French
Guyana
First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious
penal settlements until 1951.
The European
Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou in F. Guiana.
The Church of
the Nazarene
Pastor Elisois Maignan has a vision that goes way beyond common sense.
He began sharing that vision with Dr. Terry Ketchum back in 1987 when
he made
an initial visit to the country. Pastor Maignan wasn't even a Nazarene
back then, but his heart burned with a passion for the lost of that country
and
his life gave evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit and with
love. He was called to preach at 15 and started his ministry in a small
church
as an assistant. When Dr. Ketchum met him, he was pastoring a church
of 125. Ketchum sat in his small living room and listened to his heart
as
he shared
his burden for Cayenne and the country of French Guyana. He told that
more than half the population of French Guyana has immigrated to that
country — he
mentioned people groups from Europe, China, British Guiana, Haiti, Brazil,
Surinam, Antilles, and no less than ten languages. Maignan wanted to
reach them all. There was a real need for the holiness message since
the Salvation
Army was the only holiness voice in the country (and they were only reaching
about 250 people on a given Sunday). There was virtually no evangelical
work among the local French Guyanese nor among the six Amerindian tribes.
Not too long
after that visit Pastor Maignan planted a small church where the message
of holiness could be freely preached. He wasn't yet a Nazarene,
but he had told Dr. Ketchum that whether the Church of the Nazarene
came to French Guyana or not, the message needed to be preached. He went
out
on his own and started the work. It wasn't long before he joined with
the Church
of the Nazarene and began a methodical journey toward the fulfillment
of his vision.
His church outgrew
two different buildings before they landed in a large, dilapidated auditorium
that would seat 600. They knew
they couldn't
stay
there too long because the rent was too high. But they had no other
place to go. The international church didn't have the resources to
purchase
land and build a building, so the Cayenne Church of the Nazarene
continued paying
rent – and rejoicing in their situation.
Sources:
Parker, J. Fred. Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the
Church of the Nazarene through 1985. Nazarene Publishing House,
Kansas City,
MO, 1988.
Dr. Terry Ketchum
http://www.odci.gov/