(Map courtesy of International Needs)

International Needs’ Rody Rodeheaver explains one reason why the military decided to rise up.  “For many months, and probably years, they [the military] have been watching some of the freedoms being slowly dismantled, that were guaranteed by the constitution.  Being the protector of the constitution and the secularism of the country, they felt they needed to act.”

Plus, there’s a belief that Erdogan really wants to establish a caliphate, with himself as head.  To that end, “Erdogan has slowly been removing people in the press, judges, even people in high ranking military positions, taking them out for various reasons so he could empower himself.”

Citizens and soldiers loyal to the government resisted the attempt, and in the wake of its failure, Erdogan vowed punishment and the sweeping arrests began. First, it was military. Now, the purge has widened to the education sector.

Up until now, the constitution guaranteed a diversity of religion.  However, as it loses authority, so goes freedom of religion.  Believers are watching the arrests with growing alarm, says Rodeheaver. “You’re going to see more pressure coming on religious groups. They will be questioned more about that. The other thing you are going to see is that people who have been nervous about Christianity coming into Turkey and being there will be emboldened.”

(Photo courtesy of Spyros Papaspyropoulos via Flickr)

For context: At the time of the attempted coup, the International Needs ministry team was wrapping up their annual summer camp with 40 energetic teenagers in a rural location an hour outside of Istanbul. The group remained safe, all the while keeping an eye on the current events and discussing the importance of knowing Christ and growing in that relationship.  The teens all returned home safely, under the cover of prayer.

However, Rodeheaver adds that “Christians were somewhat second-class citizens, and often, they were persecuted through very subtle ways, like not being able to get jobs.”

As the situation continues to unfold, they’re expecting the conditions to worsen.   The events of the last few days will create a need to evaluate their ministry strategy going forward based on the situation on the ground.

Pray for the staff to have inspired wisdom, increased courage, and distinct direction from God. “It’s going to behoove the Christian community to work very cautiously and to continue to serve Christ, as they always have, but to be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves.”

What does sponsorship mean for a child? (Photo courtesy of International Needs)

Ghana (MNN) — Any Christian should be concerned when they hear that a Bible is luxury for someone who wants to learn about Jesus. Well, that’s true for many individuals.

International Needs supports 10 schools in the Volta Region of Ghana where 6,000 children, many supported by sponsors like you, are getting a Christian Education.

Rody Rodeheaver of International Needs says, “Ghana is one of our programs that has a high emphasis on education. It started as a program that was working with the trokosi slave girls.”

The schools provide education for the children of slave girls and for the communities in the Volta Region.

Rodeheaver says, “It’s an area where there’s a high level of poverty, a high level of illiteracy. So to be able to put children in a school is a very major thing, and we’re doing that through our child sponsorship program.”

While an education could spell a different future for these children, International Needs wants to address their eternal future as well. They plan to do this through their One Kid, One Bible campaign.

“One of the things that we really wanted to accomplish was to put a Bible in the hand of every one of those children as well as every teacher. This is a very poor area, and having a Bible is really a luxury,” says Rodeheaver.

Not only do the children get an education, they get to hear about their Savior. (Photo courtesy of International Needs)

He explains that when they distribute these Bibles, they will have the ability to start a Bible Club that teaches students and teachers how to read them.

“It’s not just purchasing Bibles–which is very important in getting those to those children, but it is that extra step that helps them learn how to read it and how to apply it.”

Rodeheaver says the students are matched with teachers and mentors in the school to be discipled.

“Not only will they graduate from school with an education, but they will graduate from school with a knowledge of the Scripture that will help them all through their lives apply God’s work and help them make decisions.”

By late July, International Needs had raised the funds needed to provide Bibles to the children of the school–a cost of around $150,000.

Rodeheaver says there are two ways you can help. “We need to pray the Bibles will be in en route and will be in the hands of those children, hopefully, in the first part of September when those kids go back to school.”

The other thing you can do is to sponsor a child. Sponsorship provides an education and an opportunity to learn about Christ. Get connected here.

