I N T E R N AT I O N A L M I N I S T R I E S

JUNE 2017

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On the Ground

Life is filled with new beginnings. This has proven true for me as, once again, God has blessed my journey with a new opportunity to serve Him as Director of Harvesters International Ministries. While there are many aspects to this position, there is one in particular that I really love.

Being part of Harvesters is ultimately about being a storyteller. Seeking opportunities to simply share with you and others what it is that God is doing through the 11 ministry partners whose particular works He has blessed us to encourage. That’s what this newsletter, our church visits, meetings with groups and individuals, the Harvesters’ website, Facebook posts, etc., are all about.

Fortunately for me, I love telling stories that capture people’s attention, bring honor to God, and ultimately engage others in sharing the Gospel around the world. It’s a real blessing to pass along reports of lives changed by God’s Word, churches being planted, and pastors being equipped. It’s likewise exciting to tell of peoples’ needs being met in Jesus’ name, communities having clean water for the first time, orphans being cared for, children educated, and all the other essential work being done by our partners. I enjoy sharing that God is doing these things through the work of ministries led by pastors and leaders serving their native countries. A model of missions that, whenever possible, fulfills the great commission in an effective, efficient way. He is likewise using people here in the U.S. to be part of the story through their prayers, giving, and, even sometimes, going to be part of what’s happening.

Thanks for letting us tell you a few of these stories in the following pages. Also, please know that I’d be thrilled to visit personally and share more about what God is doing! Don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings & Thanks!Doug

New BeginningsDoug Radford, Director of Harvesters International Ministries

Congratulations!

Join us in congratulating Rajendra Yellamelli of Sion Assembly Church, one of our partners in India. He received his Masters of Biblical Studies from North Carolina Theological Seminary. He is currently traveling in the U.S. sharing about the work of SAC and was able to receive his degree in person. In September, the seminary will open a satellite campus in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India, where SAC is located.

SOUTH SUDANPokot Outreach MinistriesPlease join us in praying for the people of Kapoeta where Pastor Reuben serves. There is an outbreak of cholera that has already taken over 50 lives just in the last few weeks. Humanitarian agencies are aggressively working to try to contain it.

RUSSIA Hope for Life HomesIn our last newsletter, we detailed an improvement plan for Camp Transformation, a summer camp for Russian orphans. We are pleased to report that the project is 50% funded, and work has begun on the first phase of the project. Jeff and Matthew Ballard will be traveling to Russia in June to check on the construction progress and visit with all of the HFL house-parents. If you would like to be part of transforming Camp Transformation, please visit the Hope for Life Homes page on our website and click donate. Thank you for helping to make the summer special for these children!

CHINAChina SeesThe Club where our couple in China ministers has experienced significant changes over the past few months. Visit their ministry page on our website to learn how the Lord has continued to work despite difficult circumstances.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to receive regular

updates on our partners!

Harvesters International Ministries

harvestersinternational

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From the FieldSamuel Mwesigwa - Kerith Ministry, Uganda

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. We continue to pray for the work that you are doing for our ministry. We thank God for the continued partnership in advancing the kingdom of God.

Hand Pump Well

Through your gifts, we were able to drill one hand pump well. The well is currently serving the community with good yielding of water. There are two older wells which are in good condition and have been of great help in supplying drinking water during the season of drought. We hope to continue to partner with you to provide safe and clean water for our communities as the need is still high.

Famine Relief

As you may know, Uganda recently experienced a season of drought. Though some communities have access to hand pump wells for drinking water, there was not enough water for growing crops or for animals to drink. Many people went days without food. Our ministry was able to

purchase maize flour and beans that provided for 500 households in three communities! As people gathered to pick up the food bundles, we were able to share the hope found in Jesus.

Recently, the Lord blessed us with the rains, which we have been anticipating for a long time. Unfortunately, it came with a very strong wind that destroyed our temporary preschool building, as well as the piggery and poultry houses. Several of the nearby houses were also destroyed. We were able to rescue an elderly woman whose home had collapsed around her. She is being treated at our medical clinic along with several other women and children that were hurt.

