Author Archives: thebridge

HAITI UPDATE — by Jeanette Felix and Sharon Cushing

2022 was an unsettling year for the world, and Haiti was no exception. The country continues to be mired in political and economic turmoil with lawlessness prevailing in the streets of her cities. Life for those living there has been completely upended. Emboldened by the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021, violent gangs seized control of much of the country. Last fall, they shut down the major fuel terminal for approximately two months, blocking fuel distribution to the country. Many businesses, banks, schools, and hospitals were forced to close and public transportation was unavailable. In mid-November, the fuel terminal was released, and schools and some businesses began to reopen. Still, ongoing insecurity, inflation, and a new cholera outbreak are exacerbating an already faltering economy and disrupting day-to-day life.

Along with the national crisis, CINHP also experienced a catastrophic internal upheaval. After years of being uninvolved in the school, CINHP’s president unexpectedly took exclusive control of it, unilaterally reversing policies and undoing years of progress. Exhibiting erratic behavior, he threatened to fire the directors and staff and began spreading disinformation about us to the Lespinasse community. Months of negotiation with him failed to produce an acceptable outcome, and over our protests, he decided to close the school.

You may wonder how this could legally happen. In the United States, it probably couldn’t. However, this is Haiti and different standards apply. Knowing we could spend thousands of dollars in legal fees and still not reach a desired outcome eventually compelled us (Sharon and Jeanette) to resign from the organization, leaving the president as the sole manager of Children In Need Haitian Project. Sorrowfully, we informed the staff of the situation letting them know their options were to continue and work for the president, or seek other means of support for themselves and their families. They unanimously chose the latter. At that time, the school had more than 200 students grades K – 7th.

At the close of the school year, before our official resignation, we were delighted to give generous appreciation bonuses to all of our departing staff. In addition, we gave partial scholarships to our older students to give them the chance to attend another school. The little ones, however, were without options. The preschool director, Mme. Julia, heartbroken for the children said, “I cannot just let this happen!” Despite having no assurance of ongoing support, she took a bold step of faith and re-opened the preschool for the 2022/2023 school year.

NOT AN END… BUT A NEW BEGINNING!

God has an amazing way of redeeming broken pieces to form something new from devastation. Isaiah 43:19 has become our new favorite verse: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” What initially looked hopeless to us is being remade into something even more beautiful.

After much prayer and counsel, we (Sharon and Jeanette) formed a new organization, which, in its infancy, has already helped even more children go to school. God is clearly at work bringing to fruition the plans He began in Lespinasse and expanding our reach to other areas of Haiti and beyond. We are so excited to be a conduit through which He can work and we are looking forward to see all He will do as we enter this journey of faith.

INTRODUCING: NEXUS FOR GOOD – Connecting Generosity to Need.

Nexus for Good links with other grassroots missions that work in communities, like Lespinasse, where children are deprived of education for various reasons. Through Nexus we connect compassionate donors with ministries that promote Christian education as a means of disrupting the cycle of poverty. By partnering, rather than doing it all ourselves, we expand our reach to more children in more areas of the world. We have chosen and begun to extend financial assistance and consultation to several partner missions:

LESPINASSE, HAITI—After years of investing in leadership training for our teaching staff, the preschool director, Mme. Julia, (with the support of her husband, former school director, Jean Simon) took advantage of that training and opened a preschool in Lespinasse under her own banner and direction. One hundred students, preschool through 2nd grade currently attend, and they are growing. Nexus for Good is walking alongside them with financial support, counsel, encouragement, and prayer. As we release our previous hands-on approach, we feel a little like concerned parents praying for the success of maturing children as they take their next steps of independence.

PLATEAU-ANSE-ROUGE—Lemuel Ministries is a Haitian-founded organization working in an arid, desolate area of Northwest Haiti. Lemuel’s philosophy, school history, and community development vision uniquely parallel our Lespinasse program. We are proud to walk with them and to have funded the remainder of their class sponsorships for 2022/23. In a recent meeting, one of their directors told us, “This is the first year we have ever been fully funded!”

INDIA—Friends ministering in a Leper colony in Northern India told us recently that there is no school for the children living there. Although they do not have leprosy themselves, they are rejected and not allowed in schools. Ridiculed and deemed unworthy of an education they become beggars and scavengers who are often molested and prostituted. A few are receiving a modest education thanks to one lone Christian teacher who, through great personal sacrifice, has chosen to enter the colony to teach them. We are teaming up with them to create a safe space for these children to learn. A rent-free building, badly in need of reconstruction, has been secured for this and plans to renovate it are being developed. Initial funding has already been sent to start the construction project.

