MENA

On our last day of evangelism, we met some Muslim teenagers who were making a video together. They asked us to do a TikTok trend with them, and we agreed to do it if they let us hang out with them afterwards. They agreed, and after recording the TikTok, the conversation turned to the topic of faith very quickly. One of the girls admitted she’d been doubting her faith for the last few years. She told us that she'd completely turned away from Islam in her heart and was only keeping up appearances for her family. After sharing the full Gospel with her and praying for her, the girls readily accepted Jesus. We invited them to our house where they were baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit as well! Not even three hours after meeting them, these girls' lives were changed forever!

With the culture of this particular village, sometimes individuals reject the Gospel message because they place higher value on assimilation to the community. We ministered to a large group who were polite enough to allow us to share the entire Gospel, but followed Islam and made it clear that they did not believe this message to be true. In this group, there was a young man, Akida*, who caught my attention. While the others whispered and laughed about what we shared, he hung on every word. When asked if anyone wanted to put their faith in Jesus, everyone adamantly declined...except Akida. He looked right at me, slightly nodded his head, and subtly brought his hand to his heart. We didn’t want to bring attention to this and risk how his family may react, so we thanked the group for giving us their time and began walking to the next home, believing that he would follow us. Sure enough, as we sat down and began ministering at the next home of professing Muslims, Akida came! By the end of our conversation, two young girls and Akida said that they do want to receive Jesus as their Savior.

Valdumar would walk 8 hours round trip every Wednesday for months to be a part of our weekly Bible study in Ligogo. He approached me before I returned to the states last year… “There are many people waiting for you to start a Bible study near my home. I’ve been sharing with them everything I’ve learned. When can you start sharing the Word in my area?” We’ve been ministering in Madonga, where Valdumar lives, since April, and it’s been truly remarkable to see what the Lord is doing there! Valdumar is on fire for Jesus and has been blazing trails with the Word everywhere he goes!

I had never been on an expedition before, so I had no idea what to expect as we started our 10 hour drive out to the village. We met so many people as we walked home to home doing ministry. On one particular day I remember one of the women looked at me and said, “you guys are starting a fire in my heart.” Even though a lot of people we met had heard of Jesus, there was no relationship or understanding of new creation, so getting to share the gospel fully with them was so impactful. Everyone we encountered kept telling us, “We needed this! Why haven’t you come sooner?"

AMT changed every part of my life. In just three months, I walked out of the training as an entirely new person. I discovered my authority in Christ, gained a deep heart understanding of what it means to be a new creation, and learned the power of sitting with the Holy Spirit. The Lord healed my heart in ways that are difficult to express. I finished AMT fully convinced of the Gospel, confident in my call to missions, and anchored in the power of the name of Jesus.

"There was a beautiful family where the mother accepted Jesus. She did not believe in evil spirits or worshipping Buddha, so she was so open to hearing about Jesus. She was struggling with knee pain for a long time and was healed when we prayed. Her son, niece, and nephew also accepted Jesus and cheered when she received healing in her body. Her son also made the decision to get baptized on Sunday which our team got to be present for." - Sarah, Recent Expedition Member

"The woman you see here had such a tender and open heart to the Gospel. Sometimes you spend hours and hours at a home only to have someone reject the Gospel and other times it barely takes any words at all. As we shared the Gospel with her, she very quickly understood and began repeating back to us the very heart of Jesus. 'Oh, so it is just about relationships. He just wants to know my heart and I do not need to offer anything. Like a light going off; her eyes were bright and wide. She eagerly accepted Christ and said she was going to surrender her entire life. It made me think of times Jesus spoke in parables in the New Testament and said that to some the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven has been given. I believe this was a gift given to her by the Holy Spirit. The woman then asked for us to walk to her extended family's house nearby so that we could also share the good news with them. Many there also received Jesus." - Ally, Expedition Leader in Cambodia

