In the summer of 2016, Sudan flooded and more than 100 people died in the Sudan floods. Per Al Jazeera, “Thousands of houses have been destroyed and several villages submerged after flooding triggered by torrential rainfall killed 100 people across Sudan, according to an aid group in the country.” There have been 14,000 homes that…
Diego Delso Before the month of Ramadan started (ending on June 24), terrorists attacked a Coptic Christian bus which was headed to a monastery so they could pray. Daily Express states, “A group of more than 50 Coptic Christians travelling towards the monastery of St Samuel near Minya, about 150 miles from Cairo, was targeted…
There has been resistance in Italy to migrants trying to enter the country from Libya, despite pressure from the European Union to allow those migrants to enter the country. Part of the reason Italy doesn’t want to allow Libyan migrants to enter the country, is to keep smugglers from coming in. Per Fox News, “Italy…
Photo by Punya On April 25, 2015, a massive earthquake hit Nepal, creating destruction to buildings around Nepal. This killed thousands of people nationwide. Per Fox News, “Nearly everything was lost on April 25, 2015, when a terrifying earthquake shook the Himalayan nation, killing more than 9,000 people and toppling nearly a million homes…
Photo by By Davidetorino at Italian Wikipedia It was New Years Eve of 2016. People were waiting for the New Year to come at midnight in Istanbul, Turkey. The clock hit midnight and all the sudden people heard a banging noise. They thought it was a fight, but it ended up being a terrorist shooting…
Photo by Mujaddara Jerusalem celebrated the 50th anniversary of the capture of East Jerusalem. On May 25, 1967, East Jerusalem was seized by the Israeli military. Fox News reports, “Israel is marking this week the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war — an event it celebrates as…
Photo by Voice of America News: Henry Ridgwell At the end of November, 16,000 people fled Aleppo, as the Syrian Civil War between the Syrians and ISIS intensified. This left thousands upon thousands displaced. According to CNN, “Initial reports indicate that up to 16,000 people have been displaced, many into uncertain and precarious situations. It…
Image by Kareem mamduh Ismail The Coptic Church in Egypt is in trouble. ISIS has vowed to eradicate the Church in Egypt. Per Fox News, “ISIS recently released a video in which they call for ‘fellow jihadists’ to murder the Coptic Christians of Al Arish which they refer to as their ‘favorite prey.’” ISIS…
Photo by הסוכנות היהודית Pikiwiki Israel In January, right before President Trump was sworn into office, a group of international leaders met to discuss the Two-State Solution, or the giving the West Bank in Israel to the Palestinians. Per Al Jazeera, “The [UN] resolution condemns all Israeli settlement activity as illegal and calls upon member…
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…
An estimated 500 African refugees drowned off the coast of Italy when smugglers recently forced too many people into one boat, according to the United Nations. This incident occurred about one year after the worst refugee drowning incident in April 2015, when 800 people died on their journey from Libya to Europe. Reports of the…
Threats by Islamic terrorists in Yemen to crucify Father Tom Uzhunnalil on Good Friday were apparently averted as Catholic bishops in Southern Arabia and India now report that he is alive. Father Tom, a native of Bangalore, India, survived an attack March 4 at a nursing home founded and run in Aden, Yemen, by Mother…
Connecting the church in the West to news of what God is doing through nonprofits around the world. Missions Box is a labor of love, using the secular news as a tool to showcase the relevance of Christian nonprofit work and its impact around the world. Christian Nonprofits are Still Relevant Increasingly, the Church in…
NIGERIA — Churches are being burnt down and their congregations forced to close in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, the half-way house between the mainly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south. As Andrew Boyd from Release International reports. Terrorists in Nigeria who are targeting and burning churches have forced a leading denomination to shut down 70…
LOVES PARK, IL — Churches in Ukraine are using portable solar-powered “survival systems” to bring relief and hope to those without electricity as drones relentlessly target the nation’s power grid. Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) — an evangelical mission that has been supporting local churches in the region for decades — has supplied 40…
UGANDA — At least 37 schoolchildren have been killed in an attack in Uganda by militants linked to the Islamic State terror group. Militants linked to Islamic State have carried out a massacre at a boarding school in western Uganda, killing and kidnapping students. It’s been described as the deadliest attack in Uganda since 2010….
