allen steve shawn 1994 benin

8/12/2019 Allen Steve Shawn 1994 Benin

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(y CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP Prayer NewsletterApril 1994

B PSavaiou, BerWescAfr

THIS JUST IN ... URGENT NEWSAt 4:30 p.m., Monday, February 28, inSavaiou, Benin, theAliens* carexploded leaving nothing buta charred frame anda holein the road

No one was injured, and no other property was damped.Amechanic was working on theJeep - which hadnotrunfor five months ~ and was driving the car into town to pickupa battery hehad charged. As he pulled into the road infront ofthe Aliens house, the car stalled. Instead oftryingto restart thecar, he instinctively got out to look under thehood. Ashe rounded the front of the car, there was anexplosion under the hood. Most of the village heard itandran in with handfiils of sand. The hood could not beopened because of the heat. After 15 minutes allwas lost.sThe Aliens or even someone else could have very well beenin the car

Although this turned outto be yet another way for the Aliens to witness tothe village in regard toGod s peace and protection: the Aliens are nowwithout transportation Thankfully, they can presendy borrow afriend s car and pay them mileage reimbursement: ^however this can be done only for ashort time B fjTheprocess to buy a new vehicle usually takes two andone-half months from the time the money is paid in fulluntil the car is delivered. The current prices for a family carrange from 17,000 to 30,000.TheAliens have decided thataToyota would best meettheir family and ministry needs, atabout the middle-priceamount for a vehicle. Please pray about their choice, vehicleavailability, negotiations, and timing of the delivery.

II


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America is... my baby sister s wedding firsttime Steveperformeda wedding.).

PRAISE GODThat: We safely traveled 8,000+ miles on furlough. We returned to find our house in perfect order. No one was injured when our car recendy blew upand was destroyed by fire. Our femily was in anothervehicle. We found great encouragement when we visited ourteammates in language school in Quebec, Canada.PRAYWITH USThat:

We may smoothly move through theprocess for ourlong-stay visas. Steve can locate and receive quickly the three cratesrecently shipped from the USA for our team.

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Christian Missionary FellowshipP.O. BOX 501020

INDIANAPOLIS. IN 4 62 50 -6 02 0

Address Correction Requested

We can ready our teammates house in Savalouwithout encountering major problems. We are diligent in learning Fon and in makingfriends in Savalou. Wewill be free from sickness and injury.Thank you for your time, for your continued prayersfor God s protecdon and for your support inso manyways.In the name ofourGod~ WonderfiiULa Fac M lk, /IrLLSTlfLa Famille Allen

Please Note:The postal system in Benin has been on strike so thatthe Aliens have 6een unable to get any mail out. Theyare hopeful thrfme strike is being setded and that theycan begin getting letters in the mail.

APR-< 04 ^6 6 956

y.S.POSTAGE^ 0 .2 9 S

Miss ion Serv i cesEdi to r i a l DeptP 0 Box 2427Knoxvi l l e TN 37901


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Steve ShawnALLf]v^

B P 85Savalou, BeninWest Africa SteveShawn

Clarkori

CHRISTIAN MISSIONA-RY FELLOWSHIP Prayer Newsletter

June 1994Buckets, Barrels, and BasinsThe King ofSavalou and the local government leaders calledan emergency meeting ofall religious leaders in the Savalouregion, which includes villages withina 10-mile radius. Onebyone theseleaders were asked if they had done anything toanger theirgods. Each in turn responded, No.Finally, after a period of thoughtful silence, theking spoke.Hismessage was clear and strong. Thewells were dry, thecisterns were empty, the reserves were gone, and, at theirbestestimate, the water in city tanks could hold only threemore days. He paused to let the seriousness ofhismessagesinkin.Then hemade a strange request: all those presentwere to spread theword that everyone should prayto theirgod(s) whoever that maybeand not stopcrying outuntil rains came an d filled the reserves, wells, and cisterns.That nightthevillage was filled with frantic activity.Obviously, themessage had indeed gotten around and theevents that followed again proved how serious everyone sawthis situation to be

All night long, theoldmen andwomen tapped on little

Procession ofnew voodoo initiatesparadepast ourhouse.

