News

Burkina Faso Flood Aftermath

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 12:59:21 +0100

On 1 September floods hit Burkina Faso. Nearly a foot of rain fell in 12 hours. In fact in one day ¼ of the annual rainfall hit the capital Ouagadougou. This was the heaviest rainfall to hit the country for over 50 years and some are pointing to climate change as the cause of this exceptional weather.
Many people have lost their homes with the Guardian newspaper estimating 150,000 have been made homeless. Churches and schools have been used to house the homeless along with temporary makeshift shelters.
A couple of weeks after these floods first hit, Michael Cook (Mission Africa’s Scotland Representative) visited Burkina Faso.
“Coming into land at Ouagadougou airport it was all too easy to see the scale of destruction inflicted by the floods. The difference between lush green fields (not flooded) and the silted, mud covered areas that had been flooded was very clear. In the city itself, I could see whole areas that had been flooded where houses were either badly damaged or destroyed altogether.

Flooded farmland City after floods (bottom of picture was flooded)
Once on the ground it was good to see that the flood waters had mostly retreated. However, stories abounded of people made homeless and even churches destroyed. Most of the houses are built with mud bricks and without concrete. Once they have stood in water for a few days the lack of good foundations results in the house collapsing. It was good to hear of churches reaching out and housing those in need and also giving out food. On my last day in Burkina I was pleased to see good progress being made for a new church being built in the Capital (previously worked on by the Tyrone Team). This has good strong foundations and should be able to survive future floods.”
Please pray for Burkina Faso which according to the UN is the third poorest country in the world.

Africa Conference Scotland

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 09:52:14 +0100

6th-8th November, 2009
Dunblane, Scotland

Churches House
1 Kirk Street,
Dunblane,
FK15 0AJ

Sid and Jean Garland – Sid is Director of Africa Christian Textbooks and theology lecturer at Theology College of Northern Nigeria. Jean works at the Spring of Life Centre an HIV/AIDS ministry in Jos, Nigeria. She is the author of the highly influential book “AIDS is real and it’s in our church”.

Liam & Colette Hannah – Liam and Colette both taught theology at the Peter Achimugu College of Theology (PACT) in Ankpa, Nigeria. They have returned home and Liam is now Director of Undergraduate Studies at Regents Theological College.

Rev. David Onuche – Visa’s permitting we will be joined by the Rev. David Onuche who is a United Evangelical Church (UEC/QIC) missionary in Edo state. David is passionate about church planting and evangelism and will provide a very valued African perspective to this years conference.

David Miller – David is a well-known speaker on mission and a respected lecturer at International Christian College in Glasgow in Cross Cultural Mission. He previously served in Japan with OMF.
The weekend conference will also provide an opportunity to meet some of the new and prospective long-term and GAP candidates, hear from some recent short-termers as well as home-based staff.

Weekend & Day Conference Options
This year will be the last Weekend Conference for the foreseeable future – if you have considered coming for the weekend in the past, this might be your last chance! The weekend option will begin at 9pm on Friday 6th and conclude at 3pm on Sunday 8th November. All meals and accommodation are included. Spaces are limited this year so please book early to ensure your place.

We also offer a self-contained Day Conference on Saturday 7th November. Registration will be at 9.30am and the last session will finish at 5.30pm. Lunch and refreshments are included. Children are welcome free of charge and childcare will be provided by volunteers from a local church.

Day Prices
Saturday Day (9.30am-5.30pm)
£15.00
Saturday inc. Evening & Dinner (9.30am-9.00pm)
£25.00

Weekend Prices
Full Conference (Fri – Sun)
£102.00 single/£90 shared
Saturday–Sunday Only
£70.00 single/£60 shared

Click Here to Download Booking Form

New GAPPERS 2009

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:27:04 +0000

6 New Gappers have just set off to Nigeria and Burkina Faso in February to serve God in different ministries.

Robbie Strachan, from Bury St Edmunds in England. He’s 18 years old,
has a gift for languages and is very musical – both of these talents he
plans to use during his placement in Burkina Faso with the Nash family.
He’ll be working alongside Jeremy helping out with schools ministry in
the local primary and secondary.

