July 10, 2009
By an Alliance worker
The following is an adaptation of an Alliance worker’s recent article, illustrating how the Great Physician is drawing Kosovars to Himself.
God’s at work here. I want to share about His healing power in the life of Fasul.*
Last year Fasul broke his leg while in the mountains cutting timber. Because it was a compound fracture, with spurting arterial bleeding, he almost bled to death riding on horseback down the mountain and then taking a taxi to the hospital.
Fasul’s story is long. He nearly died from an infection in the hospital and then crossed the mountains on crutches into Macedonia to seek additional medical care. We first met him last fall when he came to our community center in southeastern Kosovo seeking help.
Needed: $10,000
His leg was sheathed in an external cage; his shin was pinned together. Fasul’s dressings were changed at the hospital weekly; the doctors were working to disinfect the protruding, jagged ends of his shin bones. He told us he needed about $10,000 to return to Macedonia and have the surgery completed.
We didn’t have $10,000. But we prayed and also took Fasul to a private hospital for treatment and a second opinion in Prishtina, Kosovo’s capital city. The doctor said he would probably lose the leg. His open wound was not, surprisingly, infected. But the chances of a bone graft taking to the dead bone tissue were almost zero.
God had the last word, however.
Over the past nine months since meeting Fasul, our church has prayed and ministered to him and his family-relentlessly. He and his sister in-law, he claims, are now believers.
“God at Work”
Much to our amazement, about a month ago the doctor said that the bones in Fasul’s leg were beginning to show signs of life. Last week, the doctor removed the pins from his leg and put him in a walking cast-he was careful to say that this was not his doing, not the result of his treatment, but that God was at work.
Sunday night Fasul testified to God’s healing power. He stood before the church and then set aside his crutches to show that, with the cast, his broken leg could take the weight of his body.
Fasul still has a long way to go in the healing process, but he now has so much hope, not just for a healed leg, but in the power of God. This miracle couldn’t have been purchased with $10,000 from the “wealthy” missionaries, but it was given by God’s sovereign hand.
There are so many other things to tell you, ways in which God is moving among His people in Kosovo, but there isn’t time or space. They’ll have to wait for future updates.
*Name changed
What You Can Do
In your prayers, praise God for the miracle of Fasul’s continued healing. Continue to pray that he will grow in his faith, and that others in his circle of family and friends will come to personally know Jesus, the Great Physician.
Donate now to support the work of Alliance churches and staff around the world, including dedicated workers in Kosovo.
July 8, 2009
By Tim and Penny Iverson, serving in Taiwan
In the region of Taiwan where we minister, Christians make up 0.1 percent of the population. YuanChang consists of several small villages with a total population of 32,000, yet it has only one small Christian congregation. This is one of the least-reached areas of Taiwan; and working-class people, like the majority of those living in our township, have been the hardest to reach with the gospel. It is a spiritually dark place.
We are seeking to show God’s love in this community through teaching English in the public schools and through The Lighthouse, a coffeehouse ministry. Through our work here, we became friends with Ming-Ming, an elementary school nurse.
Last week, Tim brought our field forum speaker, Rev. Rob Douglas, to visit the school and meet some of our friends there. Ming-Ming shared with them a dream she recently had. She told them that in the dream, she was singing a song in English. When she awoke, she was crying. She hummed a bit of the tune and asked them if they knew the song. It was “Amazing Grace.”
God used a dream to open the door to share with Ming-Ming the words and significance of that famous hymn we all know so well. Several others were there who also heard the message. Other than being a friend, Ming-Ming hadn’t even been on our “radar” yet, but God pointed out clearly that day where He is at work.
Recently, Ming-Ming shared that she has an important test related to her nursing license on August 1. She asked us to pray for her and said that if she passes the test, she will begin going to church.
Please join us in praying for Ming-Ming. Pray that God, in His power and mercy, will demonstrate His love to her by helping her to pass her test. Praythat Ming-Ming will soon receive Christ’s amazing grace.