CURRENT UPDATE ON LESPINASSE, HAITI

Haiti has been under relentless attack from multiple lawless gangs for more than a year. The violence eventually reached Lespinasse, where our school is located. A couple of weeks ago, police along with several men in the community confronted some gang members. Several people were shot and killed, including Rene, the elderly husband of our former school cook, Lolo. Several days after the first attack, gang members returned, captured and beat a local Pastor, killed others, and burned homes. In fear, people abandoned everything they had to go into hiding. These gangs spread terror through violence, arson, and theft. Homes and gardens are ravaged, or burned, and animals stolen for food or to be sold. These gardens, goats, pigs, and cows are the only livelihood that many in this area have to survive. As you can well imagine, lives were completely disrupted. Schools closed, and families fled to neighboring areas or went into hiding, even sleeping in the underbrush. Supply routes to and from Lespinasse were blocked by thugs causing shortages of basic necessities and making it impossible for people to work.

Our school directors, amid these dangerous conditions, stepped out in faith and courage to keep the school open and running. During the worst of the violence, they closed for two weeks as the students had left the area. Last week when the majority of the danger had subsided the school reopened. We are extremely proud of Mme. Julia and Jean Simon, who through great personal sacrifice and in obedience to what God has called them to do continue to invest in the lives of the 100 students we now serve.

These events weigh heavily on our hearts as we consider what is happening to many we know in this community. We are angry and feel helpless to defend our students and their families from this evil. Yet, we are not powerless! We pray with confidence because we have a God who hears, who cares, who is all powerful, and who intervenes for his children. No matter how discouraging and upsetting things appear, we know that God is working for good and that justice will prevail! Please consider supporting this worthwhile work financially and take some time to pray with us for Haiti as you read this update and :

Please pray for our students, their families, our school directors and staff; for unity and courage as Christian churches reach out to defend, comfort, and help their neighbors, Thank God that He protected the church building.

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

Last time published a Bridge Report on Haiti was in the wake of the August 2021 earthquake, focusing on our partners’ disaster relief and restoration.

This month, our report comes from the midst of another disaster in Haiti—the turmoil of violence and lawlessness in the country which is breaking down every level of society. The headquarters of many humanitarian and Christian organizations have been destroyed by gangs and have had to pack up and leave. Children In Need Haitian Project’s school community in Lespinasse was attacked by gangs, but is still operating.

In 2023, Jeanette and Sharon restructured CINHP. They continue working in Lespinasse, but also expanded to include forgotten children in a new area of Haiti and added a new project in India focusing on children living in a leper colony. The new organization has been renamed NEXUS FOR GOOD. You will find their background history on the link:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/category/carribean/haiti

Kazakhstan—Yermek Balykbekov— Update on His Life and Ministry

When I started my ministry journey twenty years ago, I had strong call to reach my Kazakh people with the Gospel. I joined an existent Kazakh Christian Fellowship where, in 2005, I became their pastor. In 2012, I joined the Word of Life, a Russian speaking church, where I was an overseer of the Kazakh speaking believers in the church.

Kazakhs are nomad Turkic people who was established as a nation in 16th century. They are Muslims by faith and tradition. In the late 18th century, Kazakhstan was conquered by the Russian Czarist Empire which in the early 19th century became the Soviet Union, till, in 1991, this communist regime collapsed.

Most of the Kazakhs were oppressed by the Russian regime and had nearly lost their identity as nation. My generation could hardly speak our native language, and knew less about our culture. So, concerning the Gospel, the Kazakhs consider it as a Russian Orthodox religion or Western culture that is not welcome by most. The Lord spoke to many of Kazakh Christians to reach our people using our cultural approach and language. So we used that a lot and saw much fruit.

In the Fall of 2019, I was being led by the Spirit of God to step out and enter into a new phase of ministry. I left the Russian speaking church and some of the Kazakh and Russian believers joined me. Prior to this, the vision I had carried in my heart to see Kazakh people being saved and discipled through their own language and culture seemed to be “dead”. But that was not in God’s plan. In His time, He resurrects His own plans and purposes. A new Christian Kazakh Fellowship was founded based on forming home churches with interpersonal relationships and discipleship. That was a historical moment for us all.

