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Prayer requests and praises
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We praise God for:National leadership for the ITN/NTI. Please pray for these new educational leaders. The Discipleship Place and other websites/ resources made available by the general church. The Liberia Southeast District Youth leaders calling the church to action We request prayer for:The drought in NamibiaThe first steps taken to plant the church in Mauritius The Alabaster offering coming up in September- and for the projects it will fund. 
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Explore the Africa Region
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Co-directors named for the ITN/NTI
| Rev. Katambu Balibanga and Rev. Antero Fontes have been named as co-directors of the Nazarene Theological Institute (ITN-NTI), effective October 1. Balibanga and Fontes follow Rev. Dr. Gregory Crofford in the post, who assumed his duties as Regional Education Coordinator for Africa in October 2012.
Rev. F ontes, a native of Cape Verde, grew up in Senegal, where his father worked for the Cape Verdean Embassy in Dakar. He received the Diploma in Theology from the Seminário Nazareno de Cabo Verde (SNCV) and the Bachelor of Theology from Nazarene Theological College (South Africa). Rev. Fontes - who has taught courses for the ITN-NTI - has also pastored in Cape Verde. Currently, he is pastor of the Baobab Church of the Nazarene in Dakar, Senegal.
Rev. Balibanga is the longtime superintendent of the North Kivu District (Democratic Republic of the Congo). He received the Bachelor of Theology from Africa Nazarene University and is a candidate for the Master of Arts in Religion. Rev. Balibanga has taught courses in the ITN-NTI and has a heart for the importance of theological education.
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First steps in Mauritius - by Stéphane Tibi
| On April 24, 2013, Kevin, a young man from Mauritius, contacted John Comstock of Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International to ask if it would be possible to plant the Church of the Nazarene in Mauritius. He added that he would be happy and willing to help. Kevin previously completed online training on The Discipleship Place, a Nazarene website developed and maintained by SDMI.
 | | Stéphane and Kevin |
Then, I contacted Kevin by email and Skype. On July 12-22, I traveled to Mauritius and met Kevin, his family and friends. I preached and taught on heart purity and how our denomination functions in order to teach, live and preach scriptural holiness.
With the help of the graphics named StudyMaps, Kevin and others could learn about the Articles of Faith, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and our CoreValues, and begin Bible studies on the Gospel of Mark. 
During this time, Kevin and his family decided to start a Nazarene cell group and to worship on Sunday in their house. With his wife, Annabelle, they dedicated their daughter Miracle to the Lord. The name of their daughter, Miracle, reflects God's grace that allowed her to be born healthy and well on April 29, 2013, despite major medical concerns.
These are the first steps toward planting the Church of the Nazarene on Mauritius island. Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, with a population of about 1 million persons, and a size of 2000 km2.
Please pray for Kevin and his family, as they move forward with the Lord and welcome and teach holiness in Mauritius, in union with the Church of the Nazarene.
Stéphane Tibi is the Field Strategy Coordinator for Africa Middle Field.
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The Discipleship Place in Madagascar - by Shelly Miller
| In a land where most people do not complete high school, let alone go to college/university, resources and tools such as The Discipleship Place are integral and instrumental in raising the level of education of our people in Madagascar. The Discipleship Place is an initiative by the Church of the Nazarene that offers online continuing lay training. Continuing lay training is not a new concept. This is something that the church has done for decades. In the age of the internet and digital era, it has taken on a new face by being available online and also offering webinars for further instruction.
For our ministry in Madagascar, The Discipleship Place has been a wonderful tool and resource. Our young people are hungry for knowledge and learning. Many have not had the opportunity to complete high school due to various circumstances, but they love the Lord and want to share Him with their friends, family and people they meet. The Discipleship Place is a tool that we can use here in Madagascar effectively. On Saturdays, fifteen faithful young people come and participate in the Youth Academy training, even taking online exams.
 | | http://www.thediscipleshipplace.org/ |
In an effort to offer continuing education to our pastors, many of them freshly ordained, Ronald has also begun teaching spiritual formation through The Discipleship Place. The pastors are very keen to further their studies and their knowledge base. If you visit their churches the week after a class, you can hear they really paid attention in their classes as their sermons often hold much of the information they have just learned.
While the materials are largely in English, it is something that Ronald can study throughout the week and then present to our faithful group of learners on the weekend. We have been given permission to translate the handouts and notes into Malagasy, which we sometimes do. The Youth Academy is a long-term project that will take several months to complete, but we have been pleased so far with the people who have committed and continue to attend each Saturday. We are looking forward to its fruition in our young leaders. Some of the sessions that focus on history have even allowed us to help the young people broaden their world view and knowledge of world history, which is sometimes sorely lacking for those who did not complete school and even for those who are in school now.
