You brought Micky out of a dark tunnel and into the light

Pandemic lockdowns hit Micky’s town on the border between Kenya and Uganda hard.

With schools closed, teens like Micky turned to drugs and alcohol to pass the time and deal with the stress …

“My life was a dark tunnel, and I could no longer see any bright days ahead,” he recalls.

Even when school began again, things weren’t the same — Micky cut classes, disrespected his teachers, and refused to obey his parents; he bullied the weaker kids and fought with the stronger ones.

But then you gave Micky a wonderful gift: the Book of Hope. He read about the life of Jesus, and suddenly the dark tunnel of his life seemed to be growing brighter.

He dedicated his life to Christ, and was able to get free from drugs and alcohol!

Micky was enrolled in our Lead Today program, which helps teenagers discover principles of godly leadership from the Bible.

Today Micky is serving a OneHope internship and involved in helping more children and youth receive God’s Word, and we can see God at work in his life!

“Thank you to whoever provided the Book of Hope for me,” he says. “You enabled me to transform from the darker side of life to a brighter future!”

Click here for Micky’s Story

Fast Facts

Where our faith goal of 148 million children and youth with God’s Word will reach this year

 

Nailton’s Story of Hope

He was at it again — Nailton had mastered the sport of hitting the target with his baladeira — the slingshot local people use in the wilderness of Brazil’s northeastern state of Ceará.

The problem was, he shot stones at other kids and often at birds and animals he wasn’t hunting. No surprise 9-year-old Nailton was constantly in fistfights and other kinds of trouble.

But then you sent the Book of Hope to his town. Nailton began attending a weekly club meeting with the visiting missionary and studying God’s Word with neighboring children. The stories about Jesus were very exciting for him —

“Especially when Jesus and His disciples were in a boat and Jesus calmed a storm,” Nailton says. “I learned that Jesus is my friend, who created me, and that I shouldn’t be cruel to others or to animals.”

Today Nailton is growing in God — and each week he shares what he learned from the Book of Hope with his family. Please pray for them.

Thank you for sending God’s Word to show him the way to new life with Jesus!

Nailton learned from the Book of Hope that Jesus is his friend and Savior!

Known by Name

On the mission to reach the next 2 billion children with God’s Word, it’s important to remember …

You can easily become overwhelmed by your vast numerical achievements — you’ve already reached 2 billion children and youth with God’s Word, and you’re now embarking on sharing God’s Word with the next 2 billion by the year 2033 …

So it’s good to keep this central message in mind:

God recognizes and loves each child as an individual with a unique purpose and destiny.

Each one is known by name.

Despite the necessity for confidentiality in many of the stories, we share to show you the impact of your partnership with OneHope — although the names are often changed and sometimes the countries aren’t mentioned — we have the assurance that God knows every name.

Photo used for testimony of Bharati Featured in 2011 Progress Report The Scripture tools you've helped develop and distribute touch lives like 17-year-old, Bharati. Her affliction, which was attributed to evil spirits, was consuming her family's time and money...she suffered from fits in which the demons seemed to torment and terrorize her. Her father, a vegetable seller, virtually had to quit work to look after her full time. Their traditional faith offered no relief...and when Bharati came to a showing of The GodMan film, she has a fit of screaming and crying. But our Indian partners prayed with her...and by God's grace, she was delivered and healed! Today Bharati, her parents, and many members of her family are now joyfully following Jesus Christ and are involved in their local church.

“My name is Bharati.

I used to have violent fits that my family thought was demons. But then you showed The GodMan film in our village …”

Photo used for testimony of Misael in 2011 Progress Report En Tus Manos He'd never known his father. His mother had abandoned him. He'd been recruited into a gang as a mere child. Then Misael saw a destiny-shaking film, En Tus Manos - a dramatic work from OneHope's partners at Toy Gun Films. It has become the most watched film in Northern Mexico and impacts young lives across Latin America and even in the Spanish-speaking United States. In many ways a 'typical' tale of Latin America, it's also the true story of a young man pressured into joining a gang and how engagement with God's Word rescued him. Its message resonated with Misael. He saw the story on the screen and realized he needed to make a change. Today, eveything about Misael has changed, from his clothing, to the way he talks, and most importantly, of course, the state of his heart. He's a living picture of our goal of transformation.

