Nile Theological College (Bob & Kristi Rice) - March 2024

Read this wonderful update written by our friends Bob and Kristi Rice. They write…

Dear friends,

Last week our network of facilitators for the Healing Hearts, Transforming Nations (HHTN) workshop gathered to share how we saw God at work through the workshops in 2023 and to pray together for God’s work of healing and reconciliation in South Sudan. As I (Kristi) looked around the room of people who have been trained within the last couple of years I was humbled and grateful for the gift of working together in pursuit of helping people to know and experience the true life that Jesus came to give us. Several people shared about the deep divisions and mistrust that they encountered between clans or communities, or even within families. But in each workshop, they saw evidence of the Holy Spirit bringing freedom and healing from those wounds and divisions and enabling people to forgive as they looked deeply at the love and forgiveness of God

John McCall — November 2023 Update

For the past month, I have been on the road traveling to churches and conferences all over Taiwan. Thankfully, the transportation here is amazingly convenient.

Taiwan is a small island about the size of Delaware and Maryland combined, but running all the way down the center of the island are tall, rugged mountains. The west coast is mostly a huge megalopolis running from the capital Taipei to another large city in the south called Kaoshiung. In the 1960s, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan started churches in areas that did not have churches, so now there is a church in almost every city neighborhood, town, and village.

Asia, Global Workers, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationNovember 16, 2023John McCall, Taiwan

FJKM’s Holy Race

It has been a very busy year with many accomplishments and challenges for the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), The Outreach Foundation’s partner church in Madagascar. Dan and Elizabeth Turk, who serve with FJKM, recently shared this update and invite you to join a Zoom presentation that the Madagascar Mission Network is sponsoring on November 14th from 7:00-8:30 pm EST. Click here to register Turk event registration or go to the Madagascar Mission Network website.

Todd Luke — October 2023 Update

Thank you for your prayers and continued support! In 2023, we built twenty-eight family-owned cisterns — seven in the village of Castilla Brito, eight in Tres Huastecas, twelve in Cristobal Colon, and one cistern in Xpujil. We have now built 667 cisterns that capture, store, and dispense more than 7,000,000 gallons of rainwater per year. That’s over 12,000 gallons per family-owned cistern.

Mission teams from Colorado, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina grabbed buckets, wheelbarrows, and shovels to significantly lighten the load for our local partners.

Special Prayer Request for the FJKM in Madagascar

Congratulations to the FJKM on celebrating its 55th year anniversary on August 18th! The following prayer request has been shared by FJKM President Irako Andriamahazosoa Ammi:

Lauren Scharstein — The Lady in Pink

I want to thank you for your prayers and your support! It has been a busy season in ministry and in the life of our family: since the beginning of this year, we expanded both the infrastructure and staff at Mother Esther School; we hosted the Kenya Mission Conference for partners in ministry; we continued emergency food relief in areas where drought has taken a toll, and we trained 65 lay-pastors to return to their communities and share the love of God. With all that is going on, we also welcomed our son, Jeffrey Kariuki, to the family in February.

JOSÉ CARLOS PEZINI – September 2023 UPDATE

Greetings to all of you in the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for participating in ministry in Brazil. We appreciate your financial support and your prayers. Just like the apostle Paul's experience with the Philippians, the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB), SARA, and I have also felt the bonding experience with you as our partners in the Kingdom of God: " And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19.

John McCall — August 2023 Update

My favorite place in Taiwan is Taroko National Park on Taiwan’s east coast. It is a deep gorge with marble walls jutting down into a roaring river. The park is named after the Taroko people who have lived in that area for thousands of years.

Asia, Global WorkersThe Outreach FoundationAugust 31, 2023John McCall, Taiwan

John McCall — May 2023 Update

As I travel around Taiwan, and this year around the United States, I have been observing young people. We live in such an uncertain time with so many problems facing the world that I have been interested in how young people are coping.

We know the sobering statistic of the high rate of anxiety among young people. Global warming, the increasing disparity between those who have and those who have not, geopolitical tensions, and an uncertain economy all feed into this anxiety. The use of social media, instead of helping young people feel more connected, often leads to isolation and self-shaming.

Global Workers, Missionaries, AsiaThe Outreach FoundationJune 6, 2023John McCall, Taiwan

Todd Luke — March 2023 Update

In January and February, our little partnership built seven cisterns for seven young families in the village of Castilla Brito. That’s where our cistern ministry began back in 2002. Not surprisingly, we share a bit of history with our newest cistern owners. Most of them grew up drinking rainwater from cisterns we built with their parents a long time ago. Those kids grew up, got married, had kids, and built their own homes. Like their parents before them, they need a year-round water source to keep their families healthy.

