A Cup of Good News: Recent Episodes
Dean Kershner Gospelink
Yarin Palczak
This is the trophy photo that Yarin sent with his last report. On the right is Mr. Mie, a man who murdered his own people 50 years ago, but when he heard the gospel, he knew “he needed Jesus.”
Such a missionary can be fully sponsored and supported at $200 a month.
“How can they hear unless someone is sent?” We praise the Lord that Yarin Palczak is willig and sent!
Not a posed photo- This is Charles Malekano sharing his faith in his Lord with people out beside the corn field.
Charles has a regular itinerary of school evangelism in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Charles sent this photo to his sponsors in a recent report. He said that these young men had contacted him for counsel an advice in some of life’s issues.
Charles Malekano— Over 80, still sharing the gospel with his people!
Samuel Vinkhumbo distributes maize to hungry villagers. This food was purchased with money given to Gospelink from people in the United States, but Samuel is the feet and hands on the ground.
Unloading the truck
People’s souls need to eat, too.
Near Pokhara, Nepal.
This is the edge of the village which used to do human sacrifice, but now they have abandoned this evil practice “because it caused death.” When you see this photo please pray that God would totally defeat the principalities over this region.
This is a Hindu Monkey Temple in Nepal. In USA the schools teach that we came from monkeys, and in Nepal they worship monkeys.
Give to the Gospelink 50K Bible match A photo from Afghanistan. How many of these homes have a hidden Bible?
A mother and child on a street in Kabul.
This photo was taken in 2025.
If the Lord leads you to sponsor Pastor Reza from Iran on a monthly basis, please email me. Dean@cupofgoodnews.org
In December Abu Randahl’s family observed the Advent of Christ in the secrecy of their own home and even in English!
Video of the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wUrSuHgnN0
You can copy and paste the URL or click the button below.
Short video of Mzuzu Crisis Nursery This second button is to watch Dean Kershner playing with Kondwerani at the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery.
Dean at the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery Dean Kershner stands with Anna inside the Crisis Nursery Center of Mzuzu. The statement behind them is the Word of God, a truth that has guided both of their lives.
Perhaps you may not be able to “Visit” the fatherless at the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery, but you could invest “Treasure” in these children and in this ministry. A monthly sponsorship also results in quarterly updates through Gospelink.
Opportunity to give to Mzuzu Crisis Nursery
A recent photo of Salome with her father, Kakha Chkaidze, a Gospelink supported preacher.
Salome
The miracle child that God brought to a couple who lives by faith!
A missionary doesn’t need a platform or a large audience. A missionary simply needs to be available to share the light of the gospel. This photo was taken in Mzuzu, Malawi. I was really struggling with jet lag, but while my friends were shopping for supplies, I sat down and talked to this young man about spiritual things.
This photo was taken on a Sunday morning when we got lost and couldn’t arrive at our destination. It seemed to me that God had another plan in mind that morning. Zach Nkata and I had a long time of discussion and sharing with these men, who were not in church. We told them how we were lost for the morning, but we were not lost for eternity! A missionary must be instant, in season, out of season, always ready to share the Word.
A monastery built on the roof top of the world in the Himalayan Mountains.
Another one
This man ha dedicated his life to pursuing Buddhist enlightenment, and for the first time in his life, he is reading the light of the teachings of Christ Jesus.
Pages of the Bible, translated by Looey and brought as a gift for the Buddhist monks.
These ornate entrances into the monastery must garnish admiration for their beauty, but they do not offer life.
“The Entrance of they words giveth light. . .” Psalm 119 This will lead to life!
Antony and Lini on their wedding day.
This photo was taken in Georgia at an evangelism training conference.
Evangelizing among the Georgians.
Indians taking the gospel into the homes of Georgians.
Joan Liana - born earlier this year- 2024.
This is a link to both photos and info about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the group Abdul Amir wanted to join: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/irans-revolutionary-guards
Abdul and Sachganna on their wedding day.
