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Last week 50 women from Senegal, Ghana, and the Gambia, representing more than a dozen churches from various denominations, gathered in Banjul, the capital city of the Gambia.  They received training in micro-enterprise, health, and the Women in the Window inductive, narrative Bible study method.

As we mentioned last week, the Gambia is predominantly Muslim, yet Muslims often struggle to feel comfortable in Christian churches. We were delighted that four of the 50 women were Muslims!  This week of training provided an opportunity for these Muslim women (and others still) to experience Christ’s love in action!

Although we were sadly disappointed that the women from Sierra Leone and Guinea were unable to join us due to travel restrictions, several women leaders emerged from each training group who indicated a desire to go forward and train others, including women from the surrounding nations.  Here are some quotes from women who participated in last week’s training:

Micro-enterprise:

“Before attending this training I felt as though I had been sleeping, and now I am awake!”

“I know how to make lesson plans as a teacher, but never knew how to plan for my business.  Until now!”

Health:

“Thank you for addressing the issue of female genital circumcision. It is a terrible problem in this country and might be the most important issue women face here.”

Women in the Window Bible study method:

“Women in the Window helps us to interact and learn from each other as women, and it will help me bring God’s message of salvation to my village, my church, and even the members of my family.”

We arrived safely in Togo late last night, and Monday through Wednesday will lead a dual training in micro-enterprise and the Women in the Window Bible study method for women leaders from Togo and Benin.  Women here are open, responsive, and hungry for the Lord’s empowerment and equipping!

Prayer Requests

• Safety and traveling mercies
• Good translation into local languages and French
• Clear communication with all that needs to be done in a relatively short amount of time
• Leaders will emerge (similar to our experience in the Gambia) so that this training will be the first of many
• Ghanaian Edna Tackie, a trainer of trainers, is co-leading the micro-enterprise training with Jackie Hilliard. Pray for her to have confidence and joy!
• Pray that we will be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith; that our relationships will be strengthened and that God will be honored by our words, actions, and lives!  “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Romans 1:11-12 ESV

Praising Him,
Jackie, Kim & Sherri

P.S. Be sure to check our Facebook page for more photos from our trip!

Each morning we awake to the sound of the “call to prayer” coming from the local imams as they chant prayers from the Koran, desperately seeking the favor of God and salvation found only in Christ.  This dismal sound is also a call to prayer for us who passionately follow our Lord Jesus Christ, and a poignant reminder that so many still await the Good News of the Gospel. The population of the Gambia is 99% Muslim.  We are privileged to be here for such a time as this, and sense that God is mightily at work!

As we make our way to the training center, we pass at least 5 mosques in only a 15 minute drive before we find our way to the site where 50 women leaders gather to receive the fullness of God’s love and grace.  We know that when the Lord Jesus was here on earth, He was the embodiment of God’s fullness and distributed grace upon grace to all who would receive Him (John 1:16)!  Not everyone received His generous offer, and the same holds true in our generation, but for all of us who do receive, the well of His fullness never runs dry!

The women of West Africa come to this training with humble hearts and open hands. Their faces radiate with joy as they increase their understanding of how He is the fullness they have longed for, and that He cares for their emotional, physical, and financial poverty even as He does the poverty of their spirits. The ministry of Women in the Window International is positioned to distribute His fullness to them in order to increase their capacity to share Christ’s love and truth with more women, children, families, churches, and communities. 

Please continue to pray for our training this week, and the one next week in Togo.  And pray for the capacity-building challenges we face throughout the 10/40 Window in uncertain times and often difficult places.  Pray that God’s truth will take root and bear much fruit so that His grace and glory will cover the earth with true salvation found in Jesus Christ alone.

Joyfully His,
Kim

P.S. Please visit us on Facebook to see more pictures from our trip!

