June, 2009

the year of the global food crisis

Panos/Juan Vrijdag

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It is the new face of hunger. A perfect storm of food scarcity, global warming, rocketing oil prices and the world population explosion is plunging humanity into the biggest crisis of the 21st century by pushing up food prices and spreading hunger and poverty from rural areas into cities.

Millions more of the world’s poorest people are facing starvation as food shortages loom and crop prices spiral ever upwards.

And for the first time in history, say experts, the impact is spreading from the developing to the developed world.

963 million is the number of undernourished people in the world.

“The increasing scarcity of food is the biggest crisis looming for the world”, according to World Food Programme officials.

The increasing cost of grains is also pushing up the price of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. And there is every likelihood prices will continue their relentless rise, according to expert predictions by the United Nations and developed countries.

More and more people around the globe will be unable to afford the food they need to stay alive if prices keep rising.

Food scarcity means a big increase in the number of people going hungry.

But there is also the new face of hunger.

As well as being overseas in some other country, the profile of the new hungry poor is also in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and USA plus.

There is food available in the markets and shops – it’s just that people can’t afford to buy it anymore. Scarcity means that some foods will be very expensive, or disappear from supermarkets altogether.

In India last year, more than 25,000 farmers took their own lives, driven to despair by grain shortages and farming debts. “The spectre of food grain imports stares India in the face as agricultural growth plunges to an all-time low,” warns India Today magazine.

The World Bank predicts global demand for food will double by 2030. This is partly because the world’s population is expected to grow by three billion by 2050.

The rise in global temperatures caused by pollution is also beginning to disrupt food production in many countries. According to the United Nations, an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation and climate instability.

Last year Australia experienced its worst drought for over a century, and saw wheat crops shrink by 60%.

Why are we growing food to feed cars instead of people?

The global drive for a new green fuel to power cars, lorries and planes is worsening world food shortages and threatening to make billions go hungry.

Converting large amounts of land crops for biofuels is reducing food production just when the world needs to increase it.

Last year a quarter of the US maize crop was turned into ethanol to fuel vehicles – and the US supplies more than 60% of the world’s maize exports.

You could feed a person for a whole year from the grain that produces just one tank of fuel for a sports utility vehicle (SUV).

It is possible for the world to feed itself, but we must teach them how to grow food for themselves, but if we continue to grow crops to feed cars rather than people, we’re in trouble.

the year of the global food crisis

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The other Sunday I heard someone in church say from the pulpit platform microphone….

“GOD DID NOT MAKE ANYONE THAT HE DID NOT LOVE.”

Immediately I asked myself….

BUT WHY THIS?

The photos represent millions of seemingly unloved people in the world. The photos tell of the “horror” of starvation and it makes you stop and think how realistically do we understand the statement “God did not make anyone that He did not love”.

If this is true “that God did not make anyone that He did not love” how could God let this happen? After all, isn’t God finally responsible for everything?’ And how will they understand His love?

From the desk of Eric Leach

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As tragic as all this is….

What about the 963 million people who live in countries where there are no food

packages available?

There is no such thing as a City Mission.

There is no such thing as a Government handout.

They don’t know such luxuries exist.

These luxuries would be almost like heaven to them!

So how does God work out his plan to show His love to them?

As best I can understand through the Bible, God demonstrates His love for the poor through us.

Proverbs 19:17 says “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.”

Here the Bible says it is not sufficient to avoid oppression of the poor: the good man gives active help, and since God identifies Himself with the helpless, such giving turns out in the end to be only a loan – to the Lord.

In Matthew 25:34 – 46 Jesus expresses it even more pointedly.

To those who do not feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoners, he will speak judgment and I will not pursue this thought, but rather encourage you to read the Bible Matthew 25:34 - 46, as it is too much to even comment about.

There is one point Jesus makes in Matthew 25:45 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Every day millions of people do not have enough food to eat and right now the numbers are increasing.

This year has been called “the year of the global food crisis”.

Yes, in Australia and New Zealand and other such countries we face hunger too.

The demand for food parcels from many food banks like the City Missions, the Rescue Missions and the Salvation Army plus many others has “gone-through-the-roof” as more and more families struggle to cope with the rise in the cost of living and food prices.

