Home of Hope - Update

Note from Outreach:
We hope you and your loved ones are well during this time of COVID-19. The Outreach staff is well, and our global mission efforts continue. We received this update from Home of Hope in late March and encourage you to pray for our dear partners in Zimbabwe.

We thank our Heavenly Father for many undeserved blessings that He has given to us all. The most precious gift He has given to us is His dear Son Jesus. It is hard to fathom that He would send His one and only Son to save us from perishing from our sins!! What kind of love is this? The amazing free gift of salvation where He gives us the power to become His children. We did not earn our salvation by good works but Jesus did the work by dying on the cross for us. Unearned mercy, love and forgiveness.

There are many trials and difficulties here... water problems, drought, a fuel crisis, high inflation, shortages of the staple diet of mealie meal (very expensive if we do get it), high schooling costs, poverty, depression, poor wages, high unemployment, high cost of medicines and hospitals, cash shortages, fear of the future ... but for us, the Good News never disappears. Jesus is alive... God is always there for us in these troubling times. The difficulties never seem to go away but God is with us to get us through each moment of each day.

Africa, Projects, Partnership, Vulnerable ChildrenThe Outreach FoundationApril 9, 2020Home of Hope, Zimbabwe

Berea Presbyterian Theological Seminary - March 2020 Update

At least 240,000 people speak the Ch'ol language in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The Outreach Foundation has had the privilege of coming alongside the work of Christian witnesses in the region by promoting the development of ministries that respectfully address the cultural features of the Ch'ol people, who are direct descendants of the Mayan civilization.

Our partner in Palenque, Chiapas, the Berea Presbyterian Theological Seminary, places a high value on the development of pastors and worship leaders who speak the Ch'ol language. Its staff and graduates have played an essential role in the editing of materials that can be used by Ch'ol speaking congregations in Chiapas and other states.

Projects, PartnershipThe Outreach FoundationMarch 25, 2020Berea Presbyterian Seminary, Mexico, Chiapas

Pakistan Bible Correspondence School - March 2020 Update

Pakistan Bible Correspondence School (PBCS) is a ministry established by a group of missionaries in Pakistan, the third-largest Muslim country in the world after Indonesia and Bangladesh. Its total population is about 180 million of whom 96% are Muslims, 2% are Christians and 2% are other minority groups. The ministry is now led by Pakistani Christ-followers.

It was started in 1957 with a vision to reach out to people all over Pakistan with the message of God’s love for mankind through Bible correspondence courses, and a variety of other holistic programs and projects.

The PBCS vision is, “To spread the Word of God and promote its study through correspondence courses and tuition so that no one should remain without knowing God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ.”

Their mission is, “To share the love and compassion of God both by launching certain holistic projects and by imparting biblical knowledge through Bible correspondence courses and other biblical literature, throughout the country so that no one should remain without knowing the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.”

We are pleased to share with you the note below that we recently received from Adeel Samuel:

Greetings from Pakistan!

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMarch 18, 2020Pakistan Bible Correspondence School, Pakistan

Iraq Appeal - March 2020 Update

Good Shepherd Schools: Spaces for Hope

A ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Baghdad, the Good Shepherd School began with a vision to create a kindergarten to serve the community and provide a place where the Good News could be shared with children and their families, especially those who are not (yet) of “the household of faith.” The Good Shepherd School (which now has 94 children in its kindergarten and another 16 in the nursery) was beloved by the families whom it served and soon, those families asked Rev. Farouk Hammo, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church under which this ministry falls, to extend the school into elementary grades. The hard work of securing government permission, building out more classrooms (with gifts from The Outreach Foundation) and hiring qualified teachers was completed several years ago. Gradually adding classes, the elementary school now goes through grade 4 and has 60 little ones! And with a vision to serve autistic children – for whom few services exist in Iraq – the Good Shepherd School has begun preparing classrooms for this purpose. They are working with another Outreach partner, the Blessed School in Beirut, to train teachers for these special needs children. Outreach is honored to be undergirding this new endeavor, as well.

