Out of Africa – Global Church of the
Nazarene – December 2013 – Issue 1 – Harvest Time
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In This Issue:
10 Extraordinary Personal Prayer Requests
Rivers of Blessing in Baad
Testimonies of a Welcoming Church
Lord of the Harvest
Prayer requests and praises
Praise God for new believers and maturing
districts that see the opportunity to be creative in reaching new ares.
Praise God for ANU and her graduates who
impact their world.
Praise God for the blessings he gives.
Praise God for the trials he allows.
Personal Prayer requests --->
The Persecuted Church
Pray for the many people who will be
traveling in December.
Pray for people in areas experiencing civil
unrest or natural disaster.
Pray for your unsaved neighbor and ask
what you should do to share the Good News.
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10 Extraordinary Personal Prayer Requests
- by Betty van den Berg
We have been looking at the 10 Extraordinary
Prayer Requests praying - kikoy for the Africa Region. As we close the year,
let's make them personal.
Reflect...
Am I dependent upon God only?
Am I a Spirit-filled disciple?
Am I a disciple-maker with a real burden
for the lost?
Am I giving authority to God's Word?
Am I an extraordinary pray-er?
Am I a leader faithful to God, family,
and church?
Am I a leader building leaders who build
leaders who change the world?
Am I an effective minister of the Word?
Is my home a nursery for Holiness
Champions?
Is my local church experiencing a real
movement of the Holy Spirit?
Lord,
I am a work in progress - but totally
dependent on You for what I am ever going to become.
I am Yours and commit intentionally through
the reading and applying of Your Word to being the instrument You can use in MY
circle to bring change to Your Glory. AMEN!
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Rivers of Blessing in Baad - by Monica
Carr
A set of tire tracks in a vast expanse of
grass and sand punctuated with the occasional baobab tree lead us to the
Nazarene church of Baad in Senegal. At the sound of our approaching van,
cheering children poured out of village compounds and raced after us. It was
the district assembly and everyone was excited! As I entered the church, my
eyes were immediately drawn to the beautiful ladies of all ages seated on
benches, their brightly colored dresses and matching head scarves beckoning
welcome. The young choir girls lined up in the front row and drummers tensed in
anticipation.
Suddenly the music started--a cacophony
of celebration complete with joyous, dancing children. After singing and
prayer, a stirring message was preached from Isaiah 6 on how God is holy and
has made a way for us to be holy. His amazing love was further proclaimed as
church after church gave account of how God was at work in and through his
people: the church in Dakar spoke of their local radio ministry in Wolof and
French; in villages where, formerly, there was no water, water now flowed both
from physical wells dug out of compassionate ministries and from spiritual
wells bubbling over with the living water of Jesus Christ. Several pastors had
left the comfort of the city to share the good news of the Gospel in
hard-to-reach areas. For the first time ever, there was a delegation reporting
from The Gambia.
Waiting for the baptisms to begin.
After the service, everyone crowded
around the newly finished baptismal outside, as one by one, 40 followers of
Christ testified of their faith publicly through baptism. Testimonies broke out
in Wolof, Seréer and French. One young man spoke of how he formerly stole from
his neighbors, but how God's Holy Spirit had both convicted and transformed
him. An elderly woman, spoke of God's healing when she had given up her
fetishes. It was a day of rejoicing, concluding with a time of sweet fellowship
as large round platters of chebu yap were deliciously devoured.
We feasted well, both in spirit and body,
and God's promise to " Taste and see that the Lord is good." rang
true for us that day as, hearts and stomachs full, we bounced along a dirt road
toward Dakar in a vast expanse of grass and sand.
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ANU Graduation 2013 - by Wambui Mwangi
Dr. Dan Copp and Chancellor Dr. Jerry
Lambert
October 25th 2013 was a particularly
unique Friday morning at Africa Nazarene University abuzz with color, pomp and
laughter as the University celebrated its 16th Graduation Ceremony themed
'Competence with Integrity'. The beautiful white tents, seating a crowd of over
6000 graduands and their families were the main attraction of the ceremony
which had to be held on the grounds as opposed to the University's Helstrom
Student Centre which houses a seating capacity of 3,000 people.