“One of my prayers recently has been that people would feel the tenderness of God when with me. When I got to pray for a mom, I believe she tangibly felt his tenderness towards her. I got to hold her hands and as we were praying for her I began to cry. I tried not to because I knew that’s not something this tribe does. I couldn’t help it and as I cried her eyes began to get watery. I fully believe she felt His tender love and care for her. After the prayer she held on tight to my hands. I believe she was trying to hold onto what she was feeling for as long as possible. It was such a great honor to love on her and be with her while the Lord to display his love” - Alisha, expedition team member

”'The Lord works all things together for His good,' (Romans 8:28). After being healed of back pain, our new brother gave his life to Jesus and began reading the Gospel of Mark. A week later, he dreamed of Jesus calling him to follow, and in his zeal even tried to baptize himself in the shower. Immediately we baptized him in a spring, where he declared, “The truth is in Jesus, and it’s never too late” living out the verse in Acts 22:16 that says, “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name.”

"We started our first House of Prayer in one of the villages we’ve been discipling in called Maringá. This House of Prayer is being founded on two main principles: the revelation of who Jesus is and unity in the church. It will serve as a space not only for the community but the other communities of the Parauari River. We are believing the whole river will be impacted by a move of God!” - Maicon, Missionary to Brazil

"Pioneering at our Overland Missions Zambezi Base makes church fun! We may gather outside, or inside while construction is being done. The presence of God fills whichever place we happen to meet. Everyone, from children to adults, is growing in the word of God," Casey O’Conner, Zambia Country Director

"Last year the Holy Spirit brought us to a parking lot where many sex workers were working. He told us to purchase three women for the evening so we could share the gospel with them. One of these women, Margaret, had a life changing encounter with Jesus that night. She was saved and delivered from many demons from a lifetime of bondage to witchcraft. Since then, 35 other women from Margaret's community with a history of sex work have come to receive salvation through her testimony. Within the last year we've had 12 women delivered from sex work, 1 from 7 years of heroin addiction, 5 from witchcraft, 1 from alcoholism, and 1 from cigarettes." -Lena, Missionary in Zanzibar

“Fourty-five more chaplains trained, ready to minister to their chiefs and preach with power in their chiefdoms across Zambia! This is a move of God - not just a good program. Chiefs are confessing Jesus as Lord and changing age-old traditions that are rooted in witchcraft.” - Austin Bonnema, Director or Chief Chaplaincy

"In mainland Tanzania, we reached out to a specific Maasai village where the men who hold authority over the people had been closed off to new people coming in with the Gospel. We needed to win these men over first to be able to effectively reach the community. Connecting to these sometimes stubborn men through stories and sharing of the word of God opened them up to us a bit, but not completely. The thing that made the breakthrough was the power of God that touched the people through prayer. As we saw pain, hearing loss, and other disabilities disappear. The hearts of the people truly opened up. During our time, we saw way more than 100 people receive Jesus, and multiple healings and deliverances right in front of our eyes. All this happened in the midst of a very traditional Maasai community." - Tapio Tikkala, Missionary to Central Africa

"Recently I asked the women in my women's group to share how God has been moving in their life. One woman responded that someone in her family was sick, and after she prayed they became better. She knew it was only God who could do this. Another woman shared a similar story. I started this group because I wanted to give space for these women's voices to be heard in a culture where they are normally subdued. Now they are using their own voices to pray for the sick and declare the greatness of God for all to hear." - Becca Whitney, Missionary to Angola

"While on a tour of the city, we had to get out and walk because the road was so bad. God highlighted this man to me, so we stopped to talk to him. He said he was feeling bad and had pain in his legs and back. We prayed for him and encouraged him in the word. God touched his body, and he walked home carrying his cane as he no longer needed it!"- Julie Engeman, Missionary to Zambia

“As we sat with a family in their home, we asked if they knew much about Jesus. In response, the husband pulled out stacks of letters that he had written to a radio station in the 1970s asking questions about Jesus and receiving responses from all over the world. He shared that, at one point, he got arrested and imprisoned when the government found the letters, so he stopped writing. We asked if he still had questions about Jesus, and he responded by saying, 'Of course, I have so many questions, but who could I ask? Where are the Christians?' We told him that we know Jesus, and were happy to take the time to answer his questions. His reaction of curiosity and amazement was priceless."

