ALARM Combined Feed

ALARM Featured on Instead iPhone App

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:39:54 +0000

We are excited that ALARM is now a featured non-profit on the Instead iPhone app. Instead is a micro-donation app that encourages people to live within or below their means in order to give to non-profits, like ALARM.   Instead of eating out, how about brown-bagging a lunch to work? Instead of seeing a movie, how about renting a film? Instead is a simple and fun way to support ALARM.

To find out more about Instead or to download the app, visit the iTunes store.

Director of Donor Relations

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:45:02 +0000

ALARM is seeking to hire a Director of Donor Relations.

The individual in this position will provide leadership and management of proposal development and foundation relations. The Director will seek to develop and implement fundraising strategies that increase ALARM's support from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other sources. Responsibilities include but are not limited to all aspects of proposal development and foundation fundraising, with primary focus on proposal preparation, grant reporting, research, identification of potential funding sources, foundation relations and related administrative duties. A new position in the organization, the Director will have the opportunity to build an important segment of ALARM’s development ministry.

For further information on the Director of Relations position, please download the job description HERE.

To apply, please send your resume to meredith@alarm-inc.org

Thank you for considering employment with ALARM!

ALARM Scarves in Whole Foods Markets

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:58:43 +0000

During this holiday season you can purchase ALARM scarves in select Whole Foods Markets across the southwest. The scarves are handmade by widows in Uganda who have fled the violence in their country. All proceeds from the scarves go to ALARM's micro-business projects in Uganda.

Please visit your local Whole Foods Market and purchase an ALARM scarf! Strong sales will encourage future partnerships between Whole Foods and ALARM.

PARTICIPATING WHOLE FOODS MARKETS

Store	Metro	Address
Arabella Station	New Orleans	5600 Magazine ST. New Orleans, LA 70115
Baton Rouge	New Orleans	7529 Corporate Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Bellaire	Houston	4004 Bellaire Blvd Houston Tx 77025
Fairview	Dallas	105 Stacey Road; Fairview, TX 75069
Forest	Dallas	11700 Preston Rd. #714, Dallas TX 75230
Gateway	Austin	9607 Research Blvd. #300 Austin, TX 78759
Highland Park	Dallas	4100 Lomo Alto Highland Park, TX 75219
Kirby	Houston	2955 Kirby Dr. Houston, TX 77098
Lakewood	Dallas	2118 Abrams Road, Dallas, TX 75214
Lamar	Austin	525 N Lamar Blvd. Austin TX 78703
Little Rock	Arkansas	10700 N. Rodney Parham, Little Rock, AR 72212
Montrose	Houston	701 Waugh Drive; Houston, TX 77019
Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	6001 N Western Ave, Oklahoma, OK 731183
Park Lane	Dallas	8190 Park Lane Ste: 351; Dallas, TX 75231
Parkway	Dallas	801 E. Lamar Arlington Tx 76011
Plano	Dallas	2201 Preston Rd., Suite C Plano TX 75093
Quarry	Austin	255 E. Basse Rd. San Antonio, Tx 78209
Richardson	Dallas	101 South Coit Road, Suite 60 Richardson TX 75080
Sugarland	Houston	15900 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, TX, 77479
Tulsa	Oklahoma	1401 E. 41st St., Tulsa, OK 74105
Veterans	New Orleans	3420 Veterans Blvd., Metairie, LA, 70002
Wilcrest	Houston	11145 Westheimer Rd. Houston TX 77042
Woodway	Houston	6401 Woodway Houston TX 77057

We Need Your Help To Win $50,000

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:32:17 +0000

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO WIN $50,000

It's easy.

ALARM can win up to $50,000 just by your vote. Visit the ALARM profile page HERE on the Giving of Life website and vote for ALARM. Its that easy.

The voting will end on Friday, November 4 at 5:00 p.m. EST, at which point the 50 finalists will be announced. Then, the Giving of Life Grant winners will be announced by the voting committee on Friday, December 16. Grant prizes range from $2,000 to $50,000.

This is an EASY way to help ALARM continue its work in developing leaders, reconciling relationships, and transforming communities in Africa. All you have to do is vote!

The best form of communication is through YOU, so share with your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers where to go and what to do. Help get the word out and ALARM can win $50,000!

HINTS:

You can vote more than once. In fact, vote everyday! If you want to make your vote go even further, just log in with Facebook or Twitter to get more votes.

