Costa Rican outreach starts 2012 with a bang

Costa Rica (MNN) ― The work of Grace Ministries International in Costa Rica is active and growing. From the well-established church located near San Jose, the field has many goals.

In just five year, since the Grace Bible Institute of Costa Rica was launched, a Great Commission vision seems to be catching on. Sam Vinton with Grace Ministries International says the school started with just 13 students but now enrolls over 40 each trimester.

The goal is to train the next generation of pastors, lay leaders, and missionaries. In the next couple of years under the leadership of Bible institute students, GMI hopes to plant churches. Their team has been praying that the nationals  catch a vision of doing missionary work. God is answering beyond their hopes and imaginations. Vinton says, "I believe this is one of the big things that we're seeing happen in all of Latin America."

A new church was recently planted in Alajuela and just celebrated its first-year anniversary. GMI's Chuck Befus writes: "We are really too large a group for our present church rental with at least an average of 110 each Sunday and growing. We have seen God change the lives of many people and there is excitement waiting to see what God will do next. Please pray with us."

As a church and a field, the ministry also has a cross-cultural dream. "The churches in the San Jose area have had a real vision for the last couple of years of taking a team every summer into Nicaragua, which is the country north of Costa Rica."

By what they saw in Nicaragua, planting a church in Nicaragua could be a reality soon. "The responses have been good, and so starting this next month, instead of once a year, we're planning on going probably six times during this coming year."

With each trip, the team further cultivates the soil. There's no church yet, but there are study groups forming. Since the Nicaraguan women tend to be more spiritually inquisitive and sensitive to the things of God, the women members of the team prepared special Bible studies which proved very valuable as they conducted over 20 Bible studies.  

Vinton explains from there, "We're hoping that in another year or two, we'll have an actual Costa Rican family go as missionaries and possibly have an international team of different groups in South America, as well as an American missionary couple."

Already, Vinton says, "We have friends, we have contacts--people who used to be members of our church in Costa Rica who have moved back home to Nicaragua, who are foundational to this ministry."

It's an exciting time for Grace Ministries."Pray that the nationals will catch a vision of doing missionary work. I believe this is one of the big things that we're seeing happen in all of Latin America."

Congo president insists election is legitimate

Joseph Kabila (Photo courtesy
 Wikipedia)

Congo-Kinshasa (MNN) ―The Democratic Republic of Congo is quiet in the wake of election results, but the feeling is that it's a nervous calm.

The Carter Center--an election watchdog--issued a report four days ago that questioned the integrity of the election. 

According to their research, there were tens of thousands of missing votes and unrealistically-high percentages for Kabila. In districts favoring the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, he allegedly won virtually 100% of the vote.

Kabila, meanwhile, shot back this week saying there was no reason to doubt that he had been fairly re-elected. In light of the questionable results, the leading opponent, Etienne Tshisekedi, has also declared himself president.

"The credibility of these elections cannot be put in doubt," Kabila said, adding that he was "definitely not concerned" about findings by the Carter Center that in some districts he had won virtually 100% of the vote.

There are growing doubts about the honesty of the November 28 elections, now that the Carter Center says it can't vouch for "the degree to which they (results) reflect the will of the Congolese people."

Kabila, in power since 2001, seems undeterred. There are concerns that the sporadic violence that accompanied the result announcements in Kinshasa could spread. Sam Vinton with Grace Ministries International says their team has been keeping a close eye on what's been going on. "So far, at least in the area where Grace Ministries International is working (from Bukavu down into the Kindu, Maniema area), there has not been any kind of real (what I would call) 'repercussions'--protesting or fighting--although further north, where one of the candidates was from, there's been trouble."

Still, the Gospel is advancing despite the uncertainties. An evangelism team in the Congo has been going into villages giving out tracts, witnessing house-to-house, and showing the 'GodMan' video in evening meetings. From March through June, they saw the Lord work in the hearts of 4,906 people who trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

An outburst of violence would prevent teams from traveling. Vinton can't rule it out. He says, "There's been a lot of feeling that the majority of people felt they voted against the President, and yet he has turned out the winner. Fortunately right now, I have not heard anything from our people that there have been any dangerous situations, but it remains to be seen."

