From Rice Paddy to Light on a Hilltop

by Jeanette Windle

When BCM Nepal director Rev. R. Vaidhya knelt with other ministry leaders and BCM president Marty Windle in a rice paddy outside Kathmandu to dedicate land for a church, there were many reasons this seemed humanly impossible.

A Church Rebuilt

by Jeanette Windle

Thousands thronged the open field, sleeping under precariously erected tarps, standing in long lines for a plate of food from a communal kitchen. Tall jungle trees spreading leafy boughs here and there offered the only shade from a blistering sun. It was the last week of March, 2010, and this was Khandmal District in the heart of Orissa, India.

On the Road Again!

by Jeanette Windle

The pilot’s arrival at the gravel airstrip, lying flat and groaning in the back of an army jeep, had not been an auspicious beginning. Now, packed with eight others into a military prop plane intended for six, the young foreigner cowered in the copilot’s seat as the aircraft wobbled erratically through the clouds. Still celebrating last night’s fiesta, the pilot sang at the top of his lungs, occasionally emphasizing the beat with a shove on the throttle.

No Coincidence, but Everlasting Arms

by Jeanette Windle with Esther Zimmerman

When Esther Zimmerman arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, she’d assumed arrangements were all in place for a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her passport held a laboriously obtained visa. Flight connections had been confirmed months ahead.

When Dreams Come True in Eastern Cape, South Africa

by Jeanette Windle

The elderly woman was troubled for her community. The shantytown in Fort Beauford, Eastern Cape, South Africa’s poorest region, had changed little since apartheid days. Shacks of scrap lumber, cardboard, tin housed an all-black population whose only sustenance was occasional day labor as farm hands or factory laborers.

To Poland with Love

by Jeanette Windle with John and Dasia Abromovich

To Danuta (Dasia) Zipser, God was always important. Born in Wisła, Poland, on November 19, 1961, Dasia grew up in the nearby village of Harbutowice. Poland was a Communist regime at the time. While believers were often harassed and persecuted, established denominations were allowed to practice their faith openly.

Heaven Reigns Over Haiti

by Dawn Moore

As Haitian pastor Jean Louighins put it, “In 36 seconds, everyone was made equal.” Despair was written on every face, defeat in the droop of shoulders. Signs, written both in Spanish and English pleaded, “Necesitamos Ayuda. We Need Help.” As each passing kilometer revealed the extent of devastation, BCM missionary Tommy Gambrill questioned, Where to begin?