FRM Newsletter
November 2016: Three Castles
View the full November 2016 newsletter here
I have always known to finish the ministry God entrusted to us, it is necessary for Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) to fly under the radar. Some try to promote their ministries, often for good reason—to advance the Kingdom or encourage others with the fruit that has been borne. But working in the world of radical Islam it has always been best for us to be unseen. FRM is serving in six of the ten most dangerous countries in the world, including the top four most dangerous.
While we are extremely involved reaching the lost in the bondage of radical Islam, Sudan is still our central focus. I dream of launching missionaries into extreme and unreached areas. While most westerners cannot enter these places, our men can go almost anywhere without any suspicion at all. Most of our men speak fluent Arabic, which enables them to integrate, even in the radical world of Sharia Law.
The next three years will be a critical time in this ministry, as we press forward in reaching the continent of Africa for Christ. We are in the process of building three schools. All with a singular purpose—to raise a generation of young people completely sold out for Christ. I do not want these to be your average Christian schools, instead they are to be a birthplace for revival. I pray the Holy Spirit will equip us to provide a spiritual training ground for men and women wholly given to God’s Kingdom and ministry on this earth. Men and women not afraid of absolute obedience to the Lord. We will not train individuals to live a balanced Christian life, we will train them to be completely sold out for Christ.
As this newsletter is being written, we have three more pieces of heavy equipment en route to Africa. In the last year, we have purchased four new vehicles and a dump truck. All of this should be in country soon; thus, Lord willing, we will commence the building of the Citadel. I ask you to join me in praying that we will be operational by 2019. (Our best estimates indicate total completion will take five to seven years.)
The Citadel will have 30-foot-high walls, with 16 towers that are 45-feet-high. It will be able to accommodate 1,000 cadets. We plan to start the program at nursery school level and offer a full university degree to our graduates. It will be a Christian West Point, where men learn to lead God’s way, as defined in His Word. The reason we are undertaking this strong of an educational program is twofold; first, because in Africa, education is the hope for the future, and second, because many countries are under military control. To change the course of a nation you have to give those serving in the military a Godly moral compass. I believe men that graduate will be the future leaders of the nation.
The second school that we are building is in Uganda. It will accommodate 600 students and also be built like a castle. If you’re wondering why we have selected the castle as our design model, is with the rise of global terrorism, it is necessary that we are able to protect the students. In Kenya last year, “Al Shabab”, an Islamic terrorist group from Somalia, attacked a school, killing 147 students. This type of terrorism is going to continue; so we have to be prepared.
The school in Uganda will be called Christ’s Crucible. We plan to forge a generation of young people in the smelting pot of God’s Word. The village we are working in has both a large Christian and Islamic community. Thankfully, we have even gained favor with the community leader who is a Muslim. He is extremely pleased with our ministry and we hope that he will soon become a believer in Christ. His heart is definitely open, so please keep him in prayer.
Christ’s Crucible is located at Canaan Farm, which many of you know is run by our missionaries and longtime partners, Richard and Susan. Canaan Farm was established to assist victims of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) terror in Northern Uganda. It was set up as a refuge for anyone seeking asylum and a fresh start. Almost everyone living on this farm has been subjected to atrocities at the hands of the LRA rebe
ls. The terrorists are notorious for threatening abducted children to murder a member of their own family and tell them, “If you do not kill your parents with this panga (a saber-like garden tool), we will kill your entire family.” The results of this trauma are indescribable. At Canaan Farm, victims have found a place to heal and forgiveness in Christ Jesus.
The farm has five-hundred acres of useable land. All the children that go to the school will work on the farm to learn to provide for their nutritional needs. Any surplus crops the school brings in will be used to sustain the project. This will be a boarding school.
The third castle will be our current chaplains’ base. Since last year, we have been undergoing major renovations. The new walls are 15 feet high with 25-foot towers. I hope this school will fulfill Vicky’s dream to reach the women of Sudan for Christ.
When we move the chaplains’ base to the Citadel, my intention is to turn our current base into a women’s discipleship school. (The church will also remain at its current location within the walls of the castle.) While most women in South Sudan will tell you that they are born again believers, they have almost no Biblical knowledge. Most suffer from a less than 10% literacy rate. Consequently, when trials and temptations come, they often fall. Even some of our chaplains’ wives have committed adultery and abandoned their families. Without a solid Biblical foundation, they are not equipped to handle the schemes of the enemy.
I have often wondered why Solomon, in all his wisdom, did not educate women in his time. He recognized the need, even stating he only found one righteous man in a thousand and not a single woman. Such insight demands intentional strategic planning and action! God’s people often miss what should be so evident, I do not want to make the same mistake. That’s why we are also expanding the church and Sunday school rooms at the current facility. After salvation, discipleship is a critical need for God’s people to grow.
The United States was once a great nation that led the world in a strong Christian foundation. The truth is our leaders have forsaken the teaching and laws of our God and there will be great consequences to pay for it. I have a prayer that we will be able to help mold this nation to be different from all other nations and declare itself a Christian nation.
I have asked the Lord to allow me to finish this work that has been entrusted to this ministry. I know that it is the hope for Africa, if not the world.
In the Lamb,
Wes Bentley
Far Reaching Ministries