Also, pray for a powerful breakthrough in our ministry in YuanChang. Pray especially for men to give their hearts and lives to Christ. Pray for entire families to turn to Him. We recognize that there is nothing we can do without the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us and at work in the people around us. Please ask God to pour out His Spirit.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Taiwan.
What You Can Do
Praise God for His amazing work in drawing Ming-Ming to Himself. Pray that she will recognize Christ’s power to save and that she will respond to His grace.
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to support God’s work around the world.
July 1, 2009
Alliance worker Brad Reynolds wrote in May 2009 about the inauguration of Eglise Protestante Internationale (EPI)-the first new church in Léguevin, France, since the 12th century. God is moving in this new international body of French-speaking believers(the church project address is Harvest Promise Toulouse). The following is an adaptation of two June updates from Brad about the harvest at EPI, French for grain of wheat.
New Believers Baptized
This morning’s baptism service ( June 21) was fantastic. The room was full, with the majority of our church present as well as friends and family. The testimonies were clear. One young man told how the faith of mother, our church’s prayer leader, had influenced him. He now has a deep desire to follow Jesus.
It was in the Toulouse International Church (EPI’s sending church) prayer room that William, 18, came to understand the gravity of the cross, where the faith he had always heard about truly became his.
Daniela told of her search for faith and how she had heard about Jesus during a time of depression and uncertainty. A few years later, a friend led Daniela to commit her heart to Jesus; the following day, a member of our church invited her to the Alpha course, an eleven-week practical introduction to the Christian faith.
During the past two years, she has learned much about the Lord and the family called the Church. In addition, her husband came to faith in Jesus last November through the Alpha course.
The Value of Children
Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10.14).
This morning at our worship service (June 28) we celebrated the families and children with whom God has so generously blessed us. Two of our young families dedicated their little daughters to Jesus, giving us the opportunity to talk about our Savior’s love for children. It was also a day for us to proclaim the gospel to between 80 and 90 adults and children who crowded our little worship space to witness this special commitment.
We heard many stories after the service. One family had come with three little children because they knew that we had recently moved into the area; they were surprised to see so many families with children. Another young university student said that he regularly attends a church in Toulouse, but he had overslept and decided to try out our church, not far from where he lives.
Another couple was surprised to see so many young people. He had attended our first Alpha Course in 2001 and had come to faith in Christ. Now he and his wife attend another church on the other side of Toulouse.
A Pastor’s Heart
Please pray for this new congregation to remain faithful in proclaiming Christ. Pray that we will be able to reach other families in our area. May Jesus use us to reach people of all ages and social positions for His honor and glory.
The desire of my heart is best summed up in a quote from Alliance founder A. B. Simpson, “My most important work has usually been to take myself and my shadow out of people’s way and set Jesus fully in their view.”
Learn More
Watch a video of Brad and Tina Reynolds describing their ministry vision for postmodern France. Produced in 2008.
Check out the Reynolds’s Web page.
What You Can Do
The theme verse at EPI is Mark 11:17, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” In your prayers, thank God for William and Daniela who were recently baptized at EPI. Pray that their testimonies, as well as their baptisms, will speak deeply to friends and family.
Pray for the two families who dedicated their children recently. Pray also for the many who visited this new church plant on June 28 for the first time, who Brad hopes “will respond to the words of the Savior and be drawn by His deep love for them.”
Donate to Harvest Promise Toulouse to help purchase the rented building in which EPI is harvesting a fresh crop of sold-out believers.
