A young man in Cambodia is slowly shedding the defensive self-preservation of an orphan and gaining a heart to help others.

Samnang just completed high school and got his diploma. This may not sound incredible; but for him, it represents overcoming more obstacles than most people in the West are likely to ever face.

Community makes an enormous difference in believers’ lives, and one young mother is growing into a new life with the help of her church.

When the World Challenge team first met her, Grace was a shy and timid believer. She described herself as a typical housewife who was only concerned about her own household and had very little to do with her community.

For those who have been forced to flee from their homes, God offers hope and light in some very dark places.

As conflict flares up in the Middle East, refugees are pouring out of war-torn areas. Their flight often takes them into Turkey since it is more stable socially and politically.

World Challenge’s partners in Burundi run a children’s home and school so abandoned children can experience God’s love and care as well as grow into strong adults.

When I first found Mukamarakiza, he was living on the streets in Ngozi.

He’d been abandoned early and was 11 years old when we met, but unfortunately this is nothing unusual. Street children in Burundi are common, especially in the larger towns.

After a series of natural disasters, believers in Albania are working together to help those who have lost homes.

The northwestern side of Albania has experienced 31 earthquakes in the last month, many around a 4.5 magnitude and one as large as 6.4.

A young woman in India felt her life had effectively come to a close until she met people who were ready to show her Christ’s compassion.

Yahvat* married her husband six years ago. Her family was quite poor, but she was hopeful for her future with this marriage.

However, he neglected her. She hoped that things would improve with time, but instead the problems lingered, and no amount of prayers at the temples or incense or offerings seemed to improve her situation.

One pastor is working hard to change cultural practices in the remote areas of Kenya that oppress women and endanger girls.

Lekiliara is a bead girl. This means she’s about to be married. She’s nine years old, and in preparation for her wedding, she has been circumcised.

World Challenge partners and the church in Eswatini are finding ways to reach those who are in prison with God’s Word and forgiveness.

World Challenge’s partners in Eswatini have begun a special outreach called Potter’s Prison Ministry, believing that God has incredible plans for those who are currently behind bars.

This ministry has seen incredible growth this year.

Believers around the world are gathering together not only to remember the Savior’s birth and his promise of eternal redemption but also to care for the widow and orphan.

In preparation for Christmas, our partners in India hold skits where children in their orphanage, and any from the neighborhood who want to participate, have the chance to act out the Christmas story.

World Challenge’s partners are caught in the middle of the Middle East’s most current uprising, but they are holding on to God’s promises to work in the midst of their troubles.

The Arab Spring exploded in 2011, and it has lingered in the Middle East ever since. Now, though, rumblings of protest are threatening to resurrect the violence that characterized the revolution from several years ago.