INTERNATIONAL UPDATE MAY 2008OM InternationalBy Peter Maiden, International Coordinator Download as PDF (~230KB)Dear partners in prayer, Greetings in our Lord Jesus. A month ago I wrote in Carlisle, between meetings in Singapore and North Carolina. These North Carolina meetings were with friends interested in financially supporting the Logos Hope project. They gave or promised to give with amazing generosity. How we thank God for His faithfulness and for His people. Since then an interest-free, short-term, large loan has been offered to help finish the outfit phase. However, we would like to pay back the loan as soon as possible. A gift amounting to a quarter of the loan is set up as a matching fund. It is the donor's intent to see many participate to bring the outfitting of Logos Hope to completion. Please pray that over the coming weeks we will see significant increased giving and enable this matching gift to be activated. God's provision for this project is a source of constant amazement and faith-building joy. Thank you for your prayers. Logos Hope will replace one generator with a newer, more powerful and cost-efficient Bergen diesel, a complex procedure that involves cutting a hole in the ship's side. While the ship is lifted out of the water, routine hull inspection, painting and maintenance will also take place from 2-15 June in Sweden followed by a further 6-8 week lay up in Denmark-all to meet requirements for a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate (PSSC). Relief & developmentSouth East Asia: A dental surgeon volunteering with OM's holistic ministry arm in Southeast Asia, Mercy Teams International (MTI), finds plenty of opportunities to serve along the Thai-Burma border and in Indonesia. One refugee girl suffered for three years with massive toothache before Cindy* came to her rescue. Another woman tramped days through the forest to seek help, starving and near collapse, her gums full of abscesses. But the ministry also makes a profound difference in less urgent cases. When a Muslim woman needed her front tooth filled, Cindy gave her a white filling instead of the commonly-used black or gold filling. The woman went back to her village grinning with delight and the next day nine women came, all wanting their black fillings exchanged for white! Cindy says it is a great pleasure to serve such women. "They have suffered so much, and are treated without dignity. I'm glad to give them a little self-esteem." Pray for more medical volunteers, and for the new dental clinic being built on the Thai-Burma border. Sudan: Workers with Operation Mercy (OM's partner aid agency) bring hope to the lives of orphans and street kids. With other NGOs, they are developing vocational training workshops and generating income for the centres. Funding is needed to purchase carpentry and other tools for these projects. During school holidays, some boys stay with relatives but others are still too disturbed to leave the centres or simply have nowhere else to go. Four boys have entered university, but sponsors are needed to fund their further education. Praise God for how these projects are transforming the lives of children and young people in Sudan. Pray for God's continued provision. Emerging mission movementsPanama: Over 250 people from Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador gathered the week before Easter in Volcan for OM Central America's annual outreach. Participants spent three days in training before working alongside local churches. 22 international teams then put into practice what they had learned, both in urban areas and among indigenous tribes to bring the Gospel message. Approx. 1,175 people made decisions to follow Jesus. More than 1,100 people in Chiriquí province were treated by a 19-member medical team from the USA. Pray for increased vision for missions for those who participated. Pray for follow-up with those reached with the Gospel for the first time, and for partnerships between OM and churches in Panama to continue this impetus. Ecuador: the past 13 weeks has brought unusually heavy rainfall, flooding densely-populated coastal lowlands, killing about 50 people, destroying a significant proportion of the country's crops, damaging roads and homes, and displacing 14,000 people. The destruction of crops also means job loss and food shortages, and stagnant water means outbreaks of dengue fever, malaria and parasitic and viral infections. OM has engaged in two relief efforts, collecting and distributing food, water, mattresses and clothes, linking this with evangelistic programs. More than 250 needy families have been helped physically, as well as given hope in hard times. At least eleven adults have responded to the gospel, as well as a number of kids. OM has received further requests for help from pastors in affected areas but the first two efforts have stretched our resources. Within the next two weeks we would like to help 200 families in Vinces, where floods have destroyed crops, homes, and jobs, and people are starving. Any contribution would be appreciated. Gifts can be sent through your local OM office, marked 'Ecuador Flood Relief'. Kindly inform us ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) of your gift so that we can purchase aid as soon as possible. EuropeSwitzerland: The Global Action Zürich team reports: In February, fourteen youths from Kreis 4 and their leaders spent a week snowboarding, paying games and discussing Christian faith. Faik*, a Kosovo-Albanian and former drug abuser, came as a leader. As a teenager he came to our lunch clubs and heard the gospel for the first time. After a long journey he finally found Jesus, successfully completed drug rehabilitation, and developed a career. He told how Jesus has changed his life. As an ex-Muslim, this had a profound effect on the young people. "How did your parents react?" and other questions preoccupied their minds and once again revealed how hard it is for them to live between two cultures. Italy: As OM's new ministry centre Forterocca (The Rock) opened, 100 people from a church in Milan came for a retreat over the Easter weekend-an encouragement for the OM team to see the centre filled with people for the first time. OM Italy leader Eliseo Guadagno shared, "On Friday night, hours before the expected arrival of the group, we got permission to open the centre. In these last months God has kept us from relying on ourselves, teaching us to keep our eyes on Him, who never fails. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement." For more information on Forterocca, contact Sergio Gastaldo Brac ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Kosovo: The majority Kosovar Albanians rejoice over their recent self-declaration of independence from Serbia (and the confirmation of several Western nations), while Serbs protest the UN's decision in February to grant independent status to the last province in the former Yugoslavia. Despite the turmoil and difficulty of Kosovo's past, OM has ministered to Kosovar Albanians in Peja and Decan since the Balkans War in the late '90s. In 2005, OM further bridged the cultural divide in Kosovo by being the only known missionaries to minister to 25,000 Serbs in the well-known divided city of North Mitrovica. In recent days, violence has flared with Serb protesters occupying a UN-controlled courthouse and forcing UN police to withdraw from the city. NATO peacekeepers are now the only law enforcement agency in North Mitrovica. OM sees first hand the needs of the people who have endured wars, persecution and utter desperation. Spiritually, Kosovo has two million predominantly Muslim Albanians and over 100,000 Orthodox Christian Serbs. The protestant-evangelical Christian church is very small and under pressure. OM has been instrumental in planting a church in Decan, where team members have served as pastors and ministry leaders. A training program with men from the Decan church is developing generations of Christian men to impact their people. Likewise, children's clubs and youth Bible studies for Albanians have reaped much fruit over the years. Montenegro: has been independent for just under two years and has 120 believers and 30 missionaries. Besides Pioneers and OM, there are many independent missionaries. The new OM team has settled in the city of Bar, which was also the site for the first mission summit of Montenegro. All missionaries were invited and 2/3 took part in the summit organized by a Serbian missionary. The theme was from Romans 1:9-be an encouragement to one another. Participants shared about their ministries, vision and future plans. Many expressed appreciation and look forward to a second Montenegro Mission Summit in 2009. Next generationNew Zealand: The TEA (Training, Evangelism, Adventure) programme is offered 3-4 times annually and helps young people to grow in discipleship and develop confidence in sharing Christ's Good News. Laure is a young believer from Belgium, a country with few Christians. She says that TEA "has shaken me and my small picture of God. I now have a better understanding of what a disciple of Christ is and what God wants him to do." 'Does it glorify God?' is a question that Laure now asks regularly when faced with decisions. She is excited to go home and live out her faith among her family and friends who don't know Jesus. "I received a tool-belt to be an effective worker for God's glory. I'm ready!" World faithsAlgeria: Police issued written orders for three Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) churches to cease activity in late March, bringing to 19 the number of congregations shut down since November. In addition, two independent congregations were verbally ordered to close their doors, said EPA President Mustapha Krim. The church closures come amid a flurry of antagonistic media articles warning of campaigns by Protestants to 'Christianise' Algeria. The Religious Affairs Minister called on Christian groups to re-register according to the state's associations law, but Christians have claimed that the government has blocked them from doing so. On March 21, police detained two Algerian Christians traveling by public bus for carrying eleven Bibles. Turkey: Sezer's father thought he could trust Hakan to bring his son back to 'the true way'. Hakan had noticed Sezer was acting differently too and agreed, even if it meant tracking him down to a church! "How can these people be so happy?" Hakan asked himself, "Surely their masks will fall off and I'll see that they are getting money or the promise of a visa or a wife." The more he observed these church people, the deeper his shock: Sezer was freely giving money to the church, the joy didn't dry up and the story of Jesus seemed increasingly true. Sezer's father noticed Hakan was changing and began to hate him and bitterly regret his mistake. Hakan, and recently his sister, have joined Sezer in baptism. The new WACA web site-www.silkroad.om.org-has freshly updated info and encouraging stories...well worth visiting! Netherlands: from Global Action Amsterdam Noord (GAAN). The church was packed; many had come to witness four people being baptized. One was a friend from Afghanistan. We have worked among Afghan refugees for years and know their nation's history; there is no Afghan who hasn't been wounded. Our friend fled, leaving his wife and children behind, after writing articles against Muslim fundamentalists. The Netherlands quickly granted him a visa-in itself a miracle nowadays. His testimony of the Lord was one we hear often: the Lord revealed Himself in a dream and later, when he came in contact with Christians, he learnt more of the Lord. While growing in his new faith, his oldest daughter was killed. He couldn't be with his family in this time of enormous pain, and had to grieve alone. Through the Afghan Bible study group we started in Amsterdam, we have come to know him well, seen him grow in faith, seek the Lord for His ways and trust Him in struggles. He has been faithful, and has opened his heart more to his church family. Our friend ended his testimony with these words: "Jesus even helped me forgive the murderers of my daughter...Today I kneel down for the Lord, and I praise Him and thank Him for saving me. I desire God's Kingdom to come with power into my home country, and that many Afghans will be saved by Jesus Christ." Pioneering initiativesSportslink: April and May focused on Run for the World (R4TW), a SportsLink initiative. Director Martin Bateman explains, "As SportsLink co-workers, our challenge is to