Reachout

MARY’S MAGNIFICENT MAGNIFICAT

December 18, 2024) Dr Richard Winter shares and challenges…

Why I love the Virgin Mary is a sermon I have preached before, raising some quizzical eyebrows! For example, someone asked me, ‘Is this Catholic theology.’

One time when I mentioned I loved the Virgin Mary to a friend who was training to be a Catholic priest it made him smile. But I added that I don’t pray to her, neither do I think of Mary as a co-redemptionist with Jesus. His eyes opened wide when I explained that I think of Mary as a wonderful example of a faithful servant of God.

Mary’s Magnificat
Ever heard this term?

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TRANSFORMING LIVES IN UKRAINE

(September 24, 2024) David McGuire has been called The Missionary With The Camera and often conveys reports from Romania and Ukraine to readers with his camera, not a lot of words!

Below David shares regarding yet another mercy trip to Ukraine, particularly to a danger area…

I would like to give praise and thank you to Jesus and everybody who was prayed and supported our recent trip to Kharkov, eastern Ukraine some 20 hours, 860 miles (1,380 km) — close to the Russian border.

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MANDATE MINISTRIES UPDATE

(September 06, 2024) Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, share from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, including news regarding Ross’ health…

Myanmar’s Karen People’s Smiles
We will never cease to be amazed at the tremendous resilience of the Karen people who have been forced to flee their villages and live in the dense jungle and in caves.

We are blessed to be able to provide food and supplies, and see their smiling faces in the midst of adversity in Myanmar.

Ross’ Health Update
Ross has a CT scan this week followed by discussion with his oncology doctor. The results showed the cancer in the liver has grown substantially, so she is discontinuing his treatment since it isn’t working.

However, it looks like Ross will be accepted into a clinical trial testing a new form of immunotherapy. The approval could be as soon as next week which the doctor thought was quite incredible.

So although we are thankful for this opportunity, at the end of the day our trust and hope are in the Lord, who is our Jehovah Rapha. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the miracle needed! Thanks for your prayers!

Land of Oz Ministry
Ross will continue his ministry to churches in Australia until we can get back to Thailand. We are grateful for the opportunities that God has given us to share in some amazing churches,

Motorcycle Project
Our Karen project manager, who identifies the most needy areas and arranges deliveries of provisions for the Karen people, is in desperate need of a good off-road motorcycle.

The roads are very dangerous for riding a street bike, particularly in the rainy season.

We have located a low mileage, Kawasaki KLX for $2,300 (new price $4,600). If you would like to donate towards this need, or to our Karen ministry in general, please use the link in the prayer request section below. Thank you!

Many Thanks
Thanks again for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry to Asia.      

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Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, have been missionaries to Asia for many years. Based in  Chiang Mai, they work with local pastors and church-planters, developing in-service leadership training programs that address challenges and issues unique to this area of Thailand. Link rossw@investeternal.com
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IT’S AN HONOUR TO SHARE JESUS

(July 23, 2024) David McGuire from England has been called The Missionary Builder With The Camera. He often conveys reports to readers with his camera, not a lot of words! Below he updates us…

Just a few photos this month… we’ve been busy locally in Romania — and my heart still cares for troubled Ukrainians, especially Christian brothers and sisters up there who need natural food supplies as well as spiritual.

Praise God for Romanian Christians who are still willing to assist troubled Ukrainians. We delight in honouring our Saviour’s expectations to ‘love your neighbour’ (Matthew 22:37–39) and ‘make disciples’ (Matthew 28:18-20).

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‘GET OUT OF THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR’

(June 27, 2024) Abigail Aguilar shares good news …

Kap Chatfield was selling his Give Tanks tank tops on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras when he ran across the Baptist lady who ruined his good vibes.

‘It was an avalanche of debauchery: drunk people, people doing drugs, people throwing up on the sidewalk,’ Kap says on his YouTube channel. ‘All of a sudden I see the giant wooden cross in the middle of the road. It was a glaring juxtaposition. These fire-breathing Baptists were the biggest buzzkill.’

