I grew up as an abandoned street kid in the slums of Harare in Zimbabwe, becoming something of a small-time terrorist during my teenage years in the revolution against the old whites-only Rhodesian government. You may have heard me share this in my testimony or read my book, Out of the Black Shadows.*
When I was a kid, I hated white people and I hated Christians, because I thought they were the cause of my misery. I even went with some friends one evening to bomb an evangelistic tent meeting in Harare. That was the evening when Jesus got ahold of me and turned my life around. I found healing for my wounds and hatred, and became reconciled with so many people I had thought were my enemies.
In fact, when I joined AE in Zimbabwe in 1984, I began to work in the ministry of the Gospel alongside a white man named Chris Sewell, who had been a policeman for the former white government. His job just a few years earlier would have been to arrest or even kill a rebel like me. And if I had had the opportunity during those years, I probably
would have sought to kill him also. Chris became a Dectective Inspector and I became a Gang Leader.
Yet Christ brought us together! Our testimony as a black former terrorist and a white former policeman who had both come to Christ and to friendship, forgiveness and reconciliation impacted people in a powerful way wherever we preached together.
Chris and I were, and are, by God’s grace, living proof of what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
That message, my friends, continues to be powerfully communicated and lived out through AE’s Reconciliation Ministries, directed by my colleague Emmanuel Kopwe. What a privilege it is to be entrusted by the Lord in taking this message of reconciliation to some of the most traumatized places on earth!
Won’t you share in this privilege with us by praying for this work and responding with a generous gift that will enable us to continue our ministry of reconciliation in Africa?
Of late, I have been so burdened about the state of the Church around us and the world. The Church is not living In the Promised Land as it were, but in Babylon. I mean The Church for which Jesus Christ died. Somehow, the Church has come up with so many artificial revivals, self anointing mixed with the prosperity gospel. It is a Church that does not like carrying the Cross and following the "Man of sorrows.” Our present Church lives in too much luxury, little time of prayer with a cup of coffee. The brothers and sisters who began that vibrant Church in the book of Acts would be shocked and cry if they came back to life today. Hence there is need for restoration of the Church today.
A good picture from the Bible is about the children of Israel. They began their journey from Rameses in the land of Goshen. That was the beginning of God’s deliverance from the bondage of the Egyptians to the Promised Land. It was history in the making. As long as they continued talking with the Lord and obeyed His commands, they also continued enjoying the peace and the fruits of the land. They enjoyed good health and victory from their enemies around them. Later, this is what God said about Israel: “You are the children of the LORD your God…. for uou are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.” (Deuteronomy 14:1a
and 2)
Unfortunately, when Israel sinned against God, they were taken even further from the Promised Land into Babylon under the cruel king Nebuchadnezzar. God used a eathen king to punish His own chosen people. Yes when you look in our present map, you will see where Babylon was situated. Those are the same nations who have become a menace today.
The state of the Church in a country portrays the state of the nation. The increase of corruption in high places, immorality, drugs, divorce, unresolved conflicts within the church;
indeed, that must tell us that something is seriously wrong with the Church. The Church, in a way, has compromised its stand and has become complacent. And it is at this present state that the Psalmist in chapter 80 cries for God’s intervention for salvation. There is a deep cry beckoning God the Great Shepherd of Israel to save them. In verses 3, 7 and 19 the Psalmist repeats himself begging God to restore Israel. Now, restoration is actually bringing something back to its original condition. Oh God Almighty, bring us to our original condition. The Psalmist’s cry was: “Restore us, O Lord God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Oh my earnest prayer is that African Enterprise will continue to stand as a ministry which will address these issues and never compromise the truth of the whole gospel.
Our beloved partners, may I urge you to continue to stand with us so that we may never compromise the truth of the word of God. I want you be encouraged that we are making
these great exploits for the kingdom of God because of your prayers and financial support. Thank you a million times for all that you mean to us.
Yours for the extension of God’s Kingdom
Stephen Lungu
International Team Leader
COUNTRY PROFILE
COUNTRY PROFILE -DRC(Democratic Republic Of The Congo)
The Congo is one of the richest nations on earth and nearly a third the size of Australia. Yet much of its wealth remains unrealised or has been plundered by other countries. Within the borders of the third-largest country in Africa are untold deposits of diamonds, oil, uranium and gold, not to mention the vast water resources represented in numerous lakes and rivers, especially the Congo River, Africa’s second-longest after the Nile.