June 24, 2009
By Sarah Roney, Global Ventures participant
A gang of Americans roaming the streets
Of the Mexican barrios, neighborhoods
These streets are more like paths
Brown, dusty, meandering, rut-filled
No longer are these just any streets to me
I have come to love these paths
They lead us to houses
To children
Who stand in the open doorways
Two, three, four of them
Stained clothes, bare feet
Deep, brown eyes silently staring
The fence keeps us at a distance
They don’t trust me
My face
My smile
My skin
My accent
My clothes
There is more than a fence that separates us
We invite them to church
To sing
To play
To listen
To create
To dance
To laugh
To eat
To be kids
It is there that they begin to trust
Their faces change
The eyes that once stared
At the strangers outside the fence
Are now crinkled with laughter
Worlds collide
If just for a day
I will continue to walk these paths
With dust-covered feet
Looking beyond the fences
To meet that unknowing look of a child
With Love
June 18, 2009
By Lorinda Robinson, serving in Burkina Faso
Alliance field workers in developing countries face unique challenges that we in the developed world would likely find intolerable. Lorinda’s June newsletter describes a recent inconvenience-lengthy electrical power outages in Ouagadougou, Burkina’s capital. An adaptation of Lorinda’s article follows; don’t miss her concluding remarks!
Ouagadougou just doesn’t have enough supply to meet the demands of our electrical needs. So, we are used to three to five hour power cuts during the hot season.
About three weeks ago, we learned that the city was experiencing some major power equipment problems. As a result, we experienced power outages that extended up to nine hours a day for about three weeks. (A couple of days our cuts lasted 12 hours.)
Mind-Numbing Heat
I can tell you that with a heat index here in Burkina of more than 125 degrees Fahrenheit, there’s no time of day that is “good” to have your power cut!
A schedule was published in the local newspaper to notify us when to expect the power cuts. For a couple of days, it was followed. Most days it wasn’t. So not only were we experiencing lengthy power cuts; we also didn’t always know when they would occur. To say that an entire city was feeling cranky, hot, and tired would be an understatement.
Answered Prayer
I sent word home to some people who have prayed for special requests. They prayed and God answered!
We since have had a couple of good rains, and temperatures are now 10 degrees lower! While we still don’t have power 24/7, the situation is better. The weekend was great (only 90 minutes without power); yesterday I was without power for about five hours.
It gets tricky, though, as the Internet service provider is on a different schedule. So, there are times when I have electricity, but I still don’t have Internet. As I write, I’m without electricity. I love laptop batteries!
Power Analogy
As I got to thinking about this situation, I reflected on how we often refer to the Power of the Holy Spirit. Allow me to draw several spiritual parallels related our power issues here that I have been thinking about over the last couple of weeks.
In Christ:
- There is no lack of supply; His power is always sufficient. In Him I never have “equipment problems” (unless I happen to unplug something).
- His schedule is reliable. He’s available 24/7/7; I can count on that. He doesn’t change the schedule without telling me.
- Without His power I’m weak, tired, cranky, and I don’t get a lot of work done!
Learn More
Check out Lorinda’s Web site to learn more about her ministry efforts in Burkina.
Read about her work at Dorcas House, a home that offers care and spiritual nurture to young women who would otherwise be on the streets.
What You Can Do
In your prayers, give thanks for Lorinda’s prayer supporters and God’s answer to prayer! Remember to lift up our Alliance field workers around the world who often deal with inconveniences-like lengthy power outages-that can cause discouragement and even disrupt ministry efforts.
June 17, 2009
By Lorrie Fransworth, serving in Indonesia
The following is an adaptation of a recent prayer letter from Lorrie Fransworth, who serves in Indonesia through higher education ministries. Read about the impact that one of her former theology students is having for God’s Kingdom in Indonesia.
Barnabas served as my gardener while attending the Walter Post Bible School and later as a student at the STT (Theological College) in Nabire. After graduating from STT, he moved to Bugalaga where he serves as principal of the Bible school there. Barnabas has a real heart for evangelism and has clearly been gifted in that area. He has traveled to eight unevangelized valleys to survey the need for evangelism.
On holidays and during school vacations, Barnabas takes a team of students to these areas to conduct evangelism campaigns. In the past year, nine new evangelism posts have been started as a result of these efforts. Every Friday Barnabas preaches in one of these places, and many people from other villages gather to hear the gospel.
