Dear Friends and Partners:
Happy New Year to you and your family from The Bridge team and our partners around the world! Our warm THANKS to those of you who sacrificially gave of your finances and prayed for the missionaries we serve in the nations! Your Tax Receipt has been sent to you via postal mail or email. May you all experience the abundance of the promise in Proverbs 11:23-25: “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”
2020 IN REVIEW—REFLECTIONS
2020 was a tumultuous year which brought massive changes with lasting effect to the lives of people world wide. At the beginning of the year, the breakout of Covid-19 pandemic originating in China, expanded quickly with death and devastation across the world. This tiny, invisible ball brought life as we knew it to a screeching halt, as businesses, schools, social and spiritual activities and any other meaningful human interactions were shut down while people were commanded to withdraw from society and live behind closed doors in isolation, only with their nearest family members. Beyond the obvious tragedy and grief of losing loved ones to the pandemic, the unintended consequences by the lockdowns have caused equally, if not worse, misery in people’s lives: financial ruins, increased poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, depression and suicide.
In the name of safety and health, governments globally have centralized their grip on power. An international group of elite leaders, part of The World Economic Forum (WEF), have planned a shift from the individual nations’ sovereign right to govern their citizens, to a world wide power elite of the rich and powerful, who think the time is near when The Great Reset, outlining their global agenda, will successfully be instituted “for the Good of Mankind.”
Centralization and consolidation of power will be necessary, as will conformity and absolute obedience to the agenda of the Powers to Be. Faith and loyalty to a Higher Power, individuality and dissent must not and cannot be tolerated, and those who protest must quickly be brought back in line, deemed as dangerous elements, a threat to peace and security in civil society. The Cancel Culture is right now coming into full bloom! The draconian measures mandated by political leaders to protect the world population against the deadly virus are a perfect opportunity to test the timing for the introduction to the New World Order.
Last year, this nation also experienced another trauma which will have far reaching international consequences— a bruising, volatile and outright hateful American Presidential election. It has divided the nation right down the line. The 45th President, running on a Republican ticket, had during his tenure openly rejected the globalist agenda through his slogan “Make America Great Again”, and reintroduced ordinary American citizens to their Constitutional rights. The President gave a voice to the voiceless, “WE THE PEOPLE”, by tirelessly laboring for the people by introducing legislation and regulations benefitting the lives of men and women all across the socio-economic and racial spectrum. In turn, those people loved him… to them he was the People’s President! To the Globalists, he was a clear and present danger, hindering their view of progress. In a bitterly contested election with serious allegations of major fraud, it was determined that the globalist-friendly Democrat candidate won, and he has been sworn in as President.
The deeper world issue is not politics, nor economics, it is the clashing of ideologies. In the United States we have openly entered into a fierce spiritual/cultural war—a fire which has been raging on other continents for decades, with severe persecution against Christian believers and destruction of their churches and symbols. Now, it has erupted with vengeance against the last bastion, the Judeo-Christian world view in America.
The Bible was always the bedrock for Western civilization—the glue which held our society together with a common understanding of basic Biblical moral values, adherence to the rule of law, equality under the law, and respect for the individual’s rights. The American Constitution, built on these Biblical principles, has been a shiny model of a good governing document; the example to be applied against tyranny by freedom fighters the world over. Today, these Biblical moral and spiritual principles must be crushed by the fascist/globalist elite, the Christian faith subdued and its followers canceled and cast aside. With that, the American Constitution with its fundamental phrase, “endowed by our Creator, ” must also be nullified, as it declares that all men are given Equality with certain inalienable Rights, among these Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, not by man, governments or the political correct elite in society, but given by God! This the core of the conflict!
In the midst of a hostile society facing the Christian believers, we are called according to Matthew 5:13-16 and Phil. 2:15-16a, to be salt and light before men—children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom we shine as lights in the world, holding fast the Word of Life!
THE BRIDGE AND OUR FIELD PARTNERS
In spite of the lockdowns, and concern that the hardship of the virus would diminish our Bridge contributors’ ability to give, we were blessed in every way. Our income grew beyond expectation, so we were able to help equip a number of our partners with funds to reach out with compassion and love with life sustaining provision to victims of Covid-19 in their communities.
One of our Stateside prayer warriors and leader of The Bridge Intercessory Team, Paul Booher, went to be with the Lord. It was a loss for us, but the Lord provided us with three new members called to intercede for the nations and our partners who labor in His harvest. We are humbled and thankful for the labor of love of the group!
Covid-19 affected every community we serve overseas, some countries harder hit than others, with heartbreaking devastation and suffering. We are deeply grateful that none of our partners, except one family, contracted the virus. Rustam and Zamira and their two children in Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN were lightly infected, and were quickly restored to full health with no negative health effects. This was an answer to prayer by our intercessors, demonstrating that the Lord’s protection as promised in Psalm 91 were true and real.
As most countries were already in lockdown in the late spring, all church services and fellowship gatherings were shut down everywhere, and with that, many of the outreaches and mercy ministries of our partners. This became a challenge for the leaders to find ways to continue their labor of love in obedience to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20, “…Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Their clarity of vision, personal sacrifices, courage, endurance and hope; having been trained to stand firmly in faith in the face of serious setbacks and apparent insurmountable problems, have helped them find new, creative ways to circumvent their governments’ restrictions, and continue to keep in contact and fellowship with their church family. Worship services and Bible teachings were in many cases conducted virtually online. To comply with the restrictions on social distancing, smaller home fellowship groups flourished with just a few believers in each, which has brought forth new leadership and closer knit relationships between the believers. We have reports from every field that there was growth and expansion in the number of people responding to the Gospel and desiring to grow in faith.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of last year’s activities among our partners, was their willingness to risk their own health and safety, and together with their church family reach out to the most needy suffering from the pandemic with a feeding program, which provided amazing opportunities to share the Good News to people in communities closed to their presence in prior years. The Village of Peace in AFGHANISTAN and Himalayan Good News Network Ministry in INDIA each did impressive outreaches into their surrounding communities with life giving sustenance. You will find their stories on our website, published under last year’s Bridge Report for respectively June and August.
Sargon, serving Iranian believers in TURKEY and IRAN proper, reached out to a number of refugees and provided shelter and food for them. We also helped provide finances for the distributing of food packages for needy Iranian believers and unbelievers in Iran and Turkey.
This year, we are not providing specific updates from all the fields we serve, but you will find a comprehensive list and description of each of the major partners we resource on a regular basis in the 2019 Annual Report which you find under ANNUAL REPORTS above. Scroll down the page, or click on the following direct link and scroll: https://www.bridgeinternational.org/category/annual-bridge-reports/
BLESSINGS to those of our partners not mentioned here, and those of you who invested resources into their lives and ministries. THANK YOU, again! R.K. Ulrich