The beginnings of Lent and Ramadan overlap today. To an outsider, they might sound like the same season.

“For many Christians, Lent is a season of fasting, repentance, reflection, and preparation for Easter. For Muslims, Ramadan is a month of fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and heightened devotion to God,” Samuel says.

“I want to make sure I say this clearly: these are not the same.”

Lent vs. Ramadan

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.
(Photo courtesy of Ahna Ziegler/Unsplash)

While Lent observance varies widely among Christian denominations, many agree on the fundamental purpose. “It mirrors Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness before He began His ministry,” Samuel says.

Christians who observe Lent do so “by fasting or giving up something, repenting of sin, practicing prayer and generosity, and reflecting on Christ’s sacrifice and suffering.”

Ramadan observance is stricter among Muslims. “Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, [abstaining] from food and drink, as well as other physical comforts. They also increase prayer. They give alms, they seek forgiveness, they hope to grow in submission and devotion to Allah,” Samuel says.

“Some of them will also read through the Quran in its entirety at least once, which is about the length of the Gospels in our Bible.”

While Lent and Ramadan share several similarities, “here is the key theological difference: Christians do not fast in order to earn God’s favor,” Samuel says.

“Lent prepares our hearts to celebrate the cross and the resurrection, where salvation was accomplished and not achieved by us.”

By contrast, Ramadan is obligatory for Muslims. Samuel says, “Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and many Muslims believe it increases their spiritual merit and draws them closer to God.”

The Quran is the holy book of Muslims.
(Photo courtesy Ali Burhan/Unsplash)

While the theology behind Lent and Ramadan is different, he adds, “There is something powerful about the fact that millions of people are intentionally fasting and seeking God at the same time.”

Key takeaways

Hunger often awakens spiritual awareness. “When someone feels hunger daily for 30 days, they become more aware of their dependence, and that’s where believers, I believe, can lean in, not with argument, but with prayer; not with comparison, but with compassion,” Samuel says.

“Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.’ And during Ramadan, millions are physically hungry while spiritually seeking – that is not something to dismiss. It is something to pray into.”

First, pray for Muslims as they break their daily fast. “Set an alarm for sunset,” Samuel suggests. Pray that “as they hunger physically, they would hunger for true righteousness; that they would encounter Jesus in dreams and Scriptures; that they would discover grace.”

Second, pray for a revelation of God’s grace. “Pray that the difference between earning and receiving would become clear to them, and ask that the burden of performance would feel heavy,” Samuel says.

“Many friends I’ve spoken to, who have come to faith in Jesus Christ from a Muslim background, say [unloading the] burden of constant failure was transformational.”

(Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)

Third, ask Jesus to reveal His saving truth to Muslims. “Many testimonies of believers who have come to faith in Jesus Christ from a Muslim background involved dreams, and specifically during Ramadan,” Samuel says.

“Pray that Jesus would reveal Himself, that seekers would meet believers, and that Scripture would become alive to people.”

Fourth, consider practicing generosity and hospitality toward Muslim friends. “It’s a very expensive time for Muslims,” Samuel says, explaining that meals for breaking the fast – known to Muslims as ‘iftar’ – are elaborate.

“Providing some food or even cooking a meal and bringing it over at sunset could be enjoyable. Do your best to provide halal foods,” he suggests.

*Pseudonym

Header image is a representative stock photo created for MNN by Chat GPT. 

“There’s a different vibe in a lot of families right now because of world events, because of things we’ve been through,” says Brad Hutchcraft with Hutchcraft Ministries. “You’ve got people talking about what you should and shouldn’t do with family over the holidays, whether you even should or shouldn’t be with them.” 

But if you’re a follower of Christ, those aren’t the voices to listen to. You have a different calling: represent Jesus. 

As ambassadors of Christ, Hutchcraft points out one big temptation to avoid at family gatherings: “People view it as ‘This is my one chance to make my point, to make my case for whatever it may be, for my political viewpoint, for my lifestyle.’ 

