Typhoon Halong “lashed Japan on Saturday as the country headed into a holiday week, causing the authorities to order the evacuation of a half-million people living near swollen rivers and canceling hundreds of flights” (Associated Press, August 9, 2014). By Monday, over 1.6 million people were told to evacuate and at least ten were dead.

As women in God’s Church, when we look around our congregations we see people of different ages, different ethnicities, different socio-economic backgrounds, and different personalities. We can see that God is calling people from all walks of life. Certainly, God loves variety!

One of the most serious crimes of global proportions is human trafficking, which in the 21st century is second only to drug trafficking in terms of magnitude. The term “human trafficking” in a broad sense is often defined as the illegal trade of humans for the purpose of sexual and labor exploitation.

After a month of fighting, a cease-fire has been declared and negotiating has begun in Egypt between Israel and Hamas (MSN.com, August 5, 2014).

“In the rankings of the globe’s most prosperous countries, this economic powerhouse of 82 million has now leapfrogged Canada, Britain, Italy and Spain to become the largest destination for immigrants after the United States… Because of a morbidly low birthrate, the population here is shrinking, raising the pivotal question of who will keep the massive German economy humming in the years ahead” (Washington Post