(Photo Courtesy of Reach Beyond)

Central Asia (Reach Beyond/MNN) — Central Asia is composed of five countries that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. About 66 million people live in the region which is dominated by Islam. Only about 0.4% of the population are Christian.

After serving in the Latin America Region of Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB Global) for several years, a couple has been ministering in Central Asia since 2012. They are working in partnership with another agency, researching practical ways to launch healthcare efforts.

In both 2013 and 2014, they helped with medical caravans in a remote valley of the region. During the most recent clinic last fall, team members saw 700 patients in seven workdays, providing physical checkups, sharing the gospel with residents who have little access to healthcare or churches, and checking on a clean water project that the team completed the previous year. As with other places where this couple has served, they’ve found that God’s people are already there–a place where the dangers are great facing those who choose to become believers.

The couple shares this report from a Christian conference in Central Asia:

Standing to his feet, one colleague declared that in the country where he works and ministers, someone of their group is martyred each year. He was referring only to those expatriates who were killed; many nationals in this Central Asian country also die for their faith in Christ. While we in the West talk of giving our hearts and our lives to Christ, such talk is not cheap where believers have shed their own blood.

At the same conference, a pastor spoke of his time in jail under false charges. He related that in his trial, it was pointed out that one of those testifying was actually in jail at the time when he supposedly saw the pastor commit a crime. The judge convicted the pastor anyway.

Another church leader told the conference he had been told by state police, “We know who you are. Any day now we will rid this country of all of you.”

It’s one thing when a man chooses to commend his life into the hands of God. But what of his family? One pastor got up to speak of his daughter who came home one day from school crying. “Why are you crying?” he asked.

The girl answered that they had taken her picture at school and put her name on a list because she was a child of Christian parents. The girl’s classmates laughed at her and the teacher called her Jesus. There was not a dry eye in the audience as this man told of his life as a believer in this Central Asian country.

One evening my heart was broken for these lands as pastors answered the question I had asked in my broken Russian about the condition of healthcare in their country. “How can I help to bring the life that Jesus promises in a land where death is so prevalent?” Their eyes revealed to me that it is not so easy for them to confide in a stranger. The risks, after all, are great in their countries and trust is a rare commodity.

Pray for this couple and others who are working among the people of Central Asia. Pray that believers will not waver in their faith despite persecution, and that they will hold tight to God who is holding on to them.

Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate of up to 90 percent, has killed more than 185 people in West Africa since March.

West Africa (RBD, MNN) — “When God closes a door, He opens a window.” This ancient Jewish proverb proved true recently as a medical caravan had to be moved on short notice due to an Ebola outbreak.

Since the outbreak began in Guinea, more than 100 deaths have been reported. Infections have also been reported in Liberia, and there are about 50 suspected cases in Sierra Leone.

Reach Beyond President and CEO Wayne Pederson says one of their healthcare teams was supposed to hold clinics in Sierra Leone this month.

“The Ebola outbreak is kind of a scary thing,” he notes. “It’s killed a lot of people in West Africa, and it’s 90-percent fatal.”

Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate of up to 90 percent, has killed more than 185 people in West Africa since March. Mostly limited to central Africa, wild animals first infect people with Ebola and the virus quickly spreads through human-to-human contact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Ebola first emerged on the world stage 20 years ago.

To protect their teams from infection, Reach Beyond moved the mobile medical clinics to northern Ghana. This region is home to many Muslims and animists, people that usually don’t respond to evangelism.

(Image courtesy Reach Beyond)

But, there’s something about healthcare that sparks conversations about eternity.

“By demonstrating care for people’s temporal welfare, we find that they’re much more open to hear the Good News: that God has a plan of salvation for them,” says Pederson.

Missionary doctor Mark Nelson served on the seven-member team with his wife, Laurie (also a physician), their two children, Philip and Alisa, Sheila Leech (Reach Beyond’s Vice President of Global Healthcare), and Michelle Sonius.

Reach Beyond’s mobile medical clinics provided care for approximately 300 people in three villages over the course of three days. Church planters were able to join the team on the second day, sharing the Gospel with patients and reading Bible stories to the children.

