AFRICA news Christ-centred churches among all African peoples www.aimint.org JUN-SEPT 2014 In this issue: New Staff in New Zealand... Page 3 A vision to reach the Samburu Pages 4-5 Teachers needed for Chad... Page 6-7 team has begun among the Samburu people of central northern Kenya. This team will live in a remote area seeking to build relationships with the Samburu see page 5. Read more about the vision to reach the Samburu using TIMO on page 4. Australian Mick Alley continues to disciple young men from this nomadic people see page 8.
JUST BRIEFLY NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE Dr Peter and Sue Bird have resumed ministry at the AIC Kijabe Hospital in Kenya, following home assignment in Melbourne. AIM Australia s 2014 conference is on 29-31 August 2014, at Naamaroo in Sydney. Book now. Contact Robbyn on 02 4322 4777 or email adminfinance.aus@aimint.net AIM Australia is 100 in August 2016! Plan now! Come and celebrate at our Centenary event in Sydney on 26-28 August 2016. Watch this space for details or P: 02 4322 4777. AIM New Zealand s Inaugural conference will be held on 31 May 2014. Contact Pamela on 09 281 4595 for details. AIM s new feature film The Distant Boat has been well received in the Asia-Pacific. Comments include: from Australia Excellent! and New Zealand: Loved it! Had tears in my eyes. The film continues to be promoted in Africa as a motivation for the African church to mobilise her people into mission in Africa. See distantboat.com Indian Ocean Islands Team Join this curriculum-based team at one of several points in 2014 or 2015. Six new members are needed for a minimum two-year term. Live simply! Learn a language and serve the people! New TIMO team among the Ik people starts mid 2016 Come and reach out to the mountain people of north-east Uganda! Join a two-year TIMO team. Live simply. Come as a learner. Learn a new language. Share the good news of Jesus Christ. Help plant a reproducing, Christcentred, self-sustaining church among the Ik people! Interested in Either of These Two Teams? Contact Len on E: personnel.aus@aimint.net Short-term Join a one-month TIMO Quest! Experience cross-cultural ministry in a nutshell! Share the experiences of TIMO Team members as they learn language, and make disciples! New TIMO Quest Teams Coming Soon: Coastal Tanzania among a coastal people, mid-october to mid-november 2014. Indian Ocean Islands Clove Island early 2015. Madagascar among the Sakalava people; mid-may to mid-june, 2015. Kenya among the Samburu people; 2015. South Sudan among the Lopit people; 2015. Interested in TIMO Quest? Plan Now! Please Contact: Australia Hilton Edwards E: shortterm.aus@aimint.net P: 02 4322 4777 New Zealand Len on E: personnel.nz@aimint.net P: 09 8899 406 Quest JUN-SEPT 2014 English-language magazine of AIM Asia-Pacific Region Published three times a year. Editor: Len Lesleighter Asia-Pacific and Australia Council PO Box 328 Gosford NSW 2250 Australia T: 02 4322 4777 or +61 2 4322 4777 Director: director.aus@aimint.net Personnel Coordinator: 2 Africa Inland Mission www.aimint.org E: personnel.aus@aimint.net Finance: E: adminfinance.aus@aimint.net W: www.aimint.org/au New Zealand PO Box 13457 Onehunga Auckland 1643 New Zealand Courier: Office 16 The Christian Ministry Centre 297A Church Street Onehunga Auckland 1061 New Zealand T: +64 9 281 4595 E: admin.nz@aimint.net T: + 64 9 8899 406 E: director.nz@aimint.net Korean Council Hanwool Church, 952 Woonjungdong badndangku Sunnam City, Kyungkido South Korea 463-440 E: aim.kor@aimint.net W: www.aimkorea.org Hong Kong Committee PO Box 70238 Kowloon Central Hong Kong T: (852) 2770 5380 E: admin@aimhk.org W: www.aimhk.org
NEW STAFF IN NEW ZEALAND Pamela Nares has recently been appointed AIM s Administration Officer in New Zealand. Pamela commenced in AIM s new office in early March. The new office is located in Office 16, The Christian Ministry Centre, 297A Church Street, Onehunga, 1061, Auckland. The new postal address is PO Box 13457, Onehunga 1643, Auckland. The office phone number is 09 281 4595. AIM Director for the Asia-Pacific Mobilising region and Australia, Len Lesleighter said both Pamela s appointment and the opening of the new office were significant events for the future of AIM in New Zealand. Pamela brings youth, experience in short-term missions in New Zealand and overseas, qualifications and training in communications, and experience in event management. As well, she has an infectious enthusiasm for missions. Pamela is our sole full-time representative in New Zealand. She will be given operational support in her role from AIM Australia. Pamela was born in the Philippines but has spent nearly all