The Myanmar military is cracking down on Myanmar’s minorities, particularly the Rohingya. Many of them flee into Bangladesh. CNN reports, “Authorities in neighboring Bangladesh said dozens of people have attempted to flee across the border in recent days.” Those in Myanmar think that the Rohingya are Bangladesh citizens and as such are there illegally, even…
By Agência Brasil Fotografias The Rio refugee team was the first of its kind in the Olympics. Never before had there been a team of refugees in Olympic history. UNCHR reports, “Hailing the first-ever refugee team as “true Olympians”, UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly T. Clements has praised its 10 members of for helping to…
PizarroContreras Chile is undergoing a water crisis due to the flooding there. This is located in the capital city of Santiago. The BBC reports, “Rainstorms and landslides in Chile have contaminated a major river forcing the authorities to cut off drinking water to at least four million people in the capital, Santiago.” These homes…
Fanny Schertzer On January 22, 2017, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Papua New Guinea. It is initially believed to be no deaths. According to CNN, “The predominant structure of homes in the area meant they were vulnerable to earthquakes, it said, and fatalities were possible.” There was a Tsunami warning put into effect for several…
By Berthold Werner In early January, 4 Israeli soldiers were killed by a Palestinian, who took over a truck and attacked all those who were nearby. It is believed he supported the terrorist attacks of ISIS. CNN reports, “The driver who plowed a truck into a group of soldiers in Jerusalem, killing four people and…
By Adelano Lázaro In late October, Marcello Crivella was elected to be mayor in Rio de Janeiro. Crivella is a devoted Evangelical. According to CNN, “Rio de Janeiro, the city of sunshine and samba, elected a former evangelical bishop mayor in a municipal election that signals Brazil’s politics are shifting right after 13 years of…
By Qypchak In late August of 2016, Russia attacked Ukraine while it was celebrating its Independence from the former USSR. CNN reports, “On the day of his country’s 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants ‘the whole Ukraine’ to be part of…
By Athanasius 77 In December, just a few weeks before Christmas, a Coptic Church in Cairo was bombed. At first, the authorities had no idea who was responsible for the attacks. According to Fox News, “The Islamic State [ISIS] claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed 25 people. They also alleged that the…
By Kotoviski – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1620427 In November, Fidel Castro, the leader and dictator of Cuba died of an ailment. According to The Slatest, “One of the world’s most divisive and authoritarian leaders who allegedly survived more than 600 assassination attempts and played a key role in the history of the 20th…
The Zika-related malady of microcephaly that has plagued Brazil and much of the Americas is now in Thailand where two babies recently born there have the birth defect, marking Asia’s first reports of the condition. While not all pregnant women infected with Zika deliver microcephalic babies, researchers say Zika is one of the leading…
More than 700 million women living today entered into forced marriages as children under the age of 18, according to a landmark report by Save the Children called Every Last Girl. The current rate of marriage worldwide for girls under 15 is one every seven seconds. These teenaged and pre-teenaged girls are not falling in…
The World Health Organization (WHO) certified in September that the island nation of Sri Lanka off the southeast coast of India is malaria-free. Sri Lanka joins a list of 33 nations that have achieved that status, while 94 nations and territories still have malaria transmission. “It was a hard fight, [but] this is an example…
By terremocentroitalia terremocentroitalia from Italia In late October of 2016, an earthquake hit Norcia, Italy (a town in the central part of Italy). A 6.6 earthquake was recorded. CNN reports, “A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy on Sunday morning, injuring at least 20 people, in the strongest tremor to hit the country in more…
Opponents of President Nicola Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela held mass demonstrations recently, demanding a recall election of the beleaguered president as the nation wallows in an economic crisis. Widespread shortages of common goods and medicines has led to increased crime, rolling blackouts and massive inflation. Economists predict 700 percent inflation this year and…
In a national vote, Colombians rejected a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army, also known as FARC, which was intended to end 52 years of guerrilla warfare. The referendum’s failure to pass follows four years of negotiations between President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC, which Cuba hosted and facilitated. Colombians rejected…
