Christ

———————————————————————- Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid March 5, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 9 Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org ———————————————————————– John Lindner, Editor ———————————————————————–

1. Nepal: Healed Lunatic Turns 40 Villagers to Christ 2. Haiti: Inflation Hurts Impoverished People as Hearts Respond to God’s Word 3. Terror Stalks Southern Philippines 4. Philippine Missionaries Focus on Children 5. Indonesia: Papua Christians Fear Islamization 6. Photo of the Week: Gwahatikes Rejoice

Note: Missions Insider refrains from mentioning names that could make the subjects targets of anti-Christian activity. Names are sometimes mentioned of ministries conducting work commended by authorities or located in areas of greater religious freedom.

———————————————————————– 1. Nepal: Healed Lunatic Turns 40 Villagers to Christ

Native Nepali missionaries said that a lunatic healed through the ministry of one of their missionaries prompted many villagers to seek Christ.

One missionary in Central Nepal started out on a 12-km. (7-mile) walk. After walking for about two hours, he met a man named Bahadur, who apparently was the local lunatic. The missionary prayed for him and Bahadur became sane. Seeing the change in the man’s life, the people of the area asked, “Who is this person who healed this man?”

The missionary told them that he had prayed, but Jesus was the one who healed the man. Now about 40 people among the Magar, Tamang, Chepang and Biswakarma tribes of that area want to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

In another place, a deranged woman had to be chained to prevent violence. The Nepali missionary ministered to her and she was set free. Her husband became a believer and now is a Christian worker in that place. So many people have come to Christ there that they need a church building to meet in. And several Chepang people in another place are ready for baptism.

Meanwhile, a Hindu neighbor claimed that part of the land on which the headquarters church rested belonged to him and filed charges in court. Even though he claimed only 400 sq. ft., it would have necessitated the razing of the structure. Praise God, the courts ruled in the defendants’ favor and the ministry can continue unabated.

To learn how you can assist this ministry, write and put MI-409 702-TLA on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 2. Haiti: Inflation Hurts Impoverished People as Hearts Respond to God’s Word

Haitian missionaries are reporting a warm response to the Word of God despite economic woes and skyrocketing inflation.

“Suffering is now more intense with inflation on a high rise,” say missionaries serving in Haiti since 1988.

“The Haitian dollar is now almost worthless. Food and gas is so expensive, especially for native Haitians who have no U.S. dollar to exchange,” Barbara Lataillade said in mid-February. “Eggs have jumped 80 cents in the last month, and gas increased by 70 cents in one leap. We have very little electricity now, but the bill stays the same as when we had electricity round the clock.”

In 1988 Patrick and Barbara Latillade began Living Word Ministry to Haiti to train young people and prepare them for evangelism and church planting. They are planting churches themselves in villages with no evangelical church. They hold training seminars for pastors of other churches to better equip them for their work in God’s service. They also try to supply believers with the Bible in Creole, the common language of Haiti.

Despite economic difficulties, souls are gladly responding to the Word of God. Two young people received Christ in the mission church.

“While Chichi was singing a special song during sharing time at church, her 10-year-old brother, Jeff, started weeping and said he wanted to accept Jesus into his life,” the missionary said.

“Later that same day, a girl came to our house and said that she had been sitting in her house crying since morning. Then she heard a voice telling her to come to the missionary’s house and have him pray for her. She, too, accepted the Lord.”

Perhaps most dramatic was the reaction of one of the native preachers. Though he was born again, he apparently had never been baptized. After attending a teaching meeting by the leader, he got so convicted by the Holy Spirit that he had to be baptized before he went back to his station.

“He is so changed since then that even his countenance is beaming,” the missionary said.

To learn how you can support this ministry, write insider and put MI-409 120-LWM on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 3. Terror Stalks Southern Philippines

Indigenous Christian ministries continue to witness carefully and effectively in Southern Philippines, even though Islamic terror and armed conflict have escalated there.

The Abu Sayyaf still hold hostage three women Jehovah’s Witnesses, whom they kidnapped in August 2002 and kept, after beheading their male companions. The terrorist kidnapping gang, Pentagon, also operates in the south and the government believes the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is harboring and training them.

On February 19, suspected Islamic rebels attacked the Christian village of Kalawit in the Christian region of Zamboanga, South Philippines. Grenades were lobbed into homes before some 50 rebels gathered the residents together in the streets and sprayed them with machine-gun fire. Fourteen people, all Christians, died, including several young children and an infant who was shot dead in his mother’s arms.

In response, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched a major offensive against the Islamic militants of Mindanao. The strife has forced more than 25,000 civilians to flee their homes. American troops are present to ‘accompany and advise’ the Philippine troops, helping them ‘disrupt and destroy’ the Islamic militants and terrorists fighting there.

