Sunday, November 12, 2017

Healing Fun for Syrian Children in Hard Times

Healing Fun for Syrian Children in Hard Times

October 26, 2017
Syrian refugee children.
Six years after Syria's civil war began, refugees in makeshift camps are even more in need.
After suffering the kidnapping of his youngest son at the hands of Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Syria, there's only one thing that will take an indigenous missionary away from serving his people.
Before ISIS lost its last major city in Syria, the militants overran the indigenous missionary's outpost and kidnapped his 17-year-old son. The Christian worker's family endured months of anguish as they struggled to gather enough money to pay a ransom.
Providing food, shelter and health care to Syrians displaced by war, the worker was serving his people long before war broke out in 2011, and, unlike many foreign missionaries, he plans to continue serving them long after it ends. After paying a ransom and receiving his son back, he said no disaster or discouragement would drive him from his calling.
"My death is the only way that I would leave this place," he said.
Between the threat of kidnapping and anxiety over families torn apart by war, it is not easy being a child in Syria. The continual demand for diapers at camps for internally displaced people is not just for babies; many are for older children so traumatized from shelling, instability or losing relatives that they are wetting their beds at night, a visitor learned.
"One of the prayer requests we had as we visited these kids at the camps was, 'Please pray for my teenage son, my teenage daughter, that they stop wetting the bed so they don't have to wear diapers anymore,'" he said.
"Kids ask for prayer because they don't know where their father is, or their brother, or they lost somebody or somebody is dead," the director said. "They are hurting somewhere."
This month ISIS was driven out of Raqqa, the terrorist group's last major stronghold, though guerilla attacks continue, and the government is still fighting rebels from other quarters. As internally displaced people begin trickling back to recaptured cities, however, opportunities are increasing to minister to traumatized children.
An indigenous ministry that has offered children's programs in nine cities in Syria has just expanded to four more. For children suffering a range of anxieties, the songs, skits and games in the charged atmosphere of hundreds of kids – 800 to 900 on weekends, 80 to 150 at mid-week events – is a natural therapy.
For the younger children there are games, biblical coloring books and skits or clown acts, and then they are ready to hear indigenous youth workers talk about God, Jesus and the gospel.
"We even ask them if there is anything they would like prayer for," the director of the indigenous ministry said. "Mostly you hear kids asking for prayer because they don't know where their father is, or their brother, or they lost somebody or somebody is dead. They are hurting somewhere."
While prayer gives them the opportunity to share pent-up hurts and release them to God, they are also shown films that transport them out of their harsh reality, a respite opening up more space for healing.
Programs for children 14 and older involve board games and encouraging them to talk, as well as films and prayer.
"The good thing about the whole program is that they know it is a Christian program," the director said. "They know we're not just doing entertainment, we're here to pray with them."

Knowing God

Syrian refugee children.
The parents who bring them, 95 percent of them Muslims, are well aware that it is a Christian program. They are glad to see the healing and transformation in their children, and while they don't usually hang around to observe, they are given the option to have tea or coffee in adjacent waiting areas.
Most of these parents would not say they wish to hear about Christianity, but the director suspects that secretly they do, and the waiting areas give them a safe place to inquire.
"They end up asking questions and knowing more," he said. "So it is really Jesus the Son of God that reaches them. This is mainly the biggest topic, they ask, 'Do you really believe in three gods?' and, 'What do Christians believe?' And then coming back to what ISIS is doing, they'll say that this is not Islam and Islam is more peaceful, and then the subject just opens by itself."
The parents soon discover that there is a parallel program for adults at the same site that they can attend: a talk-and-discussion session, akin to the Alpha Course, which introduces the basics of Christianity. Another waiting room might have a Bible study for adults. Home Bible study groups form out of these and other outreaches.
In keeping with cultural practice, there are separate waiting areas for men and women, the director said.
"We have more tea and coffee with them and share a small testimony," he said, "and there is always somebody who is asking them, 'Why did you come? What are you as parents interested to know?' And this is how we try to filter those who are interested to know more, and then from there you can do a small Bible study with them, or we have something like the Alpha Course, but it is tailored especially for Muslims and has been working phenomenally."
The indigenous ministry director said hundreds of Syrians are putting their faith in Christ every year, beams of light on a dark landscape.
"The Muslims respond very well," he said. "We sincerely thank you for your prayers and support – we cannot do without them."
A gift to help Syrian workers reach children and their parents will bring relief, healing and salvation amid the darkness.
Support outreach ministry to children in Syria

