Category Archives: Africa

Bert Laverne Cole – a Memorial of a Life Laid Down

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

On Friday night November 8 at 3:00 am I was abruptly awoken by a phone call. I looked at my watch — it was 3:00 am! I picked up the phone, Simon Sittin was on the other end, “R.K.— I am at the main road with Bert. We have walked through the bush from my village. Bert is very sick!” I implored him to immediately flag down a car and drive to the capital of Juba and bring Bert to the best hospital there. The only vehicle available was the bus that took 12 hours on a normally 2 hour stretch by car, due to the bad road. By the time they reached the hospital, Bert was ready to go home. His last words to Simon, Matthew, and Ruman, the young South Sudanese men he had come to disciple, was, ”I love you, I love you!”

This is a story in the making; this issue is just a short preface to the compelling testimony of Bert’s impact on the people of South Sudan. In the December issue, I will give a fuller report. On Sunday November 24 at 4:00 pm a Memorial Service will be held at All Nations Church in Charlotte, NC. Simultaneously, there will be a Celebration/Gospel outreach in the bush village where Bert laid down his life. In Bert’s honor, we are asking for donations toward continuing the projects he had planned for the 3500 member tribe in Western Equatoria. You may give via PayPal on this website, or send your gift by mail to: The Bridge International, 13762 State Road 84, Suite 423, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33325. Please mark your gift South Sudan Projects.

BERT LAVERNE COLE – A MEMORIAL OF A LIFE LAID DOWN

Bert Laverne Cole of Cosby, TN – close friend, prayer partner, and co-worker in God’s Kingdom to the nations, died Sunday, November 10 while on a six month mission in South Sudan. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Patricia, daughter Pamela, four grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

Bert was born in Leaton, Michigan on February 29, 1936. At the age of 34 he became a Pastor and ministered in several churches in Michigan before he moved his family to Ft Lauderdale, Florida in 1973. There, he ran a successful welding business, Cole Industrial Services, for over 20 years, then moved to the mountains of Tennessee where he later retired from business. However, he never retired from his entrepreneurial talents and heart to serve the Lord and His people!

Bert was a man of deep faith who lived what he preached. His most outstanding qualities were his generosity and intercession. From the foundation of The Bridge in 1983, Bert was a member of the Board and faithfully attended our prayer meetings where we interceded for the persecuted church worldwide. More than once we witnessed the positive breakthrough in people’s lives and directional changes in nations as answers to Bert’s prayers! God gave Bert a particular love for the people of South Sudan, as he prayerfully followed them through their journey of suffering through war, refugee camps in diaspora, and their 2011 victorious homecoming! Through intercession, God had given him a heart for Simon Sittin and Matthew Denguit, the two young men we sponsored to go to Bible College while living as South Sudanese refugees in Israel. Simon had recently become tribal leader among his 3500 member tribal family in Western Equotoria (approx. three hours by car West of the capital of Juba), many of whom had recently returned from refugee camps in neighboring countries.

A month ago, at age 77, Bert embarked on the journey of his life, as he traveled to South Sudan where he planned to live for six months among Simon’s people on his tribal land while teaching the young men and women in the bush self-sufficiency and faith — with a plow in one hand and the Word of God in the other.

Bert’s favorite scripture was Ephesians 2:6: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Bert lives there today! He gave it all; he poured out his life for the South Sudanese, and then he went home. Thousands of people were touched by Bert’s love and care for them! “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” John 15:3 .

FROM BERT’S FRIEND AND PRAYER PARTNER, PAUL BOOHER

On November 10, a dear friend of mine went home. His name was Bert Cole. To those who knew him, he was a tall guy with a snow white beard, and a heart as big as all outdoors. Bert had an incredible faith born and nurtured from a life filled with trials and pain, joy and miracles.

