In many parts of Ukraine, like other cultures around the world, women who have been widowed rely on family members to care for them. Sadly, that family support system is not always in place. Some widows have no family at all, and others have relatives who live too far away or are unable to take care of them.
One of the highlights on any development trip abroad is the chance to meet the people we’re helping and working alongside. This most recent time in Turkey, I was able to visit several refugees’ homes and hear stories of how they escaped Syria and came to faith in Christ.
Yasira* is a respected Islamic woman and leader in a closed Southeast Asian country. In 2018, our team met her through a livelihood program for raising goats and developed a strong friendship with her.
Dina was from a very poor Hindu family in Bangladesh. She knew about Christians because she had met World Challenge’s partners in her city and been introduced to their church. Her family had been Hindus for several generations, though, so why should she change this longstanding tradition?
“If you do not turn from your sins, you will die,” shouts one boy on the street to pedestrians. “It’s that simple. You either turn, or you burn.” Jonah is one of the LaVelle family’s 10 children, and they are all part of an evangelistic movement known as the Spokane Street Preachers.
When we read about Jesus’ miracles in the gospels, it’s hard not to search for a pattern, to see if there’s some kind of checklist or criteria for receiving healing and restoration from God. One particular incident that throws a monkey wrench in any potential pattern is Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers.
In the Kamalpur community of India, there is little freedom to share the gospel. Government officials can make life very hard for believers if they make themselves known in the neighborhood or openly share their hope in Christ.
Under the boot of Communism, many Christians in the Soviet Union faced harsh oppression. Evangelicals worshipped in underground churches, taking communion out in the forest and being baptized at night. Bibles and Christian literature were confiscated and destroyed.
World Challenge partners’ work in the Philippines has sought to show people how they can have godly community through education and relationships.
A huge part of this has been helping people see how salvation should affect not only their own lives but also their families and neighborhoods.
