One way we participate in preparing the way for the Lord is by being God's agent of grace and hope. To illustrate this, I invite you to reflect on what is being done by the Church to respond to the Ebola outbreak. 

In Guinea Conakry, Rev. George Thea reported that the pioneer work of the Church of the Nazarene in Nzerekore has now 10 churches. The team, in coordination with the other Evangelical churches, distributed 100 chlorine tap buckets and 1,500 Ebola prevention brochures in two major

Children wash their hands at a tap bucket filled with chlorine water.

cities and 15 villages.  

A total of 4,500 people were informed and sensitized on Ebola prevention. Most of those villages, which benefited from the care of the Church, promised properties to the Nazarenes and asked them to come back at the end of the Ebola crisis to plant churches. Nzerekore is the next city before the epicenter of the Ebola in West Africa.  

As of October 2014, the Church distributed rice to 1,123 families, distributed 500 Ebola brochures and put in place 150 tap buckets, thanks to the involvement of 140 Nazarene churches and 130 Nazarene pastors.  

Rev. Sam Lama (Liberia Central District) reported a renewed interest in theological education.  

He said:

"My friends, if you love teaching, come and join me as theology education gets excited with more people answering to the call of ministry. This is my third class since October 2014 (in less than three months); I taught four classes during the last church year. Join me in teaching orientation to more than thirty new pastors come December!" 

Community members in Sierra Leone are thankful for rice distributed by the Nazarene Church. for rice distributed by the Nazarene Church.

Praise the Lord!  

In Sierra Leone, Rev. Vidal Cole reports that 70 tap buckets were distributed and 700 families were impacted by the rice distribution. Sharon Martin prepared a seven-page brochure on Ebola and hygiene prevention, of which 25 printed copies were used in 70 churches with the involvement of 45 pastors.  

Rev. Cole is reporting a great revival in the midst of this crisis. The attendance at the church's monthly revivals is growing. In November, the first day of revival attracted more than 50 people - a new record for the first day. Later in the week, close to 80 people attended.

"We are experiencing God's presence in great ways during the praise and worship," Rev. Cole said. "Some people burst out in praise, others (lie) prostrate before the Lord in worship, others kneel, cry. It's just amazing. Recently two young men were saved, and they have not missed service after that. There is so much excitement in church these days, and no one wants to miss out, whether it's on Sundays or weekdays. Every week comes with a new excitement and longing to experience God in deeper ways."

Praise the Lord!   

     To help us celebrate the results of preparing the way for the Lord, I will highlight the work in Cameroon, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau. Disciples here are developing and implementing strategies to improve the health of the Church and revitalize the Church in areas where the work is dormant.

GUINEA-BISSAU

Missionaries Irma and Mario Martinez recently shared Christmas gifts and the message of Christ to the village of Uabe in Guinea-Bissau. More than 200 children received a gift box, and about 75 adults and children made the decision to follow Christ. (Photo courtesy Irma and Mario Martinez.)

The Church of the Nazarene officially entered Guinea-Bissau in 2004. However, it has taken some time for us to plant a church. In 2013, the Africa Region sent Mario and Irma Martinez, former pioneer missionaries of the work in Equatorial Guinea, to revitalize the work in Guinea-Bissau.  

For the past 10 years we only had cell groups, until Nazarenes from Brazil came to Guinea-Bissau with compassionate ministries and led Bible study groups. All of this has paved the way for the planting of churches. Guinea-Bissau was the last Portuguese-speaking country in the world where we did not have the Church.

Today, I am pleased to report that we have two church plants in Guinea-Bissau. The Martinez's are providing discipleship to new church members in this nation.  

CAMEROON AND GABON

The Church of the Nazarene entered Cameroon and Gabon in 1999. However, the work here was dormant as well. Recently, the field deployed Rev. Cyrille Ebam to revive and coordinate the work of the Church in these two countries.  

Rev. Ebam has been working on developing cell groups, using BibleStoryTelling and the Articles of Faith Study Map for discipleship. The goal is to foster the multiplication and growth of these cell groups as they develop into local churches in the future. We currently have 11 cell groups in Cameroon and one in Gabon. 

In October, Rev. Ebam provided the following update on Cameroon:  

"The work in Cameroon has been a little slow, but now we are on the right track with a wonderful strategy. We use BibleStoryTelling to start cell groups. I use the system of 'Simply the Story.'  

These groups meet in houses - house churches. This is a new strategy in Cameroon. The results are so amazing and have been right from the beginning.  

I have never been so excited with a new direction in ministry. This system is so easy to be reproduced, especially because it does not demand theologians who know a lot about the Bible to keep the group going.  

It only demands people who are committed to re-tell the stories faithfully. And it is about one story at a time. Not the entire teaching of the whole Bible on the truth of that particular story. This so much fits the African context. Africans have no problem in either listening to or telling a story. For this reason, this system is culturally very fitting and relevant. It is a good beginning with a promising bright future."

     Heavy rainfall and flooding in Malawi has killed 170 people and displaced about 100,000 others, according to a BBC report from Jan. 16. At least 25 others have died in Mozambique. Some areas saw a month's worth of rainfall in a 24-hour period.

Malawi Lower Shire District Superintendent Rev. Gershom Kwerakwera said last week that most members of the Kalenso and Bangula Nazarene churches in Malawi had been displaced.  

The Lower Shire District had especially been hit hard with flooding, Kwerakwera said, because it is where water passes to the Indian Ocean through the Shire River.

On Jan. 15, Rev. Kwerakwera sent photos of the flooding in his district (included on the right), along with this report:  

The river has flooded to many villages, including trading centers such as Bangula, where we have two of our churches: Kalenso and Bangula. We are keeping some victims in our churches, and most of our members and non-church members are displaced and affected with these floods.

I thank God that other organizations and the Malawi Defense Force rescue teams are helping reallocate these victims and provide food.    

This is not just the situation in one area, but it is countrywide. Some have already died. Some bodies have been found, while other bodies have been washed away. It is a very sad situation.

The district is in desperate need of prayer, Rev. Kwerakwera said, as well as items such as food, clothing, blankets, plastics, paper, buckets, pots, plates and cups.

Please also pray for those affected by flooding in Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.     

For information about how to help, please contact the Africa Regional Office at aro@africanazarene.org. 

Out of Africa changes hands to new editor 

    
     Greetings! My name is Holly Beech, and I will be the editor for Out of Africa for the next five months. I arrived in South Africa at the beginning of January and have received a warm welcome!

I am from Nampa, Idaho, in the northwestern United States. Back home, I am a reporter for a local newspaper.  

I graduated from Northwest Nazarene University with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2011, with a minor in Spanish.

I'm excited about my time in South Africa, and look forward to hearing and sharing your stories! Please feel free to contact me at  news@africanazarene.org.  

The former editor, Amy Crofford, is still working in the Africa Regional Office. She will now focus her energy on education and clergy development.  

     The next Out of Africa issue on Feb. 2 will feature a story about how Alabaster funds were used to buy land for a new district service center in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Alabaster funds are collected in February and September. They are used around the world to buy property and buildings for churches, schools, medical facilities, and missionary homes.