My story of stepping out of the denominational boat and walking by faith on top of the water may sound very encouraging to some of you, but it is not without a cost to self, but it has been worth the struggle. During the last seven years I had been in a desperate situation in my ministry and I was ready to quit. It was like, you don’t see anything ahead of you; nothing was happening in ministry; nobody was getting saved, healed or delivered; the church members were occupied with and distracted by the worries of this world. It was so discouraging and demotivating! But there was one thing I wasn’t ready to quit: Praying and having devotional time with the Lord.

After six months of stepping out of the boat and being persistent in prayer, God blessed us so much. In spite of the Covid-19 Pandemic (March 2020) and Covid restrictions, we grew to planting several house churches in Kazakhstan, using social media. Now, we have six established churches, up to appr. 100 people online and offline. Presently, there are two churches which are about to be born in different regions. The head church which I am currently pastoring, is presently in Karaganda.

Yermek visiting a co-worker for the Gospel – Bridge partner Sargon in Ankara, Turkey.

As I have mentioned above, for almost two decades I was carrying the vision of reaching only Kazakh people, but in the last three years, the Lord has expanded my vision from Acts 1:8 to reach other nations. The interesting thing is, as I kept submitting to a new phase of God’s calling, more Turkic people came to salvation and became part of our church. So, we don’t have “only Kazakh church” anymore but according to Isaiah 56:7, it’s the House of Prayer for All Nations. As we reach out and serve people from all ethnic groups, salvation, healing and deliverance are taking place among them. Recently, we baptized over 20 new people; almost all of them are ethnic Kazakhs and Uighurs.

Yermek visiting another team for the Gospel – Bridge partners Steve and Sophia Schmaltz in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.

Our first hub is in Karaganda, Central Kazakhstan. We have been praying about moving with my family to Almaty in Southern Kazakhstan to start an outreach hub there. We believe it’s His will, just waiting for the right timing and the right doors to open. As preparation, this summer, (July and August), we have decided to visit Almaty. We are beginning to gather people who are on-line members of our movement and start a house church. It’s going to be like a try run. The Lord showed me that I need to step out of pastoral and step into the apostolic ministry to edify, equip and raise up believers to send out into the unreached areas. This transition should take place within the next few years as we move to Almaty.
Pastor Yermek, Kingdom of God Ministry Kazakhstan (KGM KZ)

THE FIVE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA

Central Asia includes the five republics of the former Soviet Union: Kazakhstan pop. 19 mill, Kyrgyzstan pop. 6.5 mill, Tajikistan pop. almost 10 il, Turkmenistan pop. 6.4 mill, and Uzbekistan pop. 35 mill – a total population of almost 77 mill. Afghanistan pop. 40 mill, is at times included, bringing the population in Central Asa close to 120 million.

Central Asia is historically tied to its nomadic, Turkish language-based peoples, of which there are 25 ethnic groups, and the Silk Road, which has acted as a crossroad for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. In the 3rd – 4th Centuries, the entire region was Christian, evangelized by Nestorian, Assyrian missionaries, but later Buddhism and Islam became the dominant religions. Today, there are approximately 4% Christians in Central Asia, including the Orthodox Church; the majority of the population are Muslims. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been no major persecution of the Christian churches by the authorities; Uzbekistan perhaps being the most restrictive country. However, the various governments have a number of confining rules for the churches who choose to be registered, limiting the scope or freedom for the believers in expressing their faith publicly. On the basis of that, at times, local authorities imprison Christian leaders. That is one reason why many fellowship of believers choose to gather “underground” in home churches, away from the prying eyes of the authorities.

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

This year, we celebrate with one of our partners, Yermek Balykbekov and his family, 20 years of ministry to his Kazakh people. It is a far distance in time from being a young Kazakh athlete, passionately training in Marshall Arts in Moscow, Russia with the hope of being selected to the Olympic team, till 20 years later— a more seasoned man, married with three children, the oldest already through college, but with the same passion, this time reaching his Kazakh people with the life transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We have had the privilege of watching Yermek faithfully walk this journey of faith—definitely not an easy road, but a rewarding one as he watches lives being changed by the power of the Holy Spirit while he is ministers to them. You can also follow his journey by going to our website, click on Countries, Central Asia, Kazakhstan.

In this month’s issue of The Bridge Report, Yermek is summarizing these years, and sharing what the Lord is showing him about his future ministry. If you want to honor Yermek and his family with a financial gift, please click on the yellow DONATE button to the top right on this website, and mark your donation “8342 Kazakh Worker”.

Turkey — Trip to the City of Antioch and the Surrounding Areas with Relief Aid

Pray for the Church of Antioch – by Robert Jurjevich

Nearly thirty years ago, I stood praying from the hillside overlooking the city of Antioch (Antakya, Turkey), seeking the Lord about the spiritual condition and future of this Biblical city where nearly 2000 years ago, a powerful New Testament church was founded.

