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IN THIS ISSUE
NCM develops anti-trafficking ministry in Africa
Human trafficking: A survivor's story
Alabaster provides land for new district center
Africa regional conference just weeks away
Violence shakes communities in Nigeria, Niger
Rev. Cole named as Sierra Leone D.S.
Prayer requests
About the Africa region
MODERN SLAVERY
35.8 million: estimated number of victims in modern slavery and human trafficking globally
6.4 million: estimated number of victims in Africa
$150 billion (U.S): estimated annual profits of forced labor
1 in 3 known victims of human trafficking is a child
70 percent of victims are women and girls
Human trafficking:
A form of modern slavery that involves the recruitment, transfer or harboring of a person using threats, coercion and deception in order to exploit him or her
Forms of modern slavery:
-Forced labor in farms, factories and households
-Child soldiering
-Indebted labor to pay off a recruitment agent or family debt
-Sexual exploitation
-Forced drug peddling or begging
-Forced marriage
Factors that make countries more vulnerable:
-War, ethnic and religious conflict
-Political instability
-Poverty
-Discrimination, prejudice
-Global Slavery Index; International Labour Organization; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
DONATENazarene Compassionate Ministries in Africa is teaching men, women and children how to protect themselves and their communities against the violence of human trafficking.
NCM needs financial support to continue to grow this ministry and expand its efforts.
If you would like to give, please visit the Global Anti-Trafficking Fund page. Click here.
by Holly Beech, news@africanazarene.org Almost one-fifth of the world's human trafficking victims live in Africa, according to the Global Slavery Index. Poverty, war and discrimination put many Africans at risk, and more than 6 million men, women and children are exploited through forced labor and sex trafficking.
In May, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries-Africa brought on Stephen Phillips as the office's first ever anti-human trafficking and gender-based violence coordinator.
"I really believe it is something that we need," Africa Regional Director Filimao Chambo said. "(Modern slavery) happens in many ways that people don't really understand to be human trafficking."
A group meets in Johannesburg for an anti-trafficking workshop.
In the nine months since he started, Phillips has built partnerships with anti-trafficking organizations and has spearheaded trainings across Africa for church leaders, at-risk women and vulnerable youth."Growing up, I've always been really strong into advocacy and speaking up for the rights of others," said Phillips, a 25-year-old from Johannesburg who recently earned a bachelor's degree in law.
BUILDING A MINISTRY
Phillips' focus throughout his first year has been on researching the problem and developing a strategy for NCM's ministry. The year 2015 will be more hands-on.
"This year we hope to do more practical things to help," NCM Africa Regional Coordinator Cosmas Mutowa said. "How can we really assist in a tangible way these people who are victims?"
NCM is preparing to turn an office in Johannesburg into a counseling and support center for trafficking victims, Mutowa said. There's no open date set, as NCM first needs to staff the center with trained personnel.
The Church's anti-trafficking and gender-based violence ministry reaches across the continent.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some of the children at NCM's child development centers are former child soldiers, Mutowa said. The centers counsel and support the boys and try to help them find their families.
In South Africa and Swaziland, Phillips has helped coordinate anti-trafficking trainings for pastors, women and law enforcement. In Ghana, a local church hopes to start social justice clubs for youth.In Kenya, NCM teaches sustainable farming to at-risk women.
Phillips unites NCM's efforts with local partners, such as the National Freedom Network in South Africa and the International Justice Mission in Kenya.
Lasting partnerships are the most effective way to help churches and communities, he said. "So even when I leave, they'll continue to follow up with our local church."
Though NCM has not formerly engaged in the ministry of human trafficking in the past, Dr. Chambo said it's an important ministry. He hopes more churches began to catch the vision and create local anti-trafficking initiatives.
Human trafficking: A survivor's story
by Holly Beech, news@africanazarene.orgWhen Grizelda Grootboom meets a victim of human trafficking, she sees hope. It's not that she's naïve about the pain of that person's struggle. But she knows restoration is possible.
Grizelda herself has been on the path toward healing since she was gang-raped as a 9-year-old girl. She later spiraled into a life of drugs and prostitution on the streets of Cape Town, South Africa. When she was 18, desperate to leave the streets, she made plans to move in with a friend in Johannesburg and find a "clean job," she said.
"I was very excited," Grizelda told Out of Africa. "I was thinking, 'I'm going to change my life.'" Her friend gave her a warm welcome and left her alone to rest. "That was the last time I saw her."
