ABIDE Magazine

ABIDE MISSIONAL LIVING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2020

The Goers Are Coming Page 10

Covid Around the World: The New Normal Page 12

The Heart of a Missionary Page 5

Its all about the mission Page 17

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE BIBLE, GOD’S HOLY WORD. I WILL MAKE IT A LAMP UNTO MY FEET AND A LIGHT UNTO MY PATH. ITS WORDS WILL HIDE IN MY HEART SO I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST GOD.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE CHRISTIAN FLAGS AND TO THE SAVIOR FOR WHOSE KINGDOM IT STANDS. ONE SAVIOR CRUCIFIED, RISEN AND COMING AGAIN WITH LIFE AND LIBERTY TO ALL WHO BELIEVES.

Buy Authentic African Jewelry and support missionaries at the same time.

www.etsy.com/shop/kingdomfindsco A percentage of your purchase goes towards the missionary fund of The One Commission Foundation

Letter from the Editor Merry Christmas Fellow Co-Laborers, Certainly, this year has been full of challenges but through it all God has been faithful to us. Only in the darkness will His light shine the brightest. So let's focus on what God is doing through it all. I took 2019 off due to fatigue/ burnout. Circumstances forced me to sit and wait. Wait on Him. Wait to move. Wait to see. Wait on Him again.

When the wait was over, He allowed me to see things anew. I can honestly say I have experienced His goodness this year. Just a quick update on me, I took a full time job in February which has eaten up some of my time but has made me more focused and purposeful with the time I have; which is a blessing. 2020 marks the year my media company launched and with it a black missions magazine, ABIDE. No matter what the world looks like and what we must go through, God is not only faithful but He never ceases to pour His favor and grace on His children. In spite of all the protests, racial reckoning, an election coup, and mass deaths in the U.S. and the world, there are reasons to celebrate. Those serving on the field have reported two recent engagements, a marriage, a pregnancy, a baby has been born and a couple of missionaries have graduated with advanced degrees. Even in the midst of 2020 with all its shades of gray, time has marched on in a glorious way. In what ways has God shown Himself faithful to you? What caused you to celebrate this year? Think about it.

Christmas is here! This is the season we set aside to celebrate the baby named Jesus, who came to save us from ourselves. Regardless of everything, we are here to see it. Let the celebration begin! Without Him, this year would have been much worse. If baby Jesus would not have come, where would we be? So if you’re still looking for a reason to celebrate. A reason to praise Him. A reason to shout, then look up. Look around.

We don’t hang wreaths and lights because it's pretty. As Christians, we do it because we are celebrating the baby who came to set us free.

Let’s take the time to celebrate each other and celebrate Jesus, our savior.

Because He Came, Jacinta Russell Editor in Chief

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THE HEART OF A MISSIONARY

A Year of ‘And’

By B. Gardner

HOPE BEGINS IN CHAOS “Whatever hope there is, there is something deep within each of us that cries out in expectation. Sometimes it sounds like a whisper, but it is there. Yet, while hope springs from the depths of the soul, it often comes out of the shadows. Hope begins in chaos.”

Dante Stewart

T

o say that this year has been full of chaos would be an understatement for many. The words above from Dante Stewart (from his Advent devotional, Prophesy Hope) have struck me as I reflect on this year drawing to an end and look ahead to a future holding so many unknowns.

To say that this year has been filled with hope would also be a grave understatement. Hope has been overflowing, spilling out, even in the most despairing circumstances.

It is easy to bypass hope if you’re not intentionally looking for it.

Continued on page 5 ABIDE | 3

GLOBAL FACTS

There are 6.9 bil ion people in the world. ay Christianity Tod SA

Joshua Project

researc people 3h shows of th to the g .23 billion DO Nose 6.9 billion known Cospel. Meanin OT have access the gosp hristians near g, no church o r them to el. receive

e U research shows th ber of um sends the highest nonaries in cross-cultural missi r with the world by fa s (in 127,000 missionarieings 2010), however, thing. could be chang

The Pew Forum study finds,more than 1.3 billion Christians live in the Global South (61%), compared with about 860 million in the Global North (39%)” Global south is Africa, Asia and Latin America. The population of th e G.S. is growing at a rapid rate and so is the Christian faith.

