A Christian radio program saved the life of a Hindu family in Maharashtra, India. Eknath Shelke planned to kill himself and his family because he was despondent over his poor financial situation, Gospel for Asia said. He had operated a successful clothing company but began to have financial problems because too many people didn't pay their bills. His daily prayers to the Hindu gods at the temple didn't help, so he told his wife he was going to commit suicide. She was also depressed, and agreed to poison their two children so they would not be left as orphans, then commit suicide.

On the day they planned to carry out the plan, their 17-year-old son turned on the radio. At that moment they heard a man say, "Brother, if you are going to commit suicide, stop. Jesus is the way. Don't be disappointed in life, Jesus is inviting you. Cast all your burdens on Jesus, He is the only one who can deliver you from anxiety, poverty, sicknesses, and debts."

The couple decided not to go through with the plan, and wrote a letter to the ministry asking for more information about Jesus. In a few weeks, a native missionary came and told them about Jesus. The whole family became Christians.

Tribal villagers deep in the Amazon jungle are listening to the Bible on tape. Because less than 10% of the Waorani tribe in Ecuador is able to read, Mission Aviation Fellowship is delivering solar-powered tape players and cassettes to the people. MAF planes dropped the packages to 15 Waorani villages recently. "Villagers have been observed with the box hanging on a rope around their necks, listening and walking through the jungle," according to one report.

A young Assemblies of God pastor in Mali faced a challenge on his first day of ministry when a crowd of villagers asked him to pray for rain. Still a student at the Bible School in Bamako, he and his family arrived at a village for his summer internship. Immediately upon moving into their house, a group of village elders, Islamic clergy, and other religious leaders came to the front door. They begged him to pray for rain because a severe drought had hurt the crops.

"Pastor, we have done all we know to do," one man said. "We have said every incantation. We have used every charm. But no clouds have come, we have no hope for rain. Someone told us your God answers prayers. We have come to ask if you would pray that God would bring rain to our region." The pastor told them to come back the next day and that he and other believers would pray and God would send rain.

A crowd filled his yard the next day. The pastor prayed and preached for 30 minutes, calling on God to send rain and reveal Jesus Christ to the people of the village. "Bless them with rain, O God," he prayed. "Bless them with the knowledge of who Jesus is. Pour the rain of heaven upon their souls and give them eternal life," he said. As he prayed, thunder began to sound in the distance and by the time he finished, rain started falling on the village and continued throughout the season.

Portions of the Bible have been translated into more than 2,000 of the world's languages, according to the United Bible Societies. In the past year, the entire Bible was translated into eight new languages and the New Testament into 30 other languages. Some 62 other ethnic groups had at least one chapter of the Bible translated into their language for the first time, the UBS said.

ABUJA, Nigeria. Down on Church Alley, the rock 'n' roll Christians of Living Faith Church celebrate life with joyful noise--arms-in-the-air singing, Bible-thumping, and joy.

Pentecostal Pastor George Adjeman holds forth like a blend of James Brown and Eddie Murphy with a clean mouth, prancing, ranting, cracking jokes and driving home his message with theatrical fervor. "Look at the person to your right," he commands. "Tell them, 'Be fruitful and multiply!' Tell them! Now ask them, 'Did you hear me? DID YOU HEAR ME?'"

In 1,000 folding chairs, worshippers respond with thunderous amens and hallelujahs, rising frequently to sing praises to a Lord who died for their sins so they could live in spiritual peace.

(Religion Today) Solutions to individual and societal problems can be found in Jesus Christ, the president of Uganda says. Y.K. Museveni made the remarks in a speech to the nation in January. Tribal differences, religious divisions, poverty, disease, lack of education, political upheaval, and racial strife are proof that "the principles of Jesus Christ have not penetrated Africa enough," Museveni said. Some people find his remarks strange because he has not always followed Christian teaching. "As the years have gone by … I have decided to follow Jesus Christ with my whole heart."

The Christian virtues of forgiveness, humility, and love are necessary for helping Africa, he said. Nations are suffering because tribal wars have stretched over the centuries, and leaders have become obsessed with "power, greed, and self-interest," he said. "Please pray that God will give me the strength, wisdom, and sense to be a humble servant."

(Religion Today) Zambia's President Frederick Chiluba pledged $60,000 in government funds to the country's Bible Society. "The Word of God has life and power that can shape families and society. As people search for truth they need to experience the liberating power of the gospel," he said. He praised the Bible Society for translating and distributing the Scriptures, and urged Zambian citizens to contribute money to the organization. "You can only expect God's blessing if you give back to Him from what you have earned," said Chiluba, a Christian.

More than 100 million people in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States will see the Jesus film on TV in the next three years. International Russian Radio and TV will air the video over 250 stations during the Christmas and Easter seasons from 1998 through the year 2000, the ministry reported.

The Jesus film is one of the most effective evangelistic tools ever produced. More than 40 million people in 120 countries have prayed to become Christians after viewing the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, according to Campus Crusade. The movie has been translated into some 400 languages.