I only became aware of Bert and close to him in the last couple of years. A mutual friend brought us together because she saw something that Bert and I had in common: We loved the Lord and believed in prayer, intercessory prayer, you know – the kind that moves the heart and hand of God! For the last couple of years Bert, Angelo (another good friend), and I have met on a regular basis to pray and intercede for people from around the world who are laying their lives down in God’s harvest field. People who literally, day by day, are in danger of losing everything for Christ, and do it gladly for the love of Him who died for them.

This is not about me, but I need to share one important fact about my friendship with Bert. God brought this tough, old guy into my life not long after I had lost my wife of 40 years – a woman who had brought courage, class and joy into my life. Bert helped me to regain my focus and my faith in God’s love and purpose for my life. He helped me trade my sorrow for a place on the wall, for a renewed desire to please God; to serve Him, by serving others; by loving others as He has loved me! Thank you Bert! The full extent of the impact your life had on me and all the others for whom you laid down your life will only be revealed in heaven! You were a mighty warrior while you were here – now enjoy your great reward in heaven, and say Hi to Gloria and all the family for me!

Islamist Persecution against Christians in Northern Nigeria – August 2013

From R.K.’s Corner

In spite of the President of the United States declaring, after the 2011 capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden, that al-Qaeda was on the run and Islamic terrorism is on the decline, the chilling facts of recent events prove differently. Just a couple of weeks ago, 20 US Embassies throughout the Islamic world were closed for fear of attacks by terrorists. In fact, atrocities against “infidels”, specifically the targeting of Christian believers, are steadily on the rise in those nations while the rest of the world, including the media, are silent bystanders.

A recent human rights report stated that, in 2012, 70% of Christians killed for their faith took place in Northern Nigeria. It was largely executed by an Islamic sect, Boko Haram, whose goal is to kill and drive out all the Christians from the twelve Northern states, secede from Nigeria proper, and fully execute Sharia Law for all remaining residents.

This caught my attention, as I remembered The Bridge’s investment into the Gospel in Northern Nigeria from 1999 through 2003. Through the partnership with Dr. Boyo, a Nigerian medical doctor, we financed the digging of two water wells in Muslim communities and sponsored ten medical missionaries who were sent from the South to the arid, Muslim-dominated Northwest of Nigeria to bring the light and life of the Gospel to the Dukawa tribe. Having not brought an update from that mission field for a number of years, I felt compelled to bring your attention to the systematic persecution taking place among our brothers and sisters in Christ in the North, specifically for the purpose of intercession and prayer for those who are suffering so much!

As I was researching this issue, a local Nigerian friend “happened “ to introduce Steve and me to a Pastor from Northern Nigeria who was a Muslim. Forty years ago, as a young man, he encountered the Gospel and came to faith in Jesus Christ. He is presently doing geo-political research in one of the universities nearby. Steve and I spent an evening with him and were deeply moved and impressed by his insight, knowledge and clear Biblical perspective on what is taking place in his homeland.

Our new friend emphasized the importance of – what we already know – distinguishing between Islam and being Muslim.

ISLAM is a religious belief system – a world view – which, at its core, ultimately commands its loyal adherents to kill all “infidels” (non-believers in Islam) through Jihad (holy war), for the purpose of ushering in world domination of Sharia Law in a pure Islamic world. The MUSLIM is a human being created and loved by God, but is a sinner and in need of God’s grace through Jesus Christ on par with all other human beings not born again. As such, a Muslim is to be treated with dignity and love!

CHRISTIANITY is also a belief system – a world view – which at its core commands the Followers of Jesus Christ to demonstrate a life of love and forgiveness. As they have also been forgiven, they are to accept all human beings as created by God – including Muslims! As believers in Jesus Christ, we reject Islam as belief system, but love the Muslims!

Please pray that the revelation and transforming power of the love of Jesus Christ will reach the hearts and minds of the members of Boko Haram, and that love and forgiveness will triumph among the Christians in the midst of their suffering, that they truly will shine as stars in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation!