With some 650,000 unemployed in Australia and large numbers unemployed in New Zealand (the N.Z. figures not available at the time of writing) but 52,465 people accessing N.Z. Salvation Army services from 1st-23rd April, (a 40% increase), we are seeing more and more working families not getting the food they need and homeless services are at an all time high.

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Luke 6:30 says “Give to everyone who begs from you.”

This is not easy to follow.

But it brings us to the “heart-of-our-life”. Paul is teaching the church leadership in 1 Timothy 3:3 that they should be “not a lover of money” but “to be generous and willing to share”. 1 Timothy 6:18.

As I understand the Bible, God is going to feed the hungry through us – God’s people.

Knowing “something” of what God requires of us, what will we do to feed a hungry world?

This was the question that came to us at Every Home for Christ.

In January 1979 Every Home for Christ saw the plight of the slum children in Bangladesh and started schools with a “hot lunch” every day.

Then followed sewing classes for women to make clothes for their children and other neighbours so they could make money to feed their children. Some women after learning sewing went working in the large clothing factories.

In the years that followed other humanitarian projects were paid for by Every Home for Christ supporters. A medical clinic was built in Togo, the micro-enterprise project in Bangladesh with rickshaws and vans, a school in a poor village in India, boats to give medicine, food and clothing to the poor in the Amazon, Brazil.

Then in June 2002 the famine hit southern Africa and the news came….

Starving people in Malawi were eating sawdust to survive.

The Malawi Every Home for Christ Director wrote…

“I could not believe my eyes when I saw women searching for sawdust in order to add it to their mealie meal with the aim of trying to increase the quantity of the mealie meal flour so it could last them a little longer.”

It was then we got serious and for Malawi Every Home for Christ we raised funds to buy immediate food for the hungry….

And it was then we realised we also needed to teach these people how to grow food for themselves. We needed to “get-them-started” and to buy them seed, fertilizer and tools to cultivate their land and to dig wells so that they would have water to drink themselves and water for their crops.

And so at Every Home for Christ we picked up on God’s heart for the hungry.

We are learning there is something important here and right now it’s important for the entire world.

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The food crisis has expanded to be known as….

the year of the global food crisis.

It’s not only Malawi and Zambia, it is a world wide phenomena and many Every Home

for Christ Directors in other countries are crying for help.

So this year, with your help, we are making a special effort to expand the Every Home for Christ help to feed the hungry people throughout the world.

We can’t do it alone and I know your heart is with us to help those who cannot help themselves. They have no food and they have no hope of getting food.

“Please help us, we are dying!”

This was the first call we heard from Malawi.

It was urgent then but it is more urgent now to do more even beyond Malawi.

It’s now an urgent gift is needed.

Use the enclosed gift slip to get your gift quickly and conveniently to Every Home for Christ and we will send your gift as quickly as possible to those who are starving.

“Please don’t forsake us in this valley of death!” they cry.

Please and thank you.

Thank YouThank You

Eric Leach

Every Home for Christ Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738

New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738www.everyhome.org.au ehc@everyhome.org.au

June, 2009Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from Isaiah.

For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading programme these chapters are in brackets.PRAY FOR THE

PEACE OF

JERUSALEM

PSALM 122:6

AND THE

WORLD.

8 CAMEROON - Pop 18,900,000 Map 24. Praise God for the continuing partnership in the Gospel with Pastors Joel Danzoue

and Jean-Paul Kamgaing with their involvement in evangelism and church planting. Pray for them and their congregations as they carry out door-to-door evangelism efforts in their regions. Isaiah 31 (Psalms 37 – 38)

9 CREATIVE ACCESS #7 Pray for those who receive gospel literature in a cancer treatment hospital in the city of “B”. Many

patients are open to the gospel as they stand on the threshold of eternity. Pray that God would provide the workers favour with hospital administrators so this ministry can continue. Isaiah 32 (Psalms 39 – 40)

10 NAMIBIA - Pop 2,100,000 Map 11. Please pray for additional workers so EHC can be more effective in this nation. Also

pray for those faithfully distributing the Gospel home to home that they will be renewed each day and have a loving encounter with God. To date, 26,793 homes have been reached.Isaiah 33 (Psalms 41 – 53)

11 MYANMAR - Pop 48,800,000 Map 134. Pastors Saw Eh Htoo and Saw Min Oo are conducting training for new pastors.

Pray for wisdom and anointing on their ministries. Pray for the outreach efforts taking place in Bogalay Township and the towns of Kyit Kyo, Tan Phyu Zayet, Hopone and Mayli. Isaiah 34 (Psalms 55, 58)

