Mother’s Faith Follows in Daughter’s Footsteps

Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org) News Release – For Immediate Release

WILLS POINT, TX (ANS – Feb. 19, 2016) -- Inside the house, Titiksha could hear her uncle harshly scolding her mother.

Titiksha and her mother, Muskan, were used to feeling rejected and despised by Muskan’s older brother, Ganaraj, and his family, but this time, he was lashing out at Muskan because of Titiksha, who had decided to walk with Jesus.

“You are neglecting your responsibility to look after your daughter,” he told Muskan. “You have given her so much freedom that she is now prepared to bring shame to the family. We cannot let this happen as long as we live here. So it will be good if you correct your daughter, or else you both—mother and child—have to find another place to live.”

Widow and Daughter Suffer Rejection from Family

Titiksha's father had passed away when she was only 4 years old, so she and her mother moved to live with her uncle. But Ganaraj didn't want the burden of taking care of them, so the accommodation he gave Muskan and Titiksha was merely a small hut on his property. Because Muskan struggled to provide for herself and her daughter, she couldn't afford to give Titiksha a complete education. After Titiksha learned to read and write, she had to drop out of school. Muskan and Titiksha's desperate situation earned them scorn from their family, so that Titiksha's own cousins didn't want to play with her.

Titiksha had faced this rejection for years, and now her uncle threatened to rob what little stability she and her mother did have. Despite the heavy blow of words condemning and accusing her, Titiksha wouldn't change her mind about her faith in Jesus.

New Faith Leads Daughter Away from Home

After meeting two Gospel for Asia-supported women missionaries, Titiksha had learned about the God who loved her so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross for her. The women had encouraged Titiksha to ask the Lord for help when she faced difficulties, and as she did, she saw how God responded to her prayers. Titiksha decided to walk with Jesus, and she continued, even when her mother and her uncle criticized her for it.

“Have you not noticed how the people look at us and treat us, that you took such a great step?” Muskan scolded. “Do you have any idea how the people will treat us if they come to know that you have become a Christian? They will chase us out from this village, and even my brothers will disown us. Then where will we go? What would have caused you to do that?”

Despite these words, Titiksha kept going to prayer meetings and encouraged her mother to believe in God's Word.

Ganaraj Titiksha had one request before she left: She asked her mother to meet the missionaries who had impacted her own life through sharing the knowledge of Christ, the Savior.

But Muskan didn’t go to meet the missionaries. Each time Titiksha called, Muskan gave an excuse for why she hadn't gone. Then, one day, as Muskan was cleaning her home, she came across a New Testament that Titiksha had left behind. She became curious to know what kind of God her daughter loved so much that she would even leave home.

Missionaries Introduce Mother to the God Who Changed Her Daughter's Life

Muskan went to the nearby village where her daughter had told her the missionaries were. But she couldn't find the women missionaries. Instead, she met Wyconda and Pathik, two Gospel for Asia-supported men missionaries. These men told her the missionaries Titiksha knew had moved from the village, and they had been assigned to take their place.

Wyconda and Pathik were just about to have a prayer meeting, so they invited Muskan to join them.

At the prayer meeting, Muskan listened as Wyconda and Pathik explained the truth of God's Word. And when the believers sang a song about the family of God and being near to heaven, Muskan's heart was moved and her eyes filled with tears. She talked more with Wyconda and Pathik about what the Bible says and told them she longed for a happy life and a peaceful mind. Wyconda and Pathik said joy could be found in knowing Christ and allowing Him to live inside one's heart.

As she herself learned who Jesus is, Muskan became convinced that her daughter's peace had come from knowing Him. With a new faith that Jesus is the Savior, Muskan decided that very day to walk with Him.

Ganaraj, however, continued to lash out at Muskan for her daughter's faith, so Titiksha made a difficult choice: She decided to move away to the city and find work so her mother wouldn't face constant harassment because of her.

The joy of the Lord filled Muskan’s soul, and after one week, she told Wyconda and Pathik she had never experienced such peace before. She began worshiping with the local congregation regularly.

Meanwhile, the good news of her mother's change of heart brought much joy to Titiksha. She thanked the Lord for answering her prayers. But when Ganaraj found out, he was anything but happy.

Despite Opposition, Mother Grows in New Faith

Ashamed of Muskan, Ganaraj told her not to embarrass their family by following a different religion. This opposition made Muskan uncomfortable staying with his family, but she stood firm in her new faith, and God used her younger brother, Bandhu, to provide a safer environment for her to live in.

“I cannot bear to know that my own sister has no place to stay,” Bandhu told Ganaraj. “She will stay with me. I do not care what God she worships. Let her worship the God whom she trusts in.”

Muskan moved to a house on her younger brother's land, and she is continuing to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and worship Him with the local congregation. She even tells other women about Him, testifying how He provided for her needs and answered her prayers.

When this widow and her daughter desperately needed to experience genuine acceptance and love, God used four different missionaries to teach them about His Son. National missionaries, like the women missionaries who shared with Titiksha and the men missionaries, Wyconda and Pathik, have the training and passion to reach hurting people with the knowledge of Jesus, who created them and who loves them so much He gave His life for them.