“What I really want people to see the holidays as is a time to build a bridge to year-round, ongoing communication with people.

“It doesn’t have to be saying, ‘I am going in here with an agenda,’ but just going in there and saying, ‘Hey, how can I be the hands and feet for Jesus in my family?’” 

It might not be easy. Hutchcraft says there’s no sugar-coating that some of us are going into very challenging family environments. Here are five pointers Hutchcraft and his brother, Doug, shared in a recent podcast episode: 

Go M.A.D. podcast (Photo courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries)

• “Prepare your heart beforehand.
• “Look for opportunities to affirm and encourage [your family], even if it’s with someone you disagree with on a lot of things.
• “Be a good listener and really hear what others are saying.
• “Respond with gentleness and respect, whatever the topics are that come up (1 Peter 3:15).
• “Be a safe person. Create a loving atmosphere where people feel comfortable about opening up to you.”

There’s more! Check out the full, candid conversation between the Hutchcraft brothers at their podcast, Go M.A.D. (make a difference). To read about it instead, click here.

“Our desire is to help encourage people to [address the question], ‘How can you be a bridge builder and bring peace to your family during this holiday season?’” Hutchcraft says. 

“There’s a lot more that we share [in the podcast episode], and we would love to be a help to people who are looking for some hope this holiday season.”

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Toa Heftiba via Unsplash.

The inciting incident

(Photo courtesy of Dan Kiefer via Unsplash)

In October, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) published a discussion paper on religious intolerance which named Christmas and Easter as examples of “systematic religious discrimination.” 

Don Hutchinson, a board member with Voice of the Martyrs Canada, says, “The discussion paper caught the attention of some people who were startled that the Canadian Human Rights Commission could be discussing the idea of potentially doing away with statutory holidays for Christmas and Easter — in the opinion of those who were startled. So that was brought to the attention of the House of Commons.”

In November, the House of Commons unanimously denounced the paper. A few days later, the CHRC’s Interim Chief Commissioner Charlotte-Anne Malischewski offered this opinion piece about the discussion paper — it merits reading for further clarity into the controversy. 

A different perspective

Canada is a diverse country, home to a large number of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and ethnic religions.
(Photo courtesy of Mihai Surdu via Unsplash)

Hutchinson thinks that people made a bigger deal about the matter than it warranted.

He explains that while Canada has a strong influence of Christianity in its history, it is not a Christian nation in its constitution. It’s reasonable that it would raise questions like this.

“We also need to be mindful that other religious communities are going to have concerns about our Christian heritage in terms of the statutory holidays, when they have dates that they consider to be prominent and important — particularly some communities where people are using their vacation time to celebrate their holy days,” Hutchinson says.

He adds that Christmas and Easter have been long-held, even largely secularized holidays in Canada. There is room for differences of religions even within that. Certain 24/7 industries (such as hospitals) have collective agreements that allow employees to exchange their days off for other preferred ones. In short, Canadians of many different backgrounds are used to these holidays and how to function with them. The House of Commons saw no need to alter the nation’s statutory holidays.

The response for next time

Hutchinson recognizes that this won’t be the last time government agencies discuss topics that stir up concern among Christians. He encourages believers to respond to these types of events with prayer first, remembering 2 Timothy 1:7 and Ephesians 6:12-18.

“We’re seeing this increasingly, I think, in the church in Canada that there are parts of the Christian church that are fearful that we’re going to lose our religious freedom — either because religious freedom is granted to another religious community or because the government is taking action that that we find contradictory to our religious beliefs,” Hutchinson says.

In a democracy, there is indeed the risk that things will change due to political behavior, but Hutchinson says “it’s not something that tends to happen instantaneously. So there’s a place for us in the church to pray, and then to engage where we have concerns.” 

He adds, “I think that the best thing for us to do is be the Church. Instead of becoming the political activists who are going to stand up for the Church, be the Church. The political activism will flow from being the Church when we’re focused on Christ first.”