her life in New Zealand. She attends Harvest Christian Church. Pamela s role will include assisting in the processing of short-term and full-term applications for people wanting to serve in Africa. One of the first events for AIM in New Zealand this year will be a Conference Day on 31 May. A special focus will be on how to pray for North Africa, with speaker s giving an update on this region. Len said AIM was grateful to The Ministry Centre for their leasing of office space and to Mobile Mission Maintenance NZ for painting of the office. AIM is looking forward to supporters in New Zealand getting behind these new developments. We look forward to continued and increased financial support to help maintain Pamela in her role in the new office. Australia s Africa Inland Mission Annual Conference 29 August 31 August 2014 Naamaroo Uniting Venues, Lady Game Drive, Chatswood Book before 30 June for early bird rates P: Robbyn on 02 4322 4777 or E: adminfinance.aus@aimint.net Come and hear AIM s new International Director, Luke Herrin Hear about new directions as AIM sharpens its focus on the Unreached Peoples of Africa. Meet people ready to serve! Hear about opportunities for YOU to serve, pray and give! AFRICA news June to September 2014 3
VISION TO REACH THE SAMBURU IN KENYA by Martin and Joy Koch AIM is reaching out to the Samburu people through its TIMO or Training in Ministry Outreach program. The team is led by Martin and Joy Koch who have been involved with church work among the neighboring Lchamus people group for 18 years. Their desire is to see the Samburu people embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Samburu are a semi-nomadic people in central northern Kenya, numbering nearly 240,000. Traditionally the Samburu are pastoralists depending heavily on cattle, sheep, goats and occasionally camels. The traditional religion of the Samburu is one of the African traditional religions. However, recently there has been fast growth in a variety of Christian churches, starting in the trading centers but beginning to spread to rural areas. Despite the increasing numbers of churches among the Samburu, the congregations are often small and the committed members are few. Typically the remote areas have been left behind and remain very traditional and mostly unreached. The Samburu TIMO Vision Following the great commission from Jesus to make disciples, we see the Samburu TIMO team as a way we can help one another mature in our walk with Jesus. At the same time, we want to bring the Samburu people in our community to Christ and help them grow as disciples of Jesus. We hope that the way of living as a TIMO team will serve as an example and model for how to live in a fellowship of believers. Eventually we pray this will lead to Christ-centered and reproducing churches in the community and surrounding area. Context and Obstacles The Samburu culture is set up in a way that encourages a strong adherence 4 Africa Inland Mission www.aimint.org to its traditions. Samburu people are generally friendly and hospitable. However, it is difficult for them to leave their traditions and shift their loyalty to Jesus. In areas where churches are starting, mostly women and children (especially girls) attend the services. When there is a conflict between culture and tradition, and Christian teaching there is a tendency to follow culture and tradition. The number of primary schools in the Samburu areas is growing, reflecting a move towards more permanent settlements. However, it is always possible that people in these areas will move due to scarcity of water and feed for the animals. There are also still many children that are not sent to school because they are needed to look after the animals. The TIMO team is in a remote and unreached area. This area is more difficult to access, infrastructure is poor and water is scarce. People live scattered in homes, which sometimes form clusters when the resources allow. There are no shops, no medical facilities, no public transport and no network coverage for telecommunication and internet. Supplies and water have to be carried to the homes. Samburu TIMO Strategy The TIMO curriculum and philosophy sets the framework for the team. One of the most important TIMO values is relationships. The team will therefore seek to build meaningful relationships with the local people. This depends on the ability to communicate. Language acquisition and understanding of the culture is vital. Many people only speak their own Samburu language. Almost no one in our location knows English. We hope to establish a local church which will be linked with Africa Inland Church (AIC) which is AIM s partner church in Kenya.
