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Protect a Child

Category: Blogs

A Grandmother’s Dying Wish

About six years ago, my sisters and I flew from Manitoba to Utah to visit my grandma. This was an extra special visit because she was turning 90 years old! All her children, their spouses and 7 of the 9 grandchildren were able to be there. When the cake was brought out, she exclaimed, “I’ve waited a long time for this!” We all laughed. I guess she had.

A year later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and I again went to spend time with her. I asked her what she was looking forward to when she got to heaven. She said, “I will be able to run without my knees hurting and I will be able to see well again.” We talked about her life, the things she was delighted about, the things she may have done differently and her wishes.

There is a sense of poignancy to a dying grandmother’s wish. Meet a sweet great-grandmother in Myanmar who’s dying wish is to see her grandson, Kent,* lovingly cared for his whole life.

Kent’s parents both died and there were no other close relatives so he went to live with his great-grandmother. Eventually, she could not work to care for her grandson and it was a struggle to get enough food for him. After all, she was 80 years old now and didn’t even have her own place to live. They moved in with other relatives but she needed to know that her grandson would be cared for before she died.

When Steve,* our local GNI leader, learned about this woman and her plight, he agreed to take Kent to live with him. With a smile and a grateful heart, she said she could now die in peace.

*Names changed to protect identity.

A Mother’s Love

Imagine growing up in a family with 8 brothers and sisters. Your dad is addicted to drugs, which makes him uncontrollable at times and unsafe to be around. There isn’t much money and definitely not enough to go to school, especially since school is so far away that you’d have to board with someone. No, definitely not enough money for that. The only option is for you to go work in the opium fields. Maybe that way there will be enough money to feed the family. And living in a rural village that believes in animism, maybe that’s the best way to sacrifice and appease the spirits. This is your lot in life, the same as the generations before you.

Praise God for your mom who wants a better life for you so when an evangelist, Steve,* comes to your village, she takes you to meet him and beg him to take you to be his own son. She knows that this way you will get to go all the way through school, learn about God and have a hope and a future. The evangelist accepts and brings you into his home. God has smiled on you.

This is Luke’s* story and Steve* and April,* the local GNI leaders and houseparents, are requesting our prayers for this 11 year old as he lives with them and studies in grade 4.

*Names changed to protect identity.

Fields Ripe for Harvest

As city-girl turned country-girl, I, Traci, love to watch the crops grow.  We have a field at the edge of our yard that is often planted with wheat.  There is such joy to walk through it, waist height, and run my hands through the heads of wheat.  On a windy day, the breeze blows through the crop, making the wheat shift and flex like waves on the ocean.  At harvest when the grain is ripe, I enjoy rubbing the wheat heads between my hands until the wheat seeds come out and I can pop them in my mouth and chew them.  In a farmer’s experience, one can sense God nearby throughout the seasons.

Contrast this with Myanmar where there is an abundance of opium grown.  An Aljazeera news report shares that, “The amount of land being used to grow opium poppies continues to decline in Myanmar, but ongoing conflicts are hampering efforts to stamp out the trade at a time when the illicit drug economy is becoming increasingly diverse, according to a new United Nations report.” (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/myanmar-cracking-opium-conflicts-fuel-drug-trade-190110083026170.html) 

Myanmar has struggled for 70 years with civil war and this unrest has allowed the continued growth of opium, making Myanmar the second-largest opium growing country, after Afghanistan.  The above-mentioned article declares, “’There is a direct connection between drugs and conflict in the country, with the drug economy supporting the conflict and in-turn the conflict facilitating the drug economy,’ the UNODC said…The agency noted that economic problems, including a lack of job opportunities and income inequality, also contributed to the resilience of the drug trade amid increasing efforts by traffickers and organised criminals to diversify the market.”  Furthermore, this area is also the hub for the global trade in crystal methamphetamine, otherwise knows as ice.

Children walking through opium fields to get to village where they would share the gospel.

So it is that several of the children living with Steve* and April* with our Myanmar ministry Uncountable Grace, have come from areas as described above.  Steve has a heart for those living in these areas and combines that with his gift of evangelism.  During the kids’ summer break from school, Steve and April took all the children on an evangelism trip, walking three and a half hours at a time, often through field after field of opium.  They brought the gift of hope and love as they encouraged the people in a variety of ways.  They brought physical gifts, such as cooking oil, salt or noodles, to each house.  They cut hair and worshipped together.  Some of the children were able to visit family members, reconnect and share their faith.

Please pray for Myanmar and the challenges they face.  Pray for the harvest of souls and that there will be other job opportunities, a hope and a future for this country.

*Names have been changed for protection.

Be a World Changer!

Tammy is another one of our board members who is full of energy and enthusiasm for the work of GNI and helping to organize past galas.  Today she shares what motivates her to be involved and how she has been inspired by our leaders.  Welcome, Tammy!

Thank you.  Let me begin by saying that I am involved in GNI because of Rob and Judy and their family.  They are truly amazing people and I trust their hearts and their direction as being led by the Holy Spirit.  They bring so much energy, life and love of Jesus in everything that they do.  

I have known Rob and Judy for over 20 years as I was a youth sponsor when Rob was a youth pastor.  At that time, their daughters, Amber and Amanda, were teens in the youth group.  I often think about the first mission trip that I took with them, which was also Rob’s first time out of North America.  We were driving from California to Mexico and down the Baja.  Rob was so worried about making the crossing at the border that he was using his radio to contact me as I was driving the van ahead of him.  He wanted to stop and defer, but I just kept on going despite his calls, and drove right up to the Mexican border where I pushed the button and thankfully got green.  As Rob’s van pulled up, I was aware of the ramification of my decision if he got the red light!  Thankfully he got green as well and we went through with our vans full of kids with no check at all!  I like to think that this moment was monumental in making Rob a travelling world changer.

I am excited for the future of GNI because I know that God’s heart is to heal the broken-hearted and set the captive free and Rob and Judy exemplify this will in their life mission and purpose as they lead GNI.  I have seen how they have stewarded God’s favour and resources well and how, as a result, GNI has grown throughout the years.   

I am thankful for the focus on the Golden Triangle and think that the result will be multiplied because of the focused efforts in one area.  I love how GNI empowers national leaders who understand the issues at hand and the culture around them and are passionate to bring positive life change to their people.  

What excites me most is to see the kids’ lives that have been impacted in Thailand and Myanmar and to see how they will take the mission of GNI to the next level.

Thanks, Tammy, for sharing with us.  I like the story about travelling to Mexico and the beginning of Rob being a travelling world changer. 

You, dear supporters, can be a world changer, too, both in your own postal code and as you support our ministries!