Oasis International

How You Can Pray for Nigeria and Our Ministry

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 1:9 NIV

Dear friends,

Kano, a predominately Muslim city about 4 hours north of Jos suffered serious attacks on government facilities this past Friday. More than 200 people are reported dead. We must ask why? Boko Haram, an Islamic sect, believes that we are made right with God by keeping the law. Because of this, it is their goal to implement sharia law throughout northern Nigeria. But in doing so, they are bringing only death, deception, destruction and despair. The Bible tells usthat no one can be made righteous by keeping the law—it only shows our sinfulness (Romans 3:20)!

What—who—is the answer? Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus and his sacrificial death on the cross that we are made right with God (Romans 5:9). The Living Word, Jesus, as revealed through God’s Written Word, is the answer. Through Christ, the Prince of Peace, come life, light, liberty and love. What a contrast—who said theology doesn’t matter?

That is why Beth and I are serving in Nigeria with Oasis, to bring this Good New of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. Beth does this daily as she teaches fifth graders at Hillcrest. Her ministry goes even farther. As she teaches students from missionary families, their parents are able to focus on their assignments which also bring the Gospel to Nigeria—Bible translation, theological education, evangelism and church planting.

Daily, I serve along with our 30 colleagues at Oasis through Bibles and Christian literature. It is as the Church gets its theology right and comes to know the Living Word that Nigerians will experience the peace of God in their hearts and lives.

How is Oasis doing that, and how can you pray with us? Let me share three ways:


1. The Preacher’s Outline and Study Bible-New Testament is a beautiful and helpful three volume set that helps Bible teachers and preachers to “get the Gospel right” and give well balanced spiritual meals to their listeners. We are able to distribute this in partnership with Leadership Ministries Worldwide because you have given generously. We have 1400 sets currently in the port and a few in stock. Please pray that these will quickly be cleared and released.

2. We also distribute affordable Bibles that are even more afforable. Many of these are used by students who are taught the Bible in government and private schools; others are used by the people in the pew. Last year, 2011, we distributed record numbers of Bibles. But at the present, we have none, and we are unaware of any basic Bibles that are currently available anywhere in Nigeria. We expect to receive 45,000 pocket Bibles around May. Please pray with us for the quick availability of basic Bibles in Nigeria.

3. We distribute The Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation in partnership with Tyndale House Publishers. These are made available to Christian workers—Pastors, those teaching Bible in schools, theological students—for less than $10. Another 5280 are also on the way. These are tremendous resources to help these Christian leaders to communicate the Gospel clearly. There are documentation problems that need to be resolved. Please pray for quick clearing and release of these Bibles.

Please also pray for the peace of Nigeria, coming through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Thank you for continuing to pray for us and our ministry.

Serving together with you,

Craig and Beth Ewoldt

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.

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.

 

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

Bringing Books and Bibles to the Bush

President, Matthew Elliott wrote the following on April 16 while in Nigeria.

Today I am to JETS, Jos ECWA Theological Seminary, to speak with a number of professors about a Bible project we are working on to meet some specific needs in Africa.   Meetings went well, and people were enthusiastic.  Yesterday, I was out in the bush at a small Bible School.  It seems they have over 200 students with another 200+ part-time students. About 100% will be pastors or are currently pastors.  There is no electricity on campus, but they do run a generator for a couple hours at night to keep lights on in the library. Speaking of the library, the bookshelves cover perhaps an area 14 by 4 and are up to my chest. Most volumes are worn and out of date.  

Before our trip, our team was in contact with the administration to plan the day we should come—which allows the students to prepare, bring money, and even order for friends or other local schools. When we arrived and classes let out, there were five tables full of books—a mini bookstore—waiting under a mango tree.  Students rushed to the tables, and soon we had a very active crowd looking and buying.  For the next two hours this continued, with a steady stream of students coming as their classes let out.  We had an entire section of product that is $.30 to $.80 – 50 to 100 Naira. Many can only afford a booklet or two in this price range.  But, many buy books and Bibles for $3, $5, or even more. We even sell some $30 reference books, including two copies of the Africa Bible Commentary.  

As we prepared to leave, a woman came who had been hanging around a lot, to buy one last $2.50 Bible that we had to get out of the van...  But that is not all. A few miles down the road, we received a phone call. Another student from a smaller Bible school was following behind us on a motorcycle.  They asked us to pull over into the parking lot of a local church.  In a few minutes, we had a customer that needed six Life Application Study Bibles as part of our pastors Bible program with Tyndale, where students and pastors receive a Bible, paying only manufacturing and shipping costs.  In all we had sold 15 of these this day. Sales are somewhere over $500.  We requested the number from this student of his school so they can now have a book fair of their own someday as well.

We have been able to distribute hundreds of books and about 100 Study Bibles at this Bible school over the past year or so. The Study Bibles, for most, will be the only major reference book they own as they enter full time ministry.   The team will visit two schools next week, one being an overnight trip after a full day’s drive. The administrators gave us a final testimony about how the work of Oasis has so greatly increased their students’ access to the particular books they need to become future pastors and leaders.  I thank God that we can be a part of filling these great needs.