Sticking Together

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Missions Insider Report
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Volume 18, Issue 42
  Syrian refugee children.
Healing Fun for Syrian Children in Hard Times
Between the threat of kidnapping and anxiety over families torn apart by war, it is not easy being a child in Syria.
Read the full story here

Photo of the Week
Syrian refugee children.
Syrian refugee children in Lebanon may have lost everything, but they have each other. Some refugees are returning to their homes as Islamic State (ISIS) militants have lost the major cities they’d seized, but an indigenous ministry in Lebanon reports Syrian refugees continue to stream in. One refugee, Abdel, fled to Lebanon after learning that ISIS had pillaged his home and slaughtered villagers. A devout Muslim, he sought help from an indigenous missionary’s church. “With every worship song and word that was spoken, Abdel could feel a mountain being lifted off his shoulders and a peace that surpassed all understanding,” the ministry director said. “Abdel established a growing and flourishing relationship with Jesus, and his family started coming to church regularly.” Hundreds of refugees are coming to Christ each year in Lebanon; pray for their growth and safety, and please consider a gift to help the indigenous missionaries who are reaching out to them.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

EAGLES NEST DISCIPLESHIP COURSES




EAGLES NEST DISCIPLESHIP COURSES
 Hasil gambar untuk PEMURIDAN SARANG RAJAWALI
Perkenalan

Selamat datang di pelatihan kami bagi para pemimpin masa depan gereja abad ke-21 dan para pemimpin misi. Ini adalah pelatihan tanpa tembok, tanpa batas, tanpa biaya dan bebas dari batasan-batasan politik, agama, ras, jenis kelamin maupun denominasi. Kami berharap bahwa pelajaran-pelajaran ini akan mengilhami dan memberkati ribuan orang yang hatinya sedang berkobar-kobar dalam kasih mula-mula kepada Yesus.
Fakta bahwa Anda segera mengikuti pelatihan ini sudah menunjukkan bahwa Anda sangat rindu untuk mengenal Tuhan dengan lebih baik, dan bahwa dalam hati Anda, Anda ingin melihat orang-orang dalam keluarga Anda dan bangsa Anda, dan bahkan juga mereka yang belum terjangkau, juga orang-orang miskin di dunia ini, diubahkan ke dalam kehidupan
sebagai seorang murid, yang kudus dan tinggal dalam kasih dan pemeliharaan Allah di dalam iman kepada Yesus Kristus.
Pelatihan ini akan membantu Anda mewujudkan hal di atas. Ini adalah Pelajaran Pertama, sangat sederhana dan merupakan perkenalan. Pelajaran-pelajaran selanjutnya lebih lengkap, dan berisikan hal-hal yang baik untuk dipelajari dan dipraktikkan. Secara pribadi saya dan rekan-rekan pelayanan telah melakukan semuanya, dan mengajarkannya di kelas, memberikannya kepada ribuan orang, dan sekarang pelajaran-pelajaran ini menjadi milik Anda. Saya berdoa agar Anda mendapatkan berkat yang sama, tertantang dan dibawa kepada Tuhan dan jalan-jalan-Nya sebagaimana yang pernah dan terus saya alami.
Pelatihan atau Sekolah Alkitab ini tidak menawarkan gelar teologia tetapi melatih umat Tuhan secara praktis menjadi seorang murid Kristus yang dapat menghidupi kebenaran, mengabarkan Kabar Baik terhadap sesama, memuridkan, memulai pelatihan serupa ini maupun merintis atau menanam gereja.

Pastor. Dave Broos

The Eagles Nest Ministries

Eagles Nest Discipleship Courses bekerjasama dengan DCI dan United Christian Faith Ministries

Bagaimana Mengikuti Eagles Nest  Discipleship Courses dengan Sukses?