Prayer Requests

• Good health, good time management for all 3 trainings, continued energy, and JOY!
• The training includes at least 3 different languages. Pray for the ability to understand not only what is being said, but also what is meant by what is being said.
• Praise God that excellent partnership strategies are emerging with the Evangelical Church of the Gambia, the Global Community Health Evangelism (CHE) Network, and the pastors’ wives and women leaders of Ghana within Watchman Gospel Ministry.
• Praise God for excellent unity within our team, the women leaders here, and the Heartbeat of Africa team also serving with us here.

Greetings from the Gambia!  We arrived safely on Friday and had a wonderful weekend, including worship on Sunday at the Evangelical Church of the Gambia.  The worship was great; what a privilege to worship and serve the Lord Jesus Christ together with these sisters and brothers.  Also, our ministry partner, Helen, graciously welcomed us to her family’s home for lunch after church.

Our week-long training started today, including biblical, health, and micro-enterprise skills.  This training will equip at least 70 women leaders from various ministries and churches throughout the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.  We are grateful for this amazing opportunity to build our ministry partnerships within this region.

Praise Reports:

• Long but safe journey to the Gambia!
• Beautiful accommodations.
• Deep times of prayer for and with one another.
• Team building and excellent preparation with our training team.
• Development of partnership model with African ministry partners’ input.
• And just for fun, we visited the westernmost point of Gambia jetting out into the Atlantic ocean!

Prayer Requests:

• First day of training!
• Clear communication with all partners.
• Translation of trainings into French and local languages.
• Every woman will feel honored and valued.
• Sweet unity with all involved so that God’s purpose and glory reigns over all.

Thank you for your prayer support over our Gambia training week!  We are thrilled to be here and eager to see what the Lord will do!

Joyfully His,
Jackie, Kim & Sherri

I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.  I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.
Isaiah 45:2-3 (NKJV)

We arrived safely in Ghana!  God’s mercies are abundant and good!   Praise God for safe and smooth travel.  We will fly on to the Gambia today, worship there on Sunday, and begin our training for 70 West African women leaders on Monday, April 28.  The women will be trained in the Women in the Window Bible study method, Women’s Cycle of Life healthcare, and micro-enterprise.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for continued favor and protection.
• Pray for the health of Paulina, one of our Ghanaian ministry partners, so that she will be well enough to attend the training in the Gambia.
• We’ve encountered some complications with travel arrangements.  Please pray that everything will go smoothly with our flight to the Gambia today and all that God has in store for us there!

We will send more updates and photos very soon!  Thank you for your faithful prayer support for us, our ministry partners, and especially for the women we have the privilege of training in the coming weeks.

Gratefully,
Jackie, Kim & Sherri

“Before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”  Isaiah 65:24

The women of West Africa have called out to the Lord God because of their plight of poverty, persecution, and oppressive practices against women and children. Our West Africa team, Jackie Hilliard, Sherri Johnston, and Kim Kerr, is departing today, and we believe God is using them to be an answer to the cries of the African women’s hearts!  They will lead a training in the Gambia for 70 women from 7 nations, and a training in Togo for 35 women before returning to the US on May 8th.

They are excited to work with our excellent ministry partners in West Africa, and eager to be with women whose lives have already been impacted through training; to see their faces and hear their stories.  They are also eager to see how the Lord will strengthen ministries and deepen relationships with women who are positioned to make a difference in their nations by leading many women and children to a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ!

It will be an immense privilege to see the Lord take the final version of the Women in the Window Bible study as a training of trainers tool. God loves to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) and we are asking Him to do just that among the 70 in the Gambia. And we are especially excited about Togo as we have been encouraged to come for the past 5 years and now the Lord has cleared the way for us to go!

There’s no better way for us to grow closer to God and learn about Him than to see how He moves among His people throughout the world!  We are excited to see the changes that will happen in all of us from the time we arrive in the various countries until we leave.   We can only imagine what wonderful things He has planned for the women and for us!  Thank you for your prayer support as we embark tonight, arriving tomorrow night in Africa!

