Season of Giving

For the countries and cultures that celebrate Christmas, in one way or another, it is known as a season of giving.  One verse that is used frequently during this time of year is Acts 20:35, “it is more blessed to give, than to receive.”  However, did you know that this verse was spoken by the Apostle Paul (quoting Jesus) near the end of his third missionary journey?  Paul was certainly not making reference to Christmas, but he was speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus and explaining that as believers we are to “support the weak” (v. 35) as he was doing on his mission trip.

Everywhere Global Infusion teams go, we proclaim the Gospel to the lost and unreached, disciple the believer, and minister to the poor.  We give away food, Bibles, medicine, clothing, shoes, toys, and so much more.  A few weeks ago, our Global Infusion mission team to India left our contact with the only camera GI owns—which we use regularly to document our work and film videos for updates.  This camera has gone to a district leader in India that will use it to document the work he and all of his Pastors throughout the region are doing—which is vitally important for their ministry’s strategic planning efforts.

Help GI get a new camera:  DONATE 

(Select "GI: Camera" under "Designate My Donation") 

While this may seem insignificant in the natural, it is a seed for another ministry—people we have partnered with for life that are doing everything they can to reach the unreached at any cost.  This is only a small example of what GI teams do on a regular basis.  You can help us do more and reach more people with your support.  Please consider supporting Global Infusion as we venture out into the world, as the Apostle Paul did.  We will continue to preach, and continue to give.  As Christians, our entire lives should be a season of giving, because He gave so much for us

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GI in Asia

INFUSION ADVENTURES: INDIA

Our November team to India has returned and we thank God for the many great testimonies from their trip.  The team held two multi-day conferences for over 100 village Pastors in two different regions of India, including the state of Orissa, which is one of the most highly anti-Christian and persecuted areas in the entire country.  The team also evangelized and held open-air services in three very remote villages that are dominated by Hinduism.  Watch the video update.

INFUSION ADVENTURES: THAILAND

Our November team to Thailand has also returned from the mission field.  This team ministered on the streets of Bangkok in some of the most intense areas of the city.  They reached out to trafficked women, prostitutes (male and female), children on the street, club owners and workers, and many others.  They also traveled to remote Thai villages to preach the Gospel, train leaders, and encourage the believers.

Thank you to all of our supporters who prayed and gave toward these trips.  We believe that many souls will now enter the Kingdom as they turn from the extreme darkness of the enemy.  Thailand and India are plagued by Hinduism and Buddhism—the enemy has blinded millions of people, but Global Infusion teams regularly infiltrate that darkness and bring the light and love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We already have more than 15 teams scheduled for 2014.  Please consider partnering with us as we bring the Good News to the world.

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So that none will be lost,

Jonathan Haward, President

Global Infusion

 

Without the Gospel

Do you believe that we owe it to our generation to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Is our salvation and knowledge of Jesus’ life-changing, transformational, supernatural power something that should be contained?

When people groups are without the Gospel, they are affected on every side.  Knowing Jesus, and knowing the truth changes your perception about everything.  Spiritual blindness does not just affect our spirit—it affects our entire being.  The truth sets people free; without it they fight alone in bondage.  With every second that goes by, there are people in this world that will face another day with Christ, and feel the onslaught of the enemy.  They will remain this way unless we, as believers, go into all the world with the Gospel.  They will live in sickness, in poverty, in depression, in hopelessness, and in danger of losing their soul for eternity unless someone proclaims the Good News to them.

It is very easy in the West to intentionally blind ourselves to the destitution the majority of our world lives in.  If we don’t think about the poor or the lost, then we do not have to do anything about it.  If we consume our days with a busy schedule, we will feel accomplished.  Activity, however, does not equal accomplishment.  We must be busy with our assignment from God, to reach a lost generation for Him, and not concern ourselves with menial tasks of the day. 

Jesus says, in Matthew 16:24-26, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  In other words, we should not pursue anything in this world that could override our desire to follow Jesus.  If we are truly following Jesus, we will soon encounter someone who needs Him.  Pray and support Global Infusion, as we follow Jesus to the ends of the earth to reach those who need Him desperately.  Also pray for our next GI teams that are being sent out in November to India and Thailand.