KYIV, UKRAINE — The war between Ukraine and Russia does not prevent this congregation from joyfully celebrating the biblical festival of Purim. Celebrating joy and happiness is one of the commandments of Purim. This year, the Jewish-Messianic congregation of Kiev celebrated the biblical feast for the second time in the course of the war on…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this Special Report on Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty? In existence for many years, child sponsorship has been adapted by…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this Special Report on a surprising antidote and solution to world poverty: farm animals. Recent decades have seen a general trend toward prosperity in much of…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, issued this Special Report update on girls facing decreased opportunity and increased violence, the young victims who remain hidden…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, issued this Special Report on Malaria – new vaccine heralds a game-changing development. It’s the “buzz” millions around the…
MOZAMBIQUE — Since 2017, the Islamist insurgency in Mozambique is thought to have claimed at least 2,500 lives. *Lorena’s* husband was one of its many victims; Lorena has also been displaced by the violence. Thanks to help from Christian charity Open Doors, Lorena has received emergency food aid and spiritual support to help her stand…
GRIZZLY FLATS, CA — California’s Caldor Fire burned 479 of the 660 homes in Grizzly Flats. Samaritan’s Purse volunteers helped homeowners recover precious items from the ashes and shared with them the hope found only in Jesus Christ. Woman’s voice: You could feel the heat coming. You could hear it– the fire– coming up the…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this Special Report update on Malaria making a comeback amid the worldwide impact of the COVID 19 Pandemic. It’s a back-and-forth battle growing…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this Special Report update on the typically under-discussed looming global water crisis. Water problems are often big news, whether it’s ongoing crises in American locales…
WILLS POINT, TX – Bishop Danny Punnose, vice-president of Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, shares on Great Lent: The Great invitation: Have you noticed many restaurants are advertising fish sandwiches and seafood…
Here we are facing the final days of 2020. Many look forward to disposing of the past year’s calendar and replacing it with one they hope will bring better things. We tend to develop a “greener grass” mentality every year in late December. Inevitably, we look back at the past year, count our blessings, mourn…
NEW YORK – World Teachers’ Day has been observed annually on October 5 since 1994 as a joint endeavor between UNESCO, UNICEF, the International Labor Organization, and Education International. (Education International is a federation of global teachers’ unions.) The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2020 is, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future.” With the…
BEIRUT – Triumphant Mercy Lebanon recently shared rising concerns about dangers being faced by displaced Syrians living in refugee camps in Lebanon.More than 1.5 million people have fled from the civil war that has raged in their home country since 2011.In mid-2015, the Lebanese government ceased registering displaced Syrians officially as refugees. Unregistered Syrian refugees…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued a Special Report on the ugly truths of world hunger: “Scandal of Starvation” — world hunger is a long-term social and global crisis, directly or indirectly causing around 9 million deaths each year –…
WASHINGTON – An international organization representing Baha’is says it is extremely concerned about Iran’s ongoing detention of up to 100 Baha’is at risk of contracting the coronavirus in Iranian prisons. In a VOA Persian interview on Monday, the Baha’i International Community’s chief representative to the U.N. in New York, Bani Dugal, said an estimated 50…
NIGERIA – The Nigerian government now agrees with what church leaders have been complaining for years: Christians are the target of jihadist terrorism. “In the wake of a renewed onslaught by our tireless military against Boko Haram and their ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) allies in recent times, the insurgents have apparently changed their…
NIGERIA – The recent news reports about Christian persecution coming out of Nigeria are horrifying. A day after Christmas, extremists who identified themselves as part of ISIS murdered 11 Christians in Nigeria. A few weeks into the new year, on Jan. 19, the Islamic State of West Africa released a video of a child —…
![[World Cancer Day 2020] By the time our son, Jeremy Mains, was rushed to the local hospital’s emergency room, his bone marrow was filled with cancer cells.](https://missionsbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Karen_Jeremy-denoise-fb-230x300.jpg)
World Cancer Day 2020 by Karen Burton Mains Years ago, traveling around the world in the role of a journalist at the invitation of the director of an international relief organization, we stopped to visit Mother Theresa’s Kalighat Home for the Destitute Dying. I will always remember, as have other journalists before me, particularly Malcolm…