He approached one of the Christian ladies. ‘Who do you think you are?’ he challenged her. ‘Are you saying I’m not a good person? I’m running this (T-shirt) company and we’re giving money to kids in Nicaragua.’

‘You’re not doing that for God’s glory,’ the lady responded. ‘You’re doing that for your own glory.’

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MANDATE MINISTRIES UPDATE

(March 18, 2024) Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, share from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, particularly regarding Ross’ health…

Health update
Ross was recently diagnosed as having stage 4 oesophageal cancer which has metastasised to theliver and lymph nodes in the abdominal cavity. We have temporarily relocated to Brisbane so he can receive chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment.

We are taking all that medical science can offer and are also believing for a miracle of healing. We would appreciate your prayers for the obliteration of all the cancer cells in Ross’ body and for full and total healing and restoration.

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EL SALVADOR PRESIDENT CUT MURDER RATE 50%, AFFIRMS FAITH IN JESUS

(January 23, 2024) Daniela Argueta shares …

El Salvador’s new president Nayib Bukele cut the homicide rate by 50% in his first year of tenure, and he did it by locking up all MS-13 gangbangers.

‘The best thing that happened to us as a nation was to get rid of those rapists and murderers, and let the good people thrive’ tweeted Bukele in October of 2023. His drastic and civil-liberties-suspending crackdown has won wide admiration for the Christian president.

Clean break from the deep-seated corruption
Weary of politicians who make promises only to gain power and siphon off money from the country’s coffers, people in surrounding countries also want someone like him in power. Memes originating from Guatemala offered anything in exchange for him to govern their country. Even a survey in Colombia found 55% of respondents want a Bukele-type president.

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EXTRAORDINARY FAITH ACCOMPLISHES EXTRAORDINARY DEEDS!

(October 20, 2023) Angeline Selvakumari encourages us to achieve great accomplishments for God…

Jesus knew that attaining extraordinary faith is not possible through ordinary means – that’s why He promised the Holy Spirit, who will empower us to display our strength (faith).

Acts 1:8 states, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.’ This gift of God gives you strength to be His witness, displaying your faith in every situation! On examining the lives of Jesus’ disciples, we observe a significant difference before and after they experienced the Holy Spirit. Peter, for example, had denied Jesus three times before a small number of people, but was enabled to boldly preach the good news to thousands.

Courageous faith
Where did Peter find this courage? The Holy Spirit’s enabling power as he moved in faith!

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EVANGELISTS AND OTHERS MURDERED!

(September 30, 2023) Elizabeth Kendal, RLPB, reports…

UGANDA: Another Evangelist Murdered
On Wednesday  September 6 evangelists Philip Bere and Mudenya Sirasi participated in an evangelistic event in Eastern Uganda’s Kituuti town. According to Sirasi, many people accepted Christ, including Muslim women and two young Muslim men. About 7:40pm, as the evangelists travelled home to Katiryo, they were ambushed by Muslims angry about the conversions.

Bere was struck and pulled from the bicycle as Sirasi fell but escaped into a tunnel under a bridge. Captured, Philip Bere (33) was subsequently bashed to death with a large rock. The pastor of Bere’s church told Morning Star News that police in Katiryo, Kibuku District, took statements about the killing and assured him they were searching for the killers. The pastor laments: ‘Our evangelist was killed because of his passion for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, especially to Muslims.’ Apparently Bere was well-known for his preaching among Muslims in Buseeta, Lwatama, Katiryo and other parts in eastern Uganda. Please pray.

NEPAL: Battle heating up
On September 4 Hindu nationalists attacked a church in Nawalparasi district, in Nepal’s south-western Lumbini Province. Windows were broken and property was vandalised.

It was the seventh attack on a church in two weeks. Footage emerged showing two men, identified as pastors, being violently assaulted and publicly humiliated. Endless political chaos has left many Nepalis deeply disillusioned. Exploiting this, Hindu nationalists are ramping up their calls for the restoration of the Hindu State.