ALARM Giving of Life Profile Page:

http://givingoflife.com/browse/alarm_african_leadership_and_reconciliation_ministries/

World Affairs Council Welcomes Ambassador Jerry Lanier

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:57:24 +0000

ALARM is pleased to partner with World Affairs Council DFW to welcome the Ambassador of the United States to Uganda, Jerry Lanier, to Dallas on October 18 & 19, 2011.

Tuesday, October 18 6:00pm:

For details and to register, please click HERE

Wednesday, October 19, 6:00pm (Young Professionals):

For details and to register, please click HERE

For both events, friends of ALARM are welcome to register at the Council member ticket price.

ALARM is cooperating with the World Affairs Council on this event to help bring a greater awareness of issues affecting Africa to the citizens of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Donor Bridge Giving Day Update

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:13:34 +0000

THANK YOU! Due to your generous giving and undaunted efforts, ALARM received almost $110,000 from the North Texas Giving Day. That is amazing! These gifts will continue ALARM’s work in Africa as we seek to develop leaders, reconcile relationships and transform communities. Thank you for being a part of that work…it is greatly appreciated.

President of Burundi to Speak in Dallas

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:44:50 +0000

ALARM is excited to announce that the President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, will be the featured speaker on September 26, 2011 at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, TX at 7:30 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by ALARM and Watermark Community Church.

Pierre Nkurunziza, a former Hutu rebel leader, became the first president to be chosen in democratic elections since the start of Burundi's civil war. He was selected as president in August 2005 and was re-elected again in June 2010. Nkurunziza currently chairs the East Africa Community, a regional intergovernmental organization comprised of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Nkurunziza married his wife Rev. Denise Bucumi in 1994 and together they have five children and care for more than ten orphans of war and HIV/AIDS in their home.

President Nkurunziza’s leadership has been admired by the international community. In her congratulatory message on the 49th Independence of Burundi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the following message to Nkurunziza:

“Your continued efforts to build a new political culture that prioritises peace and dialogue over conflict and violence is admirable. Throughout the African continent, you have demonstrated a commitment to stability and have become a role model for other countries.”

President Nkurunziza received the Peace Award in July 2009 by the U.N. Commission on Peace Consolidation.

The event on September 26 is free, but guests are asked to RSVP.

Crisis in the Horn of Africa

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:58:06 +0000

Photo Reuters

The world's greatest humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate. Right now, more than 12 million people spanning three countries: Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, are being impacted by the worst drought in 60 years. The UN has formally declared a famine in parts of southern Somalia- its first in nearly 20 years. The scope of this tragedy is historic.

In response to the crisis, ALARM is partnering with local Kenyan churches and Christian ministries to provide immediate relief and supplies to the region, while also continuing to provide long-term spiritual care and equipping pastoral leaders in this ravaged region.

We ask that you pray for the many Africans being affected by this severe drought. Pray that ALARM will continue to empower the local church in northeast Kenya to impact the many hurting people in the region by demonstrating Christ's compassion.

You can also donate to the ALARM Horn of Africa Crisis Fund. Your donation will help empower the local church in northwest Kenya to provide critical resources, both physical and spiritual, to the many suffering people in the region.

Cape Town 2010 Congress

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:53:33 +0000

In October 2010 Célestin Musekura and ALARM participated in Cape Town 2010. Cape Town 2010 has been called the most representative gathering of Christian leaders in the 2000 year history of the Christian movement (Christianity Today). Four-thousand Christian leaders representing 198 countries attended the Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

Lausanne recently released a short documentary of this historic gathering.

To watch the documentary, please visit:

http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010/short-documentary.html

If you would like to learn more about Cape Town 2010, you can visit their website at http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010.

Celebrate the Birth of a New Nation

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:39:20 +0000

Following decades of civil war, Southern Sudan is set to declare independence from the north on July 9. The Republic of South Sudan, as it will be named on Saturday, will be the world's 193rd country.

ALARM is proud to partner with more than 5,000 southern Sudanese who call Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX home and want to invite our Dallas area friends to join us in celebrating the birth of a new nation.

WHEN: July 9, 2011 3-5pm

WHERE: Irving Bible Church 2435 Kinwest Parkway, Irving TX 75063

HOSTS: DFW Sudanese Churches

SPEAKERS: Key Political and Community Leaders

CELEBRATION: Speeches, Music, Dancing and Food

INFO: www.DFWSouthSudan.com

The Least of These

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:30:21 +0000

She is 15 and mothering her three siblings in the Gulu bush of northern Uganda when I meet her. My husband and I are there to visit some of the child-headed homes that are part of the ALARM orphan care program. Does anything strike the mother heart in me like the term “child-headed home”? She carries the meaning of those words in her eyes and it does not escape me. Not in the least.

