The combination of a viral pandemic, restricting activity, and straining resources, with natural disasters, has not only brought suffering to millions of people, but it has also awakened many churches as to how to meet the overwhelming needs. God has revealed new avenues of service, ways to reach into villages long shut to the gospel, and how to demonstrate His love in practical ways. A testimony from a WMP partner ministry working in Nicaragua is representative of many such reports: “All around there are many needs. Sometimes we feel powerless because we cannot respond to every need. However, we cannot sit still. We are to pray for others, but we must also take action. I got permission to go into the hospital, with some restrictions. While we were ministering, people were asking for prayer and even those just passing by on the street stopped. There were tears on their faces and we heard some say how much they needed this. About 20 taxi drivers stopped to request prayer and listen to the message. We saw 20 people receive Jesus there!” —K., Nicaragua
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“We are faced with difficult situations due to the pandemic. Please keep us in prayers as we take the Word of God, reaching out to people with the Scripture booklets. Pray for us to be guided by the Holy Spirit on how we can continue to reach out to people, as the pandemic has caused a lot of fear among our people. “People were in fear even of taking the booklets we were giving them, but we found a way. Having tangible things to hand them, like a pair of shoes from Soles for Jesus, which they needed, opened a door for us to also give them the Scripture booklets. We shared the Word of God with them, and they were joyful. We gave them Help from Above, which is Thuso e tsoang holimo in our language (Sesotho). “It’s always our prayer that more people will be saved and be reached with WMP materials in the nations of the world. We bless the Lord for the ministry that WMP is doing. Continue the good work; the mission is possible.” -Ts’epo M., Lesotho
Prayer and believing God remains the most important work that we can do for God. Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:29). Each workday, down through the 59-year history of WMP, the staff has gathered for prayer and praise. Recognizing that our strength and supply come from God, we come to Him daily as one body, bringing our praises and petitions focused on specific aspects of WMP ministry: staff, donors, volunteers, board members, shipments, and national coordinators and distributors. The months of pandemic brought necessary adjustments. Though God put it on the heart of Indiana’s governor to consider religious organizations “essential” and exempt from complete lock-down, WMP was subject to varied safety precautions which affected gathering in chapel. But we continued to honor our daily chapel time as we individually met with God at our workstations or in a private spot in the plant. Prayer requests were distributed by e-mail daily, and chapel leaders shared on the theme of the month by email with Scriptures, words of exhortation, and even links to songs or pertinent reports on the internet. You can share with us in prayer each day by receiving our monthly Prayer and Praise letter via email. Our WMP App also lists specific and timely prayer requests and answers. You can also follow us on Facebook or our WMP Ambassador Network (wmpambassadors.org), where daily postings keep you informed of needs and praises from major distributors and national coordinators. We welcome you to join hands and hearts with us and be a part of what God is doing in lives and communities through the power of His Word. Pictured above are evangelists we support in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. These brothers serve (nearly every day) at street fairs in Santa Cruz and peasant markets in many other cities.
This is just one of our many evangelist groups that minister in hospitals, homes, prisons, recovery houses, street fairs, peasant markets, and other venues. In the year 2010, God told me that He would raise a great army and flood this nation with the Word; and that is exactly what we're seeing today! God has raised up a great army of preachers of the Word and the written Word of God is reaching all parts of this nation. God also told me that I would bring the Word to places where my feet would never step. I recently received reports of the Word of God reaching places where I must consult the map to find their location. God is Faithful! -Pastor Peniel D., Bolivia This past year, several doors opened to increase the distribution of WMP literature throughout Europe. A ministry in Romania is developing a systematic plan for reaching 7,000 villages and towns in Southern Romania without a gospel presence as well as supporting contacts throughout the Balkan nations. Many of the missionaries involved in this outreach have used WMP literature over the years. Renewed interest has led to the preparation of a container shipment with 1,280,000 Scripture booklets in 12 languages.