Angered by the rapid growth of Christianity, they are also fuelling sectarian hatred – protesting religious conversions and beef consumption – for political gain. Today there are some 1.34 million Christians in Nepal (4.4 percent of population), mostly Protestant. It is one of the fastest growing churches in the world. The battle for Nepal is heating up! Please pray.

NIGERIA: Terror in Kaduna and Plateau
Militant Muslim Fulani herdsmen, often working in conjunction with Islamic jihadists, continue to attack predominantly Christian villages in Nigeria’s Kaduna and Plateau states. At 7am on Friday September 15 hundreds of militants surrounded Dogon Noma village in predominately Christian Southern Kaduna’s Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA) and shot anybody in sight.

At least 15 Christians were killed and 32 were abducted. Meanwhile, Christian communities in neighbouring Plateau State have been under sustained attack since mid-May from militants estimated to be around 800 in number. Mangu, Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs have been most severely affected. There is mass displacement. Most recently, at 8:40pm on Sunday September 10, militants invaded the predominantly Christian community of Kulben in Mangu LGA, killing 10 Christians, wounding others and destroying property. Please pray.

AZERBAIJAN: Imperilled Armenian Christian enclave
At 1pm on Tuesday September 19, Azerbaijan announced that it had launched an ‘anti-terror operation’ in Nagorno-Karabakh (an Armenian Christian enclave inside Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan). Troops have entered the capital, Stepanakert, backed by artillery shelling. Azerbaijan insists the operation will continue until the enclave’s government is dissolved and its armed forces are disbanded.

IRAN: Armenians free to worship, but not in Persian
Worship in Persian (language) or witness to Muslims and you’ll go to jail! Ethnic Armenian Iranian Pastor Joseph Shahbazian was arrested on 30 June 2020 when agents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps raided his house church gathering in Tehran [RLPB 557 (8 July 2020)]. He was sentenced in June 2022 to 10 years in prison to be followed by two years internal exile for ‘founding or leading an organisation that aims to disrupt national security’.

However, in February 2023 the Supreme Court granted him a retrial and in May his sentence was reduced to two years. Then, on the evening of 13 September, Pastor Shahbazian (59) was summoned to the Evin Prison office and informed that he had been pardoned and was free to leave prison and return to his family, including his first grandchild, born while he was incarcerated. Thank-you Lord!

‘The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective’ (powerful and effective) James 5:16b.
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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted church. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com. Above updates excerpted from RLPB reports.

Elizabeth, an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam, Melbourne School of Theology, has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne) which offers a biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA).
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MANDATE MINISTRIES JULY HIGHLIGHTS

(July 31, 2023) Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, share from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand…

Thank you to those who have given generously
Due to the generous giving of our friends and partner churches we have been able to arrange for three supply runs across the border over the last month.

The need is so great and we can only do what we can with funds that come in.

As well as providing much needed material needs, it was a joy to be able to pray for them and encourage them to continue to have faith and hope.

Tito the survivor
Last month while Donna and I were at a local market, we met a man named Tito shuffling along with a walking frame. He has had several operations to remove brain tumours, and it has affected his motor skills and speech.

I asked if I could pray for him and he was very eager for me to do so. We invited him to church and have taken him four times now and he absolutely loves it! He has since committed his life to Christ and I meet with him during the week.

We go out for lunch or coffee, talk about his walk with God and have lots of laughs. Although Tito struggles to communicate, he is one of the funniest and most intelligent guys I know. He also loves my dad jokes so he is officially my new best friend.

Prayer needs…
Thanks again for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry to Asia. Please pray for –

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Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, have been missionaries to Asia for many years. Based in  Chiang Mai, they work with local pastors and church-planters, developing in-service leadership training programs that address challenges and issues unique to this area of Thailand. Link via OnlinerConnect@gmail.com
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