Oasis International

Report from Jos, Nigeria

This is the latest report on the situation in Jos from our Managing Director in Nigeria, Craig Ewoldt.  Please pray for peace and the safety of all Oasis employess in this troubled city.

 

This past month in Jos has been challenging. The festivities and joy of Christmas Eve were interrupted by several bombs in public areas which killed and maimed over one hundred innocent people. Jos has been unsettled since with incidents and threats of violence and retaliation.
 
But there are also reports of peacemakers—among others, a Muslim youth leader who has turned from violence to promoting peace, and an Assemblies of God pastor who has been working with both Christian and Muslim youth. During this most recent crisis, it is reported that his church was surrounded by youth to protect it from a mob that wanted to burn it—Muslim youth that he had befriended and mentored that told the mob they could not burn this church.
 
We ate lunch this Saturday with Professor Danny McCain and Mary his wife. He told of meetings he has participated in with hundreds of youth leaders, both Muslim and Christian in local theaters to train and promote for peace, ending in commitments by these youth to work for peace. And these youth were out in front a week or two ago as Christian and Muslim youth were ready to fight. Danny reported that the next day, many of them came back with thanks for the training—“Many of us would have been dead this morning if you hadn’t worked with us.” I wish that BBC, VOA and other media would begin to report these efforts.
 
We just unpacked a book today entitled Apocalypse Later, Why the Gospel of PEACE Must Trump the POLITICS of Prophesy in the Middle East by Abdu H. Murray, a Muslim background believer. What he describes is very close to what we are experiencing here. And he echoes what we have been considering here in Jos—the Gospel of Jesus Christ is really the answer if we are to have peace. He revived the old quote, “No Jesus, no peace; know Jesus, know peace.” Not trite, often not tried, but true.
 
Hillcrest School has not reopened from Christmas break, and will be closed for another week, but for a different reason. The Nigerian government is using school campuses around the country to register voters for the upcoming elections in April. Hillcrest will reopen next week, and Beth will be able to resume her teaching.
 
On Saturday we attended the funeral of Anne Burke, an SIM missionary in Jos and a friend of ours. She was 58, and died suddenly of an aortic aneurism. We will miss her. The funeral was a wonderful testimony to her life and also of the mission and Christian community here. Peter and Anne were planning to go home to Australia today (Monday) to visit their family. It is a reminder of our own mortality.
 
Throughout the crisis, the Oasis Bookshop remained open, but at reduced hours. This is possible because we are in a more secure area of Jos. We are thankful that we have been able to continue to minister though literature during the latest crisis. It seems to be calming down, but even today we received reports of more incidents over the weekend. These continued crises are polarizing Jos into Christian and Muslim areas—regrettably with “no go zones” where it is unsafe for each group to go.
 
So how can you pray for us?
 
Thanksgiving for the peace efforts that are being made in Jos.
Thanksgiving for the safety of our community, staff and facilities during the recent crisis.
Thankfulness that we were able to continue to minister during this period.
For Jos—peace, justice and reconciliation. If anyone has been brought to justice for the thousands of killings in Jos crises, we are unaware of it.
For Nigeria and the upcoming elections, that they would be fair and peaceful.
For Beth and Hillcrest, that they would be able to complete the year without further disruptions.
For Craig and Oasis—we need more low cost Bibles quickly. Please pray that there would be no further delays in shipping them.
Please pray for Peter Burke on the sudden loss of his wife Anne.
 
We are thankful as we remember that you regularly pray for us and support us.
 
Serving together,
 
Craig and Beth

When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Yourself – A Book Review

Everyone serving in a nonprofit organization that serves the economically poor should read Steve Corbett  and Brian Fikkert’s book When Helping Hurts .  Both authors are experts in helping the poor, and they provide readers information and advice for immediate application.  With a solid biblical exegesis, their philosophical explanations on poverty partnered with principles to help the poor and strategic tips combine to make an excellent read.

Corbett and Fikkert argue that many well-intentioned people hurt the economically poor without knowing it.  However, they demonstrate that there are effective ways to minister to the poor without hurting anyone, including the helper.  The authors support their argument with experience and expertise in the area of assisting the poor, giving readers valuable ministry advice.

