BIG CHALLENGES MEET BIG DREAMS IN SE ASIA

BIG CHALLENGES MEET BIG DREAMS IN SE ASIA

For the past two and a half years, a group of pastors in SE Asia have been working hard to complete eight training modules through Asian Access. This area of the world is known for its resistance to the Gospel and those who share it.

These pastors recently completed the last module, have graduated the training, and are on their way to impact the world for Christ.

Mary Jo Wilson of Asian Access was able to teach during the last module.

“The final topic is missions so it’s looking at what they’ve learned about discipleship, multiplication, leadership and how they’re expressing that not only in their local context but expanding out regionally, nationally, and globally,” she says.

While cross-cultural mission trips often involve going overseas, Wilson explains that the area is extremely diverse with a large number of cultures and language groups all in one area.

This last module was designed to give these pastors a vision for world mission– even if it’s just reaching out to their neighbors.

“I think it’s natural for all of us to stay in our comfort zone and reach people who are right around us, who look like us and talk like us,” Wilson explains, “So I think for any Christian, it requires a bit of a push to get out of that comfort zone and see people who are very different from us, even if they have the same passport, and to find ways to cross that culture, to understand them and to plant seeds of the Gospel in ways that are relevant and expire an indigenous spark.”

In implementing the things that they learned in the module, these pastors have found resistance.

After a failed attempt with one group of people, they returned to the church. But God provided for them and rewarded their effort.

It turned out that members from the very same group worked in a building behind the church. The pastors were able to build relationships with them.

“It’s exciting to see ways that God was already working and providing means to bridge into these other cultural people groups around them and to see what doors God was opening and ways they could engage in that.”

This small group of pastors isn’t on very many people’s radar, but Wilson says it’s important that they get prayer support from other believers around the world.

“They’ve got big issues to wrestle with, in addition to poverty and education, they’re experiencing persecution right now and severe health issues. And so, there are a lot of things going on and I know that prayer is really powerful and that’s one way that we can engage and support and encourage and be part of that work.”

But even with big challenges, they have big dreams.

Wilson says toward the end of the program, each pastor presents his plans for ministry. One pastor who came from a rural setting wanted to mentor other pastors.

“The training that he’s had with Asian Access over these two and a half years has so dramatically impacted his life and his family and his ministry that he’s looking for ways to take this to rural pastors. So he has started a next level training to encourage and work with rural pastors.”

He’s already done a couple sessions, and his work is truly a God-send. Some of the pastors he’s encouraged were on the brink of quitting. It’s common for them to get discouraged due to isolation and burnout.

Asian Access is excited to see pastors who are passionate about their own walk with God. Leaders like this can more effectively engage the world around them with the Gospel and encourage believers to do the same.

“It’s exciting to see they’ve got a direction and steps and ways to accomplish it. So we’re excited to encourage and support and continue to pray with them.”

We can all raise support for pastors like these and help them pursue the calling God has given them. The most important thing to do is pray.

Wilson says God cares for these pastors and that is reason enough to stand behind them.

“If I’m a believer and my heart is to know God and love him, I have to see that part of his heart.”

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us Twitter and FaceBook.

Unreached People of the Day

Acehnese in Indonesia

The Aceh are a blend of many races, which explains why they are fairer skinned and taller than most other Indonesians. Most are either farmers or fishermen. Traditionally, most Aceh, both men and women, wore a sarong, a modest and colorful skirt. In recent years there has been a move towards Islamic dress and now the majority of women wear a head covering. Most men have no say in matters that deal with the home or even child rearing. The Aceh people are strict Sunni Muslims and have been very instrumental in spreading Islam throughout Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Ministry Obstacles

The Aceh people are one of the most strongly resistant people groups in the world to the good news of Jesus.

Outreach Ideas

Much focused, sustained prayer is needed for the Aceh people. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. The Lord's Spirit can work in Aceh hearts to hunger to know Jesus, the Savior.

Pray for the Followers of Christ

There are very few followers of Jesus among the Aceh people. They need prayer support. Pray for their physical protection, and spiritual protection. Pray they will be tactful yet forthright in their quiet testimony for Christ. Pray they will consistently know the joy of Christ.

Pray for the Entire People Group

Pray for the fervency of the Aceh people toward Islam to be gradually redirected toward its proper object. Pray for a growing desire to know Isa (Jesus).

Scripture Focus

"Now it will come about that In the last days, The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it." Isaiah 2:2

10,000 Pakistani Muslims Accept Jesus in One Night

10,000 Pakistani Muslims Accept Jesus in One Night

Revival in Pakistan: Pastor Anwar Fazal touching millions in Pakistan by sharing the Gospel in the Islam dominated country. Senior Pastor Anwar Fazal from Eternal Life Ministries (ELM) in Pakistan arranges a big Healing Crusade every Wednesday in Lahore, and thousands of People attend every week in Lahore. It is reported as the biggest Healing Meetings in Pakistan by far. Gospel will not stop, but it will go to the ends of the world.