While new signs of hope for a peaceful and prosperous future for the Congo have arisen in recent years, the country has experienced nearly 130 years of exploitation and mismanagement by a succession of poor leadership. Originally colonised in 1885 by King Leopold II of Belgium, the nation gained its independence in 1960, only to have its first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, assassinated by troops loyal to army chief Joseph Mobutu, who seized power in 1965, renaming himself Mobutu Sese Seko. The country itself has known numerous names, from the Congo Free State to the Belgian Congo, to the Republic of the Congo, to Zaire (Mobutu’s chosen name) to the current Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to distinguish it from its northern neighbour, now called the Republic of the Congo, which was colonized by France and whose capital is Brazzaville. The two countries are also sometimes distinguished by including their capital city names and referring to them as Congo-Brazzaville or Congo-Kinshasa, Kinshasa being the capital of the DRC.
FAST FACTS
CaptitalCity:Kinshasa,
population 8
million
Population: 69,000,000
Life
expectancy:
54.4 years
Unemployment
Rate:Unknown
Infant
Mortality:
81.21
deaths/1,000
live births
HIV &
Aids Adult Prevalence:
4.2%
Literacty: 67.2% of population
age 15 and over
who can read
and write
French, Lingala,
Kingwana, or
Tshiluba
Population
with Access to Safe
Drinking
Water: 42%
Human
Development Index:
139th out of 177 countries
Mobutu positioned himself during the Cold War as a staunch anti-communist and so earned the support of the United States, which lavished foreign aid on the Congo, much of which went into Mobutu’s Swiss bank accounts, making him one of the world’s richest people during his lifetime. After the end of the Cold War and the ascension to power of a Tutsi-led government in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide there, the Rwandan military began to make forays into eastern Congo to quell violence perpetrated by exiled Hutu militias.
Rwanda, backed by its ally Uganda, threw its support behind the rebel troops of Congolese leader Laurent Kabila, who swept Mobutu from power in 1997 and installed himself as president.
In the ensuing years, the Congo became a battleground among at least five competing African nations who sent their troops to do battle and plunder Congo’s rich natural resources: Rwanda and Uganda, initially backing Kabila but then turning against him, opposed by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, supporting Kabila. Kabila was assassinated in 2001, with his son Joseph assuming the presidency in his place. Elections widely viewed as free and fair in 2006 returned Joseph Kabila to power.
What has become known as Africa’s World War has claimed at least 5 million lives since 1998, with unspeakable atrocities, including at least 40,000 rapes, accompanying the deadliest conflict on the planet since World War II. Thankfully the worst of the violence is now in Congo’s past. A new hope for peace has dawned even in recent months, as one of the main rebel leaders in eastern Congo, Laurent Nkunda, was arrested earlier this year in a joint operation between Congolese and Rwandan forces. This was an encouraging cooperative effort between the two former enemies.
The AE Congo Team, working with Emmanuel Kopwe, AE’s Reconciliation Ministries Director, has been investing in Congo’s hopeful future. They have brought political, business and church leaders together in numerous gatherings designed to heal wounds and trauma, foster forgiveness and effect reconciliation among a fractured population. Thus, despite its tortured past, there is a Kingdom way forward for Congo into peace and prosperity, with AE making a significant contribution.
PROJECT NEWS
GIVING HOPE TO STREET CHILDREN
ACCRA, GHANA
Imagine you’re at a stoplight in downtown Accra, the capital city of Ghana. You see scores of street children, seemingly everywhere. Several come up to your window to beg for money or food. Some offer to shine shoes, or try to sell you food, newspapers or electronic gadgets. Others just amble around, doing nothing. Their faces show strain and sadness, their clothes are rugged and dirty and some appear hungry or ill.
Experts believe there are about 10,000 street children in Accra. Surprisingly, the majority of them actually live with their parents, but do not go to school. Tragically, their parents cannot afford the school fees. So they spend their days on the streets, where they’re often abused and traumatised.
Because a nation’s development depends on the character and abilities of its youth, Ghana’s potential will be limited by the impact of potential future leaders who have no education, few skills and little discipline. Indeed, youth are the pillars of a country’s future.
