Laos

*Correction on Dara Singh Story 1. Laos: 12 Jailed Christian Leaders Remain Faithful 2. The Exemplary Ministry of Dr. Hanna Massad 3. Myanmar: Missionaries Evangelize on Empty Stomachs 4. Peru: Terrorists Threaten Peaceful Tribes 5. Photo of the Week: Future Terrorists?

———————————————————————- These are the contents of today’s Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid September 10, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 36 Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org ———————————————————————– John Lindner, Editor ———————————————————————– 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. ———————————————————————–

Correction on Dara Singh Story

Last week’s Missions Insider said that the man accused of murdering Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons is the same as the former wrestler and Indian actor. Though this is believed by some, and there is some evidence on the Internet to suggest that conclusion, Christian Aid has learned that this is NOT true. Reliable sources have confirmed that Dara Singh, the actor, is an older man, 65-70, whereas the man allegedly involved in the Staines murder is in his 40s and assumed the actor’s name for publicity purposes. Court documents and news releases use the name of Dara Singh. We were fooled and sincerely regret passing on false information on this story and apologize for any inconvenience or embarrassment it may have caused. We request that anyone posting last week’s story on the Internet should promptly remove it. Thank you.-Editor

———————————————————————- 1. Laos: 12 Jailed Christian Leaders Remain Faithful

Imprisoned Christian leaders in Laos are facing nearly every trick in the books by authorities who are trying to get them to deny their faith, but they remain faithful.

There were 21 Christian leaders from Munag Nong imprisoned, but nine were released in August. The remaining 12 must continually guard against tactics to thwart their faith.

They also could have been released had they agreed to the conditions set forth by the authorities. According to reports received by Christian Aid, they were told to confess to false charges that they did not have proper permission from local authorities to move their families to another village. They were also told they must not mention that they were charged on religious grounds. However, the leaders did not agree to those conditions and therefore remain in jail.

Authorities then tried to place guns in their hands so they could photograph them and use the photos to charge them with illegal weapons charges, but again the leaders would not cooperate.

The Munag Nong district police chief and administrative head then told them they would release them if they signed an affidavit that they would no longer follow Christ or worship Him. Again, the Christians preferred to remain in prison rather than deny their Lord. Meanwhile, area Christians bring them food or they would starve.

The spokesperson on their behalf urged that letters be written to Lao

His Excellency Phanthong PHOMMAHAXAY Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Embassy to the U.S.A. 2222 S Street NW Washington DC 20008 Tel. (202) 332-6416 Fax: (202) 332-4923

The Lao Embassy at Bangkok can be contacted as follows: The Lao Embassy 520/502/1-3 Soi Sahakarnpramoon, Pracha Uthit Road (End of Soi Ramkhamhaeng 39) Wangthonglang, Bangkok 10310 Tel.: 539-6667-8 or 539-7341 Fax: 539-3827 or 539-6678

The President of the country is His Excellency Khamtay Siphandone.

———————————————————————- 2. The Exemplary Ministry of Dr. Hanna Massad

One of the ministries Christian Aid has assisted over the years is Bethlehem Bible College, located in the city where Christ was born. Directed by Dr. Bishara Awad, one of BBC’s main priorities is to train Christian leaders who are committed to remaining in the land and who will contribute to the renewal of their home communities and churches. Dr. Awad recently highlighted the life and ministry of Dr. Hanna Massad as a model of the kind of indigenous Christian leader that BBC seeks to produce.

Dr. Massad is originally from Gaza, where the tiny Christian minority has always served as a spiritual oasis within the larger Muslim majority. Christians comprise less than one half of one percent of the total population and have historically belonged to either the Greek Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church. So to have such a solid leader among the tiny evangelical community is a tremendous asset.

During the period of his undergraduate studies at BBC, Hanna Massad commuted on a weekly basis to Gaza in order to serve as senior pastor to the only evangelical church in the area, the Gaza Baptist Church. Upon graduating with a B.A. in 1991, Hanna was accepted into a graduate program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasedena, California, where he completed both a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology.

After eight years, Hanna once again returned to lead the Gaza Baptist Church, where his fluency in English also allows him to participate frequently in speaking engagements for the purpose of educating other English speakers about the situation facing Christians in Palestine.

Since his return in 1999, Hanna has developed a dynamic ministry that has brought glory to the Lord in a variety of ways. The Gaza Baptist Church’s Sunday worship services accommodate 100-130 attendants and weekly Bible activities include a women’s group, two age levels of youth meetings, Sunday school, choir activities, and a special support group for new believers. In addition to these activities, Hanna co-ordinates a number of community activities with Life Agape (Campus Crusade) and the Bible Society.

Hanna also directs Bethlehem Bible College’s extension program in Gaza. This year, as a result of the numerous movement restrictions confronting Gaza residents, Hanna initiated an independent study program that currently accommodates four motivated students. Hanna also provided a seminar in leadership training to two groups of Palestinian Authority staff (a total of 29 students) and conducted credit courses on The Gospel of John and The Historical Books with a total of 27 students.