1. Pertama-tama kami akan memberikan Anda garis besar tentang apa yang telah kami pelajari selama bertahun-tahun. Dengan pertolongan Roh Kudus, Alkitab, doa kami dan pikiran yang terbuka, kami percaya bahwa Anda akan dapat menangkap seluruh pelajaran.
Pelatihan ini terdiri dari berbagai tema yang saling berkaitan secara berurut, yang pasti penting dan bermanfaat bagi gereja-gereja, terutama di negara-negara berkembang:
- Penginjilan
- Misi
- Pemuridan tingkat dasar untuk orang percaya baru
- Pemuridan tingkat lanjut
- Panggilan Allah
- Mempercayai Allah dalam hal keuangan
- Pelatihan kepemimpinan
- Pembangunan gereja
- Datanglah kerajaan-Mu
- Kehidupan doa sebagai gaya hidup & nafas kehidupan
- Menjadi alat Tuhan di dalam masyarakat
- Menjadi umat yang profetis

2. Kedua, kami ingin agar Anda menyampaikan kepada orang lain, semua yang telah Anda pelajari dari pelatihan ini, supaya Firman Allah tersebar luas. Kami akan menunjukkan kepada Anda cara melakukannya tanpa mengeluarkan banyak uang, karena kita semua tahu betapa sulit mendapatkannya. Sekolah yang kami maksud, tidak harus berupa gedung khusus dengan staf pengajar yang profesional. Para murid kami dapat berkumpul di
gedung gereja, rumah, toko, dan bahkan di bawah pohon di udara terbuka. Yang Anda perlukan hanya satu kelompok dengan orang-orang yang siap, Alkitab, bahan-bahan ini dan kehadiran Allah di tengah-tengah Anda. Kami akan membantu Anda dari awal sampai akhir.
Akhirnya, kami sangat berharap agar mereka yang sudah belajar dari Anda dapat pergi mengajarkan kepada orang lain, dengan menggunakan catatan-catatan yang sama, dan cara-cara sederhana dalam menyampaikan Firman Allah.

Bagaimana pelatihan ini dapat berjalan dengan maksimal?

Pelatihan ini akan berjalan dengan maksimal manakala sang pemimpin mengikuti pendekatan efektif yang sama seperti diterapkan Yesus kepada para murid-Nya, dan juga seperti yang dilakukan Paulus terhadap Timotius.
Apa yang telah engkau dengar dari aku di depan banyak saksi, percayakanlah itu kepada orang-orang yang dapat dipercayai, yang juga cakap mengajar orang lain. (2 Timotius 2:2)
Kami berharap Anda dapat menangkap firman ini sejak awal. Di tahun 2001 pendekatan ini sangat dikenal di antara gereja-gereja yang bertumbuh pesat di seluruh dunia dengan nama G12, yaitu suatu pengembangan dari prinsip gereja sel yang diajarkan oleh Pastor Yonggi
Cho dari Korea, dan sekarang dijalankan dengan sangat berhasil oleh Pastor Cesar Castellanos dari Bogota, Kolombia, yang melihat jemaat yang dipimpinnya bertumbuh dari 8 menjadi 120.000 orang dalam kurun waktu 10 tahun. Dia berkata, Saya mulai melihat pelayanan Yesus dengan jelas. Banyak orang mengikuti-Nya, tetapi Ia tidak melatih mereka. Ia hanya melatih 12 orang, dan apapun yang Ia lakukan di tengah-tengah banyak orang
adalah dalam rangka mengajar 12 murid-Nya itu. Kemudian Tuhan bertanya kepada saya pertanyaan yang lain. Jika Yesus melatih 12 orang, apakah Anda harus memenangkan lebih dari 12 atau kurang dari 12? Yesus memilih 12 orang untuk menjangkau banyak orang. Ia tetap bersama 12 orang ini, sampai mereka dilatih dengan baik, dan Ia melepaskan mereka, memberikan mereka otoritas dan memampukan mereka untuk memuridkan bangsa-bangsa.
Gembala, pemimpin, murid hal terbaik yang harus dilakukan adalah mencari 12 orang itu untuk Anda ajarkan pelatihan ini. Firman Allah dan Roh Kudus akan menyatukan iman dan komitmen setiap orang, dan mentransferkan karakter Kristus di dalam kelompok Anda melalui pemuridan ini, sebelum Anda melepas mereka yang siap untuk memenangkan 12 orang lagi, sementara Anda tetap dalam persekutuan dengan mereka sebagai kelompok Anda yang tetap.

Lihatlah betapa luar biasa kekuatan G12 ini:
Bila Anda mengajar diri Anda sendiri ~ hanya 1 orang mendengar firman
Tuhan.
Bila Anda membagikan pelajaran kepada 12 orang ~ 13 orang mendengar
firman Tuhan.
Bila 12 orang itu masing-masing mengajar 12 orang lagi ~ 157 orang
mendengar firman Tuhan.
Bila 157 orang itu masing-masing mengajar 12 orang lagi ~ 1.884 orang
mendengar firman Tuhan.
Bila 1.884 orang itu mengajar 12 orang lagi ~ 22.608 orang mendengar
firman Tuhan.