Serving Him with Joy,
Jackie, Kim & Sherri

Prayer Requests

• That God’s Spirit will actively be at work as we come together in the Gambia and Togo to serve Him and the women leaders!
• The women’s leadership trainings will go smoothly and will have a lifelong impact on the participants, and those whom they will impact.
• Grace, strength, and wisdom for the trainers and trainees.
• A spirit of unity and joy among our WiW team and with our ministry partners.
• We will have open eyes, ears, and hearts to hear from God and learn from Him.
• We will receive the unexpected (which is expected while traveling!) with joy.
• Protection over our families while we are away.

Women in the Window International (WiW) has been invited to partner with the Evangelical Church of the Gambia (ECG) and the Watchman Gospel Ministry in empowering and equipping women leaders in West Africa to become life-changing and transformational agents of Christ’s love and power within their homes, churches, communities, nations, and beyond. The women will be trained in Women in the Window, an inductive, narrative Bible study method; Women’s Cycle of Life healthcare; and micro-enterprise.

This training will equip at least 70 women leaders from various ministries and churches throughout the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Our desire is to provide a unique opportunity for these women leaders to be further equipped with more tools for their ministries and the women they impact. We are honored to partner with the ECG in this event!

Kim Kerr, Executive Director of Women in the Window International, and Sherri Johnston will be conducting the Women in the Window Bible study method. Jackie Hilliard will be co-facilitating the micro-enterprise training with trainers Dayo (Ghana), Helen (the Gambia), and Doug (USA) using curriculum provided by Community Health Evangelism (CHE).

At the conclusion of the training in the Gambia, our team will travel to Ghana where we will meet with women who have received micro-enterprise training and as a result are successfully running their own small businesses. One of these young women leaders is establishing her own NGO to train 10 additional women each year with professional skills and tools for knowing and applying the Bible!

From there we will travel on to the nation of Togo with leaders from Ghana to lead another micro-enterprise and Women in the Window Bible training for women leaders from both Togo and Benin. These same ministry leaders have invited us several times over the past 4 or 5 years, and finally God has provided an opportunity for us to go! Our goal is to develop stronger relationships with the women ministry leaders of Togo, Benin, and Ghana and to establish ongoing partnerships with them to help them achieve their outstanding ministry goals.

Thank you for your prayer support as we embark in just a few days!  Our full itinerary is below.

In Christ’s service,
Jackie, Kim & Sherri

Trip Verse

I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. — Jeremiah 31:13b

Prayer Requests

• Health and safety of our team and family members at home.
• Opportunities to work with and learn from new partners.
• Effective team collaboration along with physical, spiritual, and emotional s servants with humility and love.
• Strong unity and a renewed vision to strengthen families and produce positive influence in their communities.

Travel & Training Itinerary

• April 23 | Team meets in Atlanta; departs from US
• April 24 | Arrival in Accra, Ghana; visit with ministry partner and businesses established by women who have received prior micro-enterprise training
• April 25 | Travel to Banjul, Gambia
• 27 | Visit and worship with ministry partners in the Gambia; prepare for WiW training
• April 28-May 2 | Biblical, health, and micro-enterprise training
• May 2 | Meet with West African women leaders to assess their ministry needs and pray
• May 3 | Travel to Accra, Ghana; prepare for Togo training
• May 4 | Worship; travel to Togo
• May 5-8 | Biblical and micro-enterprise training
• May 8 | Team briefing; return to US

Women in the Window International (WiW) has been invited to partner with the Evangelical Church of the Gambia (ECG) and the Watchman Gospel Ministry in empowering and equipping women leaders in West Africa.  WiW team members Jackie Hilliard, Sherri Johnston, and Kim Kerr will depart on April 23.

This training will equip at least 70 women leaders from the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The women will be trained in Women in the Window, an inductive, narrative Bible study method; Women’s Cycle of Life healthcare; and micro-enterprise.

At the conclusion of the training in the Gambia, our team will travel to Ghana where we will meet with women who have received micro-enterprise training and as a result are successfully running their own small businesses.

From there we will travel on to the nation of Togo with leaders from Ghana to lead another micro-enterprise and Women in the Window Bible training for Togolese women leaders.  Our team will return to the US on May 8.

Thank you for your prayer support!  We are eager to see our West African sisters in Christ very soon.