An Iranian flag, a cross overhead, and the blessing of the Lord!
Together in the Republic of Georgia
Together with Pastor Reza
Nickolai and Tatianna Boicheski and their family-- from the heart of Russia.
Ministering to international students
This photo shows the home church of the Boicheskis. Russians--who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
A photo from 1989 of the USSR ship, Marshall Ustinov, pulling out of Norfolk Naval base.
Olga's father came to America with this fleet.
The Marshall Ustinov docked in USA.
A park in the city of Murmansk where Olga lived during the school year. This is not Olya and her mother in the photo, but the park would have been frequented often by Olga. This photo was taken in the 1990s, a time in Olga's life when she was asking her mother how to find God.
Gregori is on the far left, the pastor next, and Dr. Doty Murphy with the Norman Rockwell necktie.
In this close up, Gregori looks kind and pleasant, and obviously, he could be. But believe me, I remember his penetrating eyes. . . and testimony of faithfulness.
Pastor Gunnar's wife, once bound in physical and spiritual bondage, sings to her Savior and teaches others to trust Him and follow Him.
Brendie in Bhutan--praying to the Most High God, and teaching people in his home.
Consider supporting this Church Planting Initiative through Gospelink. Call our office: 434-485-7007
Pastor Kachala is on the brink of his 90th birthday, but this photo was taken in August 2024. He has visited a school, and he is giving a soccer ball as a gift to the school.
Over a decade ago, this motorcycle was purchased for a national preacher named Gerston Kachala!
Pastor Gerston Kachala Dean took this photo in the village of Suluwi, Malawi. Pastor Kachala loves children, and has led many to know who Jesus is.
Oleg Taran has turned his basement into a wood working shop for his children.
Alexandra (Mom) behind her dear children, displaying their own personal Bible story book for children.
Seryozha and Slavik, the two brothers, most recently adopted from Bakhmut.
Oleg and Alexandra sent this photo with their report. They said this was a photo of Bakhmut taken two years ago near where the two boys lived with their grandparents.
Same place, photo taken in 2022. The grandfather of Seryozha and Slavik was killed with thousands of others in this city with now significant strategic purpose.
Children in the wood workshop
Below is Dima.
To support Oleg and Alexandra Taran and their family, Call Gospelink 434-485-7007 The Taran children playing “football” — this is the before photo. (Seryozha from Bakhmut is the taller boy.)
This is the “After” photo of the soccer match!
Julia’s birthday — She turned 17.
Ordinary people who serve a supernatural God experience extraordinary events in their lives.
Anatoly Lalenko in the middle of this group of Ukrainian village Christians. No group was too small for Anatoly, just like no soul was too insignificant for our Lord Jesus Christ!
Loading the car as much as possible with gifts and fruits for people at the leprosy hospital
Unloading at the leprosy hospital
This man heard the gospel because a national preacher risked going to a leprosy hospital.
A photo on the way to the leprosium
Wildlife along the way
Meas Ra in Cambodia stands with a few elderly and a majority of children in a village in Cambodia where he has planted a church.
Meas Ra sent this photo to his sponsors with the caption; **“New Church leaders.”**
A baptism in 2023 in India Praying in India. The followers of Christ have always faced persecution throughout history. May our Lord show us how to support and encourage our brethren in Asia.
Kharkov has been a beautiful city, but this beauty is temporal. It’s bombardment and destruction has led people to find something that is eternal— salvation in Jesus Christ!
Email me if the Lord leads you to support the Evangelism and Outreach Initiative in Ukraine.
Dean@cupofgoodnews.org Link to donate to The Evangelism and Outreach Initiative for Ukraine This photo was taken of a school building on the first week of the war in February 2022.
Villages on the road between Kharkov and the Russian border were demolished.
This photo was taken the first day that I met Anatoly Lalenko. The year was 2003, and we are gathered in the basement of a church in Zaparozhoe, Ukraine. All of these dear men could have their own “files” written about them, and ten of them became supported through Gospelink. Anatoly sits on the right side of the table. He is second from the edge with both hands on the table.
