Stories from The Alliance World
A Child's Life for the Price of a Coffee?
[Tue, 26 May 2009 10:07:36 -0600]
By Brett and Sheri MacLean
Serving at Koutiala Hospital in Mali
Editor’s note: Just 77 percent of Malians live on less than $2 a day, about the cost of a day’s hospitalization in Koutiala Hospital. Bargain-basement medical costs like this, however, are often affordable only because of generous donors’gifts.
As we turn off her baby’s oxygen, Isa’s mother starts to bawl and runs outside so that she can hide her tears. Isa’s dad sits stone-faced.
He has asked for days to be allowed to take his premature baby home. We have refused. Today, he says that they are leaving regardless of what we say.
No Money
Why is he doing this? Doesn’t he realize that his son will die within an hour of turning off his oxygen? We have even removed Isa’s oxygen to show his father Isa’s struggle to live. Nevertheless, the father says that they will be going home.
When our Malian chaplain pulls Isa’s father aside, he soon discovers that they have no more money for medical care. Today, all of their money has run out.
Pricing a Child’s Life
Sadly this is life in Mali—having to let your child die due to lack of funds, even when the price of oxygen is just $2 per day and hospital care is an additional $1.
Can you even imagine having to put a monetary value on the life of your child … much less at a cost of no more than a cup of Starbucks™ coffee?
Yet families here are accustomed to this. In fact, children die so frequently that Malians don’t even have funerals for them because the expenses are too much. Funerals are reserved for those who have at least reached their teenage years.
Generous Donors Give Life
One of the most frequent greetings offered to parents of a deceased child is “Ala ka balo ta segi a no na”… “May God give you another child to replace this one.”
In my opinion, a more appropriate greeting following the death of a child would be “I’m sorry your baby died because you are poor.” Although these words are not spoken, it is unfortunately true.
Thankfully, Isa didn’t have to die. Because of we were able to tell his father that we would cover the rest of his hospitalization costs. Now Isa is at home, growing and doing well!
Isa, by the way, is the Arabic word for “Jesus.” Isa’s father is a teacher of the predominant religion here, yet he was so amazed at the care that was given in Jesus’ name, and the miracle of his child’s life, that he named his son after Him.
Learn More
Check out our work at , where the medical needs of women and children are absolutely staggering.
What You Can Do
Pray for Isa and his family to know Christ, the giver of eternal life.
Your support of Alliance Great Commission Ministries allows dedicated international workers like the MacLeans to continue their work—offering new life to the hopeless in Jesus’ Name.
You can also give to the . (This designation will assist other impoverished families like Isa’s who have no money for their children’s medical care.)
A Hard Day
[Tue, 26 May 2009 09:56:18 -0600]
By an Alliance worker serving in Guinea
I saw him sleeping on the ground beside the road in the middle of the day, flat on his stomach, his little legs stretched out behind him.
His arms were his pillow as the sun burned his head where he slept while the Mercedes and SUVs whizzed by, unseeing and uncaring. I drove by too.
Dying on the Street
What in the world would I do with an orphan boy, homeless, bedraggled and dirty? After all, there was cup and a piece of bread by his head where he lay. Someone had taken care of him.
But I slowed down, pulled over, and stopped. Of course we couldn’t keep an orphan boy, but I could at least take him to the orphanage by our house.
A made a slow U-turn and parked across the road. But as I walked toward him, I realized that something wasn’t right. This was NOT a small boy needing a mom’s touch.
The dirty, leathery feet attached to those pencil thin legs were the size of a man’s. He looked like a victim from a World War II concentration camp. A fragile, bony skeleton dressed in clothes that were doing little to cover him.
This was a very, very sick man looking death in the eye. I tapped his back to wake him up and asked him his name. When he opened his dry, caked and cracked lips to speak, the effort was so painful to watch.
“Rocky” was lucid and in his right mind. Sick and unable to work, he had no place to stay and no money for medicine. He had been in the streets for three months. After this explanation he stretched his hand out, palm up, opened in supplication: “Can you help me?”
Resignation
He looked at me with his eyes bulging out of his sunken eye sockets. I looked back and sadly shook my head “no.” He slowly withdrew his hand and closed his tired eyes, resigned to his fate.
I turned away and walked back to my car, tears streaming down my face. What in the world could I do to help a homeless man [likely] dying of AIDS?
Returning
I started my car, drove a ways down the road and then did another slow U-turn in the middle of the road. Driving up beside the man, I got out and helped him get into the car. He was too weak to stand, neither could he walk—but together we did it.
His one hand was trying to keep his too-big pants from falling off his bones. His other hand was holding on to a filthy sheet, his only possession in the world besides the clothes on his body and the fetish around his waist.
The stench filling my nostrils was nauseating, but the pain in my heart was even more overpowering. How did he come to this?
My heart was breaking for this man. I took him to the nearby hospital and left some money with my doctor friend to take care of his needs.
I drove home to my two-story house with a nice bed, clean sheets, and a refrigerator full of food.
