May 2024 Global Report
Hope and healing for a child in need
Tanya is growing up in a majority- Hindu nation. She received the Book of Hope from a local church team, but she didn’t pay much attention to it — just took it home and put it on a shelf.
The only reason she decided to read it? She was home from school sick with severe stomach pains. Her parents had taken her to a doctor, but there was no proper diagnosis and no treatment … feeling sick and scared … Tanya picked up the Book of Hope and began to read about Jesus.
She was so mesmerized by the story that as soon as she was able, she went to church to request prayer and learn more about God. After her new friends prayed with her, Tanya began feeling better! God intervened — Praise God!! Today she has been completely healed … and she has chosen to follow Jesus!
Thanks for delivering the hope and healing of God’s Word to Tanya.
Fast Facts
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
My story of hope:
RAIS FROM A MAJORITY-ISLAMIC NATION
Rais’ family was desperately poor, and he was raised in an orphanage.
In a country and culture where family is extremely important, he had none. He didn’t have love, guidance, or direction. When he was about to age out of the orphanage and begin providing for himself, he was enrolled in OneHope’s Lead Today program. It opened whole new vistas for his future!
The GodMan film is one of the most popular and effective ways we can share the Gospel with children and youth in limited access nations where there is political or religious opposition to Christianity or where believers may be targeted for persecution.
The film is contextualized to the local setting with a live-action introduction and conclusion that help young people understand how the story relates to them, and the basic story of the life of Christ is clearly presented.
In fact, The GodMan film is one of the most important programs used in the Lumière Project for sub- Saharan Africa, reaching children and youth in several majority-Muslim nations. The GodMan film presents Jesus even in limited access regions.
My story of hope:
RAIS FROM A MAJORITY-ISLAMIC NATION
Rais’ family was desperately poor, and he was raised in an orphanage.
In a country and culture where family is extremely important, he had none. He didn’t have love, guidance, or direction. When he was about to age out of the orphanage and begin providing for himself, he was enrolled in OneHope’s Lead Today program. It opened whole new vistas for his future!
Today Rais is following Jesus as his Savior, and he has a new family of friends and supporters at his church. A OneHope partner is his mentor, helping him grow in the faith and follow God’s call.
Many impoverished young people in his nation fall victim to drug or alcohol addiction, and Rais routinely shares the Gospel with other teens. He has also begun a small charity in his home village, providing food to the poorest people.
Your gift of God’s Word has given Rais the love of Jesus, a new family, and hope for the future! Thank you!
Rescued from the darkness —
NICOLE IN VENEZUELA
FINDS HOPE IN JESUS
Venezuela was in economic and political upheaval years before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. The death and disease, accompanied by supply chain breakdown and massive shortages, exacerbated the situation in heartbreaking ways.
The poorest and most marginalized of course suffered the worst … and in this void, a neo-pagan religion known as Espiritismo began to flourish. A popular form of it encourages rituals, witchcraft, and summoning the dead.
Nicole had been caught up in the sorcery — she thought she could help her friends and family by using witchcraft to bring them fortune and prosperity … and because Espiritismo is often practiced in syncretism with the dominant Catholic faith, Nicole even thought this was God’s plan for her!
But then she came to a OneHope partner church, Refuge of Peace, and received a special-edition Counterculture Book of Hope. It introduced her to Jesus and showed her how faith in Christ produces a life that is radically different from the syncretistic modern culture. She wanted to know Jesus and begin living this life!
Today Nicole is a Christ follower, and she has introduced her father, brother, and cousins to Jesus, too!
When the risk is worth the reward
By OneHope President Rob Hoskins
The daily news cycle drives us face-to-face with the plight of millions of refugees seeking to escape conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine. These realities hit home for me since I grew up with my missionary parents in the Middle East. We experienced firsthand the ravages of war, being evacuated several times and finally forced to flee for good, leaving everything we had behind in Lebanon.
Those who know this part of my history think that my family and I became refugees, but in actuality, what should have been a traumatic experience of being chased away from home and country was not because of the provision awaiting us by believers stepping in the gap to provide for our family’s needs.
This has given me an acute sense of what Kingdom living looks like.
In every geographical context there are displaced people and humanitarian needs in close proximity. Christ — the ultimate displaced person coming to earth from heaven — has placed in all of us a strong calling in this world to reach out to the foreigner among us.
I think the greatest evangelical outlet of the Church today could be looking for those who have been uprooted and are living in fear and inviting them into your life. It can be as simple as opening your door and inviting them to dinner. Or starting a conversation when everyone else is passing them by. Any act of love helps further the missional vocation of the Church while showing Christ to them.
Nothing will change unless you make redemptive hospitality a priority and make the time for it. You make room for a new child or someone who marries into the family — why not make room in your family for “the other”?
This is a challenge to me as much as you. Kim and I are intentional to exercise more redemptive hospitality. I would love to see more people less afraid and more open to putting on the love of Christ and being a light to those in darkness.
NATION BY NATION
LIMITED ACCESS, BUDDHIST WORLD
RWANDA
BARBADOS
Prayer alert: Senegal
Senegal, on the westernmost edge of Africa, has long been one of the continent’s most stable countries. Although a vast majority of the people follow Islam, it is also one of the Islamic countries where Christians could freely practice their faith — but this seems to be changing.
According to our partners there, Senegal has issued a formal proclamation against evangelizing children and youth, and persecution of Christians has intensified. One of our partners is also the pastor of a church with a large youth ministry. He has been targeted and received death threats.
Please pray for a restoration of stability and religious freedom, and keep the pastor in your prayers. Persecution has also intensified dramatically in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso. Some of our partners have been forced to flee their homes because of the violence. Mali shares a border with Senegal, and we are also praying this violence doesn’t spill over.
The Sahel, the area that extends across central-northern Africa from Senegal eastward to Sudan, is an area of conflict as Islam comes down from the north and Christianity comes up from the south and has been prone to violence.
Nevertheless, God is at work, and our church partners believe they will exceed their faith goals in getting God’s Word to children and youth this year. Please keep them in your prayers!
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$1 shares the Gospel with 3 children. HOw many will you reach?
