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Dear John,

I’m sure you know the story of Zacchaeus from the Gospel of Luke.

Well, let me tell you about Niyirora, a modern day Zacchaeus – and how your support of African Enterprise this Christmas to help reach a $350,000 goal can make more stories like hers possible.

Niyirora is 78 years old. She’s from a village called Akagarama in the Gisagara district of the South province of Rwanda.

Niyirora was a member of her local Catholic church, and perhaps at first glance, she may have looked like a dedicated member of her community. She even acted as treasurer for her church. But she admits, “I used to take 1000 francs from the offering case for my own use prior to handing it over.”

She also struggled with alcoholism and aggressive behaviour towards those around her – especially those who asked questions about the missing money.  

Just like Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke, Niyirora was about to be rejected by her community for her disloyalty and dishonest behaviour… but something happened instead.

Thanks to the generous support of friends like you, earlier this year, African Enterprise partnered with the Bible Society to run the Jesus All About Life (JAAL) mission. This campaign, run in partnership with the Bible Society and modelled on a campaign first run in Australia over 10 years ago, was designed to help communities to hear about the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus for our sins through his death and resurrection during the Easter period.

The JAAL mission came to the Gisagara district, and Niyirora went along to an event. That’s where she heard the gospel preached by faithful, dedicated local Christians – and she instantly knew she needed the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus.

Niyirora committed her life to Jesus immediately, and the effects have been profound.

She says, “After receiving the salvation of Jesus Christ, I put to an end to my life of as a drunkard and a harmful woman. I willingly paid back the money, and I am currently experiencing peace and safety in my heart.”

Niyirora joined a local Protestant church and in September this year, she was baptised alongside many other new followers of Jesus.

You see, Niyirora was far from the only one to turn to Jesus in her community – or her country. In Rwanda, the JAAL campaign reached half a million people in schools, universities, public spaces, churches, sports evangelism, radio and television. In just two months, 10,000 Rwandans committed to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord!

Just as Jesus sought out Zacchaeus, He continues to seek and save the lost – and in His goodness, He chooses to use you and me and our brothers and sisters in Africa to partner in His salvation work.

That’s why I want to ask you today to consider a generous gift towards the goal of $350,000, to help support African Enterprise’s gospel proclamation activities in 2024.

In this past year alone, hundreds of thousands of people have turned to Christ or recommitted as a result of African Enterprise’s missions and evangelistic activities, as well as through our aid and development programs which demonstrate the love of God to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

And with your gift today, you can help to ensure this wonderful outcome is replicated in 2024, as you support the recruiting, training and resourcing of passionate believers who will bring the gospel to all strata of society.

So please, give as generously as you can, knowing that together, we can help more people like Niyirora discover the joy that comes from knowing that you’ve been sought out by the Lord Jesus, and saved into the promise of eternal life with Him.