Displaying items by tag: Praise

Thursday, 28 September 2023 23:36

Family wins freedom to name their deceased daughter

A family has been allowed to name their late 19-year-old daughter, Sudiksha Thirumalesh, after being denied the opportunity to seek specialist treatment abroad due to restrictive reporting regulations. Sudiksha, who suffered from a rare genetic mitochondrial disease, was engaged in a legal battle with the NHS for over six months to seek experimental treatment that could potentially have saved her life. Although she was fully conscious and able to communicate, a court order prevented her and her family from raising funds to travel to Canada for a clinical trial. Sudiksha's situation gained significant media attention, especially after her tragic death. The family, who are committed Christians, have expressed their distress at the treatment they received from the hospital trust and the courts. They felt silenced, intimidated, and prevented from accessing potential life-saving treatment for Sudiksha. Now they hope to seek justice for her and raise awareness of how critical care decisions are made in the NHS and the courts. There are calls for a more transparent and open system to prevent similar ordeals for other patients and families.

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Thursday, 21 September 2023 22:36

Tennis players showing their faith

After 19-year-old Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at the women’s tennis championship in the US Open on 9 September, she dropped to her knees, put her elbows on the bench, clasped her hands and brought them to her forehead with her eyes closed in prayer.Gauff said in an interview with NBC: ‘I was just saying thank you and I understood that all the tough times were just to make that moment even sweeter. I think if it came easy, I wouldn’t feel as appreciative as I did at that moment.’ Gauff has always been open about her Christian faith. Following her win in the Cincinnati Masters in August, she thanked her ‘Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ at the trophy ceremony. The men’s singles champion in the US Open, Serbian Novak Djokovic, is an Orthodox Christian who often wears a wooden cross around his neck and has been seen blessing himself during matches.

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Thursday, 21 September 2023 22:31

India: herb garden helps survivors of bonded labour

In an effort to protect survivors of bonded labour from further exploitation, the government in Tamil Nadu, India, has established an herb garden for families of the Irula tribal community. The garden provides ten survivor families and thirty other families with the opportunity to cultivate and sell a diverse range of herbs, medicinal plants and fruit-bearing trees. Having secure job opportunities will prevent them from obtaining loans from unscrupulous lenders who prey on their vulnerability. The herb garden is the result of a proposal which the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA) had submitted with the help of IJM. It is part of many others that the government has been regularly creating, from helping survivors and other vulnerable families earn a stable income to establishing a first-of-its-kind, holistic community for survivors. The herb garden is significant as it preserves the knowledge of traditional medicinal herbs. Following the launch, an RBLA leader gave a tour of the herb garden and said, ‘I hope this will inspire other survivors to come forward and access government welfare measures’.

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Thursday, 14 September 2023 22:43

A miracle that has changed lives

Pastor Christopher Green stayed in a Dallas hotel as he was preaching there the next morning. As he came out of his room he saw a housekeeper and asked her what she would like God to do for her, as he was headed to church and would pray for whatever she needed. Without hesitation, she showed him a massive growth on her neck saying, ‘They’re not sure if it’s cancer. They’re doing a biopsy on it. Can you ask God to heal this growth?’ He said, ‘I felt the urge to pray for her immediately. I put my hand under her chin and said, “Such as I have, give her thee. In the name of Jesus, be whole right now.”’ As he said those words the growth shrivelled up under his hand. She opened her eyes, and said, ‘It’s gone, it’s gone! It’s gone!’ That moment changed Pastor Chris’ life, too. He realised that indeed, there is power in the name of Jesus!

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Thursday, 14 September 2023 22:41

Vietnam: human rights defender released

Human rights defender Nguyen Bac Truyen and his wife Bui Kim Phuong arrived in Germany on the evening of 8 September after he was released from Gia Trung prison in Vietnam. Truyen, a Hoa Hao Buddhist and legal expert who provided pro bono legal assistance to families of political prisoners, victims of land grabs, and persecuted religious communities, was abducted by Vietnamese police in Ho Chi Minh City in July 2017. He was held in incommunicado arbitrary detention for nine months, and in April 2018 he was sentenced to eleven years in prison on charges of ‘carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government’. Serious concerns were raised for his safety and wellbeing on many occasions during his imprisonment, including in May 2019 when he went on hunger strike along with three other prisoners of conscience in protest of the grievous ill-treatment of a fellow prisoner. Five other activists were sentenced at the same time as Truyen: two of them were released into exile in June 2018, but the other three are still in prison.

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The first translation of the Bible into the Mohawk language has been published in Canada. Portions of the Bible in Mohawk were published in 1715 in a book of Morning and Evening Prayer, but this is the first time the entire Bible has been in print in the language indigenous to North America. Harvey Satewas Gabriel has studied his native language all his life and dedicated 40 years to his goal. In a recent interview, 84-year-old Harvey said, ‘You never get tired of working with the Word of God’. Translation of and engagement with the Scriptures is strategic and valuable for revitalising language and culture. The Canadian Bible Society hopes that having the whole Bible in print will make a positive contribution to the life of the Mohawk church.

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Thursday, 07 September 2023 21:40

One Way Ministries – move of God

‘We believe that what we are seeing is a legitimate move of God. We are seeing revival across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. We are seeing thousands of non-believers come to Christ each month and thousands of believers becoming pillars of faith in their communities. We heard from the Lord to start planting house churches because persecution was coming, so that's what we did. Several years later, we have over 4,000 house churches planted and thousands of people saved / actively making other disciples. We believe this is only the beginning. We believe that where there is faith, there will be a move of God. One Way Ministries International is a ministry focused on the Great Commission that isn't satisfied with mediocre results. We have a large vision and great faith in the God we serve. He will always do exceedingly and abundantly more than we think or ask for (Ephesians 3:20).’

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Thursday, 31 August 2023 21:11

USA: Jesus March ministry

A handful of twenty-somethings went outside the four walls of their church to share the Gospel on the streets every Sunday night for five years. On fire with Holy Spirit power, they led their peers to Jesus - even changing the spiritual atmosphere of the area. They knew there was more for them than saving souls, and their actions led to planting a church for the new Christians led by Ivan, the son of the pastor who encouraged their outreach. He organised the United Church to disciple, train, and send followers of Jesus to proclaim His salvation. The church then birthed Jesus March, a ministry of United Revival Ministries, both under its auspices. The ministry has hosted 125 prayer and worship events, connected with 200 churches, commissioned 6,500 evangelists, and introduced thousands of people to Jesus since its formation five years ago. By 2024 United Revival will have brought Jesus March and evangelism training, worship, and prayer to nine American cities.

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Thursday, 31 August 2023 21:09

She is free!

Najma, a young woman from Egypt who had been taken captive by Muslim extremists, has been released. Najma was held against her will as radicals attempted to get her to recant her faith in Jesus. She refused. Authorities were able to track her down through surveillance.

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Thursday, 24 August 2023 23:42

Jews leaving Ukraine for Israel

War terror is causing millions to flee, including Jewish people who also face antisemitism from both sides. Boris, from Donetsk, said it was very dangerous to stay in an area being frequently shelled. He and his wife practically lived in the basement for fear. ‘And when a shell hit a neighbouring house, we immediately began to gather our documents.’ So the whole family has now been able to join their middle son, who had been urging them to come and live in Israel for the past five years. Nina, from Tbilisi, says being forced out of her country added to her heartache following the death of her husband. But she is now hoping for a little rest, and a better life, in Israel, where she has relatives.

Published in Praise Reports