INTERNATIONAL UPDATE DECEMBER 2007OM InternationalDownload as PDF (~250KB)By Peter Maiden, International Coordinator Dear partners in prayer, I am writing this from Yangon, Myanmar. The city is calm after recent demonstrations, but there is a sense that things could begin again very quickly. Please pray for this nation and particularly for the Church-Christians form about 7% of the population-to know what it is to be salt and light in this situation. It amazes me when I visit OM fields to see how much goes on, sometimes with very few full-time OMers. Here there are 13 nationals who work with OM. We are involved in church planting and orphanage work. Only one orphanage is run by OM, but we do help in others particularly providing financial assistance. There are normally around 200 in English language training courses. There is a basic six-month course followed by advanced courses. Last year 212 came to the country on short-term teams and there is even a Bible study for Buddhist monks, with about 10 monks participating. Monks gladly receive Bibles when offered to them. Logos Hope departed from Trogir, Croatia on 8 November after a two-year conversion project. The vessel arrived in Kiel, Germany on 26 November for final outfitting. Individuals, churches, trusts and other community groups have so far donated over Û23 million to renovate Logos Hope. The vessel's final outfitting (expected to take six months) will include work to furnish the Visitor Experience, onboard community facilities and other areas for the visiting public. Further donations are needed for this final stage of preparation. Once launched, Logos Hope will transport vital literature resources, aid supplies and an all-volunteer crew committed to serving port communities around the world. Doulos: 20 million visitors! Visitors are usually welcomed with a warm smile. However, 24-year-old Awang Mohd Bin Sabree was greeted with wild cheers, applause and a handshake when he stepped on board in Malaysia. Captain Ashley McDonald provided the confused visitor with an immediate explanation: "Congratulations, you're the 20 millionth visitor to Doulos!" Sabree and his family were then given an exclusive tour inside the world's oldest ocean-going vessel and handed a voucher for discounts in the book fair. "I feel very honoured," Sabree told Director Daniel Chae as he signed his name in the ship's VIP guestbook. Peter Tarantal leads OM's EMM Task Team which met recently in the Middle East and sends this report: While 61% of the world's Christians now live in the 'Global South', they field only 22% of missionaries worldwide. In OM the numbers are very encouraging in comparison even though India skews our numbers somewhat. We are considering various models of mission to help the Church fully participate in mission: Mexico: Millions have been affected by flooding caused by heavy rains in the south, one of the worst disasters in the nation's history. Four-fifths Tabasco state, one of the poorest areas, is under water and all of its banana and other crops are lost. Peru: Thousands of printed Scripture materials and blankets have been shipped to provide hope and comfort to earthquake survivors in Peru. The 15 August 2007 quake (8.0 on the Richter scale) was prolonged, shaking the ground for two minutes. Hundreds died, thousands were injured and hundreds of thousands can no longer live in destroyed or damaged homes. The cargo container from IBS-STL includes 40,668 Spanish scriptures and 14,500 blankets. (International Bible Society (IBS) and Send The Light (STL) merged as IBS-STL Global on 1 March 2007.) Mozambique: Antonia Nipueda and his team held a prayer night in Iasso, a town notorious for occult-related murders. They notified the town and local government officials of their intentions. The team began singing and rejoicing from eight that evening. At eleven, they divided into groups and moved through the village knocking on the doors of all known Satanists. At three in the morning they re-assembled to share that a total of nine sangomas (witchdoctors) had renounced their practices and turned to the Lord! Arabian Peninsula: These seven countries (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates) offer a variety of cultures, people groups, politics and religious activities. Some people are poor, while others are fabulously rich. Some are world travellers, while others have never left their village. A big discussion is taking place in Saudi Arabia to decide if women should be allowed to drive their own cars. Southeast Asia: For hundreds of children in Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia and on the Thai-Burmese border, this will be their first Christmas gift ever. Formerly called the Christmas Shoebox Project, Mercy Teams International (MTI-a relief arm of OM International in Southeast Asia) is this year using 'Love Bags' in order to lessen freight costs. The bags are stuffed with pens and pencils, toys and crafts, combs, mirrors, wallets and an assortment of other fun and practical items, together with a small cash donation for drinks and