A ministry of HCJB World Radio

Today’s News Headlines:

CHRISTIAN CHINESE FAMILY BEATEN, LEFT IN THE COLD CHURCH MEMBER DIES AS ARSONISTS DESTROY 2 VILLAGES IN SOLOMONS MISSIONARIES IN C ”TE D’IVORE WAIT TO SEE IF PEACE ACCORD HOLDS PRISON SUPERINTENDENT IN INDIA FACES CONVERSION CHARGES GOSPEL ADVANCES IN NEPAL DESPITE CONTINUED FIGHTING * HCJB WORLD RADIO-AUSTRALIA SHORTWAVE STATION GOES ON THE AIR

Today’s News Stories:

CHRISTIAN CHINESE FAMILY BEATEN, LEFT IN THE COLD On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 5, approximately 10 unidentified men burst into the home of Hua Huiqi and his wife, Ju Mei, who are active house church members in Beijing. The attackers forced all members of the household, including Huiqi’s elderly parents, to lie on the floor. The attackers then beat them, breaking one of the legs of the 80-year-old father and confiscating all of the home’s portable heaters. It is believed that the intruders were either thugs sent by the police, or plainclothes policemen. When Huiqi went to the police the next day to request the return of the heaters, he was detained for several hours and beaten again. He did not receive the heaters despite sub-freezing temperatures. The attack followed a peaceful protest by the family early Saturday, Jan. 4, as they and other members of their neighborhood objected to the cutting off of the electricity and water to their homes. Chinese authorities had taken this action after Huiqi refused to give authorities the names of house church members when they learned he had been responsible for collecting about 10,000 pieces of used clothing for distribute to poorer church members living in rural areas. Huiqi is an active member of the house church movement in Beijing, and his wife was a full-time evangelist before marrying him. He believes that these tactics are part of a campaign to drive him and his family out of their home and into the streets. (Voice of the Martyrs)

CHURCH MEMBER DIES AS ARSONISTS DESTROY 2 VILLAGES IN SOLOMONS A Seventh-day Adventist church member died after an arsonist destroyed her house during an attack on the village of Baine in the Solomon Islands. An estimated 200 people doused buildings in Baine — the headquarters for the Adventist Church on North New Georgia — with fuel before setting them alight in the early-morning hours of Dec. 22. “It seems the purpose of the attack was to destroy the permanent buildings and not to hurt the villagers,” said John Turner, treasurer of the church in the Western Solomons. He and President Jones Jama visited the church members in the village a few hours after the attack. A total of 20 buildings destroyed. The next day the same group destroyed eight houses in the village of Mase. Spokesman Bruce Roberts said the attacks could have been revenge for crimes committed about eight months ago by former church members from the villages. “The arsonists call themselves the Christian Missionary Church,” he reports. “They seem to have created a religious mix of Christianity and tribal values.” Almost 14,000 Seventh-day Adventists live in the Western Solomons. (Adventist News Network)

MISSIONARIES IN C ”TE D’IVORE WAIT TO SEE IF PEACE ACCORD HOLDS Under the guidance of France’s foreign minister, the government of C ´te d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and the main rebel group pledged this weekend to stick to an increasingly shaky October truce. A four month-long civil war has split the country in two. Guy Sier of New Tribes Mission is waiting to see how the accord plays out. He says the fighting has forced the ministry to withdraw its teams from all tribal areas in the northern part of the country. “There is still some work being done in language and translation,” he says. “But as far as actual presence or teaching in the villages, that part has had to come to a halt.” Sier says that’s why keeping the peace accord is critical. Some missionaries continue to serve in Abidjan and in medical ministries in the southern part of the country.

Meanwhile, rebels in western Ivory Coast attacked French troops on Monday, leaving 30 rebels killed and nine soldiers wounded, reported the Associated Press. The fighting dampened peace hopes after northern rebels and the government agreed resume talks. Clashes near the strategic western town of Duekoue came just days after President Laurent Gbagbo and Ivory Coast’s main rebel movement, based in the north, agreed to obey a cease-fire and meet in Paris Jan. 15 for fresh negotiations. More than 2,000 French troops, including Foreign Legionnaires and paratroopers, are in Ivory Coast to enforce the cease-fire and protect some 20,000 French citizens and other foreign nationals. Ivory Coast’s conflict began when the northern rebels tried to oust Gbagbo on Sept. 19 and seized half the country. They agreed on a cease-fire with the government in October, but peace talks in nearby Togo yielded little, and fighting resumed within weeks. Hundreds have died in the conflict, and thousands have fled their homes. Two western factions emerged later, reportedly joined by Liberian fighters notorious for drug use and extreme violence. (Mission Network News/AP)

* HCJB World Radio’s regional office for Sub-Saharan Africa is in Abidjan, C ´te d’Ivoire. Fr ©quence Vie (Frequency Life), a partner FM station in Abidjan operated by SIM and local churches, continues to air programs of hope and encouragement. The station broadcasts 17 hours daily in French and some local languages.