“The villages were very needy health-wise,” said Mark. “The kids struggled with malaria and parasites without much intervention available, so treatment for these maladies was much appreciated. The adults were glad to have a general checkup, having their blood pressure checked and medications for conditions such as hypertension and chronic pain.”

Another mobile medical clinic is being planned for later this year, following the rainy season and once the Ebola outbreak has passed, with Reach Beyond’s partner in Sierra Leone.

In two weeks, Pederson is visiting Accra to dedicate a new Tree of Life medical clinic. Reach Beyond helped fund and staff the clinic.

“We have found out that there is great need and great opportunity to go into northern Ghana with medical teams,” says Pederson.

“These kids are thrilled about seeing the pediatrician today,” says Adeline McCartney, one of the members of Reach Beyond’s medical team.
(Image, caption courtesy Reach Beyond)

“Using that (the new clinic) as a base, we are sending medical teams into northern Ghana to do health screening, nutrition, hygiene, disease prevention, primary and preventive medicine.”

See how you can help Reach Beyond share the Gospel in Africa.

“We proclaim God’s love through the radio outreach, and through the media we use,” Pederson explains. “And, we demonstrate God’s love through healthcare.”

See how HCJB Global became Reach Beyond.

(Photo courtesy Reach Beyond)

Nepal (RB/HCJB) — Being offered a cup of chai tea is customary in Nepal, but it’s not every day that it’s followed by a hug, especially not from a village elder.

During a recent trip to dedicate a new birthing center in the foothills of the snow-capped Himalayas of Nepal, Ty Stakes, executive director of the Asia Pacific Region for Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB), was struck by an unusual encounter in the community.

“A village elder whom I have seen every time I’ve visited the area came up to me after a short dedication ceremony for the clinic and said one word to me, ‘Chai!’” Stakes related. “He grabbed my arm, and off we went to enjoy a cup of tea. Though we could not converse [due to the language barrier], it was sweet to smile and share a moment.”

Later, Stakes heard from *Sameer, a local partner in Nepal that the village elder had been learning about Jesus from a daily devotional program on the local Christian radio station that the mission helped establish in 2010.

“Finally, as we were saying goodbye to the people in the village, my friend came up and did something I had not seen there before: he gave me a hug,” said Stakes. “I think the hug said it all. Wow! It is so significant that a local elder is showing serious interest in the Lord.”

Stakes was part of the team from Reach Beyond that visited the remote Nepali community to dedicate the birthing clinic–a first for the region that suffers from a high infant mortality rate. The facility was built with the help of a Reach Beyond work team in March, extending the community’s small general clinic to include a delivery room, bathroom, and waiting area.

Sheila Leech, a nurse who serves as vice president of international healthcare, Dr. Tracy Martin and Gabriella Egberth, a midwife from Reach Beyond-Sweden, led the midwifery course Nov. 21-23. Taking the training were 16 volunteer birth attendants and midwives from local villages.

“These women traveled several hours by foot each day for the training and were excited to learn new techniques and protocols that will help their patients give birth more easily and decrease the death rate among mothers and babies,” said Martin.

Topics covered signs and symptoms of pregnancy, how to stay healthy during pregnancy, nutrition, complications and difficult births, as well as care of newborn babies. Martin also taught simple urinalysis, diabetes testing, and how to check hematocrit (volume percentage of red blood cells in blood).

The team donated an International Aid “lab in a suitcase” to the clinic, containing a solar-powered microscope and medical testing equipment.

“The icing on the cake was when three pregnant women from surrounding villages arrived at ‘just the right time’ to be examined with all the new equipment and lab tests,” said Stakes. “We know, of course, that this was orchestrated by the Lord.”

Stakes and Leech also joined mission ambassadors Ron and Barb Cline from California and Derek Kickbush of Reach Beyond-Australia to facilitate a four day leadership training course in Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city, with a particular focus on equipping leaders.

The course was part of the mission’s Global Voice Leadership Institute (GVLI), a training program with classes in the spring and fall for leaders and managers, culminating in November with the graduation of 17 students.

The program covered the role and responsibilities of a leader, project management skills, habits and qualities to develop for Christlike leadership, and skills for running a Christian radio station. Between training sessions, the leaders taught what they had learned to others in their communities.

“The high caliber of people we find in the GVLI classroom never fails to impress me,” said Kickbush.”

