Last Call Ministries

JANUARY 2015
ISSUE XIV

Quarterly: Doug &

Mesi
Wild Fires Burning the Church

I periodically post articles about the

persecution of the church on my Facebook page. Yesterday, I read that
above 70 church buildings in Niger
were attacked, ransacked and burned
down, with virtually no help from a socalled inclusive and tolerant government. Prior to those tragic events, it
was alleged that approximately 2000
Nigerians were slaughtered in northern
Nigeria by Boko Haram, and that most
of those slaughtered were Christians.
The media couldve cared less. To say
the least, I am not surprised that a
world morally unprepared for the fires
of persecution stands by with their
hands in their pockets. These events
may seem far away, but think again.
Anti-Christian sentiment has reached
clear dawn even in the West. I think
that whenever we suffer any kind persecution from an anti-Christian world,

our primary reaction is to stand down

spiritually, and avoid further conflict.
Whether the suffering is physical, tragic, verbal or merely socially marginalizing, the fiery trials that come into the
lives of Christians are apparently intended by the Enemy to neutralize/
destroy spiritual activity. In the paradoxes that give motion to Gods great
kingdom, however, it is always the opposite. Suffering produces the success
of Christs glorious reign. It is true that
real Christians who do suffer have testified that their faith has only become
stronger through such horrific conditions as happens upon our dark world.
Christ remains light, as does His beloved church. The picture that Christ
gave of suffering in Scripture is resident in His words to Peter in Matthew
16. Jesus said that the gates of Hades shall
not prevail against it (the church). The

church is depicted by Christ

as an army besieging hell itself. The wildfires of persecution we see in the news and
on the net are not really the
destruction of the church.
Those fires are the powers
of Satan struggling to maintain a grip on a kingdom already slipping through the
fingers. The fact is, Christians
are dying because the war
against the church is being
waged in desperate times. The
church shall break the gates
of hell. Christ has said it, and
we, who are His, live it.
Therefore, let us not grow weary
while doing good, for in due season
we shall reap if we do not lose heart
(Galatians 6:9). ~DM

Left: In my rented home in Mekele, Ethiopia, we

have enjoyed the freedom to gather to worship
the LORD and study His word in English. While
we only suffer slight social marginalization and
misunderstanding in the culture here, local evangelicals expect a bit of more of a stringent marginalization. It is little compared to what the
churches in the wider region of the Horn of Africa and North Africa endure for the sake of the
pure gospel. We find pleasure in praying for our
persecuted brothers and sisters in Eritrea, Sudan,
Somalia, N. Africa, Asia and the world at large.

Page 2

Quarterly: Doug & Mesi

FRIENDS of THE POOR

ISSUE XIV

Quarterly: Doug & Mesi

The photos you see in this

update were taken around
the New Year. Me and my
Tigrayan friend, Lealem,
who was also one of my
first language teachers
here, as well as a friend
for right at 10 years, ventured out to show generosity to the poor. Lealem
& I have had some pretty
deep and intense conversations about the gospel
many times over the years,
and I thank God that He
has allowed me to speak
into Lealems life with the
message of salvation by
grace alone, through faith
alone, in Christ alone, according to the Scriptures
alone, to the glory of God
alone. Lealem has been a
man of peace for me in
this region, God using
him to help me accomplish the work I am com-

ISSUE XIV

missioned to do. In the

photos on the opposite
page, there is a disabled
woman (blind and with
one arm only) and her two
sons. They had been sleeping to their own hurt on
nothing more than rags.
We purchased a bed board
and a new mattress to help
them get the rest they
needed. This gave me the
opportunity to share about
the true rest from sin and
vain works that God gives
to those who believe on
His Son, Jesus Christ.
Lealem translated the message for me. In some of
the other photos are a
before and after renovation. An elderly woman
named Meheret in Lealems town (Kwiha) was
exposed to the elements,
living in a virtual cave.
With the help of our sup-

Page 3

porters, we have remodeled her entire house. The

opening to preach to Meheret about Gods eternal
home, the door of which is
Jesus Christ alone, was
granted to me, then.
Lealem again translated.
Thank you, my friend!
Many thanks, also, to Lealems mom, Zeru (right),
who was essential in employing the builders, overseeing the materials and
the completion of the
work, and who graciously
fed us on our trips to the
town of Kwiha. DM

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and

bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have
sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while
you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which
causes thanksgiving through us to God.
~2 Corinthians 9:10-11

Last Call Ministries

To Support: PO Box 4203, Shreveport, LA

71134 USA

Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, until He returns,

in word, letter and deed!!!

To Contact: Phone: 318-458-9602; Email:

joespell@keptprivate.com
To Correspond w/ Doug & Mesi: PO Box 1944,

Mekele, Tigray, Ethiopia; Email:

dglsmerrick@yahoo.com

LCM

About LCM: Last Call Ministries is a

501c3 Organization which began in 1997.
LCM is currently sponsoring Doug & Mesi,
who are commissioned by their home
church: Heritage Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. All monies received are currently in the support of the budgeted work
underway in Mekele, Ethiopia.

Gifts with the Message of THE Gift

Darlington
Ben-Elyon Azubuike (above), a Nigerian-Briton, who is
married to Katie Megan Azubuike (above), a British
teacher from Gloucester, spent their honeymoon in the
summer of 2014 doing mission work in Mekele, Ethiopia.
They brought a huge suitcase full of new clothes for kids,
all bundled in separate bags according to age and size.
Each bag was stamped with a John 3:16 sticker in Tigrinya. A sweet elderly saint from their church also sent
many hand made teddy bears for the kids. We had so
many of these gifts that we not only gave to all the families to whom we minister twice, but also the surplus we
gave to the director, of a local childcare center called Operation Rescue Ethiopia. (Top left: me showing Getachew Tesfaye the kids clothes and toys from Darlington and Katies church in England). CONGRATULATIONS DARLINGTON & KATIE, NOW EXPECT-