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Today’s News Headlines:

ELWA ONLY RADIO STATION ON AIR IN MONROVIA, LIBERIA SRI LANKA CHURCHES SUFFER VIOLENT ATTACKS BY BUDDHIST MONKS WORLD VISION LEADER SAYS AIDS IS WORST PANDEMIC IN HUMAN HISTORY SUDAN PEACE TALKS STALEMATE AMID PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS OFFICIALS IN EGYPT BLOCK CHURCH OPENING CAMBODIA MISSION COALITION TRAINING CHRISTIAN LEADERS

Today’s News Stories:

ELWA ONLY RADIO STATION ON AIR IN MONROVIA, LIBERIA ELWA Radio is the only station still on the air in the war torn capital city of Monrovia, Liberia, according to a report by Carol Wilson of SIM. Wilson said government and other private stations have all gone silent, and unfortunately ELWA’s shortwave transmitter developed a problem last night so the shortwave service is also off the air for the time being. However, ELWA is still on FM, reaching more than a million Liberians with the gospel. Fuel supplies at the station (and everywhere in the city) are running very low, reported Wilson, and will probably run out by this weekend if additional fuel is not found. Wilson encouraged believers to pray that God would provide diesel fuel to keep the message of the gospel on the air. Nigerian peacekeepers (under the name “ECOMIL”) began arriving on Monday, August 4, and were making plans to secure the Freeport and the city of Monrovia. It was reported that they have not yet deployed into the city — most were still in the vicinity of the airport. “More than 2000 displaced people are still at the ELWA campus, with very little food,” Wilson said. It is hoped that opportunities will soon become available for relief groups and for SIM to share food and medicine with them. In spite of the hardship, “evangelism efforts on the campus are ongoing,” Wilson added. SIM-Liberia leaders, who were evacuated in July, are considering the possibility of making a visit in the near future, to assess the needs and see how they can help. (SIM)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with ELWA, a ministry founded by SIM in Monrovia in 1954, to air the gospel across the country and West Africa. The radio station was destroyed twice by civil war, first in 1990 and again in 1996. ELWA went back on the air in 1997 with a small FM transmitter. Then in 2000 HCJB World Radio provided a low-power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the region. ELWA broadcasts the gospel in 10 languages and plans to add more as resources become available.

SRI LANKA CHURCHES SUFFER VIOLENT ATTACKS BY BUDDHIST MONKS The Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL) has confirmed five reports of violent attacks by mobs of Buddhist monks against churches over the weekend of August 2-3 in what appears to be a planned campaign of violence directed specifically at Christian churches. The Methodist Church in Rathgama was attacked, the interior destroyed, and two believers were severely beaten and hospitalized. The pastor of the Assembly of God Church (AOG) in Thanamalwila and Pastor Ranjith of the AOG Church in Lunugamwhehra in the South were attacked by mobs of Buddhist monks on August 2 as well. Pastor Ranjith’s sister who tried to protect him also was beaten. The mob of about 10 Buddhist monks threatened to attack again if the church is not closed down. Armed with a grenade and a pistol, they threatened to kill the pastor. The Calvary Church in Hikkaduwa and houses of members of the AOG Church in Ganemulla also came under attack. The EASL believes this is part of a strategic effort by Buddhist monks to stir up negative feeling against the Christian community before the Anti Conversion Bill comes to the parliament again. A groundswell of sentiment against the church would make the Anti Conversion Bill even more politically popular than it already is. Less than 1 percent of Sri Lanka is Protestant Christian. Further reported attacks are as yet unconfirmed. (Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin)