The book is conversationally written, providing in-depth principles to implement.  Each page provides wisdom and therefore, should be carefully read and digested.  I poured through every page eager to learn something new.  The following are two specific areas, which really stirred my soul.

In Part One, the authors lay the foundational groundwork to understanding the key issues around this idea of hurting the poor.  They examine Scripture and true biblical definitions of poverty to get at the core of how poverty is perpetuated.  I expected to see more statistics and cultural or sociological reasons behind poverty but what I found was very different.  Instead, I found that my definition of poverty was altogether wrong.  I was convicted that some of my beliefs about the poor need to change – in knowledge, in finances, in relationships, and so on.  Fikkert and Corbett call it a “god-complex” and they explain:

“The way we act toward the economically poor often communicates-albeit unintentionally- that we are superior and they are inferior.  In the process we hurt the poor and ourselves.  And here is the clincher: this dynamic is likely to be particularly strong whenever middle-to-upper class, North American Christians try to help the poor….” (Pg. 65). 

As I read the book, I identified feelings of superiority within myself.  I was previously unaware of the conflicts such feelings create when serving the poor. Having this new knowledge equips me to better prepare my heart and my mind before entering into any new charitable project.

Oasis International is intentional in its methods as it seeks to encourage a budding and growing church in Africa by providing affordable Christian resources.  Oasis’ walks alongside the African Church to help them create a sustainable Christian book industry, confident that Africans have the intelligence, the finances, and leadership capabilities to maintain it.

In reading this book, I came to understand with greater completeness the purpose of Oasis International--to provide books and Bibles to underserved regions of the English-speaking world where poverty is pervasive. Their mission includes helping the Africans develop and own a sustainable business model that provides long-lasting spiritual resources through Christian literature and Bibles.  Corbett and Fikkert talk about “Finding your Niche” means focusing on either relief, rehabilitation, or development.  Oasis focuses on the toughest aspect of poverty-alleviation: development.  I witnessed Oasis’ dedication to their mission and their commitment to development.  Their professionalism and passion for helping their brothers and sisters in Christ is truly an inspiration.  Through their groundbreaking development work in African communities, hope has been realized.  As they continue to seek further development opportunities in Africa may the LORD bless them with their endeavors.

Nicole Powers was our communications and development intern this past fall. We encouraged her to read When Helping Hurts  at the beginning of her time with us. She read the book and gave us permission to post her review on our blog.

Let the Lion Loose

Our board chairman, Edward Elliott, wrote this a couple years ago after returning from Africa. He's had these same thoughts several times since. He recently found the piece he wrote and shared it with us to share with you.

Let the Lion Loose
Edward Elliott
October 5, 2008

 Some years ago – perhaps 35 – the young student sat in his West African seminary chapel.  Some days ago – perhaps 35 – that seminarian, after a lifetime in the pulpit, recounted to me words spoken in that chapel. “Let the Lion Loose.”  Those words roared into his spirit and provided inspiration and guidance over years of service to his God.

 Those weren’t the only words spoken by Kenneth Taylor, author of The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, translator of The Living Bible, mentor, friend, associate, publisher, writer of books whose words almost certainly impacted you as they have me.

 I picture in my mind an oasis on the plains of East Africa. The animals are alert as they drink.  For the lion is loose.

 Oasis International looses the lion of words.  Words about God, even the very Word of God.  The seminarian, the village elder, the young man struggling to find his way in the crowded, unfamiliar urban jungle, the school child, all listen to the words. Perhaps the words are quiet, gentle as a resting lion, perhaps they roar into his spirit, perhaps they sleep in his soul to wake years later as a call to follow the Christ.

All of them are let loose in Africa by Oasis with the prayer that men and women, young people and children, will find in the words the way to Christ, the inspiration to follow him, the motivation to serve him with all their heart.

 

McKinsey Report Reinforces Oasis' Work in Africa

Africa’s economic climate has grown more in the last decade than we had ever previously seen. Africa GDP rose 4.9 percent a year in the past decade, twice the pace of the 1980’s and 1990’s. A team from McKinsey Quarterly explains this in a recent article: Click Here. According to the report, Africa’s recent economic growth can be attributed to more than just increased sales in resources. The improvements seen through governmental and social efforts also play a part to impact Africa’s economy. For example, they cite government’s action to end armed conflict, improvements on macroeconomic conditions and microeconomic reforms to create a better business climate all helped this growth surge. From these economic conditions, Africa has seen more urbanization, a growing middle class and a larger work force. These characteristics are pushing this economic growth to become a long-term reality.

