129 pages

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Dangerously Alive , livre ebook

Lion Hudson - Simon Guillebaud

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129 pages

English

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In 1999 Simon Guillebaud went to Burundi, probably the most dangerous country on earth, where he pulled an evangelistic team together to reach the youths of the streets. Several colleagues died. God honoured their efforts. Hundreds found faith. Miracles became almost a daily occurrence. Although Simon had not expected to survive, God had other plans. A lady called Lizzie was willing to share his tough life: they now have three children. To empower local people, Simon determined to construct the best conference centre in Burundi. The centre was built without incurring debts or paying bribes. It is now open and already profitable. Simon comments: 'The book combines prayer letters, diary entries and reflections from ten years in a war zone. It covers witchcraft, miracles, evangelism, Islam, orphans, street kids, aids, business for mission, and stories of triumphant faith in the midst of hideous suffering.'

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Christianity

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Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	01 avril 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780857210883
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Copyright 2011 by Simon Guillebaud.
The right of Simon Guillebaud to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in the UK in 2011 by Monarch Books (a publishing imprint of Lion Hudson plc) Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England Tel: +44 (0)1865 302750 Fax: +44 (0)1865 302757 Email: monarch@lionhudson.com www.lionhudson.com
ISBN 978 0 85721 011 1 (print) ISBN 978 0 85721 088 3 (epub) ISBN 978 0 85721 087 6 (Kindle) ISBN 978 0 85721 089 0 (PDF)
Distributed by: UK: Marston Book Services, PO Box 269, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4YN USA: Kregel Publications, PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan and Hodder & Stoughton Limited. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.
British Library Cataloguing Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover images: Corbis (soldier and children), author.
T O ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY THAT MAKES UP A LL NATIONS - STUDENTS AND STAFF, PAST AND PRESENT - SCATTERED TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH AND ENACTING J ESUS CALL TO BE DANGEROUSLY ALIVE .
For more information, visit www.allnations.ac.uk
C ONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Map of Burundi

Foreword

Prologue

1. The Call

2. A Reckless Faith?

3. Room for Hope

4. Life to the Full

5. A Sense of Urgency

6. The Adventure of Living or the Safety of Existing

7. Lessons from the Conflict

8. How Hungry Are We?

9. Peace on a Knife-Edge

10. A Christianity that Ruins Your Life

11. Daring to Come Alive

12. Halfway and Beyond

13. An Effortless Intimacy?

14. Joining in God’s Story

15. A Reordering of Priorities

16. A Horizon of Hope

17. The Art of Perseverance

18. New Challenges

19. Caring in a Way that Costs

20. Ministering Christ to “the Least of These”

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Photo Section

I sped around the bend in the road on my motorbike, but quickly scrambled to a stop, surprised to see a figure in the middle of the road, just ahead of me. He was holding a grenade in his hand, ready to blow me up. I knew this for a fact - he had made his intentions clear two days before when he d written saying he was going to cut out my eyes.
I d had some sleepless nights over the threat, of course, but I d gone to stay at someone else s place for a while and was varying my routes around town so that he wouldn t know where to lie in wait for me.
My guard waved at me - a pre-arranged sign not to approach. This was both surreal and yet chillingly real.
God, what on earth shall I do? If it has to be, I m ready to die. Let s go
F OREWORD

