2018 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

She Fought for Freedom – and Lost God

Christiane tried to run and hide from everyone — even God. What she lost in the process almost killed her.

Dec 21 2018

When Christiane saw her chance to escape, she fled like a fugitive. She’d already tried to leave the country, so she went to another island in the Philippines instead. She broke the SIM card in her phone so no one could call her. She cut her hair. People back home were hounding Christiane for money — far more than she could ever give them. Her only option was to never be found. But Christiane’s hard-won freedom was not what she expected. She spent her days alone in a small room, caring for a baby and struggling to survive. “I knew…

Celebrate Christmas like the French with this traditional Yule log cake! With creamy almond filling and chocolate ganache, it's sure to delight any Christmas gathering.

Dec 21 2018

We’ve been TEAM missionaries in France for 13 years, and my husband also spent the first 18 years of his life here. So, Christmas in our home has become a unique blend of American and French traditions. We put out stockings like our American family and friends, not slippers like our French friends. We open our gifts the morning of the 25th, whereas most French children open theirs late into the evening of the 24th. We make American Christmas cookies — but we also always have a good supply of French candies, including chocolate papillotes and pâte de fruit. And…

How Missionaries Around the World Celebrate Christmas

Serving in a new country often means adopting new Christmas traditions. Keep reading to see some of our missionaries' favorite traditions from their host countries!

Dec 20 2018

Hallmark movies, cut-out cookies and letters to Santa are all pretty typical Christmas traditions — for those of us in the United States. But around the world, there are hundreds of different customs surrounding the holiday season. So what happens when our missionaries immerse themselves in their host cultures? How do they celebrate Christmastime? To find out, we’ve asked a few of them about their holiday traditions. And here are some of our favorites: Christmas Trick-or-Treating Ryan Kennedy is a second-generation missionary serving in Papua, Indonesia. He was a missionary kid there — and now he’s raising his own kids…

Women across Europe will spend this Christmas season in brothels. But friends like you are giving them hope!

Dec 11 2018

Angelika* is cold. Really cold. She tries to find a spot on the street near the big vans with curtains on the windows. Those clients are regulars, and with any luck, she’ll be able to warm up a bit in the vans when she does what she has to do with the men inside. She misses her home. She doesn’t even speak the language here. But her husband was abusive and then abandoned her and her two small children in this place. Now she is a single mother of two in a strange country — doing work she hates. This…

Missionaries around the world will hold Christmas parties and outreaches this month. Will you pray for them?

Dec 03 2018

When Haruto* went with his son to a Christmas event in their home city of Tokyo, he didn’t expect it to be life-changing. The event was actually a kids’ Christmas outreach hosted by TEAM missionaries at Christian Academy in Japan every year. The evening usually starts with a craft, a fun activity and some caroling. Then, the kids and their accompanying parents get to listen to the story of Jesus’ birth story. It was during the storytelling that Haruto became especially intrigued. He approached a TEAM missionary afterward and asked, “Is that in the Bible — that Jesus was born…

Opening your home can scary and exhausting, but one missionary shares how it became her favorite part of the week!

Nov 29 2018

Once, during a church barbecue at our house, my husband found me in an upstairs bedroom, hiding from our guests. Moments before, in an effort to find a topic that I might have in common with my fellow church goers, I had blurted out something really strange that just didn’t come out right. I attempted to graciously excuse myself and hightailed it out of there. I think of this story fairly often because, honestly, one of my biggest weaknesses is not enjoying small talk and, more specifically, despising moments like this. It happened probably five years ago, and yet I…

In Khaan and Shaima’s country, sharing the Gospel is a crime punishable by death. But by God’s grace, they’re finding ways to minister!

Nov 21 2018

Zarak* had been a student at Khaan’s* Bible correspondence school for months. But when the two men finally met in person, Zarak said something completely unexpected: “Aren’t you afraid of me?” Khaan lives in an Islamic country, where direct evangelism is punishable by death. So, the TEAM correspondence school he worked for had to be discreet. They placed ads in newspapers, offering to educate people on the lives of the prophets. When people responded, the school took them through a series of lessons that came straight from the Bible. Khaan’s role involved connecting students to the correspondence school. Every so…

Everyone in the Philippines has their own menudo recipe. Find out TEAM missionary Laura O'Day's favorite way to make it!

Nov 15 2018

This is my husband’s favorite Filipino dish and a crowd-pleaser with our whole family. Filipinos often eat rice and ulam (which simply means “vegetables and maybe meat, in sauce, that goes on rice”) most for dinner. This is one of our regular ulam meals! Everybody here has their own menudo recipe, with their own blend of meat, vegetables, tomato sauce, bay leaves and spices. This particular recipe came from my friend, Leng. She’s a sweet person and an amazing chef! As a TEAM missionary in the Philippines, I wanted to learn some local recipes, so she graciously let me hover…

Italian church service, like the one Serena attends now that she's not a persecuted Christian.

Serena knew following Jesus was dangerous in her country, but she had know idea how far God would take her!

Nov 08 2018

If you want to know what it feels like to be a persecuted Christian, read the Psalms. At least, that’s what Serena, a young believer from the Middle East, says. While in hiding for nine months, she says, “I was just reading Psalms. … Like, I’m surrounded by enemies. People want to kill me. People want me. Every situation is really hard for me. But [Jesus said], ‘OK, but you know that I’m yours. … I will save you.” Serena was raised by Christian parents, but she didn’t know that until she was 15 years old. When she asked her…

Across the globe, millions of Christians are fighting for their lives — and the Gospel. This month, discover how you can pray for the persecuted Church.

Nov 01 2018

It started out like any other day for Aasiya, one of the only known Christians in her town. The Pakistani wife and mother of two had gone out that morning to gather falsa berries with some other local women. When they asked Aasiya to get water for them from a nearby well, she did. But she was parched, so she also took a sip for herself. Enraged, the other women accused Aasiya of blasphemy and claimed she had defiled their water. Later, more of her neighbors raided her house. They left her bloodied and bruised when the police finally intervened….

Archive - 2018

She Fought for Freedom – and Lost God

TEAM Eats: Recipe for Bûche de Noël

How Missionaries Around the World Celebrate Christmas

Christmas: The Key to Ministering Inside Brothels

Christmas Parties that Change Lives [December Prayer Focus]

Why Hospitality is Worth the Loss

When Sharing the Gospel is a Crime

TEAM Eats: Recipe for Menudo

Living the Psalms: A Persecuted Christian’s Story

Bloodied and Bruised for the Gospel [November Prayer Focus]