On January 11, there was an abortion ban headed by the Russian Orthodox Church. According to LifeSite, “The Russian Orthodox Church diocese in the city of Yaroslavl declared 11 January a ‘day of silence without abortions’, and said it had the support of the region’s health department. Abortion is legal in Russia and the cost…
In Venezuela, there has been a shortage of food and medicine. CNN reports, “In May, the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared that Venezuela was suffering a national humanitarian health crisis. The next month, a group of doctors speaking in the National Assembly decried shortages of medicines and supplies.” The picture of the babies in cardboard boxes…
In June of 2016, the dry season in Indonesia, it would not stop raining. CNN explains, “June is usually relatively dry in the region, but the National Climatology, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has issued a warning for potential rain for late June and early July in five provinces.” Not only did Indonesia have heavy flooding,…
Introduction Richard Wurmbrand was imprisoned and tortured for 14 long years in a Communist Romanian prison. After his release to the United States, he was the voice of persecuted Christians around the world. Early Life Richard was born in 1909 to a Jewish background family. Richard was a militant atheist who opposed all religions. Despite…
Two Presbyterian pastors are on trial in the Republic of the Sudan on charges of waging war against the state, espionage, and undermining Sudan’s constitutional system. Each faces the death penalty if convicted. Sudan is holding two others, Czech aid worker Petr Jasek and Darfuri human rights activist Abduelmoneim Abdulmawla, on charges…
In December of 2016, the Brazilian government made a law called the austerity law. The point of the law is to help get Brazil out of the recession they’ve been in. CNN explains, “Brazilian President Michael Temer — who assumed office in late August — praised the move, referring to the bill as the ‘first…
In December of 2016, a shallow 7.7 earthquake hit Southern Chile. According to CNN, “A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Chile Sunday, 40 km (about 25 miles) southwest of Puerto Quellon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.” This triggered a tsunami warning in Southern Chile. The Los Angeles Times reports, “Chile’s…
In mid-October of 2016, 21 Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped were returned to their hometown by Boko Haram. CNN reports, “The 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped and released by terrorist group Boko Haram were reunited with their families amid tearful scenes on Sunday.” It was a joyous celebration for many of the parents, yet it was…
The newest nation in the world, South Sudan has been in a civil war in 2013. Not only have thousands of people been killed, but crops have been destroyed. South Sudan has had to call in aid agencies to take care of its people. According to The Guardian, “About half of the nation’s 11 million…
John Wesley was the co-founder of Methodism along with his brother, Charles. John rode thousands and thousands of miles around England on horseback in order to spread the Good News to the common people. John Wesley and the rest of the English crew were afraid of the storm on the open seas. John Wesley was…
Kunwar Bai Yadav is 105-year-old women. She wanted to give a gift that would benefit her community after learning about the benefits of having a toilet at a local school. The BBC explains, “‘The district collector was visiting the local school to give a speech. I also went along and there he talked about building…
By Farhan from Karachi, Pakistan – Are they independent – Karachi Jail, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4292206 Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, has had her appeal before the nation’s supreme court delayed pending a new hearing, after one of the judges recused himself from the case. The Bibi case has…
The migrant camp known as “the Jungle” is being demolished, even as Calais’ mayor warned the refugee crisis is not over. Protestors and police clashed as orange jumpsuit-clad workers tore down makeshift shelters in the camp. But Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart warned this will do little to resolve the refugee problem. “Migrants are continuing to…
TOKYO – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook western Japan, damaging homes and injuring seven people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Oct. 21 temblor struck west of Osaka near the city of Kurayosh, about 430 miles west of Tokyo. According to Japan’s meteorological agency, the area also experienced a 5.0-magnitude aftershock. No tsunami risk resulted….
