Yes, the state was afraid for the church. But no, living as a Christian was not impossible in the Socialist Eastern Germany. “From my father, I have never heard bitter things about other people.”

Chiara had always known that her church in Italy had some connection with “Lausanne 1974”. But that became more concrete when she visited the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Seoul, last month.

Turkish Protestantism is young and growing fast. In the past 60 years, the number of Turkish Protestants in the country increased from practically zero to more than 10,000. For years, Dr James Bultema searched for an explanation. He found it in a correlation of several fertile conditions.

In South Korea, the largest missionary conference is happening this week. Some 5,000 participants from around the world are considering how best to engage people with the Gospel, especially in this day and age.

Homes destroyed. Belongings swept away. Loved ones missing. That is the reality this week after massive water floods in many parts of Central Europe.