Dear Prayer Partners,

The story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan is powerful. It is the story of a Samaritan, a foreigner, moved by compassion for a wounded traveller.

Dear Prayer Partners,

The story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan is powerful. It is the story of a Samaritan, a foreigner, moved by compassion for a wounded traveller. The Samaritan, with the love of God in his heart, was moved to minister to the wounded man and in so doing he was an instrument of God's love and compassion. In this he overcame prejudice, intolerance, fear and danger. He generously gave of himself, his time and money to save a brother on the road of life.

It is a story of great love; a story that brought healing and wholeness to the wounded traveller, but also a powerful witness of how love breaks down barriers that divide people into opposing groups. God's love in our hearts moves us to do what love requires. We love because God is love, and He first loved us.

I know it is out of love that you, our prayer partners, pray for OHFI and the children, families and communities we serve. Thank you for your prayers. Your prayers bring healing and wholeness into the lives of people, far away and of different cultures, but nevertheless fellow travellers on the road of life. Your prayers also help to break down cultural and religious barriers enabling us all to be brothers and sisters in Christ, loving one another with the love of God.

In early October this year Lun Misao and his wife Ngaiching plan to visit New Zealand at the invitation of OHFI. Lun and Ngaiching are from Manipur in India and for some years now have been Directors of OHFI ministry in Kolkata. While in New Zealand they will speak to interested groups in various centres about their ministry in Kolkata and Manipur.

The visit is an opportunity to express thanks to Lun and Ngaiching for the depth of their love and dedication to the poor and vulnerable, as well as raise awareness and support for the OHFI ministry to impoverished and vulnerable children and their families.

From the 6th of October Lun and Ngaiching will spend a week in the Auckland region. From the 13th they will be in the Wellington region for a week. We warmly welcome you if possible to come and meet with Lun and Ngaiching.

For more information please contact Debbie Brenton at
📧 Debbie@ohfint.org or 📞 0272565553

Please pray for all the planning required for the success of the visit; that it will be a blessing for Lun and Ngaiching as well as for the OHFI ministry.

Romania

Alice Winter, Director of Hannah, has sent the following report after facilitating successful training to social workers in Turges Mures last month.

HANNAH Romania

We continue to praise God for the encouraging time and the many blessings we experienced during our visit to Romania last month. For the joy of reconnecting and strengthening long term relationships and also exploring the wonderful possibility of new partnerships and relationships. All this is through Christ who has called us to work together to bring his love, hope and healing for children and families who need support. God is good.

Please pray for HANNAH, especially for God's wisdom as we seek to further develop partnerships with another like-minded organisation.

Pray for Ilona, our HANNAH representative on the ground in Romania, for her health and her pregnancy as she is going through a time of ill health.

Thank you for your prayers,
Alice

Kolkata – India

OHFI has worked in Kolkata since 2000. From the main centre, 6 tuition centres in various nearby impoverished areas have been established, along with the provision of social work, parenting education and medical clinics. A sewing education project for girls is being re-established after closure because of Covid.

Lun writes –
We thank Jason (from NZ) for sponsoring the restart of our sewing project in the OHFI house in Kolkata. Jason's sponsorship has enabled us to provide much-needed air conditioning and the sewing machines required.

Kindly pray that the sewing project gets under way well to the benefit of the young women learning sewing.

Kindly pray for God's healing and blessing on children in the tuition centres. Many of our children in Kolkata are sick due to fevers and colds and coughs. Our doctor is helping, and is providing medication, but it is taking longer for the children to recover.

Manipur – India

The political situation in Manipur remains uneasy with underlying tension between the Hindu Meitei people and the Christian Kuki-Ko communities. Even though the state is now ruled by President's Rule from New Delhi, no permanent resolution has been arrived at between the parties in conflict.

Athang Touthang, founder of OHF in Manipur, is on a mission promoting peace and reconciliation among all the people of Manipur. Prayer is an essential feature of establishing a lasting reconciliation.

Gary Touthang, son of Athang, is the Principal of the OHFI PMA School in Kangpokpi, Manipur, with approximately 700 pupils. The school became a significant refugee centre during the recent tribal/religious conflict in Manipur. Gary writes that they are now restarting the Junior College Class (Class 11) with 120 new students.

Grant Brenton, Chair of OHFI, also writes:
"Thanks to God for the large influx of senior students being enrolled at PMA Junior College (120 new pupils in Year 11). It now requires planning to complete the remaining 2 classrooms of the new school building. The building now boasts principal's office, staff room, toilets, 3 laboratories and 10 classrooms."

Walpabung School

OHFI in Manipur also runs a rural school at Walpabung, near the border with Myanmar. The school has approximately 50 students. Walpabung is a poor area where the OHFI team led by Athang Touthang is working hard to lift the community out of poverty and a dependence on illicit crops through education and good alternative farming crops. At present, though, heavy rains and flooding are bringing additional hardships to the villagers.

Despite the floods, Grant Brenton is able to comment on the progress being made with new farming projects.

Grant writes –
Thanks to God that despite the Walpabung flooding issues, the local school goat and cow sustainability project is progressing well with progeny produced and thriving.

Khousabung Centre

Lun and Ngaiching have recently established this centre in Manipur marked by poverty and the lack of schooling for the children. To overcome these deficiencies, they have set up a tuition centre for the children and a pig project for adults to raise the standard of living.

Lun writes –
Please pray for our pig project at Khousabung village. Ten families are involved in this project. We bought 20 piglets; four piglets died and sixteen piglets survived.

We have provided some medicines to the villagers. Kindly find pictures of our visits and videos of children at the tuition centre in this link:
🔗 https://youtu.be/6DbGzIjpWsg

Please pray:

● For the political situation in Manipur

● For the restart of the Junior College in PMA Kangpokpi and in particular for the new enrolment of 120 Year 11 students

● For the relief of the flooding in Walpabung that has brought extra suffering to the people. The road into the village is impassable, requiring people to wade across the flooded rivers

Mozambique

Felito Utuie, Director of Africa on Fire (OHFI's partner in Mozambique), writes:
"We are thankful for all the prayers since the elections last year. At the moment, things have calmed down. All the violence has stopped. Now children are going to school freely.

Our team on the ground are safe and doing a great job taking care of the children.

Our prayer need is that peace prevails and everyone remains safe, and that with all the issues the country is facing, these children will be provided for in a good way.

Thank you for all your prayers."
Felito

Rwanda

Gilbert Muhire is the new Director of PHARP (Peace building, healing and reconciliation project), with whom OHFI has had a partnership for many years. God has blessed this joint ministry to the benefit of many children, families and communities.

Gilbert writes –
"We especially thank God for the recent provision of 40 pigs to the most vulnerable parents of Rukambura, as well as the ongoing fundraising efforts (in NZ) to purchase 35 sewing machines to support young women graduating from sewing training schools across Rwanda.

This initiative is empowering them to start their own small businesses and gain financial independence. We are also thankful for the ongoing support towards financing the construction of the school in Gicumbi."

Gilbert's prayer requests:

● Wisdom to be faithful stewards of both God's resources and the community we serve

● Provision of funds to complete the school under construction at Gicumbi, which will help us expand our vision of offering quality Christian education to children in kindergarten and primary levels

● Financial support to launch a vocational training school in sewing in September 2025, specifically for teen mothers, so we can walk alongside them through parenting and mental health support

● Sustainable resources to support the daily operations of our PHARP head office