Merry Christmas Friend of Christians in Action,
Christmas, a season of joy and giving, should be a blessed time. Even as I write these words, I know blessings may not be the way you might describe this holiday season. Despite the difficulties, you may have faced throughout the year, be encouraged. God sees your pain. As the Psalmist says, “Though the Lord is exalted, He looks kindly on the lowly” (Psalm 138:6a). Share your prayer needs with my staff and know that we will hold you up before the Lord during our daily staff devotions and prayer.
This year, even in the midst of COVID-19 and other life interruptions, God blessed our mission by sending seven new missionaries. Generous donors have committed $41,500 in matching grant challenges, in order to prepare these and future missionaries to make disciples of all nations through: Encountering Christ, Equipping disciples, and Empowering national leadership. Your gift of any amount for Worldwide Missions Mobilization will be doubled, up to $41,500, if given by December 31, 2020. I urge you to take advantage of this remarkable opportunity. Your end of year gifts will support our worldwide mission to mobilize (recruit, train, and send) additional disciple-makers to the nations.
Just as our fielded missionaries, these new disciple-makers will surely face challenges when they seek to declare the love of Christ to the nations. For example, when our Philippine Field Director, Edwin Duenas, and his wife, Jo, opened a school for at-risk children this year, they faced great obstacles. Their goal is to give an educational boost to these precious ones, empowering them to step up academically, thus giving them a better chance of battling the endemic cycle of poverty — a vicious cycle that brings little other than hurt, hunger, and heartache.