Praise God that He has provided for the repair of our preschool building! Construction is underway and the children should be able to return to school soon. Please continue to pray with us that our preschool ministry will grow and reach more families in our community for Christ.

Crusades

Over the last few months, we have been speaking and ministering in communities all across Uganda in open-air crusades. We have had both large and small crowds, but the goal is the same - to lead them to faith in Jesus Christ. Many walk from villages that are hours away just to hear the Word. Hundreds of people attending the crusades made professions of faith! We point these new believers to an established church in their area. If there is no existing church nearby, it allows us to identify villages for new church plants. We also provide discipleship for lay leaders so that they can minister to new Christians. Please continue to pray as we concentrate on planting and supporting new churches in unreached villages of Uganda.

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We recently shared with you about our loss of significant funding from another ministry due to government intervention. The primary use of those funds was to support an afternoon school session for 200 students taught by staff funded through that ministry. With heavy hearts, we had to terminate the services of that staff after giving them a grace period of two months.

The afternoon session students simply refused to leave us. They continued to arrive at school each day. We don’t have the hearts to see them leave! We are now educating and caring for all of our students in one session of school each day. Without the additional staff and space to accommodate all of the children at once, we are in a crisis! After much prayer, our GSSK Board has decided to construct one more block of classrooms. We have some funds saved, as well as funds that were set aside for the building of toilets. With faith, we have started the construction.

The amount needed to complete the building project is $7,000. We are praying that Jehovah - Jireh would provide for the necessary funds and needs. In faith, we look unto the Lord.

If you would like to assist with the construction of the new classrooms, please visit our ministry page on the Harvesters website - www.harvesters.net - and click donate. We appreciate your prayers as we work toward providing an education for these children and helping them discover the life that Christ has for them.

Building on FaithAs you know, the attitude in Pakistan towards Christians is extremely unfavorable. Churches have been bombed, and pastors and church members have been burned, beaten, and killed.

Several months ago, government officials informed us that two of our church meeting places would have to be shut down for lack of a building to meet in. The government has banned house churches. Security will only be provided to church gatherings that take place in a designated building. As you can imagine, this was a tremendous blow to our ministry. But we turned to the Lord in prayer, and He immediately provided funds through Harvesters’ donors to construct a building at one of the meeting sites (pictured right)!

Christians in Pakistan are not discouraged! In fact, the Church is growing at a very fast pace. Our recent services have seen a substantial increase

in attendance. More and more are coming to faith and being baptized.

Please pray with us for the Lord’s provision for buildings to meet in, for protection of Christians, and for the conversion of the Muslim people.

The Thriving ChurchChristopher and Shakeel Bhatti - Omega Ministry, Pakistan Kamlesh and Ranu Bairwa - Good Samaritan Sewa Kendra, India

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Relief and Hope Pastor Ben - Fellowship Bible Church, Myanmar

Monsoon season in Myanmar begins in May each year causing heavy rain storms and significant flooding. Rain continues for several months and gradually tapers off, ending in October. Yangon and other areas in southern Myanmar receive the most rain - up to 200 inches! While areas to the north receive less rain,

many villages are still severely impacted.

Over the past few years, Light for Life Foundation, part of the FBC ministry, has traveled to villages in southern Myanmar providing relief to those impacted by the flooding. This is a wonderful opportunity for our church members and the Myanmar Bible College students and staff to show the love of Christ and share the Gospel with extremely needy - both physically and spiritually - people.

While the government does provide relief in some locations, it is not sufficient to meet the needs of the people. As the rains diminished and flood waters began to recede, Light for Life visited five small villages, most with only about 20 to 30 families. Most have never heard the name of Jesus. We rent a large truck for the day to carry in supplies, which consist of very large bags of rice, bottled water, and blankets. Once in the villages, most supplies have to be delivered by boat. With each delivery, we share the hope of Christ and tell villagers that the food is a gift from Christians around the world.

