Not long ago I had the opportunity to visit with a couple who have encouraged and supported me since I first began my plans to serve in Africa. During my visit with Christin and Craig Haynie of Cables and Kits they shared they would like to do something for me and asked was there anything in particular that I needed. I shared with them the greatest need I had was the need to get our African pastors their own copy of Gods Word, more specifically study bibles.

I shared with them how most of our pastors don’t own a complete bible. They might have a New Testament or a partial piece of a bible, but very few have the complete Old and New Testaments, and none of them have a study bible. The moments that followed were moments of amazement and shock as they shared they would purchase each of our pastors a study Bible! This began a chain of events that can only be described as a God Thing!

Another set of friends….Trevor Cain and Brad Faulkner of Dorks Textbooks told me they would order the Bibles from the publisher for us. Back in the summer my Sunday School class which is Jim Wallaces class at Blackshear Place, along with Trevor and Brad sent me enough study bibles for our teachers at school and through that process I was able to deliver a few extra that had been sent to our key Pastors who are leaders over our churches.

A few days ago I went to pick up the Bibles and when I first walked in the book store I saw all of these cases of Bibles and I rejoiced at the sight of them!

However, those moments of rejoicing intensified greatly as Trevor and Brad shared how they had been encouraged by what Christin and Craig had provided and they also were donating the same number of study bibles, where not only all of our pastors will have one, but also their associate pastors.

The associate pastors train under the leadership of the pastor and when a new church plant begins they become pastors in the new church. Now, all of the pastors and associate pastors of our 115 churches will each have a study bible.

It has been a heavy burden this past year to see such a need for Bibles, especially study Bibles. I say a heavy burden because study Bibles are expensive and I knew we needed so many of them that it would be a miracle if we got them. In my mind I had settled on getting a few at a time as I could over there. Yet, God had bigger and greater plans!

Even before I knew about the Bibles, I had planned my 2011 schedule to travel more in the bush and focus on discipleship. Now, I will not only be discipling, but as these new study Bibles are delivered to the pastors I believe I am going to see a major movement of God. I anticipate great and mighty things ahead in 2011 as each and every Sunday the pastors are going to bring new and exciting sermons from where they’ve read, studied and prepared!

All 115 churches scattered throughout Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania will grow stronger in the Word of God. As I shared with Christin, Craig, Trevor and Brad, there is only one of me and I can only accomplish so much. But with what they have done, there will now be 231 of us equipped to share the Word of God!

Imagine with me just for a moment….let’s use a conservative number of believers in each of these churches. If each of these 115 churches has 50 believers, that means that 5,750 believers will sit under the teachings from these new study bibles in 2011. Now, lets take it a step further, if all of the 115 associate pastors are sent out to the new church plants and in each of those new church plants there are 20 believers, that would add an additional 2,300 believers sitting under the teachings from these new Bibles.

Folks, .this is reality, this is not something that might happen, these are conservative numbers I am using. In 2011 it is very likely that 8,050 people will grow in their relationships with the Lord.

Now let’s think about another reality. In each of these churches as these believers grow, they are going to begin sharing what they are learning with non-believers! I don’t believe it will be possible to keep up with how many people will make a decision for Christ and one day join us in heaven.

Can you handle just another moment of imagining with me? Once again let’s use conservative numbers. If in each of these 115 churches, 20 new believers are added in 2011 and in each of the 115 new church plants another 5 are added, what would happen! By year end we would have the original 8,050 who had been discipled and we would add the 2,875 new believers. Are you ready for the total….10, 925 eternally affected by the Word of God thats being brought forth!

Does this make you as excited as it does me? I can hardly wait to get there and begin to see God work! Its going to be an exciting journey, one I know you will be waiting to hear about!

I sure love all of you and am honored to be walking this journey together.

Joy Breedlove

Missionary-East Africa