Iraq, over the past few months, has experienced a lot of protests, political upheaval, and even military action, as we all know from our news. The schools have continued on, despite it all, as Rev. Farouk reports that:

…during the last five months, even when most of the Baghdad schools stopped and closed their doors, we did not. The Ministry of Education, which supervises our schools, was happy for our action

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMarch 3, 2020Iraq Appeal, Iraq

Refugee Appeal - February 2020 Update

Our Lady Dispensary (OLD) is located in a densely packed, lower-middle-class Christian area of Beirut. A ministry of the Middle East Council of Churches, OLD serves over 1,000 families – Iraqi Christians and Syrian Muslims – who need food, medicines, help to pay rent, and trauma healing for their children. They fled their countries during war and upheaval. Some want to go back but their homes or livelihoods were destroyed. Most of them hope to be resettled in Europe, Canada or Australia but those U.N. initiatives have slowed down.

As Christmas approached, your generous gifts once again allowed OLD to provide a glimmer of joy to families who had lost much. Rather than “just hand out” much-needed clothing and warm winter outerwear, OLD arranged with a local department store to allow their clients to shop with vouchers, so THEY could pick out what they needed, affording a bit of choice and dignity. Let me introduce you to a few of those whom you helped…

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationFebruary 27, 2020Refugee IDP Appeal, Refugee Appeal, Middle East

Philemon Project Preschool - February 2020 Update

She is desperate, alone, and vulnerable. A single mother, a refugee, a migrant domestic worker – far away from her home and family, searching for a safe place to leave her child while she looks for work. She has fled her homeland, from the brutality of war, economic uncertainty, ecological disaster. Now, struggling to live in Lebanon as a refugee, she faces limited options. The GROW Center seeks to meet the needs of Syrian refugee migrant workers, and underserved Lebanese communities. We serve 75-80 children, providing early childhood development and adult mentoring for over 150 parents a month. While the present GROW Center is thriving, sadly, there are months we reach capacity and cannot accept new children. Recently when a single mother from Syria learned that we couldn’t receive her child, she burst into tears, falling to her knees, pleading, “please help me...I have no place to put her...”

Some weeks later, we were able to make room for her child, but they both suffered while waiting for a space at the Center. Our work is making a gospel missional impact on families. Many come from Muslim backgrounds, and many hear the gospel through our work. Because of this mother and her daughter, and many others like them, we are firmly committed to replicating our work to reach more families with the love of Christ.

Presbytery of Zimbabwe Ministry for Children at Risk - February 2020 Update

Formerly known as Lovemore Home, the Ministry for Children at Risk in Harare rescued many boys from the streets of Zimbabwe. When Lovemore Home closed as a residential home for boys at the end of 2014, The Outreach Foundation and several of its donors made a commitment to helping the boys who lived in the orphanage complete their education.

We have some exciting updates on these boys! Tichaona Baradzi is excelling in Veterinary Sciences at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. He is completing an attachment (like our internships) learning to inspect and grade meats and poultry. Munashe Kamangira is a student at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He will complete an attachment in Information Technology and Accounting this August.

Northern Outreach and New Church Development in Ghana - February 2020 Update

Celebrating a Decade of Growth in Ghana

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana had its origins 191 years ago when Swiss Reformed missionaries started working in what used to be called the Gold Coast. With close to one million members, it continues to live out its missionary vocation through the establishment of Presbyteries to serve Ghanaian communities in many different locations.

The Outreach Foundation has had the privilege of walking alongside the Upper Presbytery since it was first established by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in November 2010. We rejoice over their ongoing faithfulness to Christ and Christ's work as they prepare to celebrate their tenth anniversary. During this time, they have added more than ten thousand new members to their rolls, which represents approximately one thousand new members a year!

New Church Development in Brazil - January 2020 Update

The General Assembly of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB by its initials in Portuguese) installed its new executive leadership board on July 31, 2019. After seven months of elections and another seven months of transition, the new board headed by its new president, the Rev. João Luiz Furtado, took responsibility for guiding the denomination until 2023. The 116-year-old denomination has 63 Presbyteries, 547 churches, and 685 active pastors. Among the proposals that the newly installed group presented was to “analyze and diagnose missionary field possibilities for church planting” and “incentivize particular churches for the planting of new congregations and future churches.”

Over the last three decades, Presbyterians in the U.S. have contributed to the IPIB in the development of at least 26 congregations. Rev. Dr. José Pezini, The Outreach Foundation’s Portuguese-language Ministries Coordinator, and John Terech, Director of Operations for the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, will attend the formal service to organize another church planting in March.

Partnership, Projects, South AmericaThe Outreach FoundationJanuary 30, 2020New Church Development in Brazil, Brazil

Haiti Outreach Ministries - January 2020 Update

The humanitarian crisis persists in Haiti which has been without a stable government since March 2019. In response to its longest wave of demonstrations, presidential elections were called off in October. These anti-government protests have exacerbated food insecurity in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest county, our neighbor, Haiti.