ALEPPO, Syria – A weeklong ceasefire came to a violent end as government-directed airstrikes pummeled the city. The attacks targeted a United Nations humanitarian convoy in rebel-held neighborhoods, killing at least 12 workers, while continued strikes killed another 70 and destroyed the city’s water station. The violence in late September heightened tensions between the United…
KAMPALA, Uganda – Uganda’s ministry of education is looking toward low-cost private schools to counter the failure of the public school system caused by teacher absenteeism, poor facilities and high dropout rates. According to the BBC, 68 percent of Ugandan students do not complete elementary school. Teachers are ill-prepared for their careers, with 78 percent…
In the midst of chaos and destruction caused by ISIS in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, reports of Christian conversion among ISIS fighters are emerging thanks to the distribution of Bibles by Open Doors. One pastor reports about an angry man coming to his door and threatening to behead him. The pastor remembered the words of…
In September 2016 as the United States marked the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, lingering questions cast shadows from the pristine One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) onto the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Is America any safer today than on September 11, 2001? The most…
South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba withdrew the visa exemption of controversial American Pastor Steven Anderson calling the American an “undesirable person.” This is an unusual move, as Americans typically receive entry visas from South Africa without problems. Gigaba acted following input from South Africa’s LGBT leaders who objected to Anderson’s endorsement of the…
Ivan Marquez of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army, also known as FARC, said in September that unless the government offers amnesty to his guerillas, there will be no peace. The guerrillas have battled the Colombian government for 52 years, this the longest lasting civil war in the Americas. FARC is a Marxist-Leninist movement…
Multiple faith-based humanitarian organizations are responding to the disaster in Haiti caused by Hurricane Matthew. Lutheran World Relief (LWR) has focused on long-term needs of the hurricane victims, helping 16,643 people and partnering with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) to reach 10,000 people. NCA distributed hygiene kits with water purification tablets, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, toothpaste…
In the midst of a devastating civil war, Christian ministries continue to report thousands of Syrians are turning to faith in Christ. Numerous Christian groups and relief organizations are on the scene serving the Syrian war victims, and their work is having a dramatic impact. Indigenous missionaries are working up to 15 hours a day,…
Introduction Brother Andrew’s real name is Andy van der Bijl. Brother Andrew lived for adventure. When he was younger, he never knew of the adventures he would be having as an adult. Never in a million years, would Brother Andrew think he was going to smuggle Bibles into a restricted country behind the Iron Curtain….
Introduction There are millions of people around the world living in poverty and without the opportunity to earn a sustainable income. Some ministries give dignity to people through providing some people work. For example, Gospel for Asia (GFA) provides farm animals or other items that help people get to work, so they do not have…
WILLS POINT TX — The entire community of one South Asian village will join in World Water Day celebrations on March 22 by dedicating their new “Jesus Well” – a well drilled and installed with the support of Gospel for Asia (GFA), and which is the result of more than two years of prayer. “Wells…
WILLS POINT, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) joins with the international humanitarian community in commemorating today’s International Women’s Day. Gospel for Asia (GFA) partners will be offering special assistance to women in the areas where it serves in South Asia, celebrating the success of women and underscoring the wide gaps in gender equality that…
WILLS POINT, Texas – Responding to requests for help, Compassion Services Teams supported by Gospel for Asia (GFA) recently visited poor areas in Sri Lanka to supply school children with book bags filled with school supplies and other items needed to continue their education. They also helped equip a particular school with much-needed musical instruments…
The people of central Italy awakened to discover that a 6.2-magnitude earthquake had killed 247 people overnight, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Department. The temblor occurred 6.2 miles southeast of Norcia at 3:36 a.m. local time, as reported by CNN. Tremors awakened residents as far away as Rome, 100 miles southwest of the epicenter. An…
Turkey’s federal government has detained nearly 80,000 military, police and civil service employees after a failed coup attempt this summer that resulted in more than 270 deaths and the shutdown of more than 130 news outlets. The purge, ordered by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, included military, media, education and justice sectors, as reported by The…
When Khaled Omar, a Syrian Civil Defense White Helmet volunteer in Syria, rescued a 14-day-old baby boy from debris following a Russian air strike, the world cheered and celebrated his heroism. The “miracle baby”, after being buried for 16 hours, was safe at last in Aleppo. “I thought I was being delusional because I was…
The March 22 attack by a suicide bomber on Maelbeek, a downtown Brussels subway station, killed 16 people but crippled the city for only a month as the station reopened in April. When Maelbeek became operational, the Belgian capital’s underground network returned to full capacity. Officials have maintained high security throughout the subway system. Joe…
The new Myanmar government led by Aung San Suu Kyi is starting peace talks with ethnic groups they had been war with when the military was in power. Both the UN and China are helping Myanmar with the peace talks. According to Fox News, “Officials in Myanmar say United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will…
Wed Oct. 12, 2016 – Gospel for Asia (GFA) The gift of a goat, bicycle, or even a blanket can make all the difference for people across the globe. WILLS POINT, Texas — Gospel for Asia (GFA) is launching its “Forgotten Christmas” campaign this year to encourage and show Christians how to make an eternal…
A vaccine may soon be available for the mosquito-borne Zika virus that has cast fear across the Americas. Inovio of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and GeneOne Life Science of Seoul, South Korea, worked together to develop the vaccine, which is ready for human trials. The pharmaceutical companies will seek 40 volunteers to test their vaccine….
CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1620441 Scores of Cubans recently fled the island nation on chartered flights to Central and South America, then trekked across Mexico to reach El Paso, Texas. The refugees were fleeing the repressive Cuban government en route to the U.S. where federal law treats them as legal immigrants. The Texas Tribune reports…
