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Quarterly Magazine Foreword: Walking Through Open Doors
Quarterly Magazine Foreword: Walking Through Open Doors
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| Foreword: Walking Through Open Doors |
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| Saturday, 16 October 2010 12:13 |
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By Rick Postma
With prayerful reliance on the Lord, Word & Deed is growing. As you read this, Bernie Pennings, Project Director for Word & Deed, is visiting (or has just returned from) Malawi and South Africa, the Lord willing. During the second half of October, Bernie will travel to Myanmar (Burma), India and Indonesia. A little over two years ago, we would have smiled at the suggestion that we would soon be involved in Myanmar given the nature of the government there. But doors have opened since the cyclone (2008) struck that already struggling country. We were able to work in partnership with the United Reformed Churches of Myanmar (with 20 established congregations) to restore, among other things, a number of church buildings, a seminary, and provide much-needed drinking water to several communities. Bernie Pennings will be reviewing project proposals and will be teaching several seminars at the seminary there. Often overlooked is the fact that loss of life due to the cyclone was very similar to that of the 2005 tsunami which struck India and neighboring countries. The visit to Sumba, Indonesia, deals with an orphan-related project which was reviewed in the summer issue of this magazine.
This fall, Bernie will also be travelling to Haiti. That trip results from another significant development, the announcement of an intended merger between Coram Deo International Aid (CDIA) and Word & Deed. See the full announcement on page xxx.
Other organizations and churches have approached us as well, to the point that we have had to ask that their requests be put on hold for the time being.
What is Word & Deed’s motive in all this? Is it to be large and “successful”? These are fair questions. The name “Word & Deed” provides a clear answer. If our goal was to be a large humanitarian aid organization, we wouldn’t emphasize the centrality of the Gospel in everything we do – this emphasis closes many doors in an increasingly secular North America. As Pastor Hans Overduin clearly shows in his meditation, we, together with you, are compelled by the limitless love of God for lost sinners to reach out in His name to countless precious souls in the developing world. In this issue, we once again come face to face with many of them, together with project leaders in Colombia, South Africa, Malawi and Guatemala.
This fall we look forward to seeing many of you during our fall dinner tour. Speakers include Carlos Coffin of Nicaragua, and the Nigerian Ambassador to Canada (at separate venues), who has visited the Word & Deed projects in his country. After catching our breath over the summer, may we all be directly and indirectly involved in the spread of the Good News that Jesus Christ has died for sinners, both locally and abroad.
Rick Postma is Director of Public Relations for Word & Deed Ministries.
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