 The biggest challenge Africa now faces is educating the next generation in order to continue the growth. Experts believe “if Africa can provide its young people with the education and skills they need, this large workforce could become a significant source of rising global consumption and production.” The continent now experiences higher literacy rates than in previous decades, but it still needs to make substantial improvements within its educational systems.

 With Africa’s promising economic situation, the best time to create sustainable industry is now. We contribute to industry growth by publishing and distributing affordable Christian books and Bibles in Africa. Oasis’ vision is to create a healthy Christian book-selling industry in English-speaking Africa. By providing more literature to areas where education is growing, Oasis comes alongside an optimistic future in Africa’s educational system. Oasis is transforming lives by supplying Christian books and Bibles, but also transforming communities by encouraging literacy and education.

Need for Bibles Seen in Trafficked Victims Ministry

Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAAST) is an organization that serves areas in the world where women and children are trafficked.  FAAST has a chapter in Sierra Leone, a place that is a major source, transit and destination country for trafficked persons. Their aim in Sierra Leone is to raise general public awareness and prevention, provide victim care through rapid response programs and to strengthen government’s response to survivors, perpetrators and persecution.

FAAST provides survivors of trafficking with shelter, legal resources and medical services through their rapid response program. Oasis International wants to play a part in helping these survivors. When our President was in Sierra Leone this year, he learned that FAAST needs a supply of easy-to-read English Bibles.  We have the ability to print and distribute two versions tailored for those with lower reading levels.   The New Life Version (NLV) using an 800 word vocabulary has been a valuable tool to the organization, and our Easy-to-Read-Version is built to serve these kinds of needs. FAAST employees who work with the trafficked victims use the NLV to minister to the victims with low educational levels, and they need more Bibles. The work, healing, and restoration achieved in these women is a way we long to see our mission accomplished.

An Open Letter from Our President, Matthew Elliott

I’ve spent the last couple communiqués walking through our new tagline with you: Satisfying Africa’s Thirst for God’s Word. We thought through it carefully; it’s important to us that we share its full meaning with you. Last time I wrote about “satisfying”, and today, I will expand on “Africa’s Thirst”.  Oasis exists because Africa is thirsty. An oasis is water in a dry place, a spring that gives life in the middle of a wilderness or a dessert. The trees, the green, a new kind of land and vegetation appear from a long way off before the waters of an oasis appear. Africa's Thirst, though, is much deeper than any physical need. 

Two hundred million Christians are without a Bible.  Tens of thousands of pastors are without books to outfit their ministry. Moms and dads are without access to advice on how to lead children toward godliness. We describe this lack as spiritual thirst. Thirst to grow in your faith. Thirst to be able to understand the Bible better. Thirst to know how to apply its words to your life. When I traveled throughout Africa this year, visiting Bible schools, the story was the same everywhere – there is a desperate need for books to equip the future leaders of the African church. That is exactly what Oasis is satisfying.   

One other aspect.  A couple hours after drinking water, we are thirsty again, aren’t we?  Isn’t this true with our spiritual lives?  At one time, we thirst to better understand how to love our spouse. At another time we thirst to know how to care for and discipline a toddler. Another time, we desire to know how to lead a small group well. Our needs are constantly changing. Once we experience maturity in one area, the Holy Spirit reveals another area of growth. This is the nature of human thirst.  Each book and Bible provided by Oasis ministers to people in unique places in their spiritual journey. This is what it means to be about the business of Satisfying Africa’s Thirst! 

 

Rwandans Healing from Inner Wounds

Pius Nyakayiro is our first distributor in Rwanda. We made our first shipment to him in 2009. A second shipment will arrive to him in just a few weeks. Pius shares our enthusiasm of bringing quality Christian literature in Rwanda. But books aren't his only ministry.

Pius is Director of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry (GNJPM) in Rwanda. GNJPM serves the country's correctional facilities by providing spiritually mature and equipped Christian chaplains for the inmates. 

