Do you remember the verse Romans 5:20 – “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more”?  It makes me think of what is happening in the world today. We have all felt the increased intensity of darkness around us. At the same time the light of the Gospel is shining even brighter than before.

I experienced this in Macedonia two weeks ago on the first WMA mission trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic! Traveling internationally in the “new normal” is an adventure with wearing a mask on a long flight and your temperature being taken at various points. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think how extraordinary was the fact that one of the handful of countries that opened its borders to US citizens was Macedonia, which has been on our ministry schedule since last year. What God ordains not even a global disaster can stop!

When our team arrived in Macedonia first week of September, the local church gathered for the first time since March. It was a huge encouragement to them to know that God sent people across the globe in the midst of a crisis to be with them, pray with them, share with the youth and help them reach out into struggling and impoverished gypsy communities.

The Macedonian church is in great need of evangelistic support – partners who will teach them creative ways of evangelism and reaching communities with the Gospel. Though this time our evangelistic efforts were somewhat limited by the Covid-19 restrictions, there are two specific groups of population we plan to target on our next Macedonia mission in April 2021 –  the youth, children and the Muslim Albanian minorities. We also plan to cross the border into Greece to minister in the Thessaloniki area, following in the footsteps of the apostle Paul.

When the Lord gave us the “Macedonian call” to the Balkan region in January 2019, it was an extremely strategic and timely moment. We look forward to what doors God will open to us in this region.

In the recent weeks there has been a flare up in the long-term conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh. Since it is rumored that Armenia recruited Kurdish fighters to help in the conflict, the Kurds who had been living in Azerbaijan started to flee to the Republic of Georgia for stability and safety. Our partner in the Kurdish outreach, Pastor Rezo Faroyan shared with us about the desperate condition of the Azerbajani Kurds who are living in cardboard boxes in the streets and are starving. Pastor Rezo and his team are helping them find shelter and food while sharing the Gospel with them.

WMA has been reaching the Kurds since 2006. We have started a church in the Iraqi Kurdistan, printed 50,000 Bibles in the Kurmanji dialect and have been helping the Kurdish refugees in Lebanon, Turkey and the Republic of Georgia.

Now more than ever, we want to share Christ in action and the Word with the Kurdish people. Your gift not only provides for someone in need, it is helping to win the largest minority group in the world for Christ!

Though our trip to Serbia was postponed to October, we knew that our help to the struggling Roma (gypsy) communities there could not wait. We sent the funds to our partners in Novi Sad to do the outreach we had planned. They visited the village where WMA team had a great outreach in 2019. In the free medical clinic we hosted people were miraculously healed and twenty accepted Jesus! Poverty was striking in the village where most men were alcoholics. As we expected the pandemic worsened their situation and the help arrived just in time.  The Novi Sad church hosted a soup kitchen, provided much needed groceries and even helped a homeless family finish building a little home! The Roma community felt loved, and this is exactly the message we wanted to send – Jesus loves Serbia!

Please pray for the WMA team traveling there October 17-27.

UPCOMING PROJECT TIMOTHY TRIPS

HOW TO ENTER

REGIONAL CHAPTERS IN THE USA:

WMA family is growing rapidly. The more challenging the situation becomes around the world, the more Christians feel the call into the Great Commission. In 2021 we will open 3 regional chapters of World Missions Alliance in Washington, DC, Denver, CO and Cincinnati, OH. The regional chapters will build local communities of Christians who are passionate about the great Commission and will host monthly  prayer meetings for everyone who wants to be more involved with WMA.

Meet our regional chapter leaders and let us know if you would like to get involved:

WASHINGTON D.C.

Ellen Yao

Ellen came to the States from South Korea when she was 6 years old. She has spent most of her life in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Currently, Ellen and her husband Matt are in seminary at Global Awakening.  She believes Washington DC area is the perfect place to raise up more leaders to spread the love of God and to send more disciples out into all the nations. 

CINCINNATI, OH

Christy Bacon

Christy Bacon was born in the Philippines and became a US citizen in 1985. She has recently retired from Boeing Corporation, attended Seattle Bible College and has been involved as a missionary with WMA since 2017. Christy is passionate about missions and intercessory prayer.

DENVER, CO

Anna Desmarais

A retired music teacher, she went on her first mission trip with WMA in 2016 and found it very rewarding.  Since then she has been on 4 more mission trips and is now serving as a volunteer for WMA headquarters. She says: “Each time I go I see God working in others; while at the same time, He is drawing me closer to Him.”

WHY GREATER PURPOSE?

A heart for the harvest” is a life’s mission statement. It describes a very unique and specific person. It is a person who is in love with Jesus. A person whose knowledge of Christ surpasses intellect and reaches into the very depth of the soul. It is a person whose compassion for another human being mirrors the heart of Christ. It is a person who is willing to step into the unknown with a trust that he or she can be used by God for a greater good. It is a person who believes that his or her life matters in God’s plan for humanity.

Are you this person? Do you want to be this person? Do you want to be surrounded by these kinds of people?
The Greater Purpose Conference is something not to be missed! We invite you to join a community of people who just like you are open and willing to give themselves to God’s purpose. Every speaker you will hear will pour into you a deeper revelation of the unique, complex and incredibly gifted individual you are created to be. This gathering  could be a launch of a new adventure, a fresh start, a next chapter in your life. It could be your date for an intimate encounter with the Master. Register now and let us know you are coming. We want to prepare and welcome you to our WMA family reunion at the Greater Purpose Conference May 12, 13 and 14, 20201 in Bentonville, AR.