snacks to be provided by the distributors in each country. Most articles are donated by individuals, churches and companies in Singapore, where MTI is based. One woman got five non-believing friends involved and they provided 1000 bags. Many have also given time to sorting and packing items. The Love Bags will bring joy to 1800 children in desperately poor families. Please pray that shipments will safely reach their destinations in time. Namibia: An African Exposure Team visited bushman territory in Kaokoland. A team of 18 students from Europe and Korea travelled 48 hours by bus (including five flat tires and one car accident) to the very north to work with tribal people: topless dress, skin painted red with clay and beef-blood. While their new friends painted their bodies, the team painted the community's school. Greece: Kosta (12) and Niko (10) came to the Albanian camp in September, children of Albanian immigrants in Greece. Life is tough for Albanian immigrants, especially as the cost of living has gone up and work opportunities are fewer. Many parents both have to work and sometimes have two jobs each. Children are hardly raised by their parents and spend much of their time on the street or at internet cafes. Many of their parents grew up in communist Albania where children were taken care of by the state from three months onwards. Once again, my sincere thanks to you for your prayers and support during the past month. We appreciate your fellowship with us greatly and at this Christmas time our prayer is that you will get special times of worship, rest and family celebration as we say, ‘Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift'. Peter Maiden -------------- The Delights of Christmas One of my special memories of the Christmas season goes back to our time on the Logos II long ago. We lived on board in a shipyard in Amsterdam, going through a long winter of renovations and preparing the vessel for ministry. With extraordinary permission from the captain (and someone with a fire extinguisher nearby), the Swedes treated us to participation in their Santa Lucia celebration early in December. Hearing the Swedish music in the alleyway outside our cabin about midnight, we awoke our Rebekka, then three years old. Her sleepy eyes grew as wide as saucers as she contemplated a white-robed figure, her beautiful face surrounded by lighted candles. Rebekka was too caught up by the wonder of the moment to notice that the angel-like woman bore a striking resemblance to Carina, the ship's blonde-haired electrician. Eighteen years later Rebekka remembers the moment as "the most beautiful, amazing thing." For me, as a father, it is a precious memory of my child's wonder at a lovely sight seen for the first time. Christmas, and especially the first experiences of young children, can be a marvelous thing. First experiences of Christmas I have a friend who will celebrate his first Christmas this year. December 25 has passed for him many times, of course, but this will be the first time that date comes around since he came to faith in Jesus Christ. I wonder how this season will be different for him this year. In a sense, I already know-although it has more to do with his experiencing Jesus Christ himself, not a holiday. I have known the stories of Jesus since I was a little child, a tremendous heritage for which I am deeply grateful. Although I keep learning from the Bible, my familiarity with Scripture can also run against freshness of insight and understanding. By contrast, my friend is perhaps the first ever in his family tree to become a follower of Jesus. As we read the Bible together, my explanation of the background at times deepens his understanding, for example an explanation of who the Pharisees were. Fresh insights of Jesus Christ Like observing Rebekka's wonder when she saw the candlelit Santa Lucia, my friend's observations do not add much to my knowledge, but they often leave me filled with joy, and refreshed in my wonder at God and his love for us. A few weeks ago, for example, another man joined us as we discussed Matthew's Gospel. "When two or three are gathered in my name..." my friend read. He looked up with a contented smiled and said, "How good it is that your friend came tonight. That makes us three." He paused, then whispered, "Jesus is here." His words were so simple, yet so profound. And for me the dust was shaken off a well-known promise and it burst into blazing reality that I saw through tear-filled eyes. Yes, I have known Jesus since I was a child-but I knew him again that night as I had not known him for far too long. A wish for renewed joy and wonder My hope is that this Christmas season will be a time of great delight for each of you. May God grant each of us someone-perhaps a child, perhaps a new believer-to magnify the delights and joy of Christmas, and even more the joy and delight of knowing Jesus Christ, as we have not experienced for many years.
OM International ¥ Peter Maiden, International Co-ordinator Credit: OM International
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