Niger: Thousands of Children Suffering from Severe Malnutrition

Thousands of children in the west African nation of Niger are suffering from severe malnutrition and lack of clean water.

ChristianToday.com cites a report from the World Food Prgram, which states that 44 percent of children in Niger suffer from malnutritition.

Christian relief organization World Vision is helping families in Niger communities get access to enough food and clean water.

Faiycal is one such boy living in Niger suffering from malnutrition. He shared his heartbreaking story:

“The pain was so intense that I was afraid I would die,” he saaid, speaking of the many years he struggled with sickness and malnutrition. “I would throw myself on the ground and cry non-stop, that’s how difficult it was for me to deal with my body’s aches.”

Now, however, with World Vision’s help, Faiycal and his family have a farm where they can grow food and Faiycal is well enough to go to school.

“When I get home, I often eat the crops that my mother has farmed. We have onions, maize, tomatoes and peanuts that we have grown with the seeds that we received. We also have a borehole with clean water, so I’m not afraid of getting ill either,” he said.

Faiycal still bears the marks of malnutrition, however. He is 14 years old, but looks much younger and his growth has been stunted.

Niger is a poor country and many men leave their families to look for work elsewhere. Although organizations such as World Vision have helped many families and communities, many more children are still in need of help.

Iraqi Forces Battle ISIS in Important Battle for Control of Mosul

Iraqi army and Kurdish soldiers started battling on Monday in Mosul against the Islamic State stronghold.

“The hour of victory has come, the operation to liberate Mosul has started,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised address early Monday.

“God willing we will meet in Mosul to celebrate the liberation and your salvation from Daesh so we can live together once again, all religions united and together. We shall defeat Daesh to rebuild this dear city of Mosul,” he added.

Daesh is the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

The battle is considered an important one: if ISIS loses control of Mosul, then the terror group could lose its control in Iraq completely.

ISIS has already lost many cities recently. Sunday, the terror group lost the Syrian city of Dabiq.

U.S. officials have said the battle for Mosul could last weeks to months. U.S. forces are supporting the fighting.

It’s also feared that ISIS will use the local population as “human shields.” Others are expected to flee the city. Aid organizations are expecting lots of need as the fighting wages on.

“We fear the humanitarian consequences of this operation will be massive,” said Wolfgang Gressmann, the NRC’s Iraq country director.

Source : Christian Headlines  | Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Christian Leaders Respond to Trump Groping Video

For months, many conservative Christians have written and spoken about why they cannot support the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump has caused such a schism among the GOP that some political analysts are even speculating that he is accelerating an evangelical split with the Republican Party.

The distaste many evangelicals have for Trump was exacerbated when a video surfaced on Friday of lewd comments he made about women. In the wake of that video, evangelical Christian leaders have issued responses, ranging from utter disgust to reminders that both candidates are flawed.

Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, penned an article for The Washington Post titled “Donald Trump Has Created an Excruciating Moment for Evangelicals.

In that piece Molher asked, “How could ‘family values voters’ support a man who had, among other things, stated openly that no man’s wife was safe with him in the room? A casino titan who posed for the cover of Playboy magazine? A man who boasted that he did not repent of his (well-documented) sins and would not?”

Mohler concluded that, “Donald Trump is not just disqualified from being a Sunday school teacher. Honest evangelicals would not want him as a next-door neighbor.”

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, also penned an article for The Washington Post.

“Journalist Mark Halperin noted this weekend that virtually all of the ‘reaffirmation of support’ for Trump, following the disclosure of his sexually predatory recorded comments, were from religious conservative leaders,” lamented Moore, who has been fiercely against Trump since the beginning stages of the election.

“This is a scandal and a disgrace, but it should not be a surprise,” he continued.

Other Christian leaders, such as Franklin Graham, acknowledged via Facebook that both Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton are flawed, and ultimately, no political candidate or party is the answer.

Graham said that, “The only hope for the United States is God.”

Southern Baptist ethicist and theologian Wayne Grudem, who had previously penned an article in favor of Trump, said he was withdrawing his support. “I cannot commend Trump’s moral character, and I strongly urge him to withdraw from the election,” Grudem stated, according to ChristianToday.com

Christian speaker, author, and teacher Beth Moore also responded to Trump’s comments, stating that she–and many other women–are “sickened” but “Surprised? NO.” … read more