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Women's Training in Uganda

Posted September 15th, 2008 by bob

This spring ALARM Uganda celebrated the graduation of a dedicated class in their Women’s Leadership Training Institute. These women have been ministering in their communities all along, but this summer they have begun leading conferences, training other women in what they have learned through ALARM.

Jessica Okello, ALARM’s Women and Children’s Coordinator for Uganda, reports that her recent WLTI graduates conducted two major conferences so far this year. In April 380 women convened in Ntugamo for training in a topics ranging from Traits of a Godly Family to menopause and pre-marital counseling. Last month 180 women gathered in Kasese, on the border of Uganda and Congo, for lessons on forgiveness and reconciliation and personal character. Both conferences were organized and taught by women who just graduated from ALARM’s leadership training. We are proud of them!

Pastors Graduate in Tanzania

Posted August 18th, 2008 by bob

Last month forty Tanzanian pastors successfully completed their last course in ALARM’s Pastoral Leadership Training Institute. Meeting periodically in Dodoma for the last four years, these pastors faithfully applied themselves to the lessons under the leadership of Justin Kiwovele, ALARM Country Director for Tanzania. Our good friends at Bay Life Church, who have partnered with us throughout this training, completed the task by again traveling to Dodoma for the final course. It was a great week of teaching, followed by a happy celebration!

African Women's Initiative Trip to Congo

Posted July 23rd, 2008 by admin by Ann Jacobson

Blessed are the peacemakers

Posted July 23rd, 2008 by admin

We read in Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (NIV). Peacemaking is part of ALARM’s DNA. In Kenya, when the post-election violence started, the churched banded together into a group called “Hope for Kenya Forum” where pastors and leaders from different tribes and denominations banded together to take a stand against the violence. One comment overheard was “had the church stood up in Rwanda, there would not have been the genocide”. Celestin was asked to moderate that Forum.

We just we heard that Celestin was awarded the PEACE Award by Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology. This Award was to honor NEGST alumni who have greatly contributed to Peace Building and Reconciliation in Kenya after the post-election crisis. ALARM received special mention for spear-heading the Peace and Reconciliation meetings with many Church leaders across the country

You are partners with ALARM and Celestin in this honor. Your gifts enable us to enable the African Church for the reconciliation and transformation of African communities.

Bringing Aid to Lietnhom

Posted June 22nd, 2008 by bob

Through the generous support of our partners, ALARM was able to provide the first shipments of relief supplies to reach Lietnhom, Southern Sudan. About 5000 homes had been burned in last month’s attacks and the families have continued to live under trees and other crude shelters. Racing against the onset of rains which will soon render impassable the road to Lietnhom, ALARM staff members William Ketto and Abraham Ngor brought a truckload of food from nearby Wau. The towns are only 90 miles apart, but it took Abraham and William two full days to navigate the deteriorating road.

We will continue to provide relief supplies to the people of Lietnhom, but ALARM has also begun the hard work of mediation and reconciliation in the community. The feud that brought fire to Lietnhom has evidently been building for 24 years. Ketto met with the community leaders, urging them to resist continuing calls for retaliation and revenge, putting an end to the insatiable cycle of violence. Most agreed that this was indeed the path of life for their families.