News headlines for January 16th 2003

(Haiti)–We begin today in Haiti where a strike by public transportation workers has paralyzed the Caribbean nation’s two major cities. Rioting and violent protests broke out Tuesday in Cap Haitian over sharply rising fuel prices and the government elimination of a subsidy program. For Haiti With Love’s[1] Eva Dehart says their clinic workers helped treat some of the wounded. “God had For Haiti With Love exactly where we were supposed to be when we were needed. As they brought the injured people into the clinic, the entire family came with them, and then they just didn’t leave; they felt safe.” Meeting needs furthers their mission of reaching the Haitians with the love and compassion of Christ. DeHart asks people to pray. “They just have nothing at this point. Everything that we’re seeing is just a combination of frustration and desperation. They are at a total survival level.”

(India)–Next, Open Doors with Brother Andrew[2] is helping Christian pastors, leaders and other believers by conducting “Standing Strong Through the Storm” seminars in India. In the seminars, participants get the tools they need to stand against persecution. Please pray that the church in India will continue to grow, and at the same time, stand strong against relatively new persecution. Pray too that the controversial anti-conversion law might be overturned by India’s High Court.

(India)– Gospel for Asia[3] marks one year since they began their leper ministry to children in Haryana, India. Through it, GFA missionaries touch the untouchables with the love and compassion of Christ. Over the last year, teams started work in 36 leper colonies in 19 Indian states and planted five churches. GFA hopes to expand their new ministry and eventually set up a Bible school later this year to equip future missionaries for this particular work.

(USA)–Elsewhere, many young people are exercising their faith on short-term mission trips. Others are studying what they believe through training conferences. Dare 2 Share’s[4] Greg Stier says they’ve taken the best of both worlds and fused them together to teach the teenagers how to lead by example. “During our ‘Last Chance Tour’, which is an evangelism training conference, we’re going door-to-door collecting canned goods for rescue missions. In addition to that, we’re using that as an opportunity to introduce people to the Lord, and taking prayer requests; we’re training students to do that, and we’ve just received phenomenal results so far.” Stier says they are partnering with local rescue missions in six other metropolitan areas. He explains how this idea came about. “At our conferences, when we train students how to share their faith, a lot of times, teenagers go out and ‘cold call’ door to door. A lot of students receive slammed doors in their faces. We started thinking ‘how can we minister to the physical as well as the spiritual needs of a particular community?’

(USA)–And finally, many Americans are looking forward to the Super Bowl next week, but this Saturday, hunger will be tackled in San Diego. It’s Operation Blessing’s Supper Bowl IX. Operation Blessing International’s[5] Kristen Vischer says it’s a Super Bowl event that’s expecting 15-thousand people. “It’s a great way for getting the low-income fans involved in the event. And so, we just want to involve the lower income class to come in and have fun and be guests at a community festival; and, we give away the groceries as well.” The festival features sports clinics with pro-athletes, free medical services, entertainment, and more. Vischer says it’s not an event with a hard-hitting Gospel message. “Supper Bowl is more of, ‘By their deed, by their love you shall know them’. It’s not overtly religious or evangelistic, but we definitely have one-on-one time, sharing with people.”

[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=FHWL [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=ODM [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=GFA [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=D2S [5] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=OBI ———————————————————————

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