We sit and listen to her story. We sit with many more and hear theirs…family after family, tragic stories laid out like open hands begging to be filled. I turn to Molly, ALARM’s Coordinator for Women and Children in Gulu, and tell her how encouraged I am by how she serves children like these. She says it can be extremely difficult but she loves it so much that it does not seem like work. I tell her that it is a blessing to see her labor with such diligence, and she stops and looks at me. “If I do not,” she says, “then tomorrow how will I come before my God? There is Someone to whom I must give an account.”

Then outside one hut, we see the fruit of ALARM’s work as we meet Michael. He describes how being sponsored has given him food, given him clothes…given him hope when he was in complete despair. And I think about Matthew 25, the day of account that Molly anticipates. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

And I think, isn’t that the very core of it all? That in serving with ALARM, in serving these families, we are staggeringly able to serve the One who served us first.

Paul and Sarah Stehlik live in Dallas with their three sons. They recently spent two weeks in Africa serving with ALARM.

Violence in South Sudan

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:59:30 +0000

This CNN report does an excellent job portraying the deep complexity of South Sudan--with centuries of violence, the absence of rule of law, alternative dispute plans and the role of justice. ALARM is an instrument of a different way of life, the way of the gospel and offers not only the healing of a painful past but the prospects of a more peaceful future.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/04/world/africa/south-sudan-cattle-battles/index.html?hpt=wo_bn7

A Heart That’s His

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:34:30 +0000

A team from Watermark Church in Dallas, TX spent the last week in Uganda leading a camp for over 250 kids as well as working in Pader at the ALARM Trade School. So many amazing stories and pictures from their week in Uganda. Below is an except from Lucina Thompson of Watermark Church that we wanted to share.

“Parting from the “secondary” (teenagers) Camp, was such sweet sorrow. They sang for us and we for them…the voices sounded like angels. When we asked for testimonies of what the kids learned, we hear of lives overcome by hopelessness yet now filled with love and promise of a future and hope…not just here on earth, but forever in heaven, as many trusted Christ. The defining moment was driving out to the sound of a group of girls singing the Camp theme song based on 2 Chronicles 16:9 “Look high, look low, everywhere we go, He’s lookin’ for a heart, a heart that’s His.” Praying that this truth becomes reality for 250 Ugandan children.” -Lucina Thompson (Watermark Church)

To reead more about the trip, visit the Watermark in Afirca Blog.

2011 In Pictures

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:25:19 +0000

It's obviously hard to capture a full year in a few pictures, but we wanted to give you another glimpse of the amazing year that was 2011. So many of you partnered with ALARM this year and we are grateful. Enjoy a very small sample of some of our favorite pictures and moments from 2011.

Boys in northern Uganda where ALARM is working to support child-headed households

Women's leadership conference taking place in Uganda

The President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, joined ALARM in Dallas

Celestin Musekura (President & Founder) and Meredith Wheller (International Director) working together in Yei, South Sudan

2011 saw the very first graduating class at the Institute of Women's Excellence in Rwanda

Conference attendees in Uganda

Solar power panels being installed for the first time at the Christian Leadership Institute of Sudan (CLIS)

The newest nation is born - The Republic of South Sudan

More celebrations as South Sudan becomes a new nation

Conference attendees receiving a Bible for the first time in Tanzania

A mother and her child at a conference in Rwanda

ALARM's newest partner in South Sudan is With Open Eyes which is working to provide transportation to church planter-evangelists. Pictured on the motorcycle is James Baak (ALARM South Sudan Director) and Frank Harrison (Chairman & CEO of Coca-Cola).

Chaplain Training in Juba, South Sudan

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:04:31 +0000

Over 100 chaplains from local police, military and fire departments joined ALARM and Watermark Church to be trained on servant leadership, peace building, and conflict resolution in Juba, South Sudan this last week.

ALARM South Sudan Director visits with Coca-Cola CEO

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:12:08 +0000

We are thrilled to have James Baak, ALARM South Sudan's Country Director in the USA for a couple of weeks. Yesterday James had the privilege of sharring his testimony of being a "Lost Boy of Sudan" with ALARM partner With Open Eyes as well as Coca-Cola CEO Frank Harrison while in Charlotte, NC.

