Aldarmaa Fodnomdarjaa was full of rage. When the 37-year-old Mongolian's husband came home drunk, she broke windows and dishes. Sometimes she even hit him.

In contrast, Aldarmaa's friend Jaezza Nymbuu had a peaceful attitude toward life and would often tell Aldarmaa about Jesus. "She was very polite and wasn't an angry person," says Aldarmaa.

Jaezza invited Aldarmaa to attend a meeting of the New Life Teachers' Movement, where educators gathered from multiple schools in Ulan Baatar, Mongolia. NLTM is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in Mongolia and a partner with the International School Project.

Aldarmaa has been a teacher for 12 years and now works as an English teacher at a middle school. Aldarmaa, who had a Buddhist background, knew the meetings were Christian, but she agreed to attend.

At the meeting, a man clearly explained how to have a relationship with God—through Jesus. Aldarmaa prayed and committed her life to following Jesus.

Aldarmaa began regularly attending the teacher meetings and discovered that hundreds of teachers were a part of the effort, including 18 from her school. The network of Christian teachers fostered such excitement and passion—to do their job with excellence and to help other teachers know Christ.

Over time, Aldarmaa began to have a more positive outlook on life and patience for her husband's behavior. At school, she began to tell other teachers about her relationship with Jesus. She helped lead four of them to know Christ, too.

Since the teachers' ministry started in 1998, there have been many stories like Aldarmaa's and Jaezza's—a teacher who hears about Jesus, who tells more teachers, who in turn tell others. This movement of teachers in Mongolia continues to grow.

Over the past five years, more than 1,500 teachers have indicated decisions to follow Christ, and the ministry now has a presence in six of Mongolia's major population centers. "The teachers' movement is spreading throughout all of Mongolia," says Batchuluun Orgil, who helped start the ministry. "We hope that the movement will continue to spread, even to Russia and Inner Mongolia."
—Chris Lawrence

Thirteen years later, a team finally returned.

In the tiny African country of Burundi, a brutal civil war had raged for 12 years, interrupting all aspects of life. Similar to the situation in neighboring Rwanda, the ethnic tribes of Hutu and Tutsi had fought for decades, and in the war, they killed each other in continual retaliation. Thousands fled to other countries, and more than 300,000 people were killed.

At the height of the war, Campus Crusade for Christ staff members fled the country, and the usual showings of the JESUS film, a movie based on the gospel of Luke, halted in Burundi between 1996 and 1998.

But with the ceasefire in 2005, the teams began to travel widely again to show the film, visiting areas where a new generation had never seen JESUS. It had been 13 years since a team had visited the Kibuye area to show the film.

When the team arrived, the children of the village were already singing and jumping at their arrival.

At the end of the film, Audace Ndayisaba, the director of Campus Crusade in Burundi, invited people to accept Christ, and nearly half the crowd indicated decisions to follow Jesus.

Teams are now showing the film an average of 20 times a month around the country, and staff members also trained several people in the Ngozi province how to use the JESUS film as an evangelistic tool.
—Becky Hill

They could have simply given up. Real estate agents Chet and Beth Smith, along with their friend Kathy Runion, had only two months to plan and host an elaborate dinner outreach event. Normally, these outreach dinners take 15 weeks to put together properly—the Smiths and Kathy knew that from their volunteer training with Executive Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ's ministry to the business and leadership community.

They had to quickly come up with a list of 500 professionals to invite, print embossed invitations and reply cards, reserve a venue, plan a menu and deal with countless other small, but important, details. What's more, the three of them were traveling during much of this time. Nonetheless, they were committed to hosting the dinner because they realized its importance: Their objective was to present the gospel to professionals and other leaders not being reached by traditional methods of evangelism.

Getting a speaker on such short notice also was difficult. That job fell to Paul and Sue Johnson, staff members with Executive Ministries. At first, everyone they contacted was already booked and the search seemed hopeless—until former NFL player Harry Swayne, now the chaplain of the Chicago Bears, agreed to speak.

Harry (above, left) spoke about how he had achieved success in the world's eyes, but then his life fell apart—a message that hits home for many professionals.

The rest of Harry's story—his faith in God and how Christ transformed his life—captivated the audience. Of the more than 90 guests, 20 indicated decisions to receive Christ, and another 14 expressed interest in attending a Bible discussion group.

For information on how to host an outreach dinner, visit www.execmin.org.
—Matthew McDaniel

Katie Bearden grew increasingly frustrated.

Serving as a one-year volunteer, or STINT member, with Campus Crusade for Christ in Italy, the 24-year-old and a friend attempted evangelistic surveys at the University of Florence. But few students were willing to talk with them.

Then they met her.

Her name was Palma Licusati, a short, friendly Italian law student. She liked to practice her English, and soon the conversation moved from cross-cultural clichés to Katie and her friend explaining how to have a relationship with God. Palma listened intently, but wasn't ready to make such a decision.

Like many Italians, Palma's spirituality had a small place in her life. "Italy is an odd mix of a religious yet agnostic culture," says Gary Runn, who leads the campus ministry in Florence. "Most of the students have never gone to church a day past catechism."

Indeed, more than 20 percent of the country's people are nonreligious, according to Operation World, an international mission almanac.

The campus ministry in Florence has nearly 50 students involved, though most are non-Christians. In the past two years, only five students have indicated decisions to follow Christ. The team hosts Bible studies, but most are an investigative look into Christianity.

Katie (above, far left) was hopeful when she met Palma, but as the months passed, her Italian friend still wasn't ready to follow Jesus.