August in Madagascar is the time when children in certain grades write their government exams that allow them to move on to the next grade or complete high school. We have several students from the Youth Academy who are writing those exams, so we are taking a bit of a break right now to allow for those kids to study properly and prepare for this very important exam. We want people to complete high school as, here, that opens many more doors for them.
We are certainly thankful that the Church of the Nazarene has made this resource freely available to all of us on the mission field and also anyone around the world.
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Alabaster impact - by Rev. William Grant
| Alabaster funding in Liberia Southeast District Church of the Nazarene has both an immediate and a long-tern impact.
The Church of the Nazarene, like other churches in Liberia Southeast, needs a central and decent building to represent it in the entire southeastern region of Liberia. This area is comprised of five counties - Grand Gedeh, Sinoe, Maryland, Grand Kru and River Gee counties.
Currently the district has 25 churches in Grand Gedeh, 10
 | Rev. William Grant
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churches in Sinoe and 3 churches in River Gee with a growing membership of 2037. All these churches in previous years were meeting in Zwedru (Grand Gedeh County) for district meetings, NTI classes, workshops and district assemblies. These district-related meetings in the past were usually held under tents or grass-roofed buildings. But the purchase of the land in Sinoe County and the support from the Community Chapel Church of Nazarene to construct the District Center in Zwedru, Liberia, Southeast have made an enormous immediate and long term impact on the ministry of the Church of the Nazarene on this district.
Immediate impact:- Members and outsiders are glorifying God for the building project
- Local church's memberships are gradually increasing as the euphoria of the ministry center grows.
- Some local churches on the district are now taking self-initiatives to construct durable buildings for themselves (e.g: Central Church, Zion Church and Air Field Church all in Zwedru)
- Currently, district assemblies and meetings are held within the build even though it is
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still under construction
Long-term impact:- Future church leaders and theologians will be developed through periodic education sessions (NTI, Leadership, etc.) within the building.
- Theological research will increase and will attract other churches outside the Nazarene denomination to seek references and other study materials from the would-be well furnished library within the building.
- Members' commitment to Christ will increase and new souls won to Christ.
- The ministry will sometimes serve as one of the sources of income for the district.
- The hall will sometimes be rented out to other denominations, NGOs, and local government agencies for conferences, workshops, weddings etc..
- The guest rooms will also be used to accommodate church leaders, conference and training attendees both from Nazarene churches and other denominations.
- The district hopes to set up a computer lab within the building to have youth/young people trained in computer and other skills, thereby increasing opportunities for employment.
- Child Development Ministry will be established at the center to help Nazarene and other community children respond to physical and spiritual growth.
Sinoe:
The purchase of the land property for the zone in Sinoe gave rise to many churches in Sinoe County. We pray to solicit external support to have a structure in Sinoe as most of them are using public buildings for worship, NTI and training purposes.
Rev. William Grant is the district superintendent of the Liberia Southeast District. Contact Tim Eby for Work & Witness opportunities on the Africa West Field.
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There is no time like today - by Gavin Fothergill
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God is using the leadership of the South East DR Congo district to reach young people in a bold way. Under the direction of the district NYI coordinator, Pastor Robert Mbolela, and Pastor Marcel Komba, a spirit of excitement and anticipation is stirring amongst the youth. Meetings have already taken place in three zones (Lubumbas  hi, Kasumbalesa, and Likasi) with the remaining zones to follow in the weeks to come. The attendance has been great with youth representatives from 90 percent of the churches participating in the local meetings.
 | | Robert Mbolela |
Pastor Robert has been calling all churches and pastors to support their youth as they organize on the district, zone, and local levels to better serve the Church of the Nazarene and reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ. As the leaders have been calling young people from across the district together, they have been emphasizing three main points: living holy lives before God, the fellowship of believers, and making Christ-like disciples in the nations. Pastor Marcel has encouraged the youth by telling them, "There is no time like today to serve God. No  matter your age, you can be a valuable servant of the Lord!" In each meeting, enthusiasm caught on quickly as the local youth began to dream and strategize about using their unique skills and talents to build up the Church and reach others with the Gospel message. Only God knows what is in store for the youth of the South East DR Congo district over the weeks and months to come, but we can expect to see Him move in a mighty way for His glory. |
| Home assignment has been a busy time filled with serendipity and planning. I love how meetings with friends new and old just "happened" to be possible. Even so, it will be great to be back at the office soon. Keep sending me stories about how God is at work on the Africa region.
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Amy Crofford,Out of Africa editor
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