However, he also underlined the challenge of using critical thinking and teamwork, especially since the students were used to rote learning and top-down, male-dominated management structures. “The training challenged a lot of traditional Nepali paradigms of leadership,” added Stakes.

During the GVLI program, Leech led a session titled, “Beyond the Radio Station.” She challenged the Nepali leaders to think of other practical ways of serving their communities, doing more than just broadcasting the gospel and airing public service announcements.

One person who was already putting that into practice was Sameer. In addition to helping develop a Christian radio ministry, he’s been working to save thousands of women and girls from sex trafficking, providing care and biblical training for them in “safe houses” before they return to their communities.

This included women like *Miriam who came to know Christ during a nine-month period in a “safe house” following her rescue by the Christian group from slavery. “She immersed herself into study of the Word of God, and then she returned to her own village and threw herself into leading the small church there,” explained Leech. “She manages the clean-water projects in the village, runs a savings club for women, and is currently working on getting latrines installed in the community.”

Reach Beyond helped finance clean-water wells in Miriam’s village which administers a monthly 50-cent charge per person to cover maintenance. On Miriam’s initiative, the villages are also putting an additional 50 cents per person monthly into a micro-finance savings program, enabling some of the women to start up small businesses such as selling snacks off the backs of bicycles.

“As I reflect on that last trip to Nepal, I feel blessed and so encouraged,” concluded Leech. “I feel humbled by the fact that God in His magnificent wisdom and grace allowed me to get a glimpse into what He is doing in Nepal.”

*Names changed for security purposes.

The mission is defined by the tagline, “The Voice and Hands of Jesus. Together.” Through its “voice” ministries, the mission works with partners to use radio and modern media to make the Gospel accessible in places where it typically isn’t available.

The “hands” ministries of the mission provide much-needed healthcare service in places where even common medical help isn’t readily available. Reach Beyond “hands” ministries takes many forms, including mobile community healthcare clinics, counseling centers in war torn areas, clean water projects, and general hygiene training, all with an emphasis on demonstrating the love of Jesus to recipients of the care.

Reach Beyond also values partnership with local Christians, churches, and ministry partners as its core way of operating, signified by the word “together” in its tagline.

“For more than 80 years, our missionaries and partners have boldly been going to places where people have never had the opportunity to experience the love of God,” said Wayne Pederson, President and CEO of Reach Beyond. “But now is the time to accelerate and multiply those efforts. Through the use of modern media and healthcare, we work arm-in-arm with partners to show people that a relationship with Jesus Christ can change their lives forever.”

The “Reach Beyond Manifesto” challenges believers to reach beyond borders and their own comfort level in an effort to accomplish the Great Commission. It serves as a declaration for how the renamed Reach Beyond wants to invest its time and efforts in making Christ known to the ends of the earth. It’s also a call– and a challenge–for other Christians to recommit themselves to the same effort.

To read and sign the Manifesto, visit www.reachbeyond.org.

“With all the technology, knowledge, and experience available to us today, there is no reason why we can’t make Christ known to everyone on the planet,” said Pederson. “We hope the Reach Beyond Manifesto causes all like-minded Christians to renew their commitment to demonstrate God’s love as His voice and hands.”

Founded in 1931 as World Radio Missionary Fellowship Inc., Reach Beyond has focused on making disciples of Christ around the world. With ministries in more than 100 countries, Reach Beyond equips partners to air Christian content in more than 120 languages and dialects. The name change also reflects the ministry’s ongoing international focus and commitment to reach areas where less than 2% of the population is Christian.

“Adaptability has always been a strength of the mission,” said Curt Cole, Executive Vice President of International Ministries. “When the best model was to own a large hospital or broadcast over shortwave radio, the mission leveraged those strengths. Today, technology and the world are changing, and we are adapting. That’s why we place such a high premium on partnerships with local Christians. They know their own culture and needs far better than we do. If the need is for a small, community healthcare clinic or a local FM radio station, we’re committed to equipping the people with all the resources they need to reach their own people in their own culture.”

HCJB Global’s “Beyond the Call” radio program, aired on more than 1,000 stations around the U.S., will now be called “Reach Beyond.”

