REPORT of BRIAN HOWDEN'S VISIT TO

ANGOLA – OCT 2009

Dear All,

Thank you for your prayers for my recent visit to Angola; we really are so grateful for your prayers at these times. The following we trust will bring you up to date.

We had an uneventful journey through to Saurimo, 16hours non stop in a Land Rover is quite tiring but we made it without any problems, the Lord graciously overruled in all the travel arrangements throughout the 3 weeks, so much so we were able to fly back to Luanda instead of driving which was a blessing.

I was thankful for being able to spend a few days in Camundambala before setting out to visit the assemblies in Camanogue and Luau. The assembly is still recovering from the issues of immorality which came to light in the past 9 months amongst the children and grandchildren of some of the elders. We long for the day when the young people will not succumb to the pagan pressures put on them by society; until they do the work will continue to take these severe hits. It certainly makes us re examine the Gospel that is preached. We believe with all our hearts that it is the power of God unto salvation, but we long to see lives genuinely changed. Please pray for the assembly at Camundambala.

It was good to visit Camanogue and Luau, in both places we were warmly received and had five full days of meetings and many believers attended the meetings from the numerous local assemblies in those regions. I was especially thrilled to see the Godly order and zeal for the Word of God amongst the believers in Luau, it was my first visit to a Luvale speaking area, their most gracious manners seemed to have rubbed off on the aggressive Chokwes so it was very interesting! We were delighted to be able to take the first copies of MacDonalds Believers Bible Commentary in Portuguese with us throughout our journey and many of the Lords people were able to purchase copies. Over the past few months we have been able to transport 450 copies to Saurimo and so I was pleased to finally get them out to the people. The Lord knows all that was preached and taught throughout this visit, and we leave the good seed with Him. Our only desire as ever is the salvation of souls, delivered from the crippling darkness by the power of the Gospel, and the building up of Gods dear people through the teaching of His Word. Please join us in prayer that the Lord would bless these labours. Unfortunately during my stay in Luau I ate some rather “dodgy” goat meat and this made me socially insecure for a number of days, but it soon cleared up after treating it with some antibiotics, but the effect laid me low for a number of days even after I returned to the UK.

We would really call the Lords people to prayer in relation to issues which if not resolved Biblically will affect the assemblies throughout Angola. Many elders are openly concerned as to what the future holds. In fact we are considering having a special day of prayer because humanly speaking the problems are so great that we feel only the Lord can really intervene. The Word of God is being openly set aside by those who are keen to see their own agenda forced upon the local assemblies, an agenda which then erodes precious principles laid down in Holy Scripture. Plans for a denominational HQ have been drawn up to be built on the site of the house that the missionaries have been using, and we are being encouraged to look else where for accommodation. A base in Luanda is essential for the on going work and we are now cast upon the Lord to direct us as to what to do next. Dear brethren, these issues at times threaten to swamp us, please pray with us and for us that we may stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

On a brighter note, we are thrilled to report that the Angolan Literature Fund is now in a position to publish the Chokwe Bible and 20,000 copies have been ordered. In these difficult days how important it is to get the Word of God into the hands of the people! So please pray with us that this project will soon be completed and that these Bibles are safely brought through Angolan customs.

Thank you for your prayers and interest in the Lords work. Brian & Debbie