"Discipleship in the Middle East looks different than you might expect. A man who gave his life to Jesus eight months ago has faced many challenges. He is married with kids, and when he told his family he was a Christian, his dad told him that if he returned home he would kill him. Nevertheless, this man has stayed passionate about Jesus and consistently tells us that when he lost one family, God provided another.”

"We met a young mother in a park. Unknown to us, she was crying before we got there. She was a single mom, looking for a job. She thought God was just someone she went to for prayer only, but by the end of the conversation, she realized He was more than that. He is the God who sees her. In fact, He saw her before we did. She herself realized this and said, "God has brought you to me."

"We asked them, 'Do you want to be baptized?' We then asked them why they said yes, and one child answered 'Because I want to follow Jesus the rest of my life. After a day of playing at the pool and taking them on a tractor ride, it's clear in their hearts they know who Jesus really is. Our team has the goal of equipping all of them to share the Gospel, so when they are older they can join us in seeing the region marked by the love of Jesus." -Tori, missionary in Cambodia.

"We had a service at a church where the pastor had spent time in prison for planting churches. For this meeting, the church was literally busing people into the meeting to hear the Gospel. We preached the Gospel and had over 100 first time decisions for Christ, and then we baptized everybody in the Holy Spirit. About two minutes after we were done ministering, the police showed up and tried to shut down the meeting but the Gospel had already been preached." Overland missionary from Southeast Asia

"A heavy rainstorm caused our team to stop at a random community along the Amazon River for safety from the harsh storm. We stopped at this community where doors were completely opened to us by the Lord. They knew who we were because they've seen us ministering in our other villages, and they asked for us to start coming there regularly. So, we took out an expedition team for our first official trip for ministry, and shared the wordless book with the children. Many of them gave their life to Jesus and were baptized in the Holy Spirit." Aimee, sector missionary to Brazil

"This year we have seen the power of God transform lives in the Amazon. We have seen people set free from sickness, addiction, depression, and demons and discover a new life in Christ! Their newfound joy in Jesus is so contagious and it drives me to want to keep going back to share His good news in these communities. I am in awe and humbled that I get to be a part of God's work in this region." -Elizabeth, missionary in Brazil

"We drove by this hand pump which appeared to not have worked for a long time. We stopped and asked an older lady near the well what was wrong with it and she said that it had struggled for many years- breaking down completely three months ago. During this severe drought, they have been going to the river and drinking unclean water. So we proceeded to replace eight pipes, two new rods, new seals, and a plate. As a crowd gathered around the hand pump, they received the word of God from Webby and were deeply encouraged. The kids no longer needed to go to the river to gather dirty water, and were made safe from the danger of crocodiles where there had already been many deaths." - Ben Wade, Director of Water Projects

"This past week our team was in Lusaka Province visiting Chiefs and Chaplains. We visited six chiefdoms, met with four chiefs, six chaplains and their families. We prayed for the sick, we had two healings and five salvations. All the glory goes to the Lord. We're honored to be God's foot soldiers. We're determined this year to visit every Chief and chaplain in Zambia." - Oscar Nyawa, Chaplaincy Department

"We love to introduce children to the presence of God. We want them to experience Him for themselves. When they've felt His touch in their lives, they become convinced that He is real and that He cares for them. This is why we create time to spend in His Presence every time we meet." - Liezl Pienaar, Director of Children's Ministry

"We started visiting a new brothel in town and that’s how we met Beatrice. We chatted, swapped stories, and laughed. As the conversation went on, we talked about Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection. We talked about how she could be adopted into the family of God. I felt led to give her some cash, and when I handed it to her she started tearing up. I asked why she was crying and she said over the weekend she had a dream where she sent her daughter to the market to buy food and she came back with extra money. I told her God was showing her how he was going to provide for her! She laughed, said it was true, and that day dedicated her life to the Lord. This all happened in a dirty alleyway between a brothel and a bar. God speaks and cares for the people in the places that seem un-redeemable. Don't ignore the alleyways.”