BRIDGE PROJECTS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA 1999-2003

The pictures here are from the December 2003 Bridge Report sent by Dr. Boyo, with an update on the 10 missionaries and two water wells sponsored by Bridge partners among the Muslim Dukawa tribe in Northeastern Nigeria. Following are a couple of quotes from the report:

“ There are a small team of indigenous Christian workers (the couple to the left is one of them) battling to spread the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. They have forsaken the opportunities to live a far better life in the Christian part of Nigeria to go to the hinterland and demonstrate the love of Jesus to the Dukawa tribe, dominated by a strongly fundamentalist Muslim government. These families are courageous and willing, not only to live for Christ — but to suffer for Him – Phil 1:29

“Through the use of local and sustainable methods we were able to dig two wells. They are enhancing our thrust toward social responsibility, also helping to facilitate evangelism. The villagers come to fetch water from the ‘well the Christians built’. May thousands come to drink from the Well of Living Water, never to thirst again” – John 4:7-14

The gathering below is a picture from our newly acquired friend’s church in the city of Jos, where he has been Pastor for 40 years while training and mentoring more than 2000 followers of Jesus.

THE PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Since its 1960 independence, Nigeria was for decades ruled by dictators from prominent northern Muslim families. The corruption and nepotism of these dictators and the vast amounts of public funds they funneled back to their home states, as well as into Swiss accounts, is a matter of public record.

In 1999, a pro-democracy movement successfully ended military dictatorship and a Christian President from the South was elected. This resulted in horrific violence in the 12 Sharia-based Northern states the following year that left thousands dead when Christians protested peacefully. Such acts of violence continue to this day with virtual impunity.

In the last three years, an estimated 3000 Christians have been killed, including gruesome massacres executed in Jos in March, 2010, and Kano in January 2012. The eruption of violence in a 48 hour period after the April 2011 election of Christian President Goodluck Jonathan, left 764 church buildings burned, 204 Christians confirmed killed, more than 3,100 Christian-operated businesses, schools, and shops burned, and over 3,400 Christian homes destroyed.

Christian girls below the age of 18 are forcefully abducted and made to denounce their faith. Many families reject Western education, leaving their children with wandering Mallams (Islamic clerics) to be instructed in Islam while begging for their bread. The goal is to bring new recruits among unschooled and unemployed youth into Boko Haram, often by force (Excerpts ©Morning Star News).

Please pray for protection for the believers in Christ, and that they remain strong in faith and hope as they demonstrate forgiveness and love, and pray for those who persecute them!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON NIGERIA

Twice the size of Texas, Nigeria with a population of near 170 million, is the most populous country in Africa. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, it shares borders with Benin, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger. The country is divided into 36 states. The three main ethnic groups Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo (formerly Ibo) comprise 60% of the population. The remainder consists of 250 minority groups who speak over 500 living languages,. The official language is English.

The colonization of Nigeria started in 1800 when Great Britain and France began the slave trade. In 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate which lasted till 1960, when the country gained its independence. The Europeans settled in the South and along the coast, which caused the Yoruba and Igbo peoples to embrace Western style Christianity, education and culture. The majority of the wealth, however, lies in the North, as the control of the rich oil fields in the country were given to the Hausa who are predominantly Muslim, by the British when they left in 1960. In fact, 12 of the Northern states have embraced Sharia Law and are working toward becoming a pure Islamic nation. Hence, the Christian believers in that region are being pushed out, terrorized, mutilated, and killed.

The international statistic claims a ratio 50/50 Muslims to other faiths in Nigeria. Within the country, however, there is a counter-claim that the ration is 35/65. Where the atrocities are taking place, massive corruption of the rich vs. abject poverty, ignorance, lack of education, ethnic strife, territorial land disputes, and religious fanaticism are fueling the recruitment into radical Islam!

Update from the Cowleys in Kenya – May 2013

FROM R.K.’s CORNER

When I traveled to South Sudan in March, I intended to include a visit to Paul and Marcia Cowley in Nairobi, Kenya to my itinerary. Paul, however, advised me against coming, due to security reasons. I would have arrived in the midst of the national Presidential election which in the past caused outbreaks of riots in the streets. I took his advise and decided not to travel to Kenya on this trip.

