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Contact us at:

8733 Brackenwood Dr.
Orlando, FL 32829

407- 739-1382 (cell)

Our email:
fosteremail@bellsouth.net

Our website:
www.ericandallison.org

Praises:

For Shellbook and what the Lord is doing all over the world!

For a great,productive and safe trip to Nairobi

Prayer Requests:

HIS leading for the adoption. At this point we are considering options, including adopting from the U.S.
Please pray that He burdens our hearts and clearly guides us as we seek Him for the child He wants for us!

Verse of the month:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

Isaiah 30:21

Nairobi Localization Workshop

Dear Friend,
Thank you for praying for us as we traveled to and from Nairobi for the Shellbook training. We had a great trip! Though I (Allison) was looking forward to being back in Nairobi, truthfully I expected it would be a long, boring five days of listening to someone instruct the Africans about software. What actually happened couldn’t be further from that expectation!

65 nationals representing 11 countries and 24 organizations arrived on Monday morning—most of them having no idea what the training would be about. As Mike, the developer of the software started to share what Shellbook is and how it could be used in ministry, I could see the participants getting excited at the possibilities. During breaks, Eric and the other trainers were bombarded with people wanting to ask questions and discuss ideas on how they could make their “shellbooks” and incorporate this system into their personal ministries. We gave them time each day to work on their books and ended the training at 5, but amazingly, many would stay until 7 or 8 every night, enthusiastically continuing their work. We were able to help them customize lessons for college students, professional athletes, business people, general village audiences and several other groups. At the end of the week, the participants were able to localize basic follow-up material into 23 languages and dialects! It was amazing!

I was surprised at how many people came up to each of us and told us how Shellbook will change their ministries. I didn’t realize this, but in Africa, the missionaries and ministers order follow- up books from the US. Not only is this very expensive for them, but they are written from a Western point of view, often sharing things that are irrelevant to them and omitting issues that need to be covered with new African believers.
Shellbook enables them to write and print their own books, designed to meet the specific needs of the target audience they are working with. This is a huge cost savings, but more importantly, as they “localize” the books, the biblical concepts are not only in their own language, but shared in a way that is relevant to their culture, in a way that they can understand. After all, this is what Jesus did—He told parables that related to the people so that they would truly “get” it.

Nelius, one of the participants, summed it up: “For years, discipleship of new believers has been the greatest need throughout Africa. We have been praying for an answer to this problem for a long time. Today, you have brought us the answer.”

Praise God!

SHELLBOOK FACTS:
Software that will be distributed worldwide through many Christian organizations

Enables people to create story books or picture books in their own language, and localized for the culture

An online “library” will hold all the created shellbooks on a server so that any missionary or pastor can access them online to be shared with others

Books can be printed from a basic desk printer, eliminating the high cost of going to a professional printer or importing resources from another country

Responses from the participants:
Ken, a CCC leader from Mauritius, an island off the eastern coast of Africa said, “This is an answer to prayer. We have a vision to plant 6000 house churches in Mauritius, and this will help so much! We need printed materials to give to the people but printing is expensive in my country. Being able to print our own will be such a blessing. I minister to many Hindus who will not go to church, and now we will have materials to give them. Thank you!”

Another participant said, “This workshop has opened up a whole bunch of new
ideas on how to communicate the gospel. Thank you!”

Thank you for you continued support and prayers, enabling us to be involved in what the Lord is doing around the world. We are blessed to have you on our team and could not do this without you! God bless you! In His love,