Global Refugee Outreach Initiative (GRO) Mission Trip
We are grateful for your prayers and for the Lord’s blessing on our entire team during our recent mission trip to see God at work among refugees in Jordan, Germany and Austria. Many of the refugees who are following the Lord will be trained to reach their communities and families both in refugee camps and wherever they settle or return to live.
Training and Discipleship in Rwanda
Our brother Edward and his wife, Fiona, will be traveling from Uganda to train John, a leader in Rwanda, beginning on March 25. Besides the training, they will be visiting four areas of Rwanda experiencing discipleship growth. Pray for the safety of all and blessings on the discipleship training and growth.
Overcoming Darkness in Europe
In many European countries, relatively few people attend churches, which sometimes have been converted into museums or even mosques. (Often, recent refugees in the area are more open to the gospel than native-born Europeans.) Slovenia, a small Central European country, faces similar problems. It is estimated that only 1,800 of its 2 million people are evangelical Christians. However, some local leaders recently invited our partners to begin sharing the gospel, making disciples and planting churches there. Our brothers, Benjamin Francis and Rich Webb, have begun training local Slovenian Christian leaders, at least one of whom has a vision of reaching thousands there. Benjamin had the opportunity to share the good news and encourage believers during a recent interview on national television there. Please pray for a spiritual reawakening to the gospel in Slovenia and throughout Europe.
Prisoners in DR Congo
Our brother, Michel, continues to report great results from the DR Congo prison ministry. Many prisoners there are repenting, and some are turning from witchcraft. Stories of spiritual warfare and deliverance among those in both spiritual and physical bondage sound similar to what was reported in the Gospels and Acts. Pray for strength and encouragement among the workers and believers in the DR Congo and for the advancement of spiritual freedom in Christ.
Helping the Desperate in Mauritius
Kenny and Frieda Fong and others in their discipleship network are sharing the gospel and providing assistance to prostitutes in Mauritius. So far, two of the women have expressed interest in learning more about the gospel and inviting their families and friends to hear the message as well. Pray for the Fongs and all those ministering to the “least of these” and also for the women and their families to experience the healing and forgiveness of the Lord like the woman in John 8: 1-11.
Taking the Good News to Unreached Villagers in Myanmar
Our brother David Marrett and his wife, Melinda, recently felt led by the Spirit to follow the example in Luke 10: 1-20 to go to a previously unreached area without taking lots of physical provisions. They visited and shared with a family who responded that “we want to follow this Jesus.” Later, an elderly woman was healed of a physical ailment, and she and four of her friends were baptized. Pray for these new believers and all the people in this area who have never heard about our Lord. As an example of the conditions and challenges there, the Marretts report that extreme water pollution in the area prevents baptisms by immersion. For now, they baptize by pouring water over the heads of the new believers.
Haroon, Brother of Musa
We have no further updates at this time regarding Haroon and his friend, who were kidnapped about a month ago. Please continue praying for them and for Haroon’s brother, Musa, and also for their kidnappers.
Personal Testimony from South Asia
Here is a personal testimony from our brother Safikul:
“I was born and raised in a very orthodox Muslim family. We would read the Koran faithfully, and we prayed five times a day. We even maintained a fast during Ramadan.
“I came to know Jesus through a friend who encouraged me to watch a movie about Jesus, but after watching the movie I wanted to know more. My friend gave me a tract and books about Jesus, and I very much enjoyed reading them.
“One day as I was reading the Koran, I discovered verses from the book of Al-Imran that mentioned Jesus. To me, it was indicating that Jesus is the Savior. I began to think a lot about those verses and asked my Christian friend for his thoughts. He said I should speak with Brother Uttam with Biglife.
“When I met with Uttam, he shared the entire gospel with me and helped me to understand. Through Uttam’s discipleship I began to realize that I did not have to do anything to receive salvation. I only had to repent and accept Jesus as my Savior. I decided then to surrender to Christ and soon after I was baptized in water.
“Turning from a Muslim to a Christian created a lot of problems in my life. The local people of my village turned against me and threw me out of the village. My family discarded me, and my wife also left me. I was once badly beaten in the market place, and thankfully Brother Uttam helped me. He found a place for me to stay and ensured I was able to study the word of God.
“Though I have often been under attack, I have never turned away from Christ. I want to be faithful to Christ until my death. I am very happy now, because I feel I am able to share the gospel and make disciples in the area where I am living. Please do continue to pray for me.”
