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The Partners International Women website is undergoing major construction. Be sure to check back at the beginning of May to see the new and improved site that will be filled with interactive tools and relevant information! The Gospel is bearing fruit and changing lives everywhere! Colossians says it like this: “This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it has changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners.” Col. 1:6 Media
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Cahaya Suku Counselor Brings Light to Hurting Teen August 30, 2006—Following the 2004 Tsunami, church planters from our partner Cahaya Suku became involved in counseling traumatized victims in Indonesia. The following is the story of one counselor who has been a light to a hurting girl. Jahara grew up in a foster family in a small city in Aceh province. Just after junior high school, Jahara found out that she was not the daughter of the people who brought her up. She was very hurt over this. Jahara is one of my clients who came for counseling after the Tsunami. I found that she was not only emotionally disturbed by the Tsunami, but even more by her feelings of disappointment related to her family life. In the beginning, Jahara was excited to learn that her parents were still alive, and she wanted to meet them. At that time she decided to leave her foster family and live with her "real" family. Unfortunately, that happiness did not last long. As the days went by, she felt that there was a difference between the way her mother treated her and her other biological siblings. She felt she was second best in her mother's eyes, after her brother and two sisters. Finding that she had no place with her "true" family, she returned to her foster one, where she feels welcomed and loved. During our counseling times I told her, "You have to forgive your own mother! The problem is, how can you forgive your mother if you yourself do not have forgiveness?" She realized that she had no forgiveness in her life so when I asked her to pray to the Lord for forgiveness, she let me pray for her. After praying, she asked me my religion, and I told her I was a Christian. Even though she now knows that I am a Christian, she still wants to be close to me and continue our relationship. Jahara considers me as her own sister, and for me this closeness is very valuable. One day, Jahara became very sick. She was away at college and lonely because she was far from her foster family. She sent us news that she was sick, and without wasting time, my friends and I brought her to the hospital and took care of her. On the way to the hospital I asked her to pray together with me to the Lord Jesus. After a few days in the hospital, she recovered from her illness. One reason I rejoice is that she never refuses to pray together in the name of the Lord, or read the Christian books I suggest to her. Whether she does these things seriously or just because she respects me, I do not know. But to know Him, we first need to have knowledge about Him and then faith comes by His grace. "Soon and Very Soon" in Sudan Their voices pealed out through the evening air in Juba, South Sudan as the Women of the Good News exuberantly sang, "Soon and Very Soon!" We joined with them becoming a mighty chorus of African and American women rejoicing in the heart connection our God has provided through our partnership. As they sang the second stanza of this ol' spiritual, I had to catch my breath as tears began to roll down my cheeks. Listen to the words they sang with their heads held high, "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King . . . No more suffering there, we are going to see the King, no more suffering there, we are going to see the King, no more suffering there, we are going to see the King, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we are going to see the King!" I've sung this song on many occasions, but somehow I have never really heard this stanza before. The words gripped my soul and tore at my heartstrings. The stories we had just heard from these women depicted a level of suffering and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ that I knew nothing about. I was humbled to be in their presence. The Christians of Sudan have endured many long hard years of suffering. These women in Juba have each experienced the loss of at least one family member to the war. Some have personally experienced captivity, imprisonment, and hunger. Most have not seen family members living in other parts of Sudan for over a decade. South Sudan has been a battlefield that has destroyed schools, churches, and roads. Now that the government has signed a peace agreement known as the CPA (Comprehensive Peace Agreement), there is a measure of peace, but there is an underlying concern among the people that the peace will not effect lasting change in Sudan. The Sudanese say, "We have smelled the peace; we have tasted the peace; but, we have not eaten the peace yet." What will it take for these precious brothers and sisters to 'taste the peace' in Sudan? What role can we play as God's instruments of peace in their lives and in the nation of Sudan as a whole? How can God use the gifts and experience of women to build the Kingdom of God in and through the Sudanese? 