Photo captions: 1) One day, Titiksha overheard her uncle scolding her mother, Muskan. Titiksha was the cause of his complaints. (GFA). 2) When Titiksha's uncle continued harassing Muskan for Titiksha's new faith, Titiksha made the difficult decision to leave home for her mother's sake, (GFA). 3) After meeting Wyconda and Pathik, two Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries, Muskan learned about the God her daughter loved so much, and she decided to walk with Jesus. (GFA). 4) Despite opposition from her older brother, Muskan has continued growing in Christ and worshiping Him with the local congregation. Now she even tells other women what He's done in her life. (GFA).

Note: Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org) is a mission organization sharing the love of Jesus across South Asia.

** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

Heart attack victim raised from the dead!

By Charles Gardner, Special to ASSIST News Service

DONCASTER, UK (ANS – Feb, 19, 2016) -- A man from the Yorkshire town of Doncaster in the north of England, was restored to life after being clinically dead for nearly an hour during hospital treatment has been speaking about his experience at Christian meetings around the country.

But in an exclusive interview with this journalist, Joe Stevenson has now shared his amazing story for the purposes of newspaper coverage.

The “miracle” happened six years ago, and has been verified by the surgeon involved.

Joe was admitted to Doncaster Royal Infirmary for a total knee replacement but, at the initiation of physiotherapy the day after surgery, he suffered a massive heart attack.

For the next 55 minutes he had “no cardiac output and no respiratory effort other than what was maintained by the resuscitation team,” according to Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, Mr. A. S. W. Bruce.

When informed by the patient’s son-in-law that Joe had died, his church friends began to pray – not for the Lord to raise him up, but for his family to be comforted.

Then, amazingly, his heart started beating again – “spontaneous cardiac output and respiratory effort were returned,” said Mr. Bruce – and he was in a coma for the next 72 hours. But there was no brain damage and, although initially suffering acute renal failure, this completely settled in time.

“Having seen him in clinic, he has made an uneventful recovery,” Mr. Bruce added in a letter dated January 25th 2011.

Now 75 and in continuing good health, Joe lives in Coniston Road, Askern, with his wife Wilsie.

Dr. David Garrard, a senior lecturer at the Assemblies of God Bible College at Mattersey, Doncaster, and a fellow member at the time of the Reachout Christian Fellowship at Christ Church in central Doncaster, said: “The miracle of the resurrection power of Christ is evidenced in what happened to Joe.”

Joe was admitted for his operation [surgery] on December 9th 2009. The op itself went smoothly, but it was the following morning, as he lay recovering, that he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Wilsie called their five children, who immediately dropped everything and raced down from all over the country. Then the doctor announced: “We have a pulse, but don’t build your hopes.”

“The medical team had fully expected Joe to be a vegetable due to no oxygen supply to his brain for all that time,” Wilsie recalled. “And though his kidneys were not initially functioning, with regular dialysis on the cards, they eventually returned to normal, to the delight of the medics.”

Joe has since revealed that he had a series of extraordinary visions during his hour of “death.” This included a scene of “total chaos on the earth” with everyone struggling for power and some arguing over clothing and possessions which had become worthless as money no longer had any value.

“The Lord showed me armies fighting one another, even beginning to kill their own people; young men and women taking people into alleyways, killing them at random and running away, laughing. I saw pillaging and rapes.

“Then I saw millions of dead bodies inside a massive lean-to, all in different uniforms. And giant earth-moving machines pushing the bodies into a quarry – something like a picture of Armageddon described in the Bible.” (Revelation 14.20)

Dr. Garrard explained: “I have no difficulty at all accepting what Joe communicates [of his visions] because… they can be backed up by many portions of Scripture.”

Joe and Wilsie are currently members of the Millennium Christian Fellowship in Hemsworth [a former mining town in West Yorkshire], meeting at the YMCA.

Joe says that in the weeks leading up to his surgery, he had sought a much closer relationship with God as a result of which he experienced “a deep cleansing and a strengthening of spirit.”

He now realizes that we all need to get back to basic Bible principles of loving one another as one body, with Jesus as head.

Photo captions: 1) Joe Stevenson at home in Askern, near Doncaster, with his wife Wilsie. (Photo: Charles Gardner). 2) Charles and Linda Gardner,

About the writer: Charles Gardner is a veteran Cape Town-born British journalist working on plans to launch a new UK national newspaper reporting and interpreting the news from a biblical perspective. With his South African forebears having had close links with the legendary devotional writer Andrew Murray, Charles is similarly determined to make an impact for Christ with his pen and has worked in the newspaper industry for more than 41 years. Part-Jewish, he is married to Linda, who takes the Christian message around many schools in the Yorkshire town of Doncaster. Charles has four children and eight grandchildren. Charles can be reached by phone on +44 (0) 1302 832987, or by e-mail at chazgardner@btinternet.com . He is the author of Peace in Jerusalem, available from http://olivepresspublisher.com.

** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

Fulani, Sokoto in Nigeria

Fulani, Sokoto in Nigeria Sokoto is one of the states of Nigeria, and Sokoto is also a city. During the reign of the Fulani Empire in the 19th century Sokoto was an important Fula state. In the year 2000, Islamic Shari'ah law was introduced in several northern states of Nigeria including Sokoto State. The Sokoto Fulani are a sub-group of the much larger Fulani people, a tribe that is spread across much of West Africa. Ministry Obstacles Tensions between the mostly Muslim people of northern Nigeria and the mostly Christian people of the south have long been high. For a northern Fulani to follow Christ is to risk being seen as a traitor. Outreach Ideas Nigeria has a large number of Christian believers. Perhaps some will be able to overcome tribal animosities and carry the good news of Jesus to the northern Fulani tribes. Pray to this end. Pray for the followers of Christ Pray for the few Sokoto Fulani who know and follow Jesus Christ. Pray they will faithfully fellowship together, and will learn to live in the power of Christ's Spirit. Pray they will live holy lives, and will represent Christ well to their family and friends. Pray for the entire people group Pray for the large Fulani tribe, that they will be drawn increasingly to Isa (Jesus) as he is referred to in the Koran, desiring to find out more about this Man. Pray also they will be able to make schooling a priority for their children, preparing them for life in the rapidly changing 21st century. Scripture Focus "Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name." 1 Chronicles 16:28-29		People Name: Fulani, Sokoto Country: Nigeria 10/40 Window: Yes Population: 373,000 World Population: 1,269,000 Language: Fulfulde, Central-Eastern Niger Primary Religion: Islam Bible: New Testament Online Audio NT: No Jesus Film: No Audio Recordings: Yes Christ Followers: Few, less than 2% Status: Unreached Progress Level: 1.2

2 Simple Ways to Kickstart a Powerful Prayer Life

by Michael Kelley on Friday, February 12, 2016 at 11:04 AM

Do you ever feel like your prayers fall flat? Or maybe they lack the depth and passion that you desire. Kickstart a new prayer life today with these two tips.

“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
I resonate with that request the early disciples made of Jesus. There’s a certain amount of humility any time you ask someone to teach you something. The acknowledgment behind the request is one of inadequacy; I don’t know how to do this, and I need you to teach me how. Like the early disciples, I often find myself floundering and blundering through the practice of prayer, ending up with the same request again and again: “Teach me how to do this, Lord.”
In response to their request, Jesus did indeed teach them how to pray, giving them what we refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Model Prayer” today:

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one” (Luke 11:2-4, NKJV). 

As others throughout history have pointed out, this prayer is a teaching tool. Jesus demonstrated the themes and requests that should dominate the prayers of one whose heart is aligned with the heart of God. It’s focused on the glory and honor of God, first and foremost, praying that the kingdom of God could come.

Longing for the Kingdom of God

Here’s the thing, though—if this isn’t meant to be merely recited but expanded on in a million different ways, all stemming from a heart that reflects these kind of themes, then I’ve got a problem. The problem is that when I look to my own heart, I find that the dominant desires I bring to God don’t start with His glory and kingdom, but instead my own. My comfort. My good. My needs. I find myself “wanting to want.”
I wish that I longed for the kingdom of God to come so much that its coming is a heartfelt and genuine request from the deepest recesses of my soul. But I don’t.
Is there, then, something I might do in order to grow my desire for the kingdom of God? Perhaps there is, and perhaps it’s not as complicated as I tend to make it. Here are two such active ways you might grow in your desire for God’s kingdom and improve your prayer life.

1. Say It 

With any of the spiritual disciplines, including prayer, we must make a fundamental decision regarding our feelings. Of course, it would be perfect if we woke up and felt like reading the Bible, or if we felt like fasting. And it would be incredible if we always felt like praying, and praying for God’s kingdom to come.
We’re on a journey with Christ to the time when our feelings, too, are redeemed, and we want exactly what God wants. Until then, though, we battle with those same feelings, warring between what we know and what we feel.
So, do we begin to pray, and pray in this fashion, even though we might not feel it, or do we wait until we do, bemoaning the fact that we don’t? One of the practical ways we can grow in our desire is to actually start doing the thing we want to desire. Simple as it sounds, we grow in our longing for God’s kingdom to come by simply praying that His kingdom would come. And as we do, we follow it up with an honest plea for our hearts to long for it more and more.

2. Look Around 

The next action we can take to grow in our desire for the kingdom is to look around us. When we do, we’ll be confronted with a thousand examples of the fact that things on earth aren’t as they are in heaven.
The world is broken, and we can see the visible evidence of that brokenness all around us: poverty, homelessness, divorce, misshapen sexual values, war, drought, floods, tornadoes, and a host of other things will meet our gaze as we look around. All of them are tangible evidence of a creation groaning for its redemption, of the world longing for its redemption when the kingdom is fully consummated.
When we see all those things, we can complain about the state of society; we can get angry at economics or the government or whatever; or we can recognize the brokenness of the world that can only truly be fixed by the rightful reign of King Jesus. What we see can be a conduit to move us into prayer for the day when all will be well once again. We look around, and we pray for the kingdom of God to come.
Article courtesy of HomeLife magazine.

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Is Fear Hurting Your Faith?

by Priscilla Shirer on Friday, January 29, 2016 at 03:44 PM

Fear is the antithesis of faith. And faith is what allows you to step foot on the soil of your destiny. Priscilla Shirer explains fearlessness with an excerpt from "Fervent."

