Africa

By Amos Harris


Every country strives for the establishment of its own army. We all know why. Among many reasons, such an establishment is a mark of sovereignty of the nation.Since Liberia’s 14-year civil crisis, our National Army—amongst other para-military groups—is being reestablished, reorganized, and retrained.

Second Lieutenant Dessaline Felix Allison is among the first recruits of the new army. He serves as the Acting Chief of Chaplains of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). He and our Campus Crusade National Director, Mr. Edwin Dunbar, had been discussing about our ministry’s engagement with the AFL. In February of last year, my wife Wola and I were privileged to team up with Dr. Dolphus of Mississippi, USA to speak to the men and women in arms. I presented our motivational seminar titled Family Priority. Soon after, Lt. Allison made arrangements for FamilyLife to conduct phase one of our HomeBuilders Facilitator’s Training. Forty-five of the 50 officers were present for the one-day training. This training was part of the Chaplaincy’s preparations to assimilate families of the soldiers into the military bases. Those trained in the use of our materials were to be leaders of small group studies on the bases.

On September 22, 2010, Lt. Allison made a long awaited visit to our office. We reviewed the HomeBuilders Facilitator’s Training conducted in February. They now have 35 HomeBuilders groups meeting on the different military bases spread across the country. They had also planned a Family Emphasis Training for Soldiers and their families. He wanted us be a part of the roll-out. He then invited us to visit the weekly study group of officers of the AFL main base.

Wola and I were there recently with the intent to do our very interactive Family Priority session with them to motivate them to convert one of their weekly officers’ Bible studies into a HomeBuilders discussion. For some reason, the laptop and the projector were incommunicado. So instead, I led an extemporaneous discussion on the need to learn what marriage is all about. It was warm and engaging. The 28 officers and the wives who attended did not want it to end, but we had to. Upon arrival at home, we reconnected to test the equipment; the laptop and projector were perfectly speaking. The message was clear: The devil may have intended evil (as his name implies—d + EVIL), but God wanted us do something other than what we had planned.

• Threats on our families
• Responsibilities as husband and wife
• Necessity to please God, to love and serve Him
  

We attended other seminars that helped us know more about each other. We have seen a testimony of God’s faithfulness toward us.  For the first time we had holidays in love. We went to a beautiful hotel and we cannot explain how we found the money to go. It gave us many pleasant moments.

Today we have blossomed:
• We freely discuss about any topic
• We understand each other
• We trust each other
• We are in agreement with each other before beginning a project
• As a wife, I feel at ease to speak publicly
• Our children are also happy and proud of us

With our whole heart we thank the FamilyLife couple for their investments in couples.  Let God not forget your sacrifices and faithfulness.
--Nanguin and Mariam

Editor’s note:  This couple received training and spoke in their church’s “Month of the Family.”  They have begun hosting HomeBuilders Couples Series small group studies.  The husband is now the Deacon of Marriage and Family Ministry in his church!

“People think that all pastors have a good marriage. I preached and trained Christians, but after 12 years, this night was our honeymoon.” - Andrin

FamilyLife Madagascar is only one year old and they are already planning HomeBuilders Couples Series studies to use as follow-up with the couples who attended this event.

Tanzania

Swahili is the national language of Tanzania. Dismas and Anne had translated the marriage manual and a HomeBuilders Couples Series study, Building Your Marriage, but had no money or equipment to print them. Howard Ostendorff, director of FamilyLife Global traveled from the United States to Tanzania and Kenya to deliver the 200 pounds of Print On Demand (POD) equipment. It was exciting when they were able to print 70 HomeBuilders study guides in Swahili.

Want a Rock-Solid Family? The Value of a National Website
Visit www.FamilyLife.org.za for your family to be rock-solid and so that you can help South Africa build strong families and a better future. This website has expanded their ministry all over the country and they are reaching people that have never heard of FamilyLife, and wouldn't have, if it weren't for the website.