Join Hutchinson in praying “that we search the Scriptures together, that we pray together — that rather than just reacting when we see something in the media or some rumor about what’s happening with government, that we pray, we confirm the details of what we’re praying about, and then, from our place of prayer, we determine what action might or might not be beneficial.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Ben White via Unsplash.

According to the CDC, the most dangerous times of the year for drug-and-alcohol-related deaths are December, January, and March. The Lighthouse offers hope.

“Our 28-bed men’s addiction recovery biblical program is a result of our care and love for people,” Executive Director Brandon Bower says.

“We welcome men from all over the country who are struggling with life-altering addictions. We love them through the Gospel, help them get back on their feet, and put things like addiction aside.”

After assessing a person’s needs, care managers guide the individual through a holistic recovery process founded on Scripture. Learn more here.

The Lighthouse offers a holistic addiction recovery process founded on Scripture.
(Graphic courtesy of The Lighthouse)

“We have an exercise center here where the guys can get physical exercise. That helps to clear their mind of all the substances they’ve been putting in,” Bower says.

“We also have a licensed chef on staff [who] serves healthy meals. That helps to clear out all of the garbage [participants have] been ingesting.”

Life transformation is a common result.

“It’s amazing to see someone who’s so broken and sick start to smile again, reconnect with family, and have hope for the first time in a long time,” Bower says.

If someone in your life struggles with addiction, reach out to The Lighthouse. You can connect on the website or through Facebook.

“Boundaries are important, but having someone in your life helping you through this process is important as well. If someone needs help, our phone number is 260-255-6413,” Bower says.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Kevin Dooley/Flickr.

(Photo courtesy of Kevin Yudhistira Alloni via Unsplash)

Rob Myers of DOOR International explains how statistics show many people born deaf face challenges in communicating with their families already.

“What you may not realize is that 90% of Deaf people are born to parents who are hearing, which typically means that they don’t know any sign language. Of those parents, about 85% will never learn to sign with their deaf children,” Myers says.

“That means about 80% of Deaf people, even here in the U.S., have almost no language access when they’re at home. That’s hard for us to understand.”

Communication Challenges

This language deprivation is very problematic for the learning and development of children.

“We’re learning more and more that how essential it is for all children to have language access at an early age. Particularly for deaf kids, if they don’t have sign language access early on, it actually creates language deprivation for them,” Myers explains.

Since written language is sound-based, this deprivation can make learning to read difficult as well. Many children only begin to learn when they attend Deaf school. This makes the holidays away from friends, especially during the pandemic, especially difficult.

“If you think about sitting around a dinner table in the evening, [there’s] lots of talk and chatter going on. It’s hard for a Deaf kid to figure out who’s talking, much less what exactly they’re saying, so many times they’ll just sit and keep their head down and eat at the table and not bother to try to even follow the conversation because it’s just too difficult,” Myers says.

(Photo courtesy of Kevin Curtis via Unsplash)

“When we think now of the holidays and COVID, most families have their kids at home. Kids are isolated from their friends. In the case of Deaf kids, even Deaf adults, that becomes really, really challenging over the holidays. We have to exert even extra effort to try to overcome some of those language barriers.”

Deaf people are excellent cross-cultural communicators, as they live in societies where the majority of people don’t speak their heart language.

Through gestures and writing, Deaf people are often able to communicate with those who don’t know their language. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has disrupted some of these coping mechanisms as well.

“Imagine having multiple people on a video call, and, thankfully, many of these video calls are beginning to offer captioning. However, that captioning can lag behind the actual video, and if Deaf people are struggling to keep up with the captioning, they don’t necessarily know who is saying what,” Myers says.

Helping Hands

For this Christmas season, DOOR has several resources to help people connect with those in the Deaf community. Visit their website and Facebook page to learn basic signs related to Christmas and see the Christmas story in sign language.