“The new name is much more than a brand change,” Pederson said. “Reach Beyond is a reflection of our ministry DNA. It’s about doing whatever is necessary to reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus. In essence, it’s a call to Christians to reach beyond their comfort zones and to actively participate in making Christ known among the nations.”

The organization hopes the “Reach Beyond Manifesto” will serve as a call to action for Christians to focus their attention and efforts on those areas of the world where Christ has yet to be proclaimed.

“We hear it every generation, but perhaps it’s more true now than ever,” Pederson said. “We are at a pivotal time in our history. We have the means and ability to spread the message of Jesus to everyone who is alive today. We can accomplish this by renewing our commitment and reorganizing our priorities. Reach Beyond wants to be on the forefront of this new gospel era and encourage others to join us in making Christ known in every country, city, village, and community around the globe.”

For 82 years, the passion of Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB Global) has been to make disciples of Christ. Using mass media, healthcare, and partnership around the world, Reach Beyond has ministries in more than 100 countries. The gospel is aired in more than 120 languages and dialects. Thousands of healthcare patients are meeting Jesus. Local believers are being trained as missionaries, pastors, broadcasters, and healthcare providers.

HCJB is involved with planting radio stations in many areas around the world. (Photo by HCJB Global)

Africa (MNN) — Have you wondered if your prayers would ever be answered? After a long journey, did God provide what you needed just in time?

Kurt Cole of HCJB Global spoke with us about long-term prayers being answered, and hard work paying off.

“In just the last couple of days, we’ve seen years of hard work and prayers and hopes and dreams come to fruition in the countries of Guinea-Bissau and Congo in Africa.”

Guinea-Bissau, located in West Africa, has a new radio station officially on the air. What’s so special about this new radio station? It’s a ministry opportunity like none before in the country.

Cole says, “This is one of those that we wondered if God would ever let it happen. We knew He would, but we didn’t know the timing. And it’s so exciting to see the first evangelical radio station ever in the country of GB and West Africa on the air.”

This first and only evangelical radio station has the opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands with the Gospel. It is located in the country of Gabu. The potential audience is largely Muslim or followers of animistic beliefs.

The radio station is owned and operated by Serving in Mission (SIM),  the group with whom HCJB is partnering to assist in their ministry.

“It’s this partnership with this group that has a team on the ground that will be owning and operating the station,” Cole explains. “We’ve been praying with them for many, many years [that] this’ll be the opportunity to really reach the people of that country.”

HCJB assists the group with technical knowledge, advanced studies that make going on air possible, and ongoing training to keep them on air.

“We believe strongly that local Christian entities within the countries are really the best equipped groups to reach their own people. So we strongly believe in locally-owned radio stations.”

Cole explains that establishing locally owned and run radio stations has become a priority for HCJB. “We have open doors in many places of the world right now: places like Thailand, Nepal, different countries in Africa as well, in the Sahel area that we’re focusing on now.”

It is a different approach than church planting or pastor training. “We are very active in many parts of the world with what we call radio planting.”

Another answer to almost eight years of prayer is the radio station planted in Impfondo, Republic of the Congo.

The connection there was a partner named Dr. Joe Harvey who runs Pioneer Christian Hospital

“In 2006, we invited him to a consortium, a meeting summit that we had in Ghana, to bring our radio and potential health care partners together to dream big about what we could do together with ‘Voice and Hands’ ministry in Africa. And Dr. Joe walked away from that with a dream of having a radio station as part of the hospital ministry.”

Along the nearly decade-long journey, the team hit many snags. But God was faithful to honor their hard work and answer prayer.

“[It] went on the air on the 14th of January at about 6:45 in the evening.”

Beautiful News Radio is broadcasting from the hospital.

Pray for HCJB Global and their partners, that their radio planting would be successful in preaching the Gospel and bringing hope to the poor and needy. If you would like to come alongside HCJB in this effort, click here.

Selling knitted items at a microbusiness in the former Yugoslavia. (Photo by HCJB Global)

Balkan Nation (HCJB) – In the former Yugoslavia, victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence would receive just six months’ respite-six months’ protection in a “house of refuge” before they were forced to return home again, often back into the arms of their abusers.

Carlos and Laura (fictitious names used for security reasons), Colombian Operation Mobilization (OM) missionaries in the Balkan nation trained at HCJB Global’s  Corrientes missionary mentoring program in Quito, Ecuador, quickly saw a need and responded to it.