It was a fun road trip to Austin, Texas.
Just me, my big sister Chrystal, and one of our closest friends, Shawna.
Chrystal was driving, I was in the front passenger seat, and Shawna was in the back talking about something she’d been thinking about doing but why she couldn’t do it and how she felt bad about not doing it but why it didn’t matter because she could never do it anyway. When we tried to press her on what her real hesitations were, she kept talking and rationalizing and deflecting and defending until she finally nearly snapped our heads back with an unexpected, highly exasperated, "Because I’m not READY!"
"Because I’m SCARED!"
She chronicled her internal struggle: "What if I can’t do it? What if nothing I write makes sense? Worse yet, what if I do get some stuff done, start to feel pretty good about it, but nobody likes it? Or what if they’re too nice to say they don’t like it, but I can tell from what they do say (and don’t say) that I’ve failed miserably? Even if I can, what if people don’t find it helpful or useful? What if the financial adjustment we’ll need to make in order for me to do it means my kids will have to give up some of the activities they love? What if it all ends up being a total waste of time and energy? What if it’s all just some sort of ego trip or head game, something I’m projecting onto myself?"

Does this sound like you?

Is fear keeping you from doing what you are meant to be doing?
The first words that blurted out of my mouth were, "Do it anyway!"
It was so obvious the enemy was trying to paralyze her. "He’s the one behind this," I said. "Don’t sit there and let him do that. Don’t let him stop you from moving forward. I don’t care how afraid or not ready you may feel. Obey God anyway!"
The fact is, I was mad. Still am. Mad at the enemy for messing with my friend like that. And I’m mad at him for messing with you too . . . and with me. With all of us.
Fear is one of Satan’s primary schemes for crippling God’s people. I’m not talking about legitimate concern. I’m not talking about the protective warnings of wisdom and godly counsel. I’m talking about fear. Incessant worry. Up-all-night anxiety. Worst-case scenarios becoming the only probabilities you can think about. Fears like these, instead of simply raising our blood pressure, ought to set off some fire alarms. Why am I feeling so paralyzed like this?

What are we to do with fear?

I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the story of Moses and the children of Israel, pinned up against the waters of the Red Sea while the Egyptian pharaoh and his armies were bearing down hard from behind. No escape. And the only direction that wasn’t swarming with enemy hordes, the one path God was directing His people to go, lay straight ahead through the sea.
These two million Hebrews had every reason to be terrified. Mortified really. There was no swimming out of this one. And yet, with the odds so heavily stacked against them, and with no indicator of the miracle that God had planned, Moses said to the people, "Do not fear!" (Exod. 14:13). His very first instruction to them was not to be afraid.
Notice that Moses wasn’t telling them not to feel fear. Fear is a natural human response to a lot of things, a Red Sea moment being one of them. So he knew they would feel fear, but he was telling them not to wallow in it. Not to choose it. Not make friends with it. Not entertain it, engage it. Because if they did, they risked not sticking around long enough to experience the stunning miracle their God was about to perform. And even more, they risked not getting to the other side. To the Promised Land. To the milk and to the honey. To destiny.
Oh, so that’s what the enemy wanted fear to keep them from obtaining. That’s what they’d all be singing about in the next chapter, while Pharaoh’s army was being swallowed whole by the waters and Israel was now just a hop and a skip from Sinai. And that’s what he hopes fear will keep you from obtaining too. Your destiny.

What the Bible Says About Fear

Do. Not. Be. Afraid.
This issue of fear is so well-known and important to God that more than 300 times in Scripture He tells His people—in one form or another—not to be afraid.
"Fear not." "Be ye not afraid." "Do not fear."
Look it up. It’s everywhere. And they’re all saying the same thing: "Don’t be afraid." Because fear is the antithesis of faith. And faith is what allows you to step foot on the soil of your destiny.
In fervent prayer, we discover something: Our God is fearless. And because He is fearless, we can be fearless too. When His presence is with us and going before us, no Red Sea should faze us or give us pause.
So despite your hesitation, say yes.
Walk on. Have faith. Fear not.

How to Overcome Fear

The way to fight fear is with a deliberate prayer strategy of your own.
Pray these verses for yourself:

When I am afraid,
I will put my trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can mere man do to me? (Ps. 56:3–4)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7)

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27)

Excerpted from Fervent. © 2015 B&H Publishing Group. Used by permission.

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Fulani, Jelgooji in Burkina Faso

Fulani, Jelgooji in Burkina Faso Cows are very treasured by the Fulani. For the Fulani to farm is almost a rejection of their heritage. The Jelgooji of eastern Burkina Faso have clung to the tradition of herding more tenaciously than many other Fulani groups. One of the Fulani taboos is that a married woman should never speak the name of her husband, her in-laws or her first born child. Another taboo in some Fulani groups is that if someone eats goat's meat he or she will become a leper. Ministry Obstacles It may be difficult to make contact and build relationships with this semi-nomadic people group. Outreach Ideas Christians can carry the good news of Jesus to the Fulani using films and recordings, and also telling stories from Scripture. Pray for the followers of Christ Pray for the few followers of Jesus among the Jelgooji Fulani to be nurtured by the Lord's Spirit, to faithfully fellowship together, and to live holy lives. Pray they will be a strong testimony to the Lord's goodness to their families and friends. Pray for the entire people group Pray the Jelgooji Fulani will be able to care adequately for their families, to have clean water and good food supplies. Pray also they will be able to provide schooling for their children. Scripture Focus "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Matthew 25:32		People Name: Fulani, Jelgooji Country: Burkina Faso 10/40 Window: Yes Population: 360,000 World Population: 360,000 Language: Fulfulde, Western Niger Primary Religion: Islam Bible: Portions Online Audio NT: No Jesus Film: Yes Audio Recordings: Yes Christ Followers: Few, less than 2% Status: Unreached Progress Level: 1.2

Miracles Sought, Found in Crisis in Syria

Miracles Sought, Found in Crisis in Syria

February 25, 2016

A displaced Syrian mother and her children face a frightening future.