Dan tiba-tiba Anda mengalami kegerakan dari Allah. Hal ini terjadi di Cina, dan terus terjadi hari ini di Amerika Latin dan Afrika, di mana Pelatihan Pelipatgandaan seperti ini terbukti menjadi satu-satunya cara yang paling efektif untuk mengajarkan ribuan orang yang memutuskan untuk mengikut Kristus. Bersama-sama kita dapat melatih banyak orang, untuk menjadi orang percaya yang dewasa rohani, dan yang bersedia pergi melakukan pekerjaan pelayanan menginjili, memuridkan, dan membantu orang-orang yang miskin, untuk membangun iman, usaha dan keuangan yang penting untuk menyebarluaskan Injil. Di dalam Kitab Kejadian pasal pertama, dituliskan bahwa ketika Firman Allah datang bersama-sama
dengan Roh Allah, terjadilah suatu ledakan dari kehidupan baru, dan inilah doa kami, agar Tuhan melakukan hal yang sama sekarang ini, di dalam kehidupan Anda, dan dalam komunitas pergaulan Anda.

Apakah pelatihan ini sulit?

Pelajaran-pelajaran ini telah teruji dengan baik di gereja-gereja di Afrika, India dan di kalangan komunitas Latin, tentunya disesuaikan dengan budaya setempat. Mereka mengatakan bahwa pengajaran ini Alkitabiah, benar, relevan dengan negara-negara berkembang, dan difokuskan pada semangat mereka untuk menjalankan Amanat Agung, agar Yesus segera datang kembali. Kenyataannya, keadaan di banyak negara berkembang
sekarang ini, tidak jauh berbeda dengan keadaan di abad pertama di zaman Alkitab.
Dengan pertolongan Allah, pelajaran-pelajaran ini tidak akan terlalu sukar bagi mereka yang hanya mempunyai bekal pendidikan rendah sekalipun, atau bahkan bagi mereka yang tidak mengenyam pendidikan sama sekali. Pengajarannya sangat sederhana dan tidak rumit. Kata-katanya pasti mudah bagi Anda untuk dimengerti. Pastikanlah bahwa Anda mengajarkan pelajaran ini kepada orang-orang lain. Berdoalah selalu dan persiapkanlah diri Anda sebaik-baiknya. Waktu Anda mengajar, tambahkanlah ayat-ayat Alkitab dan ceritera-ceritera yang anda pilih sendiri sebagai ilustrasi supaya proses pengajaran menjadi menarik, semarak dan hidup. Anda belajar dan dimuridkan untuk memuridkan orang lain. Tuhan mau melakukan pekerjaan besar dalam hidup anda, sadarkah anda akan hal tersebut?

Kami juga menerima undangan pelayanan untuk memperlengkapi tubuh Kristus yang ada di manapun baik itu gereja, persekutuan, sekolah Alkitab maupun setiap kumpulan orang percaya yang merindukan untuk dimuridkan.

Bimbingan pribadi hubungi kami pada email davebroos@yahoo.co.uk atau WA (only) 085863761509 (Dave Broos)

Pelatihan ini tidak dipungut biaya sama sekali tetapi bila anda ingin mendukung pelayanan kami secara finansial hingga kami dapat menolong gereja-gereja di daerah dalam menanggapi panggilan Tuhan dan amanat agungNya dapat menyalurkan donasi ke rekening BCA 0081824788 atas nama Dave Broos. Donasi anda akan digunakan untuk memperlengkapi tubuh Kristus di garis depan dan tubuh Kristus yang tak mampu.

Harapan kami pada akhirnya umat Tuhan bukan hanya sekedar menghangatkan bangku gereja tetapi menjadi murid Kristus yang menanggapi amanat agung Kristus dengan menjadikan segala bangsa murid Kristus. Impian kami melihat setiap gedung gereja menjadi tempat memperlengkapi umat Tuhan untuk diutus memberitakan kabar baik, memuridkan orang lain dan menanam gereja di tempat mereka bekerja, belajar atau dimanapun.

