The Browns in Africa
God is at work building up His Church. We are just a piece of the puzzle, a part of the vast undertaking of reaching Africa. We have been called by God to offer all of ourselves: our strengths, our weaknesses, our time, our energy, and our whole lives to contribute what we can to the solution: building up the Church, the Hope of Africa, and helping those in need to overcome the obstacles standing in their way to living a healthy and full life.
Put simply, the Brown family’s purpose in Africa is to benefit Africans through media and the arts. This is what we do! We intend to pour out our gifts in service to Africans in need, to the African Church, and to AIM and its missionaries.
This will be done in three ways:
1. The On-Field Media Team: Our official assignment with AIM is with this brand new team, based in Nairobi, who will serve both the mission and individual missionaries by creatively capturing and communicating both the needs and the success stories of Africa, through video, web, and print media, to AIM’s supporters and the world. Andy will contribute his abilities on this team and will have the opportunity to travel to the countries in which AIM is serving to obtain footage and the stories of what God is doing through these ministries and how those at home can continue to pray and to assist.
2. Worship Leaders to Missionaries: This will be in an unofficial capacity, but we have felt the call of God to help to refuel the missionaries in Africa with worship in their heart language, in order for them to serve Africa from a place of spiritual and emotional abundance. This will happen at Bible studies and gatherings, conferences and retreats, or wherever we have the opportunity!
3. Music and the Arts in the African Church: We have a long-term vision of being a part of the training, equipping, and resourcing of musicians in the African Church. We don’t know how this will play out in the future, but we have committed to being open to how God may lead during our first two years in Nairobi. We intend to focus on language and culture-learning, to learn the music (vocal and instrumental) of Africa, and to being a part of a local national church there in order to serve and assess needs that we may be able to meet within the church.
Africa Inland Mission
Africa Inland Mission is a 111 year old mission agency that is currently serving in 18 African nations, and ministering to Africans living around the world. AIM works in partnership with the African Church and indigenous mission agencies through six avenues:
1. Prayer Movements – petitioning God on behalf of the unreached, the church, and the missionaries. AIM provides prayer publications, and Adopt-A-People program for prayer, and encourages home prayer groups.
2. Community Outreach – reaching unreached people groups, helping to establish maturing churches among them, helping to meet physical needs – sharing Christ in both word and deed.
3. Leadership Training – establishing schools and seminaries for training up godly church leaders
4. Youth Development – Over half of Africa’s population is under 15 years of age, many orphaned by AIDS, war, famine, and disease. AIM reaches these children through teaching in national schools, ministry to street children and orphans, literacy work, vocational training, ministry to the children of missionaries and much more.
5. Medical Mission –medical care in Jesus’ name in hopes of making people whole, both physically and spiritually.
6. Support Services – AIM’s Support Services team functions by each one using their God-given gifts and abilities to make AIM’s ministry in Africa possible. These people serve the African Church and fellow missionaries through their skills and training in aviation, IT, finance, administration, engineering, auto repair, carpentry, and more.
Little Seeds
Our sons, Robbie and Avery, have known for a while now about our upcoming move to Africa. They weren’t too excited at first, but they are slowly warming up to it. We have tried to impress upon them the needs of Africa and why we want to go there to help. Today they did something that shocked me and made my heart glow.
A few weeks ago, Avery had recently planted an apple seed in a plastic cup in our house. After eating an apple today, he wanted to plant the 10+ seeds that he saved from it, as well. I told him, “No, we can’t have a whole forest in our house!” He disappeared to tell his brother what I had said. I heard them discussing it in the basement for a few moments.
Soon, they came scurrying up the stairs, filled with excitement. “Mom! We know what we want to do with the seeds! When we move to Africa, let’s take them with us and plant some apple trees there. Then we can give the fruit to the poor people!”
There are too many analogies that could be drawn from this story to go into them all here. I’m sure you can think of a few. My favorite, though, is that our children are like those little seeds. It is our sincere hope and prayer that by “planting” them amongst the people of Africa, God may someday grow to produce in them and through them a great harvest.
