OM worker witnesses a new openness towards God and the Gospel amongst the thousands of refugees on their way to Europe.

Greece – a land with a glorious past is today faced with many challenges. OM is working with churches, ministering to the Greek and refugees.

Relationships form and opportunities to share Christ follow as OM workers minister to those seeking refuge in Athens and beyond.

Lila from Argentina wanted to go on a mission trip, but always had a reason not to. Then she found the opportunity to serve refugees.

God is working to transform lives in Mozambique through the efforts of the local OM team.

Lima, Peru, May 9, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Peruvian congresswoman Luz Milagros Cayguaray Gambini has demanded the country’s health minister provide the legal and scientific basis for a directive that would allow abortion when a pregnant woman is infected with the novel coronavirus.

Abortion is illegal in Peru except when pregnancy would cause death or permanent harm to a pregnant woman.

On April 22, Peru’s Minister of Health Victor Zamora issued a directive calling for provision of emergency contraception in the country, and allowing abortion for pregnant women who test positive for the coronavirus.

In a May 5 letter, Cayguaray demanded Zamora to “Indicate what the legal basis” is for the directive that allows doctors to “end the pregnancy,” if the mother has contracted COVID-19.

The legislator also challenged Zamora to indicate “the scientific and medical basis the norm is based upon.”

At issue is whether a positive test for coronavirus is sufficient to establish that a pregnancy threatens the life of a woman. Gambini says that assertion is unproven and unfounded.

Cayguaray has also written to Dr. Enrique Guevara Ríos, director of the country’s Perinatal Maternal Institute, asking him to report how many pregnant women with COVID-19 have been treated to date, “how many have had their pregnancies terminated,” “on what grounds,” and “what current regulation has been applied to carry out the interruption of those pregnancies.”

The Arequipa Doctors for Life Association has criticized the health directive in a statement.

"At this time in which all our efforts as a nation should be aimed at improving our precarious health system to mitigate the serious impact of the pandemic, the circumstances are being used to dictate measures that threaten the lives of Peruvians in their most vulnerable stage, life in the womb,” the group said.

Regarding the “morning after pill,” the group expressed surprise and concern “that the Ministry of Health promotes the irresponsible and reckless use of this drug in the general population and particularly for minors, and even worse, dispenses with obtaining the person’s medical history, which is an essential tool for the responsible practice of medicine, thus seriously exposing the users to danger."

Aborting a child because the mother has COVID-19, the doctors said “is contrary to the principles that govern medical practice, which must always be based on the application of therapies that are based on rigorous scientific studies and with respect to elementary ethical principles” which guide medical science in providing the best strategies to protect patients.

When a woman is pregnant “we have two patients to take care of, the mother and the unborn child," the doctors association stressed.

Concerning the babies themselves, five newborns whose mothers have COVID-19 were recently discharged from a government hospital in Peru. A sixth, also born of a coronavirus patient who is in serious condition in the intensive care unit, was born prematurely and remains hospitalized. None of the babies have tested positive for COVID-19.

In a May 5 interview with the El Comercio daily, Dr. César García Aste, who heads the hospital’s neonatology department, explained that there are strict protocols as to how the baby is to be fed in order to avoid infecting it.

A doctor from the hospital is assigned to follow up daily by phone on the baby’s condition for an average of 14 days, and “so far we haven’t had a problem with any of the five babies,” Garcia said.

 

A version of this story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news agency. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

Christina shares about the love between a refugee man and his disabled son, whom she met while volunteering in Šid, Serbia.

In January 2013, OM Norway and Norwegian Naval Training Agency agreed on internship programme for deckhands and motormen on board MV Logos Hope.

Catherine, from the UK, joined an OM team in July to host a dental clinic and outreach for the residents of Pădureni.

Europe short-term mission coordinators gather in Sibiu, Romania, to increase vision, gain training and share resources for greater impact in Europe.

Rafael Nastase is the field leader of OM Romania. He tells his story and describes the current work of OM Romania.

OM uses an educational programme called KidsGames to share Bible stories in a public school.

As they seek to establish a church, God gives OM Spain the opportunity to minister to the community, break down barriers and share the gospel.

OM Spain's traveling team is back at base after nearly two months on the road visiting and serving in various churches.

