My sister, Hannah, has safely arrived in Zambia for her 6 month African Quest with the charity Soapbox.

The ministries we are likely to be involved in are “St Anthony’s Children’s Village” (orphan care centre), “Eagles Wings School” and “Lifeline Zambia” (HIV/AIDS home based care project). Our studies will include Basic Christian Doctrine, African Culture and a week long course with the African Quest founder, John Miles. On Sundays we will be involved in local churches.

I guess my biggest prayer, that I’d ask you to join me in, is that God will equip me, and the others on the team for all He has prepared for us to do over the next few months.

You can follow her blog, which I guess will be updated infrequently during the trip, at: http://hannahafricanquest.wordpress.com

I have been working with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) for nearly two years now, and I praise God for the enjoyment and satisfaction this job gives me. I work with a great team in communications and fund development, and through this work have already had the privilege of meeting some extraordinary people living and ministering in far-flung places of the world.

IFES exists to reach students in every nation with the gospel and to send them into the world to bear witness to Christ and his teaching. This upcoming missions conference is one way of contributing to that purpose, and will be attended by representatives of more than 20 countries from across French-speaking Africa. The conference title is ‘Developing capacity in servant leadership: go into all nations and make disciples’. Participants will look together at the topic of mission in the areas of African conflicts, prayer, fund development, and Islam in Africa.

Many of the students attending will have been young children at the time of the horrific genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Rwanda’s first staffworker, Israel Havigumana, along with his wife and three children, were beaten to death. Many IFES staff and students were killed within the first 24 hours. This upcoming conference is a testimony to God’s faithfulness in the ensuing years.

how you can be involved

pray

Most of all I would really appreciate your prayers. Please feel free to download the IFES regional prayer sheet for Francophone Africa (PDF), which I trust will help focus your prayers for this region. In particular, please pray:

• for safety in travel for the many participants travelling across large distances;
• that participants will grow in their desire to serve their fellow students on campus;
• for my final preparations in the busy weeks before Christmas;
• that my French refresher lessons will enable me to make the most of this fantastic opportunity;
• that the experience gained from this trip will prove beneficial in the coming months.

give

The cost of my attending the conference (including travel) will be in the region of £1,000 – £1,500. Any gifts towards these costs would be very much appreciated. Gifts can be made online by visiting www.ifesworld.org/give/to/07RWA or by sending a cheque to IFES, 321 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7JZ. Please make cheques payable to ‘IFES’ and mark them for ‘Rwanda Missions Conference / Andy Moore’. In the event that gifts exceed these costs, the surplus will be used to support student ministry more generally in Francophone Africa.