September 29, 2009
Alliance staff members reported that demonstrations related to the upcoming elections took place in Guinea’s capital city, Conakry, September 28.
“The United Nations Security Council has condemned political violence in Guinea that reportedly killed nearly 160 people,” CNN later reported.
Alliance Workers Safe
In spite of Monday’s unrest, “our workers stayed close to home throughout the day and felt safe,” said an Alliance staff member on the ground. He requested prayer for peace and protection for Guineans as well as for our workers, indicating they have good contacts keeping them informed of unfolding events.
Learn More
Read about how God is as work in Guinea despite the challenges in this West African nation, one of the poorest in the world.
More than 1,000 young people attended a four-day youth conference last week in Pyramid, Indonesia, located in Papua’s highlands. “Dozens made decisions to receive Jesus, dozens more brought fetishes to be burned, and still dozens more committed their life to serve Christ full-time,” says Alliance worker Barry Jordan, who ministered at the retreat. “Praise God, and thank you for praying!” Initially, about 600 youth were expected to attend.
“On the final night [of the retreat], the bonfire event was put off until 1:30 a.m. because of rain in the evening,” says Barry. “When it stopped raining, everybody woke up for it!”
Between 500 and 1,000 youth are expected to attend an October 6-9 retreat in Ilaga. “Pray that the Lord will speak His words through me to these young people who are so hungry for God,” says Barry.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Indonesia.
What You Can Do
Pray that Christian youth in Papua will impact their country for God’s glory and stand for His truth.
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries! Help to ensure that workers like Barry Jordan can continue to share the love of Christ with those who are hungry for God.
September 24, 2009
By Betsy Blanchard, serving in Granada, Spain
The following is an adaptation of Betsy Blanchard’s recent update about the Cinderella’s House ministry, her God-given vision to address the overwhelming needs of Spain’s sex-traffic victims.
An estimated 350,000 women in Spain are hidden behind the doors of more than 2,000 legal brothels called “Alternative Clubs.” Mostly illegal immigrants, these women are enslaved to satisfy the appetites of an estimated 40 percent of Spain’s male population who seek their services regularly.
Prayer!
I have been doing intensive research and strategic planning to best meet the needs of these women in crisis. God has given me many important insights. What has been overwhelmingly clear is that when God calls one to this ministry:
- He opens doors that no man can close
- It’s slow and hard work; and
- In order to succeed PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER is needed.
If you embark in this type of ministry, make sure you have many praying people supporting you in this spiritual battle! This is the only way forward, for it is only Christ who can break the bondage and bring new life among those ensnared in the sordid sex-trafficking business.
As I continue to learn about the horrors of sexual exploitation and the situation in Spain, God has reminded me as well of two things I’d like to share with you.
Our Biblical Heritage
In the late 1800s, Alliance founder Dr. A. B. Simpson was moved by the unmet needs of the marginalized. Leaving a lucrative pastorate in a well known church, he established the Gospel Tabernacle in New York City. God led the church to embark on new approaches for that day to reach the lost, including a number of street prostitutes. Many of these destitute women found new life and hope in Jesus as a result.
My prayer is that Cinderella’s House will follow not only this heritage, but the mandate of our Savior, who also loved and cared for prostitutes!
Divine Healing for the Whole Person:
Dr. Simpson also believed whole-heartedly in Jesus as our Divine Healer; this, too, is part of our Alliance heritage. Women caught in prostitution and sex trafficking-the overwhelming majority of whom have suffered physical, emotional, and especially childhood sexual abuse-desperately need Jesus’ healing touch.
Lied to from their earliest memories, many of these women have distorted thinking that has trapped them in a cycle of hopelessness and vulnerability hard to understand and harder still to break. Since their life experiences define “love” in destructive ways, the “Good News” is a concept almost beyond their comprehension. A lasting demonstration of God’s love through a deep, divine touch from the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of their hearts and to heal the most damaged places in their lives is desperately needed.
