September 2011 MOUNTAINTOP GLORY Photo Essay from NEPAL From the top of the world, God is receiving glory and praise! Scattered among the Himalayan foothills, humble houses are filled with new songs of worship. Through the strategic home-to- home distribution of gospel literature, many thousands are becoming sons and daughters of the Saviour. Christ Groups are being established and many new converts are being discipled. This is the story of Every Home for Christ in Nepal. A small, landlocked country in Southeast Asia, Nepal has a rich and diverse culture, strongly influenced both by Indian neighbours to the south and Tibet and China to the north. Boasting an epic 29,035 ft. in elevation and the highest point on earth, Nepal is home to snowy Mt. Everest and the Himalayan Mountain range. In the south, temperatures are subtropic and the land is fertile for agriculture. With significant holy places for both Hinduism and Buddhism, the spiritual strongholds are steeped in everyday life. Until 2006, Nepal was a Hindu Kingdom, closed to the Gospel and hostile toward Christians. But times are changing and Every Home for Christ Nepal workers are seeing it firsthand!
Transcript
September 2011
MOUNTAINTOPGLORY
Photo Essay from NEPAL
From the top of the world, God is receiving glory and praise! Scattered among the Himalayan foothills, humble houses are filled with new songs of worship. Through the strategic home-to-home distribution of gospel literature, many thousands are becoming sons and daughters of the Saviour. Christ Groups are being established and many new converts are being discipled. This is the story of Every Home for Christ in Nepal.
A small, landlocked country in Southeast Asia, Nepal has a rich and diverse culture, strongly influenced both by Indian neighbours to the south and Tibet and China to the north. Boasting an epic 29,035 ft. in elevation and the highest point on earth, Nepal is home to snowy Mt. Everest and the Himalayan Mountain range. In the south, temperatures are subtropic and the land is fertile for agriculture. With significant holy places for both Hinduism and Buddhism, the spiritual strongholds are steeped in everyday life. Until 2006, Nepal was a Hindu Kingdom, closed to the Gospel and hostile toward Christians. But times are changing and Every Home for Christ Nepal workers are seeing it firsthand!
Despite the severe and often dangerous terrain of Nepal, EHC pioneer missionaries and volunteers courageously take the Good News of Jesus Christ home to home. No matter where people live, our workers are passionate to seepeople come to Christ. This motivation is what causes them to trek for hours, through gruelling temperatures and much physical exertion, in order to reach even a single home. No matter the cost, Every Home for Christ workers in Nepal
do not relent. When the Gospel is presented, people respond. Follow-up discipleship material is given to new believers, and when there isn’t a local church, EHC establishes a Christ Group, where converts can fellowship, worship, and grow in the Word of God. Many of the Christ Groups in Nepal are being trained through Every Home for Christ’s new discipleship curriculum, "Be Fruitful And Multiply."
LOOK WHAT GOD IS DOING
LOOK WHAT GOD IS DOING
To date, 353,267 people have responded to the Gospel and 8,928 Christ Group fellowships have been established across Nepal. The number of Christians in Nepal has also increased from just a few thousand in 1980 to more than 700,000 today. Just as the prophet Isaiah declared in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation…” (nlt), Every Home for Christ workers are trekking to the heights, helping to fulfill the Great Commission, one home at a time.
Currently EHC has the freedom to work because there is no longer a law prohibiting the efforts. However, with a new constitution, evangelism opportunities could be limited.
Please pray for the work in Nepal that the Word of the Lord would run swiftly and be glorified, that many Nepalese would accept Christ, and that from the tops of the mountains God would receive all the praise He is due. At Every Home for Christ we believe that although the dangers of evangelism are many, the light of Christ will not be stopped.
From the desk of Katherine Franks
The majority of our students come from unskilled and uneducated parents, their only way of earning an income is working in the fields for a dollar a day. They dreamt their children would have a new way of life, but they could not see how. They had little money, little opportunity and little hope left. Many cannot even read or write, they are among the millions of illiterate people in India. Despite advances, India still has the highest number of illiterate people in the world, with only 74% of the population being literate.
For the many children out of school in Annupampattu, India, the "Love Annupampattu community development centre" with the school comes as a breath of fresh air.
For some it has meant a new start in life, something the parents of these children only dreamt of...
globalconcernhealing the sick, helping the poor, educating for a better life
While we may take our opportunity for education for granted, the poor of Annupampattu do not. Rarely is a day in school missed, and 100% of all students in 6 years have passed their exams. They dress proudly, hold their heads high and attend class eager to learn. They know the value of their studies. Without it, they will have the life of their parents, a hard life, with much sweat and toil, for very little reward. Their parents want something different for them...they want them to have opportunity.
And this is what they now have.
A free education and a free hot lunch every day! Indian style sitting on the floor.
But much remains to be done.
Despite great improvements, 21 million children in India are still out of school. What does this mean? For them it is not good news, often these children end up on the streets, sweeping, collecting rubbish, working as daily labourers or even worse...
of those that do attend school more than half drop out, often for reasons of money, low motivation due to poor or absent teachers or overcrowded classes. Of course there are those that pass, go onto higher education, get a degree, and break the cycle of poverty they have been raised in...and that is our hope, our dream and our commitment to the poor children of Anuppampattu!
You may ask if the huge investment together we make in these children is worth it?
