LEEDS – Alfred Swain, missionary from Peru, will speak at the Leeds Church of the Nazarene on Thursday, June 5. A potluck supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation will follow.
Alfred and Arlene Swain have been career missionaries in the Church of the Nazarene for 38 years, with service in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile.
For the last 17 years Alfred has served as field director for Peru and Bolivia and for Chile for 12 years until 1998. Since 1992 they have lived in Lima, Peru.
The major contribution of the Swains has been in the training and placement of national leaders and in evangelism strategies that have resulted in multiplication of churches and the extension of the Church of the Nazarene to new areas in the countries.
Alfred was born in Northern Ireland and emigrated to the USA in 1952. He received his ministerial training at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass., and at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.
Arlene was born near Warren, Ohio, and is also a graduate of Eastern Nazarene College. She also did advanced studies in music and Bible during furlough periods. Her major contributions have been as professor of Bible, music and Christian education as well as participating in the administration of the church in the countries where they served. Arlene enjoys singing and playing the flute.
Their sons, David and Gordon, and a daughter, Christine, are all university professors in the U.S. They have three grandsons.
After 38 years of missionary service, the Swains will retire in May 2004. They look forward to continuing ministry in the United States. In their visits to local churches in the U.S. and Canada they will present the challenge of missions in this century illustrated with video presentations, music and a display of handicrafts and national music.
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