Amid a humanitarian crisis that European leaders say is the worst since the end of World War II, civilians struggling to survive in Syria have been surprised by miracles — while observers believe it will take a miracle for a planned cease-fire to take hold.
U.S. officials this week announced the White House had reached agreement with Russia on a plan for a partial cease-fire between Syrian opposition groups and the government of Bashar al-Assad, though few had hopes that it would end violence. Conditionally approved by Assad and an opposition umbrella group, the plan excludes terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS), and terms and conditions remained undisclosed — such as how it would resolve the U.S. demand for Assad's removal while Russia continues to support him.
The plan calls for a cessation of hostilities this weekend.
After weeks in which fighting cut off humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians, some 13.5 million Syrians are in need of assistance following five years of civil war that have battered the country's economy and infrastructure, according to a recent European Union report. Among those in need, 4.6 million people are in hard-to-reach areas, including more than 480,000 who are besieged, according to the report this month by the EU's European Commission. The United Nations last week began delivering critical food, medicines, medical equipment and other items to four besieged areas for 90,000 people.
Native Christian ministries have supply networks in place to continue providing aid and the message of Christ's salvation in spite of the dangers of remaining in the country, but funding has not kept pace with the growing needs.
"I can't take it," said one ministry worker in Syria. "We're borrowing money from everywhere in order to eat, and we're not getting paid."
The Lebanon-based director of the ministry in Syria said a team of 21 people faithfully serve predominantly Muslim communities in the embattled country at a time when the area is seeing unprecedented levels of people coming to faith in Christ.
"This year we have seriously lacked funding for all our Syrian ministries, and this weighs on me," he said. "Because they don't have the funds for transportation costs, they cannot travel to the villages or areas of ministry where they serve. They also plead for funds in order to take care of urgent medical costs or illnesses that come up. I hear a lot of desperation in their voices."
One team member noticed a woman feeding an odd-looking substance to her 7-month-old baby during a church service and asked her what it was, he said. The mother began to weep, saying she had only yogurt diluted with water to feed her child.
"She explained that she didn't have any money to feed her baby anymore," he said. "Unfortunately, this sad story is very common in Syria right now; people are really struggling, and we often hear that there is simply not enough food."
Another Syrian mother, identified only as Majida, went to God in prayer after her family ran out of food.
"She prayed, 'Lord, I know you never let us down — we need food for our family,'" the director said. "As she was walking later that day, she found some money on the path in front of her. She was so pleased that God had answered her prayer in such a creative way that she started jumping up and down with joy."
She rushed out to buy bread for her family, and when her neighbors asked where she had gotten the money, she replied, "It was sent to me from God."
"They pressed her to tell them how that was possible, so she went on to share her faith and pray with them," the director said.
Desperate Muslims in Syria who hear of miraculous healings are drawn to the Christian communities. A mother named Nivine brought her paralyzed, 2-year-old daughter to a meeting of one of the ministry teams for prayer. Wary of offending her, the area ministry leader warned her that they pray in the name of Jesus.
"Whatever it takes," Nivine replied, in tears. "Just make her better!"
"Our ministry leader said, 'When we pray, we pray to a living God,'" the ministry director said. "The team explained the gospel to her, and she accepted Christ. Nivine even started coming to the meetings along with her paralyzed daughter."
The group continued to pray for the child in the following days.
"About two weeks later, when Nivine was worshiping during a meeting with her daughter next to her, Nivine looked beside her at her daughter and saw the girl smiling," the director said. "Then she noticed that her hands were moving. Was this a dream? But her daughter continued to move. It was true — she was healed!"
Another mother, Aveen, along with her husband, Mohamad, and their seven children, are part of a church in an undisclosed town in Syria. Mohamad recently lost his job.
"They are weary of struggling through life," the director said. "What surprises us most about this family is that Aveen and Mohamad both come from very fanatical Muslim families that wish to stone them to death, and yet they still fearlessly display their strong love for the Lord. Despite the difficulty of surviving without work and the threat of persecution, they have the courage and desire to share the gospel with everyone around them."

A children's program organized by an indigenous ministry in Syria brings a smile to a little one.

The incidents of healing and salvation shine against a dark backdrop of increased violence. ISIS claimed responsibility for bomb blasts in Damascus on Sunday (Feb. 21) that killed at least 87 people, according to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and car bombs in Homs killed at least 59 civilians. On Monday (Feb. 22), Russian forces were suspected in an attack on a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders that killed 25 people. Russia denies responsibility.
In the midst of such atrocities, a Muslim named Amad heard about a place in his town where people pray and some are healed. The worsening skin disease of one of his children drove him to visit.
"In a moment of bravery, he brought his son to the meeting place, and the believers there prayed for him," the ministry director said. "The next day the child woke up with nothing on his skin! It was undeniably a miracle. The whole family has come to believe in the Lord, and they want to be baptized."

To help indigenous missionaries meet needs, you may contribute online using the form below, or call (434) 977-5650. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid Mission, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 414JFK. Thank you!