When she woke up, three men came into the room, tied her up and raped her. After the shock and confusion subsided, Grizelda realized her friend had sold her into human trafficking. For two weeks, never eating or leaving the house, Grizelda was raped repeatedly.
"I was very, very angry, first of all because of my friend's betrayal," she said. "I trusted her."
After two weeks, the traffickers replaced Grizelda with a new girl. As she was being kicked out of the house, Grizelda heard screams from the bedroom.
"The sound of her voice screaming - I could understand she had never been sexually abused," she said. "You could hear it in her voice and the crying and everything, and you could hear that she was young. And oh, gosh."
"It was a very, very heavy journey to change because there was an addiction, there were all these things in me. It wasn't just the drugs. It was the pain. It was the anger."
Grizelda wanted to block it all out - the anger toward her friend, the pain of sexual abuse, the craving for drugs. Trusting no one, she turned back to the life she knew and began to work in Johannesburg as a prostitute.
"I really didn't want to feel anything, I really didn't want to think anything," she said. "I had to go and look for the next fix, and that's what I did."
At age 26 Grizelda became pregnant. Her pimp forced her to get an abortion. "That was the turning point of everything," she said. That night, Grizelda's pimp told her to get back to work and use sponges to stop the bleeding from the abortion.
She refused. "I thought, you can go ahead and kill me, do whatever you like, because the feeling I have right now, it doesn't make a difference, " Grizelda said. "I said, 'I'm done.' ... And they beat me senseless."
She woke up in a hospital bed with a nun praying over her. Grizelda yelled at God, "Why are you keeping me alive? I don't understand." God has a reason, the nun told her. She helped Grizelda get into a shelter - the first of many shelters and many steps toward healing.
"It was a very, very heavy journey to change because there was an addiction, there were all these things in me," she said. "It wasn't just the drugs. It was the pain. It was the anger. There were all these things." When she needed to make money and was tempted to turn back to her familiar life, she turned to God and told him that she couldn't change without his help. Through Christ, Grizelda said, she found renewal and freedom from shame.
"I think that's the thing that makes me feel good to wake up every day and say, I'm out here for a purpose and out here to do something," Grizelda said. "And I'm still working on that change, it's still a process."
'GOD HAS RESTORED'
Grizelda is now 34. She is writing a book and works at Embrace Dignity in South Africa, an organization that supports survivors of the sex trade and of prostitution. She is raising her 6-year-old son and has reconciled her relationship with her mother. "God has restored some peace and joy there, too," she said. "It's been wonderful."
Grizelda still carries scars from her past. She still sleeps with the lights on. But she uses her experiences to support other victims. "I really pray for those individuals to stay strong, and for their hands and feet to be anointed to serve," she said.
The most valuable thing a church can do for victims is to pray over them in love and don't expect them to change quickly, she said. She experienced that kind of support at a recent anti-trafficking conference in South Africa. "It was amazing what they did," she said. "They just came down and prayed for me. And they didn't say 'deliver' - they said 'restore.'"
Alabaster provides land for new district center
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alabaster offerings have provided a long-awaited answer to prayer. In November, the donations were used to buy land for a future Nazarene district center in Lubumbashi, in the South Katanga District.
"This involved many years of praying and waiting on the Lord to open the door for this wonderful site," said Rev. Chishibanji Célestin, the district superintendent and Nazarene Compassionate Ministries field coordinator.
Célestin praised God for the provision and thanked church members for their faithfulness in giving. "We believe that God is the controller of time and circumstances," he said.
The new center will be used for training, meetings and assemblies. Until the new facility can be built, pastors are farming the land. They've planted sweet potatoes and soya beans, which will be ready to harvest in April and May.
"We thank all the leaders who are mobilizing the church members to give for the Alabaster funds in February and September," Célestin said. "You have blessed many communities and contributed to the salvation of many souls. ... Praise be to God!"
ABOUT ALABASTER
The money is used to buy property and buildings for churches, schools, medical facilities and missionary homes.
The Nazarene Church collects these offerings in February and September, but church members often save up the money throughout the year in small Alabaster boxes.
VIDEO: About Alabaster
Africa Regional Conference just weeks away
The first of three regional conferences for the Church of the Nazarene in Africa is March 8-13 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference will be a time of celebration, planning and inspiration, according to Africa Regional Director Dr. Filimao Chambo. Hundreds of participants will engage in prayer, worship services and workshops, seeking God's wisdom and guidance for the Church's efforts in Africa.
