Dear Praying Partners,
I thank the Lord every day for each of you as we so cherish your many prayers during this season of our lives. I am reminded each day of God’s greatness as I see the beautiful colors that are changing around us and all that He has created!!! God is so good, all the time.
As you know, these have been difficult days for Denise as we feverishly seek to find the reason her body is losing blood or perhaps, not producing it. She has recently undergone a CT scan on her kidney area, endoscopy, colonoscopy, numerous blood tests, IV’s to replenish her body, and removal of cancer on her face and legs. All of these procedures have come back clear and clean which is a blessing, however, still leaves us without answers we are searching for. In the following days, she has appts with a hematologist and urologist. Please pray that answers will come and that she gets her appetite back. She has lost over 65 pounds the past two years through her medical issues which all started with low sodium and breathing issues. She is very weak and spends much of her time bedridden. God is good and we are trusting Him for the answers and a healing touch.
All of these tests, doctor appts, and meds have put a huge strain on us financially and we are asking that if you are able to help send some relief financially our way, PLEASE do😊. We have insurance which helps, but our deductibles are high, and our insurance is not covering some of the tests. The hospital just informed us that her CT scan will be our full responsibility because insurance denied coverage. That alone with the IV’s they used for the test is around $5000. Add her meds and doctor co-pays and it all adds up😥 Please, keep Denise in your prayers!!
Ministry wise, we are seeing much fruit for His kingdom. Our Ivory Coast churches continue to run an aggressive evangelism program in which we continue to see new converts added to His kingdom. Our new church plants continue to witness an uptick in members as we continue on using our evangelism team to open up new villages through the use of the Jesus film and the evangelism equipment we were able to purchase. Pastor Emmanuel, who leads our church planting ministry, is very encouraged by the numbers of conversions we are seeing through are evangelism strategies.
In addition to the growth we are witnessing in our churches, our Ivory Coast team is recommending two more Pastors to IGM to take over the ministries in two new areas we have targeted and are starting new church plants. These two areas include the town of Toumoudi and a village located 25 kilometers outside of our Bouake headquarters. These are exciting days to be serving our Lord and witnessing the growth of His kingdom.
We thank each of you that have given towards these ministries by providing funds for us to purchase motorcycles enabling our pastors to be more mobile in reaching new areas with the Gospel.
We would also ask that you pray along with us that God will provide the $5000 needed to re-roof our large church in Bouake. Much of the wood holding up the roof has been eaten by termites, even though the wood was treated, causing us to move quickly to replace it before it caves in. This is a big undertaking for our church people, many of whom can hardly support their own families. Please make this a matter of prayer.
Finally, our FMI Orphan Ministries continue to move forward each day. Children are such a blessing from our Lord and it’s truly a blessing to have a part in caring for these many children that don’t have families to depend on. We are their family and it’s our privilege to help provide and meet their needs and raise them up in the ways of the Lord. Only $35 a month helps feed, clothe, and school one of these little ones, providing a loving environment for them. I want to thank each one of you that are helping through praying and giving to these little ones in need.
We love and appreciate so very much your love, prayers, and support as we continue to make a small difference for His kingdom around the world. May God continue to bless each of you as you serve Him faithfully each day.
With Much LOVE,
Jim for the Arnolds
Prayer Requests:
Healing for Denise and funds to meet her medical needs
For direction as we continue our church planting efforts in Ivory Coast
For protection on our National Pastors and their families as they serve Him in some tough areas spiritually in Ivory Coast
For the funds to re-roof our large church in Bouake (need is $5000)