In This Issue: Reaching out to America’s Burmese refugees
- NORTH AMERICA: Burmese Refugees
- SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Woman Claims Christ in Historic Video
- TIBET: Tibetan Finds Heart’s Melody
- PAKISTAN: Out and About with the Women’s Team
- NORTH AMERICA: Billy Graham Ministry Plans Largest North American Evangelistic Event in 60 Years
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 share it freely!
Several of you indicated on our recent short summer survey that you’d like to see more items about ministry in North America – not just items from U.S. organizations working in other countries. We’re listening: this edition includes two such stories. Those and several others below suggest the power of gospel ministry when it comes to people in their own language and context.
Next week’s edition of Missions Catalyst describes practical ways to help others cross cultural boundaries. I hope you’ll find that helpful. With our news sleuth, Pat Noble, on sabbatical, we are not able to publish News Briefs as often. This will be our only edition of them this month.
Blessings,
Marti
NORTH AMERICA: Burmese Refugees
Source: Global Recordings Network, August 2012
“In several [U.S.] cities that I visited in April and May, I was asked for a CD in Burmese. We have a recording in Burmese, but why were people asking me for it? I discovered that the U.S. has resettled over 60,000 Burmese in the last several years, many of them Christians from the Karen ethnic group.
“Burma (now called Myanmar) has been in political upheaval for 50 years, resulting in over 2 million people being displaced to Thailand and Malaysia. The U.S. has resettled Burmese primarily in Fort Wayne, Phoenix, Fort Worth, the Carolinas, and New York. Many of these refugees are being helped by people in churches who would like to share God’s word with the Burmese in their own language. Those refugees who are Buddhist or Muslim need to hear about salvation through Christ, and the Christians need to hear more Bible stories to help them thrive in their new homeland.
“In both Burmese and Karen, GRN has over 10 hours of messages, songs, and Bible stories. There is something available for those who walk God’s path already and for those who have not heard the wonderful story of redemption in their heart language. If you know refugees from Burma or other countries, visit our website to learn how you can obtain a gospel message CD to share with a displaced person.”
>> Full story.
>> Editor’s note: Want to learn more about refugees and how to serve them? Connect with the Refugee Highway Partnership.
Recent news stories from Burma/Myanmar include: An Unconventional Road to Peace (Inter Press Service News Agency), Refugee Crisis Critical in Western Burma, and Burma May Be Changing, but New MNN Group Says Outreach Is Still Vital (Mission Network News).
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Woman Claims Christ in Historic Video
Source: Mission Network News, August 9, 2012
“Maryam” is a Saudi woman, and she’s done something so unusual she’s taking the Internet by storm. According to Mohabat News, she is the first modern-day Saudi woman to announce her faith in Jesus Christ on YouTube.
Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs is amazed. “To see a Saudi woman put her face – even though it’s veiled – on the Internet and say, ‘I’m not a Muslim any more. I’m a Christian now.’ She basically is signing her own death warrant.”
According to reports, this video has made Saudi officials extremely angry. It is to the extent that they called to take necessary measures to deal with Christian evangelism in Saudi Arabia. Nettleton says, “It’s being talked about even at the highest levels of the government. [They’re saying,] ‘Hey wait a minute, our young people are leaving Islam. They’re following Christianity. We’ve got to put a stop to it.’ And over 1 million people have already watched the video on YouTube.”
>> Read the full story, or see the version from ASSIST News Service, but also take note of this conflicting report: Saudi Woman Denies Converting to Christianity, Wants to Return Home (Al Arabiya News Channel).
TIBET: Tibetan Finds Heart’s Melody
Source: Asia Stories, July 30, 2012
The gospel came alive to the Lhomi people when they realized God speaks to them in their language and culture, says [Lhomi Christian] “James Lhomi.”
“When we sing the song in our own context, and own style, people start to cry in our church,” James says. “They found the message of God in their own melody.”
Lhomi culture, language, and worship are very different from that of the surrounding Nepalese culture. Tibetan music is based on the pentatonic scale, meaning they use only five notes per octave instead of the standard seven. The Lhomi and other Tibetan people groups have tried to worship in Nepali, but say it doesn’t feel authentic.
>> Read the full story. Want to know what Lhomi music sounds like? Sidebar includes a beautiful video of James – a Lhomi Christian leader as well as an ethnomusicologist – performing a worship song and telling his people’s story.
PAKISTAN: Out and About with the Women’s Team
Source: OM International, August 9, 2012
In Pakistan, the majority of women stay at home with children, looking after the household. OM Pakistan’s women’s team aims to address this cultural norm as women reach out to other women, thus bringing truth to households.
The women’s team goes door to door regularly in certain areas, making friendships, offering fellowship to the Christian community, and encouraging believers in their faith.
On [one] occasion, the women’s team visited “Martha,” a Catholic woman. Martha was very worried because her young niece had left to work as a maid in Dubai two years earlier. At first, the niece was in regular contact with the family but had not been in touch for the last six months.
“Whenever we call her, she does not receive it. Our whole family is very worried about her,” she said. “What can we do?”
As they prayed together, Martha said, “I believe God is with her, no matter who has kidnapped her or where she is. I believe she is fine and will return home.”
Martha bought a few books from the team to help her in her spiritual development, which the team hopes will also help support the family as God works out his purposes for them.
“Zophira” welcomed the team, although she admitted she had had a bad experience welcoming strangers into her home. She also told them, “I am married again after my first husband died and am involved in ministry, but my husband does not like this and has done some magic upon me. Many times, I have found a talisman in my home. I was praying to God a few days ago that he may send someone who can pray for me. I am feeling that God has sent you people to pray for me. I am feeling well after your prayer.”
>> Full story.
NORTH AMERICA: Billy Graham Ministry Plans Largest North American Evangelistic Event in 60 Years
Source: The Christian Post, August 1, 2012
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association announced plans to hold the largest North American evangelistic event in more than 60 years of Billy Graham’s ministry on the week of his 95th birthday next year.
However, unlike the huge stadium outreaches that he is perhaps best known for, the My Hope With Billy Graham event planned for on November 7, 2013, will use the latest in media distribution technology to present the evangelist’s gospel message into people’s homes and on handheld devices.
Preston Parrish, BGEA vice president for My Hope With Billy Graham, told The Christian Post that the event has really been a 10-year project in which the organization has partnered with churches and Christians throughout the world to introduce the gospel through Graham’s messages.
>> Full story.
>> Another story from The Christian Post which caught our eye is Namibia Mulls Relaunch of Bible Classes in Schools to Counter “Moral Decay.”
Marti Wade is a writer, speaker, and project manager for the Church Partnerships Team at Pioneers. Since the mid-90s she has also helped prepare cultural research teams to explore unreached communities and mobilize efforts to serve them.
Marti has managed and published Missions Catalyst since 2004 and is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of women serving cross-culturally in the Muslim world. She married Chris Wade in May 2012.
This week’s edition of News Briefs was sent out as usual by email through Constant Contact – but an unusually high number did not go through due to a block (by users’ email providers) on emails from Constant Contact. In addition, other readers (including the Missions Catalyst staff!) report that they did not receive it, while others did. No reason for this has yet been determined. We’re sorry for the inconvenience. We’re really sorry to put in so much work on a piece that didn’t reach as far as it might! Will look into the situation and see what we can do about it.
blessings,
Marti