Missions Catalyst 09.01.10 – World News Briefs

In This Issue: Standing with the People of Haiti, Pakistan, and Beyond

• HAITI: Six Months and Counting
• PAKISTAN: An Appeal to Stand with the People
• MIDDLE EAST: A Great Visit
• SOUTH ASIA: Filtered Water Changes Lives
• ETHIOPIA: Responding to Five Million Orphans
• BURUNDI: “Nobody Wants to Live with Their Hand out All the Time”
• MISSION EVENTS: Partners International, Global Women

Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!

World News Briefs, edited by Pat Noble, are published twice a month.

HAITI: Six Months and Counting

Source: Baptist Press, August 23, 2010

Gleaming buildings bearing such names as CitiBank and Hertz and a myriad of automobile dealerships stand in stark contrast to the rubble and garbage still strewn throughout Haiti’s capital city. Even as signs of commerce have reappeared in the six months since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake of January 12, Port-au-Prince residents are forced to scrounge for life’s basic necessities.

Seas of tents and blue tarps form makeshift cities covering open fields, barren lots and river beds as the nation grapples with providing housing for the estimated 1.5 million homeless.

By some estimates, 3,000 non-government organizations (charities) are operating in Haiti. Despite their massive efforts, there is much work to be done to help the crippled nation inch toward recovery.

Yet a spiritual movement is gaining momentum as Haitians cry out to the Lord, “There are no places to sit in the churches, more benches are needed to hold the people,” [says Phito François, of Confraternite Missionaire Baptise d’Haiti].

François and his fellow CMBH pastors have held crusades and revivals throughout the country appealing to the Haitians’ need for spiritual restoration and salvation. As a result, more than 150,000 people have made professions of faith and 135 new churches have been started where the new believers are concentrated.

>> Full story with pictures.

Editor’s Note: Have you seen encouraging or informative reports of ministry developments in Haiti? We’d welcome your stories and links in comments on our website. See also this article from a UN source: Indonesia/Haiti – Lessons for Earthquake Recovery (IRIN).

PAKISTAN: An Appeal to Stand with the People of Pakistan

Source: World Evangelical Alliance, August 24, 2010

Millions of people have had their homes and livelihoods washed away by terrible floods in Pakistan. Shelter, food, clean drinking water, medicines, toiletries, and clothing are in short supply. International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe said: “It is critical that we stand with the small minority of Christians in Pakistan as they seek to demonstrate God’s love and care for the suffering.”

Associate International Director Gordon Showell-Rogers said: “The vast suffering in Pakistan is, for most of us, unimaginable. The incredible statistics mask the individual pain. International support is desperately needed. Your help and support will be a great encouragement to them.”

Ifrahim Mathew of the Evangelical Alliance Pakistan said: “The floods in Pakistan are far worse than any of us first imagined. Meeting the immense needs of the survivors is an uphill struggle. The families we are caring for came to us with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. They have really lost everything.”

As you pray for the people of Pakistan, we would also ask that you remember China, where the worst flooding in a decade has killed four and forced more than 100,000 to be evacuated.

>> Full story with picture.

Editor’s Note: You might be interested in a report from The Mission Exchange, Global Issues Update #10: Status of Flood Victims in Pakistan. Feel free to distribute this widely in your circles of influence. No registration required; follow these links directly to the webinar with maps and some pictures (wmv file) or just the audio (mp3 file).

MIDDLE EAST: A Great Visit

Source: Pioneers USA, August 25, 2010

A Pioneer in the Middle East writes,

“Yesterday I had a great visit with a family living far out in the desert. In this culture where the people are overwhelmingly kind and hospitable, it would almost be impossible to have a ‘bad’ visit. Every time I go into someone’s home or tent they immediately serve coffee and tea. Women make fresh coffee first thing in the morning and keep it hot all day just in case a guest may stop by. All visits are full of tea, smiles, and fun conversations – but to me, a great visit is when I have a real chance to talk with my hosts about God’s love for them.

“One elderly man in the family I visited is sick. He wonders now more than ever about what will happen after death. Another sister there recognized the name of Jesus Christ when I said it. She said, ‘I know him, I used to listen to stories about Jesus Christ on the radio.'”

“I asked her why she stopped and she said the batteries in her radio had died and she didn’t have money to buy new ones. I just so happened to have extra batteries of the same size in the car with me that I then gave to her. She was thrilled for the gift, but even more excited to have someone to tell her more about Jesus Christ.