Prayer and Fasting
In order to break such bondage our Heavenly Father calls us to fast, “to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness,” (Isaiah 42:7).
The 4th Annual International Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for the Victims of Sex Trafficking is September 25-27. Will you join me and believers worldwide to fast and pray for at least one meal that weekend on behalf of the victims of today’s slave trade-sex trafficking? If you are led to do so, please pray for
- God’s leading in the building of the Cinderella’s House ministry, and
- Freedom through Christ amongst the 350,000 women caught in sex trafficking in Spain.
Your faithful giving to Alliance Great Commission Ministries allows me the privilege and joy to serve in Spain, as we “Live the Call Together!”
You can also donate online to the Cinderella’s House project to help make this vital ministry a reality!
Learn More
Read another article about the Cinderella’s House ministry.
For additional suggestions on how to pray Sept. 25-27, check out the Salvation Army Web site
Please note that by clicking this link you will be leaving The Alliance website.
September 22, 2009
West Africa’s rainy season has caused extensive flooding throughout the region this year, reported Stan and Jaynee Walker, who serve with The Alliance in Senegal.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, many have contracted waterborne diseases, and more than 160 have died.
Tens of Thousands of Senegalese Affected
According to the United Nations, the Walkers said, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone are among the worst hit countries. “Here in Senegal, more than 260,000 people have been affected by this rainy season’s flooding.” Each rain reportedly brings more flooding.
Even in normal conditions, access to water and proper sanitation is limited in many parts of Africa, the couple added. Although malaria outbreaks are always a risk during the rainy season, the flooding is expected to cause even greater risk of disease outbreaks.
Churches Respond to Needs
In Dakar, Senegal’s capital city, churches have responded, opening their doors to offer shelter to those in their neighborhoods forced out of flooded homes.
“Pray that this testimony would be a light to many who do not know Him, yet seek this shelter,” the Walkers concluded. “What a wonderful opportunity to extend God’s grace.”
Pray for . . .
- the many who are displaced by West Africa’s floods
- local churches as they work to show God’s love to those who are suffering
What You Can Do
Because Alliance workers are in place around the world, God’s people are available to assist in times of crisis, like the current flooding across large portions of West Africa. Giving to Alliance Great Commission Ministries ensures that our dedicated workers can continue to faithfully share Christ’s hope and compassion with those who are suffering.
Burkina Faso’s government has placed land markers on the four corners of the Alliance-run Dorcas House property, reports Amy Nehlsen. “Praise the Lord with us! We have been praying for this for three years, since this assures that the property is secured and is officially ours.”
The Nehlsen family serves with The Alliance in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Life-Saving Assistance
Fifteen young women live in the home in Ouagadougou where they receive literacy training and Christian discipleship as well as vocational skills training. Nearly 80 percent of females in Burkina are illiterate and face a life of deep physical and spiritual poverty without interventions like those Dorcas House offers in Jesus’ Name.
Amy asks for continued prayer and protection for house residents. Last week a five-foot snake was killed in one of the dormitories on the property. “We rejoice in the protection of the Lord on the girls,” she concludes.
Learn More
Read about the spiritual awakening at Dorcas House earlier this year.
Check out our Alliance work in Burkina Faso.
What You Can Do
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries! Help to ensure that workers like the Nehlsens can continue to share the love of Christ with those who are destitute and without hope.
September 21, 2009
By an Alliance worker in Indonesia
On September 16, followers of the GKIP, a group that had broken away from GKII (the C&MA national church in Indonesia), burned down a GKII church and two houses in Enarotali. In addition, an Alliance church service in Dekai was disrupted when a number of youth from the breakaway group stormed into the church. There were no reports of violence, but the service was stopped and the congregation left.
The GKII has planned an October 13-16 conference in Enarotali where Alliance missionaries will speak. The buildings that were burned include those that were going to be used for housing the conference and the speakers. We don’t know what the GKII will do now, but we ask you to pray for the church situation there. Pray that new facilities will be secured if God wants the conference to take place there. Please pray for the church in Dekai also.