Between November 2008 and February 2009, 16 new believers in Christ were baptized through this ministry. In one village where there are no believers yet, the people have been listening to the Word and have asked for a pastor. Sixty people have purchased Bibles, and 86 young people participate in the youth meetings there.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Indonesia.
What You Can Do
Praise God for the mighty work He has been doing through Barnabas and his student teams. Pray that preachers and evangelists will be appointed to each of these villages.
By an Alliance missionary to West Africa
For many years I had a Fulani “grandma.” I called her Pati. If she and I had been the same age, we would have been best friends—she was that cool. Over the years I picked up bits and pieces of information, understanding that for some undisclosed reason, her family had abandoned her—her children, her husband, her sisters and brothers. In this culture, to abandon an elderly mother is unheard of.
As Pati began to lose her eyesight and was unable to care for herself, she was shuffled from one home to the next. During her last two years, she spent most of her days and nights reclining on a hard, wooden chair in the corner of her nephew’s front porch. All her worldly goods were either under her chair or in a little pile next to her “home.”
Sometimes when I went to visit, I couldn’t see Pati’s toenails or fingernails because the grunge was so thick. It made me want to cry. Her clothes smelled, and her hair was matted. I would bundle up her dirty clothes (there weren’t many), lead her to my car, and take her home with me. With the help of a friend, we would bathe her, wash and braid her hair, and do her nails while her clothes were being washed. At the end of the day I would return Pati to her chair on the front porch, where she would watch the dark shadows of children playing around her feet.
When total blindness set in and I would visit, I tried to sneak up on her if she was resting under the mango tree. I would tiptoe quietly and slowly sit down on the bench next to her. Within a couple seconds, Pati would get all excited, give a little jump, grab me and say, “Biddo an arii! Biddo an arii!” (My daughter has come! My daughter has come!) She said she could smell me!
It made me happy to give Pati so much joy because I knew she didn’t have much of that. As the months passed, she got weaker, and I kept waiting for someone to come and tell me that she was sick and asking for me. But no one did. Two days after Pati was buried, I heard from a passerby that my grandma had died. It hurt that they hadn’t told me that she was sick, so that I could go be with her. Years before, my daughter had said, “Mama, don’t let Grandma die without Jesus.” But Pati never seemed to understand when I told her that Jesus loved her.
It has been two years since Grandma died. The other day, Pati’s granddaughter, Iliasou, came to visit me. Although the family had abandoned Pati, Iliasou had taken care of Pati while she was dying. She was the one who closed Pati’s eyes. Before she died, Pati told Iliasou to find me after she was buried.
Iliasou came by to visit yesterday. And so we talked. We talked about Grandma, and we talked about Jesus. And Jesus has touched Iliasou’s heart somehow in these two years. She’s no longer the same hard woman she was before. She even has a glow about her face and a soft, sweet smile that she can’t seem to stop. During our time together, Iliasou told me about a conversation her uncle and older brother had this week. They were discussing the fact that Iliasou wasn’t practicing a local tradition. Her older brother was accusing her of following those “white Christians” like Rougi (that would be me) who only take people away from God. But Uncle chimed in and said, “Rougi isn’t a Christian. She follows God.”
In this culture, “Christian” is almost a dirty word. It is a major insult to call someone a Christian. So for Uncle to say, “Rougi is NOT a Christian—she’s a God follower” was the highest complement that he could have possibly paid me.
Let’s ALL be God followers.
Donate now to support the work of Alliance churches and missionaries around the world.
June 11, 2009
By Pete Brokopp, serving in Burkina Faso
The following is an adaptation of an article from Alice and Pete Brokopp’s May newsletter. Read about remarkable returns from their years of sharing Jesus’ compassion with some of Burkina’s most marginalized residents-its disabled.