“The more effort that people can make to begin to learn sign language, the more that draws Deaf people into a conversation, so even just learning a few basic signs is a is a real step toward showing the desire to connect with Deaf people,” Myers says.

You can also help by raising awareness. While many think of deafness only as a disability, it is also a minority language group. This means that there is a great need for translating the Bible into sign languages.

“Out of the over 350 sign languages around the world, only about 10% of them have the Christmas story translated in their own language. That means 90% of the sign languages that are out there don’t even have access to the Christmas story in their own heart language,” Myers says.

To learn more about how you can support and pray for this ministry, visit DOOR’s website here.

“We are so grateful for Jesus and for this incredible Gospel message. We’re looking forward to more and more Deaf people around the world also having access to it.”

Header image courtesy of Chad Madden via Unsplash

As long as you avoid a few simple pitfalls, you can share your faith without worrying about creating too much stress and anxiety. Here are five mistakes you should steer clear of when witnessing to your family.

1. Allowing them to push your buttons

For better or worse, no one knows you better than your family—and no one knows how to get a rise out of you as easily. Sometimes families have a playful dynamic where people push each other’s buttons intentionally. And sometimes, certain people will try to get under your skin intentionally just to test you or antagonize you.

It can be difficult for the gospel message to land if it dissolves into bickering or hurt feelings. So it’s essential to keep a close watch on your temper. If you find yourself getting defensive or angry, pull back. Take a break and cool off.

When you can demonstrate a peaceful, reserved demeanor in these discussions, it will have a significant impact.

2. Believing they won’t change

Nobody knows you better than your family, and vice versa. That’s one of the great things about our family relationships, and one of the most difficult. It’s easy to develop a profile for each member and then lock it down. And no matter what they do, you forever see them the same way.

A lot of adults talk about experiencing this with their parents. They might be in their late thirties, but their mother or father still sees them as the person they were when they were 16 years old.

We’re all changing, growing, and adapting. Resist the urge to assume that your loved ones will respond a certain way based on experience, especially based on experience from years ago.

3. Speaking too much

When the opportunity presents itself, there’s always a temptation to charge in and dump all the information you have. Sometimes with family members, it’s much more fruitful to guide them to the truth than to lay it all out there and expect an immediate response. In this case, it’s often better to leave them with something to chew on than it is to try and definitively answer all their questions.

We spend a lot of time worrying about what we’re going to say. But the truth is that sometimes it’s just as important to know when to stop talking.

4. Worrying about a lack of response

Fretting over a lack of response is a potential mistake that we should keep in mind when sharing with anyone. They might not really have an initial response, or it could even be negative. But that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Sometimes the Holy Spirit needs to take your words and put them to work. It might be weeks before they’re ready to ask follow-up questions.

Because we’re so close to family members, we feel more comfortable pressing them to respond. The truth is that they might need more time to work through what you’ve talked about and to get over their initial skepticism.

5. Neglecting prayer

It doesn’t matter how impossible your family situation feels or how far from God your loved ones seem; God can do amazing things when we invite Him in. Your faithful prayers can impact your family for generations to come.

Pray for God to soften the hearts of loved ones, and pray for powerful opportunities to share the gospel with them. He’s not unenthusiastic about answering your prayers. He wants your family to know Him more than you do! So develop a discipline of praying for your loved ones, and you’ll be surprised at what happens.

You don’t have to be nervous

Loving your family into the kingdom doesn’t have to be nerve-racking. If you genuinely want the best for them, they’re going to see and appreciate it. Be prayerful, strategic, and intentional, and the Lord will take care of the rest.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out How to Get Better Equipped to Share Your Faith.

Header image and article text courtesy of Jesus Film Project.

Added Security

Technically, Christianity is protected by Indonesia’s constitution. But with somewhere around 6,000 inhabited islands, locals often pay more attention to island subcultures than to national culture. On paper, Christians are protected, but reality tells a slightly different story.