From April 30th through May 2nd, 2023, I returned to Antioch with a truck loaded with food and hygienic items for people who had lost everything due to the February 2023 earthquakes. Traveling with me were pastor Sargon Chamaki from Ankara, Turkey, and pastor Jozsef Nagy from Bekes, Hungary, along with our Turkish brothers in Christ, Mustafa (our driver) and Ibrahim (our interpreter and security). The food truck – which cost $20,000 in supplies – was made possible by donations from several ministries, including The Bridge International.

It is heartbreaking to see this city of a half million inhabitants being reduced to 15% of its population, who are all living in tents because almost all buildings have fallen or are beyond repair. More than 50,000 people died during those few minutes when the series of earthquakes (7.8 magnitude) stuck southeast Turkey and northern Syria, an area larger than the nation of Austria.

Amid such tragedy and despair, God is still in the midst to pour out His love and grace to the local Christians, as they are being used to reach out to the Muslim population within the earthquake zone. Although they themselves have lost their church buildings and personal homes, the local Christians are daily feeding thousands through their mobile kitchens. A positive result of this crisis is that the protestant churches of Turkey (with about 10,000 Christians) are more united and working together than ever before.

Someone asked me if I met God on my trip through the earthquake zone. I responded, “I met a little girl.” Of all my experiences during those two short but intense days, the closest thing to a ‘God-moment’, was the few moments I had meeting her. In the midst of a living hell on earth, she stood there like a springtime flower – the smallest of all the children surrounding our van – totally content with the single packaged muffin she was holding in her tiny hands. She looked up into my eyes and then she gazed off to the side toward the tent camp where she now would return to. What is her name? Did she lose family in the earthquake? What will her future now be like?

TRIP REPORT—TO THE EPI-CENTER

On Sunday morning, April 30th, we started our journey in the capital city of Ankara with the loading the truck with 768 food boxes to be delivered the next morning in Antioch (Antakya, Turkey). There are two kinds of trucks – this one is the smaller size, which costs around $20,000 in supplies. The larger truck would cost $30,000 to fill. Supplies cannot be shipped into Turkey from outside the country – they have to be bought from within. Since the earthquakes three months ago, the price per box has doubled, from $13 to $26. The truck drove on to Antioch ahead of us – we drove in a van behind, a six hour drive. On Monday morning, upon arriving at the church distribution camp on the outskirts of Antioch, along with the local ministry team, we set up tents where we unloaded the food boxes from the truck. Then we loaded up our van with as many food boxes as possible and headed for the city.

In Antioch, the local church is leasing a stable warehouse facility and operating a kitchen and bakery that is feeding thousands each day. They also have mobile kitchens so they can move from place to place to cook and provide warm meals on various locations. We delivered a van load of boxes (with food and hygienic items) to one of the tent camps in Antioch.

From a distance overlooking the city of Antioch, you see many buildings still standing and could conclude that the damage is not that bad – until you start driving through the city. Nearly every building still standing will have to be torn down.

The local church has been given permission by the Turkish government to build a community center and has been assigned a parcel of land to build it on within the container camp. Jozsef is standing on the foundational slab for that future facility. We were warmly received by the director of this particular container camp – he was so thankful for the work of the local church members – God is giving favor to the local believers on every side they turn to, and opened tremendous opportunities for the Gospel!

On our last night, we met with pastor Ihsan Özbek (overseer of the Foursquare Churches of Turkey) back in the capital city of Ankara to share about our impressions from the trip and to discuss how we could possibly help in the future the churches located in the earthquake zone with food trucks and teams.

On Monday afternoon we left Antioch and drove 7-8 hours to the city of Sanliurfa, arriving at midnight for a quick sleepover. Sanliurfa is located about 80 miles east of the Euphrates River. It is the Biblical city of Haran, where the Terah, father of Abraham, died on their journey to the promised land. (Genesis 11:32)

Early on Tuesday morning we drove with a van load of food to the city of Adiyaman, which like Antioch, is a city totally devastated by the earthquakes. We spent several hours visiting a local ministry who are helping in one of the container camps. When completed, each of the 20 container camps being built in Adiyaman will have 5000 containers – so 100,000 container homes. Like Antioch, and other cities within the earthquake zone, nearly all apartment buildings still standing are beyond repair and will have to be torn down.

