It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

A special thanks to the Worldwide Challenge team-members who took the liberty of decorating my (Justin) cubicle last week.  I guess this is what happens when you leave the office for a week around Christmas-time:

Merry Christmas everyone!

Story Update: “Missing Harisudan”

Harisudan was hedging his bets.

Although the 23-year-old man from India said his surrender to Jesus was wholehearted—100 percent, even—the former Hindu loosely held to his past.

“I’m not saying Christianity is the only way. Hinduism is a good way, but I like Christianity.”

You may have read about Hari in the latest issue of Worldwide Challenge magazine (“Missing Harisudan,” starting on page 16). We were careful to earmark the above quote as “theologically confused.” But we felt it was important to include it since this thought is common, especially in places dominated by other religions.

Writer, Becky Hill, knew that Hari was meeting with a Christian mentor (Rajan Babu) who would explain further what Jesus said about Himself, leaving no room for Hinduism or any other way to God. We knew, as a brand new Christian, that there was much for Hari to learn. We just didn’t know how soon he would learn some of it. So here is the rest of the story.

I spoke to Hari by telephone after the article was written to check a few points for accuracy. Immediately after attending the sports camp which Becky wrote about, Hari was hospitalized for terrible ulcers. The pain built and built, until Hari began to contemplate suicide. Then he had a terrible dream.

He called Rajan Babu from his hospital bed, desperate for encouragement and answers. He begged him to come read the Bible for comfort and to explain his dream.

Rajan Babu, a staff member with Campus Crusade for Christ, told Hari that God wanted everything. He told Hari, with audacious faith, that if he completely surrendered to Jesus—leaving no back doors open to return to Hinduism—then God would heal him within five days.

Hari told me this over the phone, our international call interrupted by cars honking while Hari walked through crowded traffic.

I was shocked by Rajan Babu’s bold challenge. But Hari says he experienced a miracle. He was healed in five days. He is completely convinced of God’s sovereignty.

Since then, Hari told me via Facebook that his parents told him to move out. A part of the Brahman priestly caste, Hari had offended his family with his decision to follow Jesus.

Please pray for Hari. Thank you for allowing us to tell these amazing stories. We see God’s fingerprints around the world and show our readers that He is very much alive. What a privilege to serve Him!

A New Beginning…

From Writer Katie Croft
(Written November 13th)

Today, I write to you from a musky auto parts store in sunny Orlando, Florida.  The last 48-hours have been filled with excitement and farewells.  I spoke with my editor on Tuesday and was cleared to return to my office and continue my work as a missionary journalist for Worldwide Challenge magazine!  God has answered our prayers!

It has been a whirlwind.  I booked my ticket Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Orlando at 1:30PM today, Friday.

First stop?  Swinging by the office to pick up my car and give it some much needed TLC.  As I waited for security to jump-start my car, I had a short conversation with my editor, Erik.

Not wanting to alarm or burden me in the first hour of my return, Erik tip-toed around the announcement of my first travel assignment- following a nurse in the midwest who has a heart and a plan to reach her co-workers and patients for Christ.

I am honored that the editorial team has such confidence in me and my writing.  The twist is that the timeline is shorter than normal.  I will be leaving… Wednesday.  Just four days from now.

How is that for jumping in with both feet!?!

As I sit here, soaking in the smell of oil while trying to make the most of my time: I can’t help but think–I am in need of a tune-up myself.  It has been months since I have taken part in the ins and outs of a busy office.  And, I certainly didn’t expect to be leaving my new “home” so quickly.

In some ways the gears of my mind are grinding against the sudden change in direction.  But I wouldn’t miss the adventure for anything!

The Cover-Shot That Nearly Wasn’t

From Photographer Tom Mills:

My photo that was chosen for the cover of the magazine was almost never even taken!  It was my first day in Coimbatore where the sports camp was to be held.  The coaches for the camp were arriving soon at the Coimbatore train station.  I envisioned getting great shots of the train roaring into the station as well as photos of the coaches stepping down off the train.

