By now, you’ve probably read reports about the massive cyclone that has left thousands dead and many more missing in Burma. Mission Network News reports:

The death toll could rise to over tens of thousands in Myanmar after a cyclone struck early Saturday, according to government sources. State radio says 22-thousand have died and thousands more are missing.

Some news sources report that the government’s response thus far has been slow or lacking. The road systems are not in good shape and communications are essentially down.

It is predicted that the cyclone may have the largest death toll since the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia which killed 181,000 people in its path. “Obviously hundreds of thousands of lives are being terribly impacted, having lost their bamboo homes and watching their family members die. It’s been horribly devastating,” said Gospel for Asia’s K.P. Yohannan.

It’s difficult to fathom that much death and destruction. And it’s all too easy to chalk it up as another “other side of the world” crisis that doesn’t affect us, and move on to the next headline. But when disasters like this strike, there is tremendous opportunity and need for a Christlike response. Among the many ministries and organizations already responding to the crisis are two from the Gospel.com community:

• Gospel for Asia, which has converted its Bible college in Rangoon into a makeshift shelter for refugees and survivors. They set up the shelter after the local police station was destroyed; it’s currently providing shelter to over 80 people, plus 70 children from a nearby orphanage that was destroyed.
• International Aid, which has a lot of experience responding to crises like this, is calling for financial help in organizing a large-scale relief effort.

In addition to these ministries, organizations such as the Red Cross are already reacting to the situation. Consider whether you can help out by supporting one of these relief efforts—and be sure to put the entire situation at the top of your prayer list. If and when we hear of other ministries in our community getting involved with relief efforts, we’ll note them here.

Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.

When the worst movie released on a given week is merely an uninspired romantic comedy starring Patrick Dempsey, you’re not doing too bad.

Leading the pack, of course, is the much-anticipated Iron Man, a comic book superhero PG-13 adaptation starring Robert Downey, Jr. Michael Brunk was wholly won over. “If Iron Man is any indication of what we can expect this summer,” he says, “I think we’re in for a great time.”

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The Navigators celebrate their 75th year of ministry this year! They serve in over 100 countries with the goal of creating new disciples of Jesus Christ. 4000 people of 64 nationalities comprise the Navigators.

Impressive numbers don’t equal spiritual success though. The Navigators are still around because of their heartfelt mission and devotion to strategically influence people for Christ across a broad range of people. For more on this read their direction page and their mission page.

I really like the story of how their ministry got started:

The ministry of The Navigators began in the 1930’s through the call of God to a young Californian blue-collared worker, Dawson Trotman. Dawson caught a vision to teach discipleship principles he found fruitful in his own life. He began to teach high school students and local Sunday school classes. Then in 1933, he and his friends began to extend their work among sailors in the U.S. Navy.

Dawon taught sailor Les Spencer the principles of Christian growth. They spent many hours together praying, studying the Bible, and memorizing Scripture. When one of Spencer’s shipmates asked him the secret of his changed life, Spencer brought the man to Trotman. “Teach him what you taught me,” Spencer said. “You teach him!” Trotman responded. And that was the beginning of The Navigators.

Spencer did teach the sailor, and soon the two men were meeting with others. Eventually, 125 men on their ship, the U.S.S. West Virginia, were growing in Christ and actively sharing their faith.

Read more about it here.

If you’re looking for more information on The Navigators, you can check them out on the web in a few different places:

US site

UK site

Canadian site