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Clips: Press-time reports of need, opportunity, inspiration, and praise

There is hope for the infected

Brazil

A young mother, Maria, and her one-year-old baby were recently tested and found to be HIV positive. Her family, considering her an outcast, left her to attempt the journey to seek medical help and medicine alone. She ended up passing out in a field with her baby in her arms, and when missionary nurse Carolee Graff heard of this, she went to find her. Maria was in a small house with no food or electricity, trying to care for her sick baby who desperately needed help not available in her town.

There is great opportunity to help many others like Maria. Right now, the ABWE clinic is offering free HIV tests, doing AIDS educational programs and evangelism, and is looking into the possibility of offering needed medicine so that the infected don’t have to travel. Pray for God’s wisdom and more answers for how to best serve and minister to those who are HIV positive.

Fifty people enter cold baptismal waters

Mongolia

This past summer, 250 people from three Holy Way Church branches attended a retreat, during which the climax was the baptism of fifty people in the nearby river on a Sunday afternoon. The day was a chilly forty-five degrees, and the river water even colder. But braving the cold waters was a small feat for the pastors and new believers who desired to be baptized and identified with Christ. Praise God with us for the work He is doing in these three churches as they continue to reach out to their friends and neighbors. Pray for more missionaries in this land, as Mongolia is ABWE’s number one enlistment priority in the Asia/Pacific region.

Meeting is history in the making

Hong Kong/Thailand/Philippines

The meeting began with a simple “Good morning,” but responses in three languages indicated the significance of the gathering. The purpose of this meeting was to bring together pastors and missionaries from Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines who are vitally interested in ministry in Thailand. Grace Kwok, from an ABWE-planted church in Hong Kong, feels God calling her to be a full-time missionary to northern Thailand. She, along with four members of the Hong Kong/ABWE Missions Center, traveled to Thailand to survey the area and learn more about the “how-to’s” of sending cross-cultural missionaries. For this information, they looked to Filipino missionaries who for forty years have successfully crossed cultures and established churches in Thailand. In this meeting, Thai pastors gave cultural guidance about the needs of the Thai people, and ABWE representatives facilitated the interaction, helping them grasp the meaning of partnership in the ministry of missions. The Chinese, many of whom have been saved out of Buddhist backgrounds, brought with them enthusiasm and fresh ideas for sharing Christ in Thailand, a predominately Buddhist country. Pastor Kwan from Hong Kong emphatically stated, “We are all part of the worldwide ABWE family. Let’s partner together in sharing Christ with needy people here in Thailand.”

Pray that Hong Kong believers will catch the vision and share in the passion, causing the missions movement from Hong Kong to continue to expand.

Cultural tidbit

John Briggs, Togo

You know you are a missionary living in France for language study when: You find yourself sifting through the trash at McDonald’s trying to retrieve your receipt because on it is the code you need to unlock the door of the restroom.

Pray for the Home Office

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The Information Services Department at the home office provides training, support, research, and development in order to facilitate the use of technology throughout the ABWE world. Because of their service, missionaries are able to be connected to the home office, donors, colleagues, and national partners through the public website, an internal portal, email, and missionary websites. Pray that God would give wisdom as they develop and troubleshoot, expanding ABWE capabilities in the way of technology.

Dr. Nik appointed as International Director of GAP Ministries.

After serving in a variety of leadership roles in Central/Eastern Europe, Dr. Nik has now been appointed to the new responsibility of leading GAP Ministries. He will pave the way for expanded partnership opportunities throughout the ABWE world.

Throughout their years of ministry, the Mark and Susan have faithfully demonstrated a commitment to partnership, and the ABWE administration is confident that they are the right choice for this exciting challenge.

Dr. Nik will work closely with our regional administrators to identify, train, and resource individuals who have a passion for partnership and a vision for assisting believers in their efforts to launch missions movements to the glory of God.

Please pray for Mark and Susan as they transition into this new role.