‘The Lord is definitely not done with Mitch’
As Shannon Wilburn sat next to her critically ill husband’s…
Around the World, January 2021
INDIA
FEATURED PHOTO (above): A young woman in the farming village of Varahapuram, India, works on her multiplication skills — church multiplication, that is.
Minister Dayakar Pandrana, who works with the Gospel Chariot ministry in nearby Anakapalle, spends his Fridays teaching Christians in the surrounding villages about discipleship movements. On Saturdays the students participate in online training. The minister “is on fire for Jesus,” said George Funk, founder of Gospel Chariot, “and slowly but surely getting a discipleship movement going where other groups and new church starts will multiply because he and his father, Timothy, are respected and connected. God is good.” Churches of Christ support the ministry. See gospelchariot.org.
Photo by George Funk
GUATEMALA
Chichicastenango — The people of this Central American nation are getting used to the new normal “poco a poco” (little by little), said medical missionary Kemmel Dunham. He works for Health Talents International, a ministry supported by Churches of Christ, with his wife, Dr. Lisa Dunham.
Instead of walking in for appointments, patients must call Health Talents’ clinics first, and capacity is limited. The Dunhams hope to resume mobile medical clinics soon.
“Several of our chronic illness patients (epileptics, diabetics and hypertensives) have commented how grateful they are for our services — especially after having to purchase their medications at local pharmacies,” Kemmel Dunham said. “Our staff have been getting lots of gifts of fresh picked apples, soft drinks and corn on the cob lately in appreciation. We are loved well here.”
NIGERIA
Ugbogbo — “Market evangelism” is paying dividends for a Church of Christ in this West African town.
Women who sell peanuts, yams and other produce in open-air markets distribute tracts provided by the church and invite their customers and fellow “hawkers” to worship, said evangelist Sylvester Imogoh.
Women visit after worshipping with the Ugbogbo Church of Christ.
“More women are getting involved in the market evangelism strategy,” Imogoh said. “Now some who are students and teachers are coming up with a school evangelism (program) so that they can take tracts and books to schools for staff and students.”
Almost every week new souls, mostly women, are baptized, the minister said, adding that “the number of women in the church continues to grow above the men.”
SPOTLIGHT
African hospitals receive a much-needed gift: bleach
Lilongwe, Malawi — Wearing masks and maintaining social distance, high-ranking medical personnel in this southern African county gathered with representatives of Churches of Christ and the Malawi Project, a church-supported nonprofit, to celebrate the gift of 72 55-gallon drums of bleach for the nation’s hospitals.
Chester Kabinda-Mbewe addresses health officials.
“In light of the current pandemic, the need for cleaning supplies has become even more acute,” said Suzi Stephens of the Malawi Project. The gift will supply 400 liters of cleaner to every regional hospital in the nation, with the remainder going to the country’s five largest, or tier-one, hospitals. World Emergency Relief made the donation possible.
Attending the ceremony were Chester Kabinda-Mbewe, Grivin Kasalika and Wilson Tembo of Action for Progress, a not-for-profit, aid assistance organization established under the leadership of Tembo, in-country director for the Malawi Project.
Kabinda-Mbewe, an elder of the Red Cross Church of Christ in Blantyre, Malawi, said, “I am pleased to hand over these supplies with an open heart and the hope they will help in ensuring a clean working environment for both health workers and clients.” See malawiproject.org.
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