At one rally in Pakistan 10,000 Muslims accepted Christ in one night, and over the course of the week-long rally there were many miraculous healings and more than 150,000 Muslims were saved out of 200,000 that attended. The personage of Christ himself has been appearing to Muslims across the Middle East in the form of visions, proclaiming that He is indeed the King of King and Lord of Lords, and that He will soon be returning to claim His throne.

The Work that ELM church does, and the incredible feeling of hearing 10,000 Muslims shouting, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” as they defy the certain death sentence imposed for those who leave Islam and accept Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour.

The number of Christians attending the meetings are very high. Generally Christians in Pakistan face persecution from the government and other officials. However, these brothers in Christ are persistent in their Faith in Jesus Christ. This short video is from 3 days Prayer Festival organised by ELM Pakistan shows the love these people have for Jesus. We pray that Pakistan would know that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Their Daily Broadcast in ISSAC TV is watched by thousands of Christians in Pakistan. It is by far the most watched Christian Channel in Pakistan.

How a forgotten church with a leaky roof became one of Britain’s most thriving shrines

How a forgotten church with a leaky roof became one of Britain’s most thriving shrines

A few years ago St Augustine's, Ramsgate, had just one Mass a week. Today the restored shrine welcomes 10,000 visitors a year

Pugin’s church oft Augustine in Ramsgate became a shrine in 2012. It is now the official place to honour the coming of Christianity from Rome to the Anglo-Saxon people with the mission of St Augustine.

In a stunning location overlooking the sea, the shrine is near to where St Augustine first landed in AD 597. Augustus Pugin moved to this place and built his own “ideal” church (and was buried there) precisely because “blessed Austen had landed nearby”. He called it “the cradle of Catholicism in England”.

Pugin desired a rebirth of Catholic culture in the place where it had been first conceived. When Archbishop Peter Smith inaugurated the new shrine he was filling a gap of 474 years since the last great shrine of St Augustine had been destroyed in Canterbury. This significant act has inspired thousands of pilgrims to visit ever since.

People sometimes ask me: “How do you make a shrine?” The first and most important point is to ask (and pray about) whether there is a need. In Ramsgate we had a hugely important architectural jewel which was in danger of being closed and lost to the Catholic faith. When I arrived, St Augustine’s had only one Mass in the middle of each week, the roof leaked, the building had serious structural issues, there was no safe electricity and wind blew through the badly maintained windows.

Secondly, there has to be some compelling religious story to tell or revive which will catch the imagination and inspire devotion. In our religiously blessed country this is often not too hard to find. In Ramsgate we had the two massive (but somewhat forgotten) heritage faith stories of the landing of St Augustine and the work of Pugin. These stories needed re-telling and are at the heart of English Catholic identity.

Thirdly, there is a need for local support and financial aid. At St Augustine’s we had a community ready for the task. We were able to set up and organise a Friends group, which began to fund-raise and advertise. From small beginnings, many hundreds of people across the country are now involved. Soon many donations were given by both religious and secular groups based on the significance of the site.

It is one thing, however, to have the concept and site of a shrine and another to operate as one. A shrine needs to be open, accessible and active. We have built up a team of more than 40 volunteers who help in greeting visitors, cleaning and taking on office, media and management roles. These volunteers are parishioners as well as local people without other links to the Church. We also have a full-time shrine manager and a sacristan/warden, who are essential to the steady running of everything.

An important aspect of a shrine is having festivals and devotions. We have daily Masses at noon and many pilgrimages. We possess a very rare, precious relic of St Augustine of Canterbury which is a centrepiece. The relic is venerated each weekend and during pilgrimages. Above all, each year we have St Augustine Week. In 2016 the festival runs from May 27 to June 4 (view the programme at augustineshrine.co.uk). Growing each year, and involving the whole town, the festival has Masses, processions, lectures, concerts, tours and all sorts of activities to help people engage with St Augustine, the shrine and its rich legacy.

This year, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, we have the opportunity to create an “education, research and visitor centre”. Pilgrims and other visitors will be able to gain even greater knowledge of the stories of this site, understand what they are seeing and be able to use the church for its religious purposes, as it was intended.

Shrines are powerhouses of the new evangelisation. At St Augustine’s, the majority of our visitors are not Catholic and yet they too enjoy the experience. Beauty reaches everyone. Heritage is a forgotten tool for sharing the faith in a gentle, non-intrusive manner.

At present we are welcoming more than 10,000 visitors each year and that number is increasing. The shrine celebrates liturgy to a very high standard in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms. Artists and historians are making important contributions. Last year we also launched with Explore Kent a signed walking route called “the Way of St Augustine”. It connects Canterbury to Ramsgate, following the route that the saint took after preaching to King Ethelbert.

