Local communities in Brazil are taking the initiative to continue learning and find ways of thriving despite the COVID-19 lockdowns.

This has been a challenging time for so many of us. Lives have been upended; jobs have been lost, and celebrations have been postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Jacob’s Well communities in Brazil have faced similar challenges, compounded by poverty and limited health care access.

Liberia has faced some of the worst struggles nationally in modern times, but local believers are working to make sure that COVID-19 isn’t added to the list.

A man and his wife had to move away from their hometown, but God put a burden on their hearts for their neighbors and then opened a door.

The year of 2020 started with good news for our team in Brazil. For two years, we have been doing development work in a community called Terra Nova in the city of Morada Nova, Ceará. We wanted to build up the church and Christian community in this area.

A young lady in Cambodia had her life turned upside down and redirected in the best of ways by a local pastor and God’s power.

“My name is Phim. I am 19 years old, and before accepting Jesus, I was a gangster,” explained one young woman to our partners in Cambodia.

Around the world, churches and our partners are working together to bless their communities caught in the coronavirus pandemic.

Since March 24th, the Cuban government has shut down grocery stores, with a few exceptions, to ration food supplies throughout the country. For many locals even being able to eat one meal a day has become a struggle.

One local man ultimately came to know God through a tragic accident while free-diving in Nicaragua.

In Nicaragua, seafood is the second most important national export after coffee. Lobster diving is a major business there, and many of the best hunting spots are concentrated in the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast.

World Challenge partners around the world but particularly in Central Asia are working to make children safe at home despite the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chances are good that if you’re a parent, you can quote Ephesians 6:1-3 by heart. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’”

One brave girl survived years of abuse and then found a way to reunite with her brothers as God opened the way for her to discover a new life.

The story of Mia’s life is one of a redeemed past opening doors to a new future.

Her mom remarried when she was fairly young, and from that moment on, Mia’s life wasn’t the same anymore.

Believers in Asia are experiencing growing hardships as a result of government control expanding over churches and ministry leaders.

During a recent visit to one country in Southeast Asia, I had the opportunity to meet with twenty Hmong pastors from multiple villages throughout the country. 

Internet access isn’t always a given, even in Europe, so partners in Albania are working to make sure that everyone has the correct information but also stays encouraged.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Albania, the government has taken very strict measures to contain the disease and protect people. This situation caught us all unprepared; but for Roma communities, more than anyone, this lockdown is like the end of the world.