Links yang berguna bagi para murid:

-       The Eagles Nest Ministries = http://3a9l35-n35t.blogspot.com
-       Renungan Kehidupan = http://renungandave.blogspot.com
-       Ekklesia (Gereja) = http://gerejaperjanjianbaru.blogspot.com
-       Global Prayer Network = http://globalprayernetwork.blogspot.com
-       Shadow of The Cross Indonesia = http://shaddowcross.blogspot.com
-       Guardian Angels = http://9u4rd14n-4n93ls.blogspot.com
-       Spiritual Growth = http://davebroos.blogspot.com
-       Market Place Ministry = http://dave-broos.blogspot.com
-       In My Darkness Hours = http://inmydarnesshours.blogspot.com
-       LK10 = www.LK10.com


SAMPAI JUMPA MINGGU DEPAN DENGAN PELAJARAN KEDUA, LANGKAH-LANGKAH PERTAMA. DONT MISS IT!!!! GOD BLESS YOU.

NB: PELAJARAN BARU AKAN DI UPDATE SETIAP MINGGUNYA, BAGI YANG SERIUS MENGIKUTI PELAJARAN DAN MENGERJAKAN TUGAS ANDA SAMPAI SELESAI AKAN MENDAPATKAN DIPLOMA IN MISSION.

NB:
-       Bagi para murid yang rindu untuk bertumbuh lebih dalam, bersungguh-sungguhlah untuk: - Membaca , menghafalkan dan merenungkan bagian Alkitab dari setiap pelajaran. Lalu praktekkan dalam hidup sehari-hari.
                 - Untuk mendapatkan sertifikat pada akhir tiap kursus, selesaikan tugas diskusi, praktika dan tugas diploma. Kirimkan tugas-tugas tersebut ke alamat email: davebroos@yahoo.co.uk  dengan judul Kursus Pemuridan.
                 - Berdoa syafaat bagi setiap suku bangsa yang belum mengenal Kristus.
                 - Berdoa pada Tuhan, selama minggu ini, bagikan apa yang telah Anda pelajari pada orang lain dan bentuklah kelompok kecil untuk belajar bersama apa yang telah Anda pelajari. Bisa dimulai dengan keluarga di rumah, sahabat-sahabat, dll.

-       Bagi para murid yang mau mendukung kelangsungan pelayanan Sekolah Alkitab Online ataupun pelayanan The Eagles Nest Ministries ini dapat menyalurkan donasi ke rekening BCA Bandung II no 0081824788 atas nama Dave Broos
-       Untuk menghubungi kami dapat melalui nomor WA (only) 085863761509.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Workers Battle Drought, Starvation and Superstition