If you are led of the Lord to support the ministry of national preachers in Ukraine at this time-a time of war and need- please contact me to discuss this.Dean@cupofgoodnews.org
Zimbabwe borders Victoria Falls, a place of great beauty. . . and danger.
I met this guard in the city of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
He was friendly and glad to have his photo taken, which I did because he was GUARDING A CHURCH BUILDING!
Another photo I took in Harare. If I remember correctly, this was also at a church.
Simon Mpongwe, supported through Gospelink, baptized a new convert in Zimbabwe in a home made baptismal!
Dean Kershner eats an orange with two Gospelink preachers. Simon Mpongwe is seated in the middle. Gospelink is committed to interacting with the national preachers on an annual basis to keep accountability high and to encourage them to be faithful. We are linked together through the love and “sonship” of our Father and Savior. We are together in the work of the gospel.
Without God’s direction in prayer, this baptism would never have taken place. Without God’s provision these children would never have been rescued.
Shadrach Galatia with Pamphero
Pamphero was one of the first orphan children to come and live at Harvest Hope Home in Malawi. His name is “Prayer” in the Chichewa language. Who named their son “Prayer” before dying?
Too many people have interpreted “Blessings” from the Lord as material gain and earthly comfort. Our Father in heaven desires us to enjoy the blessings of a spirit filled life: JOY - RELATIONSHIPS - LAUGHTER - PEACE - LOVE - CLEAR CONSCIENCE - FRIENDS - WORSHIP - PURPOSE. . . The list goes on and can be read in the New Testament Scriptures. These are provided by the Holy One.
This is a photo of a village in Nepal — a village where foreign missionaries will most likely never reside— a village that must be reached with the gospel by national preachers.
To the left of this photo, Buddy McLean’s right hand can be seen as he talks to two godly men in Nepal. (One is not in the photo.) Gospelink is committed to accountability and personal involvement with our national preachers.
This is Magwen, whom you heard about in the episode. Her leg was healed this year, and she has turned away from Hinduism this year and believes in Jesus as her savior, for so He is!
Magwen is of course an alias, and her face is blurred to protect her identity presence online.
*“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation. . .”*
Isaiah 52:7
In 1992 the majority of Russians were open to hear about spiritual things. They knew they had been deceived, and they had a hunger to hear truth.
***“My dear Dean, Thank you so much for showing me a way to God. I have been a great Communist sinner, but now I have found peace for my soul. I will spend the rest of my life teaching young people and my grandson about this God.”***
This photo was taken at a second return to Albert’s school. This time we knew how welcome we were!
You think your ministry is difficult? Move to Mozambique. However, the Lord of the harvest is raising up His people to penetrate this very broken part of the world.
No purpose, no answers, and a government that prohibits the Word of God! Foreign missionaries did not reach Ya Wa Hoo, but God's grace did!
Food is different, language is different, clothing is different, and I've never had monkeys in my garden! But the need for a Savior is the great common denominator for every human being no matter where they live!
Selling firewood was more than a hobby for Yun Meak -- it was his livelihood. Today he seeks to gather souls!
An Iranian family and a Gospelink field director meet for the first time in a former republic of the Soviet Union. But they are not alone. The God of salvation is among them.
Born and raised in Iran — even born again in Iran, but today Reza is not in Iran. He is elsewhere. But he is not idle. In fact being elsewhere enables him to reach more of his own people both abroad and back in Iran.
Pastor Reza preaches here on the left. Beside him stands another Gospelink supported, Cup of Good News preacher - Kakhaber Chkadzi.
This building stands in Tehran. It was one of two churches legally open in the year 2000. Reza’s mother went here and met Christians who lived in hope and joy despite their persecution.
Make it stand out
This is a photo of the inside — 23 years ago. Today these believers are abroad or underground, but the hunger for spiritual truth in Iran is only increasing!
Below is a recent Iranian decoration in the church to commemorate and remind people of the struggle in the Iranian church today.
