We were surrounded by Global Partners.

This week, I had the privilege of leading the Lake James Christian Assembly School of Missions. Because of my role, we were blessed to have each main speaker and presenter be one of your FAME global partners. There is so much I could tell, but one comment that stood out is from Dr. Zindoga Bungu of the Mashoko Christian Hospital in Zimbabwe. The Mashoko Hospital is actually the location where the vision for FAME was first expressed and actions began toward the ministry’s beginnings. Zindoga was a young man who was taken under the wing of FAME’s founders and has now become the doctor leading the team of six doctors.

Dr. Bungu told of a young girl who had developed a crisis pregnancy and, like the majority of women in that culture, first went to a local witch doctor, which worsened the situation. Eventually, she was brought to the hospital by the ambulance that you, as a FAME partner, helped to provide. She joined a dozen other mothers in waiting and watching their pregnancies closely. During that time, these mothers are taught about Jesus and healthy habits as a mom and for their newborns.

This young girl was able to be stabilized and delivered without complications.

Here’s the line from Dr. Bungu: “The mothers not only leave with a baby, they leave with Jesus.”

That is why FAME does what we do! I’m sure that is why you partner with FAME! “…(people) leaving with Jesus.”

Count me in.

How about you?

Bill Warren
Executive Director

Fred and Molly are two examples of FAME volunteers who seem to be addicted to generosity.

Every week there are people who come and sort, count, pack, and ship medical equipment. Sometimes a crew is testing medical equipment to make sure it works perfectly, others will build crates to ship medical equipment. But no matter what, they are touching items that will save a life.

Every month there are small groups that arrive at the FAME warehouse and do some of the same things the weekly folks do! This week one of those people who traveled an hour to serve said, “It’s almost as if I can’t help myself- I’m hooked on helping every month!” They continued, “I’ve volunteered in many places and ways over the years; but there’s something special about FAME! Knowing that each supply I prepared will travel thousands of miles this year and someone will have surgery or be treated in a lifesaving way! You can’t measure that value.”

I couldn’t agree more. Yearly there are so many who travel globally to directly support your FAME global partners treating people in the name of Jesus.

But I mentioned Fred and Molly (in the picture above); they deliver supplies from Florida every few months! This last week they arrived with a brand new truck and trailer (twice the size of their last one) that others joined them to acquire for the purpose of bringing donations to FAME!

All of these people and those like you who financially partner with FAME remind me of when Paul said, “The love of Christ compels us!”

Thank you for your partnership! And we are so thankful for those who make it possible to provide not just treatment, but the cure! The eternal cure that comes from the gospel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick grew up in an African family that sacrificed animals as idol worshippers to “cleanse” them from any offense against the idol. He ended up in a conversation with the Director of FAME clinics in his country. Your FAME partner shared the story of how God demonstrated His love for man by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Patrick understood the power of sacrifice because he had watched his uncle sacrifice many animals to an idol in their family house.

Our partner there shares that he asked Patrick how many times he thinks they would need to sacrifice to an idol to have all of their sins truly forgiven. He responded that he had no idea, but many! Learning that Jesus paid the ultimate price for his sins, Patrick decided to follow Jesus and now many of his family are no longer idol worshippers.

When you partner with FAME, you release the power of God to be spoken by your FAME global partners. Being a witness through medical evangelism opens the door in communities where hearts might not be open to the gospel. Treating people in the name of Jesus is one way to soften their hearts and earn a hearing in a community.

Thank you for your partnership that turns some of the most unlikely people away from hopelessness to hope!

The Good Samaritan parable by Jesus offers a powerful lesson about love in action, and reminds us of the way YOUR FAME partners treat people daily in the name of Jesus and share good news with them! But as with all scripture, there is more to be found, including a valuable lesson about how we think of giving.

“Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?” — Luke 10:30-37 (CEV)

Jesus wanted to make the point that the neighbors we are to love are not just the ones who are easy to love, but also those we may dislike.

There is more to discover here. Reflecting on the customs and culture of Jesus’ era, the story presents some very real examples of how the ancient world functioned.

We find three distinct philosophies about money.

The first philosophy was that of the robber: What is yours is mine, and I’m going to get it. Today we may call that looking out for number one, with number one being the person who believes they have a right to take someone else’s treasure for their own.

The second philosophy was that of the priest and the Levite: What is mine is mine, and I’m going to keep it. These individuals keep a tight reign on their purse strings and have little compassion for others in need. While they have no interest in taking from others, they are not about to take the time to see if someone else is truly in need. After all, it could be a con. They distrust panhandlers and simply move to the other side of the road, never making eye contact.

The third philosophy was that of the Samaritan. What is mine is yours, and I’m willing to share it. Here we have an example of someone who truly understands generosity. He did not plan on meeting the victim, but when he did, he responded generously.

The Samaritan recognizes God as owner of all — we are stewards, caretakers, and trustees of the resources. Generosity is done with a joyful heart and desire to honor God and help others.

When the lawyer realized the truth about their neighbors, Jesus commanded him to “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37) His challenge remains for us to fulfill.

Mrs. Johnson had an estate plan in place. She planned a substantial portion of her estate for her ministry interests. The remainder was to be divided equally among her three children.

Mrs. Johnson read in a magazine about the importance of having someone in place to manage her property should she become incompetent. The article suggested one solution, to place a child’s name on property titles.

One of her children was a missionary in a foreign country. Another was a very busy doctor who lived some distance from her. She also had a daughter who lived on an adjoining farm, so she placed her name on the property as a joint owner.

At Mrs. Johnson’s death, all jointly owned property was distributed to her daughter with nothing going to her ministries or other children.

The hard lesson of Mrs. Johnson’s decision is that Joint ownership must always be coordinated with other estate documents or there is a possibility that your estate will not be distributed as you desire.

Mrs. Johnson could have addressed the issue of property management with a trust. Property can be managed by a chosen person (or people) should incompetence occur. The same person can make appropriate distributions at death.

If a Mrs. Johnson-like problem concerns you, we would love to offer you a no-cost, no-obligation copy of our eBook, Your Estate Planning Guide. It contains a helpful inventory that is a first step in reviewing existing plans or creating new ones. If you have any questions after that contact Jeff Coon jcoon@fameworld.org and he will answer your questions or direct you to our partners who can!

Thank you for your partnership that makes it possible for over 5,000 people each day to be treated like the Samaritan and the Innkeeper treated the injured man. As your partner, let us know if we can serve you in this vital area of your stewardship.