It was a difficult day.
Learn More
Check out .
What You Can Do
Pray for “Rocky” to find comfort, peace, and eternal life in Christ. Pray also for our field workers in Guinea, and across the world, who often meet destitute people who desperately need to know their heavenly Father cares.
Cinderella's House: Offering Hope to Abused Women
[Thu, 14 May 2009 14:18:55 -0600]
By Betsy Blanchard
Serving in Spain
Editor’s note: Excerpts from Betsy’s recent newsletter describe her vision to assist immigrant women in Spain, many of whom are victims of sex-trafficking.
Great needs and spiritual darkness are a tangible part of life in my adopted home—Spain.
Spain’s Most Vulnerable
According to experts, immigrant women from Eastern Europe, Africa, Arabia, and Latin America have a 25 percent higher risk of being subjected to domestic violence in Spain.
Domestic violence is not the only problem these women face. There is a growing problem across Europe—including Spain—of sex-trafficking.
Young women—often girls in their teens, mostly from Latin America, Eastern Europe, and a few countries in Africa—are being forced into prostitution. Enticed to Spain by what seem to be legitimate jobs, they find themselves enslaved in prostitution, with almost no way out—hopeless, their young lives in ruins.
Cinderella’s House
God has laid a vision on my heart to establish a residential center —“Cinderella’s House”—to minister to these women in crisis. A center for restoration, it is where a hopeless and broken “princess” (a daughter of the King of Kings!) can meet the Prince of Peace and be transformed.
I spent the last six to eight months of my term in Spain laying some groundwork for this dream, researching possible sites for this ministry. My efforts will now focus primarily on getting this project off the ground—as God leads and provides.
Please continue to pray with me that God will soon make the Cinderella’s House project a reality that will impact women in crisis across Spain with the love of Jesus.
Learn More
Read about .
What You Can Do
Your support of allows dedicated international workers like Betsy to continue their work—reaching the hopeless with the transforming message of Christ’s love.
To help get “Cinderella’s House” off the ground, you can mark your gift in any one of the following ways: “Cinderella’s House,” “Women in Crisis–Spain,” or “E. Blanchard Work Funds.” (Any of these designations will go toward the costs involved in Betsy’s ministry to women in crisis, as described in this article.)
The Virtue of Patience
[Thu, 14 May 2009 09:28:03 -0600]
By , serving in Argentina
Editor's note: In their ministry through the Buenos Aries Professional Project (BAPP), Dan and Melody Taube are engaged in the delicate task of building relationships in hopes of introducing professionals to Jesus. The following excerpt from one of the Taubes' newsletters highlights the spiritual fruit of longsuffering—an essential ingredient in winning these precious souls to Christ.
The highlights of each week for us are the Bible studies we hold in homes. These are times when we grow and see others grow in understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As we teach, we trust that the Holy Spirit will take the Word and do the humanly impossible task of making Jesus and His teaching real and relevant to those who attend.
The conversation usually is lively with a great deal of participation. Portenos, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are known, are very expressive. Just imagine interacting with a room full of Italians, and you will have an idea of the group dynamics. It isn't unusual for two or three people to talk at once, and the amazing thing about it is that Porteños can follow all three!
A recent Sunday wasn't perhaps as lively as some, but a husband and wife who actively participate in the discussion made a couple of statements that stuck in our minds. At one point, "Rosa" (not her real name) looked around the room and said to the rest of the group, "Thank you for being patient with me. I don't know if I ever would have come to Christ if you would have hurried me up."
Later in the discussion Rosa's husband expressed his burning desire that his brother come to Christ. He exclaimed with Argentine enthusiasm, "Every time I see him, I want to beat him over the head with the gospel!"
These two comments illustrate the internal battle we often face with those we desire to come to Christ. We want to move things along faster, but so many of our friends are slow to make the commitment. Pray that our zeal will never cool and our patience will outlast all the arguments raised against our Lord by people we love dearly.
Thanks for walking alongside us as we minister His grace.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in .
What You Can Do
Praise God for those who found Jesus through the ministry of Dan and Melody and BAPP. Pray for continued fruit from this outreach.
A Resounding YES to Jesus!
[Wed, 13 May 2009 13:18:10 -0600]
By , serving in Thailand
Editor's note: Excerpts from one of the Dannekers' newsletters describe their dynamic church-planting and disciplemaking ministry in Thailand, one of the most devoutly Buddhist nations in the world. People young and old continue to trust Jesus through the prayers of Ed and Sue and their fellow believers.
At one of our Friday prayer meetings, Ed felt burdened to pray specifically for men to be saved. We praise God for all the women God is bringing our way, but we need more men. The very next day, a 27-year-old man named Bank called the church. He said a friend had given him the church's number to inquire about the Lord.
Peace that Passes Understanding
Bank's father had been a nominal Christian and never took Bank to church. His mother is Buddhist. His father had passed away two months previously, and the family had a Christian funeral. This was Bank's first real exposure to Christianity, and he was very impressed with what the pastor shared as well as the music. He felt a peace he could not explain.