If Christianity is growing in Africa, then our church’s campus ministry is strategically placed to reach, equip and mobilize future Christian leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our prayer is that we would not stop there, but Zambian students would see the need to reach the people in Northern Africa who are unreached.

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Continued from page 3 Added to a litany of ongoing injustices felt not only throughout the world but in deeply personal ways, COVID-19 has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives. We have all had to adjust to new ways of living, working, worshipping, and....even waiting.

As we enter into Advent, a season of waiting, following a long year of unexpectedly doing just that, a few reflections come to mind.

Stewart reminds us above that, “whatever hope there is, there is something deep within each of us that cries out in expectation.”

What is it that you are expecting?

Whether it’s whimpering or wailing, what is that thing deep inside of you that is crying out in expectation?

Whenever I hear or read the word ‘expect,’ the word ‘wait’ comes to mind.

I think about what is on the other end of that expectation and think about how I have to wait to receive it, wait to get to whatever it is.

In our culture, we tend to wait with bated breath for the things that we most hope for, or wait bracing ourselves against the things we most dread.

We either wait for or brace against leadership changes in our organizations, our churches, our communities, and our countries. Some of us wait for classes to start while others are waiting for classes to end. We wait for long-anticipated events — birthdays, weddings, baby showers, graduations — those events we have poured our hearts into and then had to adjust, and then readjust, and again readjust our plans. We wait for the dreaded events to pass. We wait for health to improve. We wait for relationships to be restored. We wait for a child to return to our

family…to God. Perhaps for that child to join our family in the first place. We wait for a job offer or housing approval. We wait for restrictions to be lifted in our home countries or host countries so that we can connect with our loved ones without using a screen. We wait for a vaccine to be approved so we can “return to life as we knew it.” We wait for the prayers to be answered and the promises to be fulfilled, even if the time that passes whittles away at our confidence. We wait to feel settled as the chaos swirls around.

And in the waiting we also hope.

I don’t think Stewart’s words are exclusive to Believers. For many around the world who don’t know Jesus, there is something deep inside that is crying out. They are hoping for an answer, though they may not know exactly what answer they are hoping for, and seeking to fill the void in their hearts any way they can. We who are believers know that the only Way these voids can be filled is by believing in Jesus, but it seems that as we wait for Him to show up in our own lives, we often forget there is a world that is also waiting to hear of His goodness.

“From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”

Acts 17:26-27 How do we wait and not act at a time when it is more apparent than ever that things are not as they should be?

And in the waiting we also hope.

If there is one thing I have learned this year, it is that things which seem diametrically opposed can often co-exist in the most beautiful ways. This is why I am calling this my “year of ‘and’.”

Continued on page 15 ABIDE | 5

Call to Christian Discipleship Q: What is Christian discipleship?

A: Christian discipleship is our response to the call of Jesus Christ to follow Him. It involves a counting of the cost and a total commitment to Jesus Christ, so that the whole of our life is given to seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

(Taken from Baker’s Bible Study Guide)

There are four levels of discipleship: Come to Me (Matt. 11:28) Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest”.

Learn of Me (Matt. 11:29) Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls”.

THE ONE COMMISSION FOUNDATION Fellow Helpers of the Truth 3 John 8 PURPOSE

Missionary Care: to keep their names, faces and ministries before the body of Christ and to share His burden of love for missionaries with churches all over the U.S. Mobilizing: to mobilize the black church to the mission field Financial: to provide a grant to those currently serving in a cross-cultural ministry

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Follow Me (Matt. 16:24) Jesus said to his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”.

• Offering to pray for our missionaries—through our prayer initiative • Support missionaries through our grant program—online gift or through Kingdom Finds

Remain in Me (John 15:4) Jesus said, “Remain in me and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me”.

