By Melissa Wuske

Persecution Does Not Stop Chinese Churches

A Chinese church member told China Aid, a Christian human rights group, that despite persecution, churches are growing. Hundreds of believers and ministers in the region of Guizhou have been arrested by the communist government, but he still sees people’s lives changing as the church grows.

“According to the Bible, the church grows even faster under persecution. In China, even though there is so much persecution, the church still grows. Personally, from my perspective as a Christian, I don’t think all this persecution is totally a bad thing [since it helps the church grow],” the man said.

Still he asked the United States and other nations not to ignore the suffering of believers in China. “The international community can put some pressure on the Chinese government from all different angles.” He also pointed to the possible role of Chinese students studying abroad in raising awareness of persecution. “There must be a lot of Chinese students in the United States or in Europe. Most of them may not be Christians, but no matter what, if they stay in the United States, sooner or later some people will teach Christianity to them. Maybe we can go through some channels so that most of the overseas students can get involved in distributing all this news.”

New Therapy May Alter the Course of Cancer

New immunotherapy drugs are showing promise in the fight against cancer. Atezolizumab was tested to fight bladder cancer by blocking specific antibodies. “If you use an antibody or drug that blocks that interaction … you can’t activate the [immune system’s] brakes anymore, and the immune system attacks the cancer,” said Arjun Balar, of the NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Immunotherapy tends to have fewer side effects than chemotherapy. Additionally “with chemotherapy drugs [tumors] shrink, but then they grow again, almost universally,” Balar said. “Whereas, with immune therapy drugs, they shrink and they tend to stay that way. What we’re seeing is that maybe the immune therapy is working in ways beyond just shrinking tumors. It’s altering the disease course for some people.”

Chick-fil-A Donates Food in Orlando

In the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando that killed nearly 50 people and injured dozens more, Chick-fil-A employees at several Orlando-area restaurants came in to work on Sunday, when the store is traditionally closed. They prepared and delivered meals to people waiting in line to donate blood to help the victims of the shooting. These acts of kindness had added significance since the shooting occurred at an LGBTQ night club and the restaurant chain has vocally opposed homosexuality.

Medical Solutions for Refugees

Harald Neidhardt and Mirko Bass have found a solution to medical access for refugees in Germany. The Refugee First Response Center they created, located near a refugee camp in Hamburg, houses small offices for doctors in repurposed shipping containers. Each doctor has access to online translators so that no matter their native language, patients can receive quality care. Having translators off-site makes the office less crowded and gives the patients more privacy, as cameras can be turned off as requested.

“We see that the model works,” Niehardt said. “Not only the language, but also just having a clean, amazing and functional doctor’s office.”

Melissa Wuske is a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband, Shawn, live and minister in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Find her work online (melissaannewuske.com).