News from World Horizons

Here is the latest update from David and Corne Storm.

Team Photo

The 8000 mile round trip to Eastern Turkey and back was not without its fair few challenges!

However we have already heard that since praying and fasting for a couple of days in one north-eastern province, the number of believers in the province has now doubled!  The Lord God is Mighty to Save!

 Iftar

The Turkish government put on mass 'Iftar' end of fast dinners.  Here, we joined 500 Kurds and Syrian refugees in the breaking of their daily Ramadan fast.  We were welcomed very warmly by Muslim families and individuals alike.

Iraq Convoy

Due to a change of events, we had the unexpected bonus of a spontaneous trip to Iraq!  This was quite a journey involving an armed convoy along the Turkish/Syrian border as we entered Iraq.  In Iraq we met some friends and Iraqi Christians.  It was so encouraging for us all to hear their testimonies and to pray together.

   Cairo Skyline

The August trip to Cairo has been cancelled.  However please join us in remembering the nation and people of Egypt. We will specifically be fasting lunches over 2nd-6th September to pray and invite you to join with us.

We recommend reading this link to better understand the current situation and in understanding how to pray.  https://www.sat7usa.org/understanding-the-present-situation-in-egypt

Soul Action South Africa Update

 

 

It was good to have a visit from Phil, Rachel and Zachary Bowyer back in June while they were in the UK. They spent 4 weeks travelling around to spend time with their family, and visiting churches and groups to share about their work. It was a trip that they found physically exhausting, but spiritually, socially and emotionally energising, inspiring and surprising!

 





I'm a church leader, get me out of here!

On their return to South Africa they hit the ground running by gathering local church leaders on their first day back to pray about their national conference planned for next March. During the first week they were back they met with the 20 leaders they have been gathering to think through what it means to empower communities to use their own resources to meet their own needs. The leaders in the photo may look like they are trying to escape the building, but in reality they were asked to make the longest line they could with the resources they had on them! The exercise not only brought out their competitive streak but also drove home the point: we can sometimes overlook our own resources, and - worse still - forget that even those people in what we think are the most desperate situations still have resources and potential.

Pray:

• That this group of leaders would be catalysts in this country for a move towards people empowerment.
• For stories of people for whom empowerment has led to them re-discovering their fullest potential in God.

Educators discussing in groups the advantages of shared reading.

 

Soul Action South Africa's Literacy Project's vision is to empower children to reach their full potential. To achieve this they have chosen to support teachers in low economic communities by working with schools to teach children to read and write in English. One of the ways Soul Action supports teachers is by facilitating workshops. In this case the teachers had asked for support with shared reading. 19 teachers attended the workshop which aimed to develop an understanding of what is meant by, and how to facilitate, shared reading.

 



Feedback from all the groups

 

Pray:

• For Rachel as she continues to train teachers, and especially for the relationship she is developing the Department of Education in KwaZulu Natal.

 

Copies of the Soul Action South Africa monthly newspapers are available in Priory Lane. Or go to their website: www.soulaction.co.za for more information.

 



Kids Try Praying

Our children and young people have enjoyed getting to grips with praying over the summer with the help of these great Try Praying books for children and youth. Like the adult version, these books explain what prayer is all about and encourage young readers to try praying for themselves with some simple steps they can follow.

The children's version has stories and puzzles which made learning about prayer fun for us all! The youth books have plenty of testimonies from young people who have found that praying has really made a difference to their lives in all sorts of trials and difficulties which are so typical in the experience of young people today.

We have a few of both books left over, and plenty of the adult version too, so let us know if you would like one! Or you can find out more about TryPraying and order books at www.trypraying.co.uk