A new social work ministry has opened to bring the people of Narón, Spain, into the village’s only evangelical church.

Walking the thousand year old pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela gave the Transform team many opportunities to share the Gospel

Participants witnessed God at work through the Transform conference in Spain followed by outreach teams to the Mediterranean region and beyond.

In the 1960s, when OM accepted untrained people for short-term campaigns, it was unheard of. Today, it has become a gateway into missions.

Las Palmas, Spain :: Crewmembers distribute sandwiches and coffee to people living on the streets.

Newlyweds Sam & Lena joined Transform as part of their honeymoon, because they wanted to honour God from the very start of their life together.

Heikki drove the nearly 4,000 km from Finland to Transform in Spain on his motorcycle. A Harley-Davidson and a saxophone were useful instruments in God's hands.

Transform staff Esther Banzi (South Africa) loves to share the needs in Europe with people from the Global South and see them moving into missions.

The OM Transform team experienced God at work during the conference and outreach day. The local churches were an added blessing, as was the cycling team sent out to pray for least reached towns.

Transform mission conference one year, outreach team in France the following year, the sisters from Mexico are eager to share the love of Christ, realising the audience was different from what they expected.

As workers wonder how to reach people with the good news, they find God has already prepared the way.

“Every movie, book or song tells a story. They all have a beginning and an end. When a song ends, the story seems over. When the killer is found at the end of that thriller, the movie ends. When the couple is finally together and they kiss on the last page of that romance novel, the book ends,” says OMer Anja. “But in life, the end of a story is never the end of it. It always goes on. When that book or movie is over, time seems to freeze and life as we know it seems to stay exactly the same.”

Time spent giving and receiving blessings is a special highlight for the participants of a weekly children's meeting.

A man shares his story of living with HIV at an AIDS workshop aboard Logos Hope, which opened hearts for ministry to others with HIV.

Penang, Malaysia :: A team from Logos Hope connect with children at a drop-in centre.

Currently 100 people from 15 nations are expected at OM Malaysia’s annual missions conference at Golden Sands in Port Dickson, Malaysia, from 14-18 July 2012.

Board members from OM Malaysia joined 110 participants from 18 nations in the 10-year celebration of the Out of the Comfort Zone conference this year.

Carrie from Hong Kong was challenged and blessed at the same time as a participant in the Out of the Comfort Zone training in Malaysia.

A recent training course in Malaysia unpacks the subject of financial development and reminds participants that it is a ministry based on biblical principles.

In June, 162 people from 28 countries participate in Out of the Comfort Zone Asia 2014, followed by outreaches to 12 countries.

A recap of OM's OCZ conference, why it's worth attending and what participants learned this year.

Young believers among the indigenous people in the rural areas of Sabah, Malaysia are impacted through discipleship.

On July 8, 2017 the Out of the Comfort Zone Asia, a short-term missions conference, began.

Traders have discovered the benefits of coordinating option expirations with the release of economic data focusing on the impact of certain indicators.

From the outcome of the U.S. elections to OPEC's output cut, there were seven noteworthy trading days last year whose effects could ripple into 2017.

It started with one ball and grew to become a garden.

OM Lake Tanganyika is using cheerleading as a way to reach out to African young women and girls.

Dimas, the headman of a small village along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, shares about the challenges of being a headman and Christian.

Mwando village along the shores of Lake Tanganyika didn't have a church, but they did have an interest in sports.

There is a belief that street kids are evil and cannot be helped. OM worker Christine Jones in Zambia believes differently.

Yande learns to walk with the aid of crutches and splints provided by Bethesda Mercy Ministries.

A young woman's life is transformed by the love of Jesus shared and displayed through Tabitha Skills Training in Zambia.

With the fishing season going poorly in Kapembwa, Zambia, the people want to know why, and to find the answers, they’ve called in a witch doctor. 

For the past five years OM Lake Tanganyika has visited the local police station providing for the physical and spiritual needs of those awaiting trial.

“I have always wanted to do more than coach specific sport skills,” Joseph said. “This approach touches all areas of fitness: physical, emotional and spiritual–all aspects of a human being.”

People from 14 nations participate in OM Lifehopes’ Toolkit, an intensive training programme that equips workers for ministry, particularly in the UK.