Message from Bro. Joseph
Three years ago, the Lord providentially allowed me to visit our JIA church in Sudan. While praying with two TNO trainers who accompanied me on the trip, God showed us a vision of a white flag being unfurled in the continent of Africa, which then multiplied and eventually filled the whole continent. God spoke to us that He would open Africa for TNO to conduct training in the continent.
As the vision unfolded, I began harboring some struggle in my heart. The first of my concerns is the vastness of Africa and its distance from the Philippines. I wondered how I could handle the demands of long distance travel. Aside from this, Africa is predominantly Islam. Because of Africa’s diverse cultures, with the different spiritual beliefs of the countries comprising it, the mission shall need a new kind of cross cultural strategy. Overwhelmed, all I could do was look unto God Almighty.
Then, all of a sudden, the Covid-19 pandemic struck during the first quarter of 2020. Everyone was affected physically, financially, and emotionally. As the pandemic continues, so do uncertainties.
But God remains the same, and He remains on His throne. Indeed, the pandemic has opened doors for the message of God’s Gospel of life and hope to spread and to be shared with distressed people whose needs can be met only by our Lord. For TNO, God finally showed us the cross-cultural training strategy fitted for Africa. This pandemic proves very helpful in attaining our goal in obedience to the command of Jesus in Matt. 24:14 as the conduct of our training becomes borderless, distanceless, and costless, particularly with the virtual setup.
Hence, all of my inner struggles have been overcome. Together with our faithful and training-tested faculty from the Philippines and the committed local TMA coordinators overseas, TNO has decided to expand its mission engagement from the Middle East to Africa by late July 2021.
God is in control! I want to thank you all for your prayers and support.
Bro. Joseph
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