———————————————————————– Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid November 27, 2002 Vol. 3 No. 47 Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org ———————————————————————– John Lindner, Editor ———————————————————————–

1. Pakistan: Muslim Clerics Demand Christian Debate 2. India: Boys’ Drowning Endangers Missionary 3. India: Missionary Home Threatened 4. Indonesia Plans to Close Refugee Camps for Christians 5. Photo of the Week: “I Have a Horse!”

Note: It is the policy of Missions Insider to refrain from mentioning names that could make the subjects targets of anti-Christian activity. Names are mentioned of ministries in more secure areas or conducting work commended by authorities.

———————————————————————– 1. Pakistan: Muslim Clerics Demand Christian Debate

In a land known for its Muslim-Christian tensions, an evangelistic team had a polite invitation to share their faith at a Muslim seminary this past July.

In a report received by Christian Aid this week, the leader of a Christian ministry in Pakistan said that one of its outreach teams distributing Bibles, New Testaments and Scripture portions was detained by a group of Muslim clerics and would not let them go until they agreed to debate Christianity with them. The clerics belonged to a well-known Islamic seminary in the area.

The debate was held at the Muslim theological school. The five-member Christian team arrived at 10 a.m. and was immediately surrounded by 103 Muslim students and 15 Muslim clerics, including three professors and an elderly local chieftain.

“It was a scary scene,” the Christian leader told Christian Aid.

However, the head of the seminary greeted the Christian team members in a hospitable manner and served them cold drinks. Then both sides took their places on carpets spread under shady trees with a canvas canopy. Only the leaders of both sides were allowed to speak and ask questions.

The head Muslim cleric spoke at length trying to pinpoint the contradictions in the Scriptures while the Christian leader focused on the sinfulness of human race and need for forgiveness of sin for every human being. A break was taken for lunch and the debate continued in the afternoon.

After six-and-one-half hours of discussion, the Muslim leader announced that they didn’t accept the Christian teaching and that therefore in the future the Christians could not sell Bibles in their city. In response to that, the Christian leader challenged the audience that even though they didn’t accept the Bible as a holy book, it was still worth reading as literature, since millions of people around the world read it. He suggested that refusing to read it would be a na ¯ve act on their part and offered to give a copy to anyone who wished to have one for personal use.

Immediately the whole group stood up for a copy. Most of them had never seen a Bible before. Within ten minutes the supply of 13 Bibles, seven Old Testaments and 17 large print New Testaments was taken and all smaller pieces of literature lapped up. The team members also stayed an additional hour to share their understanding of the Christian faith individually with the Islamic students.

The Christian leader stressed that their Muslim hosts maintained a cool and calm atmosphere throughout the event. Hospitality was generously tendered and most of the participants expressed a desire for more talks in future.

———————————————————————– 2. India: Boys’ Drowning Endangers Missionary

A ministry in Central India reports increased trouble because of its success.

“A mob came to beat up our Bible school students,” the leader told Christian Aid last week. “They threw stones into our compound and complained against us to the authorities because many people were coming to the church and the anti-Christian people didn’t like it.”

The leader had held a conference for 256 of his gospel workers. After a wonderful time of fellowship and Bible teaching, they conducted a crusade that was attended by 1600 people. Over 200 people gave their hearts to Jesus and 33 decided to be publicly baptized, despite public antagonism against it.

The outreach also started churches in two nearby villages. In the first village 125 people decided to follow the Lord Jesus. After sitting under Bible teaching for two months they threw their idols out of their houses and worshiped only the Lord Jesus Christ.

One day three boys from this village accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. The boys, aged 14, 15 and 16, took their new faith to heart and read their Bibles and prayed with their families early every morning before leaving home. A few days later they went to swim in a local lake and drowned.

“The whole village gathered together and accused us of causing the boys’ death,” the leader said. “They said we were at fault because we taught the people another religion. They accused us of telling the people to throw their idols out of their house.”

The police began interrogating the leader about his faith and preaching activity.

“I was very much troubled,” he said. “I did not know what to do. In anger the villagers burned the bodies of the boys in a funeral pyre in front of the whole village. People were very angry. I thought they were going to kill me, but praise God He has protected me.”

The next day God gave the leader boldness to go and preach to the families of the boys who died. He told them that the boys were in heaven and that they could be reunited with them there. He thought the parents might reject the Christian faith and turn back to their idols, but instead they reaffirmed their faith.

“We will never go back to the idol worship because our son is in heaven with Jesus and we want to go there, too,” they said.

The leader has a goal of reaching the 40,000 villages in his state. Astoundingly, he and his coworkers have already brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to 25,000 of those villages. For most of the villagers, it was the first time they had ever heard the gospel. To learn more, or how you can help, write and put MI-347 637-PGN on the subject line.

———————————————————————– Native missionaries brave “dangerous places” to bring the gospel to “unreached” people in mountains, cities, jungles and “closed” lands. You can support your own missionary by sending $50 per month and receive the name, photo and biographical sketch of the one you support, plus a description of the indigenous mission with which he/she serves. Call (434)977-5650 or contact today.

———————————————————————– 3. India: Missionary Home Threatened

On November 17 a group of 200 people attacked the house and threatened the life of a missionary leader in Maharashtra State.