Workers Battle Drought, Starvation and Superstition


June 22, 2017
Emaciated boy in Niger.
A clinic in southwestern Niger was this malnourished boy's only hope for survival.
Weak from drought and fearing angry spirits, Samira* felt she could do nothing as her 2-year-old son wasted away.
The weary young mother in the drought-stricken, West African country of Niger had already seen two of her children die from starvation. Now her son Adamou*, born in her mud hut in Tsaboudey village in Niger's Sahelian southwest, was acutely malnourished, his skin clinging to his bones.
Adamou had never received any medical treatment. In her native Kollo District, Samira had taken him to traditional healers, whose ritual incantations, koranic verse recitations and attempts to make contact with spirits via plants and perfumes had not protected Adamou from the ravages of Niger's drought.
More than 80 percent of Niger's people are Muslim, though many practice their religion alongside the animistic rituals of their ancestors. In Samira's area, traditional healers and marabouts (Muslim holy men) discourage people from seeking treatment from medical clinics. They gave her little hope of recovery for Adamou.
"The child is severely malnourished," the ministry director said, "and as usual the parents came very late to the health center after visiting several marabouts."
"The native healer told me that the spirits are not happy about me, and that I have to pay with my children," she said.
Many rural people in Niger are deeply suspicious of modern medical practices, and Samira's neighbors were continually frustrated when they urged her to take her children 22 miles away to an indigenous ministry's medical clinic in Dantchandou. At the clinic another toddler, 19 months old, was suffering from Kwashiorkor – the protein deficiency that leads to a swollen belly – along with anemia and diarrhea.
"One week after the admission, the mother ran away with the child to a marabout," said an indigenous medical missionary at the clinic. "She came back two weeks later, when the child was in bad condition." He offered himself consolation with a final thought: "Only God is in control."
Another mother at the clinic was suffering from mastitis, an infection not from drought or malnutrition but a common breast inflammation during breastfeeding. The precarious condition of her baby went from bad to worse.
"The child cannot continue the breastfeeding because of the condition of the mother," the doctor said. "Therefore, the child is severely malnourished, and as usual the parents came very late to the health center after visiting several marabouts."
Some people avoid the clinic because of its Christian leadership. Enough Muslim animists seeking treatment eventually have put their faith in Christ that area religious leaders advise against it. The grandmother of a baby who refused to nurse his first three weeks of life said the family initially declined to bring him to the clinic.
"We were advised to come here with the child, but at first we refused, because we were told that once you come here, you will be Christian," she said.
Woman holding emaciated boy in Niger.
A malnourished boy's mother brought him to a modern medical clinic just in time.
The clinic was able to refer the baby who refused to nurse to a hospital, where it received a life-saving blood transfusion. Personnel from the clinic in Kollo are following up every day with the infant in a hospital in Niamey, the capital.
The indigenous ministry director that oversees the clinic said personnel are gentle, tactful and wise in sharing the reason for their hope within.
"In our experience, most people are open to listening [to the gospel]," he said. "The decision to follow Christ may not come immediately, as some plant, and others water, and others harvest. Over here, it's basically a one-on-one thing with lot of patience, as God does His work through their hearts."
The impoverished country of mostly Saharan Desert and some semi-arid Sahel is home to several tribes, including Hausa (slightly more than half the population) Zarma-Sonrai, Tuareg and Fula, and nine official languages besides French – Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulde, Hausa and Tamasheq, among others. Amid this complexity, indigenous missionaries are in prime position to understand and minister to the unique, multilayered characteristics of the various micro-cultures.
Suffering alongside those they're serving, the indigenous teams are enduring the drought in the Sahel region of West Africa that is threatening 1 million children with severe malnutrition. As malnutrition rates are reaching 15 percent in Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and northern Senegal, food prices in the region have risen 20 to 25 percent over the past five years and could reach 30 percent by August.
As many as 13 million people are expected to suffer the effects of drought this year, such as Samira and the young son becoming weightless in her arms. Recently her neighbors finally persuaded her to take Adamou to the clinic in Dantchandou.
"At the clinic, she had it explained to her that it's just a problem of food," said the director of the ministry, which is assisted by Christian Aid Mission. "The child is malnourished. By the grace of God, he will be fine again. We referred him to a hospital for further management. We are following up on the case, and the mother says, 'I'm very happy.'"
Most of the parents who arrive at the clinic return, he said.
"The mothers are always happy and appreciate a lot what they are receiving all the time from us," he said. "Most of them are thankful now and smiling when they come to the center. A lot of lives are changing. Thanks a lot for all your support, especially your prayers toward us."
To help indigenous missionaries to meet needs, you may contribute online using the form below, or call (434) 977-5650. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid Mission, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 511HIS. Thank you!

Well with Their Souls

People celebrating new well in Niger.
As drought threatens the health of thousands of people in Niger, residents of a community in the country’s Sahelian southwest celebrate the flowing of fresh water from a new source. Clean water prevents cholera and intestinal parasites, the director of the indigenous that helped the community install the well noted. “Access to clean water does not affect just one person’s life, it affects the entire village,” he said. Wells are especially important to children, who are most susceptible during drought as they dehydrate more quickly than adults from the diarrhea accompanying disease. The ministry has drilled just over 100 wells, and several others need to be completed with hand pumps. When not drilling wells, the ministry employs an indigenous team to monitor existing ones. “We often find government wells broken and repair them for villages,” the director said. “It is our desire to drill as many wells as possible each year, but finances most often restrict this. Once the water well has been drilled, the health of the entire village changes.”

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Look! The Day is Dawning!


Look! The Day is Dawning!

Look up and see the horizon ahead my child. For as you look up you will see that the day is breaking and that the sun is spreading its golden blanket over the land that I have given to you. For where before you stumbled around in the dark, I am turning on the light.
Where before you sought me in the dark of the night, now you will run with me in the light of the day. For the night had its season and while you could not see, I was rearranging circumstances and bringing things into line on your behalf.
But look! The dawn is breaking and the sun is coming over that horizon. Your eyes will begin to see again. Your ears will begin to hear again. You will begin to have confidence again and wisdom will flow again. So do not regret the steps you have taken. Do not regret the nights where it was dark.
For in those moments I was giving you rest. In those moments, I was giving you time to change and go through a process. Yet now that time is over. The work has been done and it is time for you to see all that I have accomplished in you! So look up! Look forward to this time and see that my goodness lies ahead of you, says the Lord. Amen.