Over 900 graduands and 150 faculty,
administration and Council members processed into the graduation grounds before
a crowd of 5,000 people to be awarded their degrees, diplomas and certificates
drawn from the fields of Commerce, International Business Management, Computer
Science, Business and Information Technology, Religion, Communication, Law,
Counseling Psychology, Dry Resource Management, and Business Administration,
just to mention a few.
The chief guest was Dr. Daniel Copp,
Education Commissioner of the Church of the Nazarene. Present at the ceremony
was University Chancellor Dr. Jerry Lambert, members of the Board of Trustees,
the University Council, Vice Chancellor Prof Leah Marangu, Deputy Vice
Chancellor Prof. Rodney Reed, VIPs, parents and guardians as well as university
students and staff.
In his speech, Dr. Dan Copp urged
graduands to "embrace a Christ-like character and integrity as they
provide capable services in their vocation and to their communities."
Vice- Chancellor Prof. Leah T. Marangu urged graduands to "inculcate a
character that portrays competence with integrity, investing their resources to
provide service to society using virtues, beliefs and decision making processes
guided by integrity in order to nurture a positive and peaceful nation."
Recognizing its alumni, alumnus Waihiga
Mwaura (Class of 2006), one of Kenya's celebrated journalists and 2012 CNN
Africa Sports Journalist of the Year awardee, gave the 2013 graduands insight
into his success, focusing on the values derived from the day's theme. The
highest achieving graduate of 2013, Japheth Korir, had an opportunity to
address his fellow graduates basing his speech in the words of Samuel Johnson,
"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without
integrity is dangerous and dreadful."
As the celebrations drew to a close, the
graduands gathered for a general photo at the University's Honor's Court before
departing with their families. They were also presented with a graduation
magazine in honor of their academic achievements.
The Africa Nazarene University extends
its congratulatory messages to the class of 2013 on their huge achievement and
hope that they will continue in their commitment to pursuing wisdom and
engagement in participation of God's work, applying a character of integrity.
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Lord of the Harvest - by DS Rev Prao
Kouakou
Village leaders
From November 4-10, the Côte d'Ivoire
Central District reached out to the community of Marassue. The yam festival, an
annual event in Zanzan northeast of Côte d'Ivoire, brings together all segments
of society including the elders, the village chief, the Queen Mother, and all
the dignitaries of the village to give thanksgiving baskets to the ancestors.
Because it is believed that a good yam harvest is the result of the ancestors'
blessing, each family brings gifts (ram, beef, chicken, etc.) to relatives who
are in the afterlife. But also, this is the place or the time to ask for
prayers for the New Year. For the yam festival in Zanzan marks the end and the
beginning of the year.
Using the EvangeCube
As a district, we have chosen this
important moment to present Christ, the source of true prosperity to this
animist people. Our program is to intercede in prayer for 4 days. This is
followed by door-to-door evangelism and finally a screening of Jesus of
Nazareth. It is an effective time for sharing the gospel.
In this fundamentally animist village
fetish worship is the daily life of people. People come from far away to the
community of Marassue to consult the fetishers. This business means a lot of
money, food and other goods for the animist priests. So our presence, with the
presentation of Christ, was a big challenge to them. Hence we needed God's
special protection.
Using the Bible Story Cloth
The program took place without major
incident and with testimonies of healing. The village chief, Nanan Bredou Damti
recognized at the end of our program that it is God who is the source or real
prosperity of the yam harvest. Notable Nanan Kouadio Damti has asked us to pray
to God for his healing because he recognizes that Christ heals.
Deuteronomy 16:15 -- For seven days
celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose.
For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of
your hands, and your joy will be complete.
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Amy Crofford, Out of Africa editor
Please contact the Regional Office at:
Africa Church of the Nazarene
17 Botes Street
Johannesburg Gauteng South Africa
Tel: +27 11 472 3615
Fax: +27 11 672 7614
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