May 18, 2006. It had been three days since Diane Pinkins’ husband, Ron, brought their only daughter, Rita, to the ER at Ascension St. Vincent hospital in Indianapolis.
 
The 27-year-old single mother of four had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Now she was in a critical care unit fighting for her life.
“It was very devastating. Prayer was just the constant thing that held us all together,” Diane recalls.
While on chemotherapy, Rita continued to deteriorate and ten days later was on life support.  During that time, she coded twice and developed a blood clotting disorder that caused internal and external bleeding.
“It was so scary. She was bleeding from her eyes, from her nose, her ears, from everywhere. They were unable to stop the bleeding. Things were not going in the direction that I would want them to go. It was very devastating.”
The news only got worse. Rita’s oncologist told Diane that her daughter needed a plasma infusion to replenish the platelets that would help her blood clot. Without it, she would bleed to death. Finding a match, however, would take time, and Diane and Ron were not matches. 
 
Diane was distraught. “The doctor just said, there's nothing else she can do. I just felt so out of control. I just broke down, I had fallen to my knees and was just praying, that God would forgive me for thinking that I had any control over anything. And then I asked that I would be able to accept whatever his will was gracefully, that I would be given a word as to what God's will was, whether we are losing her or whether she's gonna make it through.”
 
Diane and Ron weren’t alone. From the start Diane had gotten word out for people to pray – and it had spread.
“Previously the prayer had been, just pray for us, we need prayer,” says Diane. ‘“But then it changed, and I was like, ‘I need everybody to pray for a complete divine healing.’ The prayer lines were not only locally and nationally, but they were international.’”
 
People did more than just pray-- they showed up to donate plasma when a local radio station organized a blood drive for Rita.
 
“That was mind boggling, the people that got involved. The blood center downtown said they had never seen the influx of people coming in to donate plasma like they had with Rita.”
 
When the drive ended, they’d found a donor match and Rita got the platelets she needed. The bleeding stopped and one week after going into the ICU, Rita was taken off life support. She continued to improve, was eventually released and declared in remission… for now.
 
“My prayers were that God would just save me. I never even asked for healing,” Rita recalls. ‘“I remember a moment where God said, ‘I'm giving you my blood.’ And I believe that God was the anonymous donor. I was so excited. I was so grateful; I was so happy. I was just in disbelief; I was just in awe.’”
 
Rita was sent home with dozens of medications for maintenance and to kill any remaining cancer cells. Then, about a week after she came home, she says she heard from God.
 
“‘Right when I started to take it, he said, ‘Let this be the last time you take the medicine. No more medicine, you're healed.’ So, I stopped at that point. I was very, very adamant, about not taking it because I heard his voice so clearly that there was no doubt, no doubt at all.’”
 
For Rita and her family, it would become a journey of faith. Because a year later, in November 2007, the cancer was back and had spread. Rita was readmitted to the hospital for treatment.
 
“I didn't understand why it came back at the time, but I knew for a fact that God said I was healed. I never questioned God. I never asked him why. I just went through the process and trusted him. My faith never wavered. My relationship with God was a lot different this time around. And I remember laying hands on myself and praying. I experienced what he did for me. I knew that he could heal me.”
 
Diane agreed. “It was not good news by any means, but we were not defeated. We had had a word from God. We thought, well, this has to just be a test. The odds were completely against us, but we had God.”
 
Rita went through more radiation, chemotherapy and experimental drugs. Nothing seemed to be working.
 
“I remember the doctors telling me that there was nothing that they could do,” Rita remembers. “They've tried everything and there's nothing that they could do. And that is the point where I felt the most relief because I knew that now it's out of their hands and in God's.”
 
Then, after 4 months of treatments and prayer, Rita was again declared in remission. On March 25, 2008, Rita was released from the hospital and the next Sunday in church, there was a celebration.
 
“That was the most glorious day, even though in our minds we knew it was gonna happen. It was God's time,” Diane recalls.
 
Rita has been cancer-free for over sixteen years. Since then, she’s remarried, had another son and is more active than ever, working three jobs and constantly volunteering to help those less fortunate.
 
“My faith before was mustard seed faith, but that's all that it was,” Rita claims. “My faith now is mountain top faith. I believe God can do anything.”
 
“God is still performing those biblical proportion miracles today,” Diane declares. “He hears the voice of the masses, and he hears the voice of one. And if we would just humble ourselves and submit, then everybody can experience great things. I just want people to know that his love and his power, his omnipotence is real. It is so real.”
 
“Know that God is with you; you're never alone,” Rita agrees. “There's nothing that he can't do.”