Jackie, Sherri & Kim

Urgent Prayer Requests

• Preparation of training material and finalizing schedules and logistics.
• Remaining funds to be provided for the women to attend the training in the Gambia.

“As the earth brings forth its sprouts and as a garden causes that which is sown to spring up, so the Lord God will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
Isaiah 61:11

Spring is a welcome change to the almost unheralded deadly winter storms experienced across America this year, with record level snowfalls throughout the nation including the Deep South.  As seasons change and usher in new life and growth on many levels, so the changes within communities and nations bring about the welcome change of the Lord’s righteousness and praise among all nations!  We look to the Lord for the work that only He can do in changing times and seasons, yet He invites us to join with Him in this wonderful work of sowing, watering, and reaping His harvest of righteousness.

Women in the Window International is actively sowing the seeds of the Gospel among the nations through our strong relationships and growing partnerships with women leaders in the 10/40 Window. Women in hard-to-reach nations, where their lives are at risk daily, are eager to receive this training and to serve the Lord wholeheartedly with us.

Women are strategically placed to bring the Good News of Christ’s love in through the “back door” of Muslim, Animistic, and Hindu communities — impacting women, and through women, children — that will never be reached through traditional evangelical methods.  These women are a strategic part of the ministry force within their home churches and outreach ministries, along with their husbands and other key male leaders.  Together, they enjoy the blessings of the Lord’s garden bearing fruit, more fruit, and much fruit that remains for all of eternity!

As you enjoy the beauties of Spring, and prepare our hearts for the coming of Easter, we implore you to take time to invest in the ministry through your prayers, and if God so leads, through your offerings as well.  We now have online giving available and would greatly appreciate your support to fulfill this essential mission of bringing His righteousness and praise to the nations of the 10/40 Window.

Yours because I’m His,
Kim

Pray with us:

Advocacy action plan on behalf of women experiencing injustices because they are women, and increasingly because they are Christ followers under persecution!  Ask the Lord of justice to help us develop and implement trainings to relieve these horrible injustices.

70 women leaders from 7 West African nations will receive Biblical, Health, and Micro-enterprise training in the Gambia and Togo in late April and early May.  Pray for God’s provision and for our team of trainers: Jackie, Helen, Edna, Paulina, Sherri, and Kim, a cross-cultural team of trainers from Africa and America!

Praise Him with us:

Open doors of opportunity as we have been invited to bring trainings to women leaders in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Israel, India, and other nations this year.

Women leaders are eager to develop strategies that include children’s teaching and outreach. Rejoice with us as we extend our hands to touch the next generation!

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.  Suddenly Jesus met them.
Matthew 28:8

Have you ever felt this way — afraid, yet filled with joy?  I have!  There have been several moments in my life where this might be the best possible description of my heart — afraid of what I see before me, yet somehow at the very same time filled with joy because I know that God is greater than any situation.  As we move through the season of Lent and approach Easter, we have the perfect opportunity to sit before the Lord Jesus and ask Him to replace any fear that we might have with His joy and His strength.

We asked the precious women leaders we know overseas to share their thoughts on this mysterious combination of fear and joy we can experience.  Two of their poignant reflections are below:

Yes, I have had such feelings more than once.  For example, when my son got a seat in Biola University, we were very happy, but had great fear inside.  He was going into a new culture, new situations, and didn’t have enough money.  College offered some campus jobs, but would he be able to manage working and studying?  We sent him alone, putting him in God’s hands.

Again, we had some inner fears whenever the children were married, and at the time of their confinements.  When their children became sick, we had fear and joy, but also a feeling that God was in control of our inner situation as well as our financial managements.  God’s love was always constraining us not to exhibit any sort of fear at difficult situations to others around.
— Shriya

Yes, the Lord is good, I understand very well that feeling that you talk about it — fear of the difficult situation, yet at the same time, knowing there is Someone who is stronger than all the difficult situations giving you peace, joy, and strength.
— Anat

What about you?  How have you experienced fear and joy, yet God’s strength in the midst of difficult circumstances?