A deaf choir in Ethiopia, worshiping God with their fingers and hands!
Tefera Berecha
Signing at a conference for the deaf
A congregation of people who cannot hear with their ears but who have gathered because they want to have the Word of God in their hearts.
Learning another language can be a useful skill. Here, Dean Kershner spells his name to two deaf pastors supported through Gospelink.
30 seconds of a meal in Ethiopia To support a national preacher or to give a one time gift for the deaf ministry in Ethiopia please call:
434-485-7007 - The Gospelink office
Wille Hunter stands in front of a newly constructed church building in Tanzania with Pastor Pawde and two other Gospelink preachers. There is no mortgage on this building, but people hear the invaluable Word of God taught on a weekly basis.
Pastor Pawde serves as a missionary to surrounding areas in rural Tanzania, but this is a photo of his home church as people are exiting on a Sunday afternoon.
Pastor Pawde Mwasanje and his family.
Gospelink finds supporters in America who want to help national preachers plant churches. The actual building process takes time, but souls are being saved as evidenced by the reports you heard written by Pastor Pawde.
Bullet proof vests and helmets are issued by the government. Yuri Fedorenko proclaims God’s power and his plan of salvation.
Yuri has the privilege to be a part of a team of fervent evangelical Christians, and they most commonly go out as Jesus sent us—in pairs.
This car was purchased for Yuri’s ministry this month by funds given to Gospelink’s **Ukraine Relief** Fund. Our desire is to purchase another one as soon as possible. The cost for this vehicle was $5,000.
To buy a vehicle for a chaplain in Ukraine Gospelink often expresses the ability for national preachers to go into areas of their country which Americans cannot access. Chaplain Yuri Fedorenko is the superlative example of such an opportunity, and he is making the most of it!
Each one of these men are prepared to use the weapons of this world. Yuri stands before them and offers them truths about the Lord of hosts.
This was a photo that Shellitti took at the train station during their attempt to evacuate Kharkov and the “Military Operation” of death against Ukraine.
The weapons of this world— death and destruction, yet despite witnessing and recording such scenes from her window, Shellitti also heard the Holy Spirit’s comfort and hope from Psalm 91 during this time.
The weapons of our warfare—they are mighty towards God. This photo shows Asians praying together before our Lord and was sent to me from a contact I have in the Republic of Georgia.
If you are a male under the age of 60 you cannot leave Ukraine.
These men found refuge in a new relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Oleg Bondar (lower right) is working with these new Christians and dsicipling them through many trials in their country and with their families.
Oleg Bondar visits Liman, Ukraine Baptism that Pastor Oleg conducted in August 2022.
This is a refugee family from Lischansk. Pastor Oleg Bondar (on the right) led them to receive Christ. Their souls are changed forever!
Elena Bondar returned to the opening of school on September 1, 2022 and sent this photo.
Many of her pupils are living in western Ukraine for the time being.
Fellowship with others is a key ingredient to the health of the soul and the health of the body of Christ.
Kakha loves kids. This is a selfie he took of a busload of children he’s taking to a church function last year in 2022.
Natia (on the left) is accompanied by three girls from Tsalkah and three girls from America.
Natia with more than 50 Muslim children, hoping to turn them to the light of Jesus Christ.
Potatoes grow well in Tsalkah, but there are not many Americans who have had the privilege of serving in this manner!
Support Kakha & Natia with a recurring gift or a one time gift
Kakha and Natia gather peaches from their garden, but they also work together for spiritual fruit in Georgia.
Natia’s face shines with the joy of the Lord and with the absence of psoriasis.
Kakha and Natia with their daughter, Salome, and friend Emily.
In the 1970s Mr. Chkaidzi was hired by the KGB to spy on Christians in Georgia. Seeing godliness and light and hearing spiritual truth taught, Mr. Chkaidzi changed his career path. He became one of the foremost electric stateion managers for the Soviet state in Georgia, but more importantly he became a dad who bore good fruit. This photo was taken in 2020 with two of his grandchildren.
