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August 19, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Our planet is hurting and may be angry. I’m no “Henny Penny” declaring that the sky is falling but I’m very concerned, as are you I think, about current global disasters. Here’s a summary:

WILDFIRES

North American conflagrations in the Northwest USA and northern Canada. Mediterranean and Europe – massive spread with severe blazes in Belgium, France, Greece, England.

DROUGHT

Rhine and Danube down to a trickle. Colorado River very low. Lakes Mead and Powell levels so low that the electrical power for millions of Americans is at risk.

FLOODS 

Central USA devastated with flash flooding – especially Indiana. Regions of India, China, Pakistan, Nepal inundated. Torrential rainfall Chad, Sudan, Kenya. 

CYCLONES

East Asia under several storm and tsunami warnings.

EARTHQUAKES

Venezuela, Colombia, Indonesia. 

LAND DEGRADATION

Amazon deforestation creating both a tinder box for wildfires and a serious reduction of a huge carbon sink. 40% of global population impacted by $577 billion loss in crop production. 

Anyone who reads the Bible is aware of the dire warnings of the Book of Revelation. It is “apocalyptic” literature with regard to the end of days. Much of it is difficult to grasp. However in the 16th chapter there is reference to what are called “bowls of wrath” that will precede the final curtain on the world’s history in space and time. Three of those “bowls” resonate with our present day: Verse 8 says the earth will be “seared” by fire and intense heat. Verse 12 says that great rivers will dry up, and verse 18 warns about earthquake and hailstorms. 

With millions of us suffering from extreme temperatures, and hundreds of thousands lacking food and potable water, to say nothing of destroyed homes, one wonders if we are experiencing the initial rumblings of the end. I’m no end-time prophet but, like you, I’m more than impacted by the Bible’s fair warning. As believers have prayed over the centuries I pray, “Even so come Lord Jesus”.

August 05, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Maybe for the first time in our lives many if not all of western nations are feeling a new sense of vulnerability. It’s not only the rising fear of the escalation of war, with the entire Middle East on the verge, but also the hacking of water systems, and, as one recent headline put it,”the world is on fire”. The raging wildfires in Europe and North America have us all on edge.

We need help, not from governments but from Above.

More prayer is being prayed than ever before. We need divine intervention. We need salvation from our own warlike tendencies and from an angry planet. Indeed we need a Savior.

At a time like this the words of Psalm 121 take on fresh meaning.

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forever more.”

We all have an intuitive reflex when faced with calamity: O my God! Dear Lord help us!”

That’s the prayer of millions. Let’s remember He is “a present help to those in trouble”.

July 22, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Most of the world (at last count 1 1/2 billion!) were watching the World Cup last week. The “beautiful game”. The world’s most popular game called “football”( which we call “soccer”). It was intriguing and almost addictive. But beyond the televised drama there were several social media posts with pics of opposing teammates in prayer huddles after the games. Added to that were personal testimonials from star players about their faith in Jesus. These were bookended by strong statements of faith from Spain’s winning manager Luis de la Fuente. He spoke boldly about his faith stating that life had no meaning without belief and trust in God.

Who knew that the World Cup would become a platform for evangelism?

There is, or should be, a caveat however. Jesus made it clear that verbal profession of faith must be accompanied by a life and lifestyle of faith. “By their fruit you shall know them”, he said about true disciples. The apostle Paul stressed “the fruit of the Spirit” as vital evidence of sustainable faith. Or as the famous theologian/philosopher Soren Kierkegaard put it, ”Mere mental assent to a doctrine is not enough. Where there’s no transformation there’s no Christianity”. The scripture tells us that even the devils believe and they do something many verbal Christians never do – they “tremble”.

So it’s encouraging to see and hear world famous sportsmen state their faith. But the old adage still applies: we must “practise what we preach”.

July 8, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

I don’t know about you but reading the Bible is a constant adventure for me. It has such depth. I sometimes feel as if I’m reading it for the first time even though it’s been my key point of reference for decades. It is history, poetry, prophecy, and “good news” all in a compilation by various writers over centuries. It has inspired countless billions of readers and continues to be the all time best seller. It is the word of God. As such it transcends mere literature and speaks to both mind and heart. It truly is “a lamp unto my feet and a light into my path”.

My morality is rooted in it. My values too. Because of its timeless message I find myself living and choosing under authority with a profound sense of accountability. I’m “not my own, I’m bought with a price”.