“Let’s say that there is an attack against a church – an arsonist or something like that,” Allen says. “And the people of the congregation or the Pastor calls the local fire department. Well, yes, the Christians are entitled to the services of that fire department. But the fire chief may say, ‘Let’s drag our heels. Let’s get there and about three or four hours.’ Well, by that time, the church has been burned to the ground. That sort of thing does happen in Indonesia.”

That’s what makes official reactions to Christmas so significant. As in many other countries, Indonesia sees church attendance spike around Christmastime. Students are home from university, city workers head home for the holidays, and families reunite where they grew up. That’s why many churches, particularly those in small villages and farming communities, face spikes in terrorist attack frequency.

In response, officials are providing uniformed policemen, undercover cops, and military personnel for protection. And according to Allen, Muslim officers look forward to the assignment.

Photo courtesy of FMI

“They love to hear about Christmas,” he says. “They want to help with the decorations or sing these carols. They may not understand it all, but hopefully, if they’re attending an FMI affiliated church, they’re getting a good Gospel presentation as well.”

Introducing Muslims to Christmas

Apparently, these security personnel aren’t the only Muslims interested in Christmas church services.

“When I was in Indonesia last, I was hearing reports about what was happening last Christmas in 2018,” Allen says. “In some of these remote villages that are really difficult to access, you’d have a small congregation, maybe 30-40 Christians, but a wider community of hundreds or a few thousand Muslims.”

According to Allen, somewhere around “90% of the Muslim neighbors were trying to get into the Christians’ meeting place.”

Some of those meeting places are house churches. Even then, Muslim neighbors stand around windows and doors, trying to get any hint of the Christmas story.

“They want to know who Jesus is. Why did he come? Now, a devout Muslim would kno

Photo courtesy of Unsplash

w from the Quran that Jesus is sinless, born of a virgin, and is considered the Word of God… and so they go, ‘Oh, wow, the Christians are celebrating Jesus birth, about why he came to earth. I need to find out about this.’”

As a result, Muslims even outnumber Christians at some services. Last year, one pastor recalls hearing almost 50 Muslims crowded outside the sanctuary. When he went outside, he was surprised at their complaint: “We’re disappointed that you did not invite us to your Christmas service!” The pastor, of course, let them join the service.

A new year, a new Christmas

This year, FMI partner churches want to go out of their way to invite Muslims to their services ahead of time. That’s where your prayers come in.

“Pray that the curiosity of the Muslim neighbors would be stoked and that there would be a boldness on the part of the Christians to invite their neighbors so that the neighbors don’t have to riot outside the church and say ‘Please let us in!’ That the Christians would be very proactive in saying, ‘Please come, we’d love to have you join us. We would love to sit and talk with you afterwards as we fellowship together and explain more about not just how Jesus came but why Jesus came.’”

Pray also for the safety of Allen and other FMI representatives travelling to Indonesia. In efforts to understand how partner churches operate, especially during Christmastime, Allen is paying local congregations surprise visits.

“I’m scratching my head going, ‘Wow, is this a new movement of God’s Spirit among the Muslim world? I’d like to experience this firsthand and see what really is happening. Observe, listen, watch.’”

Photo courtesy of FMI

So far, he’s already visited several churches. For example, “on Sunday night’s (Dec. 22) Christmas program that I attended, there was an overflow crowd at the church of one of FMI’s partners. The is congregation regularly has about 90 attenders, and there are only 132 people in the entire village, and there were perhaps about 150 at the Christmas celebration to hear about the Savior’s birth.”

You can learn more about FMI and their work right here. Consider giving to their efforts or connecting with them to follow their projects in Indonesia and around the world.

And from FMI and their partners in Indonesia, Merry Christmas.

Header photo courtesy of FMI

However, for Deaf men and women in the US, most references to the Christmas story — even in pop culture — are not in their heart sign language. Spoken languages are second languages for the average Deaf person.