Since their arrival in the country in 2010, they have developed a social integration program to give hope to women and children who have suffered sexual abuse or domestic violence. Additionally, through a microbusiness program and church planting work, they are bringing dignity to the citizens and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them.

After moving from Colombia to Ecuador for work and seeing their own business venture collapse, Carlos and Laura felt God saying to them, “The time that you had to invest in yourselves is over, and this is the time for you to focus on my kingdom-on what I want you to do in my kingdom.”

As they prayed for countries which had been torn apart by war, God gave them a burden for the nation. “One night,” Carlos recalled, “my wife said to me, ‘What would you say if we started to focus on going to [the Balkan country]?’ There were certain things that caught our attention and one was that it was a country in a Muslim context. The second was that it had been through the disruption of war and we are from a country at war. And the third is that we’re passionate about it.”

Two years later-12 years for Laura since she had first felt called to missionary service-the couple began to develop a new ministry in the country as part of a small team based in a nearby city.

Through microbusiness training, Carlos and Laura helped a family make and sell knitted products, while assisting another in producing and selling jam, now on the shelves of local supermarkets. As they worked with the families, they also shared their faith. Carlos said that “one of the families is visiting us in our meetings that we are running on Sundays where we share the Gospel…. The woman [in that family] has accepted Jesus as her personal Savior and her husband is coming to the meetings.”

As the couple began to settle into life in the Balkan country, they were moved by the plight of women and children who had been sexually abused or suffered domestic violence. “Women who have survived violence, by necessity have to return to their homes because there isn’t a program enabling social re-entry for them,” explained Carlos. “So, seeing this situation, we decided to open the doors of our house so that they could come and live with us.”

Last May the program was formalized as Operation Restoration, a national nongovernmental organization. “We have a house equipped with everything necessary so that they can live there with their children and we provide psychological help,” Carlos continued. The center also offers rehabilitation, art therapy, and classes in sewing, woodwork and information technology. Young girls who haven’t finished high school are able to continue studying for exams.

Another strand of their outreach, interconnected with microbusiness training and their work with abused women and children, is relationship building and church planting. “We invite our friends [to church], and there we have the opportunity to share the Gospel in a more direct way,” related Carlos. Last February they celebrated the inauguration of a church plant called Road of Salvation, the sister church of another congregation by the same name.

Throughout their preparation time and ministry in the former Yugoslavia, Laura and Carlos have been grateful for the support of Corrientes. “We think that what Corrientes has done-enabling us to speak with missionaries who have spent years serving on the field-is priceless, it’s priceless,” said Carlos.

“I think that each one of the missionaries inspired us with what they told us about how God had worked through their lives,” added Laura. “And it was also a very sincere encounter with them of sharing very intimate things.”

Carlos and Laura are in their second month of a five-month home ministry assignment in Ecuador while team members continue with the work in Europe in their absence. A family from Korea and a missionary from the U.S. recently joined the eight-member team. In January a missionary couple from the U.K. will provide further support.

As Carlos and Laura think about returning to the Balkan nation next year, they’re excited about what lies ahead: “Our great expectation is that we could work not only with women, but also with the three men who are going to join our team. Pray that we could work with men, too, and that God would grant us success in the strategies we’re thinking about using in working with young people and furthering evangelism.”

Carlos and Laura (fictitious names used for security reasons), Colombian
Operation Mobilization (OM) missionaries in the Balkan nation and trained at HCJB
Global's Corrientes missionary mentoring program in Quito, Ecuador, quickly
saw a need and responded to it.

Since their arrival in the country in 2010, they have developed a social
integration program to give hope to women and children who have suffered sexual
abuse or domestic violence. Additionally, through a microbusiness program and
church planting work, they are bringing dignity to the citizens and sharing the
good news of Jesus Christ with them.

After moving from Colombia to Ecuador for work, and seeing their own business
venture collapse, Carlos and Laura felt God saying to them, "The time that you
had to invest in yourselves is over. This is the time for you to focus on My kingdom, on what I want you to do in My kingdom."

As they prayed for countries which had been torn apart by war, God gave them a
burden for the nation. "One night," Carlos recalled, "my wife said to me, ‘What
would you say if we started to focus on going to [the Balkan country]?' There
were certain things that caught our attention, and one was that it was a country
in a Muslim context. The second was that it had been through the disruption of
war, and we are from a country at war. And the third is that we're passionate
about it." 

Two years later–12 years for Laura since she had first felt called to
missionary service, the couple began to develop a new ministry in the country as
part of a small team based in a nearby city.

Through microbusiness training, Carlos and Laura helped a family make and sell
knitted products, while assisting another in producing and selling jam, now on
the shelves of local supermarkets. As they worked with the families, they also
shared their faith. Carlos said that "one of the families is visiting us in our
meetings that we are running on Sundays where we share the Gospel…. The woman
[in that family] has accepted Jesus as her personal Savior, and her husband is
coming to the meetings."

As the couple began to settle into life in the Balkan country, they were moved
by the plight of women and children who had been sexually abused or had suffered
domestic violence. "Women who have survived violence by necessity have to
return to their homes because there isn't a program enabling social re-entry
for them," explained Carlos. "So, seeing this situation, we decided to open the
doors of our house so that they could come and live with us."

Last May, the program was formalized as Operation Restoration, a national
nongovernmental organization. "We have a house equipped with everything
necessary, so that they can live there with their children, and we provide
psychological help," Carlos continued. The center also offers
rehabilitation, art therapy, and classes in sewing, woodwork, and information
technology. Young girls who haven't finished high school are able to continue
studying for exams.

Another strand of their outreach–interconnected with microbusiness training
and their work with abused women and children–is relationship building and
church planting. "We invite our friends [to church], and there we have the
opportunity to share the Gospel in a more direct way," related Carlos. Last
February they celebrated the inauguration of a church plant called Road of
Salvation, the sister church of another congregation by the same name.

Throughout their preparation time and ministry in the former Yugoslavia, Laura
and Carlos have been grateful for the support of Corrientes. "We
think that what Corrientes has done–enabling us to speak with
missionaries who have spent years serving on the field–is priceless. It's
priceless," said Carlos.

"I think that each one of the missionaries inspired us with what they told us
about how God had worked through their lives," added Laura. "And it was also a
very sincere encounter with them of sharing very intimate things."

Carlos and Laura are in their second month of a five-month home ministry
assignment in Ecuador while team members continue with the work in Europe in
their absence. A family from Korea and a missionary from the U.S. recently
joined the eight-member team. In January, a missionary couple from the U.K. will
provide further support.

As Carlos and Laura think about returning to the Balkan nation next year,
they're excited about what lies ahead: "Our great expectation is that we could
work not only with women, but also with the three men who are going to join our
team. Pray that we could work with men, too, and that God would grant us
success in the strategies we're thinking about using in working with young
people and furthering evangelism."

(Photo courtesy HCJB Global)

Ecuador (MNN/HCJB) – Part of successful ministry is knowing how to stay on point.

That’s true of HCJB Global as the team recently wrestled with what to do with Hospital Vozandes-Shell, or Hospital Vozandes del Oriente (HVO), a 28-bed facility on the edge of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest.

After 55 years of outreach, the facility has basically worked itself out of a job. HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson says, “We’re finding more and more that people in the remote area are going to newly-established hospitals, getting excellent, modern care, at no cost. Our patient population has gone way down and because of that, it’s no longer feasible or sustainable for us to offer a hospital there.”

Sheila Leech, vice president of global healthcare, said one of the new government regulations mandates that injured/sick jungle residents picked up by air ambulances operated by Mission Aviation Fellowship in Shell can no longer transfer their patients to HVO. “Now they must be taken to a government hospital, so a lot of jungle patients are not coming to us.”

She also pointed to the Health Ministry’s recent ruling that expatriate doctors can no longer practice in Ecuador unless they’re fully licensed in the country. This has excluded foreign volunteers, leading to a staff shortage and overtaxing the existing staff. “In the past, foreign missionary doctors could practice in our hospitals while in the process of being licensed, and they often did their rural year of medical practice in Shell.

These changes all weighed heavily into the final decision reached by the team. Pederson explains the plan to ease into the transition. “The hospital has become a day clinic, so we’re taking care of patients during the day, but the hospital will be closing on December 31rst.”

