June 2015 Newsletter
June, 2015 Newsletter (pdf)
Carrying Good News into the War Zones of Africa
FOR THE APOSTLE PAUL, the power of the gospel was worth enduring intense and protracted suffering, even risking life and limb, to carry the light of Jesus to the lost. “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
Paul’s sentiments resonate with believers “under fire” around the world today. WMP is privileged to partner with some of them. Frontline Fellowship is a missionary organization dedicated to carrying the life-giving Good News into the war 
zones of the African continent as well as bringing encouragement and relief to persecuted Christians there.
Into the Fray
Since 1982, Frontline missionaries have braved vast distances and diverse terrains to bring the gospel to both combatants and civilians embroiled in Africa’s many armed conflicts. They routinely risk attack and imprisonment – some enduring mob beatings, ambushes, even artillery and mortar fire – for the sake of demonstrating God’s love in the midst of violence and hatred.
Penetrating difficult and restricted territory, Frontline workers also bring food, clothing, medicine, and other essentials to prisoners and persecuted believers in need. They distribute large quantities of Bibles in more than 100 languages to hurting Christians and help train local pastors, teachers, medical workers, and others who minister healing in their communities. Seminars, conferences, and workshops continue to mobilize a growing number of evangelists to carry the 
gospel to every creature.
At the Helm – Peter Hammond
Frontline’s founder and director, Peter Hammond, was born in Cape Town, South Africa; brought up in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); and came to the Lord in 1977. He worked in Scripture Union and Hospital Christian Fellowship, served in the South African Defense Force, and studied at Baptist Theological College in Cape Town, earning a doctorate in Missiology. He and his wife Lenora have home schooled their four children and promote home schooling and Christian education by providing Christian textbooks through Christian Liberty Books.
A prolific author of many books and articles on missions, history, and apologetics, Peter also hosts a weekly radio program, Salt and Light, and has become a prominent and active voice of the Christian worldview in South African society.
Salvos of Salvation Ammo
As busy as he is, Peter Hammond is a regular in the streets, extensively distributing gospel literature in personal evangelism, making disciples of those he encounters. No place seems too daunting for him as he frequents squatter camps and shanties, ghettos and prisons, hospitals and military bases to win new followers of Jesus.
In a recent email to WMP’s president Harold Mack, Dr. Hammond expressed his gratitude: “WMP gospel booklets have been a vital part of every mission of Frontline Fellowship since we first crossed the border on off-road motorbikes into war-torn, communist Mozambique, Easter, 1982. During every outreach we distribute hundreds of copies of WMP gospel booklets on the streets, in shopping centres, in Muslim residential areas, at schools, at bus and taxi ranks, in railway stations and market places. Please pass on our deep gratitude to all the staff….You are our quartermasters supplying the essential spiritual 
ammunition for this world war of worldviews.”
This testimony echoes a previous message Peter shared by video, as he thanked everyone involved with World Missionary Press – intercessors, supporters, and workers. Recalling his first mission by motorbike behind enemy lines when 
Mozambique was at war, the most impactful moment was to see the reaction to receiving gospel booklets. “People fell on their knees. They wept! People danced for joy to receive the Word of God! Time and again I’ve heard, ‘This is the greatest gift anyone could have asked for – the Word of God in our own language!’
“WMP provides exactly what we need – lightweight, compact, Scriptural materials – perfect for our saddlebags, for crossing rivers in dugout canoes, and for carrying on our backs through the Nuba mountains behind enemy lines in
Sudan…. World Missionary Press is the most important provider of Scriptural materials for those involved in missions on the front line in Africa.”
[You will not want to miss viewing Peter Hammond’s 4 1/2-minute video report or read the PDF transcript athttp://www.wmpress-restofthestory.org ]
Five-Month Mission in Six Nations
When Frontline’s Congo Overland Mission Team returned to South Africa from a five-month blitzkrieg to Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi, and Zambia, they had quite a story to tell. At considerable personal risk, they had crossed eleven international borders – safely travelling more than 20,000 kilometres even in dangerous areas terrorized by rebels and bandits – and conducted more than 360 meetings. They screened the Jesus film 36 times, conducted 14 outreach campaigns, and preached the gospel in areas where it is seldom heard.
