MOPS Africa: November 2022

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! - Psalm 107:1

As we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US, it is perfect timing for giving thanks to God for another incredible month in MOPS Africa.

The highlight of the last few weeks was the MOPS French Africa Leadership Conference in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Mandy Dessureault and I traveled to this beautiful West African country, along with leaders from Benin, Mali, and Senegal to meet together as a united group of MOPS leaders. Mandy and I spoke about the Leadership Style of Jesus, gave devotionals about Exodus 17 and Colossians - relating these parts of scripture to MOPS, encouraged these leaders to continue in their efforts and not to grow weary despite persecution their regions (Gal 6:9), and enjoyed many icebreakers and group activities. It was the first time most of these women met in person, and I am confident that the relationships built will result in reaching so many new women with the gospel - especially in some unreached areas of the continent.

A room full of discussion small groups, following a devotional from Mandy. One of the best aspects of MOPS is the importance we place on discussion time during a meeting.

Group activity "We Go Together" after a leadership training from Destiny. We decorated friendship bracelets, then exchanged them with a new friend from French Africa

Icebreakers and relationship building

We also visited two local MOPS groups, had many (book-worthy) adventures in the car, and concluded our time with beach visit. Not shown in these photos: the hundreds of hours of prep time both for Mandy and I, as well as the conference leads and Pastor James in Cote d'Ivoire; the emotional and physical toll of putting on an event like this; the 24-hours of traveling for most of the visiting leaders to be able to come together. And only partially shown: the generations of impact that will benefit from moms who are changing the dynamics of their families, their community, and the world. This trip directly touched 60 MOPS groups and 1,000 women and their families. It's truly no small thing. It's incredibly exciting, and we covet your prayers in this endeavor.

Speaking of prayer, our next continent-wide 24 hours of prayer day is Saturday, December 3. Would you commit to setting your clock for a 30-minute period of time on that day to join us in prayer for the efforts of our leaders all across the continent?

MOPS Zambia leadership is on a mission to visit all of the MOPS groups across their regions. It's been great to see them joining in the various MOPS meetings this month: