On Eagles Wings Leadership Center
(Photo courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries)

“One of the things that we are really passionate about is discipleship, but a holistic approach,” says Nick Liew. “Some of the things that we tend to see in the capital-C Church is a focus on some of the obvious things, like, ‘Hey, don’t drink and don’t smoke.’

“Those things are, yes, very much important,” he continues, “But there seems to be a neglect on taking care of your body — what you’re putting into it, being active.”

Liew serves as the coordinator for On Eagles’ Wings, a division of Hutchcraft Ministries serving Native communities. He says a young girl once asked a leader on the team why all the Christians she knew were out of shape. 

“That was a wild question to me, because I was like, ‘Would that same question be appropriate if it was, “Why do all Christians steal? Why do all Christians lie?”’” Liew says. God has bought our bodies with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19–20), and honoring God with our bodies also requires caring for our physical fitness.

On Eagles’ Wings recently finished construction on its new Leadership Training Center, which includes a gymnasium. Their year-long internship program for Native young people requires three days of personal fitness per week, in addition to discipleship, classroom training, mentorship and more. 

“For a lot of (the students), they had a misconception of ‘Why should I work out? Is it just to be around the outward appearance of looking good?’” Liew says. 

“It’s actually a command that we take care of our bodies, but it also has its spiritual implications.”

He explains that a person might know Jesus, know scripture and be sharing their faith and life with others. But physical limitations such as shortness of breath or injuries can prevent someone from being able to serve in long days of ministry. 

Photo of Nick Liew’s family courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries

It points back to Jesus. “He didn’t walk this tightrope of ‘this is spiritual, and this is humanity.’ He existed in both,” Liew says. 

“We’re supposed to be the body of Christ, and there’s no separation in whether it be finances, relationships, business or going to church or small groups or whatever it may be. We’re supposed to involve all of that. Everything that we do has a spiritual component.” 

Pray for the students who will be involved in the Leadership Training Center starting this July. Pray that they would grow this upcoming year in fitness for serving God and bringing hope to their homelands. 

Learn more about the Leadership Training Center with On Eagles’ Wings here. 

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Victor Freitas/Unsplash.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the temple to the Hindu god Rama earlier this week. Muslim onlookers remember a 16th-century mosque in the exact location that Hindu mobs destroyed in 1992.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says the temple’s construction sends three messages. First, “You have this message of Hinduism being superior over Islam,” Nettleton says.

Second, the temple is a rallying cry for Modi supporters before national elections.

“This is a great symbolic victory for him to show, ‘Look, I’m the defender of Hinduism. I’m the man who made this happen. Vote for me in two more months.’”

Third, a message to India’s religious minorities: “‘This is a Hindu nation, a pure Hindu nation,’”

“‘If you are not a Hindu; if you’re a Christian or a Muslim, you are an impurity. You don’t belong here.’”

Hindu-Muslim disparities extend beyond northern India.

Glimpses of Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Shree Ram Janmaboomi Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh on January 22, 2024. PM presents on the occasion.
(Photo and caption courtesy of Prime Minister’s Office (GODL-India)/Wikimedia Commons)

“I spoke with someone very familiar with what’s happening in India yesterday. He said this is not the only place where mosques are being torn down or destroyed, and then Hindu temples are built on the same site,” Nettleton says.

“There is a very high potential for violence in the coming months. This temple being built over a mosque is a ‘thumb in the eye’ of Indian Muslims.”

Ask the Lord to protect His followers in northern India. Pray believers will trust in God’s sovereignty.

“Yes, their government is completely opposed to the Gospel and the church. But God is still on the throne,” Nettleton says.

“Pray for a sense of hopefulness and encouragement for our brothers and sisters in India.”

In the header image, Hindu devotees and visitors celebrate the Prana Pratishtha ceremony outside the temple on January 22, 2024. (Photo and caption courtesy of Prime Minister’s Office (GODL-India)/Wikimedia Commons)

The course will cover Herod the Great and also his sons and grandsons. The Herods ruled in the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, including the time of Jesus’ ministry.

Haytham Dieck, the course instructor, says, “They had a wide impact, especially in the Bible. Each one of them did something in some way or another. Truly, there is a Herod’s heritage. Of course, the biggest heritage is of Herod the Great, his building, and his legacy.”

Herod the Great built a temple in Jerusalem that was even larger and more magnificent than Solomon’s. He also constructed the Herodium, a lavish palace built into a small hill.

Herods vs. kingdom of God

But he treated his people brutally, slaughtering Jewish scholars and even members of his own family. The magi visited Herod the Great on their quest to find Jesus. His fear of losing power led to a massacre of children in the region.