“My name is Misael.

I practically grew up in a gang after my mother abandoned me. I’d never known my father. But then I saw the film En Tus Manos …”

“My name is Paula.

Ever since you gave me the Bible App for Kids, I watch Jesus and His friends every night before I go to sleep. I know all the stories …”

Superbook is making an impact

Sebastian Pagador Church in Bolivia recently held training seminars for young volunteers to introduce the Superbook program with video and digital components and show them how they can use it to reach the children of their region with God’s Word. The attendees were enthused by what they learned:

• “The workshops helped me understand how to teach children — and I was intrigued by the ways we can use Superbook to share God’s Word with special needs kids.”

• “I love Superbook! It works for children and adolescents, and the digital application is perfect for today.”

• “Superbook is an excellent tool for evangelizing and reaching children with the digital technology. I liked it a lot because it provides episodes, games, and a program that children can watch.”

Raising Image Bearers

A personal word from OneHope Vice President of Training and Research Initiatives, Tena Stone

In a world obsessed with self-identifying, Genesis 1:26 reminds us there is no such thing. It is impossible to give yourself an identity. We are images. Our identity is rooted in reflecting something outside of ourselves. We are God’s image bearers.

In Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let us make man in our image … to have dominion.” This is one reason why God’s people were never to make idols to represent Him. They themselves were to be the image of God — to have authority and to remind people of the God they could not see. The One who rules over all.

One way to understand your calling as a parent is to see your task as nothing less than raising the image of God. Let that sink in — pretty weighty, right? The weight of it is also clarifying. The truest truth about your child is not how you feel about them or how they feel about themselves. Their Creator has identified them, stated who they are and what they are. They are His image.

Your deepest responsibility to your children is not to take them on a journey of self-discovery, but a journey of God discovery. It is not to shape them, but to show them the shape they are to reflect. This is a sacred calling fulfilled best by understanding that you, parent, are created to be an image bearer too.

When you fail and distort that image (and you often will), point them to the One who never did. The One who walked this earth not just to save us, but to show us what an image bearer was meant to be. God always means for us something larger than we mean for ourselves. We are meant for more as parents and so are our children. Raise an image bearer.

NATION BY NATION

ANGOLA

Children enrolled in the Hope for Kids program invited their parents to a Hope Celebration, and several moms and dads chose to follow Jesus! Hope for Kids not only introduces children to the Savior, but equips them to share their faith. And it’s working!

PARAGUAY

Librada was in the city for cancer treatment, but before the treatments began, she met OneHope partner Estele who prayed for her, and she was healed! Further, she was then able to conceive and had a baby she named Milagros. Today Milagros is in primary school and recently received her own Book of Hope.

Diverse group of eight high school students are smiling and looking at the camera. Teenagers are students at public high school, and are wearing backpacks or holding school books.

USA

A local clinical psychologist was impressed by the counseling and good advice offered through OneHope programs and asked to look over the materials — she’s now following Jesus, reading the Bible daily, and growing in her faith!

Digital connection sparks hope and new life in Christ!

Shanaya was growing up in a majority-Hindu nation — where Christians are oftentimes confronted with persecution.

It’s not easy for believers to reach out to the next generation here, but OneHope digital programs help ease the burden and connect young people with God’s Word and local fellowships, all online.

This is how Shanaya found herself in a text chat with a new Christian friend, an online missionary who is part of the What If It’s True? program in her area. And once they began chatting, Shanaya found she had lots of questions for her new friend!

At first the questions seemed spiritual and theological …

  • “Why did God in the Bible choose Israel as the chosen people?”
  • “Why don’t Muslims believe in Jesus?”

Then the questions became more personal …

  • “Why can’t I concentrate in school?”
  • “Why do I feel so angry all the time?”
  • “Why do I have so many nightmares?”

The online missionary faithfully answered the texts with explanations from Scripture, inspirational teaching and passages from God’s Word, assurances that Jesus loved her …

And today Shanaya is following Christ as Savior!

She still has lots of questions, and she’s not ready to begin attending a local church yet — that’s a big step for a new believer in her country. Please pray for her as she’s growing in God day by day.

Thank you for sending God’s Word to Shanaya — through the internet!

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