QARAQOSH, IRAQ — When the so-called Islamic State (IS) took over their town, Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, Mathi and his family had no choice but to flee. He, his wife Nazik and their six children fled to safety – they knew that their Christian faith made them extremely vulnerable. Five years later, thanks to support…
NORTH KOREA — North Korea is on the verge of a catastrophic meltdown according to reports reaching Open Doors from North Korean Christians. “North Korea faces a major crisis with multiple causes,” says Timothy Cho, North Korean escapee. “Covid-19 lockdown, catastrophic flooding, and international sanctions.” Although the North Korean Government has claimed that they have…
QAMISHLI, SYRIA — Pastor George Moushi leads a church in Qamishli, northern Syria. His church responded when the region was invaded by Turkish forces last autumn, providing vital aid for many vulnerable Syrians. Support from Open Doors has kept them going as they faced a very visible threat – bombs, soldiers, Islamic extremists and now…
WILLS POINT, TX — With the number of COVID-19 cases in India surging past five million and climbing rapidly, ongoing hunger-relief efforts continue to stave off starvation across pandemic-ravaged Asia. In some areas, hunger is forcing people to take the most extreme measures. One man was captured on video apparently eating a dead dog off…
IRAQ — Dalia is a woman of remarkable spiritual strength and fortitude. Her life was threatened by so-called Islamic State and her home in the Ninevah plains was ransacked, but with support from Open Doors she has overcome these difficulties to become a leading figure in her local church. In 2014 the so-called Islamic State…
SUDAN — Samaritan’s Purse continues to serve communities struggling during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Their latest coronavirus response is in the northeast African nation of Sudan. Samaritan’s Purse has a substantial history there and in South Sudan, they arre strengthening local churches and providing physical relief to impoverished villages that have suffered from years of…
BEIRUT, LEBANON — Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 aircraft left Greensboro, North Carolina, on Friday (August 7) for Beirut, Lebanon, with a 14-member Disaster Assistance Response Team and 26 tons of desperately needed relief supplies. The cargo includes thousands of hygiene kits, solar lights, and hundreds of rolls of heavy-duty tarp material to make emergency repairs to…
WILLS POINT, TX – Compassion is more than just a word. In fact, dictionaries identify compassion as a noun, i.e., a thing. But the complete meaning of compassion goes far beyond being a noun. By its very nature and derivation, compassion describes physical action. Compassion is the juxtaposition of two Latin words that means “to…
KOLKATA – Residents of West Bengal and the nation of Bangladesh have been battling the onslaught of the Coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has paralyzed millions, confined to their homes without access to food, water, and medical supplies. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage South Asia as the number of cases increases rapidly. Just a few…
International Christian Relief Organization Responds at Epicenter in U.S. and ItalyNEW YORK — Samaritan’s Purse is opening an Emergency Field Hospital in Central Park adjacent to The Mount Sinai Hospital, the main facility of the Mount Sinai Health System to provide additional specialized care for victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. With nearly half of all…
International Christian Relief Organization Responds at the Epicenter of the Coronavirus in the U.S. BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse deployed its Emergency Field Hospital to New York City, New York, where the local medical infrastructure is severely overwhelmed. In cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), New York state officials, and local hospital authorities,…
WHEATON, IL – The Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) at Wheaton College and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) are partnering to present the COVID-19 Church Online Summit, a two-day digital summit on March 26-27, which will feature videos from church leaders to help churches respond creatively and well to the coronavirus outbreak. Registration is free;…
ADAMAWA, Nigeria – More than 100 members of the Islamic State of West Africa, also known as Boko Haram, recently swarmed northern Adamawa, a state in northeast Nigeria, and set at least five churches ablaze while they opened fire and indiscriminately killed residents, according to Sunday reports. The violence targeting Christian churches in northern Nigeria…
WUHAN – At the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Christians can be found out on the streets, passing out emergency relief items and sharing the Gospel. Christian humanitarian aid groups have partnered with local Chinese pastors to distribute food and protective masks. Mark Hogsed, vice president of international programs at World Help, told…
FOREST, VA – A Christian humanitarian organization has announced a new campaign to provide aid to Chinese families in cities that have been deemed high risk for the deadly coronavirus as the death toll rises above 1,000. World Help, an organization serving the physical and spiritual needs of people in impoverished communities around the world,…