Bank arrived at church at 10:30 a.m., when Ed usually teaches an English class. The class had been canceled for the Chinese New Year, so Bank talked with Ed from 10:30 in the morning until our services started at 1:30 pm. Bank wanted to know everything about the Lord. He stayed through our prayer meeting, Sunday school, and worship service. After the worship service, Ed asked Bank if he was ready to accept the Lord. He answered enthusiastically, "YES!"
Ed had the men gather around and led Bank in a prayer to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. And Bank has really taken off! He bought a Bible right away and eagerly began reading it. He calls Ed almost every day with more questions about what he is reading. They have been studying the discipleship materials each week, but Bank has read ahead and calls Ed with questions.
Contagious Faith
Shortly thereafter, Bank was ready to get rid of his idols. Just amazing! One Sunday in church, he gave testimony of how God has changed his life. In addition, one of Bank's coworkers instantly noticed the change in him since he became a Christian, and she prayed to receive Christ. Unfortunately, when she told her family members the good news about the Lord, they became furious and forbade her from following the Christian way. Pray that this woman will stay strong in her faith and that her family will soften and allow her to attend church.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in .
What You Can Do
Praise the Lord for Bank's salvation and evangelistic passion. Pray for him as he continues to grow in his faith. Pray that Bank's coworker will persevere in following Jesus despite opposition.
Paris Church Shows The Way
[Wed, 13 May 2009 11:08:40 -0600]
By Dave and Margot Kennedy
Serving in France
Editor’s note: Often referred to as the “missionary graveyard,” France is a postmodern nation where little more than one half of 1 percent of the population professes to be evangelical Christian. Excerpts from the Kennedy’s recent newsletter describe the darkness through which so many French citizens tunnel—and how some are finding in Christ The Way out.
Paris, , the place to which God has called us, is an exciting, busy city. Most days we descend into the depths of the earth—along with roughly 6 million other people who use the famous, efficient Paris Metro (subway) system that covers more than 131 miles of track—traveling to where life is taking us.
No Exit
By the somber looks on people’s faces in the metro, you know they’re tunneling through much more than the Paris underground. They’re tunneling through the dark, winding maze of life’s heartaches and difficulties—not sure which way to go, wondering when they’ll see the light of day again.
It’s easy to lose your way if you don’t have a map or someone to guide you through life. And for many French citizens, the concept of a personal relationship with Jesus—and the Bible as a map to guide one through life—is foreign. Most don’t want to have anything to do with religion.
Trinity International Church (TIC) is very conscious of the great spiritual needs of people in this city and throughout France. We have asked our church people to make a commitment to pray for at least 15 minutes a day for the people of France during the month of May.
Seekers of “The Way”
A young French woman is trying to read “the map,” which at this time seems like Chinese to her, she says. She is seeking to know more about God. Recently she accepted the invitation to join a new Bible study group that we’ve begun in our home. Please pray that God will open her spiritual eyes to be able to understand biblical truth and that the Holy Spirit will draw her to the Savior.
A young Brazilian woman recently prayed to receive Christ into her life after the worship service. “I never want to go back to the other way I was living—without Jesus,” she says. How thrilled everyone is that she is now walking in “The Way.” Pray for this young woman’s spiritual growth and discipleship.
Some do know Jesus, “The Way,” and look to him to guide them through the trials of life. We are thankful for Silvie. She is still estranged from her husband. . . . she has not seen light at the end of the tunnel, as yet.
But with the birth of her precious son, Isaac, a little ray of sunshine has pierced through the darkness to give her great joy. What a testimony to God’s faithfulness that he was born on Easter Sunday morning! We rejoice with her.
We are so grateful for those in our congregation, who, like Sylvie, stand strong—like sign posts pointing others in the right direction to Jesus, "The Way."
Learn More
about postmodernism in Europe and how Alliance workers are reaching across the great divide.
What You Can Do
The Kennedys request prayers for the work in France and that “God will work in unusual ways to bring many people to faith in Jesus Christ.” Join them in praising God for the safe arrival of Silvie’s son, Isaac.
Community Center Sheds Light in Kosovo
[Wed, 6 May 2009 15:20:01 -0600]
By an Alliance worker
My wife and I serve in Kosovo, planting churches through a unique ministry model—the community center. We are seeing many find strength and hope for the future in Christ.
We’re not the first to share the good news in this storied, war-torn land however.
Paul says in chapter 15 in the book of Romans “. . . So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” Ninety percent of the people in Kosovo are Albanian, the descendants of those same Illyrians.
Although centuries of religious warfare, ethnic tensions, and deep political divisions cast the region into spiritual darkness, today the light of the gospel is successfully being spread once again.
Innovative Ministry
The Alliance entered Kosovo in 1999, initially serving with Compassion and Mercy Associates Services to address the massive humanitarian crisis across the border caused by the latest Balkan war. Since then, we have partnered with a national evangelical church in Prishtina, Kosovo’s capital city.