TEAM STARTS AMONG THE SAMBURU IN KENYA by PinHsuan Chiang, Taiwan PinHsuan Chiang is a young lady from Taiwan. She has joined AIM through the Hong Kong office and the Asia-Pacific mobilising region. In early March PinHsuan joined a two-year TIMO or Training in Ministry Outreach team among the Samburu people in northern Kenya. This is her story on the commencement of the team. We are a team of nine people, from five countries and speaking more than four languages. We have different backgrounds and stories. However, no matter how winding our roads were, they all equipped us with the same mind of serving the Lord and guided us to the same destination: Samburu, Kenya! The day after meeting in Nairobi, we headed north for orientation and language training in Wamba, a town approximately 1.5 hours away from Lchakwai. The distance between our guesthouse and the church hosting us is less than 200 m. Nevertheless, greeting people along the way, either passing by or sitting outside their house, with children surrounding us, means it takes no less than five minutes to walk this short distance. Openly sharing testimonies is the way we begin the day-long team program. There should be no secrets in a family and we are a family! The darkness which once seized us does not bring shame but proves the faithfulness of our God and His love. What has cheered us up now brings encouragement to others, as we share our real selves. In the afternoon, we have Samburu class, to learn the tribal language used by the local people. LAMP, Language Acquisition Made Practical, is the approach adopted. The practical emphasis, as the name suggests, takes us on a walk around the town to have some real conversation practice. Upon hearing Sopa (How are you)? the kids will answer, Oye (Fine), with excitement written all over their small faces. When we tell them we want to learn Samburu, the older people may respond with great joy saying, I can teach you!. Besides this, there are sessions with our local language-helpers. They show accurate pronunciation and tone, both of which cannot be acquired if we learn on our own! Yesterday marked our first week of being here in Kenya. We now greet each other in Samburu and say, Ashe oleng, instead of Thank you. We put our hand out for a greeting when we see people; We are learning to love eating with hands! We have learnt how to wash hair with the rainwater flowing down from the gutter in rain fall. There is still a lot to learn. Yet we are ecstatic about the road God paves for us! Pray for PinHsuan and the Samburu TIMO team, as they continue their journey in learning the Samburu culture and language. Pray they will form good relationships with the local people, as well as in the team. Pray these relationships will open the door to sharing the love and grace of Jesus Christ, God s Son. He died for the Samburu! For more information on new TIMO team opportunities contact Len on personnel.aus@aimint.net in Australia or from New Zealand on personnel.nz@aimint.net. Also see our websites: www.aimint.org/au or www.aimint.org/nz and www.timo-aim.com. AFRICA news June to September 2014 5
TEACHERS NEEDED FOR WELL SPRING ACADEMY IN CHAD Their parents are aeroplane pilots, Bible translators, and evangelists. Their passports say Canada, South Korea, Australia, or Switzerland, but they call Chad home. They love to dig for lizard eggs and play soccer. They are missionary kids. These are the children attending Wellspring Academy in Chad. They are in desperate need of teachers to come through AIM as either short-term (for up to 12 months) or full-term workers. Their parents moved to Chad because God wanted them to serve here. Quality schooling for their children is a vital piece of their life in Chad. If the children struggle, the parents ministries suffer. When their children are thriving, the parents can focus on their ministries. That focus means the Bible gets translated, supplies are flown to missionaries who live hours from the city, and Chadian church pastors are encouraged and empowered. Wellspring Academy is the answer to the quality schooling question for 11 families with children in grades one to eight. Now in its fourth year, Wellspring has been a tremendous blessing to missionary families who live and serve in N Djamena, Chad. Parents say: Wellspring Academy is an answer to prayer! Christian education in a small classroom setting is ideal and something we couldn t even find back in Canada! Teacher, Jennifer Straw said that without teachers it would be impossible for Wellspring Academy to continue blessing these families. From the first day I arrived, both students and their families have not stopped asking me, Are you staying next year? Unlike many schools in the United States, Canada, or England, there is no file of resumes or line of teachers begging for a job. Wellspring students know that without teachers their school cannot function. Yes, life in Chad has its challenges, but unless my experience is different than the rest of the world s, life everywhere has challenges. In contrast to those challenges, the joys of introducing 1st 3rd graders to baking soda and vinegar science, long division, and a plethora of quality reading material are very real joys. Listening to a five year old excitedly tell me that reading is easy and he loves those Lion books makes my day. There is a huge blessing in knowing that because I am here the Bible is being translated, sick people are being helped, and Chadians are hearing about Jesus. Jennifer came to teach while waiting for her assignment on a team in the Central African Republic. When that team was postponed, due to political turmoil in the country, she agreed to extend her time in Chad for a further year. However, Wellspring still needs long term teachers! John Propst, AIM Unit Leader for Chad says, We are so excited that Jennifer is going to stay on for another year so our other teacher Debbie can take a furlough. We now have a second teacher but desperately need a third teacher for the 2014-15 school year. Wellspring Academy is located on a compound with three, simply furnished apartments provided for its teachers. School hours are 7:30-12:50, and there are three multiple-grade classes. All instruction is in English. N Djamena is a fairly large city, with multiple shops and open air markets. The city electricity is on many evenings, 6 Africa Inland Mission www.aimint.org