From R.K.’s Corner

This is a follow up of the prior month’s Bridge Report, which featured the massive earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, which took place on February 6. Thanks to all of you who responded generously in donating funds toward helping the victims near the epicenter in Turkey! So far, The Bridge has collected appr. $13,000.00, some of which helped complete a truck full of relief aid boxed, which our Bridge partners Robert and Sargon in cooperation with local Turkish believers, brought to the city of Antioch and surrounding cities. In this issue, Robert gives us a report from their trip.

Antioch is historically significant, as the Apostle Paul founded the first Gentile church there (Acts 11:20–26). The new disciples of Jesus in the city were the first believers called Christians. Paul started on his missionary journeys from Antioch. Today, Antioch is predominantly Muslim. Now, God has opened a wide door for the Christians to demonstrate the love of Jesus freely to their Muslim neighbors!

WILL YOU JOIN US IN HELPING THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN TURKEY?

The funds raised via The Bridge will be sent directly via the leaders we have presented you with here and administrate the receiving and distribution of goods on the ground. The Bridge will not deduct any administrative costs: Your donation will be sent overseas in full! Please mark your donation: 8162 Relief Aid—Turkey’s Earthquake Victims.

Turkey — Rebuilding People’s Lives after Disastrous Earthquake

This is a one of the reports sent via Robert Jurjevich by one of the leaders of a Turkish network of faith-based local Christian leaders who coordinate and work together in distributing the resources donated, most efficiently. to the most needy. This gives a glimpse of their daily dedication and struggles:

Before and After the Earthquake

”Greetings Brothers and Sisters:
Yesterday we went to Hatay again. This time we had the opportunity to see the ministry led by brothers Ali Öztürk and Umut Şahin.

Brother Ali from the Izmir Işık (light) Churches, together with brothers and sisters from other Light churches and other churches, are running a wonderful ministry. They serve three meals to hundreds of people every day with a simple kitchen set up on the side of a main street, opposite a ruined building that is on the edge of a whole neighborhood in completely ruins. They work with so much heart, so much dedication, making sure everything is well done and runs smoothly! The different local authorities that are patrolling the areas such as police and security guards serving in the region and the public form long lines just to eat. We are hearing amazing testimonies from everyone.

As we met and listened to the people coming , we realized that people don’t just come to eat. They are also coming because they feel God’s presence – the aroma of Christ but they can’t put a name to it – that aroma is there thanks to our brothers and sisters. ‘There is something different here. We don’t eat in other places. We come here to eat and for feeling this atmosphere.’

God is using our brothers and sisters as salt and light in this most difficult time, exactly as the Word states! Praise God! For this, we need brothers and sisters who will continue to serve with them, and carry this burden by putting their hearts and hands into this work. We advise you to go and lift the arms of the brothers there. The First Hope Association is a local charity where our brother Umut Şahin serves. They work with extraordinary labor and effort with a large team not only in Hatay but also in other places such as Gaziantep. Praise God, the services of their association are gradually growing. In the first days of the earthquake they actively took part in search and rescue and rescued dozens of people from under rubble of apartments that had falling in the whole earthquake region. Now they serve in a wide range of ways, from meeting the need for food to providing clothes.

Unfortunately, a large hospital in Hatay is unusable. Many patients and health workers have lost their lives during work. In the aftermath, the hospital’s large garden was transformed into two different “tent hospitals” set up with the help of Samaritan’s Purse, a faith-based organization from the united States. They brought in different medics from Bağcılar, Istanbul, and provide a broad range of medical service from simple health problems to surgeries. With their support in this chaotic environment, First Hope Association provides the most basic needs of thousands of people, employees, patients and their relatives: like toilets, showers, laundry facilities, and basic food, such as bread and coffee.

Dozens of our brothers and sisters serve there selflessly. Let us also thank our brother Umut, First Hope and all the volunteer brothers and sisters who serve with them for this wonderful ministry, Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord give them strength and endurance to continue using them. Helpers and volunteers are needed there too. Please get in touch if you would like to be there and be part of their ministry.

Yesterday evening we went to see our brothers Hamdullah and Elmas again. We nervously entered their house, which they had worked on for years and used as a service center, but which is no longer considered a safe building. We drank tea together and talked among other things a bit about their earthquake experiences . At night, we returned to Iskenderun. We met again with our brother Bedri and the brothers we talked about that day. We saw the same characteristics in our brothers Hamdullah-Elmas, Brother Bedri and his team, brothers Ali and Umut and all our dear brothers and sisters who serve with them: The love and compassion, zeal and endurance, faith and hope reflecting from Christ within.

