SPECIAL REPORT: WORLDVENTURE MYANMAR RELIEF
You have probably heard or seen the news about the cyclone that devastated Myanmar/Burma. The news is shocking and it is even harder to deal with since it is difficult to get relief aid in to those who need it most. In a situation like this, the cyclone is only the beginning. There are new concerns about food (getting it to the people), water (clean water), sanitation and the threat of diarrhea and cholera. Each of these continues to take their toll. The area where the cyclone hit is a major rice-producing region for the country. If the rice crop was destroyed, there could be a food shortage in the future. On top of that, houses are gone as are possessions. Estimates in excess of 100,000 deaths have been given and we are concerned that many more will die for lack of proper food and care. It is a very difficult situation.

WorldVenture has multiple ministry contacts in the region and we will be using secure approaches to provide support and relief to help these ministry partners. We believe God is the one who brings order and hope out of chaos. This is a significant opportunity to show the love of Christ and help the local Christians there convey the good news of the Gospel in a time of crisis. Please note below how you can give to this difficult and needy situation.

Early on we were concerned for the safety of our national partners in the country. We didn’t hear from them for days. That wasn’t surprising. Only recently have we received first hand reports from the devastated region. The following is an unedited excerpt from a note we have received from a contact in the Yangon region.

“Most of the trees and houses of the tops iron sheet were completely gone. Big trees were fallen on the high-ways. Yangon city remains only like bones without meat. Prices have gone high. Gas is about $15 for one Gallon. …Houses were completely gone. Also two of our missionaries’ houses were also completely removed. They have no home right now and not enough food to eat. We help them whatever we could. And also our church members in M were hit by cyclone that their houses were gone and they no food to eat. Also the church members in S Vill. and T were completely gone. They ran away for their lives. I assume that they would have no sufficient food and place to stay. One of our missionary’s house of W also gone. Our S Church building was also hit by the cyclone. This cyclone hit mostly to Ayeyarwaddy Division like Lapuhtta Town. 15 Villages have gone, Haikyi Kyun - many people died. Bukalay town - many died there also. We are very sad to let you know that over forty thousand dead bodies were found already without Christ. God must have some plan beside this problem. They assumed that more than hundred thousand lives would be lost. Among this tragic situation, the Lord keeps us alive and we are happy that we are in God's hand. Our lives are nothing without Jesus Christ. We rejoiced at His great salvation.”

The missionaries mentioned above are all nationals. We are working to help these local believers with funds for relief and for repair of the work there. Please visit our website, WorldVenture.com, for updates, reports, and giving opportunities. Please be in prayer for both the believers and not-yet-believers in Myanmar. 

Dave Wedin
Senior Vice President - Ministry Operations
D.Wedin@WorldVenture.com | 800-487-4224 Ext. 2780

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A LOOK AT OUR WORLD: Finishing the Great Commission

“And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
(“Ethne” is the Greek word translated here as “nations.” It means peoples or tribes rather than countries.)

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9

THE WORLD FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED
On our planet live over 6.1 billion people within approximately 24,000 of these nations and languages and peoples. Some of these 24,000 peoples have heard the gospel. Some haven’t.

THOSE WHO HAVE HEARD - The “Reached” peoples
In the first place, there are about 14,000 peoples that have embraced the Gospel, resulting in strong churches led by national (non-missionary) leaders with a serious commitment to finish evangelizing the rest of their people. (Missionaries refer to this as a “viable, indigenous church movement.”) 4 billion people live in these “ethne.”
• Christian Believers — 650 million have been born again into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Other Christians — 1.4 billion who consider themselves Christians because they come from a Christian culture.
• Culturally near non-Christians — 2 billion are not yet Christians but live in a people where a viable, indigenous church movement has been established.

