———————————————————————- Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid February 5, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 5 Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org ———————————————————————– John Lindner, Editor ———————————————————————–

1. Indonesia: Laskar Jihad Leader Acquitted; Christians Sentenced 2. India: Christmas Programs Reach Thousands 3. Bulgaria: God Enlarges Faith, Ministry in Time of Adversity 4. Christian Aid to Hold International Missions Conference 5. 2003 Calendar Update 6. Quote of the Week: When the Devil steals from you 7. Photo of the Week: New Life College

Note: It is the policy of Missions Insider to refrain from mentioning names that could make the subjects targets of anti-Christian activity. Names can be mentioned of ministries conducting work commended by authorities or located in areas of greater religious freedom.

———————————————————————– 1. Indonesia: Laskar Jihad Leader Acquitted; Christians Sentenced

One Indonesian court acquitted Laskar Jihad leader, Jaffar Umar Thalib, last Friday on charges of inciting Muslims to attack Christians, while two Christian separatist leaders were each sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

The different verdicts show the apparent disparity in justice between Muslims and Christians in Indonesian courts and society.

Mr. Thalib was head of the Laskar Jihad that boasted 10,000 followers, including some 3000 fighters who terrorized the Maluku provinces and Central Sulawesi in the last three years. He was arrested after making a speech to 5000 Muslims in front of the Al-Fatah Mosque in Ambon on April 26 in which he said, “From today, we will no longer talk about reconciliation. Our…focus now must be preparing for war–ready your guns, spears and daggers.”

Before dawn that Sunday black-masked, heavily armed Islamic militants entered the town of Soya, less than three miles east of Ambon city. They went from house to house killing Christians while they slept, stabbing to death up to 21 persons (including a 6-month-old baby), decapitating some, and burning others alive. The attack destroyed 30 homes and a Christian church. Moreover, the Christians had already surrendered their arms to authorities in accordance with the Malino Peace Accord. Many Christians felt Thalib’s speech had encouraged the violence. He was arrested on May 4 on his way back to Jakarta.

The two Christians, Alex Manuputty (55) and Samuel Waileruny (45), who were sentenced to three years in prison, had merely encouraged compatriots to raise the flag of a banned separatist movement with barely 100 followers.

In the wake of these two imbalanced judgments, Christian peace activist Rev. Renaldy Damanik went on trial Monday on the charges similar to those Thalib faced. He was accused of carrying weapons in the back of a car and of instigating violent attacks [against Christian communities!] in Central Sulawesi this past August.

Damanik’s record is far different from Thalib’s. He is the secretary-general of the Christian Synod in Central Sulawesi and operates the Sulawesi Crisis Center there. Known for dissuading Christians from reacting in kind to violent attacks by Muslims, he is the much-loved and respected leader of the Christian community.

In Damanik’s case, police stopped a car in which he was riding and asked him to stand aside while they searched it. He did and only the next day did he learn the police reportedly found guns in the car. Damanik was enticed to Jakarta, where he presumed he was being asked to testify as a witness and where he was suddenly arrested and jailed. He was later transferred to the jail in Palu where he received poisoned food while in police custody.

Police claimed Monday they found homemade rifles and bullets in Damanik’s car and the two cars accompanying him. Damanik denies ownership of the guns and claims they were planted by the police. After Monday’s hearing, the trial was adjourned until February 10 when the defense will present its case.

Please pray that true justice will prevail and that this man of God will be spared an unrighteous judgment. This story was written with the help of reports from Elizabeth Kendall of World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission http://www.WorldEvangelical.org/rlc.html and International Christian Concern http://www.persecution.org. Stories providing the history of the violence in the Moluccas in which up to 10,000 lives have been lost and over 500,000 persons displaced from their homes can be found in back issues of Missions Insider at the Christian Aid Website http://www.christianaid.org. (MI-405 750-PERS)

———————————————————————– 2. India: Christmas Programs Reach Thousands

Hindus appear more open to the gospel at Christmas than at any other season of the year. The celebrations are marked with joy and sweets are often given to those who attend. The story of the birth of Christ is non-threatening, and many gladly attend Christmas programs featuring their or their neighbor’s children. Through these programs, many Hindus hear the gospel for the first time.

Illustrating this phenomenon, a ministry assisted by Christian Aid in northern India reported large, inquiring audiences at its Christmas 2002 celebrations. Some locations are withheld for security reasons.

About 1000 people heard the gospel through puppet shows, carol sings and messages at Christmas programs in a half-dozen locations around Dehradun at the northern tip of Uttaranchal State (formerly part of Uttar Pradesh).

An additional 600 people gathered for a Christmas program at a village in Garhwal District. At a nearby village, 200 more people heard about Christ coming to earth when the ministry’s local school put on a Christmas pageant. Most of the children and members of the audience were Hindus. The pageant was faithfully interpreted by the spoken word.

The same ministry also conducted Christmas programs in four churches in Haryana State, where another 800 people, mostly non-Christians, learned about the birth of Christ. Then Christmas programs were conducted for the first time in two other villages.