The lack of a working government in Haiti is preventing wide swatches of Haitians from accessing international aid funds or loans from the World Bank. Aid organizations are struggling to provide relief due to protester barricades blocking roads, fuel shortages, 20% inflation, and gang violence.

Immediate and Ongoing Needs
Most people in Haiti live on just one meal per day. The Outreach Foundation’s ministry partner, Haiti Outreach Ministries (HOM), provides year-round food assistance to more than 1,400 students with nutritious, hot meals daily. Essentials like clean water, rice and cooking oil, and medical procedures are provided to community members in the poorest section of Port-au-Prince through the church on the Cite’ Soleil campus. Food shortages and poor access to health care are an everyday reality, not simply a short-term crisis. Working together we can support HOM’s efforts to build self-sustaining Christian communities.

Syria Appeal - January 2020 Update

A Renewable Resource

…is a phrase often used to describe energy sources that are replenishable, abundant and in endless supply, like wind and sun. But over the past few weeks, pictures posted by Presbyterian congregations in Syria, celebrating events and gatherings, have come to inspire me with the thought that the Church, even in such a seemingly unlikely place, is a “renewable resource!”

This past fall, when Turkish troops flooded northeastern Syria to confront what they saw as a Kurdish threat to their security and sovereignty in the region, the instability rocked the area and exacted a heavy toll on an economy already collapsed after 7 years of war. Because of your generous gifts, Outreach was able to quickly wire funds to the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) so that families of their three congregations in the Northeast (Hasakeh, Malkieh, and Qamishli) could purchase water (after the bombing of a local spring, bottled water had to be purchased in Hasakeh), food (the price of meat rose to $10/kilo in Malkieh – $80 is a typical monthly salary), and heating fuel (as I write, temperatures will drop below freezing tonight in Qamishli).

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJanuary 22, 2020Syria Appeal, Syria

Near East School of Theology - January 2020 Update

Dear friends,

It has been a difficult time for our partners in Lebanon. We have been praying and reaching out to them and you have been standing in the gap with them. God continues to work and walk with them. We would like to share this update from our partners at the Near East School of Theology (N.E.S.T.) to provide you with a closer look from our partners on the ground.

A Word from the President Dr. George Sabra

An uprising has been spreading in Lebanon’s cities and towns. Since October 2019, thousands of people have gathered in public squares and on streets and roads to vent their anger against the corruption of the ruling political class that has led the country not just to the brink of, but to actual economic and financial collapse. Decades of corruption, mismanagement of the country’s economic problems, and sectarian power struggles have led to this situation, and the people are fed up.

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJanuary 16, 2020Near East School of Theology, Lebanon

Shalom Teaching Ministry - January 2020 Update

His name is Andrés. He is a very spiritual pastor with a powerful gift to preach and a very compassionate heart. He has not had the means to go to seminary or to study theology in any formal way. Still, he is eager to find resources to help his neighbors become more committed disciples of Christ in ways that will build relationships that are helping his neighborhood become a better place.

Providing teaching and materials to pastors like Andrés is one of the most urgent and strategic priorities in Latin America. The Outreach Foundation is working with its partner Shalom Teaching Ministry to place quality Bible commentaries in the hand of pastors like Andrés in 2020. Your gift can help make that a reality. The commentaries will not only enhance the ministry of pastors but also inspire and strengthen thousands of Christians to serve their needy communities. Thanks to a generous donor, every contribution will be matched up to $4,000.00. The resulting $ 8,000.00 will help support the ministry of 100 congregations in Venezuela, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Namumu Orphanage Center - December 2019 Update

My Life Matters
The Story of a Namumu Girl Named Racheal Bbautu

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want… Psalm 23

Racheal believes in Psalm 23. As you read through her story below, please consider what can happen when we obey the Lord and extend the hand of generosity to rescue a child. The sky is the limit for Racheal!

My name is Racheal Bbautu. I was born in 2004 in the Mundulundulu village of Siavonga, Zambia. I was very fortunate to come to Namumu Orphanage Center in 2013.

In June 2008, when I was four years old, I lost my mother and my younger sister on the same day within two hours of each other. In 2011, my father was jailed for five years which left me alone and totally helpless. I moved in with my grandparents, but life was difficult. When I was eight, my grandmother could not care for me anymore, so she took me to Namumu Orphanage Center for assistance. I was lucky they accepted me.

