A container sits on a ship in London waiting to carry its $50,000 shipment of donated clothes and food to Iraqi refugees in Jordan cared for by Manara Ministries. These are believers pushed out of their homeland by Islamic militants. $2500 is needed to cover the shipping costs.
Hundreds of Christian families still live in refugee camps and shelters in India after militants burned their homes and churches and drove them from their villages. Families who lost everything are pictured left. They wait for permanent shelter so they can begin rebuilding their lives. This year we received over 300 reports on persecution against Christians worldwide. Many more go unreported. Will you help us meet the needs of our persecuted brethren?
Looking into the face of the young widow was difficult. Many like her had lost their pastor husbands in the Orissa violence. Who was going to care for her? Widows in India are treated as pariahs, stripped of their property and unwanted. Thankfully ministry partners have taken seriously the Lord’s call to care for the widows and orphans. They are moved to provide housing, job training, goats for milk and literacy so these women can live with dignity and hope. Join with us in helping them establish new lives.
Roshni was the second of six children. Her father committed suicide when he couldn’t pay his debts. Her mother was killed by vandals. Though they had little support, HBI partners agreed to take in the six orphans and raise them in the love of Christ. Today one of her sisters is married to a pastor and the others are all doing well in school. Roshni has completed a B.A. and is working on her Masters. How were their lives changed? Her sister wrote,“We would be beggars if we had not been introduced to our Creator. God bless those who sponsored us.”$30 a month provides support for orphan children like Roshni.
This year tens of thousands of Bibles found their way into the hands of believers through the ministry partners of Hope Builders International. Over 50,000 have been made available to Iraqi refugees in Syria alone! Thousands more are needed.
Few gifts bring as much joy to hungry believers as receiving the written Word of God in their own language. Depending on the language area $5 to $10 can pay for the printing and delivery of a Bible to a seeking believer. Throughout countries like India, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Nepal hundreds of thousands of believers wait for their first Bible. Every one of these Bibles can change hundreds of more lives. Share in the blessing of bringing joy to a fellow believer’s face as they receive their own copy of the Scriptures.
In a village near the Hindu holy city of Rishikesh, Vikrant Bhandari and his team bring the love of Christ to abandoned children and families living in slave like bonded labor. Christie and I visited this village and the school they run. There we met Anjana, a precious nine year old rescued from a life of destitution. One of their great needs is for a well to provide safe drinking water to the village, protecting them from fatal water borne diseases. Now the children walk long distances to fetch water from unclean streams.
Through the provision of wells by our ministry partners, the door will open to further share the love of Christ. We have seen the striking difference between the face of a child who knows the love of Jesus and one who lives without hope. Depending on the location and availability of water, wells cost from $1000 to $6000.In Anjana’s village a plaque will be placed on the well that testifies that Jesus is the water of life.
Haiti ministry partners Barb and Patrick Lataillade are reaching the lost close to our shores. On the other side of the world in places like Nepal and India, Resham and Sita Poudel and our friends at Native Missionary Movement are doing the same. In Madhya Pradesh where NMM is working among the Lingayats, only 1% of a population of 60 million know the Lord. The need is immense. In Pakistan, one of the frontline countries in the war on terror, Christians are a fraction of the population.
Our partners reach out in a variety of ways, preaching the gospel in outdoor meetings, opening schools and medical clinics and producing TV and radio programs. Help is needed for missionary sponsorship, building projects and evangelistic campaigns. Gifts of $100 or more can make a big difference in reaching the unreached for Christ.
Motorbikes and bicycles are important tools for indigenous missionaries. Many Indian pastors and evangelists not only lost their homes through violence last year but their bikes were destroyed as well. D.B. Hrudaya alone requested 3 motorbikes and 20 bicycles to replace ones that were lost. This would be a great encouragement. As he put it, “This gift will help restore their ability to continue reaching the lost.” Hundreds more missionaries across India, Nepal and Pakistan are waiting to receive a bicycle ora motorbike.
Motorbikes and bicycles enable missionaries to reach more in less time.