John McCall — March 2023 Update

Alang, of the Bunun tribe of Taiwan’s indigenous people, grew up in a village in the shadow of Mount Jade, the tallest mountain in Northeast Asia. He was the youngest in a large family and when he was in elementary school, his parents drank a lot. He often relied on older siblings for care. Then there was a spiritual revival in their village Presbyterian church, and his parents stopped drinking cold turkey. His father became an elder in that church, and Alang saw a dramatic change in his family.

Asia, Global Workers, MissionariesThe Outreach FoundationMarch 9, 2023John McCall, Taiwan

Mike Kuhn — October 2022 Update

Mike Kuhn has accepted a new role as director of the International Theological Education Network (ITEN). ITEN’s purpose is to provide partnership for theological education and leadership development among those with the least access to the gospel.

Mike’s ministry passion has long been in the areas of discipleship and spiritual formation. Through ITEN, he co-labors with indigenous training movements to strengthen them in their mission.

Global WorkersThe Outreach FoundationOctober 27, 2022Mike Kuhn, EPC

José Carlos Pezini – October 2022 Update

Brothers and sisters, may the grace and power of God be upon each one of you. I praise God for your faithfulness and generosity and pray that God in His grace will bless you abundantly. Despite the effects of the pandemic, our ministry continues to grow because people like you continue to believe that God rules over everything and everyone.

New Church Development in Brazil — September 2022 Update

The Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB), our partner in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus, has been striving to plant new churches, and The Outreach Foundation has been working to find partners to plant new churches. One of these new churches is located in the city of Valinhos, State of São Paulo. This is a city with enormous potential, but its inhabitants are very resistant to the Gospel message. Despite the resistance, the church has grown, as the organizing pastor discovered that he can best share the Gospel through interpersonal relationships with good results, thank God!

PCEA Kianjau Church — Kenya — A Small Miracle

Working closely with PCEA leadership, Outreach’s East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross coordinates the construction of many churches in East Africa. Stu sent this note about one of the newest PCEA churches:

The dedication of Kianjau Church was very different in many ways. The group that helped build this church was from TOLI (Touch of Love International). We have been partnering with them for about six years. They do micro-loans and have been working in the Kiandutu slum next to the church. They have already given out over forty loans and by year’s end will have given out over one hundred. Many of their loans are going to single mothers with few skills and few opportunities. They not only provide loans but also provide training on how to run a business, open a bank account, and choose a sustainable enterprise.

Africa, Global Workers, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationSeptember 22, 2022PCEA Church Construction in Kenya, Kenya, Stu Ross

Dan and Elizabeth Turk — September 2022 Update

Elisabeth Razanalivao was beaming when she told us that this past year that 100% of the students from the FJKM primary school at Soatsifa of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM) passed the national primary school exit exam. This is no small accomplishment because Soatsifa is located in the far south of Madagascar which has been experiencing famine-like conditions over the past several years with high rates of acute malnutrition, especially in children. Mrs. Razanalivao and her husband, Marc Ranarianirina, who is the principal of the school, came to Soatsifa 28 years ago as missionaries of the FJKM to start a school to help children get a good education.

Exciting News from Tete Province and Malawi!

Dear friends of Tete Province,

I want to share with you some of the exciting things that are unfolding in Tete Province in 2022. In spite of COVID restrictions, a shortage of skilled workers, raging inflation, and more rain than normal, we are experiencing a banner year. We are on track to drill 20 wells this year, with locations in both Tete Province (15) and neighboring Malawi (5). The need for clean water seems overwhelming, but we are truly making a difference. This will be a new yearly record for wells drilled by us.

Bob and Kristi Rice — August 2022 Update

Young men and women leaned in thoughtfully as I described how Ida B. Wells risked her life to investigate and publish the truth about the lynchings that were happening across the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “The environment in South Sudan is a lot like that,” one young man said, “you cannot speak the truth about the injustice that is happening. You will be silenced.” The youth were impressed by how Ida Wells endured opposition, threats, and discrimination to write and speak tirelessly about the brutal culture of lynching and how it opposed God’s standard of justice. While many churches at that time feared speaking out even if they opposed lynching, Ida Wells carried on.

Nyadak, one of the youth leaders, led us in a Bible study about God’s view of justice.

Africa, Global Workers, MissionariesThe Outreach FoundationSeptember 6, 2022Bob and Kristi Rice, South Sudan

Partner Updates