Africa, Partnership, Projects, Vulnerable ChildrenThe Outreach FoundationDecember 19, 2019Namumu Orphanage Center, Zambia

Rwanda Church Construction - December 2019 Update

The day the Mutuntu sanctuary was dedicated, my devotional reading was from the prophet Ezekiel. It is a vibrant image of the Temple in Jerusalem as the fount of water that renews the face of the earth. Visions are complicated things to understand. However, when you know the parish of Mutuntu, which happens to be my home parish, this scripture and the vision about a glorious Temple make so much sense. It is true that this Temple is not so much a building but a representation of the body of Christ; both the physical body of the Church sanctuary and the “spiritual” body of Christ through the saints in worship.

When we arrived for the dedication, the church building was already packed and the church grounds full. We were told that this sanctuary had been under construction for more than ten years. Ezekiel makes a great deal of the cleansing and purifying properties of the water which flows from the Temple. Imagine yourself in the place of Ezekiel in the vision, just watching this water flowing on the hills of Mutuntu and the surrounding villages. Think about it for a minute – that in the present day, there is an opportunity like this to build and to equip the church with the capacity to proclaim healing in places like Mutuntu.

Africa, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 19, 2019Rwanda Church Construction, rwanda

Tumaini Children's Ministry - December 2019 Update

Five Loaves of Bread and Two Fish

Sunday, November 17, 2019, was a historic day in the life of Riamukurwe Parish and Tumaini Children’s Ministry. Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, and her family visited the home! She was accompanied by the Governor of Nyeri County and many other dignitaries. The Outreach team of 12 people visiting from five U.S. churches (Laguna PC, Canyon Hills PC, La Verne Heights PC, Malibu PC, and Pacific Palisades PC) was honored to share the day with such dignitaries.

The day began in front of the church as Ebralie Mwizerwa (team leader), Frank Dimmock, Parish Minister Rev. Nicholas Miriti, Eunice Muindi, Anne Muindi-Shemenski (good friend of Dr. Banda), Catherine Mukami and other parish leaders welcomed the guests. We then enjoyed a great worship service during which the Outreach team gave greetings, Tumaini children presented a song, and words of encouragement were spoken both by Dr. Banda and the Nyeri County Governor.

Africa, Projects, Vulnerable ChildrenThe Outreach FoundationDecember 19, 2019Tumaini Children's Ministries, Kenya

Home of Hope - December 2019 Update

A Wonderful and Amazing God

When we go outside at night and look at the stars and moon and how peaceful it is up there, we are reminded that God still exists as we see his beautiful creation. Psalm 147:4 says, “He counts the number of the stars; he calls them all by name.” We are certainly not alone. God who created everything is still with us. He is our greatest hope through his most precious gift to us, his son Jesus!

We would like to share an update on the Home of Hope ministries:

Education
School fees are very hard for most people to pay. Lack of food is also a problem for some school children because their parents or relatives can't afford it. How sad it is!!

We are thankful that with your provision, we can pay school fees for children in need so that they may continue their education. Some of the children are being cared for by their grandmothers, some are in a children’s home, some are homeless, and others are in families that can’t afford education. We thank God and all of you who help us so that we can help these precious ones.

Africa, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 18, 2019Home of Hope, Zimbabwe

Resources for Lay Leaders in China - December 2019 Update

He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2

“The biggest problem that we have is too many people and not enough leaders.” During a recent group visit to China coordinated by The Outreach Foundation, we had the privilege of meeting with leaders of the official Protestant Church in two of the provinces with the largest populations of Christians. In both meetings, the leaders shared how churches continue to grow in spite of the recent tightening of restrictions that religious groups in the country face. What concerned these influential leaders the most was not whether the church will survive but how to best provide sound guidance to the more than 600,000 new believers that are added to their congregations annually.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 11, 2019Resources for Lay Leaders in China, China

Partner Updates

Note from Outreach:We hope you and your loved ones are well during this time of COVID-19. The Outreach staff is well, and our global mission efforts continue. We received this update from Home of Hope in late March and encourage you to pray for our dear partners in Zimbabwe.

Note from Outreach:
We hope you and your loved ones are well during this time of COVID-19. The Outreach staff is well, and our global mission efforts continue. We received this update from Home of Hope in late March and encourage you to pray for our dear partners in Zimbabwe.