Christianity is illegal in the country of Bhutan, and believers are forced to meet together in secret house churches for times of corporate teaching and worship. In a place that is so hostile to Christianity, finding individuals who are qualified to lead house churches and provide follow-up counseling for those who hear the Words of Hope radio programs is a real challenge. Words of Hope’s partners in Bhutan have been addressing this scarcity by offering a two-year diploma program in …
Why all this Suffering?
Mehyar’s desperate prayer still echoes in my mind: “Lord, why was I born in the country of Iran?” Mehyar and his family were forced to flee Iran when his wife started receiving threats from the Iranian government on account of her outspoken Christian faith. Mehyar’s prayer continues: “Honestly God, sometimes I think you don’t have control over what’s going on in the world, because I see so much pain, war, and sorrow that it breaks my heart. Lord please bring …
Women in India Recognize their Value in Christ
As you may know, in India, women and girls continue to receive less education on average than their male peers. In fact, the male literacy rate in India is 77 percent, while women trail behind at 55 percent. Women and girls also continue to face widespread domestic abuse, as the message from childhood is that Indian society prefers boys to girls. India is now facing a female population deficit of 35 million, thought to be largely the result of gender-selective …
Ministry in the Mountains of Nepal
Nepal is a small, landlocked country to the north of India. Many things make Nepal a hard place to do ministry: the mountainous terrain (including eight of the highest mountain peaks in the world), poverty, illiteracy, and the country’s historic Hindu religion. In 2017, Nepal became an even more difficult place for Christians when the government announced that religious conversion would become a criminal activity, weighted with a punishment of up to five years in prison. This anti-conversion law seems …
Out of the Ashes
Issaka knew that something was wrong. The smell of smoke can carry far on the wind, and while he was traveling home, a phone call from a friend warned him that churches throughout the country of Niger were being set on fire by protesters. Authorities blocked entry into his hometown, so Issaka had to wait for hours as the worry mounted inside him. His pastor’s family had been living inside their church building. Had they escaped? And what about his …