No longer running a hospital will also free up staff to be involved in clean water projects as

(Photo courtesy HCJB Global)

well as in other areas of healthcare, adds Pederson. “We’re more focused on community health: taking medical care teams out to the remote areas, to the mountainous areas, rural areas, where there is no healthcare available.”

He’s quick to note that the decision came after two key elements were firmly established. First, there’s been a marked improvement in Ecuador’s healthcare delivery system, and second, there’s a vibrant local church. “The local church now can serve the spiritual needs of the community. That’s a good thing. We celebrate the fact the government has stepped forward to take care of their people. We celebrate the fact that the indigenous Latino church can now serve the spiritual needs of the area and reach out to those who have never heard the Gospel.”

In other words, there will be no gap in service to the residents in and around Shell because the support system is in place. Pederson says those factors help keep HCJB on mission. “Our focus is unreached territories, restricted areas with limited access to the Gospel. We’re going to focus in places like that where the name of Jesus is not known, and we can be more evangelistic and missional in taking the good news to people that have never heard in some of the hard to reach places of the world.”

It’s coming at a critical point for HCJB, because God has been opening doors in other areas. “We’re glad that the government has stepped in and is caring for their people in this way. Actually, it fits with our global strategy that we go to areas of the world where we are most needed. We’re finding critical needs for the healthcare that we offer in places like Ghana, Burkina Faso, Haiti, and Nepal and in some of the ‘Stan’ countries.”

Recent examples include helping radio partner Theovision establish a medical clinic in Accra, Ghana; assisting Radio Evangile Développement in Burkina Faso with clean water projects; helping build a birthing clinic in Nepal; and working with partners in Central Asia to launch a preventive healthcare outreach.

Shutting down HVO means the immediate dismissal of some 30 Ecuadorian employees immediately and another 30 by Dec. 31, a decision that has been accepted surprisingly well by the staff on the whole.

“God has brought us here for a purpose to know Him and to shine for Him now and when we leave for other employment. We can hold our heads up high because we worked at HVO,” said one staff member, adding that the hospital has developed a reputation for demonstrating Christ’s love to all who enter the doors.

(Photo courtesy HCJB Global)

HVO opened originally as Epp Memorial Hospital on May 10, 1958. An infusion of cash from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency enabled the mission to build a new hospital that was inaugurated on March 30, 1985. It is still unclear if the facilities will be sold, rented or transferred to the Ecuadorian government in 2014.

After at least five years of debate and soul-searching, the decision makes fiscal sense and kingdom sense. Leech says, “We look at sending these people out as light and salt in the public sector. We can be very proud of our employees. Wherever they go, they will take the aroma of Christ with them and stand for Him.”

Pederson acknowledges the bittersweet aspect of closing HVO. However, “Our focus is unreached territories, restricted areas with limited access to the Gospel. We’re going to focus in places like that where the name of Jesus is not known, and we can be more evangelistic and missional in taking the good news to people that have never heard in some of the hard to reach places of the world.”

Will you pray with them in the transition and new outreach?

That's true of HCJB Global as the team recently wrestled with what to do with Hospital Vozandes-Shell, or Hospital Vozandes del Oriente (HVO), a 28-bed facility on the edge of Ecuador's Amazon rainforest.

After 55 years of outreach, the facility has basically worked itself out of a job. HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson says, "We're finding more and more that people in the remote area are going to newly-established hospitals, getting excellent, modern care at no cost. Our patient population has gone way down, and because of that, it's no longer feasible or sustainable for us to offer a hospital there."

Sheila Leech, vice president of Global Healthcare, said one of the new government regulations mandates that injured or sick jungle residents picked up by air ambulances operated by Mission Aviation Fellowship in Shell can no longer transfer their patients to HVO. "Now they must be taken to a government hospital, so a lot of jungle patients are not coming to us."

She also pointed to the Health Ministry's recent ruling that expatriate doctors can no longer practice in Ecuador unless they're fully licensed in the country. This has excluded foreign volunteers, leading to a staff shortage and overtaxing the existing staff. "In the past, foreign missionary doctors could practice in our hospitals while in the process of being licensed, and they often did their rural year of medical practice in Shell."