Ceremony withfour revenants men possessed bya spiritfro mthe dead

drums designed especially to call the rain. All night long,the members ofall thevoodoo covens dancedand sanginthe streets,without clothes ona ceremonydesignedtoentreat thespirits tosend rain. All night long, thehandfulofChristians prayed forGod tohave mercy andsend rain.And all night long, the villages watched and waited inwonder and fear. These ceremonies ha d no t been neededsince the timeof the grandfathers.The next morning hungheavy over the village. The rainshad not come,and itwasa sunny, cloudless day.We, too,became very concerned about thesobering consequences ofno rain and, therefore, began gathering water in ll buckets,barrels, and basins we could find. It was quitea feebleattempt to protect ourselves from the impending drought.This s a truestory. I share it not to drawyourattention tothewater problems here but, rather, to illustrate where ourfirst threemonthsafter furlough have brought us.

LV'V;-'-.

Our barrels, buckets, and basins.

Ourphysical wells have been rundryaswehave mademorethan 13 trips to Cotonou, eacha 500 km. (about310miles)round trip. Wespent over 60 hours ingovernment officesfilling out paperwork for thegovernment; worked over 130hours ofphysical labor in readying our teammates housefor theirarrival; andprepared for the arrival of threesum m er interns

Our emotional cisterns have been emptied. First, we bought agas fridge that didn't workproperly forsixweeks,continually spoiling all food stored inside of it. Then, ourcarexploded, necessitating a support raising letter and,consequently, a fair doseof humble pie. In themidst ofallof this,wehave had 27 overnightvisitors and a countlessnumber of guests for meals and refreshments.Ourspiritual reserves have been depleted. The month ofMarch wa s th e first t ime in it iat ion in to voodoo covens hasbeen openly celebrated since 1967. The days were filledwithbizarre processions pastour house ofwomen dressed in


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initiation costumes wailing, moaning, andcarrying theiritems for sacrifice. The nights were filled with oeriedrumming and chanting. This lasted for 30days around theclock.

Alsoat that time, a close friendofours-- a strongChristianwas falsely accused of sexualimpropriety. And, finally,throughout these past monthswe have spent many seeminglyfutilehours trying to initiate aworkin cooperative effort witha local Benin church reachingout to th e Fon Maxi.

Just aswith a watershortageinou r outer lives, in ou r innerlives wecan sense physical,emotional, or spiritual shortagesand look to temporary falsesolutions similar to ou r buckets,barrels, and basins filled withwater. But, just asour collectedwater supply can last usa onlyfew days,so do our humanattempts at inner peace act onlyas a cruel placebo. Theseattempts include more sleep,more paperwork, morequestions like why, and moreinward focus.

Tlje cross weput upforEasterin themidstofthefrenzy ofvoodoo coveninitiations.

The result of rain dances and rusty righteousness?Well.Godsent rain in abundance and everyone seems to haveforgotten their time ofneed and panic. Likewise, God'shealing Spirit acted like oil in our souls, and our times ofneed now seem likesilly inconveniences.In addition co words of eiicuui.-.gcincuC from seme friendsand loved onesat home, and new friends and challengeshere, God chose to include miracles to provide even furtherhealing in our lives and work here. Read on and praiseGodfor each miracle He gave us These are the mighty results ofyour prayers.God provided away for our teammates to arrive over onemonth early.God made our government physical take one day instead of

1God made the process go without ahitch for the granting ofour temporary resident cards and one-year visas.God got the crates safely out ofport and delivered toLangstraats' house inone week (normally a two- tofour-week process).God provided aperfect house for our teammates and willingmen to work in it.