“How is it that this family, living completely in the middle of nowhere, has hearts that are so prepared and ready to hear long before I ever came to tell them?”

>> Full story with picture.

SOUTH ASIA: Clean Water Changes Lives

Source: Gospel for Asia, August 24, 2010

People in this community were getting sick from the water they drank. Because water was scarce they had to buy it from tanker trucks. However, the water from the tanks was dirty and caused issues like throat cancer and boils.

Tarun Malhotra, a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary, ministers in this area. He, too, was suffering because of the local water. His heart went out to the people. He was praying and reaching out, always watching for opportunities to point people to Christ.

Navin and Chitra Malik knew Tarun well. However, they weren’t interested in his message. Meanwhile, their baby boy, Sujin, was frequently sick. He frequently ran a fever, and he suffered from digestive issues. It was painful to watch their little son suffer, but they had no way to get clean water.

[When] Tarun was able to provide this couple with a water filter, their baby’s health began to steadily improve. The kind gesture opened their hearts to Tarun and his message. In time, they began to follow Christ. At the same time, Navin and Chitra’s water filter had sparked much interest among their neighbors and friends. Through the Maliks, two families came to faith in Christ. The Maliks began prayer meetings, and the number of believers grew even more.

“Through this water filter, we came to know about Jesus Christ,” Chitra expresses. “That is the greatest blessing we received. I want to go to everybody and share about Jesus Christ.”

>> Full story with pictures.

Editor’s Note: “No other humanitarian intervention produces a more dramatic effect on life than access to clean water and sanitation,” says World Vision. Learn more about the worldwide water crisis at Living Water International.

ETHIOPIA: Responding to Five Million Orphans

Source: Mission Network News, August 26, 2010

Bethany Christian Services made headlines recently [with] news that [BCS] adoptions out of Ethiopia are surpassing those from China.

The AIDS pandemic sweeping over Ethiopia has left more than five million orphans behind, a fifth of which have acquired HIV themselves. While the country has strong family values and would like to care for all of its orphans, [Bethany’s] Sara Ruiter says numbers are so high that “communities are no longer able to absorb those kids.”

The ministry believes that the best thing to be done for these children is to first try to find them a home in their own country before resorting to international adoption. Bethany also invests in communities with kinship care programs and builds foster care through local churches.

>> Full story with picture and prayer points.

Editor’s Note: A similar article based on the same sources also includes State Department figures on US adoption trends and countries of origin.

BURUNDI: “Nobody Wants to Live with Their Hand Out All the Time”

Source: Mission Network News, August 27, 2010

If someone were asked what they know about the last 20 years of African history, they might cite the Rwandan genocide of the 90’s as a major landmark. [Yet] Rwanda’s neighboring country, Burundi, also suffered at the hands of Hutu and Tutsi wars. In 2009 Burundi was declared the second-poorest country in the world.

Three years ago, Global Action linked arms with Pan African Christian Women Alliance to begin helping widows in the country. The program began with 60 of the most at-risk widows God had laid in their path. “[Now] we are helping about 154 women [and through them] 612 children,” says [Global Action’s Emily] Voorhies.

The ten-month micro-enterprise program is working wonderfully. Women are taught a trade such as sewing or hairdressing and they are given the skills and resources to start a business.

“They’re able to support themselves and return some dignity to their lives, and then even send their kids to school. I think nobody really wants to live with their hand out all the time.”

>> Full story with picture and prayer points.

Editor’s Note: Burundi has been independent since 1962, but 17 African countries got their independence in 1960. Hear what some residents have to say at Fifty Years after Independence, What Are Your Hopes for Africa? (CNN). Interested in following news from Africa? Check out allAfrica.com, with diverse content in English and French.

MISSION EVENTS: Partners International, Global Women

New on our Missions Catalyst calendar:

September 30 – Partners with Spokane (Spokane, WA, USA).  Pastor Matthias George will speak about serving Christ in a Muslim context in The Gambia, Africa’s smallest country; Jon Lewis will offer a vision for the next decade of partnership ministry around the world. Sponsored by Partners International.

October 15-16 – Global Voices Summit (Austin, TX, USA). Sponsored by Global Women, connecting and empowering women for global transformation.

>> View the whole calendar. And don’t forget to let us know about events that should be added!

Questions, comments, submissions? Contact us.