Music, too, has become an important part of life here. From early beginnings in 2012, we have a group of national-standard singers associated with the shrine. We hosted Songs of Praise and our choir, the Victoria Consort, sang on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship earlier this year, and they also sing at liturgies and sacred music concerts throughout the year. We have a community chant choir, the Schola Augustini, which brings all sorts of people together to create beautiful music.

To keep the musical life going, we have a dedicated campaign called The Song Started Here. The title recalls that Gregorian Chant – the music at the foundation of most Western music – was first sung in England on Ramsgate’s shores.

Faith, devotion, music, art, history, people and communities – these are the ingredients in the making of a shrine. But in the end I believe the rise of the shrines is first and foremost a work of providence. England, land of saints, used to have so many shrines, and it is wonderful to see devotion to our saints reviving. The Church arrived on Ramsgate’s shores more than 1,400 years ago, and it is here that people are rediscovering and growing in their faith still.

Military BibleSticks encourage Ukraine

Military BibleSticks encourage Ukraine

PUBLISHED ON 26 MAY, 2016

Ukraine – It’s when all comfort is gone that we feel our greatest need for the Gospel. That’s why Military BibleSticks of Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) are so important.

Matt Cassady of FCBH says of military life, “Everything else can be stripped away, it’s very basic, you’re living hand to mouth […], you’re trying to get safety and security and sometimes both of those are fleeting objectives. But, it’s during those times that we are most receptive to God working in our lives.”

The Ukrainian military has been in conflict with separatists since 2014. FCBH says more than 9,000 people have died in the fighting so far.

The Associated Press says earlier this week, seven soldiers were killed and nine more people injured.

Ukraine hasn’t gone under the radar when it comes to getting the audio Bible to them in the form of Military BibleSticks.

“Over 1,100 so far have gone out. The difference that it makes with the soldiers that are fighting for their freedom, for their independence, for their sovereignty, they are incredibly encouraged and strengthened through that Military BibleStick,” Cassady says.

This BibleStick contains audio recordings of the New Testament and select Psalms, and they are created with field-safe features.

Cassady says it reminds the soldiers that “they are worth having the spoken Word of God in their language, that they are worth it to us in America—that we would finance and send those Military BibleSticks to them, that they have value, and they have worth and that we want to encourage them; not because they’re Ukrainian or what they’re doing, but because they are children of God and we want to help spread the Gospel to them to encourage them.”

Men and women in the military can find themselves in especially tumultuous situations where their emotions and mind may fail them.

“You can always rely on the unchanging powerful word of God in your life,” Cassady says.

A heart that cares for Ukraine

It’s not necessarily a knee-jerk reaction of Christians in the United States to think of sending audio Bibles to other militaries. Still, along with FCBH, there are many people who recognize the need immediately during violence.

“The passion stems from the Great Commission that we’re called to go out to the utter ends of the earth,” Cassady says.

In our abundance of access to the Bible in America, we can sometimes forget that access isn’t readily available in other countries. But when we recognize that scarcity, Cassady says the next step is to consider how our own story has been changed by Scripture.

“Think about what that’s done in your own life and think, would someone else throughout the world benefit from that same thing?”

And finally, Cassady suggests when you see distressing news from around the world, don’t let it freeze your compassion. “Whenever my heart begins to break for the atrocities committed around the globe, I’m reminded that those people need Jesus.”

Your heart that cares

In light of this, Casssady says, “The first thing we would ask is just if you’re listening to this, that you would pray — pray for the Great Commission, pray for us, pray for your place in the Great Commission.”

CARDINAL SAYS ITALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS EFFECTIVELY LEGALIZED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

CARDINAL SAYS ITALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS EFFECTIVELY LEGALIZED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

PUBLISHED Thursday, 21^st  May 2016

Cardinal Bagnasco said same-sex unions had been put on a par with marriage and the difference was one of vocabulary

The Italian government has effectively elevated homosexual partnerships to the same status as heterosexual marriage, the head of Italy’s bishops’ conference has said following the passage of a new Bill which recognises same-sex civil unions.

While some supporters of the new law, which passed the legislature on May 11, insisted the law did not recognise gay marriage, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa, president of the bishops’ conference, said the differences are only in the vocabulary used and in “easily circumvented legal devices.”

The bill passed after its sponsors removed language explicitly allowing one partner in a gay union to adopt the biological child of the other partner.

Supporters of the bill said it now would be up to individual judges in adoption cases to decide.

“The final blow, which is already being spoken of publicly”, Cardinal Bagnasco said, would be the legalization of surrogate motherhood.

Surrogacy, he said, “exploits the female body” and profits from the poverty of women willing to carry a child for others.

Cardinal Bagnasco made the remarks yesterday to members of the bishops’ conference.