Yours because I’m His,
Kim

March 8^th marks International Women’s Day, where, in many nations around the world, the contributions of women are marked with celebration and commemoration. This may not seem necessary in some nations, the United States being one of them, because the horrific plight of women is most acute in nations throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

But our Father God celebrates women and even calls our creation, “Very good!”  And Jesus marked His ministry by the inclusion of women, the defense of women, and the joy of women following Him all the way to the Cross and then waiting with fear and expectation at the Garden Tomb. Yes, women were the last at the Cross and the first at the Resurrection!

Our mission is to see women in developing nations and dire situations, where oppression and injustices prevail, become beautifully equipped and wholly empowered by Grace.  Please click here to read a disturbing factual account about Trokosi slave girls in West Africa, which will help you to better understand why we do what we do.  Women in the Window International strategically partners with women in West Africa to address their plight through equipping, empowering, and the encouragement that only comes through true religion (see James 1:27).

Rejoice with us:

Micro-enterprise training has produced fruit in the lives of West African women leaders, lifting them from poverty and despair.  One young woman leader, Edna, is setting up her own training center to train 10 additional women each year with professional skills and tools for knowing and applying the Bible!

We will take another group of women leaders through the Women’s Cycle of Life health training of trainers this coming April in the Gambia.  Women from 7 nations are invited to participate in Ghana, and plans for these same women leaders to conduct a follow-up training in Togo are in full swing.

Pray with us:

Women in the Window inductive narrative Bible training curriculum is being finalized this month.  Pray for the final editing process to be complete and for the finished product to be of great use to further God’s Kingdom and serve women throughout the world.

Funding needs to be met for 70 women leaders from 7 nations to receive biblical, health and micro-enterprise training in the Gambia and Togo in late April and early May.  Pray for our team of trainers, Jackie, Sherri, and Kim, along with the African women leaders with whom we partner and co-teach.

Most of all, please join us in prayer that God’s Word will permeate the worldview of many nations, including our own, so that we can fulfill the Great Commission with Great Commandment love for the Lord and one another… together as men and women!

In Christ’s Love and Service,
Kim

Thousands of West African girls as young as four years old have been offered to the gods as atonement for some offense committed by a relative.  Trokosi – which literally means ‘slave wives of the gods’ – are part of a three hundred year tradition in the Upper Volta region that encompasses Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.  Until the eighteenth century, Fetish Priests accepted livestock as offerings by families who were fearful of retribution by the gods.  But then the priests decided a young virgin would be more useful for domestic and sexual purposes.

A slave’s term of service is supposed to last from three to five years, depending on the nature of the sin that is being atoned for.  However, most families of Trokosi cannot afford the price required to buy their daughters back.  They are also fearful of the gods’ displeasure.  If a priest dies, the woman becomes the property of his successor.  But if the girl dies without her family redeeming her, they must replace her with another virgin.  The cycle can continue for generations.

Trokosi slaves live in inhuman conditions:

• Frequently raped and beaten
• Given only rags to wear
• Forced to beg for food
• Receive no education
• Receive no medical attention
• Work long hours in the priest’s fields
• Often suffer from ill health
• Babies born to the girls must also become slaves to the priest
• Those who resist are beaten into submission

Through the efforts of a private, non-profit agency called International Needs Ghana, many shrines have now stopped the practice of Trokosi and 2,900 women have been freed and rehabilitated.  The Anti-Slavery Society has also succeeded in purchasing the freedom of over 500 slave girls.  In 1998 Ghana passed a law banning the practice.  However, several thousand girls still remain in slavery. The law is hard to enforce.  Some people argue that it is a part of their culture.

Women in the Window International’s mission is to see women in developing nations and dire situations, where oppression and injustices prevail, become beautifully equipped and wholly empowered by Grace.  This disturbing factual account from West Africa helps you to better understand why we do what we do.

Pray with us that the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will abound in stopping this despicable evil and result in many women coming to know Christ as Savior, winning their homes and communities to Him.