Paul is doing a terrific work, being the Founder, Administrator and Teacher of the Bible Institute for Pastors and Ministry Leaders who serve among the poorest of the poor inside Africa’s largest slums located in Nairobi. It is conducted on two locations within the slums. The focus is on training these ministers to cherish learning, knowing, obeying, and applying the Word of God in their lives as they study the Bible, book by book. In this Bridge issue, I have copied Paul’s report from the recent graduation of 48 Ministers.

Hereby, I am calling on those of you who pray and intercede for our missionary partners overseas: Paul’s two assistant teachers who are prior graduate, have fallen gravely ill. Paul is also struggling with a persistent gastro-intestine attack which has made him allergic to many foods. PLEASE PRAY FOR PAUL, HIS FAMILY, AND THE PASTORS HE SERVES AMONG THE POOREST OF THE POOR! Please mark your donation toward the Cowleys and their work KENYA WORKERS!

PAUL COWLEY’S APRIL 2013 REPORT: GRADUATION OF THE BIBLE INSTITUTE’S PASTORS AND MINISTERS

Another year had passed. A difficult year being in the valley on many occasions, but this was a day of celebration. We were graduating another 48 Pastors and Ministry Leaders who had completed the Discipleship Program and Diploma in Biblical Studies. It was a milestone for them, and us.

Just a year prior to that, we had our first Diploma Graduation. It was then that we instituted new parameters which “pushed them out” after completing 12 classes in verse-by-verse studies of the Bible books. Discipleship through the Word of God would continue…but on their own, one-to-one within their own disciplined time with God. This second round of Diploma Graduation birthed the same excitement and trepidations as the first. Most of the Pastors and Ministry Leaders pleaded to stay in the program, “I want to finish the Bible with you!” “This is my home. I can’t leave now!” “Can you please just make an exception for me?!” With heavy hearts, we had to hold our ground and release the reluctant disciples: men and women of God, who had been well discipled through His Word, and were more than ready for the missions ahead.

We had our dramatic moments…some tears, exuberant worship and dancing, a fabulous fellowship feast…one of our Pastors even fainted during the group portrait. Many thought he was overcome with the excitement. Instead, we found he had not eaten in two days. It was a sobering reminder of the hidden horror and tremendous tribulations our Pastors and Ministry Leaders endure. This is no ordinary group. Virtually all of them live and minister in the destitute slums. Cesspools of sin, suffering and squalor. Hunger, sickness, disease and disorder abound. And so, a Pastor fainting from hunger is not a mere accident. It is a testimony of the constant Chastening these men and women endure while serving in and amongst the poorest of the poor.

Chastisement is misunderstood by many of us. We acquaint it with God punishing us for our sin. A form of divine retribution. We try to put on a good face, and attempt to believe that often quoted verse…

“My son, do not despise the Chastening of the Lord. Nor detest His correction. For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3.11-12

… yet in our hearts, we often hide a hint of heresy: our belief that God is punishing us for “old” sins of the past, and that He is not properly accounting for our more current compliance with His commands. Indeed, we sometimes harbor at least the “feeling” that God is being a bit unfair. There is an old Hebrew proverb that says, “God, if this is how you treat your friends, then let me be your enemy!” Fortunately we serve a God who can withstand our moments of such weakness and frailty of spirit. But we still need to return to the Truth about God’s Chastening: it is meant for ALL of God’s children in ALL seasons of walk with Him. It will not end; it is a form and reflection of His divine and all-encompassing Love for us. How can that be?

Chastisement is typically imposed at one of two entry points. One: Correction…when we have strayed and sinned. That is the one we most readily focus on. Why? Because we are guilty! But there is a second, often misunderstood, reason for God’s Chastening: Spiritual Discipline. That is, to build our Spiritual Strength. We understand the physical principle that weight resistance builds physical strength. The same principle applies Spiritually. God lovingly allows, indeed prescribes, all manner of testing and trials to build our Spiritual Strength for the challenges ahead. Like our own personal trainer, God puts us through a continual series of strength building exercises, experiences and tests, not for mere physical and temporal benefits rather, for His Eternal Purposes.

