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Myanmar Cyclone Relief
CAMA, the Alliance relief arm, will be making contact with C&MA church leaders in Myanmar to help with recovery efforts after a tropical cyclone ravaged the country. The death toll from a tropical cyclone that ravaged Myanmar could exceed 100,000, according to a U.S. envoy.
The figure is almost five times the 22,000 fatalities estimated by the Myanmar government. A United Nations official reports that nearly 2,000 square miles are still under water. Lack of clean water, food, and medical supplies have prompted fear of communicable disease. Yangon, the main city, and surrounding rice-growing areas have been the hardest hit. The C&MA of Myanmar has a Bible school there as well as ministries in neighboring villages.
"A compassionate response during a disaster tangibly expresses Christ's love and opens doors for other ministries," said Phil Skellie, director for CAMA. "Our initial goal is to raise $250,000 to assist with providing clean water and food, essential housing supplies (cooking utensils, basic furnishings) and materials for rebuilding homes."
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Chilean Town Evacuated from Unexpected Volcanic Eruption
For the first time in recorded history, the Chaitén Volcano in southern Chile erupted unexpectedly on May 1. The remote town of Chaitén, 10 miles south, was totally unprepared for the rain of toxic ash that fell from the skies. The cloud rose as high as 12 miles, and areas extending into Argentina turned white with ash. The Chilean government immediately began emergency evacuations, mostly by ship. Within two days, most of the 4,000 residents of Chaitén escaped, including all but two of the 60 members of the Alliance church there.
On Saturday, May 3, Claudia Saez, a Chilean Alliance official worker, also left the city. Pastor Juan Cartes, president of the Southern District of the Chilean C&MA, reports that all church members are now safely out of the town, most of them staying with relatives in other cities while some fled to neighboring Argentina. It is uncertain if or when they will be able to return.
General Alejandro Crestá, a member of the Cordillera Alliance Church and in charge of the 10th Region that includes Chaitén, flew with President Bachellet to view the destruction. Crestá?s wife is supervising all the military personnel that were evacuated to Puerto Montt, a port city in southern Chile. All their wives will be attending an Alliance Women?s Encounter next Saturday. "What an opportunity for the C&MA to minister healing for so many in this disaster!" said Alliance missionary David Woerner, who serves in Chile with his wife, Lou Ann.
Pastor Cartes requests prayer for the church members who will face a serious economic impact. As of May 5, the eruptions continued and further evacuations were in motion for rural communities under the falling ash.
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Alliance Church Ministers to Chilean Professionals
More than 100 people celebrated the first service of Church of the Vineyard in its new building in Penalolén, an upper-class community of Santiago, Chile, on April 27. "We held a communion service to dedicate the chapel to the Lord in recognition of our dependence on God," said Alliance missionaries Bob and Cheryl Fugate. "From the very beginning, this has been a work of the Lord. Many who attended the service have seen the testimony of the power of God in their lives and in the ways in which Church of the Vineyard has grown from five families who began meeting in the living room of missionaries Bill and Patty Hall in 2003."
More than 400,000 of the country's top leaders and decision makers live in the immaculately landscaped community of Peñalolén, where no evangelical church exists. A major challenge in sharing Christ has been making contact and forming relationships. "There have been tremendous spiritual struggles that have only increased as we approached the opening of the church," said Bob and Cheryl. "The Church of the Vineyard is the first to lift the cross high in this suburb of Santiago."
The congregation expressed special gratitude for a short-term team construction team from the DuBois Alliance Church in Pennsylvania. "The team members tirelessly gave all they had to help us open our doors on April 27," said the Fugates. "Without their help, our first floor would remain unfinished, with just rough cement." The team's commitment to the Lord to come to Chile and help build the church was a major testimony to the congregation. "The team members shared time with families in our congregation and built more than a building—they built bridges of love connecting two churches thousands of miles apart. They built eternity in the hearts of Chileans."
?Jesus promised to build His Church, and He has done so in Peñalolén, Santiago, and we are deeply grateful to be a part of His work in this place,? said Bob and Cheryl. ?Your faithful prayers and support have made it possible for The Christian and Missionary Alliance to open our church where we minister to the least-reached people in Chile.?
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Unanimous Decision in Dusala
In the remote village of Dusala in Gabon, West Africa, a recent evangelistic outreach produced stunning results for Alliance missionaries Lisa Nicky and Karen Fitch. Fifty men, women, and children attended the event, which was planned after Dusala residents had asked for someone to come teach them about God.
?Our pastor, Mbanza, gave a simple yet powerful gospel presentation,? says Nicky. ?As we bowed our heads to pray for the Spirit to touch hearts, Mbanza asked if anyone would like to receive Christ.?
When the women looked up, they saw the entire group stand in unison to accept Christ as Savior. ?I believe they came ready to follow Jesus,? Nicky says. ?An old man in the crowd was holding a Bible, and I had a feeling that he had been planting seeds prior to our arrival.? When Nicky?s closing prayer was translated into the local dialect, applause broke out, and someone shouted, ?Come back.?
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AWF Facilitates Global Missions
Alliance church presidents and leaders from nearly 50 nations attended the Quadrennial Assembly of the Alliance World Fellowship (AWF), held in Santiago, Chile, for the purpose of engaging all C&MA national churches as equal partners in God's Kingdom. Peter Nanfelt, former president of the U.S. C&MA, was elected North America representative during the April gathering. A highlight of the event featured an official welcome from the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. Arie Verduyn, president of AWF, described the government recognition as a "breakthrough for evangelicals" in a country that has been strongly influenced by Catholicism.
Many of the churches represented at the assembly are now sending their own missionaries to other countries. Of the 1,500 C&MA cross-cultural workers serving in the nations of the world, 400 are from non-North American churches. "Dr. Simpson's vision for the unreached people of the world continues to become reality, and we remain fully committed to the goal of 'bringing back the King,'" said U.S. C&MA President Gary Benedict.
The Alliance World Fellowship was founded in 1975 with the goal of uniting national Alliance churches in a global network for missions. The mission of AWF is to facilitate cooperation among its member churches as they work for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
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