Many Iranian students and young adults who have settled in Northern Europe are open to discussions about the Bible and Christianity. A new supply of Persian New Testaments from WMP will fill an earnest request from those serving the Lord among the Iranian communities. Increased activity in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Portugal, U.K. and Spain will lead to more concentrated and efficient distribution in the coming months. A pastor in Italy will soon receive his first full pallet for distribution among many parts of Italy and Cyprus. A chaplaincy ministry in Colombia contacted WMP for literature. “Thank you for your support with the sending of material, since our chaplaincy works in remote areas of Colombia, and will be of great help to carry out the work of our God and Savior. We will go… in the mountains of Colombia, supporting with school supplies, clothing, medicine, toys and literature to children from this distant population. From there we will go to marginalized neighborhoods.…” Thousands have fled Venezuela, looking for peace and safety. Many arrived in areas where God’s people were ready to respond to their needs. WMP received this message from Trinidad: “Over 80 thousand Venezuelan refugees have entered our country. Our church is doing an outreach, but because we are an English-speaking country, Spanish tracts are not available. These Spanish Scripture booklets will be an invaluable tool for our ministry to the newly-established Spanish-speaking community here.” There is great opportunity for the gospel in this region. Last fiscal year WMP sent 18.9 million pieces of literature to 20 national coordinators and major distributors in 14 countries of Latin America. We still have orders to fill for 43.2 million booklets for 16 Latin American countries. "We have distributed WMP Scripture booklets at the door of subways, in bus stations, airports, and marketplaces all over Brazil. I have sent them by mail to pastors in remote areas of Brazil, where idolatry and witchcraft prevail, as the pastors cannot afford to buy the written Word to give out to the people. For thirty years we traveled in 36 other countries in five continents—from Australia to Belgium and into the Middle East—giving booklets to people in their own language, with many testimonies of joy as people received the booklets and conversions began after a quick reading of the Bible verses. The work continues in Brazil. We’re not traveling as before, but sending once in a while to another country." -Francisco, Brazil
“I was once arrested for drug trafficking and guerrilla training. Today I am free because someone told me about the love of God through Jesus Christ. Help me to bring others to Jesus Christ through your beautiful and blessed evangelism material.” -Alan, Brazil "Thanks for the faithfulness of your staff and volunteers in sharing the Word of God. We just received 3,000 of your datebooks at the Lawrence Correctional Center located near Sumner, IL.
Both believers and unbelievers cherish this material because it helps them track days and gives them encouragement to press on to what lies ahead. Your Scripture booklets are effective in reaching the lost. We distribute them at charity fairs and other events to remind people of their need for a Savior. Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord, thy God goes before you." -Stan W., U.S.A. Francisco R. serves from São Paulo, but also sends hundreds of thousands of booklets into Brazil’s northeastern states, where idolatry and witchcraft are rampant. Local pastors have seen the gospel replace witchcraft centers with churches established by new believers as light pushes out the darkness (see page 4). He wrote, “Two brothers took boxes 1,700 miles by truck to a major distributor in a remote city in the state of Para, who would spread the booklets all over the state, which has more than ten million people. Praise the Lord!” Long-time distributor Ademir C. has concentrated his work in the Amazon region, supporting ministries working up and down the river and reaching out to the more than 20 million inhabitants of this region. Pastor Leandro, who lives in the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, wrote: “I live 160 kilometers from the capital. Here we cannot receive a telephone line signal, only the internet, so we can communicate only via WhatsApp or Email. I am writing to find out how I can acquire material so that I can do evangelism in this community that needs to know Jesus. Around 350 inhabitants live in the village, with many other nearby residents in rural properties.” A pastor in Ariquemes, the third-largest city in Rondônia State, reported that when he received eight boxes of assorted Scripture booklets, the church distributed the booklets to the local people. “Many became Christians,” he wrote, “after reading the rich booklets and are being discipled by the pastors of the church.” |
Various AuthorsInspiring & Insightful articles from WMP Staff, Ambassador Network Members, & Friends Archives
January 2021
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