On this trip I have been thinking a whole lot on the situation in Same. There is such a great need of the Gospel among the Pare People. I have met with several pastors but they represent very few believers. The churches among the Pare People are very small in size. The greater part of this people adhere either to Islam, or they belong to the SDA (that is the Seventh Day Adventists, I know very little about them, think I have to do some reading up on them when I get home) or they have animistic beliefs. Statistically they are just over 600,000 in number and that just confirms the need of the Gospel to break through in their region.
That I know will happen and I also know that we, Mission SOS will be a part of that equation. God has planned something great for the Pare People and their time for salvation has come. On this I have sensed the favor of God on everything that we have worked with. Every meeting with pastors and church leaders has gone so smoothly and God has united people who have chosen to not work together in the past.
I sense history in the making as we begin to write HIS story among the Pare People.
Now back to my title for this entry. We all know that we as human beings need water to survive. We can go along time with out food but not so concerning water. Driving around Same I think I found something that in a way must be worse than not having water. In one of the suburbs, if you can even call it that, Masandare, there are three taps spread out for the public but they are only open twice a week for five hours each time. In the mean time, the tap has a pad lock. So, these people are in dire need of water and they can see the tap but is for the most part locked. That to me must be even harder than not having water at all...
Yesterday started early... We left for Same at 0600. We were scheduled to meet with a representative for the District Commissioner (DC). We arrived in Same early and were invited for tea at the house of a pastor that we had not yet met. It turned out that he is the Bishop over the region for one of the denominations. There had been some church politics in the past that had led to him not wanting to be a part of the fellowship. But after tea at his home, he gladly welcomed us to Same and vowed to be a part of the festival committee and work for the event. God just performed another miracle in front of our eyes.
Then it happened. As we arrive at the place for our meeting with the government official, Pastor Shoo's phone rings and a man at the other end asks where we are. Why are you not here at the DC's office? He has been waiting since this morning for you. (We had the evening before been told that the DC would not be available since he was out of town...)
We quickly drove up to his office and waited for the meeting he was in to end. When it did we were welcomed in. There was the DC himself along with the DED - the District Executive Director, the Administrative Director, the Intelligence Officer and a technical water engineer. Until the day before these people had all been unavailable. But again, God turned things in our favor.
The DC welcomed us and said that they would support us in any way possible and that we should just let his office know and he would take of business for us. WOW! It was an intense morning but it is always interesting to walk with God!
C U soon!
About The Almqvists
Hi, my name is Peter Almqvist and I am a minister of help. I work with setting up large outdoor evangelistic festivals all around the world, primarily in Africa. Currently we are on what we are calling the African Capital City Tour, or ACCT for short. We preach the gospel to those that have not heard or have yet to respond. The cry of the lost has been heard and we are responding to their SOS.
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