Many American Deaf individuals today don’t know the true meaning of Christmas and have never encountered God’s Word in American Sign Language. In fact, to this day, not one sign language has a complete Bible translation.

(Photo courtesy of Deaf Bible Society)

Ryan Sims with Deaf Bible Society says having a sign language Bible is critical to reaching Deaf individuals with the Christmas message. Deaf Bible Society offers their Deaf Bible app free to download! The Deaf Bible app has portions of Scripture available in several sign languages, including American Sign Language.

“The Deaf Bible app is actually in our language. It’s in sign language. So it is our native language. People can look at it and see ASL and they are actually able to picture and envision what the story is supposed to be like.”

As a Deaf individual himself, Sims says access to Scripture in sign languages makes the Word come alive. “Instead of just reading the written Scriptures and seeing the words and trying pair pictures and having that, it’s more of a full immersion and it’s in our language. It has our expressions, the things that we hold dear, that we are captivated by. So they are able to see that and attribute that to their own vision of the story, what they attribute to their meaning.”

In light of Christmas Day tomorrow, here are a few ways Christians can encourage outreach to Deaf men and women and draw them into the true meaning of Christmas.

One option is to have an ASL interpreter available if your church is putting on a Christmas service.

(Photo courtesy of Deaf Bible Society)

“Those typically draw a lot of people — both people who can hear and people who can’t hear. They are looking for the joy of that season and they want to take what they can and grab those experiences of Christ. [Christians] have those opportunities to plant seeds at all of these events, and when they are interpreted, they have more access.”

If your church has a Deaf ministry or you attend a Deaf church, you can check Deaf Bible Society’s online tool Deaf Church Where and make sure your church is registered. Doing so will help other Deaf individuals find you if they are searching for a local body of believers.

Deaf Bible Society also offers Scripture engagement training where they teach both Deaf and hearing Christian leaders how to use biblical sign language tools to better engage Deaf individuals with the Gospel.

Growing up, Sims was heavily involved in a Deaf church with his family. During the holidays, he remembers helping with outreach projects and meeting other Deaf families they served.

“Those Deaf children my age didn’t always have the same experiences I had. That was always really inspirational and impactful to me — how God could use me and my family to reach out and provide to the people that are neglected. I was able to spread the Gospel through that. I noticed the joy and the light that was transformed in just their eyes…. That was always a wonderful time for me.”

(Photo courtesy of Deaf Bible Society)

The need for better Deaf ministry, especially during the Christmas season, isn’t limited to the United States. Approximately 98 percent of the Deaf population worldwide is unreached with the Gospel message.

Sims explains, “Out of the 400 [sign] languages, about 25 to 30 have access to [portions of] the Bible in general and some of them don’t have any access, so some of them don’t even know about this holiday season.”

If you’d like to learn more about ways you can pray for and with the Deaf, text 444-999 to become a prayer partner!

You can also go to DeafBibleSociety.com/rooted to give to Deaf Bible Society. Your donation will be doubled dollar-for-dollar this month!

For now, Sims says, “One of the most important things we want to pray for is that all Deaf people can really have that opportunity to really understand who Christ is and how He affected each one of us and have a personal relationship with Him.

“One of the other things we could have prayer for is some of the specific countries that don’t have Scriptures or they don’t have access to it.”

Finally, he asks, “Some people don’t have food or finances during this holiday time. Pray for those people as well.”

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

“Most people…have an ‘Uncle Fred’ that they probably haven’t dealt with in the past,” notes Glenn Dunn, the Director of Domestic Ministry for Set Free Ministries. “We hold back on the forgiveness because we believe that by forgiving an Uncle Fred, we’re overlooking what he’s done to hurt us, and that’s not really what God wants us to do.

“He asks us to forgive for our sake, not for Uncle Fred’s sake.”

Unforgiveness plays a major role in ongoing conflict, adds Jodi Deroo, Set Free’s Ministry Coordinator. It leads to a buildup of resentment and bitterness, and that’s not what God intends.