Because of the uncertainty, the ministry isn't acting on contingency plans. In fact, now is a good time to present the hope of Christ. Vinton says that people feel like their voices have been ignored, which makes them feel powerless. "I sort of sense that that's there to say: 'Here we are. We're just the common people. We'll never win anyway. They're the ones that have the guns, and they're the ones with all the lawyers in charge of making laws.'"

Vinton goes on to say, "Those people are able to live on, in spite of the problems, and we're able to still share the Gospel and see churches growing. So that part is something we can pray will continue."

The Kama Pastors School is in session with 14 students. Each student is a graduate of one of GMI's 14 three-year Bible Schools and has served in a church for at least three years. Pray for these men and their wives as they further their studies in this three-year program.

Continue to pray for this ministry in the Congo. "Pray that there will be no destructive elements coming in and making people live in worse situations than they're already in," says Vinton, adding that "the big thing for us, of course, is that the Gospel will still go forward."

Malawi still unsettled, moving forward

Mission Network News: "Malawi (MNN) ― Government probes are beginning into the riots that have plagued Malawi since July. Thing still aren't totally settled. The most recent unrest was arson in Lilongwe that destroyed the offices of a church on October 9. "

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Malawi unrest prompts Cabinet shift

Malawi (MNN) ― Weeks of unrest over poor management and infrastructure has led the President of Malawi to dissolve his Cabinet of more than 40 ministers and deputies.

The move comes after protesters demanded in a July 20 petition to President Bingu wa Mutharika that he should trim the size of the Cabinet by half.

Sam Vinton with Grace Ministries International says everything snowballed quickly. "The whole issue started last week when a number of people wanted to present a petition to the president. But then there were all these talks of people who were taking advantage of the situation. They began burning buildings and cars, and fortunately, none of that reached to where our churches are located."

Security forces used live rounds to quell the rioters, resulting in 19 deaths. The fighting also sparked international criticism about the handling of a civil complaint. Vinton says although their church buildings were not vandalized, they did come into play at the height of the unrest. "One of our churches became a refuge for people who fled, and they could hide there while this was taking place. Eventually, they lifted the protest ban."

The petition came about as a result of fuel and foreign exchange shortages, as well as a skyrocketing cost of living. People were incensed at having to "make do" while government officials drew large salaries. It's quite a different reception from how Mutharika's earlier years in office were received.

The 77-year-old president won a disputed election in 2004 and was re-elected in 2009. In his first term, he campaigned against poverty and corruption, which made him the darling of the international donor community. After his re-election, that changed.

Vinton explains, "A lot of money was being spent on the cabinet, and the people were lacking. The electricity was being turned off; there were just a number of those issues. Gas was very rare. It seems to be coming back, so that seems to be taken care of. But no one really knows what's going to take place because of the dismissal of the Cabinet."

The clashes came because the people "were angry because of the injunction saying that they could not protest, which they felt they had a right to do." But the injunction was meant to give time for talks with government. Meanwhile, a United Nations-mediated dialogue between the Malawi government and civil society is set for August 25.

The main issues in the petition will be split up into smaller chunks for discussion over the next four weeks. However, if the government still has not responded to the original petition, civil group leaders say they are still organizing demonstrations, vigils, and a general strike on September 21.

It appears that Mutharika's latest move was meant to pacify the protestors, but little else has been addressed on the list of complaints. Vinton notes, "Things are back to where they're peaceful. There seems to be actual discussion. The president has finally admitted that he will listen to the people."

Grace Ministries International began ministering in Malawi in 2000. Six years ago, the team established a training center and expanded the evangelistic outreach and church planting ministries.

The training center in Lilongwe is offering module programs for the leadership of the churches. Two Malawians are presently studying at the Zambia Grace Bible Institute in Kabwe, Zambia. Several churches have been planted in Lilongwe and several elsewhere, plus 20 preaching points which will eventually become church plants.

Keep praying for a peaceful resolution to Malawi's troubles and for opportunities to share the hope of Christ.