European leaders agreed to $1.26 billion in funding to fight Ebola in West Africa by the end of the year at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday. Over the weekend the first $254 million was put at the disposal of international efforts, including almost $30.5 million toward the development of a vaccine. ‘In the case of the Ebola disease, the international community, all of us, underestimated the danger and the extent of the threat,’ said   commissioner-elect for humanitarian aid and crisis management, Christos Stylianides. Stylianides is the EU’s new Ebola response coordinator, a decision that also came out of last Friday’s meeting. As for how the money allocated by EU is being spent, ‘we have sent medical and humanitarian experts to the affected countries and deployed mobile laboratories,’ he said. ‘We are getting vital supplies shipped to the region.’

God is touching hearts in powerful ways, unleashing His Spirit among refugees, their families, and into surrounding communities and nations. ‘There is something happening right now that is unprecedented,’ says Brother Thomas, from All Nations. ‘The spiritual openness is incredible.’ As he toured a ramshackle refugee camp composed of cardboard, wood slats and plastic tarps, he found many who had visions and dreams of Jesus. ‘Almost every family we visited had some kind of experience, either through dreams or someone had given them a New Testament in the medical clinic or prayed for them. There was fear and uncertainty about the future. Because the war is Muslim against Muslim they have a feeling there has to be something better. They are looking for answers. Over and over we saw people who have questions, who want to know more about Jesus.’ Other Christian workers are equally amazed. Some have been there 17-20 years and it is mind boggling for them.

College students across the United States were joined by believers of all ages as they participated in Engage24, a one-on-one evangelism initiative that challenged Christians to share the Gospel with at least one person in a 24-hour time period. October 14 marked this observance on several college campuses this year and saw participation expand to churches. When the development of Engage24 began they encouraged college students to share their faith with a creative approach. ‘Instead of concentrating on how many people came to Christ on one particular day, we wanted to see how many college students would share their faith on that particular day. And if we did that first, then we could ultimately accomplish the goal of seeing people come to Christ.’ They rely heavily on Twitter to track results and read reports from students who had the opportunity to share the Gospel during the day. See also

In September you were asked to pray for Jeffrey Fowle, the American who was detained by the North Korean authorities after leaving a Bible in his hotel room. CNN has reported his release this week. He was picked up by an American government plane on Tuesday and is now back in the US. It was not clear from the report how the release came about, but a senior State Department official confirmed to CNN that the North Korean authorities had indeed let him go. Last month Fowle told the network that he was due to go on trial soon and had pleaded with the US for help to secure his release along with two other Christians in prison with him