Because of the constantly deteriorating social conditions in Gaza, a significant part of Hanna’s ministry consists of relief work. Hanna estimates that he distributes monthly supplies of food, medicine and other essential items to over 500 families, 99% of which are Muslim.

According to Hanna, many of these families often allow him to pray for them during the home visitations. In other instances, they will accept, or even request, Arabic Bibles and Christian literature. And so in this way Hanna ministers to the physical and the acute spiritual needs of a community torn apart by violence and suffering and driven by revenge.

In the summer of 2001 Hanna married Suhad, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship from Bet Sahour. Last year, Suhad was the focus of a worldwide campaign to reunite her with her husband, after the Israeli authorities refused to allow her to re-enter Gaza following a brief visit to her family in Jordan. She was recently hired by the Bible Society of Gaza and also assists her husband in many outreach activities. According to a local pastor, “The ministry of Dr. Massad and his wife is a source of real hope for reaching Gaza’s 1.2 million Muslims with the gospel.”

BBC is proud to include Dr. Hanna Massad among its alumni and seeks to produce many more Christian leaders like him who are committed to delivering the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Arab world. With the quality training provided by BBC, ministries like his are seeking to unify all people on the path of salvation through Jesus Christ. In the post-September 11 era, there can be no greater or more urgent task than this.

There is an urgency to this mission. “Christian families are leaving Christ’s birthplace… and the Christian community faces the very real threat of extinction. We ask for your compassion and support, but most of all we ask for your prayers,” Dr. Bishara Awad said.

———————————————————————- 3. Myanmar: Missionaries Evangelize on Empty Stomachs

Missionaries in Myanmar (formerly Burma) are effectively serving the Lord even though many of them don’t have enough food to eat.

According to a report received by Christian Aid last week, more than 100 companies have been closed down and many people cannot find jobs. Prices have doubled due to inflation and the normal amount of native currency sent by indigenous mission leaders to their missionaries goes only half as far. As a result, many missionaries are evangelizing on empty stomachs.

A mission leader told Christian Aid that two weeks ago he received a call from one of his missionaries saying that his family had no food to eat. Then another missionary called and said the same thing. In each of these instances the mission leader sent additional support.

Then he learned that one family in a local church fasted three days because they had no food to eat. So he sent them some rice.

“Whenever I hear that kind of thing, it breaks my heart,” the leader said.

Even so, he said the missionaries are working hard and bearing fruit. In one village the local missionary won the local community leader from a non-Christian background to the Lord.

“The believers are praying to God,” the leader said. “I am personally confident that God is in control.”

With local Christians being unable to feed even their own families, support for local gospel workers is far from adequate. Christian Aid is collecting and sending help to indigenous mission leaders in Myanmar to provide missionary support and food relief. To learn how you can help, write and put MI-436 715-WMN on the subject line.

———————————————————————- 4. Peru: Terrorists Threaten Peaceful Tribes

A Peruvian mission leader told Christian Aid this week that Shining Path terrorists are seeking to make a comeback in his country and are attacking peaceful tribes is one of their ploys to grab power.

The leader, whose name cannot be disclosed for security reasons, said that small bands of Shining Path terrorists invade peaceful Ashaninka villages in their region and take the children as young as 10 years old to train as future terrorists. They then force the men and women to farm plots of land, hunt game, and fish the rivers to provide food for the terrorists.

According to the mission leader, the terrorists dwell in camps high in the mountainous jungles. The camps are covered by clouds on most days, preventing invasion by government forces by helicopter. On clear days, the terrorists can see the helicopters coming and evacuate the camps long before the commandos arrive. So the government is making little headway against the Shining Path movement.

If the government forces try to reach the camps by ground, they get lost or arrive long after the terrorists have left. The mission leader suggested that when the government treats the long-despised tribal people with respect and starts giving them greater backing, the terrorists will be stopped. And there is reason to believe the government is beginning to think that way. They recently equipped one tribal village with shotguns.

Another tribal village was able to defend itself against the terrorists by booby-trapping all paths leading to the village and implementing an identity card system. And a group of Quechuas literally starved out a small band of terrorists by blocking all exits from the camp. The terrorists could not get out to get food and all died. The Quechuas eventually entered the camp and found dead bodies with grass in their stomachs.

However, he said that the main weapon to be deployed is united prayer. “United prayer, irregardless of denomination,” he said. “It turned the tide once before, and it will do so again.”

The ministry has extensive work among the Ashaninkas, who also are seeking to gain the confidence of a newly discovered tribe and win them to the Lord. To learn more write and put MI-436 245-SEG on the writing line.

———————————————————————- 5. Photo of the Week: Future Terrorists?

http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-4-36.asp

These Ashaninka children in their tribal garb live in a village in Peru. Many such villages lie in the region inhabited by rising bands of Shining Path terrorists. These bands take entire villages hostage, forcing the adults to provide them food, and carrying off the 9 and 10-year-old boys to train as future terrorists to attack their own people. A mission leader is calling for strong prayer to stop this satanic movement. See story #4 above, “Terrorists Threaten Peaceful Tribes.”

———————————————————————- 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 .

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).