Syria

If you have been following the news in the last few weeks, you will know that the small country of Syria has been making big news.  There are many allegations of human atrocities that have occurred within the borders of Syria, and now the world is reacting.  Politics aside, there has been great confusion regarding the next step the United States and other countries should take.  Although it is a complicated situation, that should not prevent the ability for world leaders to provide a clear vision and direction.

When God saw the earth was corrupt, He destroyed it with a flood.  When He saw people building a tower to Heaven, He confused their languages and spread them across the planet.  When He saw the atrocities of Sodom and Gomorrah, he destroyed it with fire.  When His chosen people were held captive in Egypt, He provided the Promised Land, and leaders to get them there.  When He saw humanity being lost to sin, death, hell and the grave, He sent Jesus to save us.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one, and only Son….” (John 3:16).

There is always a Godly solution to every trial, problem and challenge, it just comes down to whether or not we humble ourselves, pray, and ask God to heal our broken land or situation.

The vision of Global Infusion is clear.  Our goal is to infuse indigenous people of foreign nations with the power and tools necessary to attain a healthier way of life for the whole person.  The majority of the world is lost, and God’s kingdom must grow.  Lost people will not be found unless someone is looking for them.  For you see, it is not the lost that must come to church, but the Church that must go to the lost.

Your involvement in Global Infusion truly touches and changes lives for eternity.  Whether you pray for us, financially support us, or go with us overseas on our mission trips, know that souls are being transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.  If you are not a monthly supporter of GI, please consider partnering with us, so we can reach even more people for His Kingdom.

Compel Them

There is a powerful revelation in Luke 14 where Jesus begins by saying in verse 16, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses.”  Our Savior has died on the cross for our sins, He has provided the free gift of eternal life, yet the majority of the world continually rejects Him.  Yet Jesus knew this would happen, so He tells the parable of this man who gives a great supper.  Everyone who is initially invited rejects the invitation. 

The parable continues, “So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’”  When you have nothing, it seems you have nothing to lose in life.  The poor and lame readily accepted the invitation, because they had nothing.

“And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’  Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

The work of salvation is complete.  The Holy Spirit is active and alive, yet the Bible instructs us that we must compel people toward the Kingdom of God.  We do not save them, Jesus does.  However, we must actively live out our faith by going into the world, and compelling the lost by the word of our testimony, and showing them the love of God.

The Haward Family:  3 generations on Team Guatemala

Just a few days ago, I was with one of our GI teams.  We were in Guatemala, and we had the opportunity to minister in a garbage dump where over 100 people live.  Throughout this year, we have had several teams go out to this area—this helps our contacts establish credibility, and allows them to build relationships with the people.  This group of people has been there the entire time we have been working in Guatemala, yet we had to find them, then we had to compel them.  People will not find Jesus unless we go to them.

10 Years: A Reflection

This month, we celebrate GI’s 10th anniversary.  Since our first year, we have sent out over 130 mission teams, to 13 countries, comprised of over 1,700 missionaries!   

With every GI mission trip I have the privilege of leading, I am always amazed at how the Bible comes alive in a very different way among our team members.  When we are walking through remote villages, and seeing people in extreme poverty, we must rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment.  They are sick, and need medicine, care, and healing.  They are hungry, and need food and clean water.  They are unemployed, work in agonizing and even dangerous conditions, or treated very poorly by their superiors - yet they did nothing to deserve any of these situations.  The children rarely attend school, mostly because they must work, or help at home so others can work.  Most importantly, many of them do not know Jesus because there is no consistent Gospel presence in their area.   Yet we as Christians are called to go.  We are called to go intentionally into the darkest corners of the world and be a light.  We are to look into the eyes of those whom the devil desires to steal from, kill, and destroy.  We must go, because they must hear.  We go with a message of hope, to the most dire of situations, because Jesus promised that He can provide life, and life more abundantly than they could ever imagine.

Those who have had the opportunity to minister on the foreign mission field begin to realize how desperate the situations we see really are.  Though we may bring food, medicine, and clothes, or build a home, school or church, people still need more.  Virtually everything we do will either run out, or deteriorate.  That is why the world needs Jesus.  He is the Bread of Life.  He is the Living Water.  He is the Great Physician.  He is the Father to the fatherless.  He is our Defender.  He is our Provider.  He is the only solution to a lost, hurting, and dying world, because He never runs out.

