This month’s mission report is quite a bit different form our usual communication; however, I would ask that you read it to the end and let the Lord speak to you.
Haiti – already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – has been relentlessly ravaged by one calamity after another: the assignation of their president, a massive earthquake that took over two thousand lives, followed immediately by Hurricane Grace (what a misnomer!), and civil upheaval with riots, plundering, and gang violence that hindered the relief efforts. At the same time, the US pulled our military presence out of Afghanistan, leaving behind millions of citizens to suffer under the immediate takeover by the Taliban; however, that is only the “tip of the iceberg” when we consider the devastating affect that this decision has had on our American troops who have served, suffered debilitating injury, and watched their companions die on the battlefields of that country. There has been such a huge surge of reoccurrence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder cases that the Veterans Administration cannot provide enough psychiatric services to help them. Hard on the heels of these tragedies, Hurricane Ida swept through the US, reeking havoc from the Gulf of Mexico to the far Northeast while out-of-control wildfires were gobbling up thousands of acres in our western states.. And then, the military coupe in Myanmar escalated to a civil war as very poorly armed civilians made a feeble attempt to stand up against the insurgents. Pastors in the Nigerian state of Plateau reported that they are burying church members on a near-daily basis with thirty-six Christians killed by Islamic extremists within less than a month and twelve children being burned beyond recognition in a recent attack. All these disasters were, of course, set in the framework of a dramatic – and more deadly – global resurgence of COVID. I must admit that the constant barrage of bad news is almost enough to make you want to not pick up the newspaper, turn on the television, or even answer a phone call.
With all these wars and natural disasters happening simultaneously, I have heard several people say things like, “These must be the end days.” When I hear such comments, I like to remind everyone to read the full passage. Yes, Jesus did say that we would hear reports of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and other catastrophe all around the world. Yet He followed that statement immediately with see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (Matthew 24:6-7, Mark 13:7-8) Matthew went on to record that He followed up this statement with a grand conclusion, This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
In the midst of all the human tragedy, we must always keep our focus not on what is going wrong but on what God is doing and what His final plan is. Let me give just one example. Some four decades ago, the world witnessed the takeover of Iran with the installation of a radical Islamic government that suppressed and persecuted the Christians in the country. Today, the fastest growing segment of the Body of Christ is in that country in spite of the sharia law that makes conversion and Bible distribution illegal!
Rather than being disheartened by the unsurmountable suffering going on the world around us, we must be encouraged that, every time we share the Word of God, we can further Jesus’ ultimate purpose before His return – that His message be spread to the ends of the earth and every spot along the way! It’s not the end of the world until we reach the ends of the earth!! That’s the aim of Teach All Nations, and we thank you for partnering with us.
