Alliance News and Stories

Alliance News
Last Downloaded: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:49:41 GMT.

A Christmas Message from West Africa A Precious Gift

By Esther Schaeffer
Serving in Burkina Faso

Many years ago our family lived in a very remote part of West Africa. Christmas was approaching, and we knew that there would be no packages arriving until long after December 25.

To help make Christmas special for our children, together we crafted snow flakes out of construction paper and strung popcorn around the living room. I took down a mirror and made it look like a skating pond; we then built a little Christmas village with our Legos™.

I also colored some plain white paper and carefully wrapped cookies for the children’s stockings. Later, I placed their presents—a few books and school supplies—under the tree.

"Good Things Come in Small Packages"

On Christmas morning we gathered to open our meager gifts. Under our humble tree I was surprised to discover a small present that I had not wrapped. It seemed to be covered in more tape than paper. Looking closer, I found one of our sons’ names scribbled on the small package.

When the tape and paper were torn and the gift unwrapped, I was overwhelmed. My young son was giving his older brother a medal that he highly prized. He had won the medal at Vacation Bible School a couple of years before, and he hardly let it out of his sight.

He proudly wore it around his neck, and he was careful to keep it under his shirt so it wouldn’t get dirty. He even wore it to bed at night.

As I watched my son give this cherished gift, I had to fight back my tears. I wanted to say to him, "No, don’t give that away. You have so many other things; don’t give what is so precious to you."

The Greatest Gift

But I realized that my young son had managed to understand the true spirit of Christmas: God has given to us what is most precious to Him, His only Son.

I wish I could tell you that the older brother cherished the medal as much as his younger brother had. For a while he was thrilled to have it and wore it proudly.

But one time he forgot to take it off when he got into the tub, and the colors smeared and ran together. Another time he left it outside, and the dog had a good chew on it before we could pry it away from him. Eventually it was lost for good.

Most of my ministry is among Christian women whom I disciple, encourage, and teach to help them grow in their faith. I want them to understand the great love God has for them, the high cost He paid for their salvation.

It is of indescribable value, this gift He offers them and each one of us. This wonderful truth my young son illustrated so beautifully to me, those many years ago in remote West Africa.

May you have a very Merry Christmas, one filled with wonder as you reflect upon the indescribable gift God has given you in His Son.

Donate to Alliance Great Commission Ministries and bless missionaries like the Schaeffers this Christmas and in the New Year.

Pray for Guinea "We just received news that Guinea's President Lansana Conte died this morning," reports Alliance worker Jim Derksen.

Elements of Guinea’s government have since staged a coup. They have proclaimed the dissolution of the government and the suspension of the constitution and all political and union activity until further notice.

So far, there have been no reports of fighting or casualties in Conakry, but the situation remains fluid and uncertain at this time. The security situation remains unpredictable.

"Please pray specifically that God would use this time to open the door so that people would become ready to hear the good news," Derksen continues.

Pray also that:

• God would protect his servants who are in Guinea

• National believers in Guinea would be a bright light to those who do not yet know Jesus

"Please pray for Guinea in the coming days and weeks, as we will see lots of changes," Derksen concludes. "Thank you in advance for your prayers!"

Learn More

Check out the BBC for more information about the situation in Guinea.

For additional information, see the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Web site.

Crime Spree Impacts Alliance Missionaries A rash of robberies in Quito has Alliance missionaries and their national partners on the alert. "This season is one of the most dangerous in Quito," says Alliance missionary Teri Newburn, who serves in Ecuador on special assignment to the Alliance Academy, a school for missionary kids (MKs).

Newburn and her husband, Keith, report that several of their friends and colleagues were robbed or assaulted, including a teacher at the school. In addition, Teri's identification papers (including her driver's license) were stolen.

"It seems like every day there's a story of someone who got robbed or assaulted," says Newburn. One student at the Academy had his cell phone stolen in front of a church building. While another MK was talking about Jesus and sharing his lunch with an inebriated man, a thief approached and demanded money from the boy. "The drunk man got between them and prevented the robbery," Newburn continues.

Thieves broke into the home of a friend of the Newburns, stealing his camera and computer. "A few houses down from where he lives, thieves held a woman hostage one morning while robbing her house," says Newburn.

"These are our friends, our students, our colleagues. We need your prayers for safety and protection! Thank you for praying with us for safety and peace. We are so grateful for each one of you being a part of our lives."

How You Can Help

Pray that the stolen items, including Teri Newburn's documents, will be replaced quickly. Also, pray that God will protect the innocent and bring the thieves to repentance.

Donate to support the work of Alliance churches and missionaries around the world, including Teri and Keith Newburn.

Alliance Stories
Last Downloaded: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:40:48 GMT.

A Christmas Gift "For 15 years Mame Serer watched her husband, Adama, live out his faith in Jesus Christ," says Doug Conkle, who serves with The Alliance in Senegal.

"Adama became disillusioned with the religion practiced by his people," Conkle continues. "He is a Wolof from Senegal, but he had worked as a government civil servant in Mauritania for several years."

Because of a border dispute between Mauritania and Senegal in the late 1980s, the couple and their young children were forced to return to their families in St. Louis, Senegal. Leaving behind their house and all their material possessions, they arrived with just the clothes on their backs.

“Seek and You Will Find”

Deeply disheartened, Adama began a search for truth that eventually led him to Christ. Soon, the couple's children became believers as well. But because she was from a prominent family, Mame Serer was afraid to become a Christ follower.