One area of great encouragement for us has been our ministry to the disabled. Human disabilities are a huge problem in Burkina because of accidents and crippling diseases (polio is making a comeback), exacerbated by inadequate medical care.
Over the years it’s been awesome to see God’s love manifested to those who have received trikes (large, three-wheeled cycles) we’ve distributed to enable their mobility. We’ve watched many pull themselves up to sit on the trike seats-after crawling on their hands and knees their whole lives-to experience dignity for the first time!
Ministry Inspiration
Our hearts were first moved on behalf of this large group of Burkina’s marginalized when we saw a woman dragging herself across the street. Asseita’s hands were crippled as well. To express Jesus’ love to her, we decided to raise funds so she could have a trike.
Because she was under satanic bondage, Asseita wasn’t interested in accepting Christ at first. But when she became quite ill, during the last hours of her life she finally whispered to our pastor that she wanted to accept Him. That night she passed away.
We shared Asseita’s story at Glenview Alliance church in Glenrock, Pennsylvania, a few years ago. Dan Kidd, a member of a biker outreach ministry through the church, caught the vision to raise funds through the club for the three-wheeled cycles to give to Burkina’s disabled. We’ve partnered with this club since.
Expansion, Outreach
Originally, funds raised were used to build the cycles. (We’ve worked with a local Burkinabe Alliance pastor to locate those who would most benefit.) As our ministry developed, the need arose to repair the trikes; we also began supplying grains to the disabled.
Several Glenview Alliance short-term missions teams have visited us during the past few years. During each visit we’ve sponsored a trike-giveaway, combined with a time of evangelism.
Compassion Inspires Self-Help
On a recent Saturday afternoon I was called to the church where we’ve typically held the giveaways. Gathered were a large group of people who had received the cycles through our ministry, along with the village chief, and a teacher of the predominant religion in Burkina.
First, their spokesman thanked my Christian brothers and me for thinking of them and helping them over the years. Then he said, “Since others have helped us, we would like to help ourselves-we no longer want to be beggars.”
They then told us about an association they had created to help themselves earn a living! Each member will learn a craft or trade (some will raise sheep; others may process Shea butter to sell, etc.). Proceeds from the monies they earn will be deposited into an account from which all will benefit.
We also were asked to pray that this new association would glorify God.
As I left the meeting, some of the disabled called me over to give me two beautifully hand-stitched pillow covers. I was humbled to receive a gift from people who have absolutely nothing.
Learn More
Check out the Brokopp’s Web page to see how you can support their work in spreading God’s love among Burkina’s most needy.
Read “Hands Across the Water“-the inspiring story of Glenview Alliance Church’s partnership with our Burkina Faso field-in the December 2008 issue of alife.
What You Can Do
Pray! “We were promised a piece of property with the stipulation that we would build a center on it that will house medical services, physical therapy, and skill training,” says Alice. “But it’s still in the ‘dream stage.’” Please pray that this dream will be realized!
Pray also for the Brokopps who are undergoing a challenging ministry transition, working part-time with our Short-Term Missions Office, requiring them to now raise half of their own support, while continuing their present service in Burkina.
May 26, 2009
By Jessica Schaeffer, serving at Koutiala Hospital in Mali
Editor’s Note: “To a large extent, women in Mali are seen as property; they have few rights,” said Jessica in her April newsletter. “God has given us a wonderful opportunity to love and value women and children at our hospital.” Read how one such woman responded to the love of Jesus and experienced not one, but two miracles!
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles . . . (1 Chron. 16:12).
A couple months ago, Bafo Coulibaly was brought to the hospital by her brother-in-law, Pastor Enoch, one of our chaplains.
Her husband (Pastor Enoch’s older brother) wept when he was told that there was nothing we could do for her . . . she had an inoperable cervical mass. She and her husband had been very resistant to Enoch’s faith for many years. But after her consultation that day, Bafo listened as one of our nurses talked to her about Jesus.
