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Today’s News Headlines:

BRUTAL PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN VIETNAM, 67 ETHNIC PASTORS JAILED RELIEF AGENCY RESPONDS TO INFLUX OF REFUGEES IN BURKINA FASO CHINESE POLICE ARREST PRIEST FROM UNDERGROUND CATHOLIC CHURCH INDIGENOUS COLOMBIAN MINISTRY SEES POSITIVE RESULTS DESPITE FIGHTING NEWLY ELECTED GEORGIA GOVERNOR EXPRESSES PRO-CHRISTIAN VIEWS PUBLICATION PRESENTS NEW TESTAMENT AS 5-PART DRAMA

Today’s News Stories:

BRUTAL PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN VIETNAM, 67 ETHNIC PASTORS JAILED Reports received by Christian Aid Mission indicate that 67 Christian pastors have been imprisoned in undisclosed locations by Vietnamese authorities. These include 11 Hmong pastors from the northern part of the country and 56 Ede and Mnong pastors from the central highlands who were taken from their homes without any reason given by the police. Their families have not been successful in locating the whereabouts of their abducted husbands and fathers. Recently discovered secret government documents describe a program of systematic persecution of Christians called “Plan 184.” In one recent example in Lai Chau province, a Hmong pastor was tied up and tortured at his house until he was unconscious. Two policemen then carried him to the local police station and put him in jail. Later police forced him and all members of the 21 families that attend his house church to perform public work. Then, in an effort pressure the believers to renounce their faith, police set fire to several of their homes. In desperation, the Christian families all fled to the jungle, fearing for their lives. Vietnamese police often enter house churches, breaking up worship services, ripping Bibles and songbooks from worshipers’ hands, driving them from their homes and threatening them with death. Many have been forced to sign papers recanting their faith. More than 356 house churches have been closed by the authorities. (Missions Insider)

RELIEF AGENCY RESPONDS TO INFLUX OF REFUGEES IN BURKINA FASO The U.N. has pulled all nonessential staff out of the West African country of C ´te d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and more French troops have been deployed to protect French nationals in the country. The continuing civil unrest has resulted in a hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of them fleeing to Burkina Faso and other neighboring countries. World Relief is mobilizing a network of churches and Christian organizations in response to the growing humanitarian need. An estimated 3 million people originally from Burkina Faso were living or working in Ivory Coast when the fighting broke out last September. The conflict caused Ivory Coast’s once-prosperous economy to collapse, and many blame the immigrants from Burkina Faso. “Many of them have lived in Ivory Coast for generations, and now they’re being persecuted and killed,” said World Relief spokesman John Scicchitano. Because the influx of refugees is putting a strain on Burkina Faso’s meager resources and could lead to public health hazards, the government officially requested World Relief’s help. The ministry was already providing training on HIV/AIDS prevention and care to churches, schools and other organizations in Burkina Faso. Now World Relief is distributing “refugee kits” with blankets, cooking utensils, grain, sleeping mats and jerry cans for the families. (World Relief)

CHINESE POLICE ARREST PRIEST FROM UNDERGROUND CATHOLIC CHURCH In a further sign of an apparent increased crackdown on dissidents and active Christians, China detained a Roman Catholic priest after holding a secret Christmas mass, reported the U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation. Rev. Dong Yingmu, 37, was captured on his way to hold a Christmas mass, but his imprisonment only came to light recently. Foundation President Joseph Kung said the priest was picked up in Baoding, a city in the central province of Hubei that has a large underground church. “He had finished one secret mass and was on his way to conduct another when the police detained him,” he said. China allows only state-monitored worship, and underground Catholics are frequently arrested and harassed. Vatican officials say that more than 50 underground Chinese Catholic bishops or priests have been detained or live under house arrest or police surveillance in Baoding. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported that two bishops and eight other priests belonging to the underground Catholic diocese of Baoding are being held in various prisons and labor camps. News about Yingmu’s detention came shortly after 55-year-old democracy activist Wang Bingzhang, a Chinese citizen with U.S. residency status, was sentenced Monday, Feb. 10, to life in prison on what his friends say are false charges of spying for Taiwan between 1982 and 1990 and setting up a terrorist network. The Chinese government denies that the sentence violates freedom of religion and expression of political opinions. (Assist News Service/CSW)

INDIGENOUS COLOMBIAN MINISTRY SEES POSITIVE RESULTS DESPITE FIGHTING An indigenous mission in Colombia is continuing to win souls for Christ despite the ongoing insurgency of armed guerrillas. “Although we are moving at a slow pace because of this cursed satanic war that envelops our country, we saw 14 professions of faith in the valleys of Colombia recently,” the leader said. “We also have two new workers being trained to go out and serve as evangelists.” The leader, who began working in that part of his country in 1965, last reported he had 23 co-workers with 16 churches and 10 additional mission stations. He said workers are both careful and fearful as they conduct door-to-door evangelism. “We try to avoid the many armed bandits that patrol these regions,” he said. “But when we do come across one of these groups, our workers are quick to share the gospel with them, although they usually do not want to hear anything related to God or Christianity.” (Missions Insider)

NEWLY ELECTED GEORGIA GOVERNOR EXPRESSES PRO-CHRISTIAN VIEWS Newly elected Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue sketched out a plan to involve churches in his “New Georgia” strategy during the second annual Georgia Legislative Prayer Breakfast, reported the Baptist Press. “In the near future I’ll be asking Georgia churches to help us in two new approaches called, ‘One Child, One Church’ and ‘One Inmate, One Church.’ These are two areas of society that could greatly benefit from churches reaching out and wrapping their arms around others who need their support,” Perdue explained. “I want you to know that your governor is not afraid of churches or other faith-based institutions and he’s not afraid to say that Jesus Christ is his Savior. I believe that the Bible is not a passive book — it calls us to action. This is a wonderful opportunity for churches to play an important role in building society. The gospel is all about redeeming our society for the kingdom of God. We are going to be knocking on your doors in the coming months to ask your help in being the salt and light in our world.” (Religion Today)

PUBLICATION PRESENTS NEW TESTAMENT AS 5-PART DRAMA The International Bible Society (IBS) has released an edition of the New Testament complete with study notes that presents “God’s story as a five-part drama.” Titled Coming Home: Finding Your Place in the Drama of the Bible, it is designed to help new Christians better understand the Bible and the life-transforming decision they have made. The drama provides Old Testament background information as well as New Testament concepts by highlighting creation, the fall of man, the history of the nation of Israel, Jesus and Christianity today. “For too long we have viewed the Bible as something other than a story,” said IBS Product Development Director Glenn Paauw. “To be true to the Bible, we must help people read it and incorporate it into their lives as the great story of God coming to save us.” (International Bible Society)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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