PRISON SUPERINTENDENT IN INDIA FACES CONVERSION CHARGES The chief superintendent of prisons at India’s Pondicherry Central Jail, G. David, is facing a judicial inquiry after being accused of forcibly converting inmates to Christianity. The Munanni Hindu fundamentalist group is demanding the suspension of David and calling for an anti-conversion law in Pondicherry state similar to that of bordering Tamil Nadu state. Munanni spokesmen allege that at least three prisoners have been baptized on prison premises in recent weeks. David admits that he has made no attempt to conceal his Christian faith. “However, I do not convert people,” he said. Inspector General of Prisons A. Anbarasu said he has not received any complaints from the inmates about “forced conversions.” Meanwhile, secular political parties appealed to the state government asking that no anti-conversion legislation be enacted. “The recent activities of the Hindu Munnani had caused concern to peace-loving citizens in Pondicherry,” said a joint statement. (Compass)

GOSPEL ADVANCES IN NEPAL DESPITE CONTINUED FIGHTING Maoist rebels, fighting to end the constitutional monarchy in Nepal, say they are ready to hold peace talks with the government. Despite the violence and political unrest, the gospel continues to advance in Nepal, says East West Ministries’ John Maisel. “We’ve had to move one of our training sessions out of a place where we’ve had a number of guys get beat up by Hindus and moved to another location that’s a little bit safer.” Maisel says not only do they have to be wary of Maoist guerrillas, but they’ve been targeted for persecution from Hindus. “There’s chaos from a human perspective across that particular area, but the good news is that it’s probably one of the most significant works that we have going today in the last year. We’ve seen more than 30 churches started. People are coming out of Bhutan for training and then going back there underground. The same thing is happening in Nepal.” (Mission Network News)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO-AUSTRALIA SHORTWAVE STATION GOES ON THE AIR HCJB World Radio-Australia’s new shortwave station at Kununurra in the northern part of the country went on the air Sunday, Jan. 5, with its first five-hour transmission to the South Pacific. This culminated more than five years of planning and praying. Staff members are repairing storm damage to the Asian antenna that is expected to go on the air this weekend.

“Praise God, He has done it!” said Director of Ministries Dennis Adams from the Australian office in Melbourne following a dedication service. “What a moving moment it was as pastor John Rush said ‘amen’ at the conclusion of his prayer of dedication to hear the sounds of ‘Advance Australia Fair’ ring out at precisely 7 a.m. (Greenwich Time). There was hardly a dry eye in the building. Some 60 people had come together for an hour-long service of celebration and dedication in the lead up to the start,” he said. “It was a wonderful occasion with the emphasis being a celebration of what God has done and a time of dedication to Him for all that lies ahead.”

HCJB World Radio President David Johnson took part in the inauguration via telephone link from Colorado Springs, Colo. He offered words of congratulations and challenged the staff to carry on the vision of HCJB World Radio cofounder Clarence Jones who urged programmers to keep the gospel at the forefront. Johnson then listened as the switch was pulled and the first special half-hour broadcast began — a “launch program” that had been prepared at HCJB World Radio-Australia’s studios in Melbourne. The program featured recorded greetings from Board Chairman Ron Cline and various World Offices along with special music.

When the facility is in full operation, the shortwave signal will be within hearing range of more than 3.5 billion people — 60 percent of the world’s population. Including the Asian antenna, 10 hours of English programming will air daily: five hours to the South Pacific and five hours to Asia, plus a weekly program in Oromo to Ethiopia. Although the broadcasts are going out on a 100 kw shortwave transmitter designed and built at the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., the transmitter is still running at low power, but this will be increased “gradually” as testing continues. Plans are to eventually expand to five transmitters and 16 broadcast towers as land and funds become available.

The station came as the result of HCJB World Radio-Australia Director David Maindonald’s longtime vision to start an international shortwave station in the country. This initially seemed like an impossible dream. The prospect that Australia would allow a privately owned international station — including Christian ones — seemed unlikely, and even mission leaders were skeptical about the plan. But instead of giving up, Maindonald trusted God.

“I am filled with a great sense of awe at what God has done to bring about this new Asia-Pacific service,” said Maindonald at the dedication service. “These past seven years I have seen God do so many wonderful things. He has changed the law of Australia, granted International licenses, provided finances and specialist staff, and just so much more. We launch today because God has been in it all. The staff has worked tirelessly to build buildings, erect transmission lines, towers and antennas, re-equip studios and prepare programs. . . . It is my pleasure to dedicate the radio ministry of HCJB World Radio-Australia to the glory of God.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 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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