In desperate attempts for power and authority, members of the breakaway group continue to reveal the intent of their hearts by their actions. Pray for confession, repentance, and revival in the church for God’s glory.
In the middle of these challenging times, God is doing an amazing work in refining His Body. Two [groups of believers] interior valleys have rejected the breakaway group and returned to the GKIP. I just heard recently that one GKII church in the Baliem Valley concluded its mission conference with an actual cash offering to missions of more than $10,000US. In the midst of trial, we do not lose heart but rejoice in Christ.
Thank you for remembering the needs of the Church in Papua.
Learn More
Click here read about the exciting history of Alliance ministry in the Baliem Valley.
Check out our Alliance work in Indonesia.
September 17, 2009
By Tim and Penny Iverson, serving among the working class in Taiwan
At an incredibly early hour, the phone jangled in our ears. Struggling to understand through the fog of sleep, I (Tim) listened as a taxi driver explained that he had an Indonesian woman at the airport who insisted that she was coming to work for us.
“Huh?!” was all I could muster. Early in the morning, Mandarin Chinese is not my strong suit. Finally coming to some kind of comprehension, I told the driver to bring her down, a three hour-and very expensive-trip. But this story really began two months before.
Divine Appointment
A visiting Alliance pastor, Rev. Rob Douglas, had accompanied us to a restaurant, where an Indonesian woman named Tikka was working. Since Rob is an MK from Indonesia, he spoke with her briefly. We gave her our card, telling us to call if she ever needed anything.
Two months later, while we waited for Tikka to arrive at our home, Penny and I had a strong sense that God was bringing Tikka to us.
Thousands of workers come to Taiwan from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Their agencies hire them with a three year contract, and they are placed in factories, construction work, as care-givers, and in various other jobs. Although Taiwan’s government is trying to establish safeguards for the immigrants’ protection, still there are many cases of abuse and unfair treatment. In Tikka’s case, this included not being paid in 10 months, having to eat table scraps to survive, and being forcibly taken to the airport to be sent back to Indonesia against her will, before her contract had expired.
A Desperate Move
At the airport, Tikka was checked in and ready to board, but she didn’t want to leave. So she left the airport, hailed a taxi, and pulled out our business card.
As we pieced together Tikka’s story, we really didn’t know what to do. We were concerned that Tikka was now considered an illegal and in danger of being sent to a detention center. We decided it was best to take her to a pastor friend who had more experience dealing with these kinds of situations.
Tikka had come to us as her only shred of hope, and as we comforted her and tried through language barriers to explain what we needed to do, she was obviously frightened, confused, and embarrassed. Penny asked her if she could pray to our God, Jesus, on her behalf, and Tikka quickly agreed. Before Tikka and I left, she turned to Penny again with sorrowful eyes and asked her to pray. With a breaking heart, Penny let her go, but God was watching over Tikka.
As Tikka and I started out, the Holy Spirit prompted me to take a detour to the home of Sally, our Indonesian friend, who is a believer. Soon there were three Indonesian women comforting Tikka. After hearing her story, they called the immigration office. The immigration worker told the women that the office was aware of problems with the agency that had hired Tikka and would look into the situation. Now, Tikka could not be reported as an illegal runaway.
Reprieve!
That afternoon, the immigration official came to our home. The employment agency will be dealt with, and Tikka will be placed in another job. Sally and Lena, another believer, have offered Tikka a place to stay until things are worked out. These women have provided Tikka with comfort, a safe refuge, and even some of their own clothes.
After Tikka was moved to a government shelter, we visited her and learned that she had decided to become a Christian. We have seen God’s hand in this all along, and we also found out that she’d had other Christian influences in her life before this.
We received word recently that Tikka is fine in the shelter where she is living and had a job interview that will allow her to remain in Taiwan. But the real matter for prayer is that a couple in our town applied to have Tikka come and work for them as a caregiver for the man’s mother. Please ask that this might be God’s will for Tikka.
We praise God for protecting Tikka in the midst of her troubles and for bringing her to us. “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18).
