South Africa is a beautiful land of stark contrasts. I had the privilege of spending a month of summer in a little town in KwaZulu-Natal. But that was barely enough time to soak it up. A blend of races coloured the streets, rich and poor lived next door to each other, alcohol, drugs and immorality lurked behind the hope of a nation on the page of a fresh start.
As Japan continues to replace one Prime Minister after another, there is at least one constant – the increasing input of Shinto and nationalism into the schools. At the beginning of this year there was a meeting of all teachers in each district to be told that Shinto myths have now to be taught to all children.
As the world looked on with dismay at the devastating fires in Victoria, WEC was caught up in the midst of the suffering when the Marysville based Betel centre was completely destroyed by fire.
On the evening of Saturday 7th, the Betel Australia team was forced to abruptly evacuate the rehabilitation centre when massive bushfires suddenly appeared on the mountain behind their property.
“God cannot have a son! Everyone knows this is blasphemy!” I left my friend’s house in a hurry, struggling to hold back the tears. For years it had been like this. We were living with the Bedouin, trying to share Christ with them, but all too often our conversations turned into a debate. My friends would become angry and I frustrated. There had to be a better way than this.
The word “Maghreb” means “the place in the west” in Arabic and describes a transnational region comprising several countries across northern Africa. WEC has been working amongst least-reached Muslims in this region since the 1970’s. First in France, then since 2004 in the Maghreb itself, Kiwi Aaron and wife Patrice have been working with North Africans. The following story is from an extremely isolated Muslim background believer (MBB) that Aaron has the privilege of meeting with.
While Slumdog Millionaire celebrated the underdog within the slums of Mumbai, half a world away, a teenage boy was responding to miraculous stories of God at work in the slums of Cambodia. Tim Paton, of WEC’s Bridge of Hope ministry, recently received an inspiring email from an overseas family he had visited and shared with last year.
