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(Pakistan)–Topping the news, Pakistani authorities are holding an Islamic militant leader suspected of masterminding two attacks on Christians last year. The news comes close to the one-year anniversary of the brutal attacks on the Murree Christian School and the missionary hospital. InterServe’s[1] Joanna Smith says for security reasons, their staff moved the school out of the area. “They were just concerned that there was a pattern of terrorist attacks against Christians and Westereners in the area, therefore they decided for the safety, that they would relocate the school to another area.” However, the testimony of the surviving student body speaks volumes to the communities touched by the tragedies. Smith says as the August 5th anniversary approaches, “People should pray that these students who made their testimonies will continue in their faith, and also, pray for the success of the school in their new location.” The boarding school, since relocated to Thailand, provides a Christian education to about 120 students.

(India)–Meanwhile, mission agencies in India are taking the lead in helping the fight against what health officials believe to be Japanese encephalitis. Mission India’s[2] Dave DeGroot is in the state of Andhre Pradesh. “The death toll officially is approaching 200. Children, in particular, are dying from the mosquito borne disease. The government agencies are releasing information saying that this thing is possibly menacing proportions and they’re going to among other things to Mission partners to help distribute drugs.” DeGroot says Mission India is also helping. He says this is ground-work for evangelism. “This place is so remote, where I’m calling from, that mission work is just establishing ‘toe-holds’ in this area and this helps…this helps a lot. The people trust them, where they don’t trust other big agencies that come in, but these mission agencies have a reputation of truly caring for people and this is just a prime example of how they do that.”

(USA)–A media ministry reaching out to the populations of the Middle East and Northern Africa will be studying their effectiveness. Sat-7[3] North America, which recently celebrated its 7th anniversary, has received grants from The Maclellan Foundation, The Parker Foundation and others to fund an evaluation of the impact of their satellite television ministry in two Middle Eastern countries. Missions researcher and strategist Doctor James Engel will lead the research.

(International)–Elsewhere, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship’s[4] staff and student leaders recently gathered for “World Assembly ’03” in the Netherlands. Intervarsity’s President Alec Hill explains the point behind the international meetings. “I think the purpose of the Assembly is two-fold. One is, just fellowship, to get everybody together to provide a lot of encouragement. Some of these movements are very isolated. The second purpose, I think really, is to strategize where we’re going in the future, what we want to become, what nations do we want to reach.” Becky Stephen coordinated the World Assembly’s delegates. She urges prayer for staff to help them see the bigger picture. “People can thank God that He’s making Himself known to students. That was very evident that the transformation that God promises in scripture is happening. So, people can pray that the staff would have wisdom to know how to communicate the Gospel in those cultural contexts.”

(Sri Lanka)–And finally, the Bible League[5] is opening a new office in war torn Sri Lanka. Until now, civil war hampered efforts to open a ministry in predominately Buddhist Sri Lanka. Because the country appears to be on the brink of peace, they’ve decided to move forward with plans to open an office there to help share the Gospel message…a message that could help bring real peace to the country. Ministry officials say they’re seeking funding from key partners to equip the office with Scriptures and training. Pray that many will come to Christ as a result.

[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=ISV [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=MNI [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=SAT7 [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=ICF [5] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=BLG ———————————————————————

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