From Connor who is Micah's teammate. 

  Since you last heard from me, we were halfway through our first week of ministry! The final two days of ministry in Siraro were, to be honest, quite difficult. Micah and I along with many others on our team met a lot of resistance to the Gospel. Thursday especially, really broke my heart. It is so hard to share the best news there is to people you desperately desire to surrender to Jesus and be saved, yet to be met with hard, denying hearts. I so badly wanted to grab them by their shoulders and give them a little shake to snap them out of the lies they have been fed and to receive the truth that would set them free. And the worst part is that their hardness of heart was not a result of their utter devotion to Allah but rather a result of the comfort they have in their tradition and indifference when it came to the weight of eternal things. This weighed so heavy on me. Yet in the midst of these hard days my boy Mideksa and Tamirat really helped encourage me through. Seeing their continued joy and faithfulness to the ministry despite the opposition spoke to me deeply. Regardless of denial after denial to the Gospel they continued to remind me that seeds were planted and for that reason we must rejoice. They reminded me that God will draw those people to Himself as He is the one who causes the growth once the seeds are planted. Please pray for the Muslims in Siraro, especially those who heard the Gospel. Pray that God would cause the 1,406 seeds to grow into saving faith! Pray for the 29 new believers that came to faith this week! Pray that God would protect them and raise them up in His Spirit.

 The weekend was eventful yet also very restful. We went to a local church in Shashemene to train a group of their leaders in the disciple-making and church-planting tools were trained back in May. Training is always a fun experience for us to pass on tangible Great Commission tools that we once received and have been putting to good use. The training was a well oiled machine so we were able to cover a lot of ground. Pray that the leaders put these tools to use and that they pass the training on to their people to help raise up and unleash their church to actively and intentionally pursue the lost in their area.

  On Sunday we went to a church service which is always a blessing. We are able to worship with them in song and in the teaching of God’s Word. Though there is an obvious language barrier it is such a joy to be able to worship God, nonetheless, in Spirit and in truth! JT taught through the story of Jonah leaving us with the challenge to look outside of ourselves (our comfort, our traditions, our vision, our expectations, our desires, our plans, our opinions, etc.) and look to God! There is so much to learn from the heart of God! He has a heart for the lost so we need to have His heart that we may pursue the lost in which He loves so much.

  Today we went out to the next village, Alem Tena. Pray for fruitful ministry! Pray that God binds the enemy and destroys the strongholds of Islam. Pray that the team continues to abide and find strength in Christ! Love you guys and thank you for the support!

Grace and peace,

Connor