SAN JUAN, PR – Pray for the people of Puerto Rico. The U.S. island territory is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in July 2019. It is now suffering from a series of damaging earthquakes over the past month. Only one death has been reported as of mid-afternoon on January 8, but…
SHORELINE, WA – The beginning of what is now the CRISTA Family of Ministries was clearly orchestrated by the hand of the Lord. When, in 1948, Mike Martin prayed to establish a youth home in an abandoned tuberculosis sanitorium, circumstances were not at all favorable. Nonetheless, the county eventually leased the property to Martin for…
Vernon Brewer, CEO and founder of World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization, discusses the good news stories that took place in 2019. There’s a trite yet true saying about the world’s fascination with negative news stories and headlines: “Good news doesn’t sell.” This saying proved painfully true in 2019 — from conflicts abroad to natural…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on extreme poverty worldwide, how alleviation and eliminating it is possible, but it is not inevitable. If the modern world is truly a “global village,” that means everyone on earth is our neighbor—and Jesus was very clear about how we are to…
SYRIA – Samaritan’s Purse is providing emergency relief to Syrian families displaced by Turkey’s recent incursion along the border. The violence has created a humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 100,000 people. Some have crossed the border into northern Iraq while others remain displaced within northeastern Syria. Samaritan’s Purse is meeting the desperate physical needs of…
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…
WILLS POINT, TX – Various international organizations observed World Water Day on March 22, 2019. World Water Day should be a time for celebrating the life-sustaining gift of clean water. Unfortunately, the Earth at large is facing a world water crisis – water scarcity caused by increased demand and diminished supplies. India Spend published a…
NEW DELHI – Over 100 million people in three eastern and northeastern coastal states of India are being evacuated as the threat of an ‘extremely severe’ cyclone is expected to make landfall on May 3rd.Cyclone Fani has been strengthening over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to contain windspeeds in excess of 132 mph…
Christian Aid is appealing for donations as it assists communities affected by Cyclone Idai, which has killed hundreds and devastated communities across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The charity is providing emergency assistance to communities affected by the cyclone but it also wants to build resilience to help them be better prepared for when the next…
A Virginia-based Christian aid group is facilitating relief to Zimbabwe following a devastating cyclone earlier this week. Cyclone Idai, which besieged southern Africa last Sunday, tore across Mozambique with over 100 miles per hour winds and struck Zimbabwe with brutal force, causing floods and landslides. The nation has declared a state of emergency. In an…
International relief organizations are responding to an increasingly devastating humanitarian crisis after a tropical storm and powerful cyclone tore across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Current estimates confirmed by President Filipe Nyusi indicate that some 1,000 people may have been killed in Mozambique alone. “Officially, we have a record of more than 84 dead but everything…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report on the global clean water crisis: Discussing the crucial quest for access to clean drinking water. The widespread lack of clean water is a crisis we can’t ignore. The statistics are mind-numbing. 502,000 people die each year from diarrhea—caused by unsafe drinking water.[1] 2.1 billion…
PAMPLONA, Columbia – Operation Blessing has provided relief to millions of people in 90 different countries and all 50 of the United States over the past 41 years. Founded in 1978 by Pat Robertson, the faith-based NGO provides aid in areas where people’s lives are threatened by poverty, disasters, and persecution. Like similar faith-based organizations…
KABUL – On March 6th, Reuters reported that flash floods, heavy rains, and snowfall over the previous two weeks in Afghanistan had taken the lives of at least 59 people and left 5,000 homeless. An article in The Guardian expressed shock and surprise by reporters on the ground: Shock at the unprecedented consequences of the…
WILLS POINT, TEXAS – Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been a leader in ministering to “the least of these”—the millions of people living in abject poverty in Asia—for nearly 40 years. Dr. K.P. Yohannan‘s, Gospel for Asia (GFA) founder, ground-breaking book Revolution in World Missions accurately foretold the need for a dramatic change of methodology…
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until [these] calamities have passed by. KERALA – When we hear the words typhoon, cyclone, or hurricane our first reaction is a heightened awareness of potential danger….