Sharing the Gospel with Muslims

Dear Friend,

 

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.  (Habakkuk 2:14)  

It is only a matter of time until these wonderful words come to pass.  In some small way the work of Oasis is to see this prophecy fulfilled in part until God brings it to pass in all its fullness. We are working every day to increase the knowledge of the glory of the Lord around the continent of Africa through the distribution of books and Bibles that teach and grow the church.

Just last week we learned we had run out of the book Sharing the Gospel with Muslims in Nigeria and need to reprint as soon as possible.  That means hundreds and hundreds of people are doing a better job in their evangelism after reading this important book.  This is a book that teaches people how to love their Muslim neighbors to Christ, in a land where almost 50% of the people follow the teaching of Islam.  Now that is increasing “the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.”  And that is what the mission of Oasis is all about.

Maranatha,

 

Matthew Elliott, PhD

Pictures from the Pre-Marriage Counseling Seminars

Please enjoy the pictures from the Pre-Marriage Counseling Seminars that took place in Jos, Nigeria last week.

Summary of the Pre-Marriage Counseling Training Seminar in Nigeria

Below is a brief summary by Craig Ewoldt, on the Pre-Marriage Counseling Seminar that was given in Jos last week. 

 

We have just finished 8 days of training for Pre-Marriage Counseling with Alan and Donna Goerz as presenters. The Goerzes, SIM Missionaries from Ghana, have spent 33 years in West Africa. They say, “Our vision is to see Christ-centered marriages and families transforming churches, communities and nations throughout Africa.”
 
It has been an encouraging and profitable time, with more than 400 pastors and counselors in attendance in three cities in Nigeira—Abuja, the capital, Kaduna, and Jos where Oasis is headquartered. We encouraged those attending to bring their husband or wife—about 80% attended as couples.  
 
Alan began the seminar with a parable about a well equipped hospital with well trained staff located at the base of a beautiful mountain. Every day the staff was busy treating people brought off the mountain with injuries. Some even died despite the excellent care they received.
 
One of the doctors went up on the mountain himself one day, remembering the training in climbing his father gave him, and using the equipment he had stored since he was a young man. What if he was to teach others what his father had taught him? What if he was to provide equipment to help others climb safely?
 
Upon his return, he mobilized the hospital staff to do exactly that. Soon, the number of patients needing treatment dropped significantly, and most injuries were much less severe. Now the staff was spending most of their time in training and prevention rather than on treatment of injuries. The lesson is, of course, that it is far better to equip young couples for marriage than to try to repair broken marriages. And training counselors to do this is the focus of these seminars.
 
Each seminar was two days—the first day was training to use the excellent Pre-Marriage Counseling Manual and workbook which Alan and Donna have written. The second day was marriage enrichment. The response for both days was very positive. As a matter of fact, the participants lined up to ask when we could hold them again. Several volunteered to help us next time in promoting the training to their fellowship or denomination. They see the need for training, and the potential there is in helping young couples prepare for strong, Christ centered marriages.

Pre-Marriage Counseling Seminars Trained Hundreds in Nigeria

Dear Friends,

I got an exciting first hand report yesterday detailing a project Oasis is supporting.  A Pre-Marriage Counseling Handbook was developed in Ghana and is now distributed throughout our network in Africa. It speaks specifically to African needs and provides an essential training manual for pastors and leaders in local churches.  Along with the manual, pastors are equipped with handouts they can use in counseling engaged couples. We know of no other resource of its kind in Africa.

Last week Oasis sponsored a series of training seminars in Nigeria given by authors Alan and Donna Goerz.  Hundreds of pastors were trained and equipped to counsel engaged couples in their churches. Each of these, in years of ministry, will counsel hundreds of couples. We expect that the number of marriages built up through this training may reach as high as 50,000 in the next few years.  A strong understanding of Christian marriage is essential to building a mature church in Africa.

Blessings,

Matthew Elliott, PhD

President

The Purpose Driven Life Swahili

We had the privilege this year to partner with ICM (International Christian Ministries) in the translation of Purpose Driven Life (English) to the language of Swahili.
 
We were excited to be offered this opportunity which also allowed us to be involved in the final publication process —from edits to the interior text to the book cover.  The result is a strong product birthed by the efforts of many—a true example of the Body of Christ at work.
 
We recently shipped the books along with additional Oasis titles to Tanzania (a major Swahili population), Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.  With the help of our distributors in those respective countries, the books are being processed through customs and clearing and delivered to designated locations also including Eastern DRC and Burundi.
 
Thank you Dr. Phil Walker, President of ICM-USA, for allowing Oasis to be a part of this exciting project.  Thank you to all that support and pray for Oasis and our efforts to provide Africa with great Christian literature at affordable costs.  We are humbled and grateful.

*Picture Above--Customer buying The Purpose Driven Life-Swahili at CLC Kenya's booth during the Nairobi Book Fair, September 2009