Steve & Shawn

ALLEN
B.P. 85

Savalou, Benin
West Africa

Steve,

Shawn, Clark,
& Tori

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP Prayer Newsletter

February 1996 PERSEVERANCE + SACRIFICE = BLESSING

December 1993:

peace she had found and asked her siblings to at least give it a try by attending a service with her. They were skeptical bur ready for change. They followed her out on Sunday morning for the one-milewalk to the small room where the church met. They were warmly
welcomed and found the new ideas about this God

Papa sac staring at his wife and seven children. His heart was hea\y because he could not dress them in new clothes for the holidays. He could not even buy gifts for the youngest because he was concerned about how theywould find enough food to make it until he was paid in January.
That night after the children were asleep, he spoke to his wife about the situation. He made a respectable salary as a schoolteacher, so where had the moneygone? They began to recount where it all went... in January, the baby was
sick, so the diviner asked for food, cloth, and money, not

interesting and appealing. After several weeks, the pastorand his wife decided to visit
these children in their home. The visit went well and

ended with the pastor inviting Papa and Mama to come to services, with their children the following week.
Week followed week and led to months, and the whole

to mention the medical bills. February brought an ancestor ceremony requiring more cloth, more money, and several goats. March and April were months of good sales at his wife's tapioca stand, so there were spirits to thank with an expensive ceremony. May, June, July brought minor sickness among the children ... and their listcontinued well into the night. Before falling asleep, they talked of the newyear and their hopes that finally their gifts to the spirits will have paid off, and they would find peace at last.
December 1994:

family became more and more involved in the church. Papa was relieved to turn the diviners away and place his faith in God. Mama found that peaceand joy began to

replace the gloom and fear that dominated her life. And, of
course, the children were fascinated with the new wayof living chat they learned about each week.

This year, Papa was more than discouraged. He had given most of his salary to the diviners lastyear in order to heal and protect his family, yet his family had been sick again this year. Why had he given even more money this year to again ensure their health and prosperity? Mama was sad
but tried to be cheerful for the children. But even the

Papa checked his savings and was shocked by the sumhe found there. He had been putting away little by little each month without paying much attention to the total. He decided to invite all the leading church families to his house for dinner. Once they all arrived, he gave public testimony to God's provision for him and his family. Then, for the first time in years, he bought his whole family new clothes and gifts for Christmas. His joyknew no bounds.
As Christmas passed, Papa called a family meeting. He prayed with his wife and children and told them that he wanted to thank God for giving him this new life. To do this, he was going to buy two bags of cement to donate to the church building project. Mama was so touched that, out of her earnings from selling tapioca, she, too, bought two bags of cement for the project. Then the children pooled their earnings from odd jobs and bought enough food to
feed the volunteer workers as they turned the cement into

children were old enough to sense their parents' despair. Something had to change.
In the summer of 1994, Mireille, Papa's oldest daughter,

had begun attending a small church with a few of her

friends. She even attended a week-long camp and had
learned about a new God ~ one different than the

traditional spirits who seemed to only demand money or things yet still left a void. Now, as the children conferred over what to do, it was Mireille who spoke. She told of the

bricks. The next morning, they brought their gifts to Sunday services and presented them to the church along with a skit that told of the way in which God had changed their lives.

Papa and hisfamily (Mireille is on the back row, far right.)-

Papa andfamily present theirpushcart ofcement tothe church leaders.

The Church buildingproject: a distant dream becomes reality.

Steve, his dad HaroldAllen, and a volunteer begin ivork on the church.

Everyone at the service was touched, especially since the building seemed a distant dream to most. Yet here was a man who believed it was a present reality. This was the first motion that started the building machine rolling. Within two weeks Papa was appointed treasurer of the project, and plans were laid to raise neededfunds. After much prayer and deliberation, it was decided that the
church members would raise 250,000 CPA ($500) over

2. Commit to pray at a specific time and day over the next seven months for this church. We will put your name on a chart at the church, and you will be joined in prayer at your chosen time by a Beninoise brother or sister in
Christ.

the next seven months toward the project. This sum

amounted to over 30% of the total combined annual

salaries of every church member. It was a huge step of

faith. Plus, for those who were students or were without

3. Sponsor the workers' meals for any number of days at $5 a day. This amount feeds five to six workers a day. 4. Sponsora worker for any number of days at $2 a day. This moneywill be used to buy supplies for the building not actual wages for the worker. All the labor is volunteer. 5. Finally, help buy new benches for this young, growing church as $6 a bench. Each bench seats five people. Please note that this is not a fund-raising project per se. Any funds raised are only intended to encourage the initiative beingshown by this small but visionary local congregation, not to replace it.

work, they would donate 1,250 hours of labor toward the project. Their labor would be paid by the mission, not in cash, but in materials and supplies for the project. The
mission also decided to contribute, in a matching fund manner, to the building fund itself.