They once received a call from a Presbyterian pastor who visited the website, read about HomeBuilders and decided to start a HomeBuilders study group at his church. He also invited South Africa's FamilyLife team to present two seminars--one on marriage and one on parenting. They now have a growing HomeBuilders movement in their church as a result.

The most crucial part of this ministry is in working with couples through the marriage conference and small group studies.  Here is just one changed life story:

“We were not sure what to expect from this seminar, but when the weekend was over, we felt informed, at peace, and more open with one another. You must attend this seminar expecting to 'glean' gold nuggets that perhaps you have heard before but never found the need or wanted to apply because you thought that there was nothing wrong with your marriage. Don’t expect to get an answer to solve all your problems and a solution to 'save' your marriage. Reconciliation comes from you. Be receptive. You must be able to compromise, forgive, and above all LOVE your spouse unconditionally even with all his/her faults. After all, neither of you are perfect, but through communication and understanding you can get through those difficult times. We are so grateful for the speakers graciously giving of their time to share their experiences and knowledge. We pray they will continue to bless many more families as they have blessed ours. Very importantly–make the most of this time that you have to really enjoy each other’s company.”
—Credit Analyst

Malawi

Malawi is a country of 12 million people. It is one of the ten poorest countries in the world! It is small in size but the numbers of AIDS victims are very high. Malawi has over 1 million orphans because of HIV. The Minister of Education said in the last seven years, they have lost 7,000 teachers because of AIDS. This means that 1,000 teachers die every year because of HIV/AIDS. It is a big challenge for Malawi.

It is a moral issue, a character issue, and an integrity issue.

How do you solve this issue from the family point of view? By using FamilyLife strategies. Ignatius Nyaga, the Expansion Ministry Coordinator for South Africa, said "It is only through FamilyLife strategies that we can present principles that can help a person with integrity to say no to sin."

Ignatius and his wife, Astrid, have woven FamilyLife in everything they do including their vision to start HomeBuilders groups around the country. He uses the leaders of the HomeBuilders groups to show the Jesus film. These men become the core leadership for the regional areas for the Great Commission.

Ignatius says:

We were trained to speak for Weekend to Remember conferences, but we thought it was very expensive, especially in a poor country like Malawi. We realized we had to do it differently in Africa. So we asked a pastor if he would allow me to preach in his church. I spoke to the congregation one Sunday. "Maybe you are here and interested in a FamilyLife seminar? Are you are wondering why one of you is talkative and one is quiet? Why is one of you organized and one is disorganized?'"I could see it opened their eyes. "I will talk with your pastor and your leaders about having a one-day seminar. Let me know how many of you would like to attend."

Then on Sunday I asked the pastor, "Would you allow me to present a sermon and make it more of a Family Sunday where I will talk about all the stages of marriage, children, mother, husband, all those issues?" After 45 minutes of sermon, I taught some of those things, but before I concluded I said, "Yesterday we had a seminar and we learned three to four things, and this afternoon we are handling the topic of sexual intimacy. After the seminar you can take the projects and work on them on Sunday afternoon."

I found people coming in large numbers on these Sundays. They had to walk a long distance to attend. When I presented the project to the couples, I thought, what do I do with the single men? What about the women who are there whose husband has not come? Most of the women come, and it is the husbands who do not come.

So we have devised a plan. We divide these men into groups of three, men without wives and groups of three, women without husbands. When both husband and wife are together as a couple and are doing the projects, these groups of three discuss these principles that have been taught and they pray for each other. When the others are finished, all groups come back together.

I make my conclusion and talk about how salvation is necessary for families to be strong. The marriage institution is older than any region or country, older than the church. It is God's idea, and for a marriage to work, God must be involved. I asked them, "How does God fit into your marriage? By allowing Him to be the Lord and your Savior. How do you do it?'"Then I use the "Four Spiritual Laws" tract and my wife and I share how Christ paid the price, and then they accept Jesus Christ. It has been very exciting--and we use FamilyLife to bring many people to Christ.