Bill Whitener of First Church, Hickory, was a member of the Jim Ponder Ministries Team for the 1997 Kiev, Ukraine, crusade. Held during the country¼s sixth anniversary of its independence, the week-long crusade saw more than 18,000 people respond to the invitation to become a Christian. Following a television broadcast of the crusade, even more people responded by letter to the call.

The Central crusade was the 12th in a series of regional capital crusades planned for the Ukraine in partnership with the Ukraine Union of Evangelical Christians.

Tom Knight of Pitts Church, Harissburg, was among several North Carolinians volunteering with the Amity Foundation, a Chinese Christian Service organization co-sponsored by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, to teach English to residents of Lanzhou, China. "I taught conversational English over four weeks to a group of 20 doctors," he said. "This was a real blessing to be able to spend time with them while building friendships.

"Though most of my faith sharing was done through my actions, I had some chances to speak openly about my Christian faith," Knight said. "This experience has been one of the best of my life."

Seventy-six volunteers worked throughout China in the foundation¼s summer program, the largest number of teachers ever participating. Among those participating from North Carolina were Mildred Rash, Gladys Foster and Coy and Betty Privette, all of Winston-Salem. The Privettes served on the faculty at Nanping Teachers College, Nanping, Fujian, China.

"If you want to experience a religious revival, go to China," said Privette, who is interim pastor of Friendship Church, Salisbury. "I continue to hear and read about the persecution of Christians in China," Privett said. "I did not face any restrictions whatsoever in the classroom nor in the churches where I had the privilege of sharing the Good News."

The Privettes have volunteered with the foundation every summer for the past three.

Tom Knight poses with the group of 20 Chinese doctors who were his English students.