12 FIJI - Pop 900,000 Map 149. Pray for follow-up efforts to Muslim house churches that have been meeting

regularly as well as for the new one which began as a result of the year-end outreach. Continue to pray for the many thousands who were affected by severe flooding that they might awaken to their need of the Lord. Isaiah 35 (Psalms 61 – 62)

13 COTE D’IVOIRE - Pop 19,300,00 Map 40. Sinfra has been a demonic stronghold where 437 people came to Christ during

recent outreaches. Pray that God would protect Brother Jean Roger as he provides leadership to ongoing outreach efforts in Sinfra. Pray that the new Christians would grow strong in the Lord and stand firm in their faith. Isaiah 36 (Psalms 65, 68)

1 The year of global food crisis - This is a serious year for the world and with the possibility of many more years like it and

worse. Please pray for “Daily Bread” Luke 11:3 for the global family of humanity. Pray for the wisdom and honesty of Governments worldwide. Isaiah 24 (Psalms 11-16)

2 BENIN – Pop 9,200,000 Map 36. Pray that God would continue to provide wisdom to EHC’s leaders as they supervise the Christ

Group program identifying and equipping pastors to lead each Christ Group. To date, there have been 1,128 Christ Groups planted in Benin. Isaiah 25 (Psalms 17, 19)

3 NEPAL – Pop 28,500,000 Map 132. EHC worker Chandra Shrestha reports that 26 members of his church climbed the highest

hill and spent time in prayer and fasting. As a result, demon possessed men and women are being freed and many sick are being healed. Pray that these signs and wonders would draw many to Christ. Isaiah 26 (Psalms 20 – 22)

4 SWITZERLAND - Pop 7,500,000 Map 61. Home-to-home gospel literature distribution is continuing in Chablais Vaudois in Aigle

with its French-speaking 8,200 residents. Pray for the distribution team, for a renewed enthusiasm and an even stronger unity during this new year of challenges. Isaiah 27 (Psalms 24 – 26)

5 ZAMBIA - Pop 11,800,000 Map 14. EHC’s “neglected villages” project has been launched in eastern Zambia among the

Nsenga people. Pray for the pioneer missionaries involved in this project that God would grant them favour among the villagers. Pray for open hearts and minds to receive the truth of God’s Word. Isaiah 28 (Psalms 27 – 28)

6 ARMENIA - Pop 3,000,000 Map 103. Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts and lives of all those who have received the

Gospel in this nation. Also, pray for God’s wisdom and direction to be upon the EHC staff to provide follow-up materials and disciple new Christians. Isaiah 29 (Psalms 29, 31)

7 CHILE - Pop 16,700,000 Map 219. In a recent evangelism outreach 432 people responded to the gospel message in the Metro-Santiago

area. Pray that they would grow in their faith and that they would be rooted and grounded in the Word of God. Praise the Lord for the many workers who helped in this effort. Isaiah 30 (Psalms 35 – 36)

14 HONDURAS - Pop 7,200,000 Map 181. Pray for the efforts in reaching all of the communities on the border with

Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. All of the pastors who participated in this outreach are reporting that their churches have grown by 50 percent as a result of the ministry of going home to home with the Gospel. Isaiah 37 (Psalms 72, 86)

15 INDONESIA – Pop 229,200,000 Map 142. Praise the Lord for 20 new Christ Groups in Central Java. Pray for the safe delivery of

EHC literature from Jakarta to an area close to the Philippines. Also pray for Pastor Musa and Petrus Dengah as they help distribute gospel booklets in Sulawesi. Isaiah 38 (Psalms 101, 103)

16 MADAGASCAR – Pop 17,800,000 Map 4. Praise the Lord for a large quantity of gospel booklets that arrived. Pray for the churches in areas

where the year-end outreaches took place that they will continue to run with faith the vision of spreading the gospel. To date, over 300,000 homes have been reached and 146,006 people have responded. Isaiah 39 (Psalms 108 – 110)

17 BANGLADESH – Pop 152,400,000 Map 131. Praise the Lord for more than 1,000 people who came from several districts to attend

special revival meetings in Dhaka. Many came to know the Lord and several were healed of sicknesses. Pray that these new believers would find churches in which to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Isaiah 40 (Psalms 138 – 141)

18 the year of global food crisis Pray no-one will “pass by on the other side” Luke 10:31 leaving the world’s people half dead” Luke 10:30-36.