Source: True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for God’s Sake by Deborah Meroff

The excitement was almost palpable as we gathered under the stars for Women in the Window International’s inaugural Evening in the Courtyard on February 20!

We are grateful to God for His Presence among us, as inspiring and informative conversations took place throughout the courtyard at each table assigned to one of our capacity-building strategies.  Inside, the program for the evening included our Event Chairwoman, Ms. Amelia Biney, interviewing our overseas guest, Mrs. Paulina Kumah. Both Ghanaian women radiated the love and purpose of Christ as they told the story of Christ’s love for women, evidenced in the Gospel of action and words, in some of the hardest places in the world, within the 10/40 Window of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Paulina even graced us with a song, “Because He Lives,” and included all present in singing the chorus along with her.  Indeed, Because He Lives we can face tomorrow with great JOY!

It’s impossible to measure all that the Lord did that evening, but below you’ll find just a few brief comments and commendations, along with statistics.  Please continue in prayer that we will reach our goal for the upcoming Women in the Window trainings of 70 women from 7 African nations to be conducted in the Gambia and Togo, just a few weeks from now!

Attendance and Support:

• We had 95 seats filled and people standing along both sides and into the back room, for approximately 150 in attendance!  Of that group, 45 were brand new to the ministry.
• $2,500 in sponsorships, which was exactly what we needed for Paulina’s travel expenses.
• We raised approximately $4,500 for the Africa women’s trainings to be held just a few weeks from now.  Please pray for the remaining $16,000 needed to be provided right on time!  Please contact us if you’d like to help reach this goal.

Comments and Commendations:

• From Annie, one of our faithful Evening in the Courtyard volunteers: “I was so moved, in praise and in gratitude.  A rousing success!  Seamlessly planned and executed.”
• From Anne, a first time attendee: “Thank you for such an enlightening evening.  Your mission is so impressive and you are a perfect gift to the world of women.”

Thank you for your prayers and your support!  May God richly bless you and multiply your gifts of grace and service, so that women in the 10/40 Window, where oppression and injustices prevail, will become beautifully equipped and wholly empowered by Grace.

In Christ’s Love and Joy,
Kim

We were overwhelmingly blessed and even a bit surprised by the keen interest in the ministry of WiW during our time with both women and men leaders from the Middle East and North Africa January 18th to the 29th. One brother in Christ who has worked in this arena for more than a decade said this:

“We have learned that if you reach a man, you’ve reached a man. But if you reach a woman, you are reaching a community!”

After we completed our two health trainings, the need for further training and encouraging in various disciplines was obvious.  Now it is time to prayerfully work through the action steps to form a trip calendar for the next 2-3 years, expand the Health team, and work throughout the region to reach as many women leaders as possible with the tools, or “weapons,” to carry on their God-ordained missions to women to advance Christ’s Kingdom and build His Church!

Please continue reading to learn more about our pivotal experience with leaders from the MENA region, and join us in fervent prayer for the specific prayer requests listed below.  Thank you!

Grateful for His grace and for your prayers,
Kim Kerr
Executive Director

Our Goals

• Train women leaders in the MENA region with distinct capacity-building strategies that are both reproducible and sustainable in their own communities.
• Create a community of common support through prayer and relationships with women leaders in this region.
• Develop and strengthen ongoing partnerships with ministry partners who would like to empower and equip women as part of their strategy to reach and engage with the unreached Muslim people in their nation.

Comments from Ila Swick, RNC, Women in the Window Health Trainer

During our recent trip and training with Middle East and North African women, we conducted 2 workshops, attended by approximately 35 women leaders.  The workshops were conducted with the assistance of Marcia Nayak, WCL International Training Coordinator from Medical Ambassadors International.  We offered 4 lessons on physical, emotional, and wholistic health.  Our attendees were from various ministries.  Participation was enthusiastic and thought provoking.

Comments from Workshop Attendees

• Praise for the methodology of using drama and stories to involve the learners.
• It was encouraging and elevated the value of women.
• They did not know health training could include biblical messages.
• It can be used anywhere.
• It can be used to reach non-believers.
• It is relationship-building.
• One sister from Algeria stated that she found meeting with Women in the Window International worth the entire trip.  She felt like she had finally found the right “weapons” to use in her ministry to women (2 Corinthians 6:7, 10:4).