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• Learn about our many programs and opportunities by visiting us online at www.theocfoundation.org or email us info@theocfoundation.org

HAPPY BIRTH 8 | ABIDE

The reason we have

HOPE

HDAY JESUS! ABIDE | 9

Students we minister to in Zambia along with students visiting from another ministry South Africa

The Goers are Coming

by Tim Byrd

Email comes in...

Me: “Wait, you would like to leave your home country… right now and go with us to share the gospel in a place you have never been?”

Them: Yes, sir.

Me: Tiyani! (Let’s go!)

When people say they are interested in joining our team during a global pandemic, I don’t think it is inappropriate to do a double take. C. S. Lewis’ eloquent words come to 10 | ABIDE

mind, either you are a liar, lunatic or Jesus is Lord. They are not liars, because they have already sacrificed so much just to say, “send me. I will go.” I do not think these people have lost their minds, they have counted the cost and are ready to go. (Plus, the psych eval says they are good to go!) That only leaves the fact that Jesus is Lord! The Holy Spirit is moving in the hearts of young people amidst such turbulent times and we are so thankful.

Matthew 9:36. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a

shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Three weeks ago, I had a conversation with a Zambian, who is studying online for his Master of Education, and all he wanted to talk about was serving students with the gospel alongside us. Today, while prepping lunch, I got an email from a single American woman who graduates in May. She heard we are looking for a home schoolteacher/nanny to join our team. She is graduating in May with a degree in elementary education and wants to teach overseas! It is not just staff who want to join, but people around Africa are longing to help reach students in their cities. I have at least two emails from Kenyans and a Nigerian emailed me yesterday asking if we can come do ministry there! NOW!

We cannot put a face mask over our sin and hope we are safe, we need to preach the gospel, and sometimes that means going!

There are 3.23 billion people without access to the gospel. I would say we are just getting started!

Do you know what it takes to reach the world for Christ? Goers like the new staff I just mentioned, prayer warriors and senders like yourself. Everyone has a role in fulfilling the great commission. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of YOUR story!

In His Grip, Tim, Niai, Thandi, Ledi, Melo, and Neo Serving Zambia

One of our first Bible studies

Discipleship group

Discipleship group ABIDE | 11

Covid Around the World: The New Normal

By Josephine C. Areo

I

spent most of the teenage life in a boarding school far away from home.

Mom took me to a good boarding school. We had many students whose parents managed to provide adequate school/personal requirements. Unfortunately, I was not among those…I barely got around in terms of personal/school requirements.

Beginning of term always was bright as we came back to meet our friends that we missed over the holiday but mostly as it had become a custom for most students, many looked forward to coming back to open their metallic boxes (thank God it was mandatory for every student to report with a metallic box and not a leather suitcase, because I couldn’t afford one ) just to brag about how much snacks and other personal requirements they had brought, I dreaded those moments. Not that it was mandatory but there was always that group of kids who never rested until they knew what every one’s “status “was!! I always waited for a time when no eyes were gazing my way in order to open my almost empty box. Sometimes I would open it at an angle being careful that no one sees; otherwise, I risked being laughed at!!

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To my mom, beginning of school term meant going to school and not coming back till end of the term. Even with unpaid dues, my mom, like any other parent, never anticipated me coming home until closing day. She always assured me she would clear the dues before the school asked students that defaulted to go home. It was never easy for mom though. I recall times that I had to go home because I defaulted. My mom, with a downcast look on her face, hands on her waist and her eyes trying to fight back tears as I walked towards her, would ask why I didn’t go to my aunt who lives near school instead, and find a way to get the message to her. But a kid always wants to come home.

As a single mother of two plus other children under her care, it was not that she did not love or miss me but rather my coming home unexpectedly meant more financial burden as she now had to figure out how to get transport to take me back to school, to pay back the person I had borrowed from (I never really had pocket money) on top of paying off the school arrears. And not to mention the food portions for me. In a frustrated tone, mom would say, “One day, you will grow up

and see what I mean.” Well, I have grown up and indeed I see what she meant. I am a mother of two and many others, YES life is tough.

