A woman worships at Angkor Wat, a Hindu-influenced temple built in Cambodia in the 12th century. Buddhism became the national religion in the 15th century and remains the belief of 80 percent of Cambodians despite the Khmer Rouge's efforts to end religion in the 1970s and '80s.

Suntek Si, a Cambodian army general, left home when his wife, Say Ha, became a Christian. He could not imagine life outside Buddhism, and chose it over his marriage.

It was not because the marriage lacked strength. They had survived awful circumstances. Suntek had been a colonel when the Khmer Rouge brutally swept into power. He fled to America, but Say stayed, trapped in a country famous for its killing fields. Ten years later, Suntek returned to work with the Cambodian army—and to find Say.

Then a team with Campus Crusade for Christ's Executive Ministries arrived in Phnom Penh with a group of American businessmen and their wives. They hosted dinners as a way of meeting Cambodian business people and other leaders, and of delivering the gospel.

Say responded to an invitation to meet the American women. She heard about Jesus and received Christ. That's when Suntek left. But not for long. Independently of Say, three months later, Suntek attended an outreach and sat next to South Carolina businessman Ron Terry. After Suntek heard the gospel message, which offered him secure salvation in an insecure land, he joined Say as a follower of Christ. Suntek now attends seminary, and he and Say make regular treks into rural Cambodia delivering Bibles and the gospel.

Ron has made seven overseas trips in seven years and says, "I go back because I am making a difference." Suntek and Say would agree. —Howard Hardegree

International Women's Day started in 1911, promoting women's rights. Campus Crusade in Canada adds a spiritual dimension to the celebration.

Agnes Biakudia entered a Sheraton hotel ballroom in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. The native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had been invited to the celebration of International Women's Day, sanctioned by the United Nations to honor the achievements of women. Women Today, Campus Crusade for Christ's ministry to women in Canada, has organized an evangelistic outreach around this annual day for the past three years.

Before the event, Women Today staff members trained women to lead those who would come to the outreach and respond to the gospel. Gigi Koul invited her nanny, Agnes, who's affectionately called Mom Agnes and who speaks very little English.

The ballroom was transformed into an international marketplace. Agnes nibbled on finger food like bibinka (a spicy bean concoction from Ethiopia) and borborchacha (a sweet Singaporean dessert made from coconuts and sweet potatoes). Women dressed in zebra-pattern cloth, grass skirts and other native garb mingled among the crowd.

On a stage flanked with flags, three different speakers told their stories of growing up in cross-cultural environments. Polynesians danced in muumuus, and a mother/daughter duo played piano and violin. The final speaker, a mother who grew up in Mexico with her Mexican mother and German father, recounted the value and the struggles of growing up in a bicultural home. She told how her faith was her strength. She also told the 300 women from more than 30 countries who attended how they, too, could begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Agnes was one of 16 women who indicated making a decision to receive Christ that night. Afterward, each woman received a gift bag with a JESUS video in the language of her choice. Agnes chose Lingala, the national language in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).

"This year we were impressed to train a leadership team with the goal of beginning Bible studies," says Janet Fierbach, director of the event. "Fifteen women want to be in Bible studies and 28 are interested in leadership training." Janet's goal is to build a movement of evangelism and discipleship among women from the international communities in Canadian cities.

Three days later, Agnes showed up at Gigi's house to babysit her two daughters. Before Gigi left for work, Agnes was already watching her JESUS video. When Gigi returned home at 4:00, Agnes was sitting with Kasmiro, a man from DRC, and both were watching the video. Kasmiro cried as he watched Jesus being crucified. At the end of the movie, he asked if he could take the video home to show his wife. Agnes wouldn't let it out of her sight, but said she'd come to his house the next day.

The next day, several people watched the video at Kasmiro's home, and three received Christ. One was Kasmiro's daughter, a children's doctor in Vancouver. She had seen the video in English and French before, but never in the familiar tongue of Lingala.

Now Agnes wants to send the JESUS video to her daughter back in DRC and have her show it in their church. Gigi had thought that Agnes already believed in Christ because she attended church. But since Agnes doesn't understand English very well, she had not understood the concept of receiving Christ.