There are, of course, several passages of scripture that have melded into my soul. One of them is Psalm 34 :

“I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall find her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. The angel of the Lord encamps about those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in him…”

I quote this psalm every morning in my prayer time. It never loses its impact. Indeed it sets me up for the day. It has a way of giving perspective. I love it and do my best to live it.

June 26, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

It’s that time of year again. WOW is multiplying your dollars!

We’ve been offered a 6 to 1 match for vitamin supplements by a major partner of ours. Since 2001, Health Partners International has worked with us in the provision of medications to our desperately needy patients. They have often given us special matching dollar value offers that have provided huge amounts of product. This current offer means that one dollar translates to six dollars of vitamins.

As many of you know, WOW has ministered in sub-Saharan Africa for over 26 years to “the least of these” – as Jesus put it – those on the margins of life whose lives are at risk because of disease and poverty. For the past 7 of those years we’ve also been engaged in India. Whether in the villages of Africa or the urban settings of India’s crowded cities, the needs of orphans and widows, the abandoned and destitute, the sick and the dying, are the same. WOW, with its partners, meets those needs and the gratitude is always palpable.

My wife Kathy and I were able to visit southern India, for the first time in a long time, in March this year, which coincided with the 30th Anniversary celebration of our partner ministry there. We walked and we drove and we sat and we listened, all in the intense heat of the subcontinent- 40°C/100+F. But oh, how inspiring! This little ministry with BIG vision is reaching into places “even angels fear to tread”.

Leaving the city we drove a few hours south to meet a community of the least of these who truly are the least. They are called “snake catchers”! “Whaat??” you say. “Snake catchers?” Yes. These are a sub-group of the population referred to as “the dark people” whose status is even below the “untouchables” caste. They are considered sub-human. Their sole role in society is to catch and remove venomous snakes that have entered Indian homes. They themselves have no fixed address. They live in tents pitched in empty fields. They are literally “outcasts”. Women and children gathered in an outdoor portico and listened to me share God’s love for them. We ate together and distributed sunbrellas. From their meagre resources we were both presented with (& honoured) with gold-coloured stoles. So humbling!

WOW has begun to support one hundred or so of these marginalized people who, like us, have been created in the image of God. We’re providing food, medication, and spiritual support through our local church-based champion volunteers.

From its very inception in 1999, WOW has been committed to answering heaven’s call to minister to the poorest of the poor who predictably are the most vulnerable to disease and premature death. When ministering to the dying, the first and most important thing is prayer. Hundreds of times a week WOW’s church based volunteers are praying with afflicted orphans and widows in their humble homes and then bending to the relentless task of physical care. We call this Home Based Care (HBC). And what are their afflictions? Most of our patients are HIV+ which makes them vulnerable to opportunistic infections and diseases like dysentery, bed sores, oral thrush, dehydration, tuberculosis, blood cancer, and even in some rare cases leprosy (!). Then there’s the added dimension of depression. Hopelessness may be the biggest challenge of all.

But praise the Lord, there is hope! We’ve seen radical transformation in the lives of these afflicted ones again and again in our quarter century of ministry. Through prayer, twice weekly visits, medications and proper nutrition, we’ve seen countless orphans and widows rise from their sick beds to full health and strength.
The transformative impact of “the hands and feet of Jesus” is powerfully evident.

A large component in that transformation is medication and nutritional support. WOW has been and continues to be a major funder and provider of medication including vitamin supplements.

Right now one dollar translates to six dollars of vitamins. In other words your donation is multiplied six times.

That kind of multiple is unheard of in the financial markets but in God’s economy it makes perfect sense. After all He “so [loves] the world” that He has given us “his only begotten Son” that we might live everlastingly. Ultimately what you and we at WOW are doing is an expression of God’s love for “the least of these”. We are both servants and co-labourers with Christ.

Let’s multiply the blessing. This time by six!

With gratitude for your stewardship,

Jim Cantelon

Yes Jim, I’ll multiply the blessing!

June 24, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

We’ve all experienced from time to time what the Spanish poet and mystic St.John of the cross referred to as “a dark night of the soul”. Or, as Psalm 23 puts it, “the valley of the shadow of death”. Darkness and despair haunt the night for countless souls. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, or so it seems.