Sano Diyo is changing lives (Photo courtesy of IN Network)

India/Nepal (MNN) — One couples’ decision to save four girls from human trafficking 12 years ago has transformed into changed lives for 37 girls, and a hub for community transformation.

Rody Rodeheaver of International Needs USA (I.N. Network) describes the area the couple ministers in– a location just below Nepal.

“There is a large amount of poverty there– it’s the most impoverished district in India. But also, because of that, there is a huge amount of human trafficking.”

Those trafficked are usually young girls– at an increasingly younger age.

“This young couple that had graduated from Bible school started a ministry there with four young girls who they were able to take legal custody of, and a group home was established. And now, 12 years later, those four girls are now 37 girls.”

Not all of these girls are victims of human trafficking. Many have needed to be rescued from dangerous homes of abuse and poverty. The home is called Sano Diyo.

They are as young as preschoolers and as old as high school graduates.

“It’s one of the most remarkable stories of a young couple investing their lives in changing, protecting, rescuing, some of these girls,” Rodeheaver says.

Even with all of the success the ministry has had, there is still a lot of work to do.

Breaking out of poverty to pursue a better life (Photo courtesy of IN network)

“The vision now is to expand the tent. We have been starting a child sponsorship program in the villages around our group home there. Because, one of the things that we know is that if you can get children in school and if you can help children break the chains of poverty, then you can begin to protect them from the child traffickers.”

Right now there are over 100 children from the surrounding area who are sponsored.

Rodeheaver says, “We’re getting children in those villages– the poorest of the poor– and we’re helping pay their school fees, we’re helping them get an education, they get a meal, and they are followed up with our staff who teach them how to avoid traffickers, who teach them sanitation, who teach them how to eat healthily.”

Their lives, and the outlook of their lives, is completely changed. And Rodeheaver says, “It’s all because there are people who are sponsoring children there and helping to keep those girls out of harm’s way, out of the trafficking that goes on. We know that the age range for trafficking has gone from 14-16 year olds. Now it’s in the area of 10 year olds to 14 year olds.”

When these girls are taken from dangerous situations, they are able to give back to the community in unique ways.

For the kids in the village, they become a sort of mentor– a prayer partner. The girls can share their story with the kids and give them hope. They become friends.

While they receive kindness in this way, the children are also given an education.

It can be difficult to understand the implications of that.

Rodeheaver was told a story about a single mom in the area whose husband had left her for another woman.

She was left to care for her four children, working in a rock quarry to try and provide for them. Not even being able to buy enough food, there was no way the woman was able to send her children to school. This meant her children had less of a chance of breaking free from the poverty they were born into.

When ministry partners of I.N. Network approached her to ask if they could enroll her children in school, she was overwhelmed.

“She just wept because she had never dreamed that her children would be able and have an opportunity to go to school,” Rodeheaver says.

“So it’s making a difference. And we want to start on the prevention side of child trafficking and help keep these young girls out of trafficking and help them break the chains of poverty and help them get an education.”

And even more important, these children are encountering an example of Christ’s love. They are introduced to the Gospel. Staff members meet with the sponsored children individually. When the children visit the group home to spend time with the rescued girls, they can get involved with Bible clubs and hear the stories of the girls as they’ve been transformed by Christ. The Gospel is shared with the girls while they’re there.

I.N. is also hoping to connect the children with local Chrisitan churches to continue sharing that message and follow up with them.

If you’d like to support this ministry, you can give a gift by following this link. Or, you can call the office at this number (616) 209-5420 to talk to child sponsor specialists.

$32 a month is all it takes to change a child’s future right now.

Life in La Playa

(Photo Courtesy International Needs)

Imagine that you are a six-year-old child living in Colombia. It’s early in the morning, your mother has left for work, and you are home alone. You get yourself ready for the day–ignoring the rumble of hunger in your stomach, and head out the door for the 30-minute walk to school. Several of your classmates are headed out also, so you have some company on the road. The area you live in is called “La Playa,” and it is just outside of Barranquilla. There are over 10,000 people living in La Playa who have been displaced by conflicts in Colombia. Like most people here, you live in a make-shift home, sleeping on a dirt floor. The community is very transitional, so your family might move away in a few months.