That November, Katie and the campus ministry held a gathering to celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday—a foreign concept to Italians. With more than 30 students in a circle, each said something they were thankful for, such as a boyfriend or good grades.

Palma (above, center) surprised Katie when she said she was thankful for her new relationship with God.

Unbeknownst to her American friends, Palma had made the decision a month earlier, after reading several books of the Bible. "I now believe in Jesus and I know He is with me," says Palma. "He is with me everywhere."
—Chris Lawrence

José Ramos Souza is keenly aware of life's brevity. The 37-year-old Brazilian man, who goes by "Neto," knows he has a death sentence on his life.

Neto came from a broken family, getting into drugs and heavy sexual activity at an early age, including with other men. The lifestyle took a toll on him, physically and emotionally. While a teenager, he stood on the Viaduto do Chá, a large bridge in downtown São Paulo, Brazil, and contemplated suicide. Then he heard a voice clearly in his mind: I love you. He believes it was God.

Later Neto enrolled in a Christian drug rehab program. Neto showed up a skeleton, weighing only 110 pounds, with needle marks covering his arms like tattoos.

Gradually, Neto cleaned up his life and began to seek God—the One who spoke tenderly to him on the bridge. He committed his life to follow Christ and began to dream of going to seminary and even having a family of his own.

But after finishing the program in 1993, Neto took an HIV test. He tested positive and feared his life would soon end.

Despite such fear, a friend urged Neto to finish high school, and eventually he went to seminary. He also met an HIV-positive woman named Lucinéia, whom he married. They had a son who, miraculously, was HIV-negative.

Today, it has been nearly two decades since Neto was diagnosed with HIV. Neto (above, with Lucinéia and two of their children) appears healthy, though he continues to develop complications, like diabetes and hepatitis.

He currently serves as a pastor of a church and as a hospital chaplain, yet he constantly is asked to do more—his compassion and talents are in high demand. "The only thing I fear is wasting God's time," he says.

An opportunity Neto has seized is with CrossRoads, the most recent ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ launched in Brazil. The program equips teachers to help students by teaching them character, using Jesus as the role model. Initially skeptical, Neto visited a teacher training and was hooked. "When I look into the young generation, I see my story being repeated," Neto says. "I see the CrossRoads project as the cry of my heart. I want to proclaim this message, that there is hope, that there is a new life."

And so Neto presses on, helping teach the character curriculum to hundreds of Brazilian youth. "If I have another two or three years of life," he says, "maybe God can draw a few more Netos out of the crowd."

He believes the work is time well spent.
—Chris Lawrence

There are an estimated 143 million orphans worldwide. "I believe one of the most desperate needs in our world today is to love and care for these children," said Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife, a subsidiary ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.

His statement was concerning the third Adoption and Orphan Care Summit (left), which he attended in May. More than 300 representatives of Christian adoption agencies and orphan advocacy groups met in Colorado Springs to learn how to equip churches to care for orphans. For information and resources on adoption and church orphans ministry, visit www.familylife.com/hopefororphans.
—Matthew McDaniel



Poland

Grzegorz Popek was amazed at what he was learning—and he was one of the teachers.

Grzegorz's priest had asked him to help facilitate a True Foundations program for 120 teenagers at their church in Gliwice, Poland. True Foundations is a worldwide campaign launched by Josh McDowell Ministry in 2002 to teach people the truth about the deity of Jesus and His physical resurrection from the dead, as well as the historical accuracy and reliability of the Bible. Grzegorz, a 25-year-old Ph.D. student, had only begun trusting Jesus about two years prior, but he was eager to tell others about Him.

In Poland, foundational teaching is critical. The culture has changed dramatically since the fall of communism in 1989. Individualism and hopelessness are now hallmarks of the culture. Illegal drug use is reported by almost one in five Polish teenagers, and a study of 16-year-olds revealed that one in 15 had attempted suicide.

But there is hope. God is using Josh McDowell (above) and True Foundations worldwide to change the lives of people—including Grzegorz. He recalls his epiphanic experience teaching the youth: "I had never heard that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecy of the Old Testament, and that the probability of doing that was extremely small. It was amazing to me."

For information on Josh McDowell Ministry's True Foundations, visit www.beyondbelief.com.
—Matthew McDaniel


Florida

Htet Thu intensely read the papers while her guests waited. An immigrant from Burma, Htet, 29, lives in Jacksonville, Fla., and her two guests had brought her a Box of Love, filled with food. Every November, Here's Life Inner City, the compassion ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, gathers churches and organizations together to distribute such boxes and tell people about God's love.

Besides the food, Htet's guests also gave her the papers—the Four Spiritual Laws in her native Burmese language. Tears welled in Htet's eyes as she read for nearly half an hour. "She was really digesting it, not just skimming," says Kim Carr, who helped with the outreach.

Htet prayed and received Christ, accompanying Kim to several other Burmese homes, helping explain the message that had so touched her life. Two more people placed their faith in Christ.

For more information, visit www.boxesoflove.org.
—Chris Lawrence


Global Media Outreach

For those who become Christians through evangelistic Web sites, growing in their faith is now easier. In December 2006, Global Media Outreach, an Internet ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, launched LooktoJesus.com.

"It gives people different opportunities to begin their journey and grow in their faith," says Michelle Diedrich, GMO communications director. Site visitors—many outside the United States—learn about biblical truths and can join an online Bible study. Through mid-June, more than 41,000 people have visited.
—Tricia Allen