Dear Friend, All of us at SIM share the sense of devastation and loss our nation is feeling at this time. The destruction that Hurricane Katrina left behind is truly beyond comprehension, and we have been in fervent prayer that God would show Himself mighty in this situation and that His people would lead the way in meeting needs and sharing hope. As you know, SIM is deeply committed to meeting human needs wherever we are serving. Because the focus of our work is in specific countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, we are not logistically prepared to formally organize relief efforts for the victims of Katrina. We encourage God's people throughout our nation to pray for the victims and to give through other responsible evangelical agencies that are assisting in the relief efforts as they share the gospel message. Hurricane Katrina is also a vivid reminder to us of the millions of people around the world who regularly experience the same kind of dire conditions we Americans are now witnessing on our own soil. Even while we reach out to minister to those suffering from hunger, thirst, and the need for shelter in our own country, we should be reminded of our ongoing responsibility to minister to those who have suffered--sometimes for decades--from the same afflictions in other countries. Thank you for your faithful support of these ministries, and thank you for your continued prayer that God will enable us as we serve people and share the hope that only Christ can give. May God bless you! In Christ, Steve Strauss

If I had to choose a theme for this issue of Harvest, it would be the apostle Paul's word to the church in Corinth, (1 Cor. 4:2). Last May, veteran SIM missionaries Ben and Gerlinde Skaggs were enjoying some well-deserved time away in Germany, Gerlinde's home country. Unfortunately, she was severely injured in a fall from her bicycle during a family outing. BURKINA FASO Your prayers and generous gifts to SIM are a tremendous blessing to tens of thousands of hungry people in Burkina Faso. This spring, SIM alerted our supporters to the needs of desperate families in this West African nation where many crops were lost to insufficient rains and a locust plague. The compassionate response of donors like you has, to date, enabled SIM to deliver 59 tons of grain to needy people in eight regions--an outreach of care in Christ's name that has helped feed more than 15,000 families! The loss in these areas was tragic, as subsistence farmers with no food reserves watched their crops wither from drought and fall to the worst invasion of locusts since 1988. The locusts stripped entire harvests bare, eating every green leaf in sight.

SUDAN God has opened exciting doors for you and other committed SIM ministry partners to help shape the future of southern Sudan through Rebuilding Sudan: Nation and Church. A recent peace agreement formally ended two decades of civil war that killed more than two million people and left the south in ruins. Please pray that as God uses SIM and your partnership to rebuild Sudan, the church there will also be put on solid footing for future outreach and discipleship. Pray for this major initiative on the part of these churches as they partner with SIM to help people who are struggling to recover from more than two decades of civil war. AFRICA Thanks in large part to your commitment to SIM's long-standing Pastor's Library Project, another 20,000 pastors in Africa will have a library of more than 50 Bible study and reference books to enhance their ministries and strengthen their people.