A team from The Outreach Foundation just returned from a visit to Kyiv (March 19-26). Tom Boone, Mark Mueller, and Victor Petrenko joined Piotr Nowak from Warsaw on this significant visit that we were unable to advertise for security reasons. We saw and heard the testimony of what the church is doing with the help of many donors and congregations through The Outreach Foundation.
Read MoreIn January and February, our little partnership built seven cisterns for seven young families in the village of Castilla Brito. That’s where our cistern ministry began back in 2002. Not surprisingly, we share a bit of history with our newest cistern owners. Most of them grew up drinking rainwater from cisterns we built with their parents a long time ago. Those kids grew up, got married, had kids, and built their own homes. Like their parents before them, they need a year-round water source to keep their families healthy.
Read MoreEdna Sikavumbu, Samaria Hamunyongo, and Anthia Samende came from vulnerable households in Siavonga and were enrolled at Namumu at a young age. They received their primary education at Namumu primary school and proceeded to Mubuyu Christian Academy for high school, earning good scores for both grade seven and nine exams. Mubuyu Christian Academy is a private girls’ boarding school in Siavonga and one of the district's best schools. The Outreach Foundation is helping to support 16 children there by assisting with boarding fees, food, clothes, groceries, and more.
Read MoreOur deepest sympathy and prayers are with those affected by the tragedy in The Covenant School, Nashville today.
Read MoreAs this year began for SET, one of our partners in Cuba, there were many challenges presented by the severe economic crisis on the island: shortages of food, unavailability of even basic educational supplies like paper and thumb drives, fuel shortages, and power cuts. Yet despite those hardships, the seminary began the new year with energy, vision, and a renewed commitment to providing ecumenical theological and pastoral training across the island, with comprehensive remote learning opportunities as well as classes on campus in Matanzas.
Read MoreAlang, of the Bunun tribe of Taiwan’s indigenous people, grew up in a village in the shadow of Mount Jade, the tallest mountain in Northeast Asia. He was the youngest in a large family and when he was in elementary school, his parents drank a lot. He often relied on older siblings for care. Then there was a spiritual revival in their village Presbyterian church, and his parents stopped drinking cold turkey. His father became an elder in that church, and Alang saw a dramatic change in his family.
Read MoreOn February 6, an earthquake in Turkey and Syria measuring 7.8 magnitude was followed later that same day by an aftershock of 7.5.
The numbers are staggering:
the area of destruction is equal to the size of the state of Texas
the death toll in Turkey and Syria has reached 46,000
5.3 million have lost their homes
12.4 million people in Syria are now food insecure
The mobilization of the Church in Syria was swift.
Read MoreBaby Prosper, one and a half-year-old years old, was brought to Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) by the Child Protection Unit (CPU) in Lusaka, Zambia. The baby was living on the streets with his twenty-one year-old mother. The CPU, in collaboration with several other stakeholders, removed Prosper and his mother and many other babies from the streets during one of their outreaches.
Read More“When this war started all we had was ourselves, our bodies, our hands. But we had nothing to give. Because of you, we have been able to give food, warmth, shelter, God’s Word, and be the face of Jesus when everyone wondered ‘Where is God?’ Thank you.” Dr. Ivan Rusyn, president of Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) in Kyiv
Read MoreThe Outreach Foundation has noted the courage of several Christian servants over the course of the war in Ukraine. Today we share the story of Lludmyla (Luda) Rusyn. Luda joined her husband, Ivan, president of the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UTES) in Kyiv, on their recent visit to the U.S. She comes from the eastern part of Ukraine, and her family has been refugees twice. The first time was when they fled Donetsk in 2014 and the second time occurred when they fled Bucha, north of Kyiv, in 2022.
Read MoreWhen the Rev. Sally Azar was ordained on January 22, 2023, by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, the Church of the Holy Redeemer, in the Old City of Jerusalem, was packed. Rev. Azar becomes the first Palestinian woman to receive that honor. She joins a small cadre of Protestant women in the Middle East ordained to Word and sacrament which was “founded” in 2017 with the ordination of Rev. Rola Sleiman of Tripoli, Lebanon. This small, but visionary group of women have an important thing in common: they are all graduates of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut, which on November 11, 2022, marked its 90th anniversary.
Read MoreFounded by British missionaries in 1868 as the first school for the blind in the MENA (Middle East/North Africa) region, the Lebanese Evangelical Society decided to expand Blessed School’s mission to receive students with special needs including autism and Down syndrome. Blessed School spreads the Word of God not only to the Lebanese but also to people of many other nationalities who study there and learn and explore the God of Love during daily chapel services.
Read MoreFrom 1975 to 1990, civil war raged in Lebanon, causing enormous destruction. As a result, countless families were torn apart, and many children were forced to search the streets for food and usable materials. Increasing social conflicts and rising criminality among unprotected children eventually led to the establishment of Home of Hope (HOH) in 1999 as the first Lebanese institution to care for street children. HOH is part of the Lebanese Evangelical Society, which runs several schools including one for children with special needs.
Read MoreIn November, The Outreach Foundation paid a visit to our partners in Ukraine who are living and serving so many people on the front lines of this war. The video captures key moments from that visit and we want to share this with you as a thank you. You made this visit possible and the gifts we brought to them were truly appreciated.
Read MoreSince February 2022, The Outreach Foundation has disbursed over 1.4 million dollars to partners providing integrated ministry to war-affected families in Ukraine and to many who have fled. This incredible show of support was made possible through the generous donations of congregations and donors across the U.S. The Outreach Foundation has fielded three teams to the region since war broke out in Ukraine. Our latest visit was in November, and we were able to reach the border between Poland and Ukraine.
Read MorePlease join us in praying for Tumaini Children’s Home in Nyeri, Kenya. The leadership team has recently changed, and they have a challenging path ahead. There is a new law in Kenya, the Children’s Act, which may greatly impact how the home is structured. Leaders are working closely with government officials, and we are encouraged by the partnership of the local parish and presbytery to implement these changes. Please also pray for a successful new term for the students. All 84 report to school on Tuesday!
Read MoreAfter an absence of several years, it was a blessing to return to Cuba in December with several of our trustees (Doug Nielson and Deena Candler) and Executive Director (Mark Mueller) to reunite with a key partner (the Presbyterian Reformed Church) and be inspired by their faithfulness during the difficult times through which they are passing. We visited eight congregations, here is a glimpse into a few of them….
Read MoreIn November 2022, The Outreach Foundation fielded a team of six to meet Dr. Ivan Rusyn, President of the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (Kyiv), and Father Oleh Kindii, a priest with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Lviv). The team brought a few hundred pounds of relief supplies and shuttled them from Warsaw, Poland to the Medyka border with Ukraine.
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