We asked the Campus Crusade staff in Coimbatore to pick us up on their way to pick up the coaches from the train.  We waited and waited.  When the staff finally showed up several hours late, they already had the coaches with them!  I never found out why they didn’t come get us first, but I was discouraged that my hopes for a great shot had been dashed.

As the time of the sports camp drew to a close, I thought more and more about the photos I’d missed.  I made the decision to go to the train station to see if there were any interesting people to photograph.  We left at 4:30 in the morning–to be there before sunrise so there would be good lighting.

Shortly after my arrival, I noticed a small Hindu shrine just outside the train station with an interesting man standing in front.  There was a bright light bulb next to him, but I was able to move around in order to position the bulb behind him and take this photo (which now appears on the cover of the November/December issue).

Afterward, I decided to climb on the train that was waiting at the station to get some shots inside.  No one stopped me and I figured I could hop off if the train started moving.  While walking through the train, I noticed some familiar faces.  Some of the student athletes were on the train!  I thought they had already left the camp.  Because there was a lot of time before the train left, the students forgot about the camera and I was able to get some good photos.  One of these is on page 21 of the magazine.  The Lord was truly Sovereign over the photos I shot.  If I had taken photos of the students arriving at the station initially, I wouldn’t have gone back and would never have gotten this cover photo (or the other one in the story).  It was a great reminder to trust in Him, and to not lose faith when circumstances don’t work out.

More of Gulliver in Armenia

Gulliver visits “Mother Armenia”towering high over Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. One third of Armenia’s 3.2 million population live in Yerevan.

Visiting Khor Virap Monastery – The monastery took 600 years to build and was carved by hand out of the side of the mountain rock, beginning from the top and moving down.

Visiting the Armenian Parliament in the capital city of Yerevan – He wasn’t allowed inside, but he peeked through the gate to get a better look around the beautiful courtyard.

Gulliver recently returned from accompanying writer, Amber Kinneer, and photographer, Ted Wilcox on their trip to Armenia.  Here are a few photos from his trip.

Take our new survey!

Hello Worldwide Challenge friends!  By now, most of you should have received your copy of the new November/December issue of the magazine.  We want to encourage you to take a good look at it, and then let us know what you think by taking our Survey.  You can also take the print version of the survey (same basic questions), tear it out, and send it in, but we assume if you’re reading the blog, you’re relatively web savvy and might prefer the online option.

Either way, don’t miss out on this opportunity to give your feedback.  We look forward to hearing from you!

-WWC Team-

Vote on the January/February Cover! (Voting Now Closed)

We need your vote!  For our upcoming January/February cover we’ve narrowed it down to our two favorite photos, and we figured, as this will be showing up in your mailbox, we should give you a say in which option you like best.  All you need to do is vote in the poll below before Monday, Oct. 19th at 9AM (EST) and tell us which cover you’d most like to see.  If you’re really pulling for one, feel free to coerce your friends to get on and vote as well, or leave a comment describing why you made the choice you did.

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing what you think about our January/February cover.  See you at the polls!

Here are your two choices:

Option 1:

And Option 2:

Voting is now closed. Thank you to the many people who gave their opinion, stay tuned for the January/February issue to see if your favorite cover won!

Staff Retreat (Part 2)

Part 2 of our staff retreat photo gallery focuses in on our “Whodunnit Mystery Event”.  Everyone had a character to play and clues to collect in hopes of solving the mystery.  As you’ll be able to see, it was a great time.

Staff Retreat (Part 1)

A few weeks ago, the Worldwide Challenge team stepped out of the office to spend some time to refocus, grow as a team, and enjoy some good clean fun.  Being as that we are now committed bloggers, we figured we would be remiss to not give you a look into some of the fun from the retreat.  Check back tomorrow for part two of the retreat gallery, where we can promise pictures of the staff, in costume.