In the last few months, Global Infusion teams have fed hundreds of people (Guatemala, Philippines, Nicaragua), facilitated outreaches for hundreds of children (Ukraine, Philippines), built a home (Nicaragua), and engaged in one-on-one evangelism (Uruguay, Nicaragua, Nepal, and one closed nation), and held village services in unreached areas (Tanzania, Ghana, Philippines).  In each country, the love of God was shown in a tangible way, and the Gospel was declared.  We have seen many people surrender their lives to Jesus, and we are thankful for each of you who have supported us in order to see this world changed for the glory of God.

Truly Global

It has been a record-setting year for Global Infusion.  In the month of May alone, we launched 10 mission teams all over the world - we truly are infusing the Globe with the power of God and the message of Jesus Christ.

Currently, we have one team in Tanzania, one headed to Nicaragua next week, and another team going to a closed nation soon after.  Here is a brief overview of where our teams were, and what they have done (we have omitted one team as they were also in a closed nation):

Guatemala (2 teams).  Our teams to Guatemala have traveled to unreached villages, presenting the Gospel, facilitating outreaches to kids, and distributing a month’s supply of food to the hungry.  They have also taught in our contact’s school, and ministered to those living in a garbage dump.

Ghana.  Team Ghana has gone deep into the villages of Africa to reach people with the Good News.  Literally going from hut to hut, or mud-brick home, they have spent time with families in evangelism.  In the villages, they have facilitated several village church services.  They have also ministered to many children and taught in our contact’s school.

Nepal.  Our team to Nepal has trekked into the Himalayas, reaching unreached people.  They have gone into the jungle, and also traveled to remote areas of the country to bring the message of Jesus Christ to those who have never heard.

Philippines (3 teams).  Traveling up to 9 hours away from Manila to the north part of the main island, these teams have focused on reaching those without a church, a Pastor, or the Gospel.  They have worked in rice fields to reach the farmers.  They have ministered in a women’s prison, visited the sick and gave food to the children of those with sick parents.  They have facilitated village services, and outreaches to village kids.

Ukraine (2 teams).  For several weeks in a row, our teams to Ukraine have saturated the areas near Poltava by facilitating week-long VBS camps for kids.  This opens the door for our contacts to reach out to the families and build relationships with them.  They have also held several church services.

Uruguay.  This country has atheistic statements written into their constitution.  Our team has evangelized in the university district of Salto, discipled young people who are new to the faith, and facilitated outreaches to children.

Thank you to all who have been praying and financially supporting our Kingdom work.   We have more teams scheduled to go out in the next few months, and we need more supporters to help us continue to make an impact for Jesus around the world.

10 Teams

What an amazing month we are having.  As I write these words, we currently have 7 teams in the field:  Ghana, Guatemala, Nepal, the Philippines, Ukraine, Uruguay, and one closed nation.  We have just received 3 teams back from the field - a total of 10 teams in a single month.  God is doing some great things through Global Infusion.

Report from the field:  Guatemala

Our Guatemala Team Leader reported that on one day, the team went to an unreached village with 50 bags of food for distribution (each bag weighs 50-60 lbs, and can feed a family of 4-5 for up to 1-month).  They handed out 50 bags, yet somehow there were 4 bags left over – so they began dividing it up and they ended up feeding 7 more additional families.  57 families total – about 250 people received a month’s supply of food, and the Gospel message.  Thank you Lord for miracles!  On another day, our team ministered in a garbage dump where hundreds of people live.  There are no churches, denominations, missions organizations or government programs helping them.  Our team brought food, clothes, and facilitated a VBS day with the kids in the dump and also ministered to the adults.

Report from the field:  Philippines

Our contact in the Philippines has let us know that our team has gone out to a village to work with sugarcane farmers and workers.  These people are extremely poor and work in tough conditions.  He explains, “when the farmers bring in their sugarcane [to the mills], it would not be processed on the same day, but [the mills] would wait for about a week or so.  And then by the time their sugarcane is processed, they are not paid on the agreed amount.”  Our team was taught how to make sugar from sugarcane, and literally worked alongside the farmers so the door would be opened for the Gospel to be shared.  Next, they are headed to a remote unreached village where our contact has a relationship with some people there, and is wanting to plant a church.

These two brief testimonies are just from one day on the mission field.  Imagine what is happening for the Kingdom of God during the month of May as we have 10 mission teams in the field.  With your prayers and financial support, we can do so much more for those who are in need, and who are also in need of our Savior.  Please pray for our teams this month as they are on the frontlines of battle.