They cut the telephone wires, disrupted the prayer meeting that was in progress, and began to verbally abuse and threaten the missionary’s wife and three children of tender age. When they learned that the missionary, himself, was not there, they started to trash the household amid screams of the children and destroyed the church sign board.

The mob held the family captive in the house until evening, waiting in vain for the missionary’s return. They repeatedly warned his wife that they had come to “burn” them. Later they left, warning the family to leave the town immediately. The upper-caste house owner also asked them to vacate.

The attack came just days after a district assistant also was also beaten up.

The missionary and his wife are from the “untouchable” Dalit background. Several years ago the national leader of the ministry visited his village and stayed with this Dalit family. He ate with them and slept on the floor of their very small hut; it was so small that the leader had to sleep with his legs cocked up the wall.

The Dalit man watched how much the mission leader loved them despite their being untouchable. When the leader later preached about how God loved them by sending His son to be their Savior, the message captured the Dalit’s heart. Today that Dalit man oversees more than 100 missionaries in his state. Together they have planted more than 60 pioneer churches in one of the most resistant areas.

After the attack, friends helped the missionary family move to a town far away. The missionary now is praying for funds to pay for his moving expenses and to purchase a house so he can carry on the work of the ministry without being forced to leave by a landlord of another religion.

For more information, or to learn how to help, contact and put MI-437 652-IET on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 4. Indonesia Plans to Close Refugee Camps for Christians

Thousands of Indonesia’s Christians–displaced from their homes by Islamic terrorists the last three years–face a bleak future in view of the Indonesia government’s plan to shut down existing displaced persons camps. A communication received by Christian Aid last Friday from a key observer explains their predicament:

“Thousands of refugees in Manado and Bitung are facing an uncertain future. The Indonesian government is in the process of closing a number of the refugee camps, placing thousands of refugees in crisis again. Their plan is to send most of them back to their home islands. That is a worthy goal but many of the islands are still dangerous.

“There are places like Ternate where all the churches have been destroyed and every Christian fled during the fighting. One young girl from Ternate told me that 53 members of her family were killed in the fighting. Ternate is under Islamic law. It would be impossible for returning Christians to practice their religion.

“Over the last three years there have been two previous attempts by the Indonesian officials to close the refugee camps and send the Christian refugees back to their home islands. In January of 2002 I spoke with families who went back to their homes, as they were instructed by the government, only to find that their homes and lands had been possessed by some of the Muslim attackers who ran them off their islands the previous year. They told of others who were attacked as they went back to their homes and tried to begin their lives again. Still others were told they could come back to their homes only if they would convert to Islam. “

The Indonesia contact, who actively works among the displaced persons, went on to say that enabling the “refugees” to return to their homes and restore to their normal mode of living is ideal. The problem is that their safety cannot be guaranteed. In addition to security, the refugees also need four other conditions before they can return to their homelands:

1. Freedom of religion must be guaranteed. The Christian returnees want to rebuild their churches and worship freely and openly.

2. They must have education. Their children must be able to attend non-Muslim schools.

3. They need access to jobs. They cannot survive if they can’t work.

4. They need access to health care. These are basic guarantees in a democracy.

“The government’s plan affects thousands in these refugee camps,” the contact said. “The other groups of refugees will remain in their current condition. This forces thousands to move to new locations. Some are too sick to make the trip and many are upset and confused. The people from Ternate refuse to go back to Ternate. It is not safe and the memories of the attacks are still clear in their minds.

“Please pray for all refugees in these uncertain days.”

Christian Aid is receiving and sending funds to help Christians in the above-mentioned refugee camps. For more information write and put MI-347 750-PERS on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 5. Photo of the Week: “I Have a Horse!”

http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-3-47.asp

Several church groups have sent contributions to purchase horses for missionaries. We are not able to obtain photos of every horse purchased, but this photo from our files is typical. Here is what one mission leader wrote: One of my missionaries came to me. “Praise God for my new horse! Where we are in the mountains there are very steep paths and no roads. Sometimes we can visit three families in one day before the daily rain comes.” The woman glowed as she spoke. “But now we have…a horse!” Suddenly the woman stopped talking. I looked up to see what was wrong, and watched as she sobbed. “I-I am s-so amazed at God’s p-providence. H-he knew our needs. He knew our stuggles. He knew our vision and calling to reach the unreached mountain Ata tribespeople for Jesus. B-but it was so-o-o hard! Month after month we’d labor, hiking hours and hours, yet with so little to show for our endless work. Now, on our new horse, we can visit close to a dozen families a day! Praise God!” More horses will be bought with the money sent. And more are needed To learn how you can supply the gift of a horse for a diligent Third-World missionary, write and put MI-347 095-MEF on the subject line.

———————————————————————– Mission Statement:

Missions Insider is a free weekly email report from Christian Aid Mission, your link to the world of indigenous missions. We seek to establish a witness for our Lord in every tribe and nation (Matthew 24:14) by supporting highly effective native missionary ministries based in poorer countries overseas, or where believers are persecuted. Christian Aid has contact with more than 6000 indigenous ministries that have a total of 300,000 missionaries on the field or ready to go when support is available.

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