Dear beloved brothers and sisters in Jesus,
I greet you all in the beautiful Name of our Lord Jesus. I dare to believe that you enjoy good physical and spiritual health from our God! I pray that He will continue to bless each of you for your part in the ministry.
My family and I are also doing well. The month of July is a happy month for us because we celebrate our birthdays in series: Abdiel, our second boy, on the 4th, myself on the 16th, and Eliel, our first boy, on the 23rd. Not to mention our wedding anniversary on the 7th. We bless the Lord for His many graces and for the care with which He surrounds us.
About the ministry, there have also been several happy events in the past three months. We presented to the Lord a newborn in our community, and it was a moment of thanksgiving to the Lord for His work in the families. Also, all our candidates for the various primary and secondary school exams have passed, which brings us the joy of having our prayers answered.
We also had the joy of seeing three young people go through the waters of baptism last month in our church in Porto-Novo. And it’s happy to see that God is adding born-again people to this church despite the difficulties of people being closed to the Gospel in this country.
But all has not been joy in recent weeks. Indeed, we are in rainy season here in Cotonou and this creates enormous inconvenience to all. Apart from the many illnesses it causes, getting to our meeting place is very difficult: you have to cross a small lake before arriving at the church. This is not without consequences on our means of transport, but God is gracious.
We often sing a hymn that says, “Till the death we will be faithful to you… This is our battle cry!” We cannot compromise on our faithfulness to God, no matter what happens. May the Lord help us. Amen!
Prayer topics
- May God give us the means to acquire land for our church in Cotonou and leave this flood zone. It takes a minimum of $20,000 to have land in Cotonou.
- May the Lord complete the construction of the temple of Zopah. Currently, a bit more than 3% of the required $30,000 has been realized. May the Lord open the doors for us to gather the remnant so that we can complete the construction of this building.
- Eliel, our first boy, is starting school and we need $500 to pay for his schooling. May God provide.
- May the Lord strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters who are going through difficult times because times are bad.
The Lord bless each one of you and return to you many times all that you sow in ministry for the advancement of the work of God.
Rock & Annette OTEKPOLA
Serving in Cotonou, Rep. of Benin