Although they primarily focus on the Rwandan inmate population, GNJPM decided to take care of another group in Rwanda affected by the 1994 Tutsi genocide. Now 16 years after, Rwanda is still bandaging up its wounds and pain from this horrible experience. Those who were children during the genocide are now between the ages of 18 to 22. Many are orphans who have not dealt with the issues of pain, anger, and forgiveness for those who hurt them.

Their psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs demanded the attention of GNJPM. They refined the mission of GNJPM-Rwanda to meet the needs of healing, reconciliation, and restoration of these survivors in addition to the original purpose and mission of GNJPM.

In May 2010, GNJPM-Rwanda conducted a four-day workshop on inner healing and forgiveness for the 55 genocide orphans living in Kinyinya - Kigali suburbs. Most were teenagers who survived the genocide but still suffered from many wounds. 

The workshops tackled different topics in order for the participants to experience real healing. The Bible-based topics ranged from: source of tragedies they endured, suffering before the God of love, the father heart of God, trauma and mourning, Jesus the pain-bearer, healing of the inner wounds and forgiveness. 

After spending time in these topics in a large group, they were given an opportunity to share their pains and sorrows in a small group setting. During small groups, each person was encouraged to write down all the pain they had experienced on a piece of paper. Together they crucified their papers on the cross as a symbol of handing their pains over to Jesus, the pain-bearer. Later on the papers were burned and buried as a symbolic act of releasing their loved ones they did not bury and so much more which had wounded their hearts. This was a time of weeping and incredible deliverance.

Their openness in sharing what the Lord was doing in them was confirmation of the inner healing. One powerful testimony came from a women at the workshops:

“I lost all the parents during the genocide, and remained with some relatives who raised me from childhood. When I was still in primary school, I felt they were helping me in everything they were doing for me; as I grew up, I begun thinking whether my parents had left any possessions or material goods. When I asked about this, it became a big problem with my caretakers and they said, ‘They had used my parents’ possessions to raise me up and pay my schools.’ This has brought much conflict and chaos between us, until I handed the case over to the Tribunal to be tried. The court has commanded both my caretakers and the perpetrators who destroyed lives and belongings of my parents to restore whatever goods were misused to the rightful remnants, but nothing has been handed over to me. Consequently, my caretakers chased me out, and I was homeless for 2 years; I could sleep wherever was opened for me, until I eventually got a shelter in this site.

I have endured a lot of hardships; it was too hard for me to get food and other basic needs, and while struggling with this kind of life, a certain man impregnated me. When I had given birth, the man renounced his social responsibility on the child. Because of all those trials, I became a very hopeless woman, and I was convinced that ‘there was no love, God, nor happiness in this world’. I decided to hate God, and all people especially males.

 But these 3 days I have been in this seminar listening to your teachings, my mind is being changed. I have realized that if God was not on my side, many things that were in my life would have killed me. So please, keep praying for me so that I may be changed completely, able to love God, my relatives, and all the people. I want to forgive those who hurt me, I want to care for my child, and I want to begin praying because I had abandoned to go to church, and all prayer matters.” 

Most of the participants were ready to go back to the community to face those who murdered their relatives, and express forgiveness to them. They were also determined to restore broken relationships with their remnant families that had chased them out, since they have believed that their future is in the hands of God Almighty. 

 

Author Spotlight: Shaunti Feldhahn

We recently caught up with Oasis' author, Shaunti Feldhahn. Her book titles include For Men Only, For Women Only, and her most recent, For Parents Only. The former two are guides on how men and women are unique and how they should relate and communicate. We wanted to learn more about her ministry and how these books apply to African culture. Here is the interview. Enjoy!

Shaunti, we hear from our partnering bookstores that your books For Women Only, For Men Only, and now, For Parents Only are having an extraordinary impact. Tell us more about these books and the heart that you have for Africa.

I’m so pleased to hear that these books are having such a great impact. You know, the topics of gender and parenting have universal reach. This is not simply cultural specific material that applies only in the U.S., but it relates to the whole world. I hear from my close Nigerian and South African friends, constantly, that the research I’m conducting and the findings are benefitting them as well. There are some things that are just true about how men and women are wired and it persists no matter where in the world we live. It brings me such joy to hear that men and women’s relationships around the globe are being strengthened because clearer lines of communication are being cultivated.

