BHUTAN — The ministry team in Bhutan organized a special one-day children’s program on the theme, “There is Hope for Our Children.” The goal was to encourage the children with the gospel in the midst of fear, anxiety, and hopelessness brought on by the pandemic. “Praise be unto God, for Christ is our hope!” shared the team leader. Only two of the children who attended were from Christian homes, and the rest were from Buddhist and Hindu families.
IRAN — Give thanks for the many ways that media technology makes it possible for ministry to take place worldwide! A program producer from Words of Hope’s Persian team was recently able to preach at a church of Iranian speakers via Zoom. What a joy to be able to connect believers in this way! Pray for the team as they work to continue producing programs, and as they lead Bible studies and church services online.
INDIA — Words of Hope’s leader in South Asia reports that, despite the terrible second wave of COVID-19 in India, he can tell that people are longing to travel and engage in normal, everyday activities again. “The only solution to protect the masses seems to be vaccination,” he explains. “Lockdown is no more a safety net, because it has hurt the majority economically. Please continue to pray for India that the masses will be vaccinated soon.”
TURKEY — Our Turkish ministry director writes: “Except for a brief period, I have been able to continue producing both radio and TV programs uninterrupted since the pandemic started. During this time, God has allowed us to reach many people using different social media outlets.” A young listener named Sercan connected with the team on WhatsApp to say: “I am a new believer. I was able to make a decision to follow Christ while listening to your programs.”
UGANDA — Words of Hope’s ministry director in Uganda was recently contacted by the executive in charge of religious programming for the top national TV network in Uganda. The executive wished to share how important the daily devotional was to his family. He requested more copies! “I kindly request for more literature about the Word of God,” he wrote. “This is very, very good content.”
SOUTH SUDAN — Please pray with us for the people of South Sudan. COVID-19 is ravaging the people. There are few masks or hand sanitizing products to be had. Medical care is virtually non-existent in the country. Meanwhile, Dinka clans in the region are engaged in ongoing revenge killings. Our ministry leader’s own nephew was killed as a result of a revenge killing. Lord, have mercy.
ENGLISH — Give thanks that the Words of Hope Daily Devotional radio program is now available for radio stations across the US and Canada. The program is also still available as a podcast, with some format changes to make it suitable for radio as well! Please pray that radio stations will begin picking up and airing the content, and that the daily meditations will be a blessing to the people who hear them.
NIGER — Words of Hope’s French producer in Niger shares: “Production continues by the grace of God, and my joy is to know that they have an impact on the hearts of the listeners.” Recently, he had the opportunity to meet with three new converts in a village some distance away. The believers were overjoyed that the producer had traveled all that way just to meet them. Pray for them in their new journey of faith.
IRAN — Please pray for the upcoming discipleship conference for Persian speakers that will be held in September. Pray for safety and protection for each attendee as they travel to the conference location. We know that these conferences have such an impact on the lives of those who attend. Pray also for safety for members of our Bible distribution team who are handing out Bibles inside Iran right now.
NEPAL — Give thanks for the recent opportunity to host a devotional writing workshop for Nepali writers. Words of Hope’s Director of English Ministry, Christy Prins, was able to provide training via Zoom technology to a gathering of 27 prospective devotional writers in Nepal. All writers will soon be submitting writing samples to our in-country leader for review, as together we work to develop our Nepali devotional ministry further.
ALBANIA — A woman from Albania writes: “I always listen to you online. . . . It has been almost three years that I have followed and listened to your programs. . . . I am baptized, and am really grateful to Jesus Christ for making me a part of his body. I thank God that through the Holy Spirit, he has renewed my soul and has given me eternal life. He is mine, and I am his. May God be with you in every step that you take.”
INDONESIA — Give thanks that a new direct liaison for Words of Hope Indonesia has been found. He is responsible for coordinating the work among the seven local language groups. He received his training at East Java Seminary, and says that he loves his new job. He is grateful that he gets to help people living in rural communities hear the gospel, that radio allows them to reach many more people, and that he gets to hear the stories of people coming to Christ!