My situation might be a little different from my mom’s in that all children sponsored under us go to school with most of the requirements (Praise God for the sponsors that have come alongside us). But just like mom, every time I receive a phone call from them, fear tends to quickly find home in my heart…” Now what? Is one of them sick? Is the school claiming that we have not paid full tuition? Has one of them been suspended?” those are all questions I have to wrestle with prior to answering their call. March was no different when the boys called to inform us that school was prematurely closing because of the pandemic. But just like many people here, I thought “Well, it will soon pass. A week or two and the boys will surely get back to school. For now, the boys will have an opportunity to join the rest in the Young Men’s Bible Study. Also, they will help at church with gardening.” What I did not realize is that this was going to be quite a journey. A journey none of us was ready for.

As days turned into weeks, it begun to dawn on us. Our government put up harsh restrictions as the country battled the pandemic (like the rest of the world). The once dusty road is settled and empty, as police ensured that residents stayed indoors. Life in the neighborhood once vibrant became dull.

Bewail (my neighborhood) was as silent as a grave!! No more ear-piercing music blasting from old radio speakers as our neighbors try to drink and dance their troubles away. Gone were the days when you would be awakened by drunkards, staggering their way home thinking their singing joyful songs or cursing the night about their frustrations, all that was

gone. One would think the silence meant peace but no, not at all. Fear and worry lurk all over. Everyone seems to have a story to tell. From a single mother who does not know where her next meal will come from to feed her kids, to young students all gathered around a tiny radio listening to a teacher because the government thought it helpful to provide classes over mass media (e.g. T.V. and radio). Some Bewail students cannot afford electricity let alone T.V. We had to struggle

“

ONE BY ONE WE HAVE SEEN GOD ANSWER OUR PRAYERS. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GUIDANCE! with these new drastic changes. “Okay, now Lord, what?” was constant on our lips “what do we do?” The children are at home, the city is on lockdown, parents hardly have food to feed their children. We prayerfully asked questions, we sought God to give us wisdom, and open doors, as we waited for Him (sometimes impatiently) to do something about the obstacles we were facing.

One by one we have seen God answer our prayers. Praise God for His guidance!

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Continued from page 13 We were able to stumble upon a software program that was custom-made for Ugandan schools following the recognized curriculum in the sciences and math. We quickly called the company and they promised to come and install it on our computer at a fee. This program has been a tremendous help to our students to continue studying during this lockdown. We are looking forward to all that can be achieved with this software especially as there has been no talk of the re-opening of schools for non-candidate classes (e.g. primary, secondary tertiary graduates). This is bound to stimulate the thoughts of the boys to understand science subjects more than just theoretically as is the norm in the education system here.

Through the one-on-one interaction with the boys, we also discovered that with the closure of churches, their bible reading had diminished to nothing. We have got the boys to start reading the gospels – each reading a different one. This has developed into a oneon-one bible study session to encourage the boys to really read and seek to understand God’s word and how it applies to their lives.

This will hopefully open their eyes to what daily devotions are and their great importance to the Christian life. One of the boys confided that he had tried to read a verse a day before but failure to be consistent with that, led to reading one verse in 4 days! He’s reading many more of the words of life now.

Our homeschool was also immensely affected as I had to stop bringing in Elizabeth and Irene for a while though I continued to teach Israel. Two months back, Jeremy, whose mother is my friend joined him in class. Also, recently I was introduced to another 10-yearold boy from the neighborhood. Apparently, 14 | ABIDE

he is in grade two, but his father told me that his son has in the past not been academically successful due to an illness he suffered during birth. Teachers in his school took advantage of his situation to just bypass him. Indeed, when I evaluated him the first time he came, he was low, but I thank God that he is picking up! It has just been a few weeks with him, and he can already read a few 3 letter words. The girls are also back now, but they have forgotten much of what they learned, and we have had to begin again with the A, B, C’s and sounds.

