Update on the Nu and other Missions Stories

National missionaries can sometimes gain access to people and places that foreign missionaries can’t. In Colombia, some of the most unreached peoples are located in areas where rebel groups and drug traffickers have control. It’s dangerous for Colombian nationals to venture there. It’s even more challenging for foreigners, especially Americans.

Some Colombian nationals have answered the call to reach out in these difficult areas. After battling malaria and a skin fungus, the national missionaries who had hoped to share the gospel with a new clan of Nu people were forced to return to a larger city for medical help. Please pray for the missionaries, both foreign and national, who are seeking to reach the lost with the precious gospel of peace.

NU OF COLOMBIA (noo). Last month you were asked to pray that Colombian missionaries L and J would be able to share Gospel stories with a new clan of Nu people before returning to their home in the city. That planned visit did not take place during this trip to the Nu communities. The national missionaries and their children were very sick with malaria and a skin fungus upon leaving the village, and were unable to travel. They returned to the city to get medical help. Please pray that their health will be restored and that they will have another opportunity to share with this new clan of Nu people.

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See also:

Missionary Eric Reese’s interview with a Brazilian “Godfather”.

Donate to the Baptist Global Response relief fund.

Learn about the World Hunger Fund’s impact on the famine in the Horn of Africa.

Helping Provide Famine Relief

The UN has declared a famine now exists in southern Somalia. It’s merely a change in nomenclature, but will hopefully highlight the issue of world hunger and the desperate need in Somalia and other nations.

Somalia is like the Wild West of the modern world. It is largely a lawless nation where the government has little power or control compared to the warlords and other groups fighting for control. There’s human trafficking, arms dealing, drug smuggling, piracy, and the like. Millions suffer because of the lawless state of the country.

This country is a difficult one to bring aid to. Non-governmental organizations are threatened and kicked out. The whole Blackhawk Down operation occurred in the context of the famine and war. Providing aid is difficult because the warring factions know they have power over people who are hungry.

When these types of stories come over the television and news stations, we want to provide for the need. And we should. Not all organizations are equal. Not all donations are helpful. Before you “sponsor a child” or “text to save a life,” I suggest doing a little bit of research to know that your dollar is making the greatest impact. I reviewed a very helpful book called When Helping Hurts that will really aid you in thinking through your giving and help you make wise decisions in where and how to help.

For the meantime, I can suggest two funds that give 100% of monies raised to community development and hunger relief. They can do this because the workers are funded by Southern Baptists. That means whether you are a Southern Baptist or not, you can be sure 100% of every dollar you give is going to those who need it most. I don’t know for sure if they’re currently working in the famine areas of Somalia, since many organizations have been kicked out, but there are other regions of the world that are hurting too.

Give to the Baptist Global Response.

Give to the World Hunger Fund.

Theological Famine Relief

I subscribe to the Desiring God (DG) blog feed and regularly read up on the happenings within that ministry. They have so many Christian resources that I regularly check out the site for access to online books, conference messages, and the like.

One specific outreach of Desiring God is called, “Theological Famine Relief for the Global Church.” In addition to the plethora of digital resources on the website, DG also works to provide print materials and other helps to Christians overseas who have little or no access to good, quality, Christian literature.

One conference speaker I try to listen to often is D.A. Carson, and he frequently mentions how blessed we are as English speakers in the West. No other language has anything close to the sheer volume of Christian literature as ours.

Since I work with Hispanics, I can say that holds true for Spanish as well. There are so few resources. Yet compared to other languages, even Spanish has a large amount of resources available.

On the DG blog today was an article about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR). This Sub-Saharan African country has been torn apart by rebel violence, civil war, and unrest. At the request of local pastors, a DG staff member went to the DCR to help put on a pastor’s conference.

Though their English skills were basic, the pastors there received with joy the book, 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Based in part on the need in DCR, Rwanda, Kenya, and other places, Desiring God worked to translate the book into Swahili.

If you don’t support a missionary, international outreach, or translation group, please consider praying and putting aside some money on a regular basis to fund one of these groups. Just a few dollars can purchase a book that will bring joy to a pastor and enable him to better lead Christ’s congregation where he serves.