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    jackieholness

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    Have A Little Faith: A New Sunday Night TV Movie!!!


     

    Hello World,

    I hope you and yours had a Happy Thanksgiving! It’s been great to have a few days off from work to be thankful with family, friends and loved ones. And I intend to savor today as it’s the last day before the rat race begins anew! Tonight, I plan to put aside my guilty pleasure of watching “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” to watch Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got To Do With It, The Matrix, Boyz n the Hood, Akilah and the Bee),  in “Have a Little Faith.” The Hallmark Channel Hall of Fame movie airs tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. EST.

    Based on the latest best-selling book by New York Times Best-Selling author Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven), the movie features Fisburne as Henry Covington,  a former drug addict who becomes a preacher to the homeless in Detroit. The movie also features Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and The Frog, Dreamgirls & HBO’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency), Mykelti Williamson (Bubba in Forrest Gump) and Martin Landau!

    Let’s watch this movie to demonstrate that television movies with faith-themed messages can have huge ratings! Check out the trailer above…

    Any thoughts?

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    Around the World in a Day: My Experience at the 64th Annual International Conference on Missions

    Hello World,

    Wing Wong, president of the International Conference on Missions, speaks to everyone. For more info, go to theicom.org.

    I was one of several people from local Christian churches that volunteered to help faciliate the 64th Annual International Conference on Missions (formerly the National Missionary Convention) at the Georgia International Convention Center Nov. 17 through today. It was so awe-inspiring to see all of the missionaries from all of the world in one place. And as I walked to the various exhibitor booths of the missionaries, I felt like I was getting an impromptu geography and world affairs lesson. And it brought home this verse:

    Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

    Wing Wong, a China missionary and president of the conference, described some of God’s miracles during his message to the missionaries yesterday. During one missionary trip to China, Wong and his fellow missionaries including his son were arrested three times! And each time, God delivered them!

    During one arrest, Wong’s son Ivan, who as an American never learned Mandarin, was taken away to be questioned separately by the police. Wong was scared for his son’s safety and informed the police that his son could not speak Mandarin. When Ivan and one of the police officers returned, the police officer told Wong that he lied to them because his son spoke perfectly and they understood one another. Wong later asked his son had he learned Mandarin without his knowledge, and his son told his father no. He further explained that he is unsure how it happened. “Somehow, I could understand them, and somehow they understood me!”  Now, that’s a miracle!!! And 92 people were baptized on that trip despite the opposition the missionaries experienced!

    Below are a few pictures from the exhibitors, I met yesterday. If you can, please pick at least one of the missionaries and offer your support!

     This is Yolanda Rodriguez of David’s Well, a ministry to Central America. Her father and mother Juan and Ydalia Rodriguez, who are from the Dominican Republic, are missionaries in Panama, Costa Rica & Nicaragua. Through their mission, they have dug clean water wells, built four health clinics, built 10 new schools and planted 80 new churches. For more information, e-mail davidswellpanana@gmail.com.

    This is Mrs. Mutunga of Tumaini International Ministries Inc.  Mrs. Mutunga and her husband provide assistance to AIDS-orphaned children in Kenya. Currently, they are working to raise $2 million to complete construction of a multipurpose community center which will host the organization’s Christian camps, a medical clinic, counseling services, vocational training and a Christian leadership program. For more information, go to tumainiinternational.org.

     Anna along with her husband Jared Odle and their children work as missionaries with the Alliance of Christian Missions in Burkina, Faso in West Africa. Through their Business as Mission, they created a gold brokerage and mining management company, Ethnic Investments LLC,  in Burkina, Faso and have employed 150 men in the area. “God doesn’t just want us to take the gospel, He wants everyone to experience His fullness with clothing and shelter and everything we have here.” Amen!!! For more information, go to http://www.acminternational.com/missionaries/odle/odle.html.

    I thought this mission was so innovative! Mercy Ships, a global charity, has operated a fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. They literally bring healing via doctors, nurses and other medical personnel that embark on these voyages to hurting people all of the world. From Nelson Mandela “I applaud Mercy Ships in their efforts of transformational development as they make a lasting difference in a world of need. Mercy Ships has committed themselves to the vision of an African renaissance in their vision of bringing hope and healing to the continent of Africa.” For more information, go to mercyships.org.

    Since I fell in love with libraries as a child, this mission got my attention. Open Door Libraries has created four public Christian libraries with full-time missionaries in Berlin, Budapest, Prague and Amman. From these, five churches have been planted!!! For more information, go to opendoorlibraries.org.

    Look for more pictures from the convention in the gallery on Friday, Nov. 25.

    Any thoughts?

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    Pedophiles Are All Around Us…

     

    Hello World,

    If anything good has come from this whole Penn State scandal, it is the awareness that pedophiles are truly all around us, and often they are people that are trusted and revered by others. Since the news of these allegations broke, people across the nation are admitting they were sexually abused when they were children and are no longer hiding in secret shame.

    Here is one person’s story on NPR: Penn State Scandal Emboldens Other Abuse Victims

    This summer when I attended the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference in August, I met Angela Williams, who shared her story of being sexually abused by her stepfather for 14 years. Williams, who lives in the metro Atlanta area, founded VOICE Today, a grassroots initiative to launch child sexual abuse as a highly visible public issue. It is a multifaceted program that engages all forms and outlets of media and is designed to bring about social change by increasing awareness and advocating PREVENTION education. Below are some alarming statistics about child sexual abuse from the VOICE Today website:

    • Numbers of children abused before they are 18 years old: 1 in 4 girls, 1 in 6 boys. Only 1 in 10 children tell.
    • 90 percent of children are abused by someone they know.
    • Serial child molesters may have as many as 400 victims in their lifetimes.

    VOICE Today offers various services for child sexual abuse victims including education and prevention workshops and healing workshops. For more information, please go here.

    I also met New York Times best-selling author Cec Murphey, who was a victim of child sexual abuse as well. Through his blog menshatteringthesilence.blogspot.com, he provides a safe place for other male victims of child sexual abuse to connect with each other. He is also the author of “When a Man You Love Was Abused: A Woman’s Guide to Helping Him Overcome Childhood Sexual Molestation” which is available on the blog site.

    I pray that all of us, even those of us who are not parents, take care of our children…they need us…

    Any thoughts?