International (MNN) — This has been a discouraging year for many, and sometimes the darkness and negativity can seem to overshadow God’s peace and hope. In light of this, e3 Partners launched Field Stories of Hope, a series of short, encouraging articles from those serving God around the world.
Jeff Johnston of e3 Partners explains the motivation and purpose of these stories.
“When the pandemic started, there was a lot of sadness, negativity, and loneliness. We wanted people to know that God was still moving in the midst of all this [and] good things were still happening, not only in spite of this but because of it,” he explains.
(Photo courtesy of Omar Elsharawy via Unsplash)
“This whole Field Stories of Hope initiative was birthed from that idea of ‘we need to make sure people know God is still working.’”
One of the stories featured is a great example of this. Migrant worker *Rohit came to Christ and had a leadership role in a local church. When everything shut down because of the pandemic, Rohit traveled 700 miles to reach his home village. He shared his faith, and many people came to know Christ. Rohit has planted 10 house churches so far.
Faithful Partners
These incredible stories reach e3 Partners through their national partners. Johnston says their partners faithfully send updates about how God is working in their areas.
“From there, I typically then hear [a story] from some of our workers overseas,” Johnston says. “Sometimes they’ll just send me an email [saying], ‘we heard this amazing story’ and we’ll jump on the phone and they’ll talk me through it. Other times, they just send me the whole [story] written out.”
Another story demonstrates this dedication to sharing hope and the Gospel. Carlos found himself stuck in Venezuela because of the pandemic. With nothing else to do, Carlos began to pray about how he could help others during this difficult time. He started baking loaves of bread and delivering them door to door. Soon, 100 people joined him in what he called “Bread of Life Ministry.” Hundreds of people have heard the Gospel through this ministry and many have come to faith.
(Photo courtesy of Luis Quintero via Unsplash)
As these stories continue to pour into e3 Partners, Johnston asks for prayer.
“I’ve just asked for people to pray for the Lord’s guidance. People have been very generous and are seeking ways to help with what’s going on in other parts of the world right now. We want to be doing the Lord’s work, so [please pray] for us to hear what the Lord is asking of us and what the Lord’s guiding us to do,” he says.
To read more encouraging stories and subscribe to their email, visit Field Stories of Hope here.
*Name changed for security purposes
Header image courtesy of Darshan Gavali via Unsplash