Comments from a Prominent Women’s Leader in Attendance at our WiW Health Workshop

I would like to encourage you and your team to come and do conferences inside North African nations so that more women could benefit from the conferences and teachings instead of just a few women that have the chance to travel.

All the women believers here are from the Muslim background.   They really are the top priority and need to get teachings on knowing God; the character of God; the Word of God; prayer; etc. The teachings that gear toward helping to make disciples of Jesus with these ladies and help them to be godly women are very important. When these two goals are achieved, they will generally be more joyful, loving, healthy, peaceful, kind, gentle, and God-fearing ladies.The women inside Algeria and inside North Africa are the ones very needy of women’s conferences and the opportunities for the teachings named here.

May the Lord Jesus give you and your team wisdom and sensitivity to His Holy Spirit’s leading and guidance to do His will among the women of North Africa and inside North Africa for His glory and praise.  Amen.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that WiW will thoroughly follow up on every request for trainings we have received.
• Pray for wisdom for WiW’s next steps in partnership throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
• Pray that God will anoint our inaugural event on February 20th, and that He will use the Evening in the Courtyard with Paulina Kumah from Africa to spread the word about WiW in our own community.

Remarkable stories punctuated by joy characterize God’s work in the Middle East and North Africa!  Like a funeral procession met with the message of Resurrection Life, the people of these nations are receiving God’s amazing Grace.

Syrian Refugees receive food, blankets, and heating supplies from local church members.  Arab men and women are seeking after the One who meets them in dreams and visions. Christ followers receive miracles which further point the Way to the One true God. Sorrow and sighing are overtaken by joy!

Please pray for our sisters and brothers, and for us…

• First and foremost, please pray for protection!   There are so many followers of Christ working in the Middle East and North Africa who risk their lives daily for the Gospel.
• Pray for wisdom for Women in the Window’s next steps in partnership in the Middle East and North Africa.
• Pray for personal disciplines so that we can all more clearly hear God’s voice and have courage to obey.
• Praise God for the remarkable response and hunger for more training among women leaders.
• Praise God for the sweet Spirit of unity and joy among brothers and sisters in Christ from many nations, committed to demonstrating the love of Christ to their Muslim neighbors.
• Pray that our remaining travels will be safe and uneventful, and that we and our luggage will arrive home together.

Abiding in Him,
Kim & Ila

Our first Women’s Cycle of Life health training has come and gone. There are no adequate words to describe both the fullness of our hearts and the pain we feel for our sisters from North Africa.  We are filled with joy and encouragement because the training was so enthusiastically received, with multiple requests for full training sessions in several countries.

Our pain comes from hearing our sisters in Christ say that in their cultures, women are seen as little more than animals, were formed from the “odd rib,” that their hard work is rarely appreciated, and that this low opinion has become the norm, preventing women from reaching higher.

As we worked through our lessons together, we received biblical truth, God’s truth, about women from one another…that women were created in the image of God and that they have infinite worth and value!  This is the message we bring to our sisters who struggle to survive in cultures that keep them from hearing the truth and living a joy-filled life of love and respect.

Please join us in prayer for the North African Christian women leaders who live and work in regions that do not value and honor women. Their faith is vibrant and strong and their desire is that the women who have not yet heard of Christ will know and experience His life-giving presence.

This weekend our sisters in Christ from the Middle East will arrive, and we will lead a health training for them on Sunday, January 26^th.  Please pray that this time will be just as meaningful and fruitful as it was for the North African women.

Praising Him,
Ila & Kim

Prayer Requests

• The women’s faith will remain vibrant and strong.
• We will be able to proceed with next steps, bringing health training to unreached groups of women in this region.
• Our next training on Sunday morning, focusing on the Middle East, will be well attended and will meet the needs of the women working in that region.
• God will add to our team of health trainers.
• God will direct us toward His partnering and networking opportunities.