News headlines for January 29th 2003

(North Korea)–We begin today in North Korea where the tensions over that country’s nuclear arms program could cause many to go hungry in that communist nation. The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee[1] reports that millions are suffering from malnutrition. The CRWRC’s Kristin VanderBerg says they’ll continue to help in Jesus’ name as long as possible because the need is so great. “Without further food shipments the health of people, especially children, would be put at serious risk. At the same time the currently political situation in North Korea is hindering the amount of aid that North Korea can receive. Countries are unwilling to get involved right now.” VanderBerg says the CRWRC’s involvement could change. “If the U-S does decide to take action against North Korea, whether that be sanctions or sending in military personnel, that would impact and affect our ability to be involved.” Funding is needed so this outreach can continue.

(Rwanda)–Meanwhile, a short-term mission team from Teen Missions International[2] has been expelled from Rwanda. Teen Missions’ Steve Peterson says mistaken identity caused the expulsion of the 20 team members from Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. “When the team came in some people looked and saw the luggage, the cooking equipment, and started to spread rumors that perhaps the team might be part of a military group and eventually there was pressure put to bear on the team to leave the country. They were surrounded by armed soldiers and told to leave the country. All of their belongings were searched thoroughly at the border and they were sent out.” Peterson says while hearts are open to the Gospel, fear of another genocide lingers. “It’s a barrier that anyone wishing to take the Gospel into Rwanda has to overcome. It’s just the distrust and the fear that is still gripping people’s hearts. We need to pray that even as the Lord has opened people’s hearts to the Gospel that there will be enough stability in the country that outreach will be able to continue.”

(International)–Fears of war and terrorist attacks around the world have slashed the number of volunteers preparing to work in developing countries, so says The Volunteer Services Association. The Independent Sector shows a nearly 12-percent drop in those responding to a call to action. However, FARMS International’s[3] Joseph Richter says they’re bucking the trend. “Any volunteer organization knows that there’s volunteer burnout after a time; and we always pray that these committees would keep the vision and see that they’re really effectively helping their own people at the grassroots level.” Richter says their financial programs operate on the volunteer resource in order to encourage believers to ministry. “The volunteer approach helps us avoid the problem of dependency. I’ve been amazed at how they take ownership of the program, and the local people trust them, and they know the local situation.”

(South Asia)–And, The Seed Company[4] is hosting 50 Bible translation teams this week for an annual conference in an undisclosed south Asian nation. The Seed Company’s Parke Brown says because some of their team members work in countries hostile to the Gospel, prudence is a way of life. He also thinks seeing other translation staff encourages those assigned to cross-cultural translation projects. “It’s a real encouragement to many of these Bible translators who are often very separated and very isolated in these communities they are in and don’t have the encouragement this conference will provide…to be refreshed a little bit on their vision for Bible translation and work among the people there.” Brown adds security issues often play a part in how quickly their work reaches completion in South Asia. That said, “…if anyone was interested in particular for our project in south Asia, we have a number of new projects that are starting up that need both prayer and support.”

[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=CRWRC [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=TMI [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=FARMS [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=TSC ———————————————————————

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