Please pray
- that God will provide the right employer for Tikka in our town. Pray that Tikka can remain in our area, within reach of Christians who love her
- that God would protect Tikka and continue to provide Christians to encourage her and help her grow
- for those ministering to foreign contract workers in Taiwan. Pray specifically for Thu and Hanh Nguyen, C&MA missionaries ministering to Vietnamese workers in northern Taiwan, and for an Alliance ministry to Thai people in Taipei.
- Although our ministry focus is to working-class Taiwanese, during the past three years, God has brought a number of Indonesians into our lives; most are married to Taiwanese men. We will soon begin meeting with two other Indonesian women, Lily and another Lena, who desire to study the Bible and walk with Jesus. Pray for them to faithfully follow Christ.
What You Can Do
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure that our worldwide team of workers, including Tim and Penny, can continue to faithfully serve the Lord.
By Don and Hazel Schaeffer, serving in Japan
We asked the Alliance family to pray for two mothers of women in our church, who were diagnosed with cancer about the same time last fall. Recently, God did a work in both of their lives. On the same day, both mothers experienced healing-one physical and the other spiritual.
When one mom went for her chemo treatment, the doctor said, “You are healed!” He had never said those words to anyone, but the cancer was gone. She had been given only six months to live. Pray that she will give her heart to the Lord. She knows that Christians prayed for her.
A Life-Changing Visit
The other mom had inoperable cancer and had been in the hospital for 10 months. In July she was allowed to visit her daughter’s home for a few days. Her daughter called us, and we went over to the house to visit. Don shared from a booklet about Jesus knocking at the door of our hearts. He then left the booklet with her.
The daughter laughed and said her mom never read, but after we left, she began to read the book. When her daughter visited her at the hospital two weeks ago, the dying woman prayed to receive Christ.
Just a few days later, her daughter called to say her mom wasn’t responding and asked if we would go to the hospital. When we entered her hospital room, we knew she didn’t have much time left on this earth. She hadn’t responded to anything all day.
Don approached her bedside and prayed. I also stood near her and talked to her. I told her how wonderful it was to have met her and to have had a chance to talk just a little while before. And she responded. She raised her hand! We were all shocked, but she was letting us know that she had made a decision as a result of that visit, a decision that changed her destination!
Answered Prayers
We made several visits to her house where her body was kept [before the funeral]. And on the futon right by her head, her daughter had placed the booklet that God had used [to draw her to Him]. Her mom had underlined several prayers and passages. She had folded pages. At the funeral last week, the church family did a wonderful job ministering to the daughter’s family and unsaved friends. We praise God for answering prayer and for saving Mrs. Sano.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Japan.
What You Can Do
Praise God for the physical and spiritual healing He did in the lives of these two women. Pray for the salvation of all those with whom Don and Hazel Schaeffer come in contact.
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure that our worldwide team of workers, including Don and Hazel, can continue to faithfully serve the Lord.
September 15, 2009
By Dan and Melody Taube, serving in Argentina
Editor’s note: In their ministry through the Buenos Aries Professional Project (BAPP), Dan and Melody Taube are building relationships in hopes of introducing professionals to Jesus. The following is an excerpt from one of the Taubes’ prayer letters.
”Lord, teach us to pray.” That was a request of Jesus’ followers on one occasion (Luke 11:1). Some of you will remember what it was like learning to pray. I (Dan) don’t. Since prayer was a part of the home in which I grew up, I learned how to do it just as I did many other things like brushing my teeth after eating. I don’t remember “learning” either activity. It is just something I’ve always done.
An Awkward Beginning
I do remember learning to pray in Spanish. At first, I didn’t know the vocabulary. I didn’t know the grammar. I didn’t know how to form questions or how to express deep feelings and desires. I didn’t even know what form of the personal pronoun “you” to use when addressing God. It all seemed so foreign to me. When I prayed in Spanish, God felt so far away—I couldn’t communicate my heart to him. Can you imagine living without praying?