This photo was taken in the last ten years. Kakha and his father have lost a lot of hair, but love and respect have filled their relationship with each other.
Kakha has been a part of Gospelink since 2017. His faithfulness and commitment to the Lord Jesus are evident in his ministry and family.
“I may be bald, but I’m not stupid.” — One of Kakha’s favorite sayings.
Kakha Chkaidze and Dean Kershner harvesting potatoes in the Republic of Georgia in October 2022
The photo below was taken in Norway. Nikolai Zholovan addresses the congregation with his testimony and with the same confidence that he has always had in the Lord of his salvation.
Just a few weeks after spending a night in jail, Nikolai Zholovan walked his daughter down the aisle.
Many families and almost all of the men have left Vasiliveka. This photo was taken in recent weeks of some of the few who have not left. The one man in the photo, Vasya, was trained by Nikolai Zholovan, and he continues to lead church services and prayer meetings.
Wanangwa Kaunda graduated from Ambassador International University in 2018. Today he has returned to his home country of Malawi to serve the Lord and take what he has studied to his own people.
Link to donate to AIU You may donate by phone- Gospelink office: 434-485-7007 Pastor Philibert Mbewe This photo was taken in 2010 of Pastor Philibert Mbewe. People from Iowa sponsored this man and his family monthly through Gospelink. Philibert lived in the neighborhood where Wanangwa drove his van into the house. He reached out to Wanangwa and led him to Christ!
Ambassador International University requires students to work while staying at the campus in Zambia.
Wanagwa tending chickens as part of his work scholarship Wanangwa doing mechanic work as part of his work scholarship A happy graduate
Ignorant, unloved, and without purpose, Joao Foriche met Jesus because of a missionary from Zambia. That same preacher, Kenneth Mukoboto, recommended Joao to attend AIU, and today the unloved is loving, and the ignorant is mature in the knowledge and grace of God!
Nepal beckons people who want a challenge climbing mountains! Have you heard about the national preachers overcoming spiritual challenges in this same country of Nepal?
Bukeka was once a town of poverty and no hope in Uganda, but God used a national preacher named Ronnie to bring hope to hundreds of children, and the Lord has brought his salvation as well!
What a joy it is to know and work with people who seek God's kingdom and love to serve the Lord!
The news reporters show the bombs and destruction. One pastor writes openly and honestly about his prayers, burdens, victories, and efforts to share the gospel.
Most of us will never travel to Central Asia, but let us intercede for our brethren there who are working to make the Lord known to their people.
From humble beginnings and poor biblical foundations God raised a mighty preacher. The preacher is still humble but his message knows no kryptonite!
One god destroys life with sin and strife. Another God redeems that same life with His blood! One is an abomination and another is Amazing!
God's Word is good in every language. Today's episode features more than one story of God using His Word to convert souls!
Availability is a character quality that both Christians and unmarried people should display. As Josiah watched the war break out in Ukraine, the Lord moved his heart to go and serve there. This is his report.
A young man attends a rally in October 2016. A riot follows, a capture follows, torture follows. Only God's hand can bring good news out of this mayhem. God did just that!
Summer camps offer excitement, fun, food, and new experiences. Many people will come to a camp when they would never set foot inside a church building. Thus, the Holy Spirit must also love summer camp because he has spoken to many in the "out-of-doors" and around nightly campfires. May such camps increase!
The first bombs hit the Berdyansk airport, very close to the apartment where Maxim Gruba lives with his wife and three children. This is his report of how He served the Lord and his people and where the Lord has brought him.
The news coming out of Congo saddens the hearers, unless that news comes from a national preacher who is reaching pagans, Muslims, and kidnappers.
The political upheaval in Zimbabwe has created a culture in which no one is sure whom to trust, but God uses open windows to protect His people!
The invasion of Ukraine vexes all the citizens of that country, but the people who know Jesus Christ continue to bear witness of their Lord their rock whether in bomb shelters, or driving humanitarian aid, or facing the need to join the refugees.
