I like the Shepherds! After seeing and hearing from the angels, the shepherds in Luke 2 hurried to find Jesus. Their response to Jesus is most amazing, and the exact reason medical evangelism works!

The shepherds “reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them…. They returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard.”

That’s why medical evangelism works; people see and hear the love of Jesus- the good news.

Jonathon lived in a family and community that did not follow Jesus. In fact they lived in a anti-christian community. But for his whole childhood Jonathon had heard about Jesus from being invited to VBS, and missionaries, and the few Christians in his community. As an adult he experienced a life threatening snake bite and went to a FAME partner clinic in the village near his own. Here’s his story in his own words:

My whole life I have had Christians tell and tell me about this Jesus. I believed he was a historical person, and probably a good man, but I had no interest in him. THEN I was at the clinic and the people there treated me differently than I had ever been treated. They were caring, loving, and happy! Even though I was a different religion than them, they still treated me, and treated me well. My families religion, we only treat our own people well. So when I was nearing my release and the doctor asked me if I knew about Jesus, and told me about him…I was interested, because I had seen and heard the gospel in the Christians who cared for me there! I now am following Jesus because of the staff at that clinic.

That is medical evangelism. Telling and Showing the good news!

Thank you for your partnership that allow FAME to partner with thousands who share the good news by showing and telling! So that the love of Christ can be seen and heard.

I am always impressed with Joseph. His first response at the knowledge that Mary was with child was one of questioning and understanding. BUT when he heard the message from the angel, he was responsive.

Questions are normal, but because of partners like YOU, this birth on Christmas Day brought an amazing response!

Vilya and her husband were responsive too. In their country, their family celebrated Christmas by exchanging gifts. As she was expecting her first child, Vilya and her husband arrived at the newly opened FAME Mother/Child Clinic on Christmas Eve, ready to welcome their baby. After the birth of their beautiful boy, the hospital chaplain spoke with them and asked what they thought about their son sharing a birthday with Jesus.They didn’t know who Jesus was.

The chaplain found out that they celebrated Christmas by giving and receiving gifts but had no idea about the gift of life that could only be found in Jesus! They had never known why they celebrated Christmas, and that Christ was the name of a baby being celebrated each year! Last I heard, they were attending church and seeking to learn more about this baby Jesus who shared a birthday with their son. Your partnership with FAME brings responses like Joseph’s in the lives of thousands every week!

Thank you for your partnership in the past. If you’d like to know more about a current opportunity to help people like Vilya and her husband you can click HERE !

I don’t know exactly how many people are thankful for you…but I can give you some numbers to start with!

• 87 received Surgeries at Peredo Christian Hospital in Haiti last year
• 383 had Surgeries in Mashoko Hospital in Zimbabwe so far this year
• 3765 patients were treated at Charles Selby Hospital in the Philippines last year
• 7,109 patients visit Jacmel Haiti in 2023
• 14 people received ultrasound scans when a team from this Philippines Hospital took a two-hour drive from the hospital to Marag Valley, carrying their supplies, walked for 20 minutes to reach a boat. Then it was a 45-minute boat ride to reach the destination.
• 1 little weak eight year old girl who had a 105 degree fever when being carried onto the Medical Mission Boat on the Amazon River was treated with antibiotic and ibuprofen

These are just a few thousand of the people I know who are THANKFUL FOR YOU! There are others directly around your daily life too, but when you partner with FAME financially, over 2 Million People are Thankful for you every year!

You are FAME, and they are grateful for ALL THAT FAME does for the nearly 80 global partners annually.

When I am planning for the next year or so, sometimes I wish I could see the future. John did.

He saw “…every tribe and language and people and nation….” Seven times he recorded that they would be part of the Kingdom of God in the book of Revelation.

One thing I know about the future is that YOU are part of reaching every tribe and language and people and nation when you partner with FAME ! If the Lord allows, next year will be similar to this year;

• teams will travel to countries to open doors for the gospel
• medical equipment and supplies will be shipped to support global partners
• scholarships will be given to students serving with a FAME global partner
• grants will be given to sustainable projects to provide access to healthcare where there is limited access to healthcare and the gospel currently

Impact will occur among every tribe and language and people and nation!

That is what the future holds! One place we’d like to see a sustainable project finished is with a highly evangelistic partner who is building a Clinic “for children, moms, dads, and their families that will be a HUB for reaching people in this region with the gospel. Delivering high quality patient centered healthcare will draw patients from all over opening the door for evangelism.” They presented FAME with plans having the following headings:

• On Site Evangelism
• Follow Up of New Converts
• Recurring On-site Evangelism
• Gospel literature campaign
• Off-Site Evangelism and Community Outreach

When I think about next year and the future I am grateful for YOU and the global partners who are reaching every tribe and language and people and nation by intentional Medical Evangelism. When you partner with FAME in the last two months of 2024, you are supporting the fulfillment of the vision Jesus gave to John in the book of Revelation.

Some FAME partners are brand new in 2024 as your impact grows and increases around the globe. But other FAME partners have been connected for decades, and their influence is astonishing!

One such partner has established many clinics across their country. Each location is remote, requiring half a day to a full day to travel between them, not only because of the distance but also due to the poor road conditions—if you can even call them roads. These clinics serve as true outposts of the gospel in predominantly Muslim communities. On a recent visit by one of our FAME staff members, they observed that every church building connected to most of the clinics (either on the property or adjacent) was solidified or built after the establishment of the clinic. Each building, a hut-like structure, currently holds around 100 people for services. However, at more than one of these sites, construction is underway for simple but larger church buildings that will accommodate 500+ people for a service!

Each clinic has a chaplain who is the pastor of the church or a pastor in the church! The founder of this mission – whom I will name and identify next week in “Part Two” said the quote above on the subject line. It is from the middle of this sentence, Why do we partner with FAME? Because Medical Evangelism…it works! For sharing the gospel and church planting.