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2014 Fall Newsletter

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Page 1: 2014 Fall Newsletter

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We serve a global God. As we read in the book of Revelation, someday in a heavenly celebration, every knee will bow before Jesus.

We believe that your faithful help in the producing of programs like The Global Gospel is playing a part in bringing more people toward that celebration. As you flip through the pages of stories in this newsletter, you’ll notice an emphasis on how God is using technology, like social media, to deliver GNPI productions to people throughout the world.

Whether in Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, or any of our other GNPI regional centers, the pace of production continues full-speed ahead because now, more than ever, we have incredible access to people who need to hear the transformational story of Jesus.

Not only are you making our productions possible because of your gifts to initiatives like the Beyond Ourselves campaign, but your support also helps us deliver materials

using the Internet, smartphone technology, Solar Kits, and good old fashioned face-to-face contact.

There is much to be done. If you’re reading this, I want to ask you to join our push to complete The Global Gospel in the top 25 spoken languages by the end of 2015. We’re well on our way, but we need everyone’s help to make this goal a reality.

Who knows? Maybe a people group dear to your heart will be around that heavenly throne because you helped them hear the story of the One they’ll be worshipping in their own heart language!

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Living in Africa takes wisdom—wisdom Christians find in the book of Proverbs. GNPI-Uganda produced a 14-part series called Proverbs, which is available for download on Vimeo. Messiah Theological Institute (MTI) is a school neighboring the regional center that offers courses to preachers and teachers. A copy of Proverbs is given to the students for use in their churches, small groups, Bible studies, etc.

This young team in Uganda is passionate about, and committed to, their work. They had the wisdom to listen to Shaun Tyler, a former missionary in Uganda, when he suggested the book of Proverbs as content for a video series. They committed to excellence, and they are being noticed for it.

This summer, the Uganda team won two awards from the International Christian Visual Media (ICVM) Association. Proverbs won the Bronze award in the Best Curriculum category, and the Silver award in the Best Series category. Though it’s great to be noticed, the Uganda team has a greater mission in mind.

In everything we do, all the resources we produce, we work to redeem the time and make the name of Jesus Christ known in all the earth, not for human applause. That’s why as soon as Proverbs was completed and ready for use, they began their next production. GNPI-Uganda is currently working on The Life of Christ, a 7-episode series also slated for use as continued leadership training for MTI students.

In the midst of producing The Life of Christ, this talented team has welcomed a new staff member, Stephen Muturi. Stephen joins as operations manager and has jumped in with both feet. Stephen formerly volunteered at the center in Uganda and has now returned as an employee.

We’re eager to see how God will use this team in the future. As they continue to produce excellent resources for their culture, they will change their community and nation.

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By: Isaac Masiga, Regional Director of GNPI-Kenya

“We have been praying for wisdom about how to reach the neglected and forgotten Ogiek community in central Kenya. Even though communication is one of the biggest challenges, as most know only the Ogiek language, God recently gave an opportunity to reach out to these people.

We traveled to the Ogiek community several weeks ago, taking along a Solar Kit. We were received warmly. The Solar Kit empowers ministers in remote areas to have greater impact.

One church leader told us the Solar Kit had ‘very important information.’ He said that girls who watch videos on the Solar Kit have learned how to avoid being tricked into immoral habits and spoiling their futures.

Another church leader said, ‘It was a small box. One could not tell it could do great wonders. When they opened it and did the set up, I realized it was something important . . . to use at church and to teach our children.’ ”

Isaac actually shared two stories about how Solar Kits are making an impact in Kenya, but we have so much happening in the ministry that we want to share with you, we could only print one. We invite you to read the other story and see a short video about Isaac’s trip to the Ogiek community at www.gnpi.org/newsletter.

Thanks for your continual support and prayers to accelerate evangelism in Kenya.

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Hassan is a vocal actor who narrated The Global Gospel in Arabic. He had to travel to a location in France where he finished narrating 88 stories from the life of Christ. Though there are many Arabic dialects and accents, Hassan recorded a “classical” dialect that will be widely accepted in North Africa and the Middle East. It has been a long process, but when the Arabic language is completed, an anxiously waiting team will immediately put it to use!

This Arabic version is one of 31 languages either in production, scheduled for production, or completed. However, we have received requests for many more languages!

Like a child on Christmas Eve, we’re waiting for God to bring the resources and other components together so we can unwrap the gift, so to speak. We’re excited because we’re closer than ever to meeting our goal to complete The Global Gospel in the top 25 world languages—spoken by 3.6 billion people!

To us, the “gift” will be unwrapped when these versions are online and downloadable for free by anyone—and, God willing, we’ll have this done by the end of 2015.

On these pages, you see faces that represent languages we have yet to complete in order to meet that goal. Ultimately, it’s not about the goal—it’s about the people who need to hear about the gift of salvation that Jesus brought to us.

