Message Magazine Online - Vol. 56, No. 01, Winter 2008

In This Issue

• Editorial
  Angela Shuff
• Canadian Editorial
  David W. Smith
• Loving with Rice, Corn, and Blankets
  Angela Shuff
• Compassion in Action Around the World
  Becky Davey
• More Than Words
  Bill Commons
• Building a Hospital Together
  Pastor Rodger McCarthy
• A Little House with a Big Heart
  Mary Lou Brownell
• Plans to Stem the Tide in Togo
  Brenda Mastin
• CLIPS
• Our Hands Follow Our Hearts
  Spencer Jackson
• Funny Furlough Moment
  Shane Latham
• Children’s Corner
  Jim Cook
• A Portrait of Love in a Time of Pain
  Michael G. Loftis

Editorial

Notice anything different? After 80 years of publishing the Message at a standard magazine size, we are now changing to this smaller 6 x 9 format. Postage increases, which are now calculated by size measurements in addition to weight, made this change absolutely necessary. However, we’ve found that we can get the same amount of content, if not more, in this smaller, more compact and portable Message.

This winter issue focuses on ministries of compassion and how missionaries are being the hands and feet of Christ. I was recently blessed with the opportunity to be involved in a project to take food and blankets to Fulbe refugees in Cameroon who are desperate for food and shelter. It was an eye-opening experience to see such overwhelming needs and to accompany missionaries who are being witnesses by showing the compassion of Christ to those who are hurting. ABWE’s main priorities are evangelism and discipleship that lead to church-planting movements and then missions movements around the world. But we realize this can not and should not be done without ministries of compassion.

The articles in this Message are stories of how people are seeing and understanding the gospel because of missionaries who are first demonstrating God’s love and compassion in a variety of ways. Refugees in Cameroon are receiving food for their stomachs and blankets to keep them warm. Widows in South Asia are being trained to make crafts so they can earn a living and provide for their children. In Togo, a plan is being put together for Togolese Christians to care for those infected with HIV/AIDS and to provide education about the prevention of the disease. Healthcare ministries around the globe are treating both the physical and spiritual state of patients. In all of these situations, compassion is proven to be more than having pity or sympathy for someone else—it is love and faith in action. It is being moved to do something because of the fact that Christ, in obedience to God, was moved to show His love for us on a cross.

Angela Shuff
Editor