Pope Francis had opened the bishops’ general meeting the evening before with a speech about the lives and witness of priests, which is a topic on the bishops’ agenda.

Unlike the Pope, the cardinal spoke about a wide range of social and political issues facing Italy and the rest of Europe. In addition to the civil-unions law, the cardinal decried the apparent inability of Europe’s governments to find a fair and coordinated response to the refugee crisis.

“May Europe find its soul again and, therefore, its love for peoples and nations,” the cardinal said.

He echoed Pope Francis’ words to European leaders earlier in May: “I dream of a Europe that cares for children, that offers fraternal help to the poor and those newcomers seeking acceptance because they have lost everything and need shelter. … I dream of a Europe where being a migrant is not a crime but a summons to greater commitment on behalf of the dignity of every human being.”

Currently, the cardinal said, Italian parishes, religious communities and other church institutions are providing a home and assistance to about 23,000 migrants and refugees; the number, he said, has increased by 4,500 since the beginning of the year.

Anti-Christian violence is another serious problem, which Cardinal Bagnasco said the international community is not doing enough to resolve. “In the world there seems to be a growing indifference to such violence as if the real problem was something other than the right to profess one’s faith without undergoing persecution and death.”

And, he said, while the Italian government and politicians spent months working on and debating the law on civil unions – an issue he said impacts only a tiny percentage of the population – unemployment is growing and so is poverty.

The percentage of Italians working has fallen 4.8 percent, he said. “And current data tells us that close to 40 percent of people between 15 and 24 are looking for work, compared to the European average of 22 percent” youth unemployment.

The country’s continually falling birthrate is another indication of how bad things are, he said. “The data of 2015 are the worst since the unity of Italy” in 1871.

“Last year, against 653,000 deaths, there were 488,000 births while 100,000 Italians left the country. Demographics are a crucial indicator of a country’s state of health,” he said.

Falling birthrates show a lack of “hope in tomorrow and courage in generating new life. 

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us Twitter and FaceBook.

FRANCIS TO HOLD UNPRECEDENTED MEETING WITH TOP SUNNI MUSLIM LEADER

FRANCIS TO HOLD UNPRECEDENTED MEETING WITH TOP SUNNI MUSLIM LEADER

PUBLISHED on Friday, 20 May 2016

 Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, will be received at the Vatican on Monday.

Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, will be received at the Vatican on Monday

Pope Francis will receive the highest authority in Sunni Islam in an unprecedented meeting at the Vatican on Monday.

The meeting between Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, Cairo, and Pope Francis was revealed by Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi.

Fr Lombardi said: “This audience is being prepared and has been scheduled for Monday. It will be a first.”

Al-Tayeb suspended dialogue with the Holy See on behalf of Al-Azhar University in 2011. Benedict XVI had called for the protection of Christian minorities following a bomb attack on a church in Alexandria which was perceived as interfering in Egypt’s affairs.

But things have improved since Francis’s election, with a representative of the Al-Azhar mosque, Mahmoud Azab, participating in an inter-faith conference at the Vatican in March 2014.

“The dialogue was never cut, it was just suspended,” Azab said at the time, adding that the idea was not “dialogue for its own sake. There has to be a clear agenda.”

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us Twitter and FaceBook.facebook

Kid-Friendly Devotionals Reach the Balkans with the Gospel

Kid-Friendly Devotionals Reach the Balkans with the Gospel

PUBLISHED ON 20 MAY, 2016

 In 2014, Keys for Kids began translating their ministry resources into Albanian. Since that time, the daily devotionals have been broadcast on Radio 7, the largest network of radio stations in the Balkans.

Enkelejda (Lejda) Kumaraku of Radio 7 shares, “We broadcast in the countries of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece.” Those radio stations reach 90% of the country, including highly remote regions.

The opportunity to share the Gospel is not taken lightly. The percentage of evangelicals in Albania and its neighboring countries is low due to the region’s history.

While Albania has had freedom of religion for 25 years, after being the only atheist country in the world, many young families are learning about Jesus Christ for the first time. Lejda says, “Having somebody like Keys for Kids to help us teach biblical principles to children is a wonderful blessing and it is a great help for the Albanian Church.”

While Christianity is growing, there are many families who are unable to attend church because there are no local congregations near them or because of persecution inside their own homes.

Lejda continues, “There is a huge number of listeners who cannot keep a Bible in their homes, and radio is the only way for them to grow up spiritually.”

Keys for Kids allows mothers to share the Gospel with their children, even in homes where they cannot openly speak about God. The Keys for Kids ministry is now expanding further in the region, so more families may hear and understand the hope of the Gospel.

Lejda asks for prayer for Radio 7 – specifically for protection. “Pray for protection of our staff and our equipment against any attack.”