Our church plant and community center was the first joint project to take root in largely un-evangelized eastern Kosovo in 2004.
Strategically situated across the street from the local teaching college, our community center serves as a ministry base. We “influence the influencers” through services that include:
• Low-cost, quality photocopying services (teachers get a number of free copies each month)
• English classes
• A Christian bookstore and coffee shop
• Internet access
• Quiet study areas; and
• Occupational therapy services.
Ministry Nerve Center
Our center is also an evangelistic focal point for local ministries that include evangelistic concerts, English language and sporting camps, computer courses, and more.
Because the center has obtained such a good reputation in the community, the gospel of Christ has gained a foothold. Thirteen new believers were baptized in August 2008. On Palm Sunday (2009) five more believers were baptized!
New Believers Serving Others
I’m especially blessed by two relatively new believers, Fatmir* and Enver.*
Fatmir went to Macedonia last fall on one of our . He has since begun working at our community center.
He sells coffee, and his kind, servant-heart serves him well. He’s a new believer, but also an eager evangelist who doesn’t quite understand why everyone wouldn’t want to hear the good news he’s found in Christ.
Some time ago he brought his friend Enver to church. Enver found Jesus, too. He also has a heart for evangelism and isn’t ashamed of his new-found faith.
God is at work in the hearts of these young men.
The Cost of Discipleship
But these young believers’ new life and ministry doesn’t come without a cost. A couple of weeks ago, Fatmir spoke with a man who came into the center. He invited him to our prayer meeting. The man declined his invitation, but he has since begun following Enver around, often late at night.
This has also happened in the past to another center worker. A stranger followed him to his village, got out of his car and shouted: “Now I know where you live!”
Despite this opposition, the faith of these new believers continues to grow.
Our partnership is also in talks about the timing of our next church plant, 30 minutes north of our city. We intend to use a similar ministry model to see the gospel established there. Our goal is to plant churches in other major towns in eastern Kosovo as well.
May God be praised for the people he is redeeming for Himself!
*Names have been changed.
Learn More
a powerful story that reflects God's redemptive work through The Alliance in nearby Serbia.
What You Can Do
Praise God for the new believers in eastern Kosovo! Pray for their physical and spiritual protection. Pray also for God’s timing on when to plant more churches and community ministry centers in the country.
God's Protection
[Wed, 6 May 2009 13:02:58 -0600]
By Michelle Davis
Serving in Senegal
Editor’s note: Michelle and Brian Davis are busy with language study; they also serve once a month in a ministry center designed to share the good news with Senegal's largest Unreached People Group, the Wolof. Excerpts follow from their recent newsletter in which Michelle describes a life-altering lesson she learned—from a slip of her finger.
We are very glad that several teachers of the majority religion here have agreed to let their young disciples come to the center monthly for a free meal and health checkup.
Last month, Brian and I had the opportunity to participate in this ministry. The boys recognized us from the previous time and greeted us with warm smiles and hand shakes.
HIV Scare
After Yacoba, the nurse at the center, and I had done two examinations, I scooped up the remaining items on the desk and felt a prick on my finger. It was from a lancet we had used for a hemoglobin test.
We decided it would be best to test the two boys for HIV. If either was positive, I would need to start prophylactic treatment as soon as possible. [If positive, the boys would have had access to free government HIV treatment that is available to Senegal residents.]
God Speaks
During the hours of waiting for the results, God spoke to me.
I had time to grapple with how life might be different for me and my family if I were HIV-positive. I came to a point of being okay with that reality, choosing to trust that God is always good and always in control. I had previously seen His glory, so I chose to trust once again that He would use this situation, whatever the outcome, for His glory.
A Lesson in Dependence
God also revealed to me my need to be dependent upon the people here in Senegal. As I sat waiting, I realized how much I needed the doctors, nurses, and lab technicians. I needed their knowledge, skill, and cooperation.
While we came to Senegal to share the good news of Jesus with the Wolof people, God also called us here to change us. It is the people here, as we grow in relationship with them and learn from them, who will change us and mold us more into the image of Christ.
As the hours passed, I realized God was using the hospital staff (who do not know Jesus) to draw me closer to Himself.
Finally, the time came, and the doctor told us all the HIV tests were negative. We are so thankful.
Learn More
Read more about .
Pray!
Thank the Lord for protecting Michelle, and the two boys tested, from HIV. Petition Him urgently for the millions who are HIV-positive and in need of the hope of the gospel.
Pray also for Christ's love to be actively demonstrated among the thousands of young boys in Senegal who are being taught the country's majority religion. Pray for divine opportunities to share the good news with these lost youth.
Waiting
[Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:02:04 -0600]
By David Thompson, MD
Serving in Gabon
Editor’s note: is a missionary surgeon who has served at Bongolo Hospital for the past 31 years. His wife, Becki, an RN, directs the nursing school. Following are excerpts from the couple’s inspiring April 2009 newsletter, “On Call with the Thompsons.”
