Mission Network News

Photo by Nathaniel Watson

The phrase "door-to-door" could make a lot of people think of an annoying salesman. But in Haiti, more and more hear that phrase as "freedom."

The unemployment rate in Haiti has been horrific for ages, but since the deadly earthquake that hit the country January 2010, even fewer Haitians have been able to hold a job. Some estimates list the rate of unemployment at nearly 70 percent.

Add on top of this devastating economy a terrifying cholera scare, and many are in desperate need of hope.

This past month, high schoolers from Wheaton Bible Church broke a sweat under the hot Haitian sun doing construction work for Kids Alive International.

Kids Alive International (KAI) encourages church youth groups to join them on mission trips to some of the most impoverished countries where the message of God's love is desperately needed.

The youth group with Wheaton Bible Church did just that. They went down to Haiti and started building KAI's very first residential children's home in that area.

A man looks at the debris of the destroyed Zonkwa market in Zonkwa, Nigeria, on April 21. (AP Images/Sunday Alamba)

Christians in the northern states of Nigeria are expecting attacks from terror group Boko Haram on Saturday.

"There is an intentional effort by the Islamic extremist group named Boko Haram to unleash more violence against Christians in the northern provinces of Nigeria," says Carl Moeller with Open Doors, USA. "There is a specific attack that is scheduled for July 30, and this is causing a great deal of concern on the parts of Christians throughout the country."

The date holds special meaning to the terror group, Moeller says. "It's the second anniversary of the death of the founder of Boko Haram, sort of an indigenous, al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic group in the northern states of Nigeria."

Famine is a deadly killer. It is declared only when malnutrition in the population shoots over the level of 30 percent and two children per every 10,000 die each day. Declaring a famine draws more attention for aid and relief to the people in crisis.

But when the UN finally declared famine in two areas of Somalia on July 20, malnutrition was at 55 percent and six children per every 10,000 were dying every day.

And this wasn't the only delayed reaction seen.

Drug trafficking brings an estimated $6 billion into Colombia each year. The country's government is fighting against it, but still the market continues.

One aspect that greatly affects the lives of thousands of people in Colombia is the constant conflict between the government and the FARC, a guerrilla movement that has proclaimed itself as a socialist anti-imperialist organization. To fund their terrorist activities, they get as much as $2 million a day in illicit drug proceeds. Some FARC units in southern Colombia are reported to be directly involved in drug trafficking activities such as controlling local cocaine base markets.

A protester burns vegetation in a street in Lilongwe, Malawi, on July 20. (AP Images/Diane Boles)

In the past, Malawi has affectionately been known as the "warm heart of Africa." Over the last week, however, headlines have popped up indicating that recent unrest has turned Malawi upside down. So what exactly is happening in this typically friendly nation?

Stuart Palmer, CURE International executive director for CURE Malawi, says there is more than meets the eye with the recent violence that caused Malawi to take a place on international maps.

Despite rumors that protests turned deadly when government officials fired live ammo above an innocent crowd, Palmer says he hasn't felt threatened. "It hasn't been a terrible experience, what's happened in the last week in Malawi," says Palmer. "There've been many storm clouds building up to what happened over the last week."

Parliament in Tajikistan adopted two new laws Thursday, which would ban most children under the age of 18 from religious activities.

As reported by Forum 18, these documents are to be forwarded to President Emomali Rahmon for his approval. If Rahmon signs these legal documents, it could spell out increased suppression of parent and child religious rights in the country.

Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says: "Apparently the presidential administration was sort of behind [the effort] to put this kind of a law through to begin with, so the initiative came from there. So if it's not signed, it would certainly be a miracle."

Anders Behring Breivik (Rex Features via AP Images)

The world continues to grieve for the country of Norway, after a bombing in Oslo's City Center and subsequent shooting that left 92 dead on Friday.

32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik of Oslo is in custody after allegedly detonating a bomb which targeted government buildings, including the Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's office. Seven people were killed there.

Then he traveled to the Island of Utoya to attack a youth summer camp. Oslo police say more than 80 people were killed at the camp organized by the governing Norwegian Labor party, most of them youth.

Haiti has been on numerous emotional roller coasters in the past 18 months. What some may not realize though, is that Haiti has been on this rickety ride for centuries.

But now the tables may be turning. Pastor Robert Ulysse, a minister in the northwest region of Haiti, confirms that a great awakening has been taking place in that region over the past several months. He expects the area is about to stumble upon an even greater revival.

For the last six years, Ulysse has been involved with a development project in Haiti. Out of this project was birthed a Spiritual Warfare Campaign, which has been in effect over the last eight months.

Tensions are high for Christians in Turkey as the IN Network director continues to be under guard and surveillance following death threats.

An assassination plot by the ultra-nationalist group Ergenekon to kill the IN Network Turkey director, as reported earlier in March. Since then, the government has stepped up measures to protect him.

India is home to one of the largest illiterate populations in the world. 

Nearly half of India's population—over 463 million—is under the age of 20, which means that these children will eventually be members of the world's largest democracy.

 "The vast majority of those children are the poorest of the poor," Dave Stravers, with Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Mission India, says of these kids. "Their families earn less than $1.25 a day. Forty percent of them are malnourished."

Francis Chan is dominating the New York Times best-seller list these days. The founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., has three trade books on the Times’ “Paperback Advice & Miscellaneous” list this week.

Chan’s latest title, Erasing Hell, debuted at No. 3 this week. And his older titles Crazy Love and Forgotten God are still hanging on at No. 4 and No. 10, respectively. Having three titles on the list is a first for Chan, and having three tiles from one author on the list at the same time is a first for his publisher, David C. Cook.

Senegal is somewhere between 4 and 6  percent Christian, and reports show that most in that percentage are Roman Catholic. The Joshua Project has found that only 0.2 percent of the nation are evangelical Christian.

Missions work is vital in the mostly-Muslim country, and a missionary family with The Mission Society felt the burden of the work immediately.

Adam Dalenburg says, "We spent our first couple of years trying to do everything for everyone."

The family preached, taught English as a second language, and tried to provide for the felt needs of as many as possible to live out Christ's love. But Adam soon had a revelation.

In about a month and a half, Nepal is supposed to have a new constitution ready to go.

Faced with an August 31 deadline, there's a high risk of a collapsed peace process should the draft not be completed by that time. 

The new deadline is the extension of another deadline at the end of May which was missed. The May target came about as the result of a 2008 election that eventually brought about an accord between the Maoist rebels and the government. However, the peace was hinged on meeting a two-year mandate for a new constitution.

The political chaos that could result from another miss could permanently derail what's been accomplished since the civil war ended in 2006. 

Venezuela has formed a major alliance and a significant trade relationship with Cuba since the election of President Hugo Chavez in 1999.

Chavez has described Cuba's dictator, Fidel Castro, as his mentor. As the warm relationship continues to intensify, it's bringing along with it a growing sense of concern for religious freedom.

Castro's attitude toward the church has been decidedly unfriendly. However, according to Voice of the Martyrs Canada, over the last year the government shifted away from higher profile forms of oppression to putting pressure on pastors and other Christian leaders.