Nine-year-old Ablian (Ab-lee-an) and her family have always struggled to find clean water to drink.  When it rains, they collect water in buckets.  There is also a ditch that collects water for when the buckets are empty.  

“We have to drink the dirty rainwater,” Ablian admitted.  “The water in the hole in the ground is yellow.  It smells bad and is oily.”   

Ablian’s family used the water for everything: cooking, bathing, dishes and drinking.

“I remember one day after drinking it I got a stomach ache and diarrhea,” she told us.  

“I got a rash on my skin too.  But we had no choice. We had to keep drinking that water.”

During dry season, finding water was more challenging. They had to look for puddles in the forest or walk miles to the river—which was also unsafe to drink.  

Albian’s mother talked with us, too.  “The river water is murky.  Sometime there are dead animals in it.  I would cry and pray to God because I was so exhausted when we had to bring water from the river.”

Then, thanks to YOU, Operation Blessing built a water harvesting system for Ablian and her family.  Rainwater is collected and purified with chlorine in a 500-gallon tank. 

It is then safe for drinking, bathing and cooking.

“I am so thankful that Operation Blessing came and gave us clean water,” Albian’s mom told us.  “I said ‘God thank you for hearing my cry for help.’”   

And Ablian told us that the water is cool, clear and refreshing to drink.  

“It is great to have CLEAN water to drink so close to our house!  Thank you so much to the people who helped us!” 

What a beautiful example of how CBN partners share the love of Jesus around the world with people in need! If you’re not yet a partner, we invite you to join us today. Help bring God’s love through initiatives like clean water wells, medical missions, feeding programs, and so much more—all in the name of Jesus! Join us today and become a part of what God’s doing through CBN partners. 

Inspired by Chariots of Fire as a kid, Lance Clark pursued filmmaking by enrolling in Regent University’s Graduate Film Program. After graduation, Lance took a job as a professor in Indiana and developed their own film.

In the picturesque province of Chonburi, Thailand, a significant event took place that promises to transform the way Sunday school is taught across the region. Two Superbook Academy training sessions were conducted, one in person and one via Zoom, attended by 39 participants representing 24 local churches. Among these, seven churches were already partnered with Superbook, but they sent new Sunday school teachers to participate in the training sessions. Additionally, 15 churches expressed their commitment by officially signing a commitment form to integrate the Superbook Academy curriculum into their Sunday school programs.

One of the participants, Miss Thitiporn, a dedicated Sunday school teacher, shared her experience and the profound impact the training had on her teaching approach. “Previously, I tried preparing lessons on my own and adapting materials to teach Sunday school class. I was already familiar with Superbook, and as the number of children in our church grew, I decided to attend training for the Superbook curriculum,” she explained.

The training sessions were meticulously designed to be engaging and informative. Miss Thitiporn especially enjoyed the session on how to use the materials effectively. “During the training, I particularly enjoyed the session on how to use the materials because it was well-structured and provided clear explanations on how to implement the teaching aids effectively. It helped me understand how to use them step by step,” she noted. The interactive nature of the training made the learning process enjoyable, which she believes will translate into a more engaging experience for the children.

Before attending the training, Miss Thitiporn had shown episodes of Superbook to the children via YouTube but was unaware of the comprehensive teaching guide that accompanied the videos. “I didn't follow the proper steps for using the materials and wasn't aware that there was a teaching guide,” she admitted. The training opened her eyes to the full potential of the Superbook Academy curriculum. “After the training, I listened to the ministry sharing session and felt deeply impressed by CBN Thailand for creating such high-quality materials for free, with a focus on nurturing the spiritual lives of children. I am truly grateful.”

Since completing the training, Miss Thitiporn has started teaching using the guide alongside the videos. The results have been remarkable. “It feels much easier than preparing lessons from scratch, and the children find it easier to understand. Additionally, I can now spend less time worrying about lesson preparation and focus more on having in-depth personal conversations with the children,” she shared.

The impact of the Superbook Academy training extends beyond individual teachers. By equipping Sunday school teachers with effective tools and methods, the training sessions are fostering a deeper connection between children and the Word of God. The commitment of 15 new churches to integrate Superbook Academy into their programs is a testament to the curriculum’s effectiveness and the dedication of the teachers.

We invite you to join us in this mission to bring the Word of God to life for the next generation, fostering a global community rooted in faith and love. By donating to CBN Animation’s Superbook ministry through the link below, sharing this story, or accessing Superbook resources for your own families, you can help extend this ministry to even more children and families around the world. Together, we can empower more teachers like Miss Thitiporn and inspire more children to grow in their faith and understanding of God's Word.

Give to Superbook