FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY:
Finding Sobriety — and Jesus — in Vietnam’s Christian Drug Rehabs
In Vietnam, approximately 60 Christian-run drug rehabilitation centers are achieving remarkable success by combining abstinence, Bible study, and prayer. These centers report numerous instances of individuals overcoming addiction and transforming their lives, often becoming pastors, spouses, and active community members. One such example is Hung Quang Pham, a former heroin user with AIDS, who experienced physical healing and a renewed purpose through faith. The effectiveness of these programs has drawn the attention of Vietnam’s communist government, which has struggled with the high relapse rates and human rights concerns associated with its compulsory treatment centers. The government is now exploring the methods employed by these Christian facilities to address the nation’s addiction crisis.
About Frank Johnson
Navigators Missionaries Use Farm For Outreach
FROM ALBIA NEWSPAPERS:
Navigators Missionaries Use Farm For Outreach
Tom and Ai Van Sickel have lived as a married couple in Tsukuba, Japan for over two decades. As global workers with Navigators World Missions, they lead small-group Bible studies and use their 3/4-acre farm to reach out to their Japanese friends and neighbors. The Moravian Union reports that the Van Sickel Farm Tsukuba includes over 1,300 blueberry trees, 300 blackberry bushes, and 300 raspberry bushes, along with lavender, kiwi, and honeybee hives. They sell their fruit from a hut on the farm and at the local farmers’ market, and they have also started shipping their produce to other areas of Japan. Their farm has thus become a platform for outreach to the city of Tsukuba!
Visit the Albia Newspapers Website to read this story entitled Faith & Farming
Photo courtesy of Wadim L. Used by permission.
Children In Lebanon Find Relief At Summer Camp Amid Threats Of War
FROM MISSION NETWORK NEWS:
Lebanon (MNN) — Amidst growing war threats, Triumphant Mercy Lebanon provides children with a brief escape through summer camps. These camps offer a safe space for fun, learning, and spiritual growth, allowing kids to momentarily forget their harsh realities. The camps aim to instill faith and hope, despite the ongoing conflicts surrounding them.
View This Story entitled Children In Lebanon Find Relief At Summer Camp Amid Threats Of War
Visual Storytellers: Igniting Hearts Through Visual Media
During Jesus’ ministry in Galilee — a small, but densely populated region — he often encountered crowds of people searching for a shepherd who would guide them and feed them. There is also a crowd today — over 3 billion people who have not had an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus nor experience his love. How can this crowd be made visible to God’s people so they will be spurred to action on behalf of the unreached? Joshua Chew — through Ablaze Media Productions — serves the worldwide church by documenting the plight of the unreached and making the crowd visible to the church, and by equipping others to do the same.
View This Story entitled Visual Storytellers: Igniting Hearts Through Visual Media
Pandemic Creates Gospel Opportunity in Vietnam
FROM MISSION NETWORK NEWS:
Vietnam (MNN) — The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unexpected opportunity for the spread of the Gospel in Vietnam. Amid the crisis, the Church began reaching out to meet people’s physical needs, which led to opportunities to share Christian teachings. This activity was noticed by the government, which subsequently allowed the Billy Graham Association to hold festivals.
View This Story entitled Pandemic Creates Gospel Opportunity in Vietnam
Clever Web Navigation Allows International Media Ministries to Bring Hope to Iran
FROM MISSION NETWORK NEWS:
Iran (MNN) — While Iran’s hangings and brutal crackdowns on dissenters have taken the spotlight recently, the regime’s oppression extends to the worldwide web.
“They have this huge Revolutionary Guard hacker community taking down Christian sites and checking on people who might be Christian,” Denise Godwin with International Media Ministries says.
Answering God With “I’m Not …”
When Marilyn Owusu-Sekyere first heard God tell her that he would send her to a people enslaved by sin, she responded with “I’m not …”: “I’m not a man,” “I’m not married,” “I’m not white.” She thought that all missionaries were men, married, and white because she had never seen someone like her — a single, African American woman — come to her church as a missionary. She didn’t think she was capable or worthy of doing this “crazy thing” God had put on her heart. Three years and ten short-term missions trips later, she embraced God’s purposes for her life and His call to minister to the youth and children of West Africa.
Is Côte d’Ivoire the Ephesus of West Africa?
The nation of Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa may be similar to first-century Ephesus in its strategic role for reaching surrounding regions with the gospel. With the strategic potential of Côte d’Ivoire, Kevin and Moriah Thompson are currently strategizing to combine their history of dramatic conversions to Christ, training they have received and will continue to receive at the Daloa Basecamp, and tabernacle evangelism to reach the northern regions of Côte d’Ivoire – with a goal of facilitating outreach throughout West Africa.
View This Story entitled Is Côte d’Ivoire the Ephesus of West Africa?
