A relentless monsoon season has claimed an estimated 100 lives in Nepal and India while displacing more than 1.2 million people, according to government estimates. Water-induced landslides crushed buildings and caused many of the deaths. In one area of Nepal, rescuers were pulling bodies out of the debris and immediately handing those bodies to their…
As coalition forces back Iraqi military efforts to regain ISIS-controlled cities, the resulting victories in Fallujah and elsewhere leave cause for concern, according to FBI Director James Comey. Comey believes the defeated ISIS militants in Iraq will take their fight to Western Europe and the United States. Minorities, particularly Christians, in Muslim-majority Iraq believe that…
As the world focused on Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics, prostitutes as young as nine years old poured into the city in hopes of cashing in on the influx of tourists and money. Prostitution is legal in Brazil, and so rampant that child prostitutes regularly work the 262 truck stops on the 2,800-mile…
Myanmar called an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department “sad and regrettable” after being named among the worst human trafficking offenders. Along with Iran, North Korea and Syria, the report cited Myanmar’s negligence to meet “the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.” Reuters reported that Myanmar’s ranking, which got downgraded from the previous year,…
“If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world.” ~ Charles Spurgeon ~
A shortage of the yellow fever vaccine has led the United Nations health agency to endorse lower doses that reduce immunity from a lifetime to approximately 12 months. The World Health Organization recommends using a fifth of the standard dose to stretch the current vaccines. Mass immunization in Angola following 300 deaths since December depleted…
Rwanda’s rainy season has caused higher than normal landslides that the nation’s disaster relief officials say have mostly claimed the lives of children among the 53 dead. Between January and April, landslides killed 67 others Rwandans. Rwanda incurred one of history’s greatest genocides in 1994 when 800,000 people died in about 90 days as rivals…
Cyclone Roanu recently swept across the Indian ocean and made landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh, claiming 26 lives as it displaced 500,000 people. The government ordered 2 million people to evacuate the coastal areas, which officials believe kept the death toll low. But many ignored the warning because the cyclone’s winds were only about 50 miles…
Sri Lanka’s heaviest rains in 25 years have caused massive mudslides resulting in about 63 confirmed dead and up to 200 missing families buried in 50 feet of mud. Officials estimate that 200,000 people have left Colombo, the nation’s low-lying capital, while 400,000 have fled to state-run relief camps. Deforestation meant to create more farmland…
Long-time missionaries Harold Nichols and Randy Hentzel died in April, apparent victims of a robbery attempt and murder in Jamaica. In June, Jamaican police arrested one man and were seeking a second suspect for questioning. Nichols and Hentzel were part of the US-based TEAMS for Medical Missions and had been in Jamaica since 2002. The…
After an estimated 2,500 refugee drownings in the Mediterranean Sea and scores of immigrants settling in makeshift camps throughout Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced a new plan for her city. “Paris will not stand by and do nothing as the Mediterranean becomes a graveyard of refugees,” Hidalgo said as she announced the establishment…
Earthquake prone Japan had yet another earthquake May 16 when a 5.6 magnitude event shook the eastern region of Honshu, the nation’s main island. The epicenter was 60 miles northeast of Tokyo, and about 24 miles underground. Officials quickly stated that the earthquake would not cause a tsunami, which occurred in northeast Honshu in 2011….