A few months later, a group of students and staff from MBC

had the opportunity to return to one of the villages where we provided relief. Below are their reports:

It was our privilege to share the good news of Jesus Christ to non-believers in Metawi Chawng village in the Irrawaddy Delta. When we distributed food after the rains, one Christian woman invited us to return and share the Gospel here. There are almost no Christians in this area and they hunger to hear the good news. We shared a community meal and the story of Jesus. There were several that responded and made professions of faith! ~ Ben

We went to Metawi Chawng on a mission trip in late December. We have learned that there are around 100 houses in the village and only one Christian family living there. The villagers were very much friendly people, and we were warmly welcomed there. One night, we had a sing song service. MBC students sang many songs and presented some action songs to the children, and a short Gospel message was given. The next day we held a worship service with 250 people

attending. It was very much a challenging trip, knowing that there are too many people in Myanmar that have not yet heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Amos

We traveled to Metawi Chawng village. It was a privilege and awesome to spend time with unreached people for a few days. We were able to play games and have a sing song service to create opportunities for sharing the Gospel. We are praising God for sowing the seeds of the Gospel in the life of Irrawaddy’s people through giving tracts and pamphlets of the Gospel and sharing the Christmas story. We experienced the real spiritual blindness of the people. The task of evangelism is so needed here. We praise God for the people who sponsored us on this trip. ~ Andrew

It is our plan to continue to provide relief again this year, once the monsoon season dies down. If you would like to help us, please visit our ministry page on www.harvesters.net and click donate.

“It was a challenging trip... knowing that there are too many that haven’t heard the gospel...”

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Ever wondered how you can play a part in the work of Harvesters? There are numerous ways you can partner with us to accomplish our mission of encouraging and assisting national missionaries as they fulfill the Great Commission.

Host a Shoe Drive

Our program, Shoes 4 Hope, transforms used shoes into hope andpractical help for those that need it most. It’s a great way to involveyour group in missions. Churches, youth groups, scout troops, and others may host a shoe drive to collect gently used or new shoes of all types and sizes. They are exported to developing nations where demand for used shoes is strong. Funds generated from exporting are then used to support the vital work of our ministry partners. Your group will select a project or ministry important to you to support.

Hosting a drive is easy! We’ll provide collection boxes, storage bags,and promotional materials needed for a successful drive. Please visitwww.shoes4hope.org or email Doug Radford at doug@harvesters.net.

Amazon Smile

Did you know that you can support Harvesters each time you shop? Amazon donates a portion of each purchase when you shop through the Amazon Smile portal.It’s easy to get started! 1. Visit smile.amazon.com. 2. Sign into your Amazon account as you normally would. 3. Select Harvesters International Ministries as the charity to support. Once you’ve selected Harvesters, the shopping experience will be the same as always. 4. Begin shopping! Be sure to update any bookmarks for Amazon in your browser.

Start a Campaign

Ask family and friends to donate in honor of a special event or as analternative to holiday gifts. Organize a community event like a 5K run or

What Can I Do?

Provide clean water

$25 =

Support a pastor$75 =

$10 =GiveGod’s Word

These are just some of the things your donations can do!

$100 = Send a childto secondary school

Thank you all so much for your kind words, calls, and cards wishing me well in my retirement. As I end my time as Director of Harvesters, I am filled with gratitude - gratitude for your unwavering support through all of these years and for your prayers and faithful giving to support the work of our partners around the world. Most importantly, I’m grateful to the Lord for all He has done through the tireless effort our partners.

I pray that the Lord will continue to richly bless you and your families Thank you again!

Ed Hirshman

Many Thanks!

basketball tournament. You can specify which partner or program youwant to benefit or have your contributions go to our general fund. Simplyvisit our website at www.harvesters.net and click My Harvesters to beginyour campaign.

Become a Monthly Giver

Have you considered becoming a regular, monthly giver? You can support any of our programs through a monthly gift:

1. Visit www.harvesters.net and click donate. 2. Select the ministry or program you would like to support. 3. Click “Make this a monthly gift”.

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