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Current Update & Prayer Needs:

Prayer Needs for Benin - December 12, 2025

Josue is home, as of Wednesday when the borders and airport reopened!!!  And Benin is calm again, for now!  No one knows what tomorrow may bring!

Josue was able to stay in close touch with his family and pastors so that helped allay some fears!  But it was very difficult for them all to be separated!  Josue and Prisca chose to close God’s Grace on Monday, as things were still very uncertain but it reopened on Tuesday.  The streets of Cotonou are quiet now with military presence everywhere.  It is impossible to say how long this “peace” will last, with all the frustration that has built up over the years.

The current Head of State (Josue is not calling him the President any more!) has pushed through two specific changes that are causing a lot of concern.  There is a Presidential election slated for April, where his right hand finance minister will be the only real name on the ballot, because everything the opposition party has tried to do to stand up for themselves has been squashed.  New constitutional change: there will still be a two term limit but each term will now be 7 years not the current 5 years.

But more importantly, a Senate has been created of past presidents (including this current one), parliament leaders, and generals of the military that will now rule Benin:  13 people!  There was a vote taken in the Parliament about this:  when ballots were counted, the vote was one short of what was needed to pass this.  The power went off!  When the power came back on, the numbers had changed so that the vote was now for this!!!  Not only were the circumstances bizarre, but this is certainly not a vote of the people:  Benin is called a democracy!  So does the Presidential election still occur in April when the Senate has been “voted in” to take over?  Either way the people have no say!

Thus the coup occurred:  about 200 military troops under a commanding officer went to the homes of Generals, intending to kidnap them. One wife answered the door, and lost her life, while her husband escaped out the back door. Two general were captured but later freed by French troops.  The troops went on to the Presidential palace, but they never got through the gates.  They also attempted to take over the TV and media but did not succeed.

The Head of State had called France and Nigeria:  French troops from Cote d’Ivoire provided escort for the Head of State to safety and he remains well guarded.  Nigerian troops and air force deployed quickly and “bombed” one military base so that the tankers could not join in the rebellion.  Some of the 200 rebels were captured; their fate is unknown.  Will they get to stand trial or just be deemed guilty?  Others escaped so a search continues for them.  There was rejoicing among the people that the coup had started, and regret that it failed:  they want so badly to get rid of the current Head of State!  The worst did not happen in terms of loss of life and all-out war, but what is still brewing?  It is a fragile situation!

Josue was in Cote d’Ivoire for a 4-day training.  He spoke with about 80 young people to encourage them to make good choices in their lives now, so that they won’t be haunted by past actions in their futures!  Attendees came from Benin, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire.  Also, two men came from Egypt who have worked for Focus on the Family for 25 years.  Lots of information was shared as the audience was very interactive!  They plan to meet again in Benin in the spring.

Since Josue remained in Cote d’Ivoire from Sunday through Wednesday morning, he taught couples in Cotonou via zoom.  They were very receptive as well, and will meet again for dinner next week when Josue will speak on finances.  He will lead a special service the next day in the evening just for these couples to commit their lives to what they have learned!

Josue was also speaking in Bohicon on the 11th and 12th in Bohicon, on the topic of “Iron Sharpening Iron!”  And he finished on Saturday the 13th, sharing with young people who want to get involved in the political scene in Benin!  It was a very full week for Josue!

Pray for:

*Josue and this amazing speaking schedule he is maintaining!  May every ear hear the Lord speaking through Josue to each to his/her heart, seeking His direction for his/her life, stepping out in faith that the Lord will provide for every need for him/her!  Help couples strengthen their marriages, building on God’s principles; help young people choose God’s way from the beginning of their lives!

*Benin, to remain calm, not just on the surface, but to truly find the peace of the Lord and get open conversation going that will instill God’s values across this country!  May His Light spread throughout all people and age groups. 

*May God bless the pastors in Josue’s churches to remain on fire for sharing the Gospel!


Praises: 

Huge blessing has come:  funding for 6 more motos for the pastors up near Parakou has come through Missionary Ventures International!  What a blessing this connection has been to Josue’s ministry!

Prayer Needs for Benin - November 10, 2025

Praises: 

Praises to God for the recent mission trip from Grace Chapel Church in Colorado to Benin. Josue reported the trip went very well. Most of the time was spent at the church plant construction site, digging for the foundation. The team worked from Monday to Saturday, with the ladies on the team going to God's Grace for Kids Hevie on Thursday and Friday to spend time with the students. Crusades took place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The plan was to use the soccer field for outreach, because it is well located in the village. At the last minute, the team was told they couldn't use it. So instead, outreach was held in front of the church plant construction site. Praise God 6 people gave their lives to Christ! While there weren't as many people attending as was expected, Hevie villagers told the team they could hear the message from their homes. There remains a lot of fear of persecution and rejection in the village, and so people are afraid to attend these gatherings. It's possible more than 6 accepted Christ, it may have been done in their own homes! The final day in Hevie, the team had the opportunity to pray over people. They were very happy for what was accomplished and were happy to be put to work.

Previous church plants have been constructed using wood, with walls and everything premade before mission teams arrive. This time, the church is being made from bricks and concrete, which will last much longer! But it also takes longer to do. While the bricks were premade before the team's arrival, everything else has been done with them there, and continues to be worked on now. The team asked why machinery is not used - for one, it's more expensive, and two, doing work by hand gives people jobs. So in Benin, the reality is more work is done by hand.

Dieu Donne is doing much better since his episodes of dizziness and passing out. His MRI showed nothing abnormal. He currently is waiting for some final test results. Josue wonders if the symptoms could have been caused by stress - Dieu Donne works very hard for God's Grace for Kids and Josue's ministry team, plus he and his wife have 3 girls at home (2 are nieces and are teenagers, plus their own young daughter). We are grateful Dieu Donne has been feeling better and pray this continues! 

God's Grace for Kids schools are doing very well. The Cotonou site students started swimming lessons last week, which they were very excited about!
Hope Dressing school currently has 10 students - 3 of which are planning to do testing in December so they can move on to opening their own businesses. The remaining 7 students will do another year, hopefully with more students being recruited into the program.
The Electrical school has 5 students, all of them will complete another year before testing, after which, if they are successful, they can move on to apprenticeships.

Politically nothing has changed for the upcoming April national elections. Municipally, yesterday it was reported the opposition party has been rejected again and are unable to participate in the elections, which will also be in April. Benin people are not happy as it is no longer feeling like a democractic system, and feeling more as a dictatorship. 

Pray for:

*David, who is in charge at the farm, recently lost his mother-in-law. The burial will take place on Saturday. Lizette, who is a cook at God's Grace Cotonou lost her father. Neither of these parents were Christians. Please keep David and Lizette in your prayers during this difficult time.

*Pray for peace to remain in Benin during these uncertain political times.

*For God to provide for the continued construction of the Hevie church plant. A total of $25,000 is needed for completion, with about $5000 provided thus far.

*Josue's upcoming speaking engagements: He will be travelling to Cote D'Ivoire at the end of November to speak at a conference organized by the churches. He was invited to speak at a pastor conference in Bohicon December 11-13 with 100 people expected to attend. And he is speaking at a conference in Cotonou December 14-16.

*Pray for those in Hevie who gave their lives to Christ during the evening Crusades. May they grow strong in their faith, and may those who heard the message but didn't attend come to accept Jesus and be bold to step out for Him.

Upcoming Mission Trips:

There are a few mission trips currently being planned. If you are interested in more information, please contact Pam and Mandy at truthunleashedbenin@gmail.com

See Trip Schedules for dates