Rose of Sharon

(Photo Courtesy of International Needs)

Your day at the Rose of Sharon school begins at 6:30AM with devotions in the church located on the school property, and classes begin at 7AM.

During the day you have a snack, work on your school work, and learn about the love of God. The school curriculum is government approved, so you know you are getting a quality education that can help you with your future. Your school day is done at 12:30PM and you will walk back home again with your friends to an empty house.

Sewing Center

(Photo Courtesy of International Needs)

While you were at school, your mom was at the International Needs sewing center, working hard to provide for you. The sewing center began as a vocational training project but has grown into a business as mission opportunity to support the single moms in La Playa by giving them a purpose, improving their lives, and helping them better support their families. Sewing center staff members also share the Gospel with the women who work there and consider this evangelism as the main objective of the sewing center.

New Uniforms

(Photo Courtesy International Needs)

One of their recent projects was to sew new uniforms for all the children and staff at Rose of Sharon school. Today, all of the school kids have a beautiful new uniform, which helps their self-esteem and gives them something to wear to school each day.

If your heart is drawn to Colombia and you would like to help families in poverty, click here to see how you can support the community of La Playa or sign up to sponsor a child from Colombia.

Help families stay fed this Christmas season (Photo courtesy of I.N. Network)

Colombia (MNN) — For many children, Christmas break is something to look forward to all school year. It’s time to go home and relax with family, and to enjoy honey glazed ham and other holiday goodies.

For others, however, Christmas break is synonymous with hunger.

This is the case for many of the students that attend an International Needs Network school in Colombia. The school works to “take children out of the slums, give them a Christian education, take them all the way from kindergarten through high school,. With that Christian education and the sharing of the Gospel, that school is literally changing hundreds and hundreds of lives and is breaking the cycle of poverty,” says Rody Rodeheaver of I.N. Network.  Each day, the students are given a hot meal, something that they might otherwise receive at home.

School hours are devoted to preparing for the future. For a time, the children’s focus is on bettering their lives, building a relationship with Christ, and crawling out of poverty.

But at home, the reality of poverty remains. On breaks, Rodeheaver says, “Some of those children aren’t even getting a meal a day.”

Rodeheaver recently spoke to a friend and supporter of the mission who was impressed with their work in their Colombian school. With the problem of hunger in mind, Rodeheaver said to her, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could throw a Christmas party for those children in this school?”

Soon, that idea became a reality. “Throwing a party in Jesus’ name really makes a lot of sense because [it] communicates the idea that God’s love is holistic and it covers [all] parts of our lives. God wants to bless His children: all of us.” Among the invited were the students, the staff’s children, and the children from the surrounding community who attend their church.

Overall, 600 children arrived to take part in the Christmas festivities. “You cannot believe the beautiful children with the big eyes, many of them who wouldn’t have received a Christmas present,” Rodeheaver expresses.

He recalls an incident from the party: “One lady came up and hugged one of our staff people and said, ‘You know, I have three children, and they weren’t going to receive anything for Christmas. And now, they’ve received gifts and have had a wonderful Christmas party.’ She said this through her tears.” The presents were given according to age and included clothes, toys, and soccer balls.

Besides opening presents, Rodeheaver says, “They also danced, sang, and played games. It was a marvelous experience. Those children were reminded that God loves them, and that God will take care of them.”

This Christmas party was another way for I.N. Network to address the hunger that occurs over breaks. It was a bright spot for the children during their holiday break.

Another way that I.N. Network fights child hunger over Christmas break is through their Christmas Food for Families project. Donations are given to send home food baskets with the students that will feed them over break.

There is still time for you to participate in this effort to feed families during Christmas. Click here to give online to Food for Families.

“One of the things that I was reminded of as I went to the party [is] this: God is a god who loves children, who loves to enjoy His children.” We can pass on the love that God shows to us to others around the world. Please, this Christmas, pray for those that are seeking Christ and struggling to stay fed and sheltered.