My books are based on the large amount of social research that I’ve conducted. For instance, I’ve done interviews with hundreds of men about their communication styles, their marriages, and their frustrations to get a better idea of how men process information. At times, at the end of these interviews, I’ve had the chance to share with these individual men some of my findings. I’ve witnessed strong, dare I say, macho-types tear up, feeling understood for perhaps for the first time. I’m able to articulate for men (in this case, but women too) what they’ve struggled so long to express. See, God has wired our brains distinctly as male and female. We’re truly wired differently. Women, for example, do tend to be able to conduct mental multi-tasking far better than men.

Because I have small children I am not able to travel oversees easily. For the time being, Jeff and I focus our time on marriage seminars in the US and developing our website with greater resources and online tools for couples and for parents.

But, I’m excited to hear about the transformation in Africa – just as excited as I would be to hear that men and women who live outside suburban Atlanta are being changed. All of our marriages can have hurts and pains resolved through some of this greater understanding. In the same way, the truths of the Bible are the same across all peoples, all times, and all cultures. And the mandate that God gives men and women – husbands love your wives and wives respect your husbands – is the same no matter the time or the continent. The message of love and respect is the same whether you are a suburban mother, or an African farmer, or a woman living in downtown Jos, Nigeria.

Shaunti, the latest book that we are distributing in Africa is For Parent’s Only. Can you tell us more about the making of this book and its audience?

Yes, this book is really about getting inside the minds of your kids and understanding where they are coming from. It’s geared toward the parents of youth and teenagers . These would be youth between the ages of 11 and 18 – those children who are still at home with their parents, but who are becoming increasingly independent.

So often, I see that parents of these youth have forgotten what it means to be 13…15…17 years old. They don’t get what matters to their children. They don’t understand the increasing ache for freedom. Because of this, they so frequently misunderstand their children, misinterpreting their desire to separate their identity from mom and dad. This book is designed to help parents wake up to the desires, interests, and ability of their children to be independent.  For example, this book speaks to the misnomer of why teens are “allowed” to be emotional, in their mind, but why parents are not. My hope is that, through this book, parents are able to really understand the realities about growing up that, albeit surprising, are true about all children.   If some of these struggles are kept hidden, it will cause them to be disconnected from their child.

To write this book, I surveyed thousands of teens. And I wrote this book in collaboration with Lisa Rice, who at the time had teenage children. The scenarios laid out in the book were the very realities that Lisa was living out each day and which I’m now living out with my daughter as she gets older and as she asks herself questions about what she believes.

Through the writing of this book and as I speak with groups of parents about my social research, I, time and again, claim  the promise of Proverbs 24:3 which says, “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;  through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” To me, this proverb is a picture of an empty house and the question it begs is: “What fills the house? What’s going to fill your house? Is it going to be joy, peace, and delight as you work toward open communication? Or, is it going to be discord?”

My hope is that this book will equip people with the knowledge of what’s going on inside their teen’s mind but they are unable to communicate.

 

Prayer Request from Friend of Oasis--Earle Senn

May 28, 2010
Jos, Plateau State , Nigeria
 
Hi or Sannu abokinmu, Lafiya?
 
Have you ever cried in a library? Perhaps it was a sad story or article you were reading, or maybe as a child you got lost in such a huge place!? Imagine this completely different scene. We are approaching an old appearing building badly in need of a paint job, entering into a large room, also begging for new paint, with the bright, hot, tropical sunshine streaming in through broken, dirty louver windows. There are several long wooden tables with wooden chairs around them and along the walls are wooden bookshelves, with few books on them. “This is our seminary library,” the provost, Rev. Mathias K., was saying sadly, “It is in shambles.” He introduced us to the Librarian, and to the Academic Dean, Rev. Sunday Congo, and started taking us on a tour of the library at ECWA Theological Seminary, Kufai, Biliri.  
 