Psalm 27:14 (NLT) says, “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”
Have you ever waited for God? That’s what Becki and I have been doing for much of our missionary careers—waiting for him to help us: not in discouragement, but in anticipation!
We’re also waiting for Jesus our King to return and take His rightful place as the undisputed ruler of this world. But until we finish the job He has called us to complete, He will wait for us.
The High Price of Impatience
Last Sunday night, a beautiful 19-year-old girl lost her chance to have children. She did not wait until she had a husband who would love her and love her child. When she missed her period, she paid some woman to push a stick into her uterus to kill her baby.
The problem was that her pregnancy was not where it was supposed to be, but in her fallopian tube. The stick perforated her uterus and unleashed a terrible infection. Three days later she came to , and when we took her to surgery and opened her abdomen, we found a gangrenous uterus.
Following surgery and removal of her uterus, the young woman’s heart was broken, her mother was furious, and the two women exchanged harsh words.
Jesus, the Great Physician
But later, both women came to Jesus. Their tears stopped, and within a few days they forgave each other. This morning they sat next to each other on the bed holding hands and smiling!
Because Jesus waits for the brokenhearted and the sick, many seek and find Him. Since the beginning of this year at Bongolo Hospital:
• 270 people have found Jesus
• Many more have been healed, and
• Nearly 50 have been delivered from evil spirits.
How Long Must the Lost Wait?
Last month 30 overseas Alliance workers were cut from the Alliance payroll because of a lack of funds. America’s failing economy has precipitated a shortfall in giving to the that is impacting the world.
I can think of six or seven countries in Africa where less than 1 out of every 20 to 30,000 persons has heard the gospel, and where openly telling another person about Jesus Christ is against the law. When will their day come to hear? How long must they wait? Who will tell them? Who will spend the money to send them messengers?
God’s Promise to “Waiters”
I (Dave) am part of a Task Force from the Africa Region whose objective is to wait on God until He shows us how to reach the least-reached nations on the continent with the good news. Is this sheer fantasy?
Are we losing our minds to think that a tiny band of God’s people who already have too much to do and no money could dream of breaching the high walls that have defied the Church for centuries? Shouldn’t we wait until the economic crisis is over?
God’s reply is found in Isaiah 64:4 (NLT): “For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him.”
Learn More
Check out a preview of Dr. Thompson’s newest book, “The Truest Mercy,” in the 2009 April issue of alife.
Watch a 2007 video in which Thompson speaks to the ravages of AIDS and how The Alliance is offering hope to the hurting.
What You Can Do
Praise God for the teenager and her mom who gave their hearts to the Lord recently. Praise Him as well for the hundreds who have found Jesus, the many who have received healing, and the scores who have been delivered from evil spirits at Bongolo Hospital since the beginning of 2009!
Ask God to release His strategy to our Alliance team in Africa for sharing the good news in the continent’s least-reached nations. Petition the Lord for a release of funding and new workers to extend His Kingdom across Africa and the world.
The Impact of One Life
[Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:39:21 -0600]
By Kathy Sappia, serving with TEAM Isaan, an Alliance church-planting initiative in northeast Thailand
One year ago, TEAM Isaan entered Nong Kai (NK) Prison with a vision to reach the Isaan and Lao people imprisoned there with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before obtaining permission to enter, we received a letter from a woman named Chongja, asking to learn more about Jesus. We visited her regularly, and she shared that many of her friends also wanted to study about God.
This interest helped open the door to the NK Prison, leading to 22 people meeting weekly, hearing the truth about Jesus. Some of these women were believers already, but 13 more received Christ after they had heard the story of God from our team. God used Chongja in a powerful way as a "person of peace," and a church continues to meet weekly in the prison.
Chongja struggled with heart disease, but through it she continued to love her Savior. On April 2, two TEAM Isaan missionaries, Deb and Joy, went to NK prison and learned that Chongja had passed away. She had been hospitalized for two days and then returned to the prison, where she died during the night of March 18.
The church spent some time remembering Chongjia and how God used her in the prison. Praise God that she is with Jesus now, completely healed of her heart disease, and that many of her friends will someday join her in heaven because she helped introduce them to Jesus. Pray for Chongja’s family as they mourn her passing. Pray that they will hear the good news of Jesus and accept Him as their Savior.
Thank you for partnering with us! Please join us in the annual observance of the International Day of Prayer for the Isaan people on April 19. For more information, visit www.isaan.org.
Learn More:
Read more about in the July 2008 issue of alife.
Just another Day
[Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:04:50 -0600]
By Ken and Kathy Young, serving in Japan
Editor's note: Hope House was launched by as a holistic ministry to reach blue collar workers and their families in the Hiroshima region of western Japan. Its focus is on ministering very practically to families of patients in the regional medical center and to Higashi Hiroshima Medical Center personnel. The Youngs envision Hope House as a place of rest for families who have loved ones in the hospital as well as a venue for providing help and education, including the teaching of medical English, to hospital personnel.