“He wants us to have peace and joy, especially over the holidays as we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus and what that represents.”

Listen to the full discussion with Dunn and Deroo here.

Why forgive?

It’s easy to justify unforgiveness when you are on the receiving end of injury or insult. However, immediately after issuing instructions for the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, Jesus gives this seemingly-strict ultimatum regarding forgiveness:

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

“Unforgiveness is an area that, if we do not work through, will create problems in our lives,” Dunn explains.

“I think the first thing is to recognize what forgiveness is, and what it isn’t. If we begin by that premise, then we can work through that and have a much happier holiday.”

Forgiveness is often easier in theory than in action, says Deroo. Nonetheless, it’s the standard God calls us to.

“In a scenario in which you have a lot of hurt or you’re going to be around people that have hurt you, the first step is to see them through the eyes of Jesus.”

How to get through the holidays

Just as we’ve been given grace, we have to give grace to others, Deroo says.

“It doesn’t mean that you have to set yourself up for more hurt. It doesn’t mean that we’re saying that what they did is okay,” she clarifies.

“What we are saying is that grace means we are giving them something…that says, ‘I am okay and I am going to put Christ as my center. I am going to release you to Jesus and I am going to be free to have a relationship with my family and have peace while I am in that relationship.’”

Forgiveness doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process, and sometimes it can take a lifetime. Deroo says Set Free offers free biblical counseling and staff who will walk alongside you through the journey.

Learn more about biblical counseling with Set Free here.

On Set Free’s website, one woman describes her journey in a testimony called “Freedom Through Forgiveness.”

“In addition to all the stuff that is really necessary in forgiveness, one of the biggest things is to pray for those who have offended you — just keeping them before the throne of the Lord and really wanting their healing.”

Header and story images obtained via Pexels.

For Haiti With Love’s Eva Dehart is already moving forward with the Christmas in August event. She says it’s “a launching pad for a party on Christmas Day to celebrate Jesus’s birthday with the poorest of the poor in Northern Haiti.”

“We’re going out into the countryside for Christmas this year to a village that hasn’t had this sort of thing before, so it’s an opportunity to introduce the Gospel, to show God’s love, and to share Jesus’s story with children who may or may not have heard it before.”

Last year’s Christmas in August banquet (Photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

But why start talking about a December celebration in Haiti right now? Dehart says plans have to get underway as soon as possible if they want to pull off the event.

“Logistically, we have to have enough time to get all our stuff shipped, so we can’t start it in November and have a party in December in Haiti,” Dehart says. “We start shipping two days after the Christmas in August party.”

The party will kick off a collection of gifts for around 500 Haitian children, food for the party, and funds to get everything shipped overseas. It will be held on August 13 in Tampa Bay, Florida at a local church building.

“Guests make a donation for their dinner and they also bring an unwrapped toy to put under the Christmas tree, so it’s the launching for the Christmas party in Haiti, both in gifts and in money,” Dehart says.

Can’t make it to Florida? You can still help launch the project.

“Anybody wanting to share with Christmas this year can do it in the form of donated toys, toiletries, or cash, and we’ll make sure it is spent on food, transportation, or more gifts,” Dehart says. “Sometimes those gifts can be toothbrushes, toothpaste, pretty little things for their hair, washcloths, bath towels – those things are luxury items in Haiti.”

Last year’s Christmas party (Photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

But like the holiday itself, For Haiti With Love’s Christmas party is about more than just gifts. They’ll use the celebration as a chance to minister to Haitian kids via the children’s version of the Jesus Film, a Christmas service, and one-on-one conversations.

“The real emphasis is on Jesus, the fact that it is his birthday, the fact that we celebrate him, and the fact that he provides for us, so they have tangible evidence that he provides for them,” Dehart says.

“The more participation we have from readers and listeners, the bigger and the better the party and the more children we can impact with the Gospel message, and that is what it’s all about.”