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Protect a Child

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Rescued from the Human Trafficking Lottery

Psalm 68:5-6 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing” (NIV).

God loves the orphan.

This came clear to us when an opportunity came up to help rescue a baby from a certain fate of human trafficking.   In a much troubled area of Myanmar, a pregnant, tired and poor mother already had six mouths to feed.  With no husband, she concluded that she had no choice but to sell the baby that was in her womb.   The plight of this woman and her yet to be born child came to our attention in late 2012.    Through God’s grace, we were able to help rescue this beautiful child and see her safely adopted by an indigenous Christian couple who could have no children of their own.  When we saw her in late March 2014, she was doing very well! Praise God for his goodness! – Rob & Judy

Update – Fall 2016

This little girl is now 4 years old and is thriving in her home with her adoptive parents in Myanmar.  These parents happen to be our key ministry leaders in this area.  Last year, we helped them rescue a second child, an abused and very sick little boy who was about to be sold (possibly for body parts) into a nearby country.    We rejoice in how God is providing for this family through our support team.  Thank you to all who are giving to the Lord!  These two little lives have indeed been changed for God’s glory!

How God Led Us to Cross Over

Crossing Over!
Crossing Over!

In the late summer of 2011, having just begun our home assignment (MINA), we were in a retreat with other MB missionaries in Abbotsford.  We were all given a folded paper in which was a name of another missionary, and we were told not to peek to see who it was, but to pray for that person in faith and listen to what God may want to say to them through scripture, a visual picture, or a word of encouragement.   It was a great idea.

That evening, when the group came back together, we began to share what God showed us for the person we had been praying for, which of course we didn’t know. It was amazing the words God gave so clearly! Some people wept, others were overjoyed. Then it was Jim’s turn. 

God gave Jim a picture of two large trees, and from tree-to-tree there was this rickety old white bridge. Then Jim said, “this person is called to cross over.” My heart sunk, then began to beat really fast as he opened up his paper. “Judy” was the name. I burst into tears. What was God saying? 

One week later, after the “cross over” message had faded in the busyness of life, a strange thing happened while  Rob and I were just leaving an Abbotsford restaurant.  No sooner had we payed our bill and were heading to our car, when a big “biker dude” guy with huge tattoos stopped us and said he had a message from God for us. Weird! Rob and I didn’t really know what to think, but we stopped and listened. Then the stranger said, “Cross Over!” Now my heart began to beat fast, that was definitely God. How could this guy have known anything of Jim’s picture?

Well, time passed by, and call of mission carried us back to Thailand.  In 2012, we explored where God would have us serve next.  Was he calling us to cross over into another MB outreach in Thailand or to start a new one?  In all this, our hearts had never stopped burning for the poor and the oppressed that we had encountered during our time with the Garden of Hope in Chiang Mai.  But we pressed on in seeking God’s will.

Then, while home last year during Rob’s health leave (a result of a sudden discovery and removal of the GIST tumour), we were again startled by the theme of “Cross Over.” It was just too strange. We were sitting in the corner prayer meeting room of the brand new MB office, only to notice right there hanging on the wall was a huge picture of a “rickety white bridge” spanning from a tree.  It cut straight to my heart. What was God saying?  We had both been sensing a holy restlessness, and needed time to sort out what God was leading us to do.

He confirmed to us that He is calling us back to our families.  Yet, he also confirmed that we are still called to mission. The mystery was how do we do both?  The Lord has since shown us the way.  He has opened up an opportunity for us to help restart a small mission called Good News International Ministries.  Crossing over to GNIM will allow us to still be in mission (reaching the poor and oppressed overseas) while being based in  Canada (so we can also attend to needs in our family).  We are deeply grateful to MB Mission.  We have been truly blessed in serving with them.  It won’t be easy, but in faith WE ARE CROSSING OVER!  – Judy Griffioen

Envisioning a Better Future for Myanmar

Golden Triangle Outreach:  Psalm 146:7-9. “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are  bowed down, the Lord watches over the righteous.  The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the way of the wicked.”

Through frontline evangelists in eastern Myanmar, GNI Ministries aims to actively reach out to villages in a lawless area of the country. Besides the growing risks of drug addiction and production, this area is also is a source region for human trafficking and reportedly increasing sexual exploitation of children, teens and women.  We want to help these children and believe God has better things for them.  We believe that the Good News of Jesus Christ is the only hope for this land.  Join us in praying that God would help us make a big difference through the leaders we are raising up in Myanmar.

Promise for a Better Tomorrow:   There are endless needs for ministry in Myanmar.  One opportunity we are engaging places a strong value of getting Christian education back into this long-oppressed land; it also seeks to reach out to many poor people in the “brown zones” (where many deeply impoverished Myanmar people are struggling to survive).

These ministry leaders have a practical plan to restore Christian education and values in central Myanmar, to resource pastors working in slums, and to provide clean drinking water and solar power in many villages where people have no access to such.  From their estimates, some 70% of Myanmar is still without power.  We want to get behind them and help their dreams become reality.  Won’t you invest with us to help the poor and oppressed in Myanmar gain a better future?

 

Thailand – Land of Smiles, Beauty and Deep Problems

Thailand is a strikingly beautiful country in South East Asia.  However, despite its beautiful beaches and being touted as the “Land of Smiles,” this developing nation remains politically unstable. Corruption runs deep and wide. Furthermore, of its 67 million people, less that one percent know and follow Jesus Christ.  Large areas  of the country still have little or no gospel witness.

Serious human exploitation issues (such as being a receptor country for human trafficking and having many tribal children born without ID) and drug problems abound.   In June 2014, the USA’s decision to drop Thailand to “Tier 3” in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report came after four consecutive years of holding Thailand on the Tier 2 warning list, and recommending the government take action.  This places Thailand in the bottom rank of nations with known human trafficking issues.  The USA government report states that “Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.”

As such, there is  much room for GNI Ministries to bring the Good News and preach freedom for the captives and spiritually blind.  This is our mandate.