French Guiana

Women without Limits

CCI-MPE

Cayenne

French Guiana

When we arrive Friday evening we went along to the church and met the team who were also ministering during the ladies conference. Janeth Barrios from Bogotá with her husband Lois and Gisèle Saint-Hilaire. It was important to worship with the team. The worship was great and many of the young people were involved in dance and drama. The conference was for the women at the church with an outreach event on Friday and Saturday evening, hence the dance and drama elements of the meeting. Pastor Annic Roellinger was the host for the weekend. Julie Russell one of my mentees from the Avanti mentoring programme was able to raise the necessary funds to accompany me on the mission. Flora, Pastors Dominique and Annic's daughter translated for us.

Julie, Flora and myself

Saturday was a long day, we started early with Julie giving her testimony followed by myself speaking on Isaiah 62. On Saturday evening I gave my testimony of how Jesus had brought healing and restoration to my life. I was aware of the incest issues as well as sexual abuse that many women in French Guiana have experienced. Pastor Annic had asked that I reveal the extent of the consequences and the spiritual dimension to the abuse that I experienced. I have to say that when I left the stage there was silence... Gisele followed with her testimony of being healed from Aids but then gave an alter call recapping the things that I had said, many women came to the front. It is difficult to say whether or not they were giving their life to Jesus or asking for prayer. The church has an amazing discipleship programme each person will be contacted within 48 hours and be integrated into a cell within a week; someone will follow up with them on a regular basis. 

Worship Band

Amazing how God had put the programme together, there was such a hunger and openness to the gospel message. I had a chance meeting with a radio presenter on the plane on Friday. She has invited me to speak on the radio on Monday between 10 and 11.

Sunday morning gave an opportunity to encourage the church, both men and women to take the blessings that they had received over the weekend (The men met together on Saturday) into their nation. Julie gave testimony of how God had encouraged her with a picture of her garden. I encourage the women to be women without limits. God had lain on my heart to speak about Timothy and his mother and Grandmother, but also how Jesus went into the wilderness filled with the Spirit but came out of the wilderness in the power of the Spirit. Women and men who feel that they are in the wilderness can be assured that their faith will be increased and that they will come out in the power of Jesus.

On Monday morning I had the divine appointment... I was given an opportunity to speak on RMP gospel radio. With a bold vision RMP has been broadcasting for just over one year. Louisa was the presenter and it was she that I met on the aero plane. It was a God inspired meeting, Louisa spoke little English but she had seen me using my bible. There were a few technical problems to begin with, but the interview went really well. I felt the words come from God; the Spirit was certainly in the studio.

It is difficult to feed back to you exactly what God has done in French Guiana over the last weekend due to the difference in language. However, the pastor and his wife were thrilled with the feedback that they had been given. God had touched many people and they were assured that they would see lives changed over the coming months. Pastor Dominique and his wife Annic have employed the G12 discipleship process at their church. This has definitely supported their entire congregation in having an intimate relationship with Jesus, whilst also having a way of encouraging accountability.

Pastor Lois Barrios and his wife Janeth are members of the G12. G12 was first modeled in Bogota, Colombia by Pastor César Castellanos and his wife Claudia. It was good to talk with them and Pastor Lois prayed for me just before I left. Their teaching was amazing; God placed me in a place that would also help with my masters. Awesome! My dissertation is on a strategic proposal for a mentoring programme for Evangelists who work with Avanti...