Included in the massive payload of material distributed (more than two tons of Bibles, evangelistic literature, and digital media) were WMP Scripture booklets. Missionary field worker Michael W. wrote, “We were able to distribute thousands of WMP gospel booklets during various outreaches, and also to resupply key pastors, missionaries, churches, and ministries…. Our contacts in the field have been equipped, enriched, empowered, and energized by your generosity. Although it was our hands that physically gave these vital resources to these excitedly grateful Christians in various African countries, it was your ministry that donated and shipped these valuable gospel booklets to our doorstep, empowering us to deliver this valued cargo to those who desperately need it [and] vibrantly extending God’s kingdom in Africa.”
Please partner with us in prayer for those who are risking everything to bring God’s love and healing to this vast continent, and remember our brothers and sisters around the world who are enduring trials because of their faith in Christ. Praise the Lord for raising up workers and opportunities to minister to the world and His Church alike!
[You can be involved! Every specified donated dollar provides about 25 Scripture booklets for those on the frontlines in Africa.]
Grateful Quotes
Spiritual Fruit at the Cost of a Leg
“Our people are out every afternoon, going door-to-door handing out Scripture booklets. And yes, we have had some problems from time to time. One day I went to a house and said, ‘Hello, could I have a glass of water?’ The lady said, ‘Yes, one minute.’ When she returned, she said to sit down on a bench in the front of the house, and we visited. I asked if I could give her something. She said yes, so I reached into my bag and handed her a Scripture booklet. She looked at it and said, ‘Wait a minute for my husband to come out.’ In a few minutes, her husband came out holding a pistol and told me, ‘This is what I think of your God!’ and shot me in the leg. [Doctors] had to remove my leg from the knee down.
“I still pastor my church, and it has not slowed me down. About six months later, as I was walking down a street using crutches, I saw the woman, who came running up to me. I thought, ‘Oh, Lord, here goes another leg.’ But she said, ‘Sir, my family has been mafia for many years, and my husband shot you, but you left the Scripture booklet, How to Know God. As time passed, we read it, and the words in that booklet changed our lives. Our whole family accepted Jesus in our hearts! If you would, could you supply us with some of these booklets to hand out?’ I said, ‘Gladly!’
“The cost was great, but for me the blessings were far greater! I would gladly give my other leg, or even my life, to see the light of Christ move in someone’s life. The man who shot me has a very strong group in his house; they hand out around 200-300 booklets a day. Thank you for supplying Mexico with these life-giving booklets.” -Pastor Brayan M., Mexico
Meet the Team
Greg C.
Systems Manager
I had been working for a sub-contractor for the Department of Homeland Security in South Texas when I – along with 80 others – was laid off. Looking for employment, I submitted my resume to Intercristo, a Christian job-search organization, and within two weeks was contacted by World Missionary Press, looking for someone to relieve the Information Technology responsibilities of Harold Mack.
Having lived in South Texas on the border between the U.S. and Mexico, my wife Sylvia and I had worked with mission organizations on a personal level for more than 25 years, as our lives crossed the lives of numerous missionaries. At one point I felt that God was calling us to the mission field. I asked, “When?” God impressed upon me that it would be when we got into His Word. Twenty years later God called us to WMP to be a part of an organization that distributes His Word all over the world. Talk about getting into the Word!
For 8 1/2 years I have been keeping WMP’s network of computers, multiple servers, and various workstations running. I like the fact that our workers come from a variety of church backgrounds, yet all work together for a common goal – the printing and distribution of God’s Word.
I have an interest in Meteorology, which I once thought would be my life’s vocation. I enjoy gardening. During the spring, summer, and fall I’m generally outside doing something. During the winter, I pray for spring!
Sylvia and I have three children and two grandchildrenspread across Texas from South to North. Our oldest son, Jason, and his wife Janine live and work in Harlingen. Our next oldest, Daniel, and his wife, Lety, live and work in San Antonio. Our youngest, Rachel, and her husband T.C. live in Fort Worth along with our grandkids, Grace (5) and Thomas (3).
[Next month’s Meet the Team will feature Greg’s wife, Sylvia.]
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