Thousands find themselves as sojourners or refugees, far away from the home they desire, but one national preacher shares with people in such situations the confidence of an eternal home with the King of kings!
Foreign missionaries speak from the stage and fly on airplanes. National missionaries pick up drunks and live the gospel in front of their neighbors.
Dictators and armies try to control their world with force and brutality, but God's people offer charity, kindness, sacrifice, and truth. These are the weapons that our Lord gave the church to enable us to be overcomers.
When the Lord of hosts sees the Enemy come in like a flood, He lifts up a standard. Today our brethren in Ukraine are a standard of righteousness and endurance, and they are serving and praising. Lift them up!
God prepares, and God provides as we have heard previously from Dr. Lini's life. However God also sends, and in this episode, she relates how her Lord is directing her and her team to spread His good news!
India needs doctors and gospel preachers, but the Lord of the harvest creatively sends out his followers. This episode recounts amazing direction and miraculous provision of one such Indian, working for her Savior.
As she watched her father and mother care for the poor and the neglected, she also witnessed the protection and care of her heavenly father. As she came to know Him and love Him, he prepared her heart to serve Him and speak for Him in a foreign country.
In Cambodia there is freedom to share the gospel. Ken Nrong shares with his relatives, with the poor, and with a traveling ice cream man. The results vary, but the gospel seed is good seed.
You would think that a mercy of mission to desperate people in a war zone would find smooth sailing not slippery ice and a wreck. Yet God’s work is accomplished in perseverance and by individuals like Vladimir Pavlenko, who is not faint of heart.
Great crowds? Published books? Fame? What credentials make a Christian successful? God measures greatness differently. I have seen it so in Central Asia.
A boy in Kuwait, a teenager in Iran, and an adult surrounded by falsehood and loss. Will he find truth and the way of life living in Iran?
Chisomo Hope, Bridgette, Ethel, Blessings, & Pamphelo are all children in Malawi who were rescued because God's people were willing to give their time, their service, their finances in order to see children saved!
When Darina opened a Christmas shoebox with a pair of new socks and toys, she never knew that her joy could be greater, but that shoebox also led her to the source of all joy!
Without wanting to cause a scene, Helix drives his old warn out Datsun past a busy mosque, but his new disciples raise eyebrows and ire as they cry out Jesus' name, and Helix must face an armed assault.
A regional witchdoctor welcomes a national preacher with threats and curses, but nightfall turns the tables on the curser.
Mr. Veigh's reputation enticed no one to befriend him or visit his house, but Kan Voo, a national preacher, paid a visit one afternoon bringing prayer and power.
Pastor Ackim Chali expects a warmer welcome in an unknown village than he initially receives. Unexpectedly he encounters a thief which proves to be no small door for the gospel.
Drawn to the city for the purpose of death, a young woman instead sits at tea with a national preacher and hears about the Bread of life.
Zoya was looking to make a “quick buck.” She offered to tell Pastor Vassilli’s future, expecting in exchange a little silver. Gypsy people are a minority group in much of Ukraine, and very often they are feared or discriminated against. God so loved the “whole” world — including they gypsies. Pastor Vassilliy Semchishin demonstrated that truth on the day when he told Zoya that he knew an insight into her future, and when she tore her hand away out of fear and suspicion, Vassilliy reached back for it and assured her that there was a God who cared about her.
In this photo Vassilliy sits on the left, Zoya on the left.
Pastor Vassilliy is Russian, but living in Ukraine, he has a soft guttural accent when saying the letter “G.” Therefore he would tell you that he lives in the town of Marhanets’, on the north bank of the Dniper River. I pronounced it with the hard “G,” as it is spelled in Russian. Either spelling should enable you to find it on Google Maps.
A cantankerous, crippled teenager encounters acceptance and kindness from a man who was himself abandoned and unvalued until rescued.
A young man, determined not to accept foreign influences, is in fooled by his sister to hear a message that changes his destiny!