Soon after the Conkles arrived in St. Louis with their Alliance team, Mame began accompanying her husband to a monthly time of fellowship. She even ventured to a Bible study.

Language Creates a Bridge

"Since Karen and I have served in Burkina Faso, we could pray with Mame in the Bambara language, her mother tongue," says Conkle. "Who would ever have suspected that we would be able to use Bambara while learning the Wolof language in Senegal?"

After one of these prayer times, Mame told the couple that she had had a dream in which she wanted to pray for her oldest son, a university student in Dakar, Senegal’s capital city. In the dream, her son told her that she could not pray for him because she didn’t pray in the Name of Jesus.

"While Mame shared this dream with her husband, Adama led her to faith in Christ!" Conkle exclaims. "This Christmas, Mame Serer plans to join the rest of her family by being baptized."

Learn More

Check out our Alliance work in Senegal.

Read "No Language But Love" in the February 2008 issue of alife. Rev. Terrence Nichols, president of the Alliance African-American Churches Association, visited Senegal last year and discovered a message of grace and hope in this nation historically linked to the global African slave trade.

What You Can Do

Praise the Lord for the salvation of Mame Serer! Pray that her faith will continue growing stronger.

Pray for Alliance team members in St. Louis, Senegal, as they continue to learn the Wolof language that will reach into people's hearts with the gospel.

Celebrating More than 20 New Believers

"Praise God for the evangelistic services in Dana and Banakoro that Toby Hull was part of this past weekend!" exclaims Bonnie Oberg, who serves in Burkina Faso.

Although there was no response to the gospel message in Dana, the team trusts that seeds have been planted.

Who Will Teach Me?

"Banakoro was another story however," Oberg continues. Three people reportedly came forward after the message on the first night—two to ask prayer for healing and one to accept Christ. The next night, a man was waiting for the team members when they arrived to set up.

"He wanted to follow Christ," says Oberg. "But he wanted to know who was going to come and teach him about continuing in his faith, once he made that commitment. Pastor Fidele [an Alliance minister in Burkina] assured him that he would visit the village weekly to teach him and others who had made a decision."

No Shame

Before the service, the man gave his heart to Christ; then during the service, right before the pastor invited people to become followers of Jesus, this new believer stood up and said, "'Don’t be ashamed to follow Christ! I've made this decision,'" says Oberg.

"About 20 adults and several kids came forward! We trust that this is only the beginning and we’ll see more fruit as we continue to work in this village.

"Needless to say, Pastor Fidele is pumped! He can’t wait to begin to disciple this new group of believers!"

Learn More
Check out our work in Burkina Faso.

What You Can Do

Join our Burkina team in praising God for two more believers in Samorogouan who attended evangelistic services just over a week ago and decided to follow Christ upon further reflection.

Pray that the new believers in Banakoro will grow strong in their faith. Pray also for seeds of faith to take root in the hearts of those who have now heard the gospel message in Dana.

The Least of These By Suzanna and Lawrence Savage, retired workers to Mongolia

Shortly after arriving in Darhan for our first term of missionary service, we heard of three children living by themselves in a nearby apartment. We tracked them down and learned that their mother had recently died of an illness resulting from an infection during pregnancy with her fourth child. Because of his wife's death, the father took to drinking heavily and ended his life a few months later.

The oldest of the children was 14, her brother was 12, and the youngest sister was only 8. Three months after their father's death, we visited them in their parents' apartment, which the kids owned. The place was neat as a pin!

We then had them over for dinner along with two Mongolian translators. When the children prepared to leave, the oldest one buttoned up her younger sister's coat and put on her hat, scarf, and gloves, just like a "mother" would do. God touched us that night and put a burden in our hearts to care for these children, to protect them and to love them.

We were able to do this until we moved to Ulaanbaatar the following year. From then on, we would see them only once a month when we traveled back to Darhan on mission business. We would take them grocery shopping and leave them money to last until we returned the following month. We did this for two years.

Hope and a Future

This summer we had the privilege of having "our kids" stay with us in Ulaanbaatar. During those two weeks they finally opened up to us, smiling and laughing as they rediscovered what it means to have a family. We took them shopping, to the movies (they had never been to a theater before), to cultural events, and out for walks. When they left to return to Darhan, they were calling us "Mommy" and "Daddy."

They are now 17, 15, and 11. The oldest is now attending university in Ulaanbaatar. She accepted the Lord Jesus a year ago and is sharing a room with another Christian girl. Initially, she had planned to stay in the university dormitory, but we checked it out and decided it wasn't suitable for a young girl. We praise the Lord for providing another place for her to stay.

After her father's death, the oldest daughter was angry at him for leaving her with the responsibility of looking after her siblings. At times she felt so hopeless that she wanted to end her life too. But she said that after experiencing God’s love for her and her siblings through our care for them, she knew there was hope after all.

We are still praying for her brother and sister to receive Christ. Even though we are back in North America, we continue to support them. We appreciate and solicit your prayers for them on a daily basis. And, if you feel led to help them financially, that would be much appreciated.

Thank you for supporting us these past three years in your prayers, in your encouragement, and in your finances; it really means a lot!

Learn More

Check out our Alliance work in Mongolia.

How You Can Help

Although Suzanna and Lawrence Savage have left the field, their work specials are still active to receive donations to support their ongoing ministry projects. Funds should be designated Mongolia—Savage Work Special (Ministry Projects).