Oil-rich Venezuela crisis continues to grow, with food and medicine shortages. Amidst cries of “we are hungry,” Venezuelans are increasingly robbing stores of food and medicine as panic grows across their country, which has 481 percent inflation. Coupled with a drought that inhibits the nation’s hydroelectric production, the communist government has also declared a two-day…
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2014 has claimed 10,000 lives and injured more than 21,000, according to the United Nations. During an emergency Security Council meeting in April, the warring nations blamed each other for the ongoing conflict. The United States, France and Britain hold Russia responsible for the conflict. In February 2015,…
Following months of speculation, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed that the Zika virus can cause microcephaly in newborns, a condition that leaves the brain underdeveloped. Scientists are finding multiple mutations of the virus, which leaves open the possibility of other health outcomes. “The Zika virus has undergone significant genetic changes in the past 70 years,”…
“If God wills the evangelization of the world, and you refuse to support missions, then you are opposed to the will of God.” ~ Oswald J. Smith ~
Colombian government officials are holding the Colombian Marxist rebel group (guerillas), the National Liberation Army, responsible for the kidnapping of three journalists near the border with Venezuela. Salud Hernandez, a Spanish journalist, disappeared first while working on a story in the northern Colombian region of Catatumbo, a cocaine-producing region that is known for guerilla and…
On August 24, Myanmar was hit by a deadly 6.8 earthquake in the ancient city of Bagan. So far, there has only been three reported deaths. Many Pagodas (Buddhist temples) have been destroyed in the earthquake. According to The Straits Times, “A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar Wednesday (Aug 24), killing at least…
Nearly 25 percent of India’s vast population is facing a severe water shortage and extreme heat that is claiming lives and threatening livelihoods as temperatures reach 42C/107.6F in the shade, virtually wiping out agriculture in three states. Agriculture represents an estimated 15 percent of India’s gross domestic product, according to The Guardian, which also reports that…
With the backing of a U.S.-led coalition, Iraq’s military has battled back the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Mosul, that nation’s second largest city, in an initiative called “Operation Conquest.” Mosul had been a major victory for ISIS in June 2014 as they captured the city of more than 2 million people…
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan in early April near its border with Tajikistan in the sparsely populated Hindu Kush mountains. Aftershocks reached as far as Delhi, India. The quake caused one fatality in Pakistan. In October 2015, the same region had a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that claimed 300 lives. Since the recent incident, officials have…
In a report from Brent Swails and David McKenzie of CNN, titled “Kidnapped to kill: How Boko Haram is turning girls into weapons,” they outline the very reason why young girls are choosing to become used a ‘suicide bombers’. In the report, this startling statement is made, “Young girls fighting to strap on a bomb,…
The “Beast,” Canadian wildfires that are larger in land mass than New York City, has forced the evacuation of Fort McMurray in the oil-rich sand reserves of northeast Alberta and is now reaching toward the province of Saskatchewan as it burns vast acres of forest. The oil-sand reserves are one of Canada’s major energy sources…
The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a crackdown on foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) fearing undue influence on public policies by outside activists. The new criteria also calls for foreign-funded consultants working within the government to resign by December 2016 if they have worked for three or more years. Most affected thus…
Sunni ISIS terrorists recently unleashed terror attacks on Shia neighborhoods and markets in Baghdad, bombing and killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than 160. The attacks began when a car bomber pulled up in a crowded Shiite market, apparently to deliver produce. The driver ran from the vehicle before it exploded. Two other explosions…
“The average North American Christian gives only 50 cents a week to global missions.” ~ Barrett and Johnson, World Christian Trends ~
Missions is more than a matter of obeying a command, it is the result of an encounter with Christ. To meet Christ, means to become caught up in a mission to the world. ~ David Bosh ~ David bosh was a missiologist and theologian.
With 91 of India’s major water reservoirs registering lower-than-normal at about 29 percent capacity, the world’s second most-populated nation is facing its worst water scarcity in a decade. Making the challenge even more critical is that 66,093 rural Indian villages only have access to contaminated water. In West Bengal state, the declining water levels of…
More than 1,500 Muslims in the Central African Republic (CAR) owe their life to a Catholic priest, Father Bernard Kinvi, who helped them and others escape brutal deaths in a nation struggling with violence between Muslims and Christians. Father Bernard is a candidate to win a $1 million humanitarian award, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity….
An estimated 750,000 people felt “violent to severe” shaking as a series of three earthquakes struck near Kumamoto on the earthquake prone southernJapanese island of Kyushu, about 800 miles southwest of Tokyo. The earthquakes claimed at least 34 lives and injured more than 800 people. An estimated 180,000 people have sought shelter. The first earthquake…
A Hindu celebration meant to welcome in a new year in the southern Indian state of Kerala turned deadly in early April when a single firecracker fell into a pyrotechnic storage area and ignited the large inventory there. The resulting explosion and fire killed an estimated 107 persons, burned hundreds more and collapsed part of…