Bafo went to stay at Pastor Enoch’s house with pain medicine we gave her to help relieve her discomfort. Dr. Dan Nesselroade told Enoch that only Jesus could heal Bafo; the only thing left to do was to pray.
So Pastor Enoch prayed, and he prayed for a miracle. God gave him two!
The Miracle of New Life
Two weeks later, after years of resistance to Jesus, Bafo prayed to accept Christ. A month after her initial consultation, she returned to the hospital. When Dr. Dan examined her, he found only a small lesion where the mass had been!
Bafo was smiling, saying that her pain and symptoms were gone. Dr. Dan discussed the possibility of doing a radical hysterectomy, but decided to wait two more weeks to see if God would complete the healing work He had already started.
Another Answered Prayer
When Bafo arrived the day of her scheduled surgery, her exam showed that she had been completely healed and was no longer in need of surgery.
I passed a smiling Bafo on my way to the hospital last week. I marvel regularly at God’s miracles and wonders as He provides for the needs of the hospital and as He works in the lives of the people around me.
Thank you for your part in His work here too, as you have sent me, loved, encouraged, supported, and prayed for me.
What You Can Do
Join Jessica in her request for prayer for Bafo’s spiritual growth. Also, pray for courage as she returns to the village-that God will continue His work in her life and in the life of her husband and the rest of their family for whom Pastor Enoch has prayed for and witnessed to for years.
May 19, 2009
By an Alliance worker serving in Guinea
I saw him sleeping on the ground beside the road in the middle of the day, flat on his stomach, with his little legs stretched out behind him.
His arms were his pillow as the sun burned his head where he slept while the Mercedes and SUVs whizzed by, unseeing and uncaring. I drove by too.
Dying on the Street
What in the world would I do with an orphan boy, homeless, bedraggled and dirty? After all, there was a cup and a piece of bread by his head where he lay. Someone had taken care of him.
But I slowed down, pulled over, and stopped. Of course we couldn’t keep an orphan boy, but I could at least take him to the orphanage by our house.
I made a slow U-turn and parked across the road. But as I walked toward the boy, I realized that something wasn’t right. This was NOT a small boy needing a mom’s touch.
The dirty, leathery feet attached to those pencil-thin legs were the size of a man’s. He looked like a victim from a World War II concentration camp. A fragile, bony skeleton dressed in clothes that were doing little to cover him.
This was a very, very sick man looking death in the eye. I tapped his back to wake him up and asked him his name. When he opened his dry, caked, and cracked lips to speak, the effort was so painful to watch.
“Rocky” was lucid and in his right mind. Sick and unable to work, he had no place to stay and no money for medicine. He had been on the streets for three months.
After this explanation he stretched his hand out, palm up, opened in supplication: ”Can you help me?”
Resignation
He looked at me with his eyes bulging out of his sunken eye sockets. I looked back and sadly shook my head “no.” He slowly withdrew his hand and closed his tired eyes, resigned to his fate.
I turned away and walked back to my car with tears streaming down my face. What in the world could I do to help a homeless man [likely] dying of AIDS?
Returning
I started my car, drove a ways, and then did another slow U-turn in the middle of the road. Driving up beside the man, I got out and helped him get into the car. He was too weak to stand, neither could he walk—but together we did it.
His one hand was trying to keep his too-big pants from falling off his bones; the other hand was holding on to a filthy sheet, his only possession in the world besides the clothes on his body and the fetish around his waist.
The stench filling my nostrils was nauseating, but the pain in my heart was even more overpowering. How did he come to this? My heart was breaking for this man.
I took him to the nearby hospital and left some money with my doctor friend to take care of his needs. And then I drove home to my two-story house with a nice bed, clean sheets, and a refrigerator full of food.
It was a difficult day.
Learn More
Check out our work in Guinea.
What You Can Do
Pray for “Rocky” to find comfort, peace, and eternal life in Christ. Pray also for our field workers in Guinea, and across the world, who often meet destitute people who desperately need to know their heavenly Father cares.
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