Pray many people will help to bandage up the wounded. Isaiah 41 (Psalms 143 – 145)

19 CZECH REPLUBLIC – Pop 10,200,000 Map 81. Pray for the distribution campaign in Prague where EHC workers plan to reach 11,000

families. Pray for those involved in the printing of new pamphlets for this outreach that God would bless their efforts. Isaiah 42 (1 Kings 1 – 4)

20 PHILIPPINES – Pop 87,500,000 Map 168. The Lord is gracious to EHC, He provides resources to be able to reach more and more homes for

Christ. Continue to pray for the ongoing literature distribution efforts throughout this nation and that God would pour out His Spirit. Isaiah 43 (Proverbs 1 – 3)

21 SENEGAL – Pop 12,600,000 Map 46. Pray for the region of Diokoul where the entire village has expressed an openness to following Jesus

as Saviour. Pray for Brother Mendy as he disciples them in the area. Also pray for the region of Gossas that the Lord will prepare open hearts. Isaiah 44 (Proverbs 4 – 7)

22 ROMANIA – Pop 21,100,000 Map 77. Pray that EHC would be able to partner with greater numbers of local churches and Christian

organisations in order to more effectively complete the Great Commission. Pray that God would grant boldness on the part of evangelical leaders to spread the Gospel. Isaiah 45 (Proverbs 8 – 9)

23 SOUTH AFRICA – Pop 46,600,000 Map 1. EHC has

joined with the Health Education & Awareness Task

Team under the auspices of Patrick Khumalo

reaching out to prisons. EHC will provide the project with

literature and gospel soccer balls. Pray for the success of this

effort and outpouring of God’s Spirit in the prisons. Isaiah 46 (Proverbs 10 – 14)

24 SRI LANKA – Pop 18,400,000 Map 130. Recently

more than 200 churches partnered with EHC in the

home-to-home campaign in 15 districts where

350,000 gospel messages were distributed. Pray for much fruit

from this effort. Also pray for EHC’s four district evangelists who

are often exposed to danger in villages where they minister. Isaiah 47 (Proverbs 15 – 20)

25 FRANCE – Pop 61,800,000 Map 88. Pray for the

house church that’s meeting in the village of

Grezieu-la-Varenne. Members have committed to

visit neighbouring localities, systematically leaving an EHC

gospel booklet in each home. 15 communities with 60,000

people will benefit from their witness. Isaiah 48 (Proverbs 21 – 24)

26 BRAZIL – Pop 194,100,000 Map 217. The Church on

Wheels team reached 1,600 families with food in

the drought-stricken state of Ceara. Included in

each food basket was a Bible. Pray for these innovative efforts in

sharing the Gospel and praise the Lord for opportunities to

address both the physical and spiritual needs of families. Isaiah 49 (Proverbs 25 – 29)

27 TANZANIA – Pop 40,600,00 Map 16. Pray for the EHC

ministry trip to Zanzibar (a Muslim city) to hold

special training events with pastors and church

leaders. Pray for the necessary resources to provide materials,

transportation and other ministry needs to carry out a special

outreach in this nation. Isaiah 50 (Proverbs 30 – 31)

28 BULGARIA – Pop 7,600,000 Map 76. A key leader

who would seek partnerships with local churches is

needed to develop this ministry of EHC throughout

this country. With the support of the Swiss-German EHC a

couple of Hungarian Christians are coordinating a pilot outreach

to Stara Zagora, a city of 15,000 people. Pray for this effort. Isaiah 51 (Song of Solomon 1 – 8)

29 UGANDA – Pop 30,800,000 Map 26. Many people

come to the EHC office with questions, requests and

issues that need one-on-one attention. Pray that the

office staff will be able to provide good counsel and that many

will find their rest and trust in the Lord. Praise the Lord for His

continued protection and guidance. Isaiah 52 (1 Kings 5 – 7)

30 SERBIA – Pop 7,800,000 Map 70. The town of

Kraljevo is strongly Orthodox with one small

evangelical church for 70,000 residents. After the

year-end outreach of leaving gospel messages in each home,

the EHC team has received 131 responses. Pray that the Holy

Spirit would continue to touch hearts and lives in this area. Isaiah 53 (1 Kings 8 – 11)