Steve and Shawn AllenChristian Missionary FellowshipP.O. BOX 501020

INDIANAPOLIS. IN 46250 6020


God gave Steve theperseverance andwisdom to fix ourfridge that now works without problemsGod provided the funds for our car, some encouragingletters, and an almost new truck to buy at aI miraculously low price.God provided little opportunities to get away fora few hours to renew our spiritsbetweentimesof fellowship with visitors.God more than doubled the number ofpeoplestudying in thediscipleship group in

Savalou.I God provided ways for us to talk to and shareChrist s love with peopleduring theheightof th e voodoo ceremonies.God made the truth known to all concerningourIJjsSHIIi friend, and all accusations ofsexual

^ misconduct were withdrawn.Amd, wcare thankful that God is right nowworking out thedirection ofourwork here andgiving usa peace about it.

od smiracleshave made us ashamed to evenlook at ou r buckets barrels, and basins ofwater,bu t we leave them out ~ full of water as aconstant reminder that we are verymuch a partof those Jesus calls ye oflittlefaith. Yet, even so.He graciously continues to overflow our inner wells,cisterns, an d reserves with PeaceShalom

Im Farrwlk, kUJBHLa Famille Allen

P.S. Wewere able to finalize the purchase ofour landcruiser onJune20. All funds needed to purchase it andpaycustom tax have been received. We are so thankful to Godand to you.

Our miracle trttck

NoaprofiiOiganiuiioDU.S.Poitage

Pomit No. 2975Io


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Steve ShawnLL N

B.P. 85Savalou, BeninWest Africa

\

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP PrayerNewsletter

September 1994

Is Voodoo f o r Real?( 1 most asked question in lettersfrom thispastquarter)

VOODOO: A religious practice based onWestAfricanspiritual traditions ...marked by... a belief in spirits whocommunicatewith believers in dreams, trances, and ritualpossessions.^ Theword voodoo can be traced to vodu( spirit or deity ) in the language oftheFon peoples ofpresent-day Benin.[1.As defined bvAmerican Heritage College Dictionaiv.ThirdEdition.2. Voodoo byKarenMcCarthyBrown. FromTheEncyclopedia ofReligion. Mircea Eliade, Editor-in-chief. Vol. 15.pp.296-301, 1987byMacMillan Publishing Co.]Here, weSTILL remain foreigners. Our skiniswhite, ourlanguage isdifferent, and, basically, weare just notinsiders. In ourquestfor information aboutandanswers to this much-asked question, we felt like outsidersmorethan ever. Thesamequestion asked five timeselicited five conflicting responses; and toomany questionsmade people suspicious andmore quiet. For this reason,wehavechosen, rather than to simplygive youourmonosyllabic response, to relate several experiences andsituations to you. Thenwewill leave you todecide theanswer to this one looming question: IsVoodoo forreal?....A friend ofmine recently hada baby. About amonth afterthe birth, I saw the babywith three healingwounds oneachhand and on hothfeet. Plus, tied aj-ound the baby'sneckwas a necklace with a leatherpouch sewed to it. Overthe next weeks, I began to notice that almost all childrenwore this leather pouch necklace. Later I found out thattherearedried herbsand special powders insidethepouch. Most adults have the three scars on their hands andfeet.The leather pouchand itssecret contents serve to sendaway thespirits thatmake teeth appear tooearly, in thewrong place, ormalformed. The scars are to protect thebabyfromanyspirit that has beensent through a spell tobringsickness.So,whatdo you think? Arethesejustwives' tales andfolklore, or /s Voodoofor Real?Onenight,Anatole our friend and fellow Christianarrived at our housedistraught and confused. The headwitch doctor had just come to hishouse to inform himthat hisbrotherwas about to 1^1 gravely ill. The spirits hadtold the witch doctor this terrible news, bu t the witchdoctor assurai the fainily that this could beavoided if theright sacrifices were made. Anatole immediately refused tomake anysacrifices and refused all responsibility foranything that might happen.