THOSE WHO HAVEN'T HEARD – The “Unreached” Peoples
On the other hand, an estimated 10,000 peoples don’t yet have a native church movement, and therefore no access to the Gospel! Almost 2 billion individuals live in these peoples. The Bible says that “God our Savior...desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” These 10,000 Unreached Peoples are divided into 7 "megaspheres":
1. 3,700 Muslim Peoples (900 Million Individuals)
2. 2,700 Hindu Peoples (536 Million Individuals)
3. 2,000 Tribal Peoples (145 Million Individuals)
4. 1,000 Buddhist Peoples (225 Million Individuals)
5. 400 Other Peoples (29 Million Individuals)
6. 150 Chinese Folk Religion Peoples (90 Million Individuals)
7. 50 Non-Religion Atheistic Peoples (75 Million Individuals)

Figures reported by the United States Center for World Mission

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Summer is almost upon us here in the U.S., and for me it always feels as though that should translate into more time for reading. Whether or not that feeling translates to reality is another matter, but if you find yourself with some time to read this summer, here are a few titles you might want to pick up. - Dave

Before I Go: Letters to our Children About What Really Matters
by Peter Kreeft | 2007 Sheed & Ward

Have you ever thought about what your last words would be to your children? I have. I think it is good to distill life down to the things that really matter. Spending some time with this book by Kreeft, a Christian philosophy professor at Boston College, might help as you consider what you would say about what’s really important, or at the very least assist you in refocusing your life upon those things that really matter.

Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World
by Gary Haugen | 1999 InterVarsity Press

Terrify No More: Young Girls Held Captive and the Daring Undercover Operation to Win their Freedom
by Gary Haugen and Gregg Hunter | 2005 Thomas Nelson

If you’re interested about what is being done to address slavery and trafficking around the world, you will want to read Gary Haugen’s account of the formation and work of the International Justice Mission (IJM). Haugen was working as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice when he was loaned to the U.N. to investigate the genocide in Rwanda. As he was digging through mass graves of rotting bodies in Rwanda, he realized that living a safe suburban life was no longer an option for him. Years later he is the president of IJM, whose ongoing work is to free victims of slavery, sex trafficking, and police brutality in the developing world. These books tell the story.

Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change
by Paul Heibert | 2008 Baker Academic

From the back cover: "Transforming Worldviews is Hiebert at his best! For the first time, all of his major missiological insights—from set theory in church growth to the flaw of the excluded middle to critical contextualization—are integrated into a single volume. Transforming Worldviews, in which Hiebert wrestles with one of the most difficult concepts for us to understand and explain, is a fitting exclamation point to a career in which some of the most important evangelical missiological thinking of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries was done." - A. Scott Moreau, Wheaton College; editor, Evangelical Missions Quarterly

Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
by Muhammad Yunus | 2003 Public Affairs

Question: What did a Muslim businessman from Bangladesh do to win a Nobel Prize in microfinance? The answer is found in this book about how Yunus founded the Grameen Bank to provide micro-loans to the poorest of the poor. Banker to the Poor is an inspiring account of the birth of microcredit, written in a conversational tone that makes it both moving and enjoyable to read. If you are interested in microfinance, community development, and business as mission, this is a must read.

Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally (2nd Ed)
by David Hesselgrave | 1991 Zondervan

This book looks at all aspects of communication across cultural lines, including contextualization, worldview, and language. Study of this topic is no longer necessary only for the missionary candidate, but should be of interest to every believer in the pew who is taking seriously the call of God upon their lives to reach the world in their own neighborhood.

The Importance of Being Foolish: How to Think Like Jesus
by Brennan Manning | 2005 HarperOne

To round out the list I leave the world of academia to recommend a book by Manning that will rock your world. I must admit that after reading a number of Manning’s books their impact on me has lessened, but I find that his message continues to ring true. A number of years ago I recommended Manning’s Ragamuffin Gospel to a young man on my son’s high school basketball team. That young man is now in seminary. I had a conversation with him recently and he told me that it was that book that rocked him out of his spiritual complacency as he entered college.  Hard-hitting Manning still tells it exactly the way it is in The Importance of Being Foolish: How to Think Like Jesus.

Looking for even more ideas? Christianity Today has announced the recipients of its 2008 Book Awards. Each year CTI recognizes outstanding titles in 10 categories: Apologetics/Evangelism, Biblical Studies, Christianity & Culture, Christian Living, The Church/Pastoral Leadership, Fiction, History/Biography, Missions/Global Affairs, Spirituality, and Theology/Ethics. You can learn about the winners, and 11 more titles given awards of merit, here: http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2008/april/10.28.html

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