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Today’s News Headlines:

ANOTHER VOLCANO ERUPTS IN ECUADOR, COATING QUITO WITH ASH POTENTIAL ATTACK ON IRAQ INCREASES ANXIETY AMONG CHRISTIANS U.S. CONDEMNS NEW RELIGION LAW SIGNED BY BELARUS PRESIDENT INTENSIFYING PERSECUTION WORLDWIDE FAILS TO SLOW CHURCH GROWTH CHRISTIAN CHILDREN’S HOME BECOMES MODEL FOR UKRAINIAN ORPHANAGES COALITION URGES CHRISTIANS TO VOTE ON TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS IN U.S.

Today’s News Stories:

ANOTHER VOLCANO ERUPTS IN ECUADOR, COATING QUITO WITH ASH Ecuador’s Reventador volcano erupted on Sunday, Nov. 3, covering the capital city of Quito with thick white ash that sparked health warnings and forced the airport to close indefinitely, authorities said. Government Minister Rodolfo Barniol recommended that all activities in the city be suspended due to the accumulation of ash.

Although there were no known deaths or injuries, officials warned the city’s 1.4 million inhabitants to stay indoors because of the danger of inhaling ash from the volcano and cautioned that other eruptions could come soon. Barniol also ratified a decision by the government to declare a state of emergency in the affected zones, including parts of the provinces of Napo, Sucumb ­os, Pichincha and Cotopaxi. The volcano forced the evacuation of about 3,000 persons living near the volcano.

Reventador began erupting at about 7 a.m. local time, spewing gases and ash as rocks swept down the sides of the volcano. Ash clouds darkened the midday sky and coated roads with thick cream-colored soot. The 11,683-foot volcano is about 59 miles northeast of Quito on the eastern slope of the Andes. Alexandra Avarado of the Geophysical Institute in Quito said the volcano erupted twice on Sunday with the second blast sending clouds of burning ash across the Baeza-Lago Agrio highway in the jungle at about 9 a.m. The eruption also threatened the Trans-Ecuadorian oil pipeline that runs close to the area.

Quito was covered in ash three years ago when the nearby Guagua Pichincha volcano erupted. Reventador has erupted 24 times since 1541. The most recent eruption, in January 1976, produced ash and lava. Similar eruptions occurred in 1972 and 1973. Tungurahua, another volcano 105 miles south of Quito, reawakened in 1999 after eight decades of inactivity, and has gone through a number of eruptive cycles.

HCJB World Radio staff members are cleaning up after a thin film of ash covered the compound in Quito, says Station General Manager John Beck. Most of the workers at the radio station stayed home today as ash continues to fall across the city. “Our Spanish news staff is doing its usual great job of keeping people informed,” he said. Essential personnel are at work, and emergency plans to deal with the situation are in effect.

While the ashfall in Quito was light, engineer Tim Zook measured three-eighths of an inch at HCJB World Radio’s international transmitter site east of the city in Pifo. The ash may have affected the site’s antennas, causing arcing on the arrays in use, he said. As the on-call engineer, Zook worked into the evening on Sunday. “By reducing the power (to the arrays) we can have less of those trip-offs,” he said. Missionaries are praying for wind to knock the heavy ash off the antennas before it causes damage. Additional eruptions today are expected to send further ashfalls across the area.

News Director Ralph Kurtenbach added that engineers were forced to use the diesel generators in Pifo on Sunday when electricity coming from the power plant at Papallacta was interrupted. Later in the day the power was restored, and engineers are working to determine what caused the problem with the Papallacta line. When asked about the Pifo facility’s pure water supply, Zook said it is covered. But he expressed concern about the catch basin upstream that feeds not only the mission’s facilities, but also the town of Pifo. (Reuters/AP/HCJB World Radio)

POTENTIAL ATTACK ON IRAQ INCREASES ANXIETY AMONG CHRISTIANS Amidst the U.S. demands for weapons inspections in Iraq are growing fears that that the move could provoke open hostilities within the country and its neighbors. Open Doors’ Johan Companjen says his organization is monitoring the situation closely because of the church there. “I think that whole area is very explosive at the moment, and it’s very clear from all the people that we have traveling and ministering there that the Christians there are very worried. Pray for your brothers and sisters living in that region.” In light of the upcoming International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (Sunday, Nov. 10), he urges Christians to pray for insight on how best to respond to the situation. “There are some wonderful Christians in Iraq, and we need to pray for them, ” Companjen adds. (Mission Network News)