while solar power is provided for the times without electricity. French is the national language, with many local languages also spoken. An English church fellowship meets twice a month, while many French-speaking churches meet every week. Our children know that their teacher cares about them. We greatly appreciate all the little things she does to communicate this to all her students. Teachers interested in serving at Wellspring Academy in Chad can contact Len on email from Australia on personnel.aus@aimint.net or in New Zealand on personnel.nz@aimint.net AFRICA news June to September 2014 7
SHARING LIFE WITH THE SAMBURU by Hilton Edwards, Short-term Coordinator, Australia In late 2013, Mick Alley, Newcastle, returned for a short visit to the Samburu people of South Horr in Northern Kenya. His work there has taken on various forms as he runs Bible seminars; takes care of the medical and education needs of the young men he is working with; prays with them; mentors them and has the opportunity to share life amongst them in a significant and impactful way. Mick says: To love and care in a place where people suffer, at times is hard. But Christ said we should carry each other s burdens and so to do this, is simply to do my duty. Sometimes I wish my theology was that God wanted us to preach the gospel alone, it would save me the burden of caring beyond their relationship with God. But the words of Jesus are too clear Whatever you do to the least of these you do unto me. Mick started his work amongst this group of Samburu men when he and Tim Shaw went on an almost two-year mission back in 2006. Mick has been returning regularly ever since. AIM Short-termers Stan and Kathy Bridge were able to accompany Mick on his latest trip. Together they were a blessing to the Samburu. They ministered to the group and also stayed at Kijabe Hospital with one of the young men who received treatment. Their presence demonstrated Christ s love and the young Samburu men were blessed by them and their willingness to serve and get involved. 8 Africa Inland Mission www.aimint.org The time wasn t without a few surprises along the way. Like when Kaayo s full-term pregnant wife declared to Kathy, Good thing I m here with you now in case the baby comes. They were hours away from medical assistance and Kathy isn t a nurse. She told Mick later that day she had immediately sought out some birthing tips, to which he replied: I was trying to give you the full African experience, but unfortunately I let you down in not having a chance to help deliver a baby in the bush. James 1:27 says that true religion is to look after widows and orphans in their distress. Jonathan, one of the orphans that has been cared for and discipled during the past six years wrote to Mick and said: I am happy the Lord has enabled us to see this new year. Every year, month, hour and second, is a gift from God. We Samburu boys enjoyed the seminar a lot. Everyone has learned big teachings on how the Lord wants us to live. On returning, Mick said: I have come home from this last trip to Kenya with the words the harvest is ready but the workers are few ringing in my ears and resounding in my heart. I saw so many opportunities for Gods kingdom while I was away amongst past Samburu students and even the current group of guys I am working with, and I realise if only I was there more, I could teach God s Word in new places with guys I haven t yet taught. The good news is that Mick will be going back in the second half of this year and will be spending almost a year with the Samburu people. Please pray for him as he continues this work that God has called him to. If you would like to find out more about short-term mission opportunities among the Samburu, contact Hilton Edwards on E: shortterm.aus@aimint.net or P: 02 4322 4777.
RESPONSE FORM Yes, I would like to support AIM s ministry I want to give monthly 50 25 100 Give a one off gift of Please complete the payment authority sections below. Please make cheques payable to Africa Inland Mission Int. (Aust.) Inc. or complete card details below; or donate online: www.aimint.org/au/give.html (PayPal fees apply to online gifts) Please use my donation Where Most Needed Chairman s Appeal AIM Australia AIM New Zealand My Own Option My Total Donation My Address Mr/Mrs/Miss/Dr/Rev Family Name First Name Address Email Phone Postcode Payment Authority (Card payments processed in Australia only) Card Type Visacard / Mastercard Card Number Expiry Date Name on Card Signed Date / / Periodical Payments/Internet Deposits You may wish to arrange with your Bank to set up Periodical Payments from your account directly to the Africa Inland Mission bank account or to transfer monies directly via internet banking and direct deposits: Please contact Robbyn for details. Africa Inland Mission International (Australia) Inc. PO Box 328 Gosford NSW 2250 Australia T: 02 4322 4777 E: adminfinance.aus@aimint.net AIM CHAIRMAN S APPEAL 2014 Staff Support by Rae Price, Chairman AIM Australia / Asia-Pacific Mobilising Council Thank you for your support of AIM in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific. We value your contribution to our ministry. We value your concern for the unreached peoples of Africa. In this inaugural Chairman s Appeal I am inviting you to help us specifically support the staffing of our home offices in Australia and New Zealand. God has blessed the work of AIM in this region. We have more than doubled our full-term workers in Africa from Australia in the past seven years. We are on the verge of a significant increase with more than ten applications in the process or soon to be. We are also seeing the fruit of our short-term programs. In New Zealand we are encouraged to see a new office established with a full-time staff member. There are positive signs of growth here in both full-term and shortterm workers. Most of our five full-time office workers are on support provided by personal friends and churches. However, personal support has dropped below an acceptable level. We are now facing a need for increased support funds. Would you stand with me and help support our home-based workers and home-office operations! May God bless you for your support. Gifts to the Chairman s Appeal can be made using the response slip over leaf. Donate on-line www.aimint.org/au/give or www.aimint.org/nz/give designating Chairman s Appeal