growth with our new convert and my helper, Michel Barton, for health.
• Haiti — Security, food and the possibility of having a good internet connection for teaching.
• Africa, Cameroon — Stability in their walk with Christ.
• Africa, Ivory Coast — Encouragement to keep serving the Lord.
• Dominican Republic — A vehicle for going to church for the 45-minute trip from the capital.
We thank you for your prayers and sacrificial giving to our ministry and for the work in our churches.
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