These changes all weighed heavily into the final decision reached by the team. Pederson explains the plan to ease into the transition. "The hospital has become a day clinic, so we're taking care of patients during the day, but the hospital will be closing on December 31."

No longer running a hospital will also free up staff to be involved in clean water projects as well as in other areas of healthcare, adds Pederson. "We're more focused on community health: taking medical care teams out to the remote areas, to the mountainous areas, rural areas, where there is no healthcare available."

He's quick to note that the decision came after two key elements were firmly established. First, there's been a marked improvement in Ecuador's healthcare delivery system; and second, there's a vibrant local church. "The local church now can serve the spiritual needs of the community. That's a good thing. We celebrate the fact that the government has stepped forward to take care of their people. We celebrate the fact that the indigenous Latino church can now serve the spiritual needs of the area and reach out to those who have never heard the Gospel."

In other words, there will be no gap in service to the residents in and around Shell because the support system is in place. Pederson says those factors help keep HCJB on mission. "Our focus is unreached territories, restricted areas with limited access to the Gospel. We're going to focus in places like that where the name of Jesus is not known, and we can be more evangelistic and missional in taking the good news to people that have never heard in some of the hard-to-reach places of the world."

It's coming at a critical point for HCJB, because God has been opening doors in other areas. "We're glad that the government has stepped in and is caring for their people in this way. Actually, it fits with our global strategy that we go to areas of the world where we are most needed. We're finding critical needs for the healthcare that we offer in places like Ghana, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nepal, and in some of the ‘Stan' countries."

Recent examples include helping radio partner Theovision establish a medical clinic in Accra, Ghana; assisting Radio Evangile Développement in Burkina Faso with clean water projects; helping build a birthing clinic in Nepal; and working with partners in Central Asia to launch a preventive healthcare outreach.

Shutting down HVO means the immediate dismissal of some 30 Ecuadorian employees immediately and another 30 by Dec. 31, a decision that has been accepted surprisingly well by the staff on the whole.

"God has brought us here for a purpose to know Him and to shine for Him now and when we leave for other employment. We can hold our heads up high because we worked at HVO," said one staff member, adding that the hospital has developed a reputation for demonstrating Christ's love to all who enter the doors.

HVO opened originally as Epp Memorial Hospital on May 10, 1958. An infusion of cash from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency enabled the mission to build a new hospital that was inaugurated on March 30, 1985. It is still unclear if the facilities will be sold, rented, or transferred to the Ecuadorian government in 2014.

After at least five years of debate and soul-searching, the decision makes fiscal sense and kingdom sense. Leech says, "We look at sending these people out as light and salt in the public sector. We can be very proud of our employees. Wherever they go, they will take the aroma of Christ with them and stand for Him."

Will you pray with them in the transition and new outreach?

(Photo courtesy HCJB Global)

International (HCJB) — You can easily spend $50 a month on fast food or Starbucks. Wouldn’t it be great to commit that same amount and see it result in lives transformed by the power of the gospel?

HCJB Global’s passion is making disciples of Jesus Christ. Through the practical tools of media, healthcare, and leadership development, we serve with Christians around the globe to reach the least-reached with the Good News.

People are hearing the gospel for the first time in their heart language in countries like Thailand, Sierra Leone, Peru and Croatia. Lives are being transformed in North Africa and the Middle East through programming on shortwave and satellite radio. Communities in Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Nepal and Haiti are being transformed as clean-water projects and rural healthcare outreaches touch lives.

One radio listener wrote, “A few weeks ago, I was getting ready to commit suicide. Then I had an urge to turn on the radio. Someone was speaking about the hope we have in Jesus. Now I listen to your station because the programming inspires me to live and have hope.”

As a Power Partner, you can rejoice when an individual comes to Christ through our local partner’s radio ministry in Indonesia that your gift helped launch. When a village elder in Ghana reports that since the clean-water well was installed no one in the community has died, you can know that you played a part.

When believers in Central Asia secretly meet and “have church” as they listen to the songs and preaching and read the Bible they downloaded from a website in their language, you can praise God for the powerful way in which your gift made it possible.

Will you become a Power Partner so that people all over the world can hear the Good news and experience God’s Love? Click here to get involved.

Needed for 2013: $291,000