“These are strict Hindu communities and we thank God for His protection and grace,” the leader said. “We shared the meaning of Christmas with thousands of unbelievers. Many have come forward to learn more about Christ.”

To learn more about this ministry or how to support it, write and put MI-405 660-NLC on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 3. Bulgaria: God Enlarges Faith, Ministry in Time of Adversity

A missionary in Bulgaria says God is blessing his ministry in meeting the needs of the people and in encouraging them to reach out to the poor, hungry people in their area.

The leader told Christian Aid that God prompted him to publish a brochure about their ministry last year. “We invested in it beyond our means, and now that its supply has been exhausted, we see how God is financially blessing the church people who gave sacrificially to produce it,” the leader said. “Some of them have been able to open new businesses, while others found well-paying jobs in Christian missions, and the faith of all of us is growing.”

The leader said that he believes the Lord wants to make his church a missions center. “There are tens of villages that God is speaking a blessing over,” the leader continued, “and we are encouraged to go and reach the unreached.” His wife quit her job to help him full-time in the ministry.

Yet it is a depressed region. Over 70% of the people live in extreme poverty. A month ago in one of the neighboring villages where the missionary has a congregation of minorities, two young children starved to death.

“The families had nothing to feed them,” the missionary said. “When I learned about it, I gathered 200 kg. [90 pounds] of staples and foodstuffs to give them, though that would hardly be enough for the hard winter.”

Every Sunday his people give toward helping their neighbors. “We believe that this is only the beginning of something bigger,” he said.

To learn more or how you can help, write and put MI-405 344-GNC-M10 on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 4. Christian Aid to Hold International Missions Conference

As part of its 50th year of helping indigenous missions, Christian Aid Canada, with participation of missionary staff of Christian Aid USA, is sponsoring a Gateways International Conference on Indigenous Missions, October 16-18, 2003 at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Scheduled plenary speakers are Rev. Bishara Awad, Palestine; Rev. Sundar Thapa, Nepal; Rev Matthew Thomas, India; Rev. Slavik Radchuk, Ukraine; Dr. Freddie and Dorothy Sun, China; Rev. Setan Aaron Lee, Cambodia; Bishop Silas and Rev. Winnie Owiti, Kenya, and Dr. Robert Finley, USA, who began both organizations in 1953. A series of seminars will focus on different geographic areas of the world, as well as specialized topics such as Women in Missions, Reaching the Nations at Home, the Persecuted Church, an Indigenous Approach to Relief and Development, and Building a Mission Vision in Your Church. For more information e-mail or call 1-800-871-0882 or go to the website http://www.christianaid.ca.

———————————————————————– 5. 2003 Calendar Update

Did you receive a Christian Aid 2003 calendar? If you did and you live in the U.S., did you receive a U.S. version? The printer accidentally sent 1400 U.S. version calendars to the Canadian Christian Aid, which means approximately that many U.S. supporters received a Canadian version. If page 3 of your calendar is about the Canadian office, you received the Canadian version. If it is about the U.S. office, you received the U.S. version. If you would like a copy of the U.S. page for reference, send an e-mail to with “Calendar” on the subject line, and we will send you a pdf file that you can view or print out on your computer. Or, if you want a color copy in the mail, send us your mailing address. If you want the whole U.S. calendar, we can send that to you, also. You can learn more about the calendars on the Christian Aid web site http://www.christianaid.org. Residents of Canada can request the Canadian 2003 calendar from . Contributions to defray cost of the calendars and advance the Lord’s work overseas are very welcome.

———————————————————————– 6. Quote of the Week: When the Devil Steals from You

“Keep whatever the Lord has given you. The devil is a thief and he will steal. So we have to protect whatever is ours — health, money, marriage, children, ministry, scooter, laptop, cell phone, etc. It is the devil who has stolen [our goods]. He is the thief. Let us catch the thief and demand that he pay back seven times. (Proverbs 6:31)” – Mission leader in North India

———————————————————————– 7. Photo of the Week: New Life College

http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-4-05.asp

This Christian training center located in the Kannada-language area of India teaches Christianity without Western trappings, so citizens of India can see that the Christian faith is compatible with life in India. When the school was started in 1987, many of the students were new Christians from Hindu backgrounds. It moved into these new facilities last year, and a third floor is being planned. Currently 152 students are enrolled in either day or evening classes. The parent ministry has 22 full-time missionaries who have led 1800 people to the Lord through village evangelism, with at least 15 churches being planted. To learn more, write to and put MI-405 630-NJA 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.

———————————————————————– Permission to Republish

The content of Missions Insider is Copyright 2003. You have permission to share this newsletter with any evangelical Christian whom you think would be interested in reading it. Permission is granted to reproduce articles in whole or in part on websites, e-mail networks or print media as long as the stories are faithfully replicated and credit is given to Missions Insider at http://www.christianaid.org. Please send notices of publication to . Thank you.

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