e3 Partners has been serving refugees in McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico, for almost two years now.

It’s part of their e3 Espanol initiative to reach Spanish speakers with the message of hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.

(Photo courtesy of e3 partners)

Brad Prizer, e3’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, says, “Through e3 Espanol, we had our teams of people going down there, and they’re actually being able to go into these refugee camps and, through some of our simple Gospel-sharing tools, share the Gospel with them.”

As Prizer puts it, the nations are coming to us. “Thousands of refugees are coming into the country through Mexico that are refugees from many different countries, even people coming over from parts of Europe that are under siege right now. It’s becoming fertile ground for us to share the Gospel.”

But e3 Espanol isn’t just about sharing the Gospel with Spanish speakers. It’s also about equipping the Hispanic Church to reach the nations with Gospel conversations training.

Even new believers in the refugee camps are trained to share their faith with others around them!

“They become believers and they say, ‘Well, train me on how to do that.’ So literally, after 15 minutes of training somebody on how to use this tool, they got up and went to somebody else they didn’t know and shared the Gospel with that person after being trained for 15 minutes. So that’s how simple it can be,” Prizer says.

“That was so encouraging to us to see that new converts are already using these tools, and they couldn’t wait to share it with the next person that they saw there in the camp.”

(Photo courtesy of e3 Partners)

The e3 missions teams will be at the US-Mexico border from March 23-26 and April 20-23. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of refugees to hear the Gospel!

You don’t have to speak Spanish to go on a missions trip with e3 Espanol. The ministry arranges translators to join each team.

Click here for future e3 short-term missions trip dates!

Header photo shows e3 Partners with immigrants in Reynosa. (Photo courtesy of e3 Partners)

(Photo credit MNN/Ruth Kramer)

China (MNN) — One mission group is celebrating the New Year by connecting churches in China with churches in the West.

Wendell Rovenstine with Bibles for China says their January distribution team is laying groundwork for a new leadership training program.

“We have, as a ministry, been able to develop some pretty wonderful networks within China that are opening up to us and sharing with us their heart,” Rovenstine states.

As those individuals opened up more and more to leaders of Bibles for China, Rovenstine says he and his colleagues began to uncover another deep need. Just as the Chinese need Bibles–the mission of Bibles for China, they also need training.

“As you peel back the layers of what’s needed, it really opens doors of opportunity for the churches that are looking to really touch and make a difference,” explains Rovenstine.

Along with distributing Bibles to rural churches, Bibles for China is hoping to add a learning component in 2015.

The small team distributing Bibles in China this month will also meet with national church leaders. They’ll discuss who needs and wants leadership training, and how it could be put in place.

“Rather than wait and see if this works later on, and kind of ‘work through it,’ let’s just jump in,” says Rovenstine, explaining why they’ve sent a team to China so early in the year.

Ask the Lord if He wants you to join Bibles for China’s efforts. Then, take action by connecting with Bibles for China here.

"We're really, really excited about the possibilities there; we have 9 trips between now and the end of the year," says Gunter.

"We're in a partnership with the president of the country and a local church in building a community of 100 homes, a Community Transformation Center (CTC), a school, and a medical clinic."

Villa Liberacion is a community transformation project aimed at ministering to the poorest communities west of Santo Domingo. It's the largest undertaking thus far in Orphan's Heart's five-year existence.

"When we met with the president of the country, he was very concerned about the needs of the people in that part of the country," Gunter says.

"We just began the project, and we've got major, major construction going on right now."

Since July 2013, seven of the 100 homes have been built by volunteer construction teams. They're more than just buildings, though. They're a tangible expression of Christ's love and care for a vulnerable portion of the Dominican Republic's society.

"40% of the homes in the…Dominican Republic are single-mother homes," Gunter explains. He says Orphan's Heart wanted to reach this population in a special way.

"The majority of the homes [we're building] will be for those single mothers and their families, their children."

All of these facilities provide opportunities to share the Gospel with communities in Azua by meeting physical needs. The two- and three-bedroom homes provide a safe haven for vulnerable families. The CTC will provide a feeding program, after-school program, and adult training during the week; on Sundays, it will be a church.

But nothing happens–these ministries don't come to life—until willing hearts move hands and feet.

"[Our entire] ministry is volunteer-driven, so all of these volunteer teams are critical to the success of the ministry," explains Gunter. "A lot of people don't realize how impacting a volunteer mission trip is, how it will change your worldview."

See stories and pictures from teams that have worked on Villa Liberacion.

"We have many, many ways for people who are looking for a way that they can go beyond their local community, their local state," Gunter adds.

"If there's a way that we, as an organization, can assist a church, individual, or a family to be a part of one of these trips, we would love to do that."

Find a trip that fits in your schedule, then click here to apply. Or, speak with someone at Orphan's Heart by calling (863) 687-8811.