Recently, Melody and I have had two people cross our path who find prayer to be “foreign” to them. It’s awkward. It is something they have never done before. They have to be taught. They don’t know the terminology. They don’t know the grammar, and most of all they don’t know the God to whom we pray!
God at Work
Ricardo* stayed after our Sunday night Bible study to talk about spiritual matters. God is at work in Ricardo’s life. He stated in a matter of fact way that six months ago he wouldn’t have been willing to even participate in such a conversation. In the course of our discussion I asked him, “Have you ever prayed?”
His response left me cold. “I don’t remember ever praying.”
I probed a bit further. “You mean that in a moment when you were afraid or when you found yourself in a difficult situation, you never whispered a prayer to the God who might be there?”
“Yes, that’s right,” he confirmed.
Pray First, Pray Always
Recently, a woman we know telephoned Melody, barely pausing to catch her breath as she unburdened her heavy heart. Melody let Maria* know that she could call anytime and share her concerns and that, more importantly, she could share her burdens with Jesus at any time in prayer (Matthew 11:28-31).
“Now how do I do that?” Maria asked. Melody explained that all she had to do was “talk” to God. Her next question was, “And what should I call Him?”
It is so easy for those of us who grew up praying or who have been praying for many years to take it for granted-so much so, we don’t do it enough. Perhaps some of you feel like you wish you could do more than pray for people like Ricardo and Maria. The fact is, there is NOTHING you can do that is more important!
*Names have been changed.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Argentina.
What You Can Do
Pray that those with whom Dan and Melody are building relationships will be drawn to Jesus and receive Him as Savior.
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure that our worldwide team of workers, including Dan and Melody, can continue to faithfully serve.
September 8, 2009
Heavy rains caused severe flooding in and around Burkina Faso’s capital city, Ouagadougou, Tuesday, September 1.
“Some 150,000 people are now homeless, and the death toll is rising,” reported Alliance international worker Karen Wolters, whose family home in Burkina sustained some flood damage. Alliance workers Alice and Pete Brokopp were able to assist the Wolters family and others caught in the storm and its aftermath.
Devastation
“The magnitude of the flood was shocking,” Alice said. “Water covered almost two lanes of the divided four-lane highway. Cars parked in front of a garage on a nearby service road were almost completely submerged in water. This is the worst flooding since 1922″
Concerns were high for friends and workers living on the outskirts of the city where houses are made of mud bricks. “During a particularly strong rain last year, many of these houses crumbled,” Alice continued. “I dreaded to know what was happening during this rain and prayed specifically for our workers’ homes.” God heard those prayers. “Only one home one was cracked, and another eroded only a bit!”
While visiting the poorest area of town, Sector 30, the Brokopps distributed bags of rice to flood survivors. “We stopped at our church there, which had taken in 70 refugees, and gave more rice.” Remarkably, Alice added, “men had gone immediately to work to salvage what bricks they could and rebuild their homes. One man explained: ‘We do what we have to do.’”
Office Damages, Outreach
The worst damages to Alliance property appear to be at Alliance office headquarters in the capital. “Our office was knee deep in water,” Alice said. “Electrical cords were submerged, a fridge knocked over, the file cabinet saturated, and debris was floating around. Most files and a computer were saved, the copier was sitting high, but many papers and books were destroyed. We are still working to salvage some hard drives.”
ACCEDES, the development arm of the C&MA in Burkina, is distributing aid through Alliance churches to help feed and clothe 500 flood survivors.
“This disaster is an opportunity for us to show the love of Christ,” Alice concluded. “Pray for opportunities to touch hearts and offer not only physical help but spiritual help as well. Pray against illness-malaria, cholera, typhoid-that could ravage the flood displaced who are huddled in close quarters.”
What You Can Do
Because Alliance workers are in place around the world, God’s people are available to assist in times of crisis, like the recent flooding in Burkina. Giving to Alliance Great Commission Ministries ensures that these dedicated workers can continue to faithfully serve.
Forums
RSS
Podcasts
Newsletters