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(Bangladesh)–We begin today’s newscast with an urgent call to prayer from Bangladesh. Gospel for Asia’s[1] K-P Yohannan says one of their national missionaries has been kidnapped. “One of our brothers in leadership, supervising an entire district of church planting missionaries, (was kidnapped). On the 28th of May we received the news that he may be kidnapped. Just hours ago, we got a note from the terrorist group, demanding very large sums of money.” Yohannan says the missionary’s name and the terrorist group aren’t being released for security reasons. He says while this oppression is hard, Yohannan believes it helps the church. “We find that the co-workers, and the missionaries and the pastors become much more bold to share the love of Christ. There is such power in (their) willingness to suffer and die for Christ’s sake, which becomes an incredible witness.”

(Algeria)–Meanwhile, nerves continue to fray under the aftershocks that are reminders of a deadly earthquake that struck Algeria 11 days ago. More than 2,600 people were killed and more than 10,000 others injured in last month’s earthquake. Tens of thousands are now sleeping outdoors. Food For The Hungry’s[2] Beth Allen. “We need to make sure that people can be kept alive, and that’s why we’re doing food, water and blankets, until they are able to return to living in permanent structures. The government announced a program to rebuild 20-thousand houses, but that will take some years for all of that to come to fruition.” Allen says the reconstruction phase gives their national partners a way to exemplify the hope of Christ. “You think about Christianity, or think about Christian relief, as being just a matter of taking care of the situation when it occurs. But in reality, Christians can do a lot in their community by preparing and by trying to prevent disasters before they happen.”

(USA/Iraq)–A church in the United States is looking for help as they assist people in war torn Iraq. Southern Baptist International Mission Board[3] officials say the First Baptist Church in Collierville, Tennessee hopes to ship more than 14-thousand kits that contain vitamins, Band-Aids, toothbrushes, shampoo and dishtowels. The goal is to develop long term relationships, opening doors for future outreach. Other congregations are being encouraged to help with this more than 500-thousand-dollar project.

(Ukraine)–Next, Ukraine’s president wants to speed up plans to enter the World Trade Organization by one year. The country’s entry should help stabilize the economy, allowing an emergence from dependency. Bible Mission International’s[4] Mark Reimschisel says they’re also fine-tuning their orphanage focus. “What we’re trying to do now is, instead of providing them help on a monthly basis, try to provide help them with some means that they can care for themselves. One unique example was being able to go in and help buy some chickens, some pigs and some cows for an orphanage so that they’ll be able to produce their own food all year round.” Reimschisel says because their teams are known believers, they sometimes run into difficulty. “There’ve been reports that some places have not been allowing folks into the orphanage. Please continue to pray for openness, because when things start to work and there’s effects of people coming to know Christ, there’s always an opportunity for some obstruction and some hindrance.”

(USA)–And, D&D’s[5] clothing center recently celebrated their 100,000th missionary shopper. To mark the occasion the Lee Jenkins family, who shares the Gospel in Pakistan, was invited to select clothing and special gifts. The D&D Missionary Homes in Florida stock clothing and accessory items at their center to benefit both active and retired missionaries. All the items are donated and provide a real cost savings for missionaries trying to apply financial savings for their ministry.

[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=GFA [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=FFH [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=IMB [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=BMN [5] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=DAD ———————————————————————

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