Home visit to the homeless

Home Visit to the Homeless  

A member of an indigenous ministry in Lebanon prays for a Syrian refugee mother. The 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon render it the country with the largest proportion of refugees relative to its population (4.5 million), and the native ministry is struggling to keep up with needs – and opportunities. Many Muslim refugees from Syria are turning to Christ. The team in Beirut has begun a one-on-one Bible study that takes seekers through the entire Bible. One of the women taking the course, a mother of five children under 10, said she struggles to buy clothes for them and lives in a home without carpet and dishes. “Despite an extremely difficult day-to-day situation, she often expresses how happy she is in the Lord,” the ministry director said. “She says, ‘Praise God, because now I know who the true, real Jesus is.’ We have several people being mentored and would like to use this curriculum with several more individuals in their homes.”

Fulani, Adamawa in Cameroon

Fulani, Adamawa in Cameroon The Adamawa Fulani are the group of Fulani who live in Nigeria's Adamawa province, and some of these people have found their way to Cameroon. The Fulani are a proud people who teach their young children to have tribal dignity. Fulani children are required to love their mothers and respect their elders. They are also taught to strictly hold on to important values such as generosity, honesty, and modesty. Ministry Obstacles The identity of the Fulani is tied to Islam. To follow Jesus is to risk losing much that is important within the Fulani culture. Outreach Ideas Much prayer is needed to prepare the hearts of the Fulani to seek the truth of the good news of Jesus. Pray they will become eager to learn and respond, with faith believing. Pray for workers. Pray for the followers of Christ There are some Adamawa Fulani who are Christian believers. Pray they will be taught the truths of Scripture, and will grow to become zealous disciples of Christ. Pray they lead holy lives. Pray for the entire people group Pray the Fulani people will be able to care adequately for their families, and make schooling a priority for their children. Scripture Focus "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14		People Name: Fulani, Adamawa Country: Cameroon 10/40 Window: No Population: 2,105,000 World Population: 4,438,000 Language: Fulfulde, Adamawa Primary Religion: Islam Bible: Complete Online Audio NT: Yes Jesus Film: Yes Audio Recordings: Yes Christ Followers: Few, less than 2% Status: Unreached Progress Level: 1.2

Missionary Widow Honored with Mother Theresa Award

By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service, www.assistnews.net

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA (ANS, February 20, 2016) -- Missionary widow Gladys Staines has received a prestigious award, 17 years after the assassination of her husband and two sons in India.

Staines, who is from Queensland, Australia, has been granted the Indian-based Harmony Foundation's Mother Theresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2015 for her work in serving poor and leprosy affected peoples in India, according to Lloyd Carter, EMSM Home Council Chair, writing for New Life, Australia’s Christian newspaper.

The award comes almost 17 years after Gladys and her daughter Esther (then 13), at their home in Baripada in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa, heard the tragic news that her missionary husband, Graham, and their two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6) had been deliberately burned to death in their station wagon at the village of Monoharphur, 160k away.

Graham had been attending the annual Jungle Camp (Christian Convention) when attackers accused Graham of forcibly converting tribal Hindu people to Christianity. The killing triggered an outcry around the world, with then Indian President K.R. Narayanan denouncing it as a “crime that belonged to the world’s inventory of black deeds.”

Many were impacted by the expression of forgiveness from Gladys even in her profound grief.

Graham and Gladys were serving with the Evangelical Missionary Society in Mayurbhanj, founded in 1895 by Kate Allenby from Windsor Road Baptist Church in Queensland. The work focused on serving those affected by leprosy and other impoverished and outcast peoples; and on planting and supporting local churches. A succession of missionaries served the mission and, by the time of the deaths in January 1999, it comprised a Leprosy Home (with 70 residents) and farm, a Rehabilitation Community and farm (of approximately ten families), two mission compounds and around 27 churches.

In 2005, Gladys was awarded the prestigious Padma Sri for Social Service Award by the Government of India. In granting the Mother Theresa Memorial Award For Social Justice, Dr Abraham Mathai of the Harmony Foundation told Gladys: “We are pleased to highlight this year’s focus on women’s and children’s rights and access to affordable medical and health care services to those who are marginalized and destitute. Considering your work with leprosy patients in the remote tribal areas of Mayurbhanj, Orissa over the past 30 years, along with your tireless efforts to continue serving the medical and health care needs of the local community through the Graham Staines Memorial Hospital opened in 2004, it is Harmony Foundation’s great pleasure to invite you to grace this auspicious occasion to receive the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial Award.”

The Award was conveyed at a ceremony in Mumbai on November 22, 2015.

“It's an honor for me, my husband and my entire family, ”said Gladys, recalling that her first reaction after the tragic incident was whether she would be able to stay in India or need to return to Australia. “I thought, ‘I hope I don’t need to return to Australia. This place has been my home for 15 years.’ I wanted to go on living there and continue the work. I’m so glad that I did,” Gladys told the Mumbai Mirror.

Gladys continued to live and serve in India until 2004, when she returned to Queensland. In a report on the award printed by Asia News, Gladys said, “I have never worked for awards, and was amazed to be chosen for this award. While I have not been living in India some time, I periodically visit and take great interest in the work for leprosy being carried out in Orissa. I thank God for His help in enabling me to carry out the work of caring for people with leprosy, even after my husband was killed.”

Now living in Townsville, on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Gladys continues serving as the Honorary Secretary of EMSM. She has made several visits to support and advise on the development of the ministry in India. The 15-bed Graham Staines Memorial Hospital was opened in 2004, the Philip and Timothy Memorial Hostel for 40 boys in 2003, and the Kate Allenby Girl Child Care Centre/Hostel with seven girls in 2013.