We had been talking with our long time friend, Rev. Dr. Siman Ibrahim, and our host, Danladi Bako, the evening before, and the subject of the Seminary at Kufai came up. They told us that the new provost at the seminary is such a humble, Godly man, and he has been given an impossible job of improving and updating the school within three years. It fell into disrepair over the last 8 years with poor management of funds and staff. The library is only one item in a six page “to do” list that the staff and board have crafted. There is little to work with, except the beautiful hills, valleys, and wooded areas where the school is located, the present staff houses, student housing, many of which need extensive repair– and that incredible sunshine!
 
Back to the tour of the library…The “Periodicals” section, the librarian was saying, has only one updated magazine there and that was a “Decision” magazine from Billy Graham Assoc. dated July 2009! The rest were ragged, various magazines and papers as far back as 1972! The “Reference” section, where instructors had chosen books for their students to read was very sparsely populated with ragged, tattered and torn pieces of paper that perhaps once were books. Most of the bookshelves in the “library” were empty, with a few antique theology books and some interesting thesis books on various topics written by long ago students. The encyclopedia set was from 1972, I believe, and there were a few good old classic theology books. Upstairs in the gallery, the same story, dusty, old, tattered books in the fiction, history, and biography shelves.
 
I cry tears of sadness for what others have lost because of lack of resources, I cry tears of apprehension, that the present students may never have the opportunity of expanding their knowledge beyond a few outdated, worn out scraps of paper still respectably called books, I cry for joy, when I see the possibilities of how much it would mean for them to receive books, many books, railroad containers full of books to stock their library with Bibles, commentaries, Bible study books, books on Christian living, Biographies of great men and women of God, Geography, Theology books, World History, dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and the list could go on, including a regular supply of current, relevant periodicals.
 
Rev. Mathias was so grateful when we said we would see what we could do to get books to him for the library. We told him that many of our friends would give books, give money for books, and look for churches, schools, libraries, publishers, etc. that throw away books because they are a few years outdated, but still perfectly good to use.
 
We are overwhelmed with the opportunities, needs, and the desire of so many Christian leaders to promote a culture of reading in this great country facing so many challenges.
 
OUR REQUESTS FOR PRAYER:

• For the Billiri, Kufai Theological Seminary Book Drive .
• Improvement in the shaky “peace” in Jos area. We were stopped in a long traffic line Saturday evening as soldiers were checking all cars for missing weapons. People are fearful, and incidents are still reported frequently. The 9 pm curfew has been lifted.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRAYING!  
            
LOVE FROM SENN’S  

The Need for the NLT Life Application Study Bible in Rwanda

I was able to visit the large Assembly of God church here in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, this morning. Before the service, we spent a few minutes with the lead pastor.  He would like the church to start a bookshop, the entire country is in great need of Christian resources.  We were on the subject of our project for Africa with the New Living Translation, and he just immediately told us how much Africa needs a Bible that is easy to understand and how much he uses his NLT Life Application Study Bible (LASB) in his ministry and teaching.

 

I was able to tell him that in Kenya, these Bibles are available for pastors and students for great prices through the equipping program with Tyndale.  Wow, he was really excited about that.  They have all 150 pastors from his denomination coming to his church just next week for their national conference.  I shared a short testimony in the service about our literature ministry – as visitors often do in Africa. Later, as he talked about the conference and all the pastors that are coming, he said he was reading this morning and he believed that God wanted their church to bless these pastors as they came.  He wanted people to bring soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste to church next week as a small token of blessing.  In the front they would have baskets for people to put their offerings to bless these rural pastors – many who did not even have the money for a bus ride to come.  Does your pastor need a toothbrush?

Then he said something more.  He said, “you know that leather Bible, the Life Application Study Bible, that I preach out of so often?  Matthew Elliott, the man who greeted us earlier, told me this morning that those are available in Kenya for pastors at nominal costs.  I want to commit this church to giving each one of these pastors a copy of this Bible.  We will find the money.  It will not be next week, but we will do it.”  

What a wonderful way to start the week, and a wonderful way that God had prepared the way.  Here is a pastor that loves his NLT LASB that was also having 150 pastors to a conference this next week.  I just happened to show up to say that we could supply enough of these Bibles for each pastor, at a price that people could afford.  Thanks be to God and blessings to Tyndale for making the program possible!


Matthew