A ten year old girl protected her baby brother stuck underneath the rubble. When the rescue team approached them, she promised she would be their servant for the rest of her life if they would save her and her brother. Imagine the future destiny of this one little girl! Let us remember the boy with the starfish…It takes only one at a time!

Often without eating, drinking, sleeping, showering, or even going to the restroom, they serve with love those who are suffering, and suffer as if they are serving the Lord. They do not eat but feed, do not wear the clothes that are donated, but give what they receive and have to console those that are suffering. They truly deserve the divine reward, the crown. And they do all this in a sense representing the whole Church. What they do glorifies the Lord, but it also serves to praise the Church. Praise be to God. We thank the Lord for them. May the Lord bless them! May the Lord bless you, dear and precious brothers and sisters.”

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

You may recall the horrific earthquake which, on February 6, hit southern Turkey and parts of Syria. The news of the disaster flashed across the world news media for a few days before it vanished off the headlines—problem solved—right! Not exactly! Each number in the statistics on page three represents one grieving, suffering human being. All you and I can do, all but miniscule in comparison to the ocean of pain, is help alleviate the suffering of one victim, or a family, or a fellowship of believers by giving of our resources with our prayers. We are raising funds which will be sent directly to those who are serving the victims, many of whom live near the epicenter. Most of them are local Turkish Christian leaders affected themselves by the disaster. They come highly recommended by two of our trusted Bridge partners, Robert Jurjevich and Sargon Daniali Chamaki, men with faith and integrity who have lived and served in the Balkans for decades. You find their background information under COUNTRIES on our website.
The funds will be sent directly via the leaders who oversee the receiving and distribution on the ground. The Bridge will not deduct any administrative costs: Your donation will be sent overseas in full! Please mark your donation:
8162 Relief Aid—Turkey’s Earthquake Victims.

Dawa Singye Bhutia: 2022 Ministry Report From the Himalayas

Dear Steve, R.K. and our Bridge Sponsors,

Warm greetings to you in the matchless name of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I am delighted to share with you what the Lord has done in and through my life and ministry in the year 2022 for His glory and the extension of His Kingdom. I thank God for using this earthen vessel for His divine purpose in the Himalayas in India, Nepal and many other nations.

I also take this opportunity to thank you and express my heartfelt gratitude for your constant prayers, encouragement and financial support for my family and ministry. Without your precious partnership and support, it would not have been possible for me to reach the unreached and the lost with the message of hope and life eternal in Christ Jesus.

Thank you again for all your love and support for what we have been doing in this part of the globe for God’s Kingdom. My sincere prayer is that the Lord Almighty will continue to bless you and make you a channel of blessings for His Kingdom. I pray and believe that God will give us a bountiful harvest of souls in the days to come.

Yours sincerely in Christ, Dawa Singye Bhutia

Personal Evangelism

We keep on reaching the unreached and the lost people with the Good News of Jesus Christ through personal evangelism. Many people have heard the Gospel message and some of them have made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Pastoral Ministry, Church Planting and Leadership Training

I have been shepherding New Creation Fellowship in Siliguri as the Senior Pastor and extending the church planting movement with our church members and leaders.

In the churches in Nepal, Bhutan, India and other places we train young men and women in various types of ministries and leadership roles, like evangelism, church planting, mission work and second level leadership. So far, hundreds of young men and women have been trained and then sent to the remoter and unreached areas with the Gospel and planting of churches.

Social Concerns

We met the needs of the poor, elderly and sick with the love of Christ. During Covid-19 and lockdowns we brought and distributed provision into a variety of communities among those who had lost their jobs, resulting in lack of food and basic needs. We especially brought basic relief aid into the Tea Gardens which were shut down by the company for a long time, and distributed school stationeries and toiletries to the needy children in the slums.

Reaching the Children with the Love of Christ

We gave daily free private tuition and daily meals for the poor and underprivileged children in the areas where parents can not afford to send them to regular school.

Rural Evangelists Training in Solukhumbu, Nepal

We have been working and training rural evangelists in one of the most remote and least reached regions of the Himalayas in Nepal. Many rural evangelists have been trained for the work of mission to reach the unreached and the lost souls for Christ. Every year we conduct this kind of training to train and equip the local believers and leaders to reach their unreached in their communities and neighbors, friends and families.

Praying for and Counseling People

During my travels, I visit and meet many people suffering from various kinds of sicknesses and diseases and facing all different kinds of problems and issues in their lives. I pray for them and give them the message of hope, unconditional love and new life in Christ Jesus our Savior.

