Mission Emphasis Day

by David Burka

Mission�s Emphasis Day is this Sunday. Please take time this week to pray for the individuals and families that we support. I really appreciate Bob Schmitt for his dedication in leading our Mission�s Committee. He is very involved with every aspect of this vital decision-making body, and has responsibilities for both domestic and foreign mission efforts. I love this church and the mission-mindedness of the members.
I�ve personally known Brad Willits since 1980, and was so glad we decided to support him in 1988 when he moved to Guinea, West Africa. With his training in Bible translation, he has been able to develop first a dictionary of the Susu language (previously an unwritten, only oral language) and now has translated over half of the books of the Bible. It is always exciting when Brad visits and speaks to us. He�s a dynamic speaker and a man who lives out the Message in his daily interactions with the Susu people, a majority of whom are Muslim. At this stage in their lives, Brad and Estel have raised their own three children, and they live with their adopted Susu son Facinet (age 14) in Conakry, continuing to work on the final stages of the translation while teaching the Gospel.
They were in Abilene on a much-needed furlough last year, and Facinet enjoyed trying the �typical� American lifestyle as a public school eighth grader. He played football, basketball, soccer, and ran track, all sports Brad had enjoyed participating in while growing up. Some of you may remember their visit here in the fall of 2003. A regular guy who rightly divides the Word of God, Brad is giving his life to the Lord�s work in a difficult field. One thing our class is sending him is a video tape of the Super Bowl because he and Facinet enjoy watching football games.
As we remember Brad and his family and the many others we support, let us each commit to spreading the Word wherever we are and to live it in our daily lives.

• The Gambian Plea - Aug 02, 1998
• Facinet - Aug 18, 1996