Guadalajara, Mexico – Young adults of Latin America have grown up wired, as in many other cultures. They use smartphones to interact but not just when they are apart. Young people in the same room text each other, simultaneously following separate chats, interacting over shared photos and videos. They use phones to check webpages for homework assignments and they email one-paragraph reports to teachers who cut to the chase in lectures, preparing students to communicate in the soundbites of … [Read more...]
South Carolina volunteers reach refugees in Greece with gospel
GREECE – During the summer of 2019, South Carolina Baptist volunteers developed a greater understanding of the plight of refugees. Tom Hilliard* and Brett May*, two of the state’s volunteers spent a month ministering to refugees crowded into a camp on the Greek island of Lesvos. Their service was arranged through South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Missions Mobilization office. Hilliard and May looked into the eyes of desperate, exhausted people who fled Syria’s war or Afghanistan’s … [Read more...]
IMB worker learns from delayed harvests
More than a decade ago, Liam Remington*, an IMB worker new to the mission field, found himself in a riverside town in the mountains. That same day, a young nomad named L.T.* came to the same town. Remington, a trained linguist, was hoping to conduct language surveys in the area. L.T. happened to be from the people group Remington was hoping to meet. Remington and L.T. happened to meet on a street corner. It was a divine encounter. Remington was a willing witness and L.T. was a seeking … [Read more...]
IMB missionary: ‘I’ll continue to pray’
CENTRAL ASIA – Praying in the local language is one of the hardest things I’ve done on the mission field. My face has flushed hot with embarrassment as I trip over grammar and falter over each word. I can’t count how many times I’ve wondered if any of the spiritual words I’m stringing together in prayer make sense. But I’m convinced praying in the local language is one of the most important things I’ve done. I recently visited my neighbor who had just celebrated her 98th birthday. She … [Read more...]
Deaf man in Indonesia turns from brink of death to new life
INDONESIA (BP) -- Nick* felt like he had no reason to live. His depression became so overwhelming that he wanted to die. One day he climbed to the top of a bridge and was about to jump. Just before he leapt, he saw something that caught his attention: a bright figure in front of him. The image intrigued him and seemed to break him from a trance. Nick didn’t jump that day. Instead, he got down from the bridge and felt drawn on a journey to discover an explanation for the figure that saved … [Read more...]
Christian chiefs break from 700 years of pagan practice in Ghana
NORTHERN GHANA – The tension can be felt across the crowd of hundreds outside the palace in Nalerigu, Ghana. They wait in silent anticipation for the Taraana, one of the Mamprusi king’s seven elders, to come out of the hall to present the man the king has selected as chief. When he does, the new chief’s supporters erupt into cheers and applause. The Taraana ceremoniously places a white smock on the chief followed by a bright red cap. Thus begins several days of celebration and ritual as the … [Read more...]
Equipping shepherds of the African church
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA – “Let me stop you right there.” The student looked confused and turned to me after I interrupted him. He was reading a passage that he thought was about financial giving in the church. “Read the verse before the one that you just read.” He read, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37 CSB). “Now reread the verse you read before.” He read, “Give, and it will be … [Read more...]
Singapore’s ‘Amazing Generation’ casts a missions partnership vision
SOUTHEAST ASIA —The scent of pine trees and roasting coffee beans permeate the Southeast Asian air. IMB worker Katelyn Summers* keeps careful track of the roasting time. Outside on the terraced hill, high school students, who have traveled from their home in Singapore, lug bags of freshly picked coffee cherries to be processed and dried. The students came to this Southeast Asian nation to serve as part of their church’s partnership with Katelyn to help introduce the gospel to the people … [Read more...]
Both sides in IMB partnership share of God’s work in Valencia, Spain
VALENCIA, Spain – When we first arrived in Valencia, Spain, we spoke with many of the local church pastors about our heart to reach the lost. One of those pastors introduced us to another couple from Valencia who had that same desire. After we met with them and prayed together, we found another Spanish couple who longed to spread the gospel among the people of Valencia. The six of us began Friday-night evangelistic Bible studies, which grew, and God blessed us tremendously by bringing … [Read more...]
‘Even if it means my son’s life’
SOUTH ASIA – Our translator asked the women to stand if they believed in Jesus. It was the second day of our evangelism training for women in South Asia, and to our surprise, one of the women who had said she was a Hindu the day before, stood on this day. The translator asked when she became a believer, and the lady responded, "Last night." She said she had never heard the story of Jesus before our first training session, but after hearing about him all day, she went home that night and … [Read more...]
They hoped the jinn would rescue them
DELHI, India – Delhi is full of worshipers. Delhi is full of people living in fear. I was recently in Delhi and prayer walked with two other Christians through a historical area of the city. As we walked into a centuries-old fort, individuals and families made their way to the far end of the compound. We followed. The top floor of the seven hundred-year-old structure has the remains of a mosque that is still in use today. The bottom floor used to be a jail and is where the jinn are … [Read more...]
‘Standing on our knees’
KHARKOV, Ukraine – It was still dark outside as I rose to go to prayer. A chill in the room told me that it was going to be a frigid mile-walk to the square. I wanted to crawl back under the covers, but resisted. “I’ve been doing this for only three days while my Ukrainian friends have done it every day for five years,” I rebuked myself. Leaving the hotel, I picked my way around frozen piles of ice and deep muddy puddles, bent my head away from the wind, wrapped my scarf a little … [Read more...]
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