Our Pastors and Ministry Leaders are greatly encouraged by this Biblical Truth about Chastisement. It frees them from the temptation to automatically conclude that God is punishing them; that their poverty, sicknesses, trials and tribulations are evidence of God’s retribution, displeasure and disappointment in their spiritual performance.

Often they come into the Discipleship Program discouraged, despondent and a bit desperate for “the breakthrough.”. Variations on the themes of this age often include words like Victory, Abundance, Promotion, Prosperity, Deliverance and such. These are, indeed, valid words that have their place and position in our Christian walk. But more often than not, such words are cunningly cast in the context of physical, financial and material “rewards” that we can name, claim and obtain. Many of our Pastors have been frantically chasing such fruitless fables for years….resulting in frustration, doubt, confusion and even spiritual despair.

It is one of our greatest Joys to see “new” students come into the Discipleship Program, and soon be set free. Free from the deception that Chastising is only meant for those who are sinning. Free from the confusion that breeds discontent when they undergo one trial after another, without ceasing. Free from the false hope of having a wrinkle-free, “prosperous” life they’ve been told they are entitled to as the “King’s kids.” Pastors and Ministry Leaders who endure and persevere through just one or two semesters in the Discipleship Program are quickly rewarded. Not with the physical or financial breakthrough, but rather the Spiritual one. They begin to understand, and then embrace, the Biblical Principle of God’s Chastening for those who are obedient and righteous “vessels of honor”; that Christ Himself, who had no sin, endured the same….evidenced in His tremendous trials, testing and tribulations in the desert, in order to build Spiritual Strength for His soon approaching public ministry. Indeed, we are called to follow in His steps according to Hebrews 5:7. If there was Eternal Significance for the Father’s Chastening of His Son, is there not the same significance today from our unchanging God?

And so Graduation Day is a greater victory for our Pastors and Ministry Leaders than may be apparent. It represents a passing into Spiritual Maturity, wrought through years of Practical and Spiritual Discipline…under the yoke and chastising of God’s Word. It represents an accomplishment of Eternal Significance….enduring the Flames of Affliction that purify, consume and refine men of God, and remove the dross of deceptive beliefs about our God, His Way, His commands and His love for us. On the surface, the 48 graduates of the Class of 2012 do not appear to have prospered, been promoted, nor experienced the much heralded “victory” that the world seeks. Underneath the borrowed graduation gowns, there remain the same distended and starved stomachs, the tattered shirts and worn out shoes, the bent backs and brokenness of life that many first brought to the Bible School. But now there is something hidden and solidified that was not previously present. Something that causes the kingdom of darkness to tremble with fear.

Something that will not bend, break or bow to any defilement, deception or passing pleasure of this world. Something a pagan named Sanballat foolishly overlooked in his hasty ridicule, derision and mocking of the righteous remnant of Israel who returned from captivity in Babylon, and began to rebuild Jerusalem, the very epicenter of their prior Chastening…see Nehemiah 4:2.

Brick by brick the Remnant restored the Jerusalem walls that had been broken down. And they did so in the midst of great hardship, opposition, mocking, ridicule, weariness, trial and toil. All part of God’s purposeful Chastening….His loving discipline…to build His glorious Kingdom! A Kingdom not made with hands. A Kingdom that does not come with observation. His Kingdom in the hearts and minds of His very own people.

And so we celebrated the unseen Victory. And yet many more challenges will come to the 48 we “sent out.” It was a bittersweet day for all of us. Perhaps none more than me. Praying…wondering…at times a bit of carnal worrying…for my brethren. “And what would He have us do now?”

The month following the graduation, God answered loudly: 48 empty chairs were immediately refilled….not with 48 new students…but rather 75! Currently there are 280 Pastors and Ministry Leaders attending the Disciple Support Ministries Bible Institute. All of us….stones to be burned…in His Chastising fire of love!