Christian Aid assists several Christian groups that have effective ministry among the non-Christian people of the area. One of them wrote last week that armored vehicles and heavily armed soldiers were everywhere.

“We are on red alert. There are checkpoints on all highways, because of the ongoing war and bombing done by terrorist and Muslim extremists. Hundreds of people were killed, including rebels and soldiers, though most victims were civilians. But instead of fear, this spurs us on to reach the lost and plant churches in both the plains and mountain areas. Please pray for us earnestly as we need the complete armor of God to stand in this evil situation.”

Please pray that missionaries will be kept safe from harm and that Islamic militants and terrorists will be removed from the southern Philippines and their flow of arms obstructed.

To learn more about Filipino ministries in the region, write and put MI-409 801-MSF on the subject line. This report was based in part on a prayer letter item by the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance.

———————————————————————– 4. Philippine Missionaries Focus on Children

Some Philippine missionaries on the Island of Mindanao are focusing their attention on teaching children how to read.

The program meets a need expressed by literacy workers in local villages three years ago. Most of the villages are 12 to 15 kilometers (7 to 9 miles)

from the nearest government school.

The program helps implement the government program on bilingual education. The first stage teaches basic reading, writing and arithmetic to the children in their local language. Phase two teaches the children basic Filipino and English to prepare them for formal schooling.

The program, which was operational only three weeks when the report was prepared in January, has produced 39 colorful “Big Books” with different cultural stories for the children’s classes. The missionaries, who work with a Scripture translation and literacy training ministry, also trained seven lay teachers.

To learn more about this mission effectively reaching the Philippines’ unreached people groups, write and put MI-409 and put 801-TAP on the subject line.

———————————————————————– 5. Indonesia: Papua Christians Fear Islamization

On 19 February 19, the South China Morning Post published an article by John Martinkus entitled, “Islamic extremism gains a foothold in Christian Papua.” This article confirms widely held suspicions that while the Laskar Jihad did disband in Maluku, it did not disband in Papua. In fact the SCMP article paints a picture of escalating levels of co-operation between the Indonesian military, Korpussas and the Laskar Jihad.

Commenting on the co-operation between the Indonesian military and the Laskar Jihad, Johannes Bonay, the head of ELSHAM, a group that monitors human rights abuses in Papua, says, “The rhetoric of the Laskar Jihad groups fits comfortably with the aims of the Indonesian military in Papua. One of their objectives is to protect the unity of Indonesia in Papua. They are using Islam to claim they are fighting against the Kaffir here in Papua.” (Over 90% of the indigenous population of Papua is officially Christian – mostly Protestant. Operation World 21st Century Edition.)

The Indonesian military is using the issue of separatism (which in Eastern Indonesia is very non-threatening) as their reason for pursuing increased powers. In Papua, both the military and the Islamists are motivated by their humiliation and anger over the loss of East Timor. Clearly, predominantly Christian Papua is a conflict-in-waiting.

We also note that Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has signed a controversial presidential decree to expedite the dividing of Papua into three provinces, weakening its autonomy and opening the door for the isolation of the Christian majority in one eastern province, enabling the other provinces, and eventually the entire region, to be gradually Islamised.

This story was prepared by Elizabeth Kendal for the Religious Liberty Conference of the World Evangelical Alliance and is republished by permission.

———————————————————————– 6. Photo of the Week: Gwahatikes Rejoice

http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-4-09.asp

Bible Translators Association of Papua New Guinea recently dedicated freshly printed copies of the New Testament in the Gwahatike language. The Gwahatike live in the mountains of Madang Province. At the dedication ceremony, the Gwahatike young people dressed in traditional dress and performed a traditional dance and sang Scripture songs in their language. The leader said, “Papua New Guinea got its independence in 1975, but our God gave us independence in our language so that we can read the Word of God in our own language. Now we want to sing and dance to praise God in our language, in our culture, which has meaning to us and to God. We want our traditional songs and dances to be redeemed and directed towards God.” To learn more about the Bible Translators Association of Papua New Guinea, write insider and put MI-409 755-BTA 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.

—————————— Contact Us —————————– Check us out on the web at: http://www.christianaid.org. Christian Aid can be reached by phone at 434-977-5650, or by writing Christian Aid at P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. In Canada, visit http://www.christianaid.ca or write to .

———————————————————————– To subscribe to Missions Insider Report, or to view archives, visit http://www.christianaid.org/insider.asp.

Christian Aid’s Privacy Statement: http://www.christianaid.org/privacy.asp

os.yahoo.com/rlgmediaau”>http://au.photos.yahoo.com/rlgmediaau http://community.webshots.com/user/ramon_williams ——————————————————————- Telling others, what others are doing for the Lord.

— Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).