After a few days, thewitchdoctor came back and said thathe, too, was absolved from responsibility because he,himself, hadmade the sacrifice (abottleof gin). But,headded he could not be surethat th e weresince the ftmily,themselves, had no t beeninvolved in the ceremony.So, everyonecontinues toBjV wait and watch to see ifthe^ ] brother will live.Is thisjust a drunk,demented old man or IsVoodoofor Real?E^chday. I encounter

Anatoie, the older man, is a hideous, thick,potential church Uader. His short scars ringing theirmother is in a coven. Gotdfois, head, shoulders, and neck. Itheyounger man, isnot a have been able to learn thatChristian, when a woman enters acoven (a secretsociety), the

members must cut he r inthis way sothatherspirit cancome andgoatwill. This isalso done so that other spirits mayenter her at anytime.Later in life though, when thewoman eventually dies, herspirit then becomes trapped inherdead body. The otherspirits in thespirit world must thenbecalled (throughsacrifices) to bringout or liberate thedeadspirit. The usualsacriBce includes a chicken, goat, ingams, oil, tomatoes,and alcohol.

You decide. Are these just local ghoststories, or Is Voodoofor Real?If, at any time, amember ofa coven isoffended (someonetrips her, steals from her, calls heran idiot), herspirit

Pastor'sfamily: Francoisand Franfoise;twin six-year-olds,Christine and Christianne; three-year-oldBeronice; twinone-year-olds, MatthewandPhoebe.


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if A^V,^ - ,

n~^S5K^: --V --'kS^y^ :^4 ?i:

Family Wiki: brotherMaxime; Grandtnama holding one-dayoldPhoebe; Papa CiCi;Mama Nona; andson Enoch (on chair),al l a r e b r an d ne w Christians.

immediately leaves herand wanders freely inthevillagedoing evil things to everyone. The offended woman is thenbanished to live alone on the mountainside until sacrificesare made to the other spirits toconvince them to bring thewandering spirit back to the banished, offended woman.1 he eventual reuniting ofbody and spirit once again iscelebrated in ahuge drumming and dancing ceremony.This ceremony usually lasts several days around the clock.It's up toyou. Just another reason for a party, orIs Voodoofor Real?Weare sure thatyou probably still have many questionsjust as wedo That s okay. And ifyouwrite and ask, we'lltry to answer what we can. But what's more importantthan learning about and observing Satan's perverted holdon the minds and souls of these people is joining us inpraying for thepeople pictured on thisnewsletter and for the whole Savalou region.The church in Savalou is growing with now |over 50people present each Sunday. Plus, in avillage where wewere asked to comeand teachand help lead in thebirth of a new church,there is an average of60 adults alone who ^attendweekly.God's light is, indeed, penetrating this darkcorner ofSatan's kingdom, but, ^ ofthis isnot going unnoticed by Satan either. Pray E wespecially for the new Christians. Persecution lUmhas begun for them. Their families arethreatening to turn them outand to take awayail their possessions. Prayer is our only weapon againstthese things.

Steve an d Shawn AllenChristianMissionary FellowshipP.O. B OX 5 01 02 0

INDIANAPOLIS. IN 46250 6020


Julianandfamily:Julian (son ofvillage chief); wife Clementine;five-year-old Valencia; andfive-month-old Tanya. They are notyet Christians.

Let me closewithonelaststory...A member of the church shared about Christ with amiddle-aged woman who was very powerful inhercoven.She met in secret several times to learn more about Jesus.Finally, grasping at least a small bit of truth, shedeclaredthat all her life had been spent in doing evil and n servingthewrong master. That very dayshe went home and toldeach ofher children that if they followed her example ande nt er ed t h e c ov en t h at s h e would kill them.No, thisisnot salvation, norhassheyetunderstood thewhole Truth. But it's astart Satan was exposed toher forwhat he is th e Evil DeceiverAnd that's why we are here: to make astart in replacingSatan's lies with theTruth. OnlyGodcan do the rest.

Marching onourknees inBenin,i.Za frmil-c, AU^AiLa Famille Allen

Marffurite isa newChristian u n d erpersecution by herfamily.

Noopcoflc OrgaoiiaiiooU.S. Poitxge

Pcfinii No. 2975lodiaaapolit, lodiuii

Mission ServicesEdi t or i a l DepP 37901KnoxA ill

allen steve shawn 1994 benin

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