To become effective agents of change, AFM missionaries must overcome the prejudices of key players in the community—decision makers, family leaders, and others with great influence. In February, we began by surveying 40 local imams who were also family heads. In June, we surveyed about 300 women who work as food vendors, and we organized a hygiene competition in October for 100 of them. That same month, we organized a soccer tournament for all 13 soccer teams in town, which put us into contact with about 1,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 25. All these events enabled us to forge relationships with key leaders and helped break down prejudices against us as Christian missionaries.

By the grace of God, many key Dendi leaders now consider us safe to tolerate—a giant step in our outreach strategy. We praise God for this move, and we thank you for your support in prayer.

• Twitter