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Protect a Child

Category: Blogs

Be Encouraged!

With the pandemic and political messes going on – that there is precious little good news to be found these days.  

Some two thousand years ago, things weren’t much better.  However, it was at that point in time that God reached down into our lives to make things better.  Jesus said:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19, NIV).

We are grateful to have ministry aimed to bring Good News to the poor and oppressed.  We hope you will find the stories and happenings we tell you about encouraging.  Though most of our stories are centred in South East Asia, we believe that Jesus is the Good News that is for the whole world.  

Stay tuned for GIVING TUESDAY (December 1)! We are joining the party (even from a distance) to bless our dear partners in the ministry of “UNCOUNTABLE GRACE” in Myanmar.

Blessings to you all! Stay safe and keep your eyes on Jesus!

Robert Griffioen (president of Good News International Ministries)

Thailand’s Outcry Against School Rape

Many girls around the world are afraid to go to school because they are raped along the way.  In Thailand, it is so common that children are raped at school that no one seems to speak out or do anything about it.  That is, until May 2020 when 5 teachers and two alumni were accused of allegedly gang-raping two students, age 14 and 16, several times over the past year.  Their fellow staff members defended them on social media, which shows how strong nepotism is in the school system.  However, the public outcry has been immense and has demanded that education professionals and politicians take action to ensure safety at school.  You can read more about this particular case at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1919760/when-education-supports-rape-culture and  https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1923208/school-sex-abuse-cases-spark-alarm.

Our ministry partners in Thailand have also suspected similar cases and work tirelessly to develop relationships with those around them and create safe places for children to talk.  They teach families what it looks like to live as a family with Godly values, respecting both males and females and remaining sexually pure. 

Please pray for our ministry partners as they model this life and reach out to others.  Pray for justice in this case and for the healing of these girls.  Pray for Thai culture to shift to one of safety and purity, especially as officials work towards prevention. 

Counter, Catalyze and Connect

The year of 2019 was a big year for GNI Ministries.  We amicably released our Filipino ministry as we could no longer support them, and we are excited to see them flourishing.  We went from an institutional model to several family homes caring for the children in our care in northern Thailand.  While we believe this is a Godly model to follow, it happened in a traumatic way as our Thai leaders stepped away from our partnership.  However, we celebrate as God provided Godly leaders and parents for our continued Thai ministry.  We celebrate with our leadership in the country to the north as their home with children flourishes, as does their ministry to the hill tribes and as a new church leader is about ready to step out on his own.

Due to the refocusing from Southeast Asia to the Golden Triangle in specific as well as the other changes in our ministry, the board decided to meet for a retreat in January 2020 to discern what God says GNI’s thumbprint really is.  We are excited that God has shown us a clear path forward for our ministry: to bring a fresh message of Godly purity to the nations.  Our way forward in bringing the Good News of Jesus to the poor & oppressed involves three action verbs: counter, catalyze and connect.  We continue to be anti-human-trafficking, and so we counter it at its source.  We catalyze community transformation by bringing life change at the family level and sharing the gospel.  And we connect by networking with other agencies and leaders to help bring the message of godly purity to the nations. 

Why is this message of Godly purity so important?  Because it is counter-cultural and not being taught.  For example, here is one situation that woke Rob and Judy up to how corrupt the mindset of people can be.  This situation happened years ago and involved a 14-year-old girl we called “Joy.”  Her two older sisters were being prostituted in a local brothel (one was the brothel manager).  Joy’s parents wanted her to become a prostitute as well, as it provided them a lucrative way to support their vices.  One day, her father, an army soldier, tried to sell her to a fellow soldier.  Joy escaped and ran across the town to the safe house where she was taken in and given refuge.  Joy never became a prostitute and by God’s grace, now she is an educated teacher and loves Jesus. God’s Word changes lives!

This situation shows both the importance of teaching Godly purity to a culture and the hope and power of God’s Word.  We cannot do it without your prayers as you intercede on behalf of our workers and those they are ministering to.  Thank you for your prayers and support as we press on in this calling.

Heaven or Hell?

One day Amber and I, Traci, took the team of Canadian women we were hosting to the White Temple, a Buddhist temple that has the greatest depiction of hell that I have ever seen. There are hands reaching up for help, holding jars to collect rain. This reminds me of Luke 16:22-26 with the rich man and Lazarus.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’”

I continued from there to the Buddhist white temple, but I felt the heaviness of the spirit world and knew I could go no closer. I turned to go back but a staff member stopped me and said, “You cannot go back to hell.” What an interesting statement. (Fortunately, there was a way around the temple so I could leave.) It reminds me of the song, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. The world behind me the cross before me no turning back.”

As I left the grounds of the White Temple with another team member, we prayed for the souls of all Buddhists and those in Thailand that they would come to know Christ as Saviour.  As the new year draws near, won’t you join us in this prayer that 2020 will see the harvest of souls come into the Kingdom?