Christians – or “People of the Cross” as they are called by other religions – face ongoing persecution. She asks that prayers be lifted for God’s wisdom in everything that is done on behalf of the Gospel at Radio 7, and she asks for prayers for the listeners. “Pray for the ones who are being persecuted for their faith – and the number is big.”

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us Twitter and FaceBook.

NIGERIAN BISHOP: MUSLIMS MUST RESCUE THEMSELVES FROM EXTREMISTS

NIGERIAN BISHOP: MUSLIMS MUST RESCUE THEMSELVES FROM EXTREMISTS

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah is in New York raising awareness about the plight of Nigerian Christians

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, said Islam “has to rescue itself from extremists.”

The bishop made the comments in an interview with Catholic New York during a visit to the archdiocesan newspaper’s offices at the New York Catholic Centre in Manhattan.

He was in the United States to raise awareness of the plight of Nigeria’s Christians in his home diocese in northwestern Nigeria.

Between 97 per cent and 98 per cent of the region’s population is Muslim and Sharia law is in place.

Bishop Kukah was visiting the United States at the invitation of Aid to the Church in Need, a Brooklyn-based international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Vatican whose mission is to help suffering and persecuted Catholics worldwide.

That same day, the bishop was a featured guest on New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s radio programme, Conversation With the Cardinal, on the Catholic Channel on SiriusXM satellite radio. Cardinal Dolan said, “We hear a lot about Boko Haram. We hear a lot about the persecution of Christians.”

Boko Haram, a radical Islamic terrorist group with ties to Islamic State, bears responsibility for numerous violent attacks in the African nation.

It attracted worldwide media scrutiny for its 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria.

The Diocese of Sokoto is home to just 32 parishes and 36 priests. Despite the threat of conflict and strife, Bishop Kukah said, daily life in his diocese is not solely “a gloomy tale of war.”

“We must always remember that for about 360 or so days of the year we are living ordinary lives,” the bishop said.

Cardinal Dolan, backing up his fellow prelate’s statement, noted that parishes in the United States “benefit from the church in Nigeria, from their good priests, their sisters and their people that are here.”

The religious statistics in the northern portion of Nigeria don’t tell the whole story. In other parts of Nigeria, the percentage of Christians is around 42 to 45 percent, the majority of whom are Catholic, Bishop Kukah said.

Christians are treated almost like second-class citizens because “of the corruption of the Nigerian state itself,” the bishop said. The country’s problems are more about power than religion, he said.

Persecutions come from corruption within the state itself and those who govern it, he said. As an example, he said that Christians in the area are often denied access to land to build more churches, schools and health care centres.

Bishop Kukah is attuned to politics and government. He has served as a member of Nigeria’s Truth Commission, which investigated and recommended appropriate redress of human rights violations that had been committed between 1966 and 1999. It issued a report in 2002. The bishop also has served as secretary of the Political Reform Conference for Nigeria and was formerly a member of Nigeria’s Electoral Reform Committee.

The bishop said that inter-religious dialogue and Catholic education are two ways that the Church can combat corruption and the culture of bigotry and violence in Nigeria.

“Our final objective is a cohesive nation,” the bishop said. “For us as Catholics, we have to build the common good.”

He said that the church should do “what we do best to create a much more stable society.”

Creating more Catholic schools in the region for both Christian and Muslim students is a good place to start, he reasons. “We want this to be how they interact,” he said. The idea is not to convert Muslim students, he said, but rather to allow students to learn side by side and interact with one another without hostility or fear.

“The opportunities are huge,” he said, to also educate and introduce students to “the values of the Catholic church.”

“Religion can and should be a force for good,” he said.

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us Twitter and Facebook

HOST AN ORPHAN, CHANGE A LIFE

HOST AN ORPHAN, CHANGE A LIFE

Malawi (MNN) — Force for Christ, an international hosting program for orphans, is gearing of for another hosting summer and needs families to help.

For those who don’t know what orphan hosting is, Chad LaForce with Force for Christ explains, “Hosting is where an orphan child from another country comes and stays for a period of between four to six weeks with a Christian family in the United States. And so we facilitate that whole process.”

This year, Force for Christ will be helping others host orphans from Malawi during the months of July and August. In Malawi, there are literally thousands and thousands of orphans.

The people there face numerous trials and challenges including poverty, starvation, malaria, and high HIV rates. Many of these are the very reason why many children are parentless.

“A lot of their twenty-and-thirty-something-year-old parents, many many of them die. So you have thousands of orphans without an orphanage, without any infrastructure. Often times without food. Literally with just the shirt on their back,” LaForce says. In some cases, it’s rare they’re even being taken care of by an adult.

But through orphan hosting, these kids get a chance to experience life differently. For the first time, in possibly their whole lives, they can sleep in a safe place, go to sleep with full bellies, and know what it’s like to have even just one parent, let alone two, tuck them in at night with love.