Present Outreach

It gives me great joy and pleasure to share the excitements of the Short Term Mobile Bible Training all the way from the Tanahu District of West Nepal. The participants were the Pastors and Leaders from the different districts of Nepal. The 4th Batch of the Mobile Training program was conducted from the 26th of January to 12th of February 2023. 29 leaders participated in the training from various districts consisting from Gorkha, Chitwan, Kathmandu, Sarlahi to different areas of Tanahu.

We were so pleased to see the transformation of lives and hear the testimonies by the participants, full of zeal and passion expressing they will continue to joyfully serve in the Kingdom of God!

Prayer Points

Please pray for God’s guidance and protection in my family and ministry.
Pray for us as we continue to reach the unreached and the lost people groups with the glorious message of the Gospel in the most remote and spiritually dark places of the Himalayas.
Pray that our ministry will be more effective and fruitful in the days to come.

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

Some of you who have been with us for a while are familiar with Dawa Singye Bhutia and his ministry in the Himalayas from India, Bhutan, Nepal to the rural mountainous hinterland between India and Tibet, populated with a variety of small, ethnic minorities.

For background information on Dawa, his family and ministry Himalayan Good News Networking Ministry, you will find the three prior stories on our The Bridge website banner above under COUNTRIES—ASIA—HIMALAYAS

In a world full of despair and darkness, in spite of much resistance, Dawa and his team are fully committed to keep bringing the Light and Hope of Jesus Christ, our living Savior, to those who are hungry for truth and righteousness! He and his team are a great investment of your finances and prayers for the Kingdom of God!

2022 Annual Bridge Report

Dear Friends and Partners:

Happy New Year to you and your family from The Bridge team and our partners around the world! We appreciate all of you who take an interest in the Bridge’s ministry and encourage others with the testimonies of the wonderful things God is doing in the nations through His people! An especial warm THANKS to those of you who sacrificially keep giving of your finances and faithfully praying for the missionaries we serve! Your 2022 official Tax Receipt and Annual Bridge Report have been sent to you via postal mail or by 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.”

2022 IN REVIEW— A SUMMARY

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA – Robert and Sandrina Jurjevich:

During the year The Lighthouse continued its pro-life ministry by advertising pregnancy classes for local women. Sandrina and her assistant received many opportunities to be in touch with pregnant women. Each woman who contacted the Lighthouse, received personal follow-up and for some, it resulted in a decision to keep their babies. The church distributes Bibles and during the month of March (for example), around 80 Bibles/New Testaments were requested from their Facebook ad. Many more Bibles were sent out during the year. Robert and Sandrina were involved with a number of special meetings throughout Europe, including setting up worship meetings in Sarajevo with Michael Turner. Robert, a requested speaker at a number of events, was instrumental in planning the Balkan Call Conference in Istanbul in October. After the church Summer Camp in August, Robert and Sandrina flew to the US to see their children and apply for Sandrina’s Social Security. During the Christmas season, the church arranged the distribution of 400 Operation Christmas Child packages as well as continuing the distribution of Bibles & New Testaments. The big project for 2023 is translating Andrew Brunson’s book, into Serbian and Croatian.

REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA – Steve and Sophia Schmalz:

Steve and Sophia continue to faithfully visit the local airport to provide Ingels (New Testaments) in their own Farsi language and other literature primarily to Iranians arriving into Tbilisi. They carry Ingels in several languages in order to distribute appropriately. During the year they came across several people who had become believers in Christ as a result of their ministry over the years. In the spring, they took a furlough in the US to sign up for Social Security and visit many of their supporters and prayer partners. They were able to visit the Ulrichs, as well as prayer team members, the Rays and the Negveskys. At the end of June, they returned to their home in Tbilisi. They report: “Last year, by God’s grace we were able to distribute over 9300 Ingels among travelers on 614 flights.” At the end of the year, Steve re-organized some rooms in their home to store 40,000 Ingels in Farsi in 2023. This year they are tentatively planning a European outreach, as well.

IRAN/TURKEY – Sargon and Nadezhda Daniali Chamaki:

The year began with the arrest of Sargon’s assistant in Iran, Masud, charged for Christian activities. Sargon spent much time assisting the appeal for Masud’s release. Masud was imprisoned for several months before being deported to Armenia. Now Sargon and Masud have begun a new ministry in the capital city of Armenia. During this time, Sargon began a new video series (interview style) giving answers to frequently asked questions by Middle

Eastern Muslims about the Christian faith. It was posted on YouTube in several languages. In addition, he filmed videos for new converts in Iraq and these videos were copied to USB drives and were sent into Afghanistan. He has also been leading conferences for Life International. These include leading times of prayer in Farsi, which is very encouraging to Farsi speakers. He has 437 followers from Iran on his YouTube channel and 1,300 followers on Instagram. Near the end of 2022, Sargon and Nadia moved from Istanbul to Ankara for a more strategic ministry location. Living in Ankara is closer to Armenia & Iran.

