Mungiki. The very mention of that word evokes dread in the hearts of Nairobi's slum dwellers. The Mungiki are Kenya's mafia, a well-organized group of criminal gangs who intimidate, "tax" and extort people for "protection." To refuse their services is to invite trouble—and even death.
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The afternoon was hot, and I welcomed a seat in the shade under a tree. I was in Myebon, a riverside town in southwest Myanmar, bringing relief to victims of Cyclone Giri with one of Heaven's Family's Burmese ministry partners, M.B. Thang. We had just helped a widow and her four children with funds that would enable them to rebuild their flattened home, and the rare sighting of a white guy in this remote area attracted about thirty curious neighbors. M.B. and I took advantage of our captivated audience to share the gospel—and they were very hungry to hear about the Lord. I also told them about Jesus' followers from far away who had sent me to help them.
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American children might be disappointed to receive clothing as Christmas gifts, but not orphans in Myanmar—who often only have one set of clothes. Every year around this time we ask all of our child sponsors to consider sending an extra $5 for each child they sponsor so that their sponsored children can receive new clothes for Christmas. Our goal this year is to provide "Christmas clothes" for 1,500 orphans and unwanted children on Christmas morning, which they will all excitedly wear to church that day—and most every other day for the next year.
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"Leprosy." Eternal silence seemed to follow that single, dreaded word as it fell from the doctor's lips. Su Gui Zhong's heart began to race in panic as the diagnosis of an infected patch of skin registered. I'm a leper! Only 24 years old, she knew that her world was about to end. Before that awful moment, Su Gui had every reason to be optimistic about her future. She lived a simple but fulfilling life in rural China, happily married with three precious daughters. She and her husband had recently finished building a new house that had become their little home. Her community was tight-knit and supportive.
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When I first read Samuel's report, I had to read it again to make sure I hadn't misunderstood it. Could it really be true that a Roman Catholic bishop had just requested 400 copies of The Disciple-Making Minister? Nuns would be using it for their daily devotions? In our January magazine, we told you about Samuel, a Pakistani pastor who came to Christ from a Muslim background. When he discovered David Servant's pastor-training manual, The Disciple-Making Minister, on our ShepherdServe.org website in his native language of Urdu, he printed out all 500 pages. Then he began using it to teach his Bible school students.
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Often shrouded in mist and rain, Mexico's Sierra Norte Mountains hide a forgotten people—descendants of Aztec Indians whose ancestors fled from European conquerors. Although forgotten by the world, they have not been forgotten by God. Decades ago He sent two devoted missionaries, Leonardo and Maria Morales, to the region's poor mountain villages. There they found hungry hearts, and they spent several years spreading the gospel and planting churches. Hundreds of lives were impacted.
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"So you think you are so brave to kill Aziz because he has become a Christian? Then kill me, because I say that I am a Christian now, too!" With those words, Mohammad, a Pakistani Muslim, divided the group of young Muslim fanatics. His ploy of making the group wonder if he was a Christian, too, sufficiently confused them to allow time for his friend, "Aziz the Blasphemer," to shift to a safer location, saving his life.
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"If I kill myself, my grief will be over...but what will happen to my six children?" After the death of Jane Ocheng's husband, an emotional battle raged within her. The family's sole breadwinner was gone, snatched from life by an unknown illness. Survival as a widow with six children in rural Kenya was a bleak prospect.
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How could a father treat his own children that way? I wondered in disbelief. As a mother, shock (and anger) rushed through me as I listened to Jackson Muthoni tell me his story as we stood on the sidelines of a soccer field in Wamuini, Kenya. Last year I told you about an entire Kenyan soccer team that turned to Christ after their troublemaking captain, Manu, was transformed by the gospel. That miracle was the result of the ministry of an evangelist named Herbert, who was able to reach the soccer team's village on a bicycle provided by Heaven's Family. Jackson is a member of that soccer team, and he, too, experienced the transforming power of the gospel.
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Early one morning in January of 2003, at the doorsteps of thousands of simple school buildings across Kenya, more than a million children showed up for school who had not attended the day before. The reason? Kenya's newly-elected government had abolished school fees for primary school children. Impoverished parents were thrilled that their children would now have an educational opportunity that had previously been denied them.
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