Today, when Kathy came back from Hope House, she quipped, "Just another day at work." This morning she had met with four women for the first time, none of whom have ever had any contact with Christ or the Bible.
When Kathy mentioned "the one and only true living God," one woman commented that Japanese people have many gods they can turn to for help. Kathy replied, "We Christians believe in one God who is everywhere all the time and can do anything. It is much easier to believe in one God like that than all those others." Some of the women perked up, saying they had never heard that before and that one, all-powerful God sounded like a good idea. They seem to want to hear more.
Making History
When Kathy told me about her conversation with those women, an amazing thought occurred to me: they are the first people in the history of their families—maybe in 50 generations—to ever hear the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I shared that thought with Kathy, she simply said, "Just another day at work."
That is one of the amazing thrills of being a cross-cultural, international worker. Every week we make history. Someone hears some aspect of the gospel for the very first time through us. Every missionary who works in a foreign culture experiences this all the time. These history-changing days are "just another day at work" for workers such as us.
Friends, this is what you are a part of as you pray, give, send others, and go yourself to preach the good news to all the nations.
Thank you for praying for us and for Japan. Thank you for giving sacrificially from your heart so that people can hear the good news of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ—people who would otherwise never have a chance to meet Him.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in .
What You Can Do
Please keep praying for the ministries in which Ken and Kathy are involved:
•Training the next generation of church leaders at the seminary in Hiroshima. The Lord's church in Japan desperately needs many new leaders immediately.
•Encouraging those who are already leading the churches in western Japan. These men and women sacrificially give of everything they are and have for the salvation of the Japanese people.
•Concretely and practically helping those in the Higashi Hiroshima region, especially at Hope House. The Lord is constantly leading the Youngs to people who need to have the good news explained to them and desperately need to experience the Lord's love in the midst of their troubles.
Financial Struggles Inspire Praise
[Wed, 4 Mar 2009 14:52:06 -0700]
By JB Hecock, serving in Russia
Editor’s note: Following are excerpts from a Special Edition newsletter published on February 24. During the current economic downturn, may this message serve as a reminder to all of us: our Heavenly Father is our source of stability—all of the time.
This is a praise update . . . but let me give you some info to chew on first.
About a week ago we received a letter from , the president of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. Since the same time last year, funding for our Alliance Great Commission Ministries is down nearly 20 percent. Because of this reality, some changes are going to have to be made.
Because of this, we want to write this letter of PRAISE.
Thank You!
We know it is no small sacrifice that some of you make when you give to the or any of our other funds. We know it is no small sacrifice when you give to your local body of believers [in] obedience to Christ. And for this we thank you.
So, you might still be wondering, why a praise letter?
“He Alone”
We are praising Jesus that though we have taken a hit financially, He, and He alone, has enabled us to continue to work here in Russia and draw people into relationship with Him—like Katya and Naira, two girls baptized last month.
Folks, if Christ isn’t the One we look to for stability, for peace, and as the owner of the “cattle on a thousand hills,” then it doesn’t matter what kind of financial support we have or don’t have—we have bigger problems.
We want to ask you to join with us, not just in praying for those in [financial difficulties in] the States and for the C&MA, but in FIRST PRAISING HIM. Why?
Looking Without Seeing
A friend of mine, whom I respect and admire greatly, reminded me that though we often look for God to do something big, especially in a major crisis like this, we often don’t see Him working in our individual lives.
Are we looking but not seeing Him because we’re so focused on Him doing something “big?” I don’t know, but it has caused me to pray for awareness.
Continue to Praise God
Again, I ask that you join us in praising Him for what He has given us and what He continues to give us. Join us also in praying for awareness to see what He is doing in our lives through dependency on Him.
I don’t know where we’re going, and that’s okay, but will you join us on a journey of utter dependency on Him? Think of what He could do through us!
Learn More
Check out the .
What You Can Do
Join the Hecocks in praising God for what He has given us and what He continues to supply during these turbulent economic times. Ask God also to provide awareness about what He is doing in your life through your dependency on Him.
New Lives for Old
[Wed, 4 Mar 2009 09:28:05 -0700]
Pablo and Wilma were signing annulment documents when a friend invited them to an Alliance Marriage Encounter (ALMA) sponsored by the Cordillera Alliance Church in Santiago, Chile. Wealthy by Chilean standards, the couple led extremely busy lives, leaving no time for their children or for each other.
After 15 years of marriage, they had drifted apart. Pablo had multiple affairs. Wilma fell in love with Pablo's best friend. They finally separated but agreed to attend the retreat.
"When the weekend began, I didn't have any expectations," says Wilma. "In fact, back in our room, we had a fight."
Pablo stormed out and planned to return home. "I couldn't find my car, so I tried to walk home," he says. "But it was too dark, and I couldn't find the exit. Eventually I had to go back to the room."
