Dear friends,
Some tribes in Kenya have a cultural practice that forces young girls into early marriage and circumcision. Several years ago, the Lord opened our hearts to help these girls through rescue centers. There are now a number of Girls’ Rescue Centers in various locations where we work.
Read MoreDear friends and supporters of Namumu Orphanage Center,
Greetings from The Outreach Foundation and from the Namumu children in Siavonga, Zambia. There are so many changes that have occurred at Namumu in recent days that we would like to bring to you for prayer as we update you on the situation at the center.
Read MoreDear friends,
The first day of 2016 brought thirty women from the Bethlehem and Jerusalem areas together for a weekend at the Dead Sea. This was a brand new journey with Musalaha, one of discomfort, new obstacles, and the serious self-examination that comes with the work of reconciling oneself with her “other.”
Read MoreWe seem to be in a season of rankings, be it the likelihood of a candidate to secure a presidential nomination, the win/loss records of our favorite football teams, or the box office receipts of various movie blockbusters. We like to know who is on top, don’t we? We feel good when our predilections seem to line up with the winners.
Read MoreAs this new year begins, The Outreach Foundation celebrates your generosity in responding to our Refugee/IDP (Internally Displaced Person) Appeal. Your gifts of over $99,000 have allowed us to undergird the ministry of our partners in the Middle East as they work to renew hope and healing in Christ’s name, such as the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). The following story was shared by Ms. Wafa Gassous, Director of MECC in Jordan…
Read MoreThe Palestinian Bible Society is an inter-confessional Christian Society committed to making the Word of God available to Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Here are some prayer requests from the PBS staff:
"Pray for the Palestine Bible Society as it carries the Word of God to our nations, to shine stronger and brighter in all the many dark places and people of our country. Pray for the team spirit to be high and for the unity to be our priority." Nashat Filmon
Read MoreDear friends,
The Center for Middle Eastern Christianity held its second international symposium in early December 2015. The theme this year was “Celebrating 150 Years of the Van Dyck Arabic Bible Translation.” In 1865, a team headed by the American-Dutch Bible translator, Van Dyck, finished the full translation of the Arabic Bible. This translation has become the most famous translation used throughout the Middle East. The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Protestant churches in the region and worldwide use the Van Dyck translation.
Read MoreDear friends,
When we look at the world around us and see earthquakes, floods, fires, tornadoes, and wars which cause families to lose their homes and loved ones, our hearts are filled with gratitude that although we have a seriously collapsed economy and a drought, we have families, friends and food. We see God’s hand of provision in so many areas of need through compassionate groups of his people including you, supporters of Home of Hope.
Read MoreDear friends,
We began our work in the Loodokilano Mission area by building seven churches. We are now building a girls’ boarding primary school and girls’ rescue center. Rev. Charles Maina, the vibrant minister we partner with in Loodokilano, takes a holistic approach to his ministry by looking at the overall needs of the communities in the area. One of the greatest needs is water.
Read MoreEven as Syria remains plagued by war and violence, the Church remains…and with hope and confidence prepares new leaders for its future – for God’s future. Your gifts to the Syria Appeal have helped to provide scholarships for some outstanding young adults who have answered a call to ministry….
Read MoreDear family and friends,
A team from The Outreach Foundation visited the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda last October. Many of you followed our journey from the trip blog on Outreach’s website. One of the ministries that we visited was the Presbyterian Ministry for Reconciliation and Healing led by Rev. Jerome Bizimana, who recently visited our office in Franklin, Tennessee as well as many Presbyterian congregations in the U.S. as part of the International Peacemakers program. We learned so much from our brothers and sisters in Rwanda about forgiveness.
Read MoreIn late January of 2014, a native of Mosul was consecrated as the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk-Sulimaniya. Barely six months later, ISIS would invade his hometown resulting in thousands of Christian families seeking shelter in and help from the churches under his watch. In March of this year, I and a small team from The Outreach Foundation met in Iraq with His Grace Yousif Thomas Mirkis. We were introduced to him by the Rev. Haitham Jazrawi, who pastors the Presbyterian Church in Kirkuk. Both share the common burden of ministering to those whose lives were shattered when their homes, livelihoods and churches – not to mention their peace and security – were violently taken from them.
Read MoreThe people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned….
So begins Isaiah’s poetic, prophetic chapter whose words echo in song and in sermon at this time of the year – and which crescendos to a naming of the when and the what and the Who which Handel set so perfectly to music that now very few of us can read it with our eyes without actually hearing it in our ears:
For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders…
So why, you might ask, does this passage lead me to thoughts of Aleppo? Perhaps, because few places in Syria have been so hard hit for so long, so hammered by violent factions, so deprived of life’s basics, so seemingly stripped of hope and a future – its world-heritage sites decimated, its population significantly reduced…
Read MoreDear friends and partners,
Greetings from Lusaka, Zambia. It is always a joy to hear from former students who are thriving in pastoral ministry. I invite you to read this recent email interaction I had with one such pastor now serving in Malawi. The subject line reads, “Extension of my ministry area.”
Jankens: I just wanted to inform you that my ministry area has been extended to eight congregations from five, with 1,600 members as the minimum number of congregants.
Read MoreDear friends of Rwandan children,
In July 2015 we shared the story of Alfred, a young man whose life has been changed by CPAJ. Recently, an Outreach team visited the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda and CPAJ in Kigali. We were amazed at its leadership and its ministry to others, like Alfred, all over the country. We saw firsthand its impact on street children in particular. There are currently 40 residents at this center.
Read MoreDear Partners and Friends of Tumaini Ministry and the Riamukurwe Parish,
We know Tumaini and Huruma children are a part of your prayers. Please keep praying for and supporting the 208 children currently residing there. Ken Cornelison, from Laguna Presbyterian Church, and I visited the Tumaini and Huruma children this month. It is hard for me to describe the joy we saw on the faces of both the children and the dedicated staff and board members!
Read MoreThe new Leadership Training Center continues to take shape in the village of Tchessa in Tete Province, Mozambique. The concrete floor for the dormitory/reception area/bathroom facilities is nearly complete, and work on the walls will soon start. A church that will double as the classroom has been rebuilt. A well has been dug. A kitchen/dining area has been constructed. Praise God for this remarkable progress!
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Wiggly, giggly and mesmerized by the foreign visitors to their classroom in Erbil, Iraq, these precious little four and five year-olds seemed very typical for their age. But they were not. When our small Outreach Foundation team visited them in March, it had been about eight months since they and their families had run for their lives as ISIS marched upon their villages in the Nineveh Plain. 200,000 of these Assyrian Christians fled from their small, once peaceful enclaves: Bartella, Bashiqa, Batnaya, Karamlis. They found haven in safer towns deeper in the Kurdish-controlled areas of Northern Iraq and the big city of Erbil. Their young priests like Father Yacoub, whom you see here, shepherded and encouraged them along the road. And now those young priests, with no resources, work hard to create some sense of normalcy for these traumatized families. They have started a few kindergartens/preschools in which to nurture these tender young lives.
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