January 2007 Report

Anathoth is the headquarters of Africa Upper Room Ministries. On five acres of land near Johannesburg, South Africa, it takes its name from the Jeremiah passage in which land at Anathoth is purchased as a sign of hope for the future. Anathoth is, for Upper Room Ministries, a sign of hope for the future of Africa. This newsletter from staff-person Roland Rink brings news from this important ministry.

Apologies! January has disappeared so quickly that it comes as something of a shock to suddenly realize that it's already February and that the Anathoth Newsletter should've gone out days ago. So it goes.

• We celebrated Zanele's 6th birthday on the 10th January. She is doing very well these days and is very excited to have finally begun her school career. We look forward (with some trepidation) to helping her with her homework.
• We're delighted to make mention of the fact that we have received our Prayers for Encouragement booklets. You might remember that we were hard at work to get the booklet out in December. The booklet is aimed especially at those who are infected/affected by life threatening diseases. We have received an initial print run of 380,000 copies, 180,000 of which we exported to the USA.
  • If you would like copies of the booklet for African distribution, please contact us.
  • Those of you in the US can order copies at a reduced rate from the online bookstore.
  • Learn more about this project or make a donation.
• It was really worthwhile to visit with Lyn van Rooyen at CARIS (Christian AIDS Resource and Information Service). It is a partnership between the Anglican Church and the Fountainbleau Community Church. CARIS provides Christian and faith-based organisations with access to reliable information regarding the HIV/AIDS situation. You may want to visit their website for much more in-depth information. Try www.cabsa.co.za. Our Prayers for Encouragement booklet has found a ready home in this project.
• We were excited to receive an email from AGWM. This is the first Christian radio station in the history of the Muslim-dominated African country of Chad. They broadcast in French, NGambaye, Sara, and Chadian Arabic languages. The station is considered one of the most popular stations in the capital, N'djamena. We are deeply touched to know that each day, in the near future, Chadians will be able to hear a daily broadcast of our French daily devotional, La Chambre Haute, over the airwaves. Our thanks again to those of you who provided sponsorship for the recording of the devotional guide into other African languages.
• Other new African countries that have contacted us that will be broadcasting the French devotional are the Christian radio station in Kigali, Rwanda and Radio Bonne Nouvelle in Gabon.
• The contacts with Chad, Gabon, and Rwanda are almost entirely due to our growing relationship with a group in Cape Town called RAN (Radio Africa Network). Sandy at RAN has been very helpful in connecting us to the many Christian broadcasters on the African continent. If you would like further information about RAN please email Sandy at RAN@kingofkings.org.za.
• Whilst in Cape Town we had a chance to also meet with Irmgard Garthoff of Cape Christian FM (CCFM). We spent good time with her whilst Stephen Bryant was being interviewed by Lyn Baker about the work that AURM is called to on the African continent. (We even received enquiries after the interview about our books and magazines). As Cape Town hosts a number of resident French speakers from all over Africa, CCFM has also begun broadcasting the devotional each day in French. We are looking forward to a long relationship with CCFM as well.
• Whilst Stephen has been here we spent time at Amcare (Alberton Methodist Care and Relief Enterprise). What an amazing mission project this is! It is based at the Alberton Methodist Church on the Eastern side of Johannesburg and within 5 years has grown into a BIG operation. We invite you to visit their website at www.amcare.za.org for a much better view of what they are doing. We hope to be able to work together on various projects. AURM can certainly learn a lot from Amcare.

Perhaps this year remember only one thing: If God is for us, who can be against us?

We go forward!
Roland Rink