'Cindy' serves as the leader of our partner AIC-Sudan's Women of the Good News here in Juba. She hasn't always served her Lord as a spiritual leader. Once she was even arrested and imprisoned for 'brewing' beer. (This practice is common to African women who are committed to care for the needs of their families, including the food and education their own children so desperately need). Now she leads the women in spiritual training with monthly meetings focused on prayer, worship, and witnessing. In addition, they gather for workshops teaching income-generating skills such as tie-dye, knitting, and tailoring. They formerly operated a restaurant which was destroyed by fire during the war. They dream of rebuilding the restaurant as a means of support for their families and their ministry to the community. The Bible has many examples and definitions of partnership, especially in the New Testament. Paul defined it this way in Romans 15:6 "Join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." We have done so, and this is just the beginning. May we truly taste of His peace together in the years ahead! Following Him There . . . to West Africa! The sun peeks through the clouds as morning dawns over the bay in Dakar, Senegal. Along the coast, fishermen prepare for the day as nets and poles are assembled, and boats are launched in hopeful expectation of a good catch to sell at the roadside stand. A team and I had come to Senegal, West Africa, for Partners International’s first West Africa Women’s Ministry Consultation. Each day brought new opportunities to experience Christ at work in the lives of the African women leaders. We had many chances to connect with them and hear stories of these valiant women. I wish you could hear each woman’s story, but for now, we have time for just one: Her face is African, and so is her name. But we’ll call her Daba. She grew up in an African home and like many families has converted to Islam from their traditional tribal religion in recent years. This fact impacted her place in the family as the cultural norms were adjusted to suit their Islamic beliefs, and her future marriage. You see when marrying time came; her father and eldest brother chose an Islamic husband for Daba. This meant that she would not be her husband’s only wife. She would, in fact, share his attention and affection with three other wives and sixteen children. All of this seemed ‘normal’ until one day when Daba encountered the one true God, at sewing classes held at the women’s training centre in her village and she changed almost instantly, and most dramatically. Her husband was mortified by her newfound faith. She tried to be discreet, but the news spread through this strict Muslim family. He forced her to renounce her faith. But, she could not, and would not. No matter what people said, she responded, I will not renounce the Lord God. Now that I have tasted His goodness, I can serve no other. Her husband forced her from the home, not even allowing her to say goodbye to her own children. She welled up with tears as she recounted this horror! After months of separation, she begins to bloom as a godly Christian woman. One day in the marketplace, her husband approached and expressed interest in her returning to the family. The only condition—renounce the Lord Jesus Christ. Daba refused, answering, “I have no other life. Jesus is my life!” Today she works among other women in her West African community teaching life skills, providing prayer, and comfort from the comfort she has received from Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Why did Christ call us as Western women to learn and grow) with our sisters in West Africa? I’m not sure all the reasons, but one thing I am sure of—Daba and women like her need our support and we in turn need to learn from their courage and the quality of their faith walk. God is a very present help in time of need, and we all need Him presently Fourteen-year-old Jin Yong sat in the 6th grade classroom with the other students. The room was blistery cold, with the only one wood-burning stove for the entire building, located in the teacher’s lounge. Winters are brutal in this part of the world. Jobs are scarce, too. Jin Yong’s mother deserted her father and her when she was very young. Her eyes told the story of intense sadness. I asked myself, how can we make a difference in this young girl’s life? Families in this region of northeastern China are so poor, even the children often must work to help support their family. Until recently this was Jin Yong’s lot. First her grandmother, and now her father and Jin Yong attend the local church and are an integral part of a community that is being transformed by Christ’s love. Jin Yong is learning to find hope in Jesus Christ. Jin Yong’s grandmother didn’t have an opportunity for education. Maybe this is why she encourages her granddaughter to study hard and do well in school. Through Partners International’s Sponsor A Child (SAC) ministry, this family has received one of life’s greatest gifts, the gift of hope. Each month a member from the local church visits in the home to check on the needs and progress of the family. Recently their home collapsed from disrepair. As the church