We need your help. A gift of any amount will bring us closer to providing this critical tool for missionaries and national Christian workers in areas where The Global Gospel could bring the Good News of Jesus to a family, village, tribe, or even an entire nation!

Not only is The Global Gospel incredibly effective at bringing people to Christ, it’s cost-effective too. Some ministries doing similar projects spend as much as $40,000 to create a new version. GNPI averages only $7,000 to record, finalize, and prepare each version for distribution. Talk about a return on investment! Our center in India estimated that this year alone as many as 1 million people will see the versions of The Global Gospel they have produced.

Would you pray about giving a gift of any amount toward completing one of these languages? We would welcome your partnership to help bring the Gospel to all people. You can find out more at www.theglobalgospel.org.

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By: Jeff Silkwood, PR Liasion, GNPI-Thailand

Bamboo worms are not what I expected to eat when I agreed to travel to a remote Karen village in northern Thailand. Surprisingly, they didn’t taste that bad! In fact, after the first grub I asked for another. Tee, whose family lives in the village, said that the village bamboo worms were the best anywhere. If I’m going to try them, they might as well be the best. When we arrived at the village, I was shown to my quarters: a mat on the floor next to a window (actually, nothing more than a hole in the wall), with a couple of blankets, and a mosquito net. I felt the cool, night air and heard insects, dogs, and pigs all looking for places to sleep. The only power in the village comes from a few solar panels used to charge car batteries. On the second of the three nights, I had the opportunity to use the GNPI Solar Kit. Word had gotten out that a movie would be shown. Children of all ages came out of the woodwork to see it, some able to stay for the whole show and others only for a few minutes before finishing their bedtime routines. At any one time there were around 30 children present, all fascinated by the movie. By their expressions, you would have thought each was competing in a staring competition. The video was a cartoon that told the story of Christ—a good reinforcement to the Bible stories told during the day’s activities. The Solar Kit worked remarkably well, and many children asked to watch another video. After we returned home, the pastor of the Thai church invited me to bring the Solar Kit and return again to the village at the end of the year. I plan to go and take my family. Sadly, bamboo worms will be out of season. That’s okay though. There is always something new to try in the villages of Thailand.

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It’s a known fact that getting out of your “normal space” raises creativity and allows the brain to conceive new ideas. Exposing your senses to new things is good for you!

Recently, a few of the members of GNPI-Thailand (Freedom Films) proved this fact. A Christian church in a Thai community in Minnesota invited them to travel to the United States to produce a documentary about the life’s work of Dr. Vacharee Peterson, a local Thai dentist. The Thai team was honored by this invitation.

Dr. Peterson was born in Thailand, but came to the US to study dentistry so she could help support her family back in Thailand. Through her dental clinics in the St. Paul area, she offers services to people in need. When the footage is edited and ready to release, her story will be used to inspire Christians in the US and in Thailand.

The mission was very successful and, as is often the case, God had much more in mind for this eager team besides the documentary featuring Dr. Peterson! As they settled into the Thai community, they began to build

relationships with Thai Christians. Two series this team produces in Thailand are called Movement Everywhere and Changed. These programs are true stories of how God is working and revealing himself to Thai people.

As friendships with their new Christian friends deepened, they couldn’t help but notice opportunities to produce additional episodes of Movement Everywhere and Changed. Reaching into the population of Thailand, where less than two percent are Christian, the team believes Christians in their homeland will be encouraged by the stories of Thai Christians on the other side of the world.

Nitt, one of the women on the GNPI-Thailand team shared, “. . .the filming we have done here will help a lot of people in Thailand. When they see the videos and testimonies I think it will encourage them to go with God.”

See this article’s companion video at www.gnpi.org/newsletter.

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Because of You, We Went Beyond Ourselves!

To those who participated in the Beyond Ourselves campaign, we are truly grateful. You’ve continued a nearly 40-year ministry legacy. To date, we’ve received 93 percent of all pledges!

Because of your faithfulness, new NOMaD teams are productive (80 new people trained this year alone), several languages of The Global Gospel are

complete (nearly 80 languages have been requested), and our regional centers have an enhanced production capability. (GNPI-Mexico says “Thank You” at www.gnpi.org/newsletter.)

Nothing is too hard for God! We praise him for these things, and for you, as you’ve helped us go Beyond Ourselves!

It’s been said in planned giving circles, “If you’ve got a shirt on your back, you have an estate.” The essence is that you likely have assets other than money in the bank that can create a legacy for your family, church, and favorite charities.

We recently featured David Duncan, of The Steward Partnership, in a short video segment. David discusses how non-cash gifts like property, antiquities, or grain,

etc. can help organizations like GNPI propel their mission.

To speak with someone about how to effectively manage your estate, contact us at [email protected] or call us 417-782-0060.

David’s short video can be seen at www.gnpi.org/newsletter.