I remember as if it were yesterday a dark valley my family went through when our daughter’s husband was tragically killed in a construction accident while teaching at a university in Zambia. My immediate response as she tearfully told me via a long distance phone call that he had died took me a bit by surprise. Shocked and with instant anguish I found myself saying, “Though he slay me yet will I trust in him”. Why Job 13:15 burst out at that moment was evidence of something Elihu asks in 35:10, “Where is God my maker, who gives songs in the night?”

The “night” of bereavement, black as it was, could not dispel “a song in the night”. That song was more than a reflex. It was witness to a “peace that passeth understanding”. The storms of life cannot wash away a faith that is built on the rock.

C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English pastor who was referred to as “the Prince of preachers”. In his powerful poetic style he preached:

“So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not go pumping up thy poor heart to make it glad. Go to thy Maker, and ask him to give thee a song in the night. Thou art a poor dry well; thou hast heard it said, that when a pump is dry, you must pour water down it first of all, and then you will get some up; and so, Christian, when thou art dry, go to God, and ask him to pour some joy down thee, and then thou wilt get some joy up from thine own heart. Do not go to this comforter or that, for you will find them Job’s comforters, after all; but go thou first and foremost to thy Maker, for he is the great composer of songs and teacher of music; he it is who can teach thee how to sing: “God, my Maker, who giveth me songs in the night.”

No, this is not the power of positive thinking nor of mind over matter. Rather it is the spring of living water that flows from the very throne of God into the hearts of all who put their trust in him.

June 10, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it;
for his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as at Mer′ibah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who err in heart,
and they do not regard my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my anger
that they should not enter my rest.

Psalm 95

WOW. Check out the key words: “joyful noise…salvation..thanks giving…songs of praise…a great King…his hands have formed…worship and bow down…he is our God…we are the people of his pasture the sheep of his hand”.
One could take several prayerful hours exploring the implications of those words. Why not take a week and read this psalm every morning? It will feed your soul.

May 27, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Recently my wife Kathy and I spent a few hours with a childhood friend of hers who has been battling several serious diseases. It’s remarkable that she is yet alive but she is. Not only alive but buoyant, good humoured, and joyful. Indeed, her attitude and worldview in the face of constant vulnerability is both countercultural and truly inspiring. We went to see her, prepared to encourage her, but found ourselves as the ones encouraged. It reminded us of our visits these past 26 years to dying orphans and widows in Africa and India.

We have visited and prayed for countless numbers of what Jesus termed “the least of these” in our Home Based Care (HBC) ministry with WOW (Working for Orphans and Widows). In concert with hundreds of local pastors and church based volunteers we have done and are doing this to bring healing, blessing, and encouragement to the dying in Jesus’ name.

Interestingly, as happened with our visit to Kathy’s dying friend, we are encouraged and inspired. Even as we pray for these afflicted ones we find ourselves uplifted by their peaceful joy and the Lord’s presence. It’s as though we are “under the shadow of his wings” by proximity to the ones in need of his touch, their vulnerability a reminder of our own.

We are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. And “the times of our lives are in his hands”. What’s more, our short lives here are merely preparation for everlasting life on the other side. Death awaits us all. But for those who die in faith it will be a glorious homecoming. So like our friend whose days are numbered so are ours. As lovers of God we both live and die in hope of resurrection and the life to come.

May 13, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

My wife Kathy and I were in Halifax Nova Scotia recently for a national pastors’ conference. On the Sunday, we went to St. Paul’s Anglican Church just two blocks from our hotel. Founded in 1749, it is the oldest building in Halifax and the oldest place of Anglican worship in Canada. It is beautiful inside and out and has “presence”.

As we worshipped, I was struck with the timeless message of the Gospel. Liturgies and non-liturgies come and go over time, but, as the scriptures say, Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. Indeed, the light is everywhere.

I also reflected on our seven years in Jerusalem where, at the request of the government of Israel, we planted the King of Kings church in 1983. The setting there was not “merely” 275 years old, rather we were in an historical context of millennia. But the same sense of timelessness was always near.

This present reality of the Spirit of God regardless of time or place is evidence of the eternal kingdom of heaven among us. The Lord has constantly been loving and reaching out to our world throughout time. He is our creator and Father. He loves us with an everlasting love. And we respond to his initiative. As the bible says, “no one comes [to Jesus] except the Father draws [them].”

So, whether in Halifax or Jerusalem, in an old church or a new church in an old place, we are a body of believers wholly dependent on the unfailing love of God. Our worship transcends time and space.