If concerns for language and cultural barriers is a hindrance for hosting, don’t’ worry, Force for Christ puts all its families through training for good techniques and tips for dealing with cultural and language challenges.

And as for the language barriers, most of these children know English. But during transit, they are accompanied by a translator to help. Also, most times, kids are able to pick up 50 or 60 words over conversational English.

For many who host children, their relationships with these kids don’t end when they put them back on a plane home. Often times, the families and kids keep in contact and continue building their relationships.

Though it’s easy to think these few weeks won’t make an impact. They will. LaForce explains how, when making a field visit in Malawi and handing out dresses, there was one girl who didn’t get a dress. The Force for Christ team scrounged to make it work, and were able to come up with a dress for the little girl.

“The elder of her village saw this happening and two days later, at one of our wrap up meetings, stood up and said ‘you changed the life of that girl fundamentally,” LaForce recounts.

This was the first gift this little girl had ever received. It was also an answered prayer. As she watched others receive dresses, she prayed and prayed for God to provide one for her, He did. Now, this little girl tells everyone she can about Christ. Not only was she shown an act of love and kindness through the dress, she also saw God move in her life.

This was the impact on one girl’s life because of a gift. Imagine what a month with a family could do.

When families host orphans, they have the unique opportunity to share the Gospel, not only in word but also in deed. Families get to love an orphaned child like their own, kind of like the way God has loved us. If you have the room and you’re interested, then consider hosting an orphan and being a part of changing a child’s life.

However, regardless, please pray that God would provide the right host families for the job. Pray for their future relationships and the kids they’ll be building them with. And pray that ultimately His goodness, grace, and love would be evident through the whole process and these kids would come to know Christ.

Angola Becomes 'First Country to Ban Islam'

Angola Becomes 'First Country to Ban Islam'

Southern African nation reportedly bans Islam and orders the demolition of mosques in the country.

The African nation of Angola has reportedly become the first country to ban Islam and Muslims, reports On Islam. Concerning the ban, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said Sunday "this is the final end of Islamic influence in our country."

Angola's ban was first announced last Friday, when Angolan Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva said "the process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human rights, their mosques would be closed until further notice."

India Today reports Silva's statement was made at the 6th Commission of the Angolan National Assembly, and that the ban includes orders to demolish mosques in the country.

Silva reportedly said the ban was necessary since Islam is "contradictory to the customs of Angola culture."

Angola's population of 16 million is predominantly Christian, with only 80,000-90,000 Muslims, the majority of whom are migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin, according to the US State Department.

The crackdown on Islam comes as Christians in the Middle East are being forced from Muslim countries.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren noted in 2012 that the Christian population in the Middle East dropped from 20% a century ago to 5% currently amid ongoing persecution of Christians by Muslims.

Oren noted in Egypt 200,000 Coptic Christians fled their homes in 2011 amid anti-Christian violence during the "Arab spring" uprising that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak.

In 2012 Saudi Arabia's top Muslim leader, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Shaikh, issued a fatwa (religious decree) to demolish all churches on the Arabian peninsula.

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us on twitter and FaceBook

Cheering News? ONE OF THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK SCHOOL GIRLS FOUND

Cheering News? ONE OF THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK SCHOOL GIRLS FOUND

After two years of their abduction, one of the Chibok school girls has been found – She was found by the Civilian JTF – The chairman of the Chibok community confirmed the report according to Oby Ezekwesili One of the Chibok school girls abducted by the deadly Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014 has been reportedly found. According to a report by the Hausa service of the BBC, the girl was rescued in the Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon on Tuesday, May 18. The rescued girl identified as Amina Ali Nkek from Mbalala village, south of Chibok was said to have been found by members of vigilante group known as Civilian JTF. READ ALSO: Children’s footprints spotted in Sambisa forest Nkek was reportedly identified by a civilian fighter who recognised her. Sources told the BBC she was found with a baby. Report has it that she was later identified by her parents after she was taken to Chibok and she now with soldiers in Dambuwa, Borno state until further investigations are completed. Nkek disclosed that all the kidnapped girls are still kept in Sambissa Forest by the insurgents, Sahara Reporters reports. Oby Ezekwesili, the leader of the #BringBackOurGirls group said the chairman of Chibok community in Abuja, Tsambido Hosea-Abana confirmed the news.

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Phyllis Sortor, an American missionary kidnapped in Nigeria, has been released

A 71-year-old American missionary has been released after being held for almost a fortnight by kidnappers in Nigeria.

Reverend Phyllis Sortor, of the Free Methodist Church, was abducted by gunmen in Emiworo, in Kogi State and her kidnappers demanded a ransom of $300,000.

According to the Kogi State Police Commissioner the missionary’s freedom was secured, as far as the police were aware, without any ransom being paid to the kidnappers.

