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Protect a Child

Category: GNI International Partners

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)

Good News for Troubled Times

  • Preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ in K village

Our partner Steve* (name changed for protection) is deeply grateful for all who pray for him and his ministry in the volatile opium-producing hills of eastern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma).  We recently received an update from him regarding his latest evangelistic foray to a village far from his home. 

While is was still considered safe to do so, on a recent outreach trip he had discovered an unreached village in the Shan State hills (we call “K” village). He met with the headman and received an open invitation to come back and tell them about Jesus.  Steve* wanted to get back quickly as COVID-19 is presently on the rise in Myanmar.  Although it has mainly been affecting the western states and districts, the government is again closing schools and shutting down cities in many regions of the country. 

Steve* assembled a team of seven men and they headed off to bring the Good News to “K” village.  Several are his apprentices and others are mature followers of Jesus from his church.   They travelled through muck, crossed swollen streams and made the trek of hundreds of kilometres safe and sound. 

On the trail to K village

Here is what Steve reported:

  • When the team arrived they were welcomed into the animistic village by the headman.  
  • *Steve was able to share the whole gospel story two full times with the villagers.  He said:
    • “I preached the full gospel. I preached about creation, the fall of man, the Saviour being born, Jesus dying on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins; Jesus risen from the dead and being taken to heaven; and that he will come to take all who believe in him one day.

*Steve’s team was forced to leave as opposition from some outside influencers arose; nonetheless, he is happy that they were able to preach the clear and full gospel message to these dear people.  Once the pandemic is over, he hopes to return to baptize those who believe in Jesus and help strengthen them in the faith. Even though there was resistance, our prayer is that these people turn from animism to fully follow Jesus.

  • “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Please pray for “K’ village, as well as *Steve and *April’s entire ministry of UNCOUNTABLE GRACE. We provide refuge and education for 24 vulnerable children in their care.   Pray for health and safety of all and protection from the pandemic, but most of all that God will bless them and their amazing ministry in huge ways. This ministry is still less than half supported.

We need another $2500 per month to meet their needs.  If you would like to partner with the UNCOUNTABLE GRACE ministry to the poor and oppressed in Shan State, please click this link A FUTURE AND A HOPE FOR SHAN STATE or send a cheque to GNI Ministries (see address below). In Myanmar believers in Jesus love to bless people by saying “Piya-da-kein kaun-zyi-beh-bah-seh.” May God bless you!

– Robert Griffioen

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. 

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?