Hope for a Future
Saturday morning, things started to change. Wilma heard the testimony of a woman to whom she was able to relate. "She was in love with another man, had left her husband, and later returned to her husband. I saw her with her husband, and it looked so good. As I listened to her heartfelt story, it birthed in me the possibility that [Pablo and I] could have a future together," says Wilma.
Both Pablo and Wilma accepted Jesus. "I considered myself an atheist," says Pablo. "But by the end of the weekend, the Lord had met me. I left the Encounter very changed."
After ALMA, Pablo and Wilma grew in their faith in Christ and their love for one another. They attended Sunday worship at the Cordillera Alliance Church, where they were baptized and where Pablo has served as a board member and church secretary. In addition, they began sharing their testimony at ALMA weekends.
A Test of Faith
Seven years later, Pablo and Wilma suffered a tragedy that would test their marriage like never before. During a routine medical test, Pablo's spinal cord was damaged, paralyzing him from the waist down. "He began rehabilitation with six other men and was the only believer in the group," says Alliance missionary , who had helped to prepare the couple for baptism. "Two of his fellow rehab patients committed suicide, and two others divorced their spouses."
Pablo copes with his paralysis by trusting that the Lord is sovereign. "I haven't lost hope that someday I will be able to get up and walk," he says. "Either way, I'm prepared to accept His will, and the paralysis doesn't keep me from participating in ALMA. We've continued traveling and giving testimony to what the Lord has done despite this spinal cord injury. And so we are joyful, living this life we have. The most beautiful thing is to be able to serve Him and share with our brothers in the faith."
"God has radically changed our lives, not only by turning our unbelief into belief but also by giving us a testimony borne out of suffering," says Wilma. "This power that God has is so great, and His love that He gives us is so big. We want to continue serving Him, learning about Him, and working for Him. I've learned that for those who love God, all things work together for good."
Learn More
Watch a of Pablo and Wilma sharing their testimony.
Check out our Alliance work in .
What You Can Do
Praise God for bringing Pablo and Wilma to a saving knowledge of Jesus and for restoring their marriage. Pray that the Lord will meet all of their needs and continue to use them for His glory.
What Matters Most
[Mon, 2 Mar 2009 14:59:16 -0700]
By Alice Brokopp, serving in
I had made it a point to relax last weekend. I had played games with the kids, spent time with Pete, and put my lengthy “to do” list on the back burner determined to block out any feelings of guilt. So when Monday morning came, I was ready to hit it. After a few false starts from phone calls, we finally began working in earnest, wading through the mound of e-mails that had piled up.
We really could have gotten somewhere, and then, “Madame, Pastor Y is at the door.” Oh my! What a feeling of irritation and desperation. His visits were becoming a regular occurrence, often lasting over an hour. “We certainly can’t handle him today,” I thought. “There is so much to do!” Nevertheless, I obediently went out and found him sitting with a mother holding her toddler wrapped in a pagne (African cloth).
While the pastor spoke, I noticed that the child’s arms ended above her elbows. The woman had heard of the handicapped trike giveaways that we had spearheaded, thanks to support from a group in the States, and had travelled around looking for the pastor, hoping that we could do something for her and her child. She had no work and no way to support her daughter. As he spoke, the woman pulled the girl out of the cloth to show me that the handicap didn’t end with her arms—she had no legs either.
I should have been moved by compassion, but I was still selfishly irritated at the interruption. And I suddenly felt powerless and incompetent—I had no way to fix this problem, not an inkling of an idea as to how I personally could help. The strange mixture of emotions overwhelmed me.
Finally, I explained in a kind voice that there really wasn’t much we could do. We had no resources to care for the handicapped long-term and take care of their needs; we just supplied and fixed trikes. In addition, not much of that money was currently available. But I did know that our neighbor worked with Handicapped International, so perhaps I could go next door and link them up.
I was still frustrated at having to take the time away from my heavy “to do list” to pay a visit to the neighbor. But I did the “polite thing” and offered my guests water. As I brought it out, one of the cups fell, and I slipped. Now I was angry. I stormed (controllably) back into the house, stomped off to see Pete, and yelled quietly under my breath, so they couldn’t hear me, “I can’t handle being in this country any more! I can’t deal with these needs!” Pete empathized with me.
Then I went back out with a new cup of water. The neighbor wasn’t home, but I got directions to his office. I realized that the “right” thing to do would be to take them myself. But the pastor wanted to see Pete first. So, I called Pete out and went peaceably back into work. Suddenly, Pete rushed in, broken and emotional, and said, “Alice, bring your camera, you’ve got to see this!” “This” was my compassionate daughter, on her day off from school, sweetly holding the baby. She was beaming. My heart finally broke.
Pete suggested getting a stuffed animal, so our son pulled himself away from his movie,
came out to see what was going on, and then turned right back around to rummage through the stuffed animal bin. When he found the Teddy bear he was looking for, he took it out to the two-and-a-half-year-old child who clung on to it with her two stubs. She looked happily up at her mother. The lump that was now forming in my throat was getting dangerously larger. I managed to hold it at bay until I arrived with the three of them to the Handicapped International offices.