"We are deeply grateful to all who prayed for Phyllis' safe return and praise God the family representative was able to secure her release," David W. Kendall, for the Board of Bishops, said.

The church also said in a statement: "Phyllis was aware there were risks associated with her ministry, but also knew there are very few places in the world without risks and dangers.

“As a matter of sound policy, and to help protect the many, many people who helped secure Phyllis’ freedom, we will have no comment concerning the efforts that were undertaken to secure her release.”

Rev Sortor was handed over to the Nigerian authorities and church leaders following her abduction from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, in Kogi State, where she was the administrator.

Five gunmen, two of them masked, had carried out the abduction after scaling fences surrounding the Hope Academy compound.

The kidnappers had originally demanded $300,000 in ransom money but a day later reduced it to $180,000.

Kidnapping is a major problem in Nigeria where it is a lucrative business for criminals, making them millions of pounds each year. The country has one of the worst records in the world for kidnapping.

Criminal gangs have kidnapped scores of expatriates in southern and central Nigeria over the years. Central Kogi state has also had low level activity by Islamist militants linked to insurgent group Boko Haram, security sources said.

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. Follow us on twitter and FaceBook

SHARING LOVE AND BRINGING HOPE TO IDPS

SHARING LOVE AND BRINGING HOPE TO IDPS

Doctors Health Initiative (DHI), a not for profit, non-governmental organization made up of medical doctors and other professionals, held a three-day medical outreach at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Benin Edo State recently. This was done in partnership with Novo Health Africa, a health maintenance organization accredited by the National Health Insurance Scheme with the objective to provide health care delivery solutions across Nigeria and internationally through collaborative partnerships.

The 15-man team was led by Dr. Nkechi Asogwa, a medical practitioner and Director of the NGO, decided to show some love and reach out to about 2,000 inhabitants in the Benin IDP camp comprising mostly of 80 per cent women and children and 20 per cent men. The aim was to give humanitarian aid, medical treatment and bring hope to the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency residing in the camp. Most of the ailments were treatable and many of them had worm infestations. Most of the children were also malnourished. The children in this camp along with the adults, have meager meals and eat only twice a day depending on the availability of food. There are times they eat only once and when there is no food supply; they have no meals at all. The children in this camp are aged 0-12. They do not have a balanced diet most times.

The team, according to Ms. Bimpe Adebambo, a volunteer of DHI also inspected their kitchen and environs to check the hygiene standards. “It was discovered that at the camp, they do not have enough potable water even with three boreholes though only one was functional. When there are power cuts, the borehole does not work at all. They are dependent on electricity from a nearby village”, she revealed.

Speaking further, Adebambo said, “Some of the IDPs also had open wounds; some will need psychotherapy as they have had very horrible and traumatic experiences. The people in charge of the camp said that at times the children and women just start crying and some of them just get up and start running and they in the camp have to go after and catch them. Many saw their parents, husbands and sons killed right before them in very horrible ways. Some Neuro-Psychiatrists had visited the camp and volunteered their services but that was not enough with so many people. Some of the very critical patients were taken away by these volunteer doctors for treatment and then returned to the camp. Some of the very critical patients seen at the camp at the time of DHI outreach were referred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital hoping they will be attended to.”

Pastor Solomon Folorunsho who is in charge of the camp, said it was very difficult getting funding for very critical patients to be taken care of. He is working towards getting funds from individuals and organizations to assist these people.

There was one of the patients seen, a 12-year-old boy, that seemed to have fractured his hip and was in extreme pain. He fell while running away from the terrorists after they have killed his parents. He would need urgent attention and immediate surgery without which he may never be able to walk properly again. He could only be treated for pain, which was not solving the major problem. There was another case of a young girl of about 10 years who saw her father being killed brutally by the Boko Haram terrorists. She and her mother witnessed their father and husband being flayed and cut. Some women seen could not even narrate their ordeal. When asked about their experiences in order to ascertain their treatment, they just broke down and started weeping. Another visit to the camp in Benin is planned for June 2016 and the DHI director has also received calls from the IDP camps in Yola where they worked last year calling for help. The DHI is trying to bring help and support to the venerable in the society and is calling on other individuals and organizations to do same and not just pay lip service to the issues on ground concerning fellow Nigerian citizens.

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. You can follow us on twitter and Facebook

Breaking Through Barriers in Kenya

From witches to Islamist terrorists, a ministry based in Kenya faces daunting challenges in the far-flung areas its indigenous missionaries dare to enter.

With more than 80 full-time workers and 300 part-time helpers, the ministry reaches many pockets of Kenya with no Christian presence, including northern areas plagued by bandits and lethal tribal conflicts. Armed security guards accompany workers as they teach the Bible under trees.

"Insecurity still remains a great challenge in many places," the director of the indigenous ministry said. "We pray for God to continue making provisions of finances to hire the security services as we visit those areas."