KAZAKHSTAN – Yermek and Kamazhai Balykbekov:

Yermek and his family live in Karaganda, but serve in leadership to home groups all over Kazakhstan. They are prayerfully intending to move to Almaty. However, the year began with protests and riots in that city. All the home churches in Almaty were safe from the protests. Yermek subsequently made several trips to Almaty and several Kazakhs accepted the Lord. In Karaganda, Yermek began to delegate leadership responsibility to Olzhas, his assistant, who will eventually take over leading the team in Karaganda. Yermek is recording video lessons on growing in Christ and Christian marriage. The courses will not be free, but he just needs to charge enough to cover costs. In October, all the home churches were invited to Karaganda for the third anniversary celebration of the ministry. During 2022 Yermek was able to build relationships with three additional home groups. He provided many reports of new believers, water baptisms and healing miracles.

KENYA – Paul and Marcia Cowley:

The Disciple Support Ministries now have two training locations in Kenya and two in Tanzania. Although Paul and his family live in Florida, he travels to Kenya three to four times a year to oversee the ministry, which is fully run by graduates who have been trained and discipled by Paul. Over the many years of the Bible School, about 6000 people have attended and many have graduated.

KYRGYZSTAN – Rustam and Zamira Kazakbaev:

During the year, Rustam and Zamira continued their seminary studies. In 2022 they completed the second full year of training, the half way mark to getting appropriate ministry credentials. When not studying, they visit gypsies and other villages of the poor, distributing food and clothing, while sharing the Gospel. When permitted, they conduct Bible studies for the children and pray for the sick. During the summer months Rustam works and teaches at Christian children’s Summer Camps. Working with the Child Evangelism Ministry and other churches, he taught over 500 children. Rustam and Zamira shared many amazing testimonies from both his teaching and her on-line min

istry. They even conducted an “on-line water baptism” for a new Christian wanting to be baptized. During the Christmas season the family traveled to Uzbekistan and ministered to three churches.

SOUTH SUDAN – Matthew and Regina Deng Dut:

Matthew has a group of three churches he oversees in Juba. He conducted a number of evangelistic outreaches in other cities and regions, as well. In the beginning months of last year there was an increase of Covid in South Sudan, during which two of his leaders died. Some time later, Matthew was invited to visit S. Korea, but during his travels Matthew and his team contracted Malaria and had to abort the journey. All recovered. He continues to reach out to the city of Juba with evangelistic meetings. In addition, he works with his home tribal land, evangelizing, training new believers and planting crops that feed several thousand people from his large Dinka tribe with a surplus to sell. They are now planting their own seed rather than buying them from abroad. The harvest on his tribal land is so plentiful that they now employ over twenty people to plant and harvest. Matthew’s mother started a restaurant. The Bridge helped in this business venture.

BHUTAN, INDIA, NEPAL and TIBET—Dawa S. Bhutia:

Dawa keeps on training, discipling and raising up church planters and Christian leaders via his ministry, Himalayan Good News Networking Ministry, in spite of much pushback from the Indian government. The authorities are oppressing ethnic minority groups who adhere to belief systems other than Hinduism, which is being promoted as the only legitimate religion in India. That also includes the Christian faith. This has affected Dawa and his ministry, as well. In spite of the persecution, he and his team continue through their Himalayan Bible Institute to raise up and disciple pioneer evangelists, train leaders, and then send them out as church planters into some of the cities, as well as villages in the more remote Himalayan mountains within Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Tibet.

KALMYKIA—Sarang Badyev:

Sarang spent most of 2022 in Mongolia, visiting and sharing the Gospel with the many Kalmykian nomadic communities there. Back home in Russia Kalmykia is experiencing an economic crisis due to the Ukrainian/Russian war. To avoid being drafted into the war by the Russian military and to seek for work, many of the young men and families in Sarang’s church have fled to neighboring countries.

UKRAINE—Relief Aid:

In addition to several other projects financed by The Bridge, we assisted with Relief Aid to the suffering people in war-torn Ukraine with $15,000.00 which was sent via three partnering ministries in Poland, Australia and Moldova, and administered by Christian leaders in the warzones of Poland.