"Prepare the Way for the Lord" - the main message in Dr. Chambo's 2015 vision statement - is also the theme for the conference. "Our emphasis and vision for 2015 is holiness revival - both in our churches and in our hearts," Dr. Chambo said in the vision statement. "(The conferences) will be a time to celebrate the Lord's work in the Church, and I am hopeful that God will rekindle in us a passion for living out biblical holiness."
The Africa Region had originally planned to hold a single 2015 conference for all six fields. But difficult circumstances beyond the Church's control would have prevented Nazarenes in some areas from attending. After praying and consulting with other Church leaders in Africa, Dr. Chambo announced in November that the conference would be split into three different events.
The South, South-East and Lusophone fields will meet in Johannesburg in March. The second conference will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, on a later date in 2015, and the third conference will be held in the Africa West Field in 2016. Though splitting up the conference was an unexpected change of plans, there are benefits to hosting three conferences, Dr. Chambo said. Hosting three conferences in different parts of Africa will allow more church members and district and institutional representatives to attend.
Violence shakes communities in Nigeria, Niger
Nazarene churches are in the south part of the country and have not been affected by the strife.
Recently in neighboring Niger, 45 churches were torched in the capital of Niamey. None were Nazarene churches. The church burnings were part of a protest over cartoons in France's Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, BBC News reported Jan. 19. Ten people were killed.
The Nazarene Missions International Prayer Mobilization Line contributed to this report.
Rev. Vidal Cole named as Sierra Leone D.S.
Rev. Vidal and Marie Cole
Rev. Vidal Cole, the founder and pastor of Overcomers Assembly Church of the Nazarene in Freetown, has been appointed as district superintendent of the Sierra Leone District by General Superintendent Dr. Eugenio Duarte. Cole replaces his mentor, Rev. Paul Martin.
Paul and Sharon Martin served as a Nazarene missionary in Sierra Leone from March 2004 to March 2013. They now serve in Accra, Ghana, in the pastoral training and education for the Africa West Field.
Cole has experience serving as assistant district superintendent. He joined full-time ministry several years ago after leaving a career in banking. Click here to learn more about Rev. Cole's service.
New DS for Sierra Leone
Rev. Vidal Cole appointed as District Superintendent of Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Although the country of Sierra Leone is experiencing challenging times, God’s Kingdom is still moving forward through revivals and the commitment of wonderful leaders. Rev. Vidal Cole is one of them.
Dr. Eugenio Duarte, Africa Regional Jurisdictional General Superintendent, has appointed Rev. Vidal Cole as District Superintendent of the Sierra Leone District. He is replacing Rev. Paul Martin.
Rev. Paul and Sharon Martin served as missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in Sierra Leone, West Africa from March 2004 to March 2013. They mentored Rev. Vidal and Marie Cole and many others to build a strong holiness foundation in the country. They now serve in Accra, Ghana in the pastoral training and education for the Africa West Field.
Rev. Vidal Cole serves as senior pastor of the Overcomers Assembly Church of the Nazarene near downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone. A life-long resident of Freetown, Vidal was raised in an Anglican family; his father was a high-level manager as a career banker.
A graduate of Albert Academy Secondary School, an Evangelical United Brethren institution in Freetown, Vidal pursued accounting and worked in banking for several years. Following his conversion as a young man, he felt called to full-time ministry. In 1995 he founded the Overcomers Assembly Church.
In 2005, through the invitation of a friend, he attended pastoral training classes offered by the Church of the Nazarene. Through new awareness he pursued and experienced the grace of entire sanctification. As he continued Nazarene ministerial studies, through his careful and wise leadership, he led his independent church into official organization in the Church of the Nazarene (Centennial Sunday 5 October 2008).
Rev. Cole has continued his biblical, theological studies. He is a graduate of Nazarene Theological Institute (2009-diploma), Nazarene Theological College-SA (2012-BTh), and is completing his Masters degree through Africa Nazarene University (MAR-to graduate 2015). He was ordained in March 2011.
He served as administrative assistant to the district superintendent 2010 – 2012 and as assistant district superintendent 2012 – 2014. In these roles, he has carried many district leadership responsibilities. As a minister and teacher, he is an effective communicator and a strong advocate of “holiness of heart and life.”
Please remember in your prayers: 
-The 2015 Africa Regional Conference in Johannesburg, March 8-13.
-Human trafficking victims and their captors. Pray for God's guidance in the Church's anti-trafficking efforts.
-Persecuted Christians around the world.
-Alabaster collections throughout the month of February.
ABOUT THE REGION
Visit the Africa Region website.
What would you like to see in Out of Africa?
Email us at news@africanazarene.org.
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Africa Church of the Nazarene
17 Botes Street
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
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