Since an earthquake and strong aftershock hit Nepal April and May of 2015, there have been significant relief efforts to help with the reconstruction. Most of the relief work has been done by Christian relief organizations and the people of Nepal have seen the love of Christ displayed. The Day of the Earthquake April 25, 2015…
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…
Bangladesh’s High Court on March 27, 2016, rejected a 28-year-old petition to remove Islam from the constitution as the nation’s official religion. The constitutional challenge followed repeated attacks on non-Muslims by Islamic extremists in Bangladesh, the world’s third largest Muslim-majority nation. ISIS recently claimed responsibility for the murder of a Christian convert in northern Bangladesh,…
WORLD HEALTH DAY EVENTS SHOWCASE TIPS TO IMPROVE EVERYDAY HEALTH WILLS POINT, TX – Workers supported by Gospel for Asia (GFA) held free health seminars, distributed vitamins and gave away mosquito nets to hundreds of impoverished villagers and workers in Asia earlier this month on World Health Day. The seminars were part of an effort…
Global Aid Network (GAiN) is working with churches to stabilize agriculture in Liberia following the 2013-2015 Ebola crisis. According to GAiN’s Website, “They are strengthening the local churches to raise resources and mobilizing congregations to take the lead in agriculture. They see opportunity for churches in Liberia to help the nation overcome food security issues.”…
After years of civil strife between Muslims and Christians in the Central African Republic (CAR), TeachBeyond is bringing stability for children even as reports of sexual abuse by peacekeepers gain more attention. Families of more than 100 minors have registered complaints about the U.N. Peacekeepers. “We must face the fact that a number of troops…
Jesus said the poor would always be with us, and he was right. Scores of impoverished people have inhabited this globe, suffering from multiple hardships. But there is evidence that extreme poverty — the estimated 1.4 billion people in countries outside the US who do not have access to clean water, enough food, sufficient clothing…
The recent violent death of a 16-year-old rape victim again brings focus to India’s crisis of sexual assault against women. The assailant, who also set the teenager aflame before fleeing, was allegedly her 20-year-old boyfriend. Cultural norms in India make the reporting of sexual assault taboo. However, more rape victims are reporting their assaults and…
Gunmen raided a retirement center in Yemen on March 4, killing 16, including four nuns from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Six unidentified gunmen stormed the facility to commit the atrocity. Pope Francis called the nuns “modern-day martyrs and victims of indifference.” Two nuns were Rwandans, one was Indian, and a fourth was Kenyan. A…
With an estimated 3 million people facing starvation in Malawi following floods and droughts, the world’s poorest nation now faces an additional challenge — cholera. Not since 2006, when an estimated 1,000 people died, has Malawi faced this level of cholera threat. “People living along the lakeshore areas seem to have forgotten the dangers of the…
Targeting boys as young as 11 years old, both the Myanmar army and opposing rebels continue to recruit and even kidnap children for military conscription. Recent pressure from the United Nations and non-government organizations has resulted in the release of some children though recruiting continues. Recruiters target boys in rural and urban areas when the…
China’s President Xi Jinping has ramped up the persecution of Christian pastors and lay leaders while removing crosses and even destroying church buildings that the state had sanctioned. Pastor Joseph Gu Yuese from the Zhejiang province was leading a 10,000 member state-approved church when the government recently jailed him on embezzlement charges. The pastor had…
The Zika outbreak that started in northeast Brazil is now in 30 countries, causing researchers to develop vaccines while trying to confirm the connection to microcephaly. Christian ministries like World Vision and Operation Blessing have mobilized with preventative strategies in high-risk communities while ministering to mothers whose children have birth defects. According to Operation Blessing,…
When Category Five Cyclone Winston struck the Fiji island of Yacata on Saturday, Feb. 20, with 185 mile-per-hour winds, this South Pacific nation of about 100 islands suffered widespread death and destruction, particularly in its remote areas. Christian aid organizations like Church of the Nazarene and regional governments are scrambling to provide food, water and…
As many as 31 people were killed and more than 180 injured as coordinated terrorist bombings rocked the Brussels airport and subway system during rush hour Tuesday morning in the Belgian capital according to Fox News. The attacks, which Belgian authorities said were suicide bombings, came four days after the main suspect in the November…
Residents in India’s capital of Delhi have faced a massive water shortage since protesters in the state of Haryana sabotaged the Munak canal causing a breach the affected 10 million people. The resulting water shortage has sent officials scrambling to supply water to all segments of its society. Marginal communities have suffered the most. Water…
“People who don’t believe in missions have not read the New Testament. Right from the beginning Jesus said the field is the world. The early church took Him at His word and went East, West, North and South.” ~ J. Howard Edington ~
The world’s deadliest terrorist group – Boko Haram – continues to rampage through areas in Nigeria, Cameroon and other West African nations. Despite Boko Haram’s ever-present threat of affliction and suffering, Christians are providing humanitarian aid, planting churches and even converting some former Boko Haram soldiers. Pray for the Body of Christ and Christian Aid,…
“A Princeton University study found that in 2005 more than 1.6 million people took short-term missions trips costing a total of more than $2.5 billion, while $250 million was sent to support foreign missionaries in World A (unevangelized, undiscipled).” ~ Washington Post, “Churches Retool Mission Trips” and Barrett and Johnson, World Christian Trends ~