Gladys is quick to say that such progress has much to do with the initiative, sacrifice and hard work of many others in India and through the generosity of many donors, especially in Australia.

The church ministry continues to benefit from a partnership with the Indian Evangelical Mission, with a new agreement currently being drawn up. The medical work has benefitted for services and drugs provided by The Leprosy Mission and the hospital with staff seconded from the large Christian Fellowship Hospital.

To learn more, contact Gladys Staines, Honorary Secretary at gstaines@gmail.com or Lloyd Carter, EMSM Home Council Chair at lloyd@carterclan.id.au Phone: 0433 352 088.

Photo captions: 1) The Graham Staines Family (Courtesy persecution.in). 2) Michael Ireland

About the Writer: Michael Ireland is a Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as a volunteer Internet Journalist and Ordained Minister who has served with ASSIST Ministries and ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. Click http://paper.li/Michael_ASSIST/1410485204 to see a daily digest of Michael's stories for ANS.

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Have You Read God’s Love Letter?

Have You Read God’s Love Letter? (Writer's Opinion)

By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service

CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – February 21, 2016) --“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins”—1 John 4:10(NLT).

As long as I can recall, I have loved reading. My love affair with books began with my mother’s reading aloud to me. As an elementary student, my reading habits often got me into trouble. Instead of paying attention to the teacher, I would squirrel away my library book behind a textbook.

My tastes in reading ran the gamut from mysteries to science fiction. My mother often caught me hiding under the bedcovers at night with a good Nancy Drew mystery, using a flashlight to read the words penned to capture a child’s imagination.

As a child, reading was an escape from the world into an imaginary one set in different places and different times. I still love reading make-believe stories today. However, fiction is not my only source of reading material.

Recently, while donating some used books for resale at our local library, I was asked to pose for a photo with my favorite book. The Friends of the Library is using the event to spark interest in reading. As I pondered the question, I tried to remember some of my favorite books. My mind recalled some childhood as well as adult books I had thoroughly enjoyed. But were they really my favorite?

I could recall one historical fiction book I had read more than once as a young adult. But was it my favorite? I struggled to remember books, often page-turners, which I couldn’t put down until the wee hours of the morning. If you’re a reader of mysteries or suspense novels, you understand. You don’t want to quit until you discover the one “who did it.”

However, I had an “aha” moment as I stood there in the library lobby. I realized my favorite book is one I read each morning—God’s Holy Word. Then, I began to consider why it’s my favorite.

While I can escape from what’s going on around me in a fictitious world, God’s Word is alive, bringing encouragement to carry me through the day. His written word is for each of us. It’s not just a book of do’s and don’ts, but rather a love letter to His children.

President Abraham Lincoln once said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”

The message He wants to communicate is one of love, forgiveness and redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Christian author Jerry Bridges once said, “God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son.”

Have you read God’s love letter written just for you?

Photo captions: 1) Reading God's Word. 2) Carol Round.

Note: I always love hearing from my readers. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts at cariolaround@yahoo.com . You can also visit my blog at www.carolaround.com.

** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

In Ukraine: Incarnational Missions

In Ukraine: Incarnational Missions (Writer's Opinion)

By Sharon T. Markey, Special to ASSIST News Service

KYIV, UKRAINE (ANS – February 21, 2016) -- It’s a week after Valentine’s Day, and I still haven’t taken our Christmas tree down. We’ve been traveling a lot, and I’ve spent the last four months feeling ill and exhausted as side effects of early pregnancy, so many things haven’t been done in a timely fashion. But I do hope that today I will finally manage to put away all of our Christmas decorations. However, I don’t feel as pressured to take care of it as I probably would were we living in the United States, because the winter celebrations here in Ukraine are different, and on Valentine’s Day, I actually spied someone else’s Christmas tree in a dumpster. Apparently, we’re not the only ones to have ours hanging around into February!

In Ukraine, the holiday season finally reached its close less than a month ago. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, and I love living in a country where it doesn’t seem too crazy to leave your tree up for two full months, or even a little bit longer, as is the case for us this year. (It’s a good thing ours is artificial!) We typically put our tree up around December 1, which is a little early in Ukraine, but not too ludicrous, especially these days, as malls and shopping centers have begun to put up their decorations earlier and earlier.

Here the festivities officially begin on December 19 with St. Nicholas Day, when children wake to find presents left by the Turkish philanthropist who has gained such mythical status since his death. It’s not a tradition that we keep, since our kids have never believed in Santa Claus, but since the older ones started attending school, I realized that perhaps we should start a family tradition of letting them open one of their Christmas presents on December 19. Otherwise, they go to school and feel left out because all the other kids are talking about the gifts they got from St. Nick that morning.

After St. Nicholas Day, the next big holiday of the season is New Year’s Day. It is the biggest holiday of the entire year. In order to suppress the celebration of Christmas, with all its religious significance, the former Soviet Communist government shrewdly transplanted the most popular Christmas traditions, making them part of the New Year’s festivities instead. Now, over two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukrainians still exchange New Year’s gifts and ring in the New Year with all-night parties in homes adorned with New Year’s trees.