U.S. CONDEMNS NEW RELIGION LAW SIGNED BY BELARUS PRESIDENT The U.S. has condemned Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko for signing what human rights workers call “Europe’s most restrictive” religion law. U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip T. Reeker seemed to share concern that the legislation, signed October 31, will force especially non-Orthodox Christians and other groups to go underground or to leave the country, as during the Soviet era. “We join the European Union and members of many faiths in our opposition to this law, which appears intended primarily to hinder and prevent the activities of religious groups that the Lukashenko regime considers “non-traditional” faiths,” Reeker said. He said the law also places “unacceptable restrictions” on all faiths in some measure “as it requires permission from government authorities for religious processions and other activities, such as masses, weddings, funerals and religious meetings.” The controversial legislation bans unregistered religious activity, requires censorship of religious literature, and bans foreign citizens from leading religious organizations. Religious education is also restricted to faiths that have at least 10 registered communities. Although the religion law could further isolate the former Soviet republic of more than 10 million people, the Russian Orthodox Church is backing the new law. (Assist News Service)

INTENSIFYING PERSECUTION WORLDWIDE FAILS TO SLOW CHURCH GROWTH In spite of stepped-up efforts to suppress Christianity worldwide, Global Advance’s David Shibley says the church continues to grow. “I believe pastors, particularly in developing nations, are sensing both the momentum of the Holy Spirit and the urgency of intensified persecution. We sense the urgency with these pastors, that time is short, perhaps, for the advancement of the gospel, and that some areas that may be open to us now, may not be open to us in the future.” Shibley says it’s important that the church leaders are trained and equipped now, so that they have tools they need in their hands. “In response to their plea, we are moving from 30 conferences this year to a record 46 Frontline Shepherd’s Conferences in 2003.” (Mission Network News)

CHRISTIAN CHILDREN’S HOME BECOMES MODEL FOR UKRAINIAN ORPHANAGES A children’s home assisted by Christian Aid Mission in Ukraine has become a model for other government-run orphanages, opening the door for major changes in government policy. After the collapse of communism in 1991, unemployment was rampant in Ukraine. With the Soviet welfare system dismantled, parents raised on atheism had no help and turned to alcohol. Some 20,000 children fled abusive parents and unlivable home conditions to fend for themselves on the streets of Kiev. Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Roman Korniyko, a member of a growing evangelical church in Kiev, decided to reach out to some of these needy children. He offered them a warm meal and temporary shelter from the cold. Soon he gave up his medical practice to work full-time with the children. Local believers in Kiev provided assistance, and Korniyko began housing about 25 homeless children in rented apartments. As resources came in, the ministry called Father’s House expanded as auxiliary accommodations for more children and a vocational school were built. Today Father’s House cares for 53 homeless children. They are housed in a Christian environment and learn to live together as a family. The younger children go to school, and the older ones learn a trade such as carpentry, motor mechanics, secretarial work and sewing. Many have come to Christ. Father’s House has caught the attention of government authorities, and they’re using it as a model for all future children’s homes in the country. Churches have approval to start children’s homes based on Father’s House in 25 cities across Ukraine. Already seven of these are operating or being built, and an eighth is being planned. (Christian Aid Mission)

COALITION URGES CHRISTIANS TO VOTE ON TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS IN U.S. Many observers and commentators are describing the U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as the most crucial balloting in recent memory. Motivating Christians will be key in the outcome of this election, says the Christian Coalition’s new executive director, Roberta Combs. She maintains that Christians are a voting block of “immense power” that is not being tapped by either major political party. “More than half of the people sitting in the churches are not registered to vote,” she says. “If all Christians would vote and register to vote, imagine what we could do nationwide.” Combs says her organization is using a new strategy in this and future elections in an effort to get Christians to vote. The coalition is urging local pastors to motivate their congregations to get out and vote. “We’re going to feed them the information, and they’re going to feed it to their congregations, she says. “Then we’re going to try to swell those ranks of Christians across the country.” Polls show that participation of Christians registered to vote has been declining in recent elections. (Religion Today)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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