Greetings Brothers and Sisters in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Tonya and I wanted to share some of the ways the Lord used us in the year of 2025.
I am in my fourth year teaching the African students in various ministry classes as a professor of Alef University. Some of the courses for 2025 were the following:
- Introduction to the Study of Theology
- Introduction to Mentoring
- Introduction to Hermeneutics
- Introduction to Preaching
Several African ministers reached out to Alef University to hold a Pastoral Leadership Conference in Nairobi, Kenya from February 13th – 15th. The chancellor, president and four of us professors gave a series of workshops on several topics the African pastors asked us to speak on, along with a question-and-answer session at the end. My wife, Tonya, was also able to travel with us to Nairobi.
My two topics were:
- The value of a theological education in ministry
- Shaping the youth and raising the next generation
We were not certain how many pastors and church leaders would show up. We had 75 registered, but on the day of the event, 150 showed up! The visionary pastor of the church set up 4 tents that would hold 30-40 people on their church grounds, and we went from tent to tent teaching on our topics from early morning to late afternoon for three days. The tents helped keep us out of the heat of the African sun. It was a very exhausting but highly rewarding experience!
The photo above shows part of the Leadership Conference – Tonya seated with pastors and church leaders, and Mike teaching in one of the tents. Below are some of the volunteers who led the praise and worship times between the workshops.
When I was asked to be a professor at Alef University, I told Dr. Zaldivar that my dream was to be at the African students’ graduation and hand them their diplomas. That dream came true on November 15, 2025. Tonya and I traveled to Nairobi once again, but this time, we got to meet the students (that I taught online for three years) face to face.
There are two students (below) that I have had the privilege of spending some time with that I wanted to share with you. Both are pastors of congregations and overseers of seven additional churches each.
The first one is Pastor Moses Ilunga and his wife Caroline. They have four daughters – Pricellious (25), Joy (23), Fidelle (18), Joella (11) and one son – Joshua (9). Pastor Moses and his family are originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They fled from the persecution of Christians to the country of Kenya. Pastor Moses shared that over 10 million Christians have been killed in Congo in the last 30 years (things we never hear about)!
The second person is Pastor Allan Kiptangus and his wife, Josephine. They have one daughter – Blessing (21) and two sons – Rhema (19) and Obed (17). The lady in the red dress in the first picture below is Pastor Allan’s 76-year-old mother, and the lady to his left in the second picture is his wife. Tonya and I were given African wraps as a gift for attending Pastor Allan’s graduation ceremony.
A few times in 2025, I felt the Lord telling me to reach out to these two pastors and see what was going on in their personal lives. Pastor Moses shared that he was in Kenya on a work permit visa and the first three years it cost him 15,000 shillings ($115.00 American – 130 shillings to one dollar). He received the renewal letter from immigration and they increased his next three-year stay to 150,000 shillings ($1,154.00 dollars) – a 10-fold increase and he had seven days left to pay it!! They were obviously devastated and did not know what to do. Tonya and I felt led to send him $1,350.00 by Western Union. We added some extra to make sure there were no last-minute surprises (and there was … an 8000-shilling security bond). I cannot imagine what Pastor Moses and his wife were feeling, knowing that in seven days, the government could have arrested and expedited their family back to Congo!! He said there were many sleepless nights not knowing what their future held.
About five months later, I felt the need to see what challenge was facing Pastor Moses’ family. He mentioned that their car tires had become so bald that it was no longer safe for any of his family to ride in the car with him. I sent him enough money for new tires and to have a couple of dents removed from the front of the car. He and his wife were so thrilled to ride in a car that was whole and safe again!
Pastor Allan was attending a pastor’s conference in another nearby country, and his suitcase was stolen with all of his clothes. I sent him $400.00 to replace his wardrobe and suitcase. A church leader over seven churches with no clothes to wear had to be a humbling experience. He was totally shocked when I sent the money. He also shared being mugged in one city at another pastor’s conference where they took his wallet, watch and cell phone. He suffered a black eye and some bumps and bruises.
A riot broke out at the private school campus where Pastor Allan’s son, Obed, attends. The students were not targeted, but destruction of the buildings and teaching curriculum were. Some of the buildings were burned, and many windows were busted out along with paperwork thrown into the streets. The school was mainly funded by the students’ parents. The school shut down for repairs, and to reopen, each family had to pay $420.00. Tonya and I came up with $325.00 to give him toward this unexpected setback.
These two pastors heavily depend on their vehicle for ministry and family needs. Nairobi is a city of five million, and their churches are scattered throughout the city and out in the country. Both drive extremely old and very worn-out cars. Pastor Allan’s car was 18 years old and had over 350,000 miles on it. The gearbox fell apart on his car and shutdown several of his daily activities with church and home life. We decided to give $400.00 toward this worthy cause.
These are a few of the examples these two pastors have dealt with in 2025. There are others that I decided to not mention at this time. There is quite an attack on each of these men of God and their families. Please remember them and pray for their protection and provision.
This is a photo that was taken at an African Leadership Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Tonya is not a professor, but the leadership insisted that she be in the photo. This photo and my professor photo are on the Alef University website under Academy / Faculty / and Global Education. Faculty pictured include Pastor Moses Ilunga, Professor Evalyne Ogaloh, Professor and President Cesar Gomez, Professor and Chancellor Dr. Raul Zaldivar, and Perminus Kihima, along with Tonya and Professor Mike Bourassa. Professors Evalyne and Perminus have both graduated with their Associate’s Degree and Master’s Degree at Alef University. The word “Alef” is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet – a word that many of you (as well as me) wondered where it came from.
2025 was a memorable year for me and Tonya. As I get closer to retirement, my hope is to get more involved with our home church in Cookeville, TN and with Alef University, along with the students and pastors in Africa. I would also like to pursue the possibility of working with Samaritan’s Purse as a project manager when emergencies breakout throughout the southeastern U.S.
It is our hope that this newsletter encourages you to support me and Tonya, these pastors (and their families) in prayer and any other way that you feel led. I was sent to manage a massive project for our company in Montgomery, AL during 2025. This position provided me with a large increase in pay that I was able to use to help the financial needs of the two pastors and African activities associated with Alef University. I have moved onto another project and that pay increase is now gone, but the needs will continue for this university and these special servants of the Lord.
Tonya and I want to thank all of you who have prayed for and encouraged us in 2025. We are serious when we say, please consider coming with us on one of these missionary trips to Kenya. We pray that 2026 is a year of blessings and good health for you and your family. We will continue to send updates in the future when needs arise and specific prayer is needed.
Sincerely,
Mike and Tonya Bourassa
mlbourassa@comcast.net
678-265-0140 (Mike’s Cell)