A week after the New Year, on January 7, the Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches observe Christmas. It is a quieter holiday when people typically return to their villages of origin to celebrate with family and a huge traditional meal. The whole Christmas season is also a time when carolers go door-to-door, earning money. Sometimes you’ll be treated to beautiful renditions of traditional Ukrainian Christmas carols in four-part harmony, but more often, the carolers are small groups of boys chanting tuneless versions of the traditional songs in hopes of making some extra money. It’s kind of like an innocent version of Trick-or-Treat.

The extended holiday season finally ends on January 19. Called Epiphany, in Ukraine it commemorates the baptism of Jesus, although in Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions it celebrates the visit of the Wise Men. It is a much smaller holiday; children don’t even get the day off from school, but government offices that have reduced hours during the holidays don’t usually get back to business as usual until after Epiphany. Expats living in Ukraine often joke that if you have any official business to take care of, you might as well forget about it during the months of December and January, and that’s not far from the truth. For my part, I’m always glad for the excuse to slow down during these two months when the days are short and the weather is inclement. We sit inside in the glow of our Christmas tree, watching the snow fall while sipping mugs of tea or hot cocoa, enjoying family time, and reflecting on the season.

This year I found myself contemplating the meaning of Christmas in a new light. I saw it as it relates to our missionary calling to Ukraine, and I realized like never before how Christmas in its very essence is a missionary celebration. This perspective came about because of a ministry trip my husband took.

My husband spent two weeks during the early part of December touring Ukraine’s eastern front with a Christian rock band. Their purpose was to spread the Gospel and raise morale by playing evangelistic concerts for the soldiers stationed there. This was not the first such trip he’s taken since the armed conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine began almost two years ago. But this trip was a little different. On previous trips the guys would play concerts, talk with the soldiers, and sometimes do manual labor to help with things that needed to be done around the bases, but their custom was to return to a house or hostel outside the conflict zone to sleep each night. This time they actually spent some nights with the soldiers.

One evening my husband messaged me a picture of the place where he and another member of the band were spending the night. It was spartan, just two small cots in a bare room, but my husband explained what an honor it was, because the only two female soldiers at this outpost had given up their quarters for my husband and his roommate. A few minutes later after he lay down for the night, however, I got another message from him, “Wow! The ‘bed’ is just a board with a blanket on it. I guess we’re getting a taste of how the soldiers live.”

On this trip, the band really did get a first-hand experience of the soldiers’ lives, minus actual combat. At one outpost they were even warned not to venture beyond a certain building, because that territory was covered by an enemy sniper. As a wife waiting at home, praying for the safe return of my children’s father, I didn’t like hearing details like this. But at the same time, I truly believed in what they were doing, and I realized that this level of willingness to identify with the soldiers must give the Gospel message they were bringing far more credibility. In general, people don’t care what you have to say unless they can see how much you care, and it’s difficult to demonstrate that care without getting up close and personal, being willing to enter into the difficulties and pain of those you are trying to reach.

What the band was doing during their two weeks touring the front reflected on a small scale what long-term missionaries do every day, all over the world, for years or decades at a time. They leave the comforts of home, country, and culture, and move somewhere unfamiliar, all to take the Gospel message. Their goal is to so identify with the nationals that they are able to be effective communicators of that Message.

Achieving this level of identification is grueling work. No matter how motivated you are, learning a language to fluency takes years. No matter how much you want to understand the culture, there will be aspects that will shock and offend your own cultural sensibilities. It can be deeply discouraging. But one day, if you press on, you reach a magical point. Maybe you realize it when you find yourself laughing along with a group of nationals at a joke that wouldn’t have seemed funny a year before. Or maybe it’s when you visit home and find yourself missing the cuisine of the country where you’re ministering. Or maybe it’s when you discover that you feel more at ease in your adopted country than in your home country. Whatever form it takes, one day you realize that you truly love the place and the people who once felt so foreign, that you ache for their pain and rejoice in their triumph. You have almost become one of them.

The incarnation—God leaving His glory to become flesh and dwell among us—is the most sublime example of this we will ever see. While I know that I will never become fully Ukrainian, Jesus became fully man to identify with us and to save us. While we face frustration and discouragement to make Jesus known, it is nothing compared to the rejection and agony Jesus faced to make us His own. While some go with a willingness to risk their lives, Jesus came in order to give His life. This is the Gospel, and it is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

The incarnation was the most audacious missionary assignment ever proposed, and it has altered the course of history, changing the lives of millions of men and women, making them willing to risk anything, because Jesus had already given up everything for them. Christmas is a wonderful reminder, but this truth is so momentous I want to commemorate every day, long after I finally take our tree down.

Photo captions: 1) An impressive 7-story New Year’s tree on Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Square dwarfed by the beautiful monastery in the background (Photo: Sharon T. Markey) 2) Carolers in traditional Ukrainian garb performing outside the Kyiv metro (Photo: Sharon T. Markey) 3) A make-shift stage that the band played on at one outpost (Photo: Jonathan Markey) 4) Sharon T. Markey with her husband George in traditional Ukranian costumes at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa during a missions event (Photo: Dan Wooding)

About the writer: Sharon T. Markey lives in Kyiv, Ukraine with her husband George and four sons. When she's not too busy wiping noses and changing diapers, you can find her blogging about the humorous and spiritual aspects of life with small kids at www.MommyJoys.com . She can be reached via email at SharonTMarkey [at] gmail [dot] com.

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