Reachout

FINALLY PRESSING THE RIGHT BUTTON

(December 16, 2021) Michael Ashcraft shares a good news story...

Justin Berry, 20, grew up in Ladera Heights (in LA) going to church with his mom and brother.

Going to Lighthouse Christian Academy cemented his childhood faith and it’s also where he met a certain girl named Trina.

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A rough year
He excelled in academics and sports during high school and was elated when he got accepted to his dream college: UCLA. He felt a euphoria unlike any other, but as he tried to push the ‘Accept’ button on the electronic offer letter, Justin (at right, in front of UCLA’s mascot) was held back. God had told him to attend college elsewhere.

‘Something was holding my hand back from pressing that button,’ he remembers. ‘I started crying and bawling my eyes out. I wanted to go there. This was my ticket to my career. I was trying to press this button and God wouldn’t let me do it.’

He finally pushed the button. What could go wrong? He had a beautiful girlfriend and an ideal institution of higher learning. God’s blessing was evident. Only not everything was as it seemed. Secretly, he and Trina had fallen into temptation together, and both were feeling intense conviction.

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DARING FAITH IN DARK TIMES

Editorial note: We always like to honour the late missionary statesman Dr George Forbes with one of his Christmas articles. This one is as meaningful as when first published six years ago!

(December 13, 2021) George Forbes reminds us that wherever we live, we must be active Christians…

‘Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see!’

I came across this powerful saying in a great little booklet titled, God’s Little Instruction Book. It tends to stick in one’s mind as it encapsulates a fundamental truth.

A faith that dares
We know that God’s word declares that –  

  • ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God!’
  • It is not possible to be a Christian without faith.
  • It is equally impossible to live the life of a believer without believing.
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WHEN GOD WAKES UP A NATION!

(November 12, 2021) Erica Grace, ex-missionary to South America, challenges us to pray for our nation…

Have you been praying for revival in our nation? It looks like the Lord is answering our prayers. Sometimes it is necessary to define words that we commonly use and presume we all know what it means. By definition ‘to revive’ means to make someone strong, healthy, or active again. To restore from inactive to active, from unconscious to conscious. In other words, to wake up!

The worldwide ‘pandemic’ has shaken us from our complacent sleep and revived many across the world. This unbelievable event has disrupted our homes, our jobs, our travel, our education, every aspect of our lives. What made it even more surreal is that it took place all over the world at the same time, spreading fear and panic.

Why did we need a wake-up call?
It is very easy to become complacent in a nation like Australia. Life here is easy in comparison to other places. The lackadaisical Aussie lifestyle places few demands on its citizens. But what does it mean to become complacent? It is defined as ‘self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.’  

It reminds me of the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, ‘When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep (Matthew 25:5).

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CHURCH MINISTRY TO DISABLED SURGES IN GROWTH

(November 11, 2021) Michael Ashcraft shares good news and a challenge about reaching the disabled in churches large or small…

Gina Spivey’s church is reaching the biggest unreached people group in America, and you may not know they’re an unreached group.

They are people with disabilities, and tragically many churches don’t want to focus ministry attention on this group – which constitutes about one-fourth of America – because they require extra facilities, special attention and sometimes disrupt the service, says Ryan Faulk of Joni & Friends.

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Gina Spivey

‘Of the 61 million American adults living with some sort of disability, there are about 2.25 million who –statistically speaking – should be attending church, but don’t,’ writes Ryan on the Joni & Friends website. ‘A 2018 study from Clemson University shows that children with any kind of disability are less likely than their peers to attend church, and children with autism are nearly twice as likely to never attend a religious service.’

Concerted effort to invaluable people
For the last decade, Gina’s church, Calvary Community of Westlake Village just outside Los Angeles County, has made a concerted effort to accommodate people with ‘special abilities.’

‘They’re invaluable. People with special abilities have such a simple clear understanding of the love of God,’ says Gina, pastor of special abilities at Calvary. ‘They’re not as bogged down by noise and politics and the world and all of the things that can confuse who God is. They have a childlike faith that we can be reminded how simple the love of God can be.’

She added, ‘Beyond that, they help us to understand what it means to serve someone who can’t serve us back quid pro quo. It shows us how it is to love someone and lay down our lives for them.’

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JOURNEY TO HOPE AND HEALING

(October 24, 2021) Caloundra, Qld, Mercy Ships shares more good news…

Operating a fleet of floating hospitals means managing a host of moving parts. From building relationships with other nations to staffing a crew of volunteer professionals – and, of course, serving our patients.

You might say the work on board a Mercy Ship requires a journey. Vessels moving from port to port. Volunteers travelling from their homes to our ships. And, of course, patients and caregivers finding their way on board from all corners of their country.

What does travel mean to Mercy Ships? Let’s explore.

Travelling Far and Wide for Surgical Treatment
How far can you imagine travelling to receive healthcare?

For many of the patients we serve, access to care isn’t only limited financially – it’s also physically out of reach. Without trained medical specialists in the region, small issues can quickly grow into life-threatening conditions with no hope in sight.