In northern Kenya, workers are reaching new sites each day with the gospel, planting new churches in areas where a longstanding history of cattle-rustling now comes with illicit arms, wan police and security forces, and young adults weighed down by unemployment and poverty.

Competition for scarce resources has increased as environmental degradation has spread, leading to malnutrition, inter-tribal acrimony, killings and displacement of thousands of people. In this context, two indigenous missionaries in northern Kenya have led teams that have seen hundreds of souls come to Christ since December.

"Our gospel team workers have taken the gospel to 17 new villages and prayed for 342 persons for salvation," the director said. "They have planted six new churches in different villages, and they are looking forward to many more, because many are accepting Jesus."

The ministry teams organize community members to dig low-cost wells that meet a critical need and generate communal good will. They also help open hearts to proclamation of Jesus' saving sacrifice and resurrection, though everyday problems can also hamper efforts; one of the two leaders' motorcycles recently broke down, forcing him to share the other leader's motorcycle. Having one's own vehicle can mean the difference between life and death in this region.

"We thank God that they have not encountered ugly incidents while working for the Lord," the director said.

Besides church-planting, the native ministry trains leaders in follow-up and discipleship, which is key as church attendance is only 7 percent in a country where 83 percent of the population identifies as Christian. Superficial or syncretistic faith is common as well among evangelicals, estimated at 41 percent of the population, according to Operation World.

Other areas have all these problems and more. In Tharaka-Nithi County in central Kenya, witchcraft is commonly practiced, and the rituals to counter it are rooted in traditional animist beliefs. Evangelists must contend with both forces.

In one case earlier this year, a tribal practitioner of witchcraft was reported to have distributed metal boxes containing goat heads and horns to schoolchildren in Tharaka-Nithi County. Normally, students at boarding schools use such metal boxes as mobile lockers for their belongings. Shocked parents decided that local elders should curse the witch for distributing the boxed goat heads.

Elders from 32 clans executed the curse, local media reported, by gathering at the Gakurume River at 4 a.m., shedding their clothes, and saying traditional prayers while facing Mt. Kenya. There they burned Sodom apples and tossed dead tree branches about. The hours-long ritual ended with a song against the witch. The ritual is believed to curse those who offend the community and do not repent, whom the elders said would be "disturbed by bad omens" such as accidents, death or insanity.

Against such deep-rooted, communal traditions, the indigenous ministry sends teams of evangelists to preach the one God and the Lamb slain for the sins of the world.

"The team leader has been facing heavy resistance from the Tharaka community, as many practice witchcraft and believe in cults," the ministry director said. "God is awesome, as He has established one new church with 17 members after a long struggle. He has trained two young men from the area to help reach many people with the gospel."

The indigenous ministry has also planted churches in the northeast, where Al Shabaab rebels battling the Somali government have launched retaliation attacks on Kenyan soil since Kenya led African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces into Somalia in 2011. The incursion to help fight the Islamic extremist militants came in response to Al Shabaab attacks on tourist sites in Kenya's coastal region.

Al Shabaab militants and their sympathizers have selected out Christians in several attacks in the northeast, including an attack on a bus en route to Mandera in December that took one life. The rebels later that day stopped a truck and killed its driver, also a Christian, when he was unable to recite the Islamic conversion creed.

On July 7, 2015, Al Shabaab killed 17 quarry workers near Mandera, including several Christians. As in previous attacks, the Islamic insurgents targeted migrant workers from the Kenyan interior who were non-Muslims. On Dec. 2, 2014, Al Shabaab killed 36 non-Muslims, most of them Christian, in an attack on quarry workers near Mandera. The killings came after a Nov. 22, 2014 assault by Somali insurgents in the same area that left 28 non-Muslims dead, including 19 Christians.

Lack of security has forced the indigenous ministry to withdraw workers from the region, but the director said he hopes funds will be available to hire security guards so that evangelists to re-establish contact.

"In January we relocated the last three brothers who have been working there, but we trust in the Lord things will change and we will do our missions work as before," he said. "We have churches there, but the Christians are facing persecution. God is working, as we can hire the security escorts to take the gospel and encourage the Christians living there."

In Meru County in the heart of the country, the ministry's team has sought out remote villages where Christ was unknown and planted three new churches since December.

"They have brought 613 souls to the Lord since December," the director said. "In July we will raise funds to buy land for a church in a village called Ruiri. Since December the team has organized six big open-air meetings, where hundreds of souls were saved."

Likewise, in nearby Meru North District, the ministry's team has planted eight churches since June 2015.

"Those churches are growing strong," the director said. "In this region about 15 percent have not been thoroughly reached with the gospel, and our team has been doing a wonderful job to reach out to the sinners. A big challenge is the growth of cults, and the team leader is working so hard to see that every corner has been reached with the right gospel."

Mission News  Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. You can follow us on twitter and Facebook