CHENNAI – Vijay Jayaraj holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia in Great Britain. He is a native of India and a resident of Chennai. In a recent op-ed to published by the Christian Post, he lauded the immediate and substantial aid by Christians following the Kerala…
KERALA – There is one emotion common to anyone caught in a major flood. Fear. It is a fear that comes, like the water, in waves. The first wave of fear begins with the initial awareness that a flood is possible. This fear is allayed by the hope that “Maybe it won’t affect me.” The…
KERALA, INDIA – No one can comprehend the terror of a major flood until they have been personally affected by one. This is especially true of those who lose their homes, their possessions, and their loved ones to raging waters that cannot be contained. This writer has been at the sites of four floods over…
KERALA, INDIA – The southern state of Kerala on India’s west coast has been inundated by monsoon-generated floodwaters that have destroyed 40,000 crore hectares of crops, destroyed countless homes, commercial buildings, and displaced more than a million people. Although the flood waters are receding, much of Kerala is still under water. State Agriculture Minister Sunil…
KERALA, INDIA – India is experiencing monumental meteorological and geophysical problems that constantly threaten the potential of the country’s efforts to raise itself to a position of global leadership. As governmental agencies, private companies, and NGOs work consistently to improve education, healthcare, and alleviating poverty and disease, circumstances beyond the control of mankind take one…
VIENTIANE – At approximately 8:00 p.m. local time on 23 July, the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam on the Xe Pian River in Laos collapsed. Within minutes, eight Laotian villages were completely destroyed whilst others were inundated, making travel and escape impossible. Reports on the number dead, injured, or missing vary as time goes by. It…
HIROSHIMA – The death toll keeps rising by the in Hiroshima Prefecture and seven other prefectures in the south of Japan. More than two million people have been forced to evacuate after record rainfalls have inundated the area. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that 14.3 inches of rain had fallen within a period of two…
SOUTH ASIA (May 23, 2018) – Pakistan and India are being afflicted with intensely hot weather that is affecting residents throughout both countries. Unfortunately, the term “hot weather” does not translate into every American English any easier than if we were reading it in Hindi. The subcontinent has been experiencing temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius….
GFA (Gospel for Asia) matches simple mosquito net distribution with awareness drive to further ‘life and death’ fight against malaria. WILLS POINT, Texas—Malaria may be a thing of the past in many places, but it remains a major public health threat in large parts of the world, prompting GFA (Gospel for Asia) to sound the…
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Prime Minister Peter O’Neill declared a state of emergency on 01 March after the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea were hit by a massive, 7.5 magnitude earthquake on 26 February. Aid workers from Australia, New Zealand, China, Israel, and other countries around the globe have been rushing to…
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Special Report on the Open Defecation Sanitation Crisis Written By Karen Burton Mains For much of my adult life, it has been my privilege to hang out with the “renegades” of Christian missions, that relief-and-development crowd that rushes to help during natural disasters, struggles to alleviate the suffering and abasement…
CAPE TOWN (28 February 2018) – For the second time in a month, the feared Day Zero for the water supply for Cape Town has been moved back. In our previous article on the South African water crisis published on February 16, we reported that Day Zero – the day when Cape Town would no…
KATMANDU – At four minutes before noon on April 25, 2015, Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter about 48 miles northwest of the capital city of Katmandu. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Nepal in more than 80 years and the deadliest day in the region’s recorded history….
Gospel for Asia shared prayer requests and an update from one of their field correspondents. One correspondent in India writes, “The villagers are running for help in other places where their relatives are staying. There is no proper communication. They are unable to get food, clean drinking water and are having sleepless nights because of the…
Photo by Gospel for Asia The death toll in Assam, India has reached 69 people due to flooding. Per FirstPost, “The death toll in the Assam floods climbed to 69 as four more deaths were reported on Tuesday, while nearly nine lakh [one hundred thousand is a lakh] people remained affected in 16 districts.” In…
Photo by SA 3.0 South Africa was hit by a bad drought. Per BBC, “In May, the Western Cape province declared a drought disaster after two reservoirs had completely dried up. It was said to have been the region’s worst drought in more than a century.” In the beginning of June though, a bad storm…
Photo by USAID Africa Bureau In Ethiopia, there has been a massive emergency for Ethiopia. They’re in a drought and many of their crops and cattle have been destroyed and killed. Millions of people will be affected by lack of food. Per BBC, “The UN’s World Food Programme said 7.8 million people affected by…
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 Sumon Mallick Not only did Cyclone Mora cause massive flooding in Bangladesh, it also caused mudslides which took the life of over 140 people. Rescuers are having difficulty getting to these areas because of the mud. Per The Hindu, “Rescuers struggled on Wednesday to reach villages hit by massive landslips that have…