What you have in front of you is a truly remarkable story. It is a tale of one man s determined obedience to his amazing God. If you allow it, this book will touch you, challenge you and change you.
In 1999, a few of us were on the beach by Lake Tanganyika just outside the capital of Burundi, Bujumbura. Simon was feeling a bit jaded and went off for a prayer-walk. He returned ten minutes later, looking refreshed and renewed. I asked him about his walk and he replied: If God is worth anything, then He is worth everything.
That, in a nutshell, is the message of Simon Guillebaud s life. It is the message of his hundreds of preaches, of his prayer emails, of his More Than Conquerors book and DVD, and now of this book as well. It is a message that, as you will read, he has lived closer than most.
His journey takes us through more than a decade of living, working, struggling and persevering in one of the world s most challenging, dangerous and sapping environments. Through it all we see Simon time and again consider his options, weigh up decisions, and choose to give his trust, talents, and energies to Jesus; for He is worth all we can give Him.
I first met Simon a few months after he had arrived in Burundi. With his cheeky grin, assured presence and knobbly knees flashing as he pedaled his bike, we struck up an instant friendship. We bonded through a shared love of sport, a Christmas party playing with street kids, an evening spent huddled in a corridor as bullets flew overhead, a time when grenades exploded as we rode by, a period when we witnessed one third of the capital being forced into displacement camps a few miles from us - and much more. I had the privilege of seeing some of his first year up close. I saw him preach, met his colleagues and, as you will read, had the honor of being there to offer him supportive counsel after he experienced a nasty death threat.
I later returned in 2007 for a short visit. By then we were both married and had one child each. What amazed me was to remember back to that first time. I had met a young man with just a borrowed push-bike to his name. Now I was astonished to see the range and depth of the kingdom work being done: everything from a conference hall nearly complete, an orphanage, an AIDS project, a few schools, and through several local groups, a whole movement of young leaders, evangelists and disciples being equipped and empowered to transform the nation - hundreds of thousands of lives were being impacted. At times it can be quite hard to believe all we read, but I have been there; and trust me, these events are even more inspiring if you encounter them in person - a sure testimony to one man s determined obedience and, much more importantly, to his amazing God.
So fasten your seat belts, and be prepared for a breath-taking, jaw-dropping and tear-jerking ride. Drink deeply of the stories you read, and as you do so, allow your heart to be encouraged, inspired, challenged, and renewed. And may we similarly choose to give God our all!

Ed Walker
Tearfund s Disaster Management Team; author of Reflections from the Scorched Earth ; Founder of Hope into Action (www.hopeintoaction.org.uk)
P ROLOGUE

If you were to hear the word Burundi , what would it mean to you? A random survey of people might produce some interesting results - ranging from those for whom it might as well be a brand of cheese, to those who have an inkling that it s a country, but are not quite sure where it s located and don t know much about it.
I have discovered that the majority of well-educated people - who would claim a degree of global awareness - know very little about this place.
So what is Burundi?
In brief, it is a beautiful, land-locked country in the heart of Africa. It doesn t have any oil, diamonds or other mineral deposits that might give it geopolitical significance, and so it remains one of the most forgotten countries in the world. It is a land of great suffering that has endured many years of civil war; a place where hideous atrocities have been perpetrated. Hundreds of thousands of its people have been killed. Rape and pillage have been commonplace. Life expectancy is in the forties and decreasing. AIDS is on the rise. Famines strike regularly in different provinces. Deforestation is preparing to slip the noose over the head of future generations, and over-population gets worse by the day due to the explosive birth rate. It is a place of great darkness.
Yet, in the darkest places, the light shines brightest. Despite all the grim statistics and stories, God s bigger story continues to be played out in the lives of an ever-increasing number of people. These people have been lied to, deceived, promised much and ultimately let down, but have still experienced for themselves the undeniable reality of God s powerful, personal intervention in their lives.
If you had never heard of Burundi before today or, like many, had only a vague idea that it is a country somewhere in Africa but not much more, well, I want you to know about it. Why? Because Burundi is host to some of the most amazing people on the planet - people whose stories deserve to be told. For the last decade I have had the pleasure (or perhaps painful privilege is a better description) of journeying alongside them - men and women whose faith has been so refined in the crucible of suffering as to produce beautiful gems, sparkling with the reflected light of their Maker. I want to share some of that journey with you.
My time spent in Burundi has been an adventure and frequently a dangerous one at that. At one time it was statistically the most dangerous nation in the world. Mine has been a journey full of tears and laughter, great highs and terrible lows, incredible successes and crushing failures, sapping despair and outrageous hope, miracles and tragedies, elation, frustration, corruption and deception and the list could go on.
In the coming pages I have tried to recount with utmost frankness and honesty some of what has happened over the last decade, largely by sharing with you my prayer letters and diary entries. They provide snapshots of what it is like to live for Christ in a very different environment, and include reflections on life, death, the rise of Islam, encounters with witch doctors, marital tensions, outrage at injustice, exposing corruption, sexual temptation, cultural faux pas and much more. These snapshots have been edited in the interests of both brevity and political sensitivity. Where appropriate, names have been changed to protect identities.
I pr