Being a person that likes to see an 'outcome' for what I give, I have asked this question many times myself, and this is what I have discovered.
In terms of economic development the children gaining education will be given opportunity for increased productivity and improved employment options in later years. In turn this will lead to less aid money being used in vocational training and basic literacy skills for those who 'missed out' on an education. i.e. - it will help them find a good job, and earn an income, so they are not dependant on anyone or on any welfare system.
Child beggar on the street.Young boy working in textile factory.
21 million children in India still out of school; often these children end up sleeping on the streets.
SEPTEMBER 2011
If every child in a low income country such as India attended school and just gained basic reading skills, 171 million people will be lifted out of poverty. In India, the richest 20% of people average eleven years of schooling compared to three years of schooling for the poorest 20% of rural females. Clearly education is paramount to sustainable economic development! The evidence is unarguably clear that those who gain an education will gain innumerable benefits. i.e the cycle of poverty can be broken!
Shutterstock/Paul Prescott
At Love Annupampattu we have abolished school fees, invested in teaching infrastructure, expanded access to education to the rural poor and provide a daily school meal, essential for a child's intellectual development. This is in-line with the United Nations evidence, that this will decrease drop-out rates and increase the number of children finishing primary school. We find this evidence to be true for the children of Annupampattu!
When we consider that it is just $30 a month to see a child educated... I think you would agree, the answer is "YES" the investment is definitely worth it...in fact, it is hard to think of an investment that would be more worth it...
"Giving an opportunity where there otherwise is none...."
ETHIOPIA - AFRICA
EXPLODING GROWTH
The nation of Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea, Sudan,
Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa with over 83.6 million people. After decades of repressive Communist rule, Ethiopians gained their freedom in 1991. Suddenly, the church—which had been forced underground—exploded in growth, especially in remote rural areas.
Every Home for Christ began its work in Ethiopia in 1981 which was short-lived because of the Communist government restrictions. When freedom came in 1991 EHC once again came to life. Since 2007 under the leadership of National Director Aynalem Haimanot the work continues to spread and grow. The Communist government had forbidden the distribution of Christian literature and leadership training of any kind. Now, EHC has the means to train thousands of leaders who are so desperately needed to disciple the amazing growth of the Ethiopian church.
Pastor Yemane Medehen of the Evangelical Churches Fellowship in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia wrote, “EHC has played a most significant role in the church growth in our region by providing training and encouraging pastors and leaders in their evangelistic outreaches. You showed us your brotherly love and have given us quality advice and invaluable tools for our ministry activities.”
Recently 8,000 gospel booklets in the Tigrigna and Amharic language were taken home to home in the Tigray Region. There were more than 10,000 who heard the Gospel for the very first time and more than 360 have requested more information. An amazing 230 individuals immediately gave their hearts to Jesus as a result of this outreach.
Tigray is just one of many regions within Ethiopia where EHC’s home-to-home teams are taking the Gospel to every man, woman and child. To date, EHC has reached 1,102,000 families with the message of the Gospel with 247,550 decisions/responses.
A SPECIAL MOMENT IN HISTORY
Colombia is located in Latin America, bordering Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela,
Panama and Brazil. EHC launched its first coverage of Colombia in 1974 and completely covered the country before closing the work due to the unstable political situation within the nation and the rising violence and danger due to cocaine drug trafficking. Colombia EHC was re-launched again in 2009 under the leadership of EHC’s National Director Jaime Doncel. “This is a special moment in history as far as Colombia is concerned.” Jaime says. “There is great sensitivity among Colombians to spiritual things due to the devastation from floods and landslides that has hit our nation very hard.” Even in the poorest of Colombia’s districts EHC is seeing amazing fruit from home-to-home evangelism. In just a short time nearly 870,000 families have received the Gospel, resulting in 123,028 responses and the planting of over 700 Christ Groups. These newly-established fellowships will multiply many times over with EHC’s new “Be Fruitful and Multiply” (BFAM) discipleship materials. The indepth training of EHC’s BFAM results in Christ Group leaders in ANY nation the ability to strengthen EHC’s multiplying Christ Group program, bringing these new fellowships to a healthy obedience to the Word of God. But even more interesting is that many new believers in the Christ Groups
setting find themselves moved to greater growth in Christ by the biblicial truths revealed through the storytelling methods of the BFAM material. It makes their own discoveries in the truths of God’s Word very exciting.
Jaime goes on to say, “Many of the places where we are evangelizing and planting new Christ Groups are Communistic in nature, and drug lords are influencing these regions. It is precisely in these places that God leads us to share His great love.”
The Christ Group in Boyaca Province… Every Monday at 5:00 p.m. the “Juliana Café” closes its doors to customers and opens to a newly-formed Christ Group led by Brother Juan David Amaya. Juan came to know Jesus recently through the EHC home-to-home ministry. After initially belonging to a Christ Group near his home, Juan made the important decision to start a Christ Group in his family’s business. This bold brother is happy to contribute to the cause of the Almighty! He invites people to gather in the family café each Monday for a time of fellowship around the Word of God. Although the original Tunja group is only a few months old, it has grown so fast that now it has been divided starting a new Christ Group in another neighbourhood. This new group is expected to win many of its neighbours to Christ as well.
COLOMBIA - SOUTH AMERICA
A SPECIAL MOMENT IN HISTORY
Every Home for Christ Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738
New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738www.everyhome.org.au [email protected]