raise awareness for world mission, through sport, and help people to have a more active lifestyle in the process." Local projects are also supported in 2008 to ensure the good network of international runs still has a local focus. In 2008, cities across the globe choose their own best date and host courses ranging from 2-5 km in length. These are open to all who are encouraged to raise funds through sponsors which will benefit several key projects in the OM world. Find out how you can take part at www.r4tw.org where you can give online for projects listed there. Organize a small group to run where you are! "We will host the run in conjunction with Katong Presbyterian Church in Singapore. Let's hope for a bumper turn out this year!" said Rodney Hui, East Asia Pacific Coordinator. Once again, thank you for your faithfulness and encouragements as God enables us to press forward together in 2008. Peter Maiden --------------------- Think AgainAfrica's hour has comeI live on a continent where we often have ambivalent feelings about ourselves. Most Westerners conjure up the following images about Africa: • The dark continent. • Leaders such as Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe. Many leaders are corrupt and have robbed their people of billions, such as Daniel Arap Moi and others. • Atrocities such as the Rwandan genocide and the ghastly situation in Darfur, Sudan. • Great natural resources wasted by ineptitude in utilizing them to benefit the poor. • The highest rate of HIV/AIDS (in the south). Yet there is another side to Africa, whose name means 'pleasant'. It is also the continent where the Church is growing at phenomenal rate and people are very serious about God. Last year, 520 African Christian leaders met in Nairobi, Kenya under the banner of the Movement for African National Initiatives (MANI). There was a sense that Africa's time has come. Amid celebration of what God was doing, there was a sensed need to join together in responsibility not only for the evangelisation of Africa, but to be involved in the re-evangelisation of the West and reaching out to our Francophone brothers and sisters who have issued a Macedonian call. We can prayAnother exciting initiative, started in Africa, is the Global Day of Prayer. In 2001, God stirred the heart of a Cape Town businessman to organise this event at a local rugby stadium. This has led to 800 million people taking part in more than 200 countries this past year! We can give and goA mission leader spoke at a rural church in Zambia, accompanied by a church member interested in joining a church planting team in an unreached area along Lake Tanganyika. When they took up the offering, it amounted to a mere R12 (1 Euro; US$1.57). How could he ask them to support this person? Yet he felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share with the elders that this young man wanted to join the team-would they as a church send him? The cost would be R5,000 (412 Euro; US$655). After praying, the elders said they would take up the challenge to find the R5,000 for his transport and initial support-in one month. Somehow, they came up with the full sum. How? Everyone in the church with more than two pairs of trousers or shirts brought them to the church to be sold. However, after this they still had quite a shortfall. They agreed to fast one meal a day for the next few weeks and brought the food money they would have spent to the church. God honoured their faith and commitment, as well as their sacrificial giving, and they reached their target. What kind of a challenge does that leave with me and you? We can be readyOne of the greatest missiologists of the last century, David Bosch, came out of Africa. Long before it was fashionable, he talked about mission as comprehensive and transformational. Consider an OM initiative in responding to the leadership challenge on the continent. LIFE Development, a ministry of OM Africa, has over the past three years been developing a church leaders' training initiative. The curriculum and methodology has been tested in Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi, and is now ready to be taken throughout the continent. The training takes a small group of local church leaders through a basic leadership and discipleship program that is highly interactive, contextual and transferable. Ongoing personal growth, community accountability and a multiplying lifestyle are the key challenges put before participants. Key elements of the training are basic Bible study skills, along with how to teach the Scriptures to others. A lot of time is spent addressing the character and person of a leader, as well as instilling a culture of reading and life-long learning. A Continental Consultation is planned for Africans in the Diaspora during August 2008. Many Africans have made great contributions to the Church in North America and Europe. They want to plough that back into Africa. As we sing in East Africa: Mambo Sawa Sawa (things are looking better). The Africans are coming! (end) Peter Tarantal has served as OM South Africa's national director since 1995. He facilitates OM's Emerging Missions Movement track and recently assumed the role of Southern Africa Coordinator for MANI, the Movement of African National Initiatives. Comments are welcome care of This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ---------------------------------------- If you no longer wish to receive this Update by e-mail, please contact < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it >. If you no longer wish to receive this by mail, please contact your local OM office. This update is classified (N)-No Restrictions. OM International Update is a publication of OM News & Information (OMNI) through which the International Co-ordinator highlights timely developments, important issues and concerns for prayer and response worldwide. It is issued monthly in digital form. Feedback, questions and ideas are welcome. (c) 2008 OM International • Peter Maiden, International Co-ordinator PO Box 27, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 1HG, United Kingdom Tel. (+44) 1228-615100 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it • www.om.org Credit: OM International
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