Baptist Global Response

BGR prayer strategist Lori Funderburk reports:

Praise the Lord that the paper has arrived in Zimbabwe for the 300,000 exercise books we are printing. The covers have all been cut and printing on them has begun. In one afternoon 4,000 covers were folded and the insides inserted! The widows who have been receiving some of the BGR food parcels are coming to help staple the exercise books together.  Pray that the exercise books will be finished in a timely manner and that many children will be blessed by them!

This prayer alert in from BGR prayer coordinator Lori Funderburk:

Tabitha Ministries, a BGR partner in South Africa, is in need of prayer.  This ministry is under great pressure because of the needs it is trying to meet.  More and more people are relying on this ministry and the pressure of added numbers of people starving and abused is heavy.  Nearly 5,000 children in child headed households are dependent on this ministry.  Since January over 4,000 people have died in this community.  In the last week  alone, 191 people have died.  This ministry deals with the sickest of the sick and the poorest of the poor.  Will you lift them up in prayer today?

A Southeast Asian Christian orphanage presently serves around 15 children … most of whom are from an island off the coast that was devastated by a major earthquake. The majority of the children come from poverty-stricken, nonfunctional homes due to the loss of one or both parents.

BGR field partners are helping to provide basic needs (food, clothing, etc.) as well as medical care for the children. The focus is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for them. They are taught to read and then placed in public schools. They are also taught life skills which will help them assimilate back into the community upon graduation.

Local support for the orphanage is growing. The orphanage has planted palm oil plants on their land. BGR field partners will help them produce an advocacy brochure this year. The goal is for them to be more self supporting in the future.

Ask God to continue to strengthen the relationship between this orphanage and the local community. Pray that the children will learn of God’s love for them as their basic needs are met.

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For information on how you can get involved with this project, contact BGR at info@gobgr.org.

The item above comes from “BGR to GO,” a prayer bulletin issued by BGR prayer coordinator Lori Funderburk. To subscribe to BGR to GO send an e-mail BGRtoGO@gobgr.org. A children’s prayer letter also is available. To subscribe, send an e-mail to BGRtoGOforKIDS@gobgr.org.

Southern Baptist food relief is making its way into the Gaza Strip to help people suffering in the aftermath of a three-week Israeli military offensive earlier this year.

A total of $92,000 from the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund will deliver food to about 10,000 people during the course of this next year, according to Abraham Shepherd, Baptist Global Response area director for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Since Southern Baptist field partners and volunteers are unable to enter the area, the project will be conducted in partnership with local believers in Gaza.

The food distribution is part of a larger cooperative effort involving five Christian groups. Those other ministry partners will provide food for the effort as well, but also will distribute clothing, window glass, household goods, blankets and other necessities that are in short supply.

“The Gaza Strip has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis for many years, prior to the war starting in December 2008,” said the project’s local director. “Last year, it was reported that the Gaza Strip had the highest unemployment rate in the world. More than a million people have been suffering due to drastic shortages of food, cooking fuel, medical supplies, and other essentials. The recent war has only increased the devastation and hardships for the people of Gaza.”

Details are still being worked out in regards to logistics, due to the nature of the local conflict there, said BGR’s executive director, Jeff Palmer. “However, it looks as if most food can be purchased locally and distributed quickly and efficiently to those in need.”

The project’s leaders hope the relief effort will not only demonstrate the love of Christ for the hurting Palestinian people but also provide a springboard for long-term improvements in the quality of life for Gaza residents. 

“We do not envision that Gaza will be a self-sustaining area for many years,” the local director said. “It is our hope this project will lead to the development of micro-enterprises and community projects that will lead the people of Gaza to be more self-supporting.”

With technical support from Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., an Internet site, Christian-relief-for-Gaza.org, has been set up to provide information about the relief effort. That site currently suggests several points at which Christians can pray for the crisis:

“Pray that the current cease fire holds. Even more importantly, pray for a just and lasting peace,” the site says. “Pray for healing for those who were injured. Ask God to make available the treatment they need. Pray for the many children whose parents were killed.  Ask God to provide for them.”

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Contributions to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund make projects like this possible. For information about the World Hunger Fund, please visit our Giving page.

Southern Baptist workers are monitoring the situation in the Gaza Strip and looking for opportunities to conduct relief efforts there now that Israel has agreed to open a corridor for humanitarian assistance.

On Jan. 7, Israel announced it would cease hostilities for three hours each day to allow relief supplies to flow through a humanitarian corridor into the Gaza Strip. The announcement followed 12 days of intense fighting, first from the air, then on the ground.

“The situation on both sides of the conflict is bad — especially for the people of Gaza,” said Abraham Shepherd, Baptist Global Response area director for Europe, Mid-East and North Africa. “We have been in constant contact with various networks and individuals in the region, trying to coordinate efforts and be on standby for long-term sustainable relief.”

Southern Baptists already have been involved in two humanitarian projects in Gaza through Baptist Global Response, and that should open the way for permission to participate in war-time relief, Shepherd said.

Shepherd asked Southern Baptists and other Christians to pray for people in the area who are suffering and for humanitarian efforts.

“Please pray for wisdom, as we meet and discuss coordination of efforts,” Shepherd said. “Please pray for readiness in assessing the various options when it comes to our point of entry and the relative security situation.”

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Contributions to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund make projects like this possible. For information about the World Hunger Fund, please visit our Giving page.

Lori Funderburk, BGR prayer strategist, writes:

Five hundred food parcels are making their way into Zimbabwe with BGR partners.  They will be distributing food parcels to one of the poorer parts most affected by the situation there.  Please pray that the food will get to those most in need.  Pray that people will see the love of God through the distribution of these parcels.  Ask Him to multiply the use of these foods as those who receive them try to stretch them out to cover their needs for longer periods of time.  Ask God to intervene on their behalf as the country of Zimbabwe continues to collapse.

For information about the food parcel project, click here.