Pushing Aid through Closed Border in North Korea

Pushing Aid through Closed Border in North Korea


June 2, 2017
North Koreans on the border with China picking wild grass.
People on the North Korean side of the border with China pick wild grass to survive.
Rising tensions between North Korea and the West have shut down border traffic between China and its isolated neighbor, but an indigenous ministry has found ways to get aid to starving North Koreans.
With another missile test this week defying United Nations resolutions, North Korea has further provoked a nuclear threat that has brought Chinese soldiers to the border, ready to rush in should the regime fall, said the leader of an indigenous ministry on the Chinese side of the border.
There is widespread suspicion on the border and within North Korea that the regime is shaky, and China has amassed soldiers to prevent South Korea and the United States from filling any power vacuum, while North Korea has increased vigilance and troop presence on the border, he said.
"The people in the border area, half of their life income depends on the border trade, official and unofficial, but at this moment, all border crossing has been closed," he said. "Their winter is very long in that area, so they couldn't cultivate anything in the last six months. Their grains have run out; they have nothing to eat."
An indigenous missionary on the North Korean side of the border from the undisclosed ministry has reported deaths by starvation, he said.
"Now our missionary sees there are so many people on the mountains picking up that grass because they are so hungry right now," the director said. "We want to do something for them."
"Before there was so much green grass, but now she sees there are so many people on the mountains picking up that grass because they are so hungry right now," he said. "We want to do something for them."
Any North Koreans trying to cross the border into China now will be executed, rather than sent to prison camps, he said. The cross-border smuggling of goods crucial to the area economy has stopped. Of 23 border crossing points, however, there is one that indigenous missionaries have been able to identify as less tightly monitored than the others.
Moreover, because of their familiarity with local contacts, the indigenous workers have been able to obtain permission from North Korean authorities to transfer nearly 1,500 tons of donated corn to starving North Koreans.
"If we send rice, their officials and other powerful people will take it," the ministry director said. "That's why we decided we'd send corn. This corn they don't eat; only the poor people or farmers eat corn."
The ministry's negotiations with North Korean authorities included winning the right to put the corn, donated from churches in China, in bags with a cross on it, he said.
Bag of Chinese corn.
Churches in China donated corn for transport to North Korea.
"We made a cross on 30,000 empty grain bags [now 50,000 bags are planned], and we showed them to the distribution workers," he said. "We said, 'We are going to send them to you with the cross – so if you are hungry and want to receive this grain, we'll send you this bag.' We insisted on bringing the bags with the cross, and we got the approval from the authorities in North Korea."
With assistance from churches in China and Christian Aid Mission, the undisclosed indigenous ministry plans to provide corn for 150,000 people for one month. If the hungry North Koreans mix the corn with wild grass, as is customary, the shipments could feed 215,000 people for a month, the ministry director said. The cost to ship the food in five trucks, including freight and labor, is $50,550.
"We are ready to send it to them, and they are willing to accept it," he said. "This is official, not smuggling, because smuggling is impossible right now. Ask the Western brothers and sisters to pray for them because of the border crossing. They are starving to death right now, so we need to do something for them."
The central government speaks of being opposed to outside aid, but local governments allow it, he explained.
"Both the China side and the North Korean side agreed – this is why we can do it openly," he said.
The corn will be distributed in a city near the border with the help of a ministry contact and local officials.
"Last year we sent over 580 gifts into North Korea," he said. "These people will have a direct benefit. The rest of the gifts will be shared with urgently needy people."
People in North Korea are hoping that a change in leadership is imminent, he said.
"It looks like something is going to happen very soon on the other side – even the people who don't know God are talking differently than before," he said. "Of course, on the other side they cannot talk openly. If they do, they get executed."
Christians in North Korea have exceptionally strong faith in the midst of the turmoil, he said, even though their movements and speech are severely restricted.
"Everybody knows that something is going to happen soon on the other side," the director said. "They are in danger of starvation. Their agony is too hard for them to bear. All walls are closing in, and there are no lights of hope for them. There is only a little ray of hope in this very tiny spot of the country. Please pray for our brother and sisters in darkness. Let North Korean people seek the Lord God, who will do some awesome works for them."
To help indigenous missionaries to meet needs, you may contribute online using the form below, or call (434) 977-5650. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid Mission, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 836NKW. Thank you!