When our ships sail into port for a 10-month field service, healing is finally within reach – but the journey often isn’t over there. First, Mercy Ships patient screening teams typically travel extensively across each nation in order to screen and select which patients can receive surgery on board. These upcountry screening trips often involve days or weeks on the road to reach patients in remote regions.

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DO YOU HEAR THE CHILDREN CRY?

(October 24, 2021) Erica Grace, ex-missionary to South America, challenges us from her weeping heart…

It was Vladimir Lenin who once wrote: ‘Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.’

Without the need for a bloody revolution or a violent take-over he did just that! This bloodless coup took place right under our noses in countries we think are free, rational, and rich.

Let us take a brief closer look…

The aborted western society
The first strategic move was to remove God from public schools. That took some time, but with the proliferation of the theory of evolution, God was discarded, and ‘pseudo-science’ took his place. One end-result of evolution is that human life is not worth more than animal life or even the environment, we all are of equal value.

It follows then that an unwanted foetus can now be ripped out of the mother’s womb and discarded simply because they are inconvenient, though if you were to destroy animal eggs in a zoo you would be criminally charged.

In today’s world more babies are killed inside their mother’s womb than outside it, all with the sanction of the government and taxpayers funding. Sixty-two million babies have been slaughtered in the womb since abortion was made legal by the United States Supreme Court, the gold standard for the rest of the world.

Broken family structures
Removing God from the school curriculum also involved removing the Bible and its teaching. The first domino to fall has been the family, God’s masterpiece. There has been an unrelenting attack on the family nucleus beginning by removing those nasty ‘patriarchal’ fathers and making sure all male generations are coerced into docility and passivity.

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SPIRITUAL DIAGNOSIS

(October 16, 2021) the late Georgia Cohen RN was famous for her book, Nurse Georgee (see link below). The following is an excerpt, which shares her caring heart …

In my profession as a nurse I’ve had the privilege of assisting many great doctors help patients recovery from illnesses. It’s good to know that many medical professionals believe in God’s healing power or at least are open to the benefits of faith and what is often regarded as ‘spiritual healing.’

In every conversation we engage in to help troubled sick people, our mind should always be focused on looking for a spiritual diagnosis. When an individual does not know Jesus as Saviour, they are spiritually sick. They need the right medicine to treat their illness.

Jesus – the best diagnostician
Jesus is the great physician and has the cure for every spiritual disease and the medicine to cure spiritual sickness is the Bible. Sick people need to meet the great physician, the best diagnostician in the world.

Before I surrendered my life to Christ, my spiritual disease was hopelessness. My sister, Barbara, encouraged me, daily saying, ‘There’s a better way, Georgia, and his name is Jesus.’ I knew the way I was going was disastrous.

Barbara treated my hopeless spiritual disease with the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

We are all doctors for Jesus!
Good doctors always do a complete history and physical on their patients, leaving no stone unturned. In daily encounters, we also need to do complete assessments when talking with others.

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THE WORLD MAY BE IN A MESS BUT JESUS OFFERS ABUNDANT LIFE!

(September 18, 2021) David McGuire missionary to Romania, shares…

The world is in a mess but with Jesus there is life and life in abundance!

He makes a way where the world says stop!

Our thanks to who have praying for us… your continued care and support has made so much come to pass.

A very busy summer indeed with no stopping!
I have so many pictures from this summer! Such the one below showing one of two houses that were built in Tigmandru, one for a family of six and the other for a single elderly lady.

Both situations were cases of homelessness and completed with provision coming from American Christian friends and a northern Irish charity (Project Romania), praise the Lord.

And here’s a photo showing Tigmandru church trip out to the zoo for the kids who come to the weekly Bible group we do. Provision also came in to bless the teenagers who attend the same church go to a three-day Christian camp.

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FULL STEAM AHEAD!

(September 9, 2021) Caloundra, Qld, Mercy Ships shares more good news…

Firstly, it’s full steam ahead for the new Global Mercy!

As we speak, a small crew on board is sailing to Belgium for the ship’s final equipping. Soon, the decks of our new ship will be filled with volunteers from all corners of the globe, ready for the journey of a lifetime.

Could you assist them in some way? Find your purpose at mercyships.org/makeyourmark.

Liberian reasons to celebrate
We’ve got big reasons to celebrate in Liberia, where our latest class of Biomedical Technician students just wrapped up their course!

Over the span of eight weeks, this group has learned how to use and repair biomedical equipment to strengthen the quality of care in their hospitals.

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WORDS OR ACTIONS?

(September 5, 2021) Mama Lava shares this challenge…

Are you a word wrangler?

I am. Words intrigue me! In fact, a compliment like ‘Well said!’ is high praise which can make my whole day. That is why, when I recently read somewhere that ‘Well done’ is better than ‘Well said’, it really started me thinking.

Words or actions?
Both are critical for communication. Consider the artful quote by Samuel Beckett that says: ‘Words are the clothes thoughts wear.’

Words get our thoughts out of our heads and into an arena where they can be tangible to others. Words have the power to affect the world with ideas, sentiments, and information.

Actions accomplish what words can only suggest. They reveal true motives. ‘Actions prove who someone is, words just prove who they want to be.’ (Author unknown)

As much as I adore words, I can think of at least three reasons why ‘Well done’ is better than ‘Well said.’

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