40 Years: Celebrating our 40th with New Books!

We convinced two men who had been very active in SIFAT to write their autobiographies for SIFAT to publish. On September 20, 2019,  these authors gave their testimonies, and we held a book signing as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations. The two are as different as two people can be. But, they both are a tremendous example of what God can do with anyone’s life if we give ourselves to Christ.

Two new books were published to celebrate SIFAT’s 40th anniversary!

Art Stephenson, former Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., worked in the space industry for 50 years. He shares his life story from childhood to working on America’s space programs while balancing family time and finding time to serve others through his church. Now retired, he spends hundreds of hours working with SIFAT, helping our graduates develop their projects for their impoverished communities. Art is a member of our board of directors and leads campus work teams and SIFAT mission teams to Ecuador.

Art Stephenson, a member of SIFAT’s Board of Directors, is donating all proceeds from his autobiography to SIFAT.

Benjo (pronounced Ben-ho) Paredes has overcome obstacles most of us will never face. A descendant of the Incas in South America, Benjo used his fourth-grade education plus night school to become a businessman.  He led people to Christ and started churches where there were none. He led 80 communities in Bolivia to get clean water systems. He was key in the formation of what became SIFAT.

Benjo Paredes met the Corson family when they were missionaries in Sapecho, Bolivia. They began working together in appropriate technology and continued by forming SIFAT.

Two authors from very different backgrounds and cultures are brought together in the ministry of SIFAT. They show that God loves and uses us all no matter how rich or poor, how educated formally or not, or from which country or culture we come. With God, there are no favorites. He wants to use us all!

You will be inspired by reading these two autobiographies—one written in Houston, Texas, on a computer with the latest electronic equipment, the other written in a humble jungle home in Sapecho, Bolivia, with a pencil and arthritic fingers. Both books make us want to do more for Christ!

To purchase these books, you can visit the SIFAT Village Store online or call the SIFAT office at 256.396.2015.