And any trip to North Carolina would not be complete without a some southern barbecue! - this was a first for James!

Developing Leaders in Kenya - Update from Celestin

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:37:14 +0000

Greetings from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya! This past week, Todd Wagner (Senior Pastor of Watermark Church) and I spoke to 600 church leaders and pastors of the Africa Gospel Church during their annual leadership conference. We were privileged to teach on Servant Leadership, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. Each participant received ALARM’s Ethnicity Manual - Restoring the Beauty and Blessing of Ethnic Diversity. Many of these leaders have little or no ministry tools and resources, so they greatly appreciated the gift from ALARM and Watermark Church.

Now I am on my way to Burundi to join our staff to facilitate the Pastoral Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) this week.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. Grace to you.

Celestin Musekura
President & Founder of ALARM

Great Gift Options for Chrsitmas

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:18:36 +0000

With Christmas quickly approaching, we know that many are in the throws of buying gifts for friends and family. We have several opportunities available this year that will not only allow you to purchase some great gifts, but will also allow you to support the ministry of ALARM. So this Christmas, make a purchase that will change lives and transform communities.

Our online store is a great place to purchase ALARM products like handmade jewelry from widows in Uganda and handbags from refugees in Kenya. Some really great items are available. In fact, use the code WithAPurpose during checkout and take an extra 5% off your order.

Our Gift Guide is a great place to find ALARM projects that you can support like sending someone to a conference, supporting our Africa staff, or even buy a pig! Choose a gift to donate in honor of someone special and download a FREE card card to print.

We are very excited this year because ALARM scarves are being sold in select Whole Foods Markets across the southwest. These scarves are handmade by widows in Uganda and currently only available for purchase in select Whole Foods Markets.

So this Christmas, consider some of these gifts as a great way to help support the ministry of ALARM.

A Family Serves Together in South Sudan

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:21:56 +0000

Brent and Karin Lewis made sure travelling and volunteering was a function of their married life. “We continued this even when our kids were very young. It is exciting now that we all seem to have our area of interest,” Karin shared.

This summer, the Lewis family spent some time working with ALARM in South Sudan. Brent spearheaded and secured all the funding for solar power projects at Lora Orphanage and School, Morobo Orphanage and School, Nehemiah School and the ALARM Christian Leadership Institute of Sudan (CLIS). The solar panels allow the communities to eat dinner, clean up and do chores, and study in the evening. Before they could only do this if they had diesel generation (very expensive and unreliable) or kerosene lamps available. Karin, a doctor, spent time at the Yei hospital and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church clinic. The Lewis children, Braden and Katrin, spent time in the school with the kids and Katrin is thinking of returning to teach English.

Karin shared her reflections with friends and family through emails. “So much of it was positive because we were with amazingly resilient and godly people. Their past however, when exposed, reveals active scars. Every person in South Sudan has suffered greatly in the 56 year civil war.”

One evening, they gathered around the campfire and listened to the peoples’ stories. In Karin’s words:

"How can you explain seven years of hiding in the bush and jungle around a camp fire? Seven years running for your life and in the running, families are split up and often never reunited. Or worse, your children are kidnapped and brain washed and forced to do unimaginable things. They come back to attack and kill you. Living in constant fear of being discovered. The fear of starvation and illness.

But God. God was with them because He inhabited their praises. At night they made the fire because otherwise they would go crazy. The fire gave them warmth, cooked the meal and gave the comfort of community as the people sat around to sing praises and read the word of God. The fire had angels camped around them, protecting them when soldiers came and then just sat and watched them.

Now, one by one, as we sat around the fire reenacting the scene, they gave their testimonies of how God worked in their lives. Each one talked about God’s real and ever present strength and love. Each shared their personal journey. What a gift of friendship to share these things with us."

ALARM is extremely grateful for our partners like the Lewis family. Partners who come to join God’s community and His work. We are blessed to have the opportunity to witness his healing and transformation and to experience and be changed by Africa and its people.

Photo Blog - The President of Burundi in Dallas

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:02:42 +0000

On September 26th and 27th ALARM, with partners Watermark Community Church and Bent Tree Bible Fellowship hosted the President and First Lady of Burundi. They shared their personal stories as well as their passion and vision for the country of Burundi. ALARM looks forward to a continued partnership with them as we seek to provide leadership development and reconciliation to the people of Burundi. (photos courtesey of Mo Sadjadpour)