"Praise the Lord!" said Gigi. "Mom Agnes became a Christian! Mom Agnes became a missionary!" —Lisa Master

For more information about Campus Crusade in Canada's Women Today ministry, visit www.christianwomentoday.com.

Thailand | In the last two years, 40 new staff members joined Campus Crusade, bringing the staff team to 98. More than 2,000 students are involved in the movement, and 30 million people heard the gospel in three years.

Campus | The I Found It^SM evangelistic campaign is back. In the 1970s, posters, bumper stickers and T-shirts that said "I Found It" invited the curious to ask what it meant. The response: hope found in Jesus. The question made its way around the world. Now students and staff members at the University of California-Davis plan to bring the campaign back to their campus.

FamilyLife | Campus Crusade's ministry to families is offering a survey that will help churches be more proactive in dealing with problems. When 70 percent of a congregation fills out the survey, FamilyLife staff members assemble a report and talk with church leaders. "We put this tool together," says FamilyLife's Bob Anderson, "to help churches be more intentional in ministry." For a Family Needs Survey Introductory Kit, call 1-800-FL-TODAY (358-6329) and ask for product #5430.



Indiana
Campus Ministry

Mike Ward accidentally opened the door on Dave Wilson's Bible study, then quickly apologized. But as he walked back down the hall, he thought, "I should see what they're talking about."

So Mike went back, but later lost touch with the group on the Indiana University campus. When he saw Dave the next fall, he asked about the Bible study. Dave took Mike to a Borders bookstore, and they talked about God. That night, Mike prayed and accepted Christ.

"Every day I pray for opportunities to share my faith," says Mike. One day he sat down at a table with Bob Liu, originally from Thailand, and told him about Jesus. Bob received Christ.

Mike also looked for opportunities to show Christ's love to the whole campus. He started something called "The Love Show"—giving free things to students. On one of the year's coldest days, he and some friends handed out hot chocolate. For Easter they gave away candy-filled eggs (above).

Bob is involved as well, even creating a Web site for The Love Show. Bob also told his family about Christ, and because they saw a positive change in his life, they now attend church. —Becky Hill


Georgia
Prison Ministry

Ron Dooley walked through the crowd of inmates at Baldwin State Prison in Georgia, stopping to talk with two men. As director of Campus Crusade for Christ's prison ministry, Ron went to the prison that day to participate in Operation Starting Line. Campus Crusade joined with many other Christian organizations to form OSL, which sponsors events at 400 correctional facilities around the country.

Entertainers draw inmates together, then speakers explain the gospel. "It's been great to be part of a collaborative movement," says Ron, "where different ministries work together to bring the gospel to these men and women."

The speaker finished. Ron asked the two inmates if they wanted to know more about Christ. Then he explained the gospel to them, and both accepted Him.

"OSL is an opportunity to expose as many inmates as possible to the gospel," says Ron. On Easter, OSL went to Louisiana State Penitentiary—once known as the "Alcatraz of the South"—for the largest prison outreach in history. —Becky Hill To learn more and to get involved visit www.operationstartingline.net.


Kazakhstan
Campus Ministry

September 7, 2001: Parents watched their mostly college-aged children board an airplane, leaving America for a one-year mission commitment with Campus Crusade's STINT (short-term international) program. The young missionaries, bound for the Muslim nation of Kazakhstan, and their parents could not have imagined the events to occur just four days later.

Dick and Kathryn Young's daughter, Kristin, and Kristin's husband, Jeff Ammons, led the project. "My heart went out to those parents," says Kathryn. Dick and Kathryn discovered that four other sets of those parents lived nearby and suggested they all gather to pray for their children.

The group faithfully prayed for their wayfaring loved ones. Then they began receiving pictures of the students whom their children had traveled so far for—pictures of Asian faces with unpronounceable names. Then something happened to the group of praying parents.

The focus of their prayer broadened from their children's wellbeing to their children's ministry. "We found that this is what it really means to love the Lord," says Kathryn, "to accept that my child may be in harm's way for the sake of the gospel." —Howard Hardegree