While "going" is certainly important, it's not the only way to get involved.

"Praying, going, and giving: those three things will help this ministry tremendously," says Gunter.

"Pray for all of those volunteers that go. Pray for us as leaders in this organization that we will always be sensitive to what God is doing, what God wants done."

Find a list of supplies needed at Villa Liberacion here.

"All the way through, there's a ribbon of truth that shows that God's going to send someone who will be the sacrifice for sin," said NTM's Nita Zelenak. "God's going to provide a way to take care of the sin that we can't take care of ourselves."

In the coming weeks, missionaries will teach the Biem people about Christ's life, death and resurrection. This week, the Biem people were taught about the birth and life of Christ.

“I see that this talk is like our coconut trees," one of the Biem men said to describe NTM teachings. "We haven’t yet heard of the Road Man, but He must be the food at the top of the tree. And just like there is no way to get the food but by starting the climb at the bottom, we too are understanding bit by bit and slowly climbing, and soon we’ll know of Him.”

Before NTM entered the scene, the Biem people only had access to God's Word in their trade language, Tok Pisin. Because the Bible wasn't written in their heart language, Zelenak said the nuances of spiritual truth didn't come through clearly to the Biem people.

"This group had the Bible in the trade language, but not in their own personal language," she said. "Consequently, as they took bits and pieces from the trade language Bible and mixed it in with their animistic beliefs, they ended up with beliefs that the way to get to heaven is by keeping lots of rules and doing lots of good works.

"They don't have a clear understanding that it was Christ's death on the cross that paid for their sin, and that's the only real road back to a right relationship with God."

The Biem people are an oral society, and therefore lacked any written forms of their language. Three NTM families immersed themselves in Biem culture, building relationships and learning the Biem language. After becoming fluent in Biem, teams developed a written language based on the English alphabet and began translating books of the Bible.

Firm Foundation Bible lessons began on July 16, and the Biem people started hearing Scripture in their own language.

"When the reading started, we couldn't believe that this was coming in our own tongue," said one of the tribal men excitedly. "The talk comes so much more clearly in our own tongue."

Not only are the Biem people hearing Scripture in their language, they're also learning how to read it. When the first students graduated their literacy training program, Zelenak said 700 people showed up at the graduation ceremony.

"They were so excited about the fact that people could now start learning to read in their own language," she stated.

As the Biem people learn about the life of Christ in coming weeks, they need you to pray.

"They expect to finish that in about 3 weeks, so these next 3 weeks are a critical time for the people," Zelenak said. "This is why we'd really like people to be praying for them.

"Please pray for the missionaries as they teach. They need real wisdom to make sure that what they're communicating is being understood."

Zelenak also asked for prayer for the Biem people.

"Pray for clarity of understanding in the hearts of people who are listening, and that their hearts would be open and ready to accept the Truth as they understand it."

You can support NTM missionaries serving in Papua New Guinea here. Or, you can learn what it's like to serve on the field through a missionary internship.

He and his wife will return to
the United States as soon as the insurance company can work out
transportation. In the meantime, their
team will wrap up two weeks of ministry on Friday. 

"We definitely feel like we have
forces working against us," said Orphan Outreach's Tiffany Taylor. "But we know that we're doing good; we know
that we're making a difference to orphans and at-risk children here."

The team has filled its weeks in
Honduras with hard work and productive ministry. Its evangelism team has distributed hundreds
of Bibles and teddy bears to needy children, in addition to holding movie nights
and drama programs. The medical team has
ministered physically and spiritually to hundreds of people on a daily
basis.

One member of the team is an
expert on water filtration systems, and has installed them in every place the team has traveled in Honduras. 

The construction team has repaired
many things such as sinks, roofs, and toilets for schools and orphanages. This week it will finish up some "extreme
home makeovers" for single mothers and their families living  in
terrible conditions. 

On top of that, the team has put
together a playground for a Christian school serving children who work in
the dump in Tegucigalpa. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the playground was held on Monday. 

"We've built the most amazing
playground you've ever seen for the children who work in the dump," Taylor
said. "When they cut the ribbon, the
children ran to use the play ground! What a delight to see the light in their eyes and the
hope and joy that those children had with this wonderful playground." 

Taylor said the trip will enhance
Orphan Outreach's ministry in the area. 

"That playground now is a beacon
in that community for kids," she said. "And
when the kids get out of the dump…they can go down to that playground, and they
themselves can go to school. It's a way
to entice them to come to the school and to hear about what's going on at the
school. It's just a huge blessing to the
ministry of Orphan Outreach."

La Escuela de Amor, Fe, y
Esperanza serves about 120 children, some of whom still have to work in the
dump. Each student spends at least half
the day in classes. 

To support Orphan Outreach's
ministry in Honduras, click here.