When I walked into the neat, air-conditioned “Westernized” room, I couldn’t speak for a while. When I finally did, my voice was shaky. They gave us a phone number, and the pastor got a rendezvous the next day in another part of town. He took them and made sure they had a place to stay for the night. When I apologized for not being able to do it ourselves, he said, “Its all part of ministry isn’t it?”
That same day, I was asked to choose a group of friends that would be honoring me at a birthday dinner. I was so touched that someone had thought of me, and encouraged that people wanted to spend time with me. Suddenly it dawned on me, not for the first time, but in a more personal way; people matter more than my “to do” list. Someone had taken time out of her busy schedule to organize a party for me, because she cared for me. And yet I was too busy and irritated to feel compassion for and spend time with a handicapped child who mattered to God. And this is part of why I’m here!
Someday, I will be 80 years old and look over my life. By then, the fact that I tried to keep our in-box to under 50 messages, that I found the perfect wording for our prayer letter, that my office was organized, and that my piles were kept at a minimum will be basically unimportant and perhaps forgotten. I believe that what will become important will be the relationships in my life.
Will I think back with satisfaction upon my interactions with the people who God wove in and out of each period of my life, or will I only feel regret? Will I be confident that I was the light of Christ that I should have been? Will I know that I was that voice of encouragement when it was needed? Will I be assured that those around me saw God’s love and compassion shining through me, even if I couldn’t help them physically?
I’m not so sure. I can’t be bothered to send out Christmas cards. I forget my friends’ birthdays, and embarrassed, I’ll explain that “that’s just the way I am. I try!!” When I’m focused on a project, I don’t have a lot of time for my kids and my husband. And after 15 years in Burkina, I’m so weary of people with needs, looking to me for answers. Instead of visiting with my friends, Burkinabe and expatriate, I ferret myself away and focus on my list.
Work is important, but there has to be a balance. So I will pray for strength and show love to people with needs. I will be more intentional about visiting my friends and
keeping in touch with them. I will stay my impatience to see a project finished, and focus on my family. I will write down my friends’ birthdays and work hard to memorize them, and then be aware of them as they come up! And just maybe this year, remembering the warm fuzzies I get from opening an envelope, maybe I’ll send my friends a Christmas card!
Balkan Church Plant Returns
[Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:11:40 -0700]
“Team members came back pretty excited about their experience,” an Alliance worker in the reported recently. She was referring to a men’s team from a Kosovo church plant that had conducted its first missions trip to the city of Bitola, southwestern Macedonia, in December.
A number of Albanians live in Bitola (“Manistir” in Albanian), and the outreach was planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Albanian alphabet.
Albania’s Christian Roots
“Albanian Chirstam Chiriasi was deeply involved in the formation of the country’s written language so his countrymen could read and know God’s Word,” said an Alliance worker in Macedonia.
“Though he is a hero in Albanian culture, this man’s Christian roots have been forgotten. Our goal for the outreach during the anniversary celebrations in Bitola was to remind resident Albanians that their roots are Christian in origin and godly in nature.”
Outreach Blessings
Praise God that many on the Kosovo team were able to share the gospel. Team members were blessed in their personal lives as well, even as they proved a blessing to nonbelievers.
One team member who shared his testimony told an Alliance worker serving in Kosovo that “his legs were shaking and he had to hold onto the podium, but the Lord helped him speak!” Another man led an older gentleman in prayer to accept the Lord and was able to give him a Bible.
A timid member of the team was asked to pray for the group on the first night. “This left quite an impression on him, and now he is less afraid to pray out loud in church meetings,” the worker in Kosovo added.
One team member was reportedly so fired up about witnessing during the outreach that he hasn’t stopped since. He witnesses to all of his friends and brings them to church. One of his friends has since become a believer and is now attending the men’s discipleship group in Kosovo.
“The joy of sharing their faith and seeing the great needs around them proved to be a great growing experience for these men,” the worker in Kosovo concluded.
More Good News
Exciting news has since come in from Macedonia as well.
“The grand-nephew of Chirstam Chiriasi is now visiting our church after meeting us at his uncle’s grave during the Albanian language anniversary celebration,” reported an Alliance worker from Bitola.
“He’s also bringing a neighbor to our church. This man has two girls attending my Sunday school class, and they are eating up every word!” the worker continued.
“I tell them about God and his love for them—it’s the first time they are hearing it! Their mother is attending women’s weekly Bible study and finding things in God’s Word that she didn’t know existed. Last week she said to me, ‘This book is really helpful for life!’
“It is so rewarding to give her healing words from God’s Word,” the worker concluded.
What You Can Do
Praise God for the exciting results from the Balkan outreach. Alliance workers in Macedonia also ask for us to pray for the establishment of the Evangelical Church in Bitola. Pray that God will lead Albanians in the city to this new Christian fellowship.
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