members came together to help Jin Yong’s family, the entire community was transformed. Many others joined in to help build a new home that sits on a piece of property that includes a side yard for their one cow and a small patch of ground out back for a garden. As I stood with Jin Yong in their back yard, her neighbor peered over the fence at us. Her eyes told a story of sadness all their own. How grateful I was that we are helping to make a difference, one life at a time. The result will most certainly be lives, leaders, churches, and communities that are transformed and transformational. That is the kind of difference Partners International is making in this world. Through seed money for women’s projects we plant the seeds of hope in the lives of those living in the hard places like northeast China. Through SAC sponsorships we partner with schools, churches, and communities and watch Christ transform us all. And through prayer, we release the power of God to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. It was Monday morning. I knew a deep level of joy as I had experienced Easter celebration here in China the day before. As I opened my eyes, I told the LORD that I wanted to make a difference here in China and I wanted to do so today. I thought of my Chinese/English Bible. I wondered if there was someone here that might just need it more than me. Maybe someone who had never even seen or held one before. As I made my way to the gym to work off some of that fantastic Chinese food (it’s amazing how much food you can shovel in, even with those chopsticks J), I thought about the trainer. He seemed very interested in learning English. Is this the one, Lord? Would it be safe and wise to give him a Bible? I breathed a prayer for wisdom. It wasn’t long before a conversation started using the small Chinese/English dictionary kept in the gym. We pointed to one word at a time to communicate. I looked up the word Jesus. He seemed interested. I followed up by pointing to my heart and telling him that Jesus was the love of my life. He smiled and said in broken English, “That is VERY good for Americans.” I said, “YES! And this is also VERY good for Chinese!” This was the moment! I left for my hotel room and returned with the Bible. He was quite interested to see, hold and to read the Holy Word. I directed him to John 3:16. He began reading in Chinese, and just didn’t stop. He seemed enthralled by the message. Then we went to Romans 10:9-10. Once again, he read and read and read. I was thrilled! Although I knew that I wouldn’t be the one to lead him to saving faith, the seed had been sown, and the Sprit of God would do the rest. I presented the Bible to him as a gift, asking his name to write on the presentation page. He said, my name is, Song! How appropriate! So as you read this today, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, will you please lift up a ‘Song’ to the LORD? Pray that he will come to know Him, and that His life will be a melody and fragrance of Christ to the people of China. Where did you worship this Easter morning? Where did you worship this Easter Sunday morning? Easter is celebrated with pomp and circumstance around the world. I had the privilege of celebrating Christ’s resurrection this year in Beijing, China, and Easter in my heart and my life will never be the same! As we all know, China is a communist nation. Easter is not a national holiday. There are no Easter bunnies in windows, or Easter dresses for sale. But in spite of the lack of external markings, we celebrated the glory of Christ’s Resurrection like never before. Our Partners International team approached the storefront registered church with pondering hearts. How much would we actually hear about Jesus? Would there be music? If so, what type of music? Will we read from the Bible? Will there be a public proclamation of the Gospel? All of these questions, and more, flooded our minds. The crowds of people thronging the sidewalk gave us a clue that this would be a very special moment in our lives. They waited their turn to worship as another service, also full to overflowing, left the building marked by a cross on the outside and several neon crosses inside. When it was our turn, we made our way up a narrow staircase to a room which seated almost 1,000, with an overflow room on the first floor. We were amazed! The service began with singing and ended with the Lord’s Supper. We sang several hymns with hymnals printed in Chinese and English. Tears ran down my face as we sang in harmony, “Up From The Grave He Arose,” “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” and other hymns. The Pastor preached from John, chapter 20, and challenged us with this question: What will you and I do in response to the Resurrection? An unforgettable moment came when the man sitting next to me asked in broken English, what does Alleluia mean? I responded by telling him that “Alleluia” means Praise God in every language! He seemed pleased with this answer as he smiled and sang Alleluia with even greater joy and fervor than before. What does all of this mean for the Church in China? What does all of this mean for the global church? What does all of this mean for our precious Lord Jesus Christ?
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