His son Herod Antipas followed in his footsteps. Dieck says, “He ordered the beheading of John the Baptist. Jesus called him a fox (Luke 12:32), and even in the trial of Jesus, the Herod he met was Herod Antipas. He mocked Jesus.”

The course contrasts the Herods with the kingdom of Jesus. The Herods constructed buildings, but Jesus builds a people. The Herods ruled through force, But Jesus through love.

The course goes on to cover Herod Agrippa. Dieck says, “He died in Caesarea when people start to glorify Him as a god. And he accepted that. He did not say anything. In a way, he was happy to know that. And then suddenly, he was struck down. And according to the Bible, worms actually ate him.”

“For this kind of Kingdom, eventually the ruler wants to stay here forever. They want to be glorified as a god.”

Paul encountered Herod Agrippa II, who expressed interest in the news of Jesus.

Header photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College. 

Haida was only seven-years-old when she became a devadasi for the goddess Yellamma. Her family worshipped Yellamma, and Haida’s mother pressured her into religious servitude.

At first, Haida was mesmerized by the devadasi dedication rituals and processions for her. But things quickly grew dark as she realized what was expected of her. When Haida tried to run, her mother stopped her and forced her to stay or risk stoking the goddess’s wrath.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Fear kept Haida enslaved in temple prostitution and stole her childhood. She eventually had two daughters by different men. By the time she was a young adult, Haida was working hard labor outside the temple to earn extra income and support her children.

Haida never had an education and couldn’t read or write, so alternative employment was out of the question. She was terrified that her daughters would be pressured to become devadasis as well. In despair, Haida made plans to take her own life.

But God intervened. Haida’s cousin, Raheema, was a Christian and came to visit Haida on the day she planned to end her life. Raheema told Haida the story of Jesus and His love for her. It was the first time Haida felt a glimmer of hope.

Raheema was also attending an Adult Literacy Class with Mission India just down the street. She invited Haida to join her.

Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes are vital for women like Haida who have only known degradation and disempowerment.

Bartholomew* with Mission India says, “One of the greatest things about Adult Literacy Classes is that they, for the first time, get to understand their value — their value in their family, their value in their community, their value to themselves, and ultimately and most importantly, the value that God has put upon them.”

Haida, center, practices writing on a chalkboard in her Adult Literacy Class. (Photo, caption courtesy of Mission India)

Women and men leave these classes after a year with a fifth-grade level in reading, writing, and math.

“These classes also provide microeconomics. They teach women how to start their own business and earn an income. Really, they provide lifelong skills that they can transfer to their family. So the mom always comes back to the family and helps bring that family out of poverty and shows their daughters the power that they can have and how valuable they are.”

Adult Literacy Classes don’t just change students’ lives educationally and economically; there’s also a spiritual aspect.

“Throughout the entire year, they actually get to learn about Scripture and engage with Scripture and they get to hear the Gospel. The teachers that we have, not only are they skilled to help the students educationally and financially, but they’re also skilled in sharing the Gospel and communicating the saving truths of Jesus Christ,” Bartholomew says.

“Oftentimes, we get to see women receive Jesus and their lives are forever changed eternally.”

The cost to send one woman to an Adult Literacy Class for a year is just $40.

“I’m still blown away by that — $40 to give someone the tools to better themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually I think is so fantastic.”

Click here to give to Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes!

Meanwhile, please pray for devadasis like Haida to find hope and freedom in Jesus. Ask the Lord to soften their hearts and sense His love for them.

Bartholomew asks, “Also just pray for their confidence — confidence in taking the next step educationally, confidence in trying to earn an income, confidence in trying to have difficult conversations with a spouse, and really become the women that God has created them to be.”

Header photo of Haida courtesy of Mission India.

*Names changed for security purposes.

According to a Bridge International report, Bart and Joke Repko of Holland moved to Israel to pray and preach the Gospel to those willing to hear it. Since the Repkos moved to Israel two years ago, Bart has been taking prayer walks every day, joined by various people throughout the week. Occasionally visiting pastors, rabbis, tourists or people with a bit of curiosity will join Bart on his walk, praying for Israel and its people.

Once Bart reaches the Temple, he begins to read from his Bible, unashamed to speak out about God's promises for the nation. This includes passages about end times, in which Israel plays an extremely large part. Surrounding vendors, soldiers and passersby hear Bart preach every day about the truth of God's Word.

Bart has been welcomed fairly warmly by the people of Israel, including authorities and guards. Through God's direction, Bart has been able to create frequent fellowship with those who so desire it. Pray that God will bless the Repkos' ministry and speak through them to the hundreds of Israelites without Jesus Christ.