Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:13
Last month Helen and I spent a few hours at the Istanbul airport waiting for our flight. It struck me odd that the airport was lavishly decorated for Christmas. Knowingly or not, this Muslim country was participating in the celebration of Christ’s birth. As Isaiah 49:13 says, when God’s comfort comes to people, the entire creation celebrates. This is the natural law of God’s universe.
And this means that though the world is on the inevitable course of future tragedies and destruction, God’s comfort and restoration are ever more certain. The Hope is rising!
In the last few days of this year, Helen and I want to reach out to you with all the love and appreciation for being a part of our big, multinational WMA family! What a joy and privilege it is to serve together with you in building God’s Kingdom and being the messengers of Hope to the hurting people!
God moved with power and miracles in Egypt and Mexico as we finished this year with 12 missions in 12 months!
I hope this update brings you joy and comfort of knowing you are a part of something BIG and ETERNAL!
Christmas blessings and a prosperous year 2023!
Chuck & Helen Todd
Our mission in Egypt this time was not limited to the Egyptians only. The Lord gave us the opportunity to minister among the Sudanese people and the Muslim refugees from Syria. The Lord brings the spiritually hungry and thirsty people wherever we go. The medical team treated over 350 patients during the trip. One of the patients was demon possessed. While the medical team was unable to help him, the prayer team stepped in. After a short prayer the Lord delivered him and filled the man’s heart with His presence. This was a beautiful witness to all who observed. The Syrian refugees were greatly encouraged by our team. Some of them had met us before, during the previous outreaches. They thanked us for not forgetting about them. Many of them have grown significantly in their knowledge and understanding of Christ since we first met them. We are thankful to everyone who helped us financially to host this outreach. It carries a long lasting impact.
For the first time in Egypt, we worked at a drug rehabilitation center. The testimonies from our team members combined with a salvation message resulted in every resident in the rehab accepting Jesus that day.
WMA will be returning to Egypt November 6-16, 2023. This team is filling up very quickly. If God is calling you to Egypt, please secure your spot with a deposit ASAP.
WMA mission in the mountainous Pachuca in the Hidalgo State of Mexico was a great success. One of the highlights was the medical and evangelistic outreach in the garbage city on the outskirts of Pachuca. The leader of this community that works inside the mountain of trash to process and recycle refuse told us that nobody has ever come to visit them. Just the fact that we came meant a lot to the people. We distributed 100 food bags, Gospel tracts and Bibles and the medical team treated around 80 patients there. Even those who did not need medical help wanted prayer and many accepted Jesus into their hearts that day. The leader of the community asked us to come again. He was moved to tears by the impact this ministry had on his people.
Another highlight was an outreach in a poor neighborhood with the purpose of planting a church. We hosted a meal, a Christmas play, a medical clinic, and shared testimonies. Twenty of the 60 people present accepted Christ. Pastor Fred from the ALCANSANDO GENERACIONES Church felt that a solid foundation was laid for a future house church.
We experience a great number of salvations during the street evangelism as well. Our team gave out over 100 Bibles and a thousand Gospel tracts.
We had 8 missionaries under the age of 15 on this team. The children came with their parents and actively took part in the mission giving out Bibles and Gospel tracts, playing musical instruments and building friendships with the local kids. Even the 3-year-old Corban prayed during our prayer meetings.
We will return to Pachuca, Mexico March 13-20, 2023, to continue the work. Please let us know ASAP if you would like to join.
The most vulnerable group in Kosovo are the children in the Roma communities. They are often not allowed to go to school and are forced by their families to steal or beg in the streets where they are at high risk of being abused or raped. They also are often victims of domestic violence. Our outreach will be focused on providing them with warm winter clothes and food and working with the parents in teaching them about Jesus and the importance of education for their kids.
Please help us be a blessing to these kids!
April 18 through May 2 will be an extended mission combining evangelism and medical missions in Tirana, Albania and Thessaloniki, Greece. We’ll be returning to Albania to continue the work we began in 2021.
It is not a coincidence that the foundations of Christian faith in both nations were laid by the Apostle Paul. When Apostle Paul evangelized Europe, travelling westward on the Via Egnatia he preached at Thessalonica, the largest city on this great highway. This became the center from which Christianity radiated to Athens and Corinth, also to the province of Illyricum. Paul’s missionary journeys followed Roman highways, and along them extended the chain of early churches. A trip of 150 miles along the Egnatian highway from Thessalonica westward would penetrate to the heart of Albania.
Though Albania is a Muslim country today, it is a safe place to share the Gospel.
The evangelical church in Albania is just 0.5% of the population. Many people have not heard of Jesus and the local churches need help to spread the Good News.
Our mission will focus on the most underprivileged communities, the Roma people, the Egyptian minorities, and the poor Albanian families from the North.
During the outreach you will share testimonies of how Jesus impacted your life, help distribute food and other supplies, assist in the medical clinic, pray for people, distribute Bibles and Gospel tracts, engage youth and children in activities that will introduce them to the Gospel message and many other opportunities to show the love of Christ.
The medical clinic is a great way to attract people who are intimidated by the idea of church. We need medical and non-medical professionals to assist in the clinic.
Our work in Albania will be mostly in the capital city of Tirana, but we will also visit some of the surrounding cities.
From Albania we will travel to Thessaloniki with a stop in Meteora, one of the most unique and mysterious rock formations in Greece where in the 11th century AD monks made their dwellings in the caves and later a complex of monasteries was built.
The ministry in Thessaloniki will also focus on the Roma communities, many of whom moved to Greece from Albania.
Since May WMA has partnered with the Albanian churches in the child sponsorship program, to provide a better quality of life and education for the children from underprivileged communities. Our work will be helping further and solidify this work.
If you are interested in joining this mission, please let us know ASAP.
With just a few more days left in the year 2022, we still have 7 kids in Tirana, Albania who have no sponsors to support them. I was wondering if you would consider helping one of them.
I realize that the end of the year is a busy time and people face many expenses with holiday travel and buying gifts.
But please consider this. These kids could have a truly transforming experience in the year 2023 if we can find sponsors for them. Their parents are Roma – a minority group that until recent years did not have permanent homes, did not read or write, did not send their kids to school. They are considered outcasts of society. These young ladies and young men deserve a better future than their parents. They want to learn and they can succeed.
Our child sponsorship program in Albania connects one child in need with one compassionate person like you!
For just $1.30/day ($40/month) you can help a child to grow up healthy, educated, safe and to know Jesus who holds their future. You just might find that it changes you, too.
Your monthly gift of $40 will provide Christ-focused care, healthy nutrition and high-quality education, so that a child can have a chance of becoming a professional and a leader instead of a victim of human trafficking, an addict or a gang member. Then, there is a ripple effect. The positive changes in the lives of the kids may also have an impact on their parents or other adults in their lives.
You can choose to sponsor one or more children, you can choose a full sponsorship or a partial sponsorship. You also have the option to do a full or partial one-time gift for an entire year if you prefer to not have your donation withdrawn and applied monthly. As a result, you will not only help “your child” to have her/his needs met but form a beautiful relationship that can shape their future.
As a sponsor you will receive regular updates and photos from their lives, as well as the reports from the program leaders in Albania of how they progress within the program. You will be able to send notes, prayers, observe how God works in their lives and know that you have played an important part.
Below are the 7 Albania children that have not been sponsored yet. We would love to see every child in the program sponsored before the end of the year. Perhaps you can help one of them? If so, click the link below. It will take you to the child sponsorship page where you can select the child you wish to sponsor.
https://rfwma.reachapp.co/sponsorships?sponsorship_type=children&location=albania