BEIRUT – CNN reported this morning on the growing and potentially crippling crisis in Lebanon. A crisis of which most of us have been unaware. The National Crisis “Lebanon [is] mired in its worst economic crisis since its 15-year civil war. The country is buckling under a severe liquidity crisis, with informal and irregular capital…
The U.S. State Department removed Sudan from its list of governments that are engaging in or tolerating systemic and ongoing religious freedom violations and has placed Nigeria, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a special watch list for “severe violations of religious freedom” for the first time. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday the State Departments’…
NORTH FT MYERS, FL – “The world produces enough food to feed every person on the planet. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on the deadly diseases brought by the mosquito and the storied impact of faith-based organizations on world health, fighting for the Kingdom to “come on earth as it is in heaven.” It takes only one mosquito, buzzing around with ill intent, dive-bombing…
AL-HOL, SYRIA – The refugee camp at al-Hol is currently home to 70,000 refugees from the Syrian Civil War. Contained in close quarters in a space initially occupied by 9,000 persons, the population now includes about 11,000 widows, wives, and children of ISIS fighters. Local and international authorities believe that ISIS is attempting to muster…
Devastation rocked Sri Lanka Easter weekend as bombs detonated around the country, killing nearly 300 people. The latest figures report around 500 people injured in the blasts. Terrorists targeted multiple churches and tourist destinations. According to NBC News, blasts occurred at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo; St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a Catholic majority town north…
Poverty. You know it when you see it – but, can you define it? A World Perspective Dictionary.com defines poverty as “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; the condition of being poor.” It defines “poor” as “having little or no money, goods, or other means of…
It’s that time of the year when Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, so let’s slow down, take a breath, and consider what Thanksgiving means. Let’s start with what it is not. It is not ‘Turkey Day.’ Nor is it about going over the river and through the wood to grandmother’s house for pumpkin pie. Nor…
NEW DELHI – On Monday, November 5th, the United States imposed economic sanctions on 50 Iranian banks, 65 Iranian aircraft, 200 individuals, and all shipping vessels used for the transportation of Iranian oil. The U.S. granted India and seven other nations waivers allowing them to continue importing Iranian oil on a declining basis for the…
SANAA, Yemen – In yet another of the seemingly endless reports of human suffering around the globe, Mark Lowcock, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the United Nations Yemen is in imminent danger of country-wide famine. Over 14 million Yemeni people who already have barely enough food to survive are about…
LONDON – The independent think tank, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has released a shocking report that indicates that 25% of the world population – 40% of all urban dwellers – will live in slums by 2030. This is only one of the failures to achieve adequate progress on the UN’s list of 17 Sustainable Development…
BEIRUT – According to the Thomas Reuters Foundation, “A Syrian army offensive in the rebel-held enclave of Idlib would have a “catastrophic” humanitarian impact and cause levels of civilian suffering unprecedented in the seven-year war, aid agencies have warned.” Joelle Bassoul from Care International said that a large-scale military offensive in Idlib would be catastrophic,…
NEW YORK – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released its 2018 overview of the Aid Workers Security Report in time for the commemoration of World Humanitarian Aid Day. The observance is held annually on August 19th. The overview tells a story that we would rather not read. But it…
ABUJA – The country of Nigeria is an enigma. While, on the one hand, the Nigerian Minister of Health announced today that the country’s efforts to eliminate polio within its borders “are beginning to yield results, considering the fact that we have spent 18 months without a case of poliovirus,” the country stands at the…
Global Clean Water Crisis – a Special Report by Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Written By Karen Burton Mains The “Blue Marble” photo of Earth shot from Apollo 17, the last of NASA’s Apollo missions as the rocket ship was hurtling toward the moon, wasn’t the first satellite image of our planet, but it was the…
ALEXANDRIA – A terrorist attack on two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday 2017 left more than 40 people dead and 125 injured. It also made several men, women, and children widows, widowers, and orphans. One of the deceased was Hanan Dreas, a wife and mother of two children ages six and 10. Her husband,…