It should be noted that the COVID home learning package provided by the government that our boys walked 7 miles to school to retrieve in late May was completed by August. Our assistant met with them twice a week to ensure progress in their work on the package, including research and discussions to increase understanding. The boys have shown their commitment by their consistency in keeping time and working on their corrections as directed.

Our desire, by the grace of God is to equip all the children that are under our care with adequate tools for them to realize their full potential. But above all we disciple them. The reason why we love to spend time with them is so that we can teach them to obey all that Jesus said. We most importantly need your prayers that the Lord would show us how to continue ministering in this new way. Also, please prayerfully consider financially supporting this endeavor.

Continued from page 5 I have long believed that the conjunction ‘and’ meant that something has to give way to the thing that follows. Joy and grief. Fear and excitement. Anger and acceptance.

I’ve looked at the ‘and’ more like ‘or’ and operated as if I could experience either but never both at the same time. But like good Southern mac and cheese (I’m still thinking about my Granny’s Thanksgiving dinner), often the ‘and’ invites the two things in question to live a life intertwined, interconnected, displaying beauty that could not be experienced were they to remain apart from one another.

So righteous anger does not have to move out of the way for acceptance to exist in its fullness. Joy shall not slink into the darkness when — not if — grief arrives, but they both breathe in the same air and then you and I, as believers, get to decide which has the last word.

And we get to decide which has the last word based on God’s true and everlasting word.

The more I wait, sitting in the ‘and,’ the more I believe “returning to life as we knew it before the pandemic, before social unrest, before 2020” should not be the goal. Perhaps we are being invited to hope for something

different, something better, something bigger than what we’ve known. Perhaps we’re being invited to dream about things that we’ve never seen, and believe God in deeply transformative ways for His glory’s sake alone.

What would that mean for you?

Expecting. Waiting. Hoping.

For some reading, the word ‘wait’ will bring to mind passivity. We can think that waiting only means readying ourselves for what is to come, or even that waiting means doing nothing at all. But oh, dear loved ones, this hope-filled waiting is very much active. God is calling us into something and as we respond to His invitation, we live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28) and if that very expression of faith isn’t full of action, then I don’t know what is.

As you wait, consider what it is you are waiting for. Perhaps, Who it is that you are waiting for.

The season of Advent is all about waiting....waiting for Jesus. We wait for Jesus, we hope for Jesus, we live for Jesus and I can’t think of anything better in this world of chaos.

This space could be yours.

Advertise with us!

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Ambassadors Fellowship, Inc (AFI) is an African-American, international, interdenominational missions-sending agency that seeks to extend the kingdom of God throughout the world, especially in areas that are least reached or unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For nearly 40 years, we have provided opportunities and sent missions-minded youth and adults, particularly people of color, to reach the new world with the Good News in places, such as: AFRICA • Benin* • Ghana • Kenya • Liberia • Morocco* • Nigeria • Sudan ASIA • Afghanistan* • India*

NORTH AMERICA • Dominican Republic • Haiti* • Mexico* • Puerto Rico • United States* EUROPE • England* • Spain • Turkey

*We currently have long-and/or short-term missions opportunities in these countries.

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – Corinthians 5:20‐21 (NKJV)

Ambassadors Fellowship

P.O. Box 92298 Washington, DC 20090 719-345-0012 x1 www.AmbassadorsFellowship.org

Its all about the mission Pastor Andre Landers Higher Living Christian Church

2 Timothy 2:3-4 All that matters is the mission.

We are soldiers in a war. Commit to following orders and the mission.

Master our weapons- the Bible; it is written

Have sense of: • Fidelity - faithfulness. Thine will be done (Luke 14:26-33).

Forsake all and follow Him. Those Entangled in a war can’t be entangled with affairs of this life.

• Focus - Lack of will frustrate faithfulness (Matt. 13:22).

Keep eyes on things above and not around.

• Fight - be mean to the devil. Fight with what you have.

Know you’re fighting on the winning side.

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