Their prayer: that faith in Christ follows cyclone
DHAKA, Bangladesh (BP)--In the hours before Cyclone Sidr reached the coastal areas of Bangladesh, Southern Baptists and other Christians began praying -– aware that the Category 4 storm potentially could usher hundreds of thousands into an eternity without Jesus. "Our prayer before the storm hit was that God would have mercy on the people of the country," said Susan Galvin*, who serves among Bangladesh's tribal people groups. "The note I sent to prayer partners was to pray for the millions who live in bamboo and tin homes." Galvin said she is thankful to God "for protecting the millions living on the coastline. I truly believe God protected the masses in Bangladesh from certain death because He has a plan for their lives. "And I believe part of that plan involves 2 Peter 3:9. He doesn't want 'anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.' The real need is for the Gospel to be shared with the millions of this country who still have not heard the truth -– those who have been spared."
Pakistani boy leads in his father’s stead
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (BP)--The scene is heart-wrenching as she leans against her husband's grave. She wails at length; her sobs seem uncontrollable.
In Pakistan, rays of post-quake hope
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (BP)--Houses of stone crumble, and once the initial shock passes after tragedy and loss, people usually return to what they know. The people of Pakistan are no different, so houses of stone they are building.
Monsoon-season miseries grip Christian hearts in south Asia
PATNA, India (BP)--Almost every year, the snows melt in the Himalayas, monsoon rains come and floodwaters rise, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions in southern Asia. This summer is no exception -- murky floodwaters have killed about 2,800 people, destroyed homes, swept away livestock and endangered the health of children and the elderly in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Standing directly in the floodwaters with his young son near his side, a father asked, "You come and take our picture. Now what are you going to do?" He posed his question to Southern Baptists assessing the flood damage in preparation for ongoing relief through food distribution.
Volunteers find village ripe for harvest
DHAKA, Bangladesh (BP)–Bright green rice fields surrounded the village. A barefoot man spread harvested rice on a plastic sheet to dry it in the sun. A woman tended to two infant goats born the previous day, while other women hand-embroidered shirts for their children. The Bangladeshi village was not on the volunteers’ itinerary. They had […]
Southern Baptists hope Sri Lankans’
desire for peace brings opportunities
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (BP)--Almost his entire life, his country had been tormented by civil war.
Laksiri, 36, was only a toddler when the violence began in his South Asian homeland. Yet living in Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle, he’d only read about war in the newspapers. Never had it come to his doorstep -– until now.
Fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, militant Tamil separatists, increased dramatically in October.
One year after quake, compassion speaks in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (BP)--Volunteers as old as 78 and as young as 17 ministered in Pakistan after the devastating October 2005 earthquake, and God has used each one to His glory, Southern Baptist representatives report from the region.
Pakistan’s earthquake survivors receive Southern Baptists’ physical, spiritual help
A Pakistani man stands in front of damage caused by the earthquake that hit Pakistan on Oct. 8, 2005. |
They were cutting grass for their animals to eat, clearing roads of recent landslides, harvesting corn, building walls of stone and hand-mixed cement, driving their livestock south for the upcoming winter, buying and selling vegetables, sweeping out their tents.
SBC president finds refreshment amid missionaries in Asia
SOUTH ASIA (BP)--Frank Page went to southern Asia to minister to others, but he also was ministered to as International Mission Board missionaries extended their love to him, prayed over him and laughed with him.
Missionary kid leads classmate to reject her family’s idols
DHAKA, Bangladesh (BP)--Ten-year-old Mya* did not wish to embarrass her parents at a funeral, but she would not bow to the idols. She felt she could not. Even when her mother beat her with a cane to force her to bow, Mya stood firm.