Chris Duncan, from East Barnet in England. He’s 18 years old and
passionate about discipling young people in their faith and sharing his
enthusiasm for sports, whilst also developing leadership and preaching
abilities. He will be working at the STILL WATERS Centre at Ogugu,
Nigeria for 6 months.

Chris Banks, from Dundonald in Northern Ireland. He’s 19 years old and
doesn’t go anywhere without his guitar strapped to his back and art
materials in hand. He is heading out to Ogugu, Nigeria for 6 months to
work with STILL WATERS and wants to use these talents to share God’s
love with those he meets.

Ryan McQuitty, from Ballymoney, Northern Ireland is 20 years old and is
giving up the comforts of home for a year to serve God in Ogugu,
Nigeria with STILL WATERS. He’s an energetic guy who’s willing to get his
hands dirty and step in where needed and serve.

Debbie Beverland, from Ballyclare, Northern Ireland is about to turn 21.
She has served with her Church in her local community and feels her
gifts are working with young people and now wants to use these gifts
overseas. She will be working at EMS with City Ministries in Jos, Nigeria,
for 6 months.

Elle Herbert, from Bristol, England has just turned 20. She’s heading to
Jos, Nigeria to work at EMS, City Ministries for 6 months. She feels called
to serve others, especially children who might be going through difficult
circumstances, whilst strengthening her faith in God and experiencing
life in another culture.

Jos Riots

Thu, 4 Dec 2008 12:36:51 +0000

Local government elections took place in Jos on Thurs Nov 27, but before the results were announced, in what looks like a planned assault, early on Friday bands from the Hausa community, many with guns, some in fake Army uniforms, took to the streets in three days of killing and burning.

Many people, including the Government security forces seem to have been taken by surprise. Many lives have been lost on all sides. Churches and mosques as well as many shops, homes and vehicles have been burned. Pastors seem to have been a target and several have been killed. At time of going to print, Jos is still under partial curfew, but is beginning to cool down, though in some areas tension remains high.

All the Mission Africa staff in Jos are safe and well.

Please pray for Jos in the aftermath of the riots, that peace would return and that there would be just retribution for those who committed criminal acts; pray that the hands of those who seek peace, reconciliation and reconstruction would be strengthened.

Summer Teams

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:40:05 +0100

This summer has been very busy with 6 different teams and almost 60 people going to Nigeria to serve God in many different ways.

In June a group of 4 Theological Lecturers were the first team to spend 10 days in Jos. They were teaching at a Conference for Lecturers from Bible Colleges all over Nigeria. The conference brought together 175 registered participants from over 60 institutions. Dr Graham Cheesman, Director of the Centre for Theological Education, Belfast Bible College, gave the keynote addresses on Theological Education. Dr David Smith (ICC Glasgow), Dr David Shepherd (Belfast Bible College) and Prof Stephen Williams (Union Theological College) led sessions and seminars. The conference tried to highlight the importance of theological education for the future of Christianity in Africa, and the conference was given considerable TV and radio coverage.

The First of 3 teams in July was from First Carrickfergus Presbyterian Church. Even though they had a delayed start because of visa difficulties, they set to work building new accommodation at the STILLWATERS centre in Ogugu, Kogi State. They also really enjoyed all the kids and community work that they were able to do, they really boosted and encouraged all those involved in the work of STILLWATERS.

A team from Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church built and renovated accomodation for the boys at Gyero Streetkids centre. They also were able to do a range of kids clubs, Bible studies and discipleship groups with lots of kids and teenagers both at the streetkids centre, but also at a special needs school and with kids who had been affected by HIV/AIDS.

At the same time a team from Lowe Memorial Presbyterian Church were in Kagoro, in Southern Kaduna state. They were trying to reach out to several different groups sharing God’s love with them. In particular they were building a school for Fulani children, and they were able to make amazing links with the local Fulani Chiefs who were very welcoming and grateful that the team came to offer their children a chance of an education.

In August the 2 STEP teams were very busy. The streetkids team was leading a camp for 100 former streetkids as well as spending time teaching them, building relationships with them and helping them to know more about God.
The sports team was traveling all over Northern Nigeria, doing sports outreaches in different cities. They were able to hold a camp for 30 kids in Jos to spend time getting to know more about God as well as improving their football skills.
To find out more about the STEP teams read their blog here: http://www.missionafrica.org.uk/blog.html