WORLD VISION LEADER SAYS AIDS IS WORST PANDEMIC IN HUMAN HISTORY “The AIDS pandemic is the worst human crisis in history if we compare it to previous benchmarks, like the Black Death,” said Ken Casey, special representative to U.S. President George W. Bush for the HIV/AIDS Hope Initiative. “The Black Death killed about 20 million people,” Casey said. “So far AIDS has killed 25 million and another 45 million are HIV positive and will die an early death. This is clearly the greatest human crisis of our time and possibly of all history. Such a crisis demands the best of all of us — the church at large and the general public.” World Vision International first announced the Hope Initiative in 2000, and Casey was appointed to lead it in March 2001. Last week he was meeting with Australian and New Zealand leaders in an effort to enhance the world’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Casey reported that 14 million children had been orphaned due to AIDS and there were probably twice that number whose lives were vulnerable because their parents were too sick to work or care for them. “World Vision has been doing relief and development work for 50 years working with communities in transformative development, but the AIDS pandemic has the potential to undo everything that we have done. HIV/AIDS is our number one priority as an organization,” Casey said, but added, “the church is a critical player in the global response. Christ calls us to help the suffering. The huge numbers involved demand the compassion and response of the church.” (New Life)

* HCJB World Radio has sent short-term teams to Cape Town, South Africa, to help with an AIDS clinic at a community center operated by Fish Hoek Baptist Church. HCJB World Radio’s Vozandes Hospital in Quito also operates an AIDS clinic. The ministry’s healthcare, broadcasting and teaching staff in Ecuador are working together to produce educational videos and radio programs to warn people about AIDS.

SUDAN PEACE TALKS STALEMATE AMID PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS Marathon talks are at a stalemate between Sudan’s rebels and the Khartoum government. After two decades of civil war, Voice of the Martyrs’ Gary Lane says there’s more at stake than the politicization of peace. On a recent visit to non-Muslim southern Sudan, he saw fresh evidence of Christian persecution. “It just shows the jihad that is continuing against Christians and animists in the south who refuse to yield to Khartoum’s brand of Islam and sharia (Islamic law). They’ve been fighting it for 20 years. Two million people have been killed, and they say they will continue to fight until they have a just peace.” Lane encouraged believers to uphold the persecuted church in Sudan. (Mission Network News)

OFFICIALS IN EGYPT BLOCK CHURCH OPENING Authorities in Sheikh Zied City, Egypt are opposed to a newly built church and have gone to extreme lengths to disrupt the official opening. Prayers of dedication for the church were due to be held in early July at an official celebration of the church’s opening; however on that day the authorities cut off the electricity and water to the building and even barricaded all the roads leading to the church. Each road had a deep trench dug across it with a correspondingly high bank alongside. The congregation had decided to construct a building that looked like an office. This decision had been reached because it would be extremely difficult for them to get official authorization through the correct channels to construct a church building. Egyptian law requires presidential approval to build a new church. It is a slow bureaucratic process that can take many years, and does not always result in success. To repair or renovate a church, permission must be sought from local governors. While this is less bureaucratic, local governors are prone to be prejudice against Christians. The Church in Egypt is often faced with the dilemma of either not applying for official permission, or having no building at all. (Barnabus Fund News)

CAMBODIA MISSION COALITION TRAINING CHRISTIAN LEADERS In a new spirit of harmony and cooperation, five Cambodian evangelical missionary organizations have formed a coalition dedicated to spreading the gospel and raising up new missionaries. The coalition organizes seminars and conferences for Cambodian pastors. One of the ministries is focusing on expanding its discipleship and leader training programs. Its leader told Christian Aid, “To win Cambodia for Christ, I have become convinced that we must have two tools: strong curriculum to better train eager students in our Ministries Training Center facility, and books printed in Khmer (the predominant language of Cambodia).” Already the mission has plans to build a facility large enough to train at least 100 students a year, and is in the process of translating teaching materials into Khmer. The ministry has a vision extending beyond Cambodia into neighboring closed nations. Many Khmer speakers live in surrounding countries, so the new Khmer Christian literature will be useful beyond Cambodia’s boundaries. Christian leaders are also developing radio and TV ministries, and plan to train 23 evangelical leaders from these closed countries and send them back as missionaries among their own people. (Missions Insider)

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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