Last Sunday, after extensive meetings with each church member, Papastood in the pulpit and called out the names of the men and women who had pledged to the project. He announced how much they had each pledged! Then he

Thank you for being such an important part of this exciting process ~ the birthing of a church.
Steve and Shawn Allen

asked for anyother pledges. One after another, visitors and non-members alike stood up and gave pledges. The total amount pledged exceeded the goal!
As of today, over 100 hours of work have already been given, and the excitement is contagious. The youth talk about their parents coming, and the parents talk about the benefits for thegenerations to come. There is a spirit of unity and of peace. The church is continuing to grow each week.
As missionaries, we know that this church would not be

Ed. Note: The Aliens are aware that much of their mail

isn't getting to them. If you have not received an answer to your letter, assume they didn't get it.

here if it had not been for you. Butwe would like for them, the church members, to feel a part of you the worldwide Christian bodyin a more tangible way. Thus, we are proposing that you consider encouraging them in
one or more of the following ways:

1. Send a photo anda letter of encouragement. We will hang the photo on a special board at the church, translate
and read the letter in a church service.

Theyouth picnic.

Steve and Shawn Allen

Nonprorn Orginiution
U.S. Postage

Christian Missionary Fellowship

P.O. BOX 501020 INDIANAPOLIS. IN 46250-6020

Permit No. 2975

Indiatiapolis, Indian

Address Correction Requested

Mission Services Editorial Dept P Q Box A7

Knoxville, TN 37901HAS?

1013-

Steve & Shawn

ALLEN
5348 North Lester

Indianapolis, IN 46208
317-722-0473
Benin

Steve, Clark, Shawn, & Tori

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP Prayer Newsletter

October 1996

After 14 moves in 9 years... the Aliens have finally" stopped moving (for now). New address:
5348 North Lester

The walls were built little by little as outreach continued, and thus the church grew.

Indianapolis, IN 46208 New phone number: 317-722-0473 Drop in anytime or at least call or write. Meanwhile ... much has happened during this last move, but that is the end of the story ... let's start at the beginning. 2000 years ago, Christ died for all people and left His Spirit on earth to enable people to become more like
Him and to enable them to build His Church.

The roof'wzs placed in February 1996 with the appointments of elders and the first multiple baptism
service.

Thefinishing touches were added when the church sent eight youth to camp three summers in a row, sent four men to lay leader training seminars two each year, and decided to send their lay minister to Bible school for further training. The benches, otherfurnishings, and jidy were added through the generosity of the Church around the world uniting to enable this church to reach its potential.
Two days before our departure from Savalou, the congregation held a joint "Goodbye, Aliens" and church dedication ceremony that lasted all day. There were skits, songs, prayers, speeches, a huge feast including the roasting of an entire cow over an open pit and many tears. It was a simultaneously gut-wrenchingly sad and a heart-burstingly joyful day.

Eight years ago, Christ's Spirit in us moved us to become involved in taking Christ's Church to Benin,
West Africa.

Four years ago, we began that job, which turned out to mean enabling our Beninoise brothers and sisters in Christ to build the Church among the Fon of Savalou, Benin, rather than importing our version of
the Church.

So, upon thefoundation of Christ, the rock, the Church began. The plans were laid in Cotonou in 1992 during a time of discipleship with two young men, TinTin and Emmanuel. The floorv^d^s poured
when TinTin moved to Savalou in October 1993 and

began his own discipleship group.

The bricks were formed in March 1994 when this

group began regular times of worship and Emmanuel opened a youth outreach center. The pillars were
erected in March 1995 when the church began a regular schedule of prayer times and Biblestudy, as well as holding a four-day evangelism rally.
"Goodbye, Alletis"party and churchdedication celebration.

George, short-term worker, helpingtoput the roofon the church.

Steve infront ofthe "finishedproduct": the church.

As you can plainly see, we DIDN'T PLANT a church

in Savalou Benin. We did enable a group of believers to become a haven of change, peace, and hope to a
community in need. Then we enabled them to move quickly toward reaching beyond themselves to other communities in need. Ultimately, we hope theywill enable these newgroups of believers to continue the cycle and do the same.

Thank you for adding your prayers as the mortar in this church-enabling process. Please praise God for all He did in Benin in four short years.
Your continued prayers for the Savalou church leaders
are essential:

Tori: bigsisterto all the village children.

TinTin and Helen, who leave for Bible school in

April 1997.
Emmanuel and Charlotte, who were married
October 19.

The elders and lay leaders: Papa Mireille, Anatole,

Amede, Celestin, Cec^, Matthieu, Samuel.

These prayers will act as the hedges and fences of

security around this learning and growing community
of Christ.

Clark soakingup a last bit ofBeninoise culture.

Steve and Shawn Allen

10/96

Steve and Shawn Allen

Nonprofit Or^nitaiion U.S. Postage

Christian Missionary Fellowship

P.O. BOX 501020

PAID
Permit No. 2975

INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46250-6020
Indianapolis, Indiana

Address Correction Requested

Mission P 0 Box

Services 427

Editorial Dept

Knoxville,

TN 379012427