North Africa Bound

Cole and I will be departing for North Africa in about two months to share the gospel message of Christ and bring medical care to the Berber people. This is the letter we have recently sent out to some of our close friends and family for both monetary support and prayer. God has been SO faithful, and we have received $3,800 so far!! WOW! THANK YOU to those who are praying and giving to this mission! Our plane tickets are purchased, and we are getting really excited about the opportunities of this trip. In preparation, we have ordered 2 books on the specific place we are going and the Muslim religion, and we will be starting them soon. (Actually I plan on stating one tomorrow afternoon as I lie by the pool with my friends and celebrate my hardest few weeks of pharmacy school so far are over!) On Saturday we have a retreat with our team and we are looking forward to planning the details and growing as a team.  


If you feel called to pray and/or give, we would really appreciate your support! Here is the link: East Cooper Baptist Church. If you have any questions about it, let me know! 

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”  Romans 10:13-14

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35

Dear family and friends,

     Greetings from Charleston!  The past year and a half has been both exciting and eventful.  We love being married and have stayed busy with schoolwork. We have enjoyed growing in Christ and learning more and more about His plans for our lives, the beauty of His sovereignty, and the riches of His blessings.

     As most of you know, the Lord chose for us to meet in Honduras while serving on a medical mission team. In our letter to our wedding guests, we stated that we believe God has created us for a special purpose as a couple, as evidenced by His divine hand in bringing us to each other. We strive to and take delight in accomplishing this purpose and to have hearts that are always open and surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit from which God reveals Himself to us. One way the Lord has made clear His calling is in our desire to continue giving and furthering the ministry of Jesus Christ both here in Charleston and around the world. Not only is this a desire, but a command given all throughout the Bible to believers. Psalm 96:3 says, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.” Christ came to the world to reveal the glory of God to all men. This was His ultimate mission, and in turn He gives this mission to believers – this is the Great Commission of Matthew 28: 18-20 which says “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.“ Again in Mark 16:15, we are told to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” We believe this and want to live it out!
     One such way is that we have committed our careers to the Lord and desire to use our skills to the glory of God in whatever way he can use them. As aspiring health care professionals, we are in a unique capacity to be able to share Christ to unreached parts of the world. Often times, the need for health care is so great that it is often an open door into countries that otherwise would not be welcoming to missionaries. One such place is in North Africa, a place where God has made clear his calling for both of us to serve this May as a doctor and pharmacist in training, and most importantly a witness for Him.

      North Africa is overcome with tremendous physical and spiritual needs. The present healthcare situation is woefully understaffed and undereducated, but the most pressing needs lie with the fact that the region is 99.8% Muslim.  There is a deeply rooted prejudice against Christianity, which means that many of the people have never been able to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.  Our group will specifically be serving the Berber people, a group of indigenous North Africans.  We will be traveling with a group of fellow students and practitioners as a part of Medical Campus Outreach, a ministry of our church (East Cooper Baptist Church).  When we arrive in North Africa, we will partner with a missionary couple and set up medical clinics in local villages. We know that giving health care will meet physical needs of many people there, but medicine and wellness can’t bring joy, peace, and eternal life. We will use physical healing as a means to convey spiritual healing, knowing that this world is hard and filled with hurt and sickness, but we cling to the promise of heaven and eternal life.  In a place in such distress, the end is uncertain. Yet as Christians we remain strong and have hope to give because we remember that the outcome of our lives is already written. Our desire is to lead people to the only source of peace, Jesus Christ.

      We are writing to inform you of our trip, knowing that we each play a different – but vital role in ministry. Sometimes the opportunity is given to go, sometimes to give, and sometimes to pray. Over the course of our marriage, we have experienced the calling to pray and the calling to give, and now we have been called to GO. We are asking that you would consider partnering with us through financial giving and/or praying for this mission trip.  The total cost for the two of us to go on the trip is approximately $6000, which includes airfare, lodging, meals, transportation, and emergency insurance. Our trip will be made possible by supporters like you and prayers of fellow believers.

      Our prayer is Colossians 4:2-6. Please join us in praying, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

      Pray for strength, safety, health, and that we would radiate Christ’s love. But even more than that, pray for those we will serve. Pray that they would receive the news of forgiveness and have the power to live on for Him on earth with the hope of eternal life. As God’s Word says in Matthew 12:21, “In His name, the nations will put their hope.” Join us in fulfilling this message!

In Christ,

Cole and Ashley Sims