Like many missionary kids, Lauren Hou didn’t initially feel comfortable in the U.S. after she first arrived to attend university. Many of her formative years were spent overseas, and it felt like home. At first, she wanted to move back overseas as soon as possible, but by the end of her freshman year at California Baptist University, after she plugged into campus ministry and attended a women’s retreat, God challenged and convicted her. “I felt convicted to give all my plans to … [Read more...]
Mixtec musician’s call to worship changes after conversion
MEXICO (IMB) – A locally renowned musician found himself sitting in the one-room jail cell of the local police station. In addition to an illustrious career as a pianist in a band, he was his community’s cantor. Unflustered at his current situation, Thiago patiently waited, praying and contentedly waiting for the Lord’s will to be done. Let’s back up a little bit. Call to worship Communities, especially in rural areas in Mexico, elect a member of the community, a cantor, to be a … [Read more...]
Baptist chaplains transform Kenya’s hospitals, prisons, schools
NAIROBI, Kenya (IMB) – Supporting a family ending the life support of a loved one. Ministering to prison inmates and officers. Counseling students. God is using more than 300 Kenyan Baptist chaplains to transform lives — and eternities — across the nation. International Mission Board missionary Patricia Woolsey said many names are being added to the Book of Life. Patricia and her husband, Ray, serve in Nairobi, training and equipping the current and future generations of chaplains who … [Read more...]
West Africans find hope amid horror
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story depicts some scenes of graphic violence. WEST AFRICA (IMB) – Yacouba couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. He heard there had been an attack on his brother-in-law’s village by a terrorist group. They hadn’t been able to get in touch with him, so he and his wife went to the village to search for her brother. Yacouba found the village plundered. To his horror, he and his wife found her brother’s body. His head had been decapitated, but propped back up on the … [Read more...]
Southern Baptists celebrate 175-year legacy in Nigeria; press on to reach unengaged peoples
EDITOR'S NOTE: Your gift today will help sustain the work in Nigeria for many years to come. Because of your generosity, Southern Baptists have had a gospel-centered presence there for 175 years and counting. Give today to continue that work. NIGERIA (IMB) – Southern Baptists first arrived in Nigeria when it existed as independent kingdoms. Now, 175 years later, Southern Baptists continue to serve in the West African country home to diverse ethnic groups. As International Mission … [Read more...]
Former addict, troublemaker finds redemption in Brazilian slums
SÃO PAULO, Brazil (IMB) – Maria swore like a sailor and used cocaine. Her boisterous behavior made her a familiar face, and voice, in her 8,000-person community. “You couldn’t miss Maria, even from a distance, because you could hear her from a distance. She was loud and rambunctious,” Eric Reese said. Eric and his wife, Ramona, serve with the International Mission Board in São Paulo, Brazil. Eric met Maria in a favela, or slum, where they were experiencing an “evangelism explosion” … [Read more...]
From Budapest and beyond, students partner with IMB on mission
Download the August PrayerPoints featuring daily prayer requests for European peoples. EUROPE (IMB) – This past July, TSA lines in airports were filled with students with passports in hand and a desire to learn about missions in their hearts. Volunteers from across the U.S. traveled to eight European countries to take part in the International Mission Board’s youth labs. Youth labs are a five-day program for high schoolers to learn about missions alongside a long-term IMB missionary, a … [Read more...]
Mexican shepherdess chooses to follow Good Shepherd
OAXACA, Mexico (IMB) – As a shepherdess, Martina resonated with the story of Jesus leaving the 99 to rescue the one sheep who wandered off. Other Bible stories International Mission Board missionaries Phil and Laura Metcalf shared seemed hard for her to understand. The Metcalfs work with Indigenous communities outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. Martina’s husband, Alfredo, had a Bible that he received in the U.S. He read some, but he didn’t really understand it. Phil offered to study with him, … [Read more...]
Project 3000 explorer locates remote people group, discovers the Lord already at work
Sometimes, finding unreached people groups means getting your truck stuck in a riverbed, driving 12 hours and traveling to village after village after village, asking if anyone knows anything about an unengaged and unreached people group. More than 3,000 people groups around the world have no strategy for reaching them with the gospel. Project 3000 is a concerted effort to ensure that every people group has access to the gospel. The International Mission Board is sending 300 … [Read more...]