In response to this looming crisis, African Enterprise in Ghana spearheaded a practical, three-year skills training program for street children. It began in 1995, and enables kids to acquire life skills and earn an honest income so that they can provide for themselves and their families. They learn trades such as dress-making, hairdressing, refrigerator and air conditioner repair, auto mechanics, carpentry, welding, aluminium door and window construction, video
filmmaking and photography. AE evangelists have many opportunities to introduce the kids to Jesus Christ, with many of them coming to faith.
African Enterprise provides the tools and equipment required for the training, such as sewing machines, hair dryers, toolboxes and so on. When the street children complete their course, they are allowed to keep the tools and equipment that are vital to their work.
So far, 350 street children have graduated and another 100 will do so by December 2010. Early graduates of the program have established small businesses and are going to school in the evening. African Enterprise is excited to witness the way in which the street children project powerfully impacts the lives of children by enabling them to become financially independent and even provide for their families.
SEPTEMBER 2009
GOD MOVING IN UGANDA
Greater Kampala Mission
“Pray for me! I am looking for a way to get saved,” a Ugandan student implored his roommate a couple of weeks before AE’s Greater Kampala Mission in July. Thankfully for his student, Stephen Lungu, AE’s International Team Leader, went to Kampala to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to every sector of the city. Stephen’s passionate preaching convicted both the Ugandan student and his roommate such that they gave their lives to Christ with joy and thanksgiving. One of them had been involved in armed rebel activities in the past and so Stephen’s story of having found forgiveness in Christ for his own violent past spoke powerfully into this young man's life.
The enthusiastic response to the Gospel demonstrated by these two young men was characteristic of the many thousands of Ugandans who found Jesus because of AE’s outreach efforts. One of the mission committee members, Benoni Mugarura-Mutana, noticed a young man listening intently to Stephen’s message and fiddling with the strap of a bag hanging from his shoulder. When, at the end of his message, Stephen invited any who wanted to give their life to Jesus to come forward, Benoni smiled as he watched this young man bolt forward, running up to the platform to find Christ.
Several police officers, who were asked to guard the mission platforms and equipment at
night after the evangelistic rallies were over, asked AE’s David Masiko, “Why don’t you
tell our boss so that we could come earlier and listen to the message?” David did just this
and, after the mission, received a request from the police for Bibles, which he gladly took
to them so that they could read God’s Word.
Prior to the evening evangelistic rallies, AE organised medical outreaches to provide vital health services to
citizens of Kampala, many of whom stayed around afterwardto hear the Gospel and participate in the rallies.
On top of this, AE partnered with Scripture Union and other student ministries to evangelise the schools and universities around Kampala in the month leading up to the mission. As a result, thousands of students have come to know Jesus.
The Congo is one of the richest nations on earth and nearly a third the size of Australia. Yet much of its wealth remains unrealised or has been plundered by other countries. Within the borders of the third-largest country in Africa are untold deposits of diamonds, oil, uranium and gold, not to mention the vast water resources represented in numerous lakes and rivers, especially the Congo River, Africa’s second-longest after the Nile.
Imagine you’re at a stoplight in downtown Accra, the capital city of Ghana. You see scores of street children, seemingly everywhere. Several come up to your window to beg for money or food. Some offer to shine shoes, or try to sell you food, newspapers or electronic gadgets. Others just amble around, doing nothing. Their faces show strain and sadness, their clothes are rugged and dirty and some appear hungry or ill.
In response to this looming crisis, African Enterprise in Ghana spearheaded a practical, three-year skills training program for street children. It began in 1995, and enables kids to acquire life skills and earn an honest income so that they can provide for themselves and their families. They learn trades such as dress-making, hairdressing, refrigerator and air conditioner repair, auto mechanics, carpentry, welding, aluminium door and window construction, video
African Enterprise provides the tools and equipment required for the training, such as sewing machines, hair dryers, toolboxes and so on. When the street children complete their course, they are allowed to keep the tools and equipment that are vital to their work.
The enthusiastic response to the Gospel demonstrated by these two young men was characteristic of the many thousands of Ugandans who found Jesus because of AE’s outreach efforts. One of the mission committee members, Benoni Mugarura-Mutana, noticed a young man listening intently to Stephen’s message and fiddling with the strap of a bag hanging from his shoulder. When, at the end of his message, Stephen invited any who wanted to give their life to Jesus to come forward, Benoni smiled as he watched this young man bolt forward, running up to the platform to find Christ.
Prior to the evening evangelistic rallies, AE organised medical outreaches to provide vital health services to