A ministry of HCJB World Radio

Today’s Headlines:

BOMBINGS IN TURKEY PROMPT MISSION TEAMS TO USE CAUTION TURKISH AUTHORITIES ORDER CLOSURE OF PROTESTANT HOUSE CHURCH HAITIAN GOVERNMENT THWARTS CELEBRATION BY EVANGELICALS CHRISTIAN COLONEL RELEASED FROM PERUVIAN PRISON AFTER 8 YEARS ARSON SUSPECTED IN FIRE THAT DESTROYS HISTORIC COLORADO CHURCH * PARTNER RADIO MINISTRY HOXO IN PANAMA DEDICATES NEW STUDIOS

Today’s News Stories:

BOMBINGS IN TURKEY PROMPT MISSION TEAMS TO USE CAUTION Missionaries in Turkey are exercising extra caution following the deadly bombings on Istanbul on Thursday — the second attack by Islamic militants against Western targets in a week. IN-Network’s team, for example, is keeping a low profile because of its ministry’s reputation, says U.S. Director Rody Rodeheaver. “That’s always a struggle in these types of countries –Christianity being tied to America and the West. So our staff has to work hard at overcoming that, and these kinds of events trigger some of those kinds of feelings.” Rodeheaver says the news from Turkey is not all bad. “We’ve been seeing a lessening of the regulations, and a lessening of the pressures there, with more freedom being given and opportunities to reach out with the gospel.” (Mission Network News)

TURKISH AUTHORITIES ORDER CLOSURE OF PROTESTANT HOUSE CHURCH Seven months after the newly constructed Diyarbakir Evangelical Church opened in southeastern Turkey, a local council under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has ordered the church to close its doors. Pastor Ahmet Guvener was served written notice on Oct. 30 that the use of his building for any purpose except as a home was illegal. The council stated it was “obliged” to notify local authorities of this breach of a law protecting historical sites, so that either a court case would be opened or the building closed to prevent its misuse. The new evangelical church stands opposite the ancient Syrian Orthodox community’s historic Virgin Mary Church. In response to the council’s notice, Guvener applied to the local municipality on Nov. 4, requesting that the building’s zoning status be changed to a place of worship. (Compass)

HAITIAN GOVERNMENT THWARTS CELEBRATION BY EVANGELICALS Tuesday, Nov. 18, was to be a day of major celebration by Christians across the island of Haiti. Ed Walker, former president of World Team U.S.A. and a long-time missionary in Haiti, reported that the Haitian government changed its tune at the last minute and rescinded permission for evangelicals to hold hands and pray across the country. The official statement stated that this movement was contrary to the official policy and plan to dedicate the country to the Voodoo spirits. Walker stated that Christians did meet together in prayer across the country and plan to try the “hold hands and pray across the country” celebration again Dec. 7. “Christ is building His church in Haiti, and the gates of hell cannot stop it,” he said. Since 1994 President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has moved further and further away from his Roman Catholic roots. He said he plans to rededicate the nation to the voodoo on Jan. 1, Haiti’s 200th anniversary of independence from France. Christian leaders have laid out extensive plans for countering this attempt and are going to do whatever is necessary to call the Haitian nation back to God and dedicate the country to Christ on Jan. 1. (Assist News Service)

CHRISTIAN COLONEL RELEASED FROM PERUVIAN PRISON AFTER 8 YEARS Col. David de Vinatea, a decorated officer in the Peruvian army and an evangelical Christian, regained his freedom after serving eight years and 10 days in prison for alleged drug trafficking. De Vinatea walked out of the gates of Lima’s Lurigancho Prison Wednesday, Nov. 19, accompanied by several family members. “Right now I feel kind of strange,” he said, commenting on his long-awaited freedom. “The good thing is, the Lord has protected and sustained us. My wife and my children have been strengthened, and I was able to survive. Thank God, all that is over now.” Arrested on Nov. 9, 1995, while commanding an army base in the Amazon jungle, de Vinatea was sentenced in December 1997 to 16 years in prison for alleged involvement in cocaine trafficking. Observers who closely followed the case became convinced that de Vinatea was not only innocent of the charges, but that high-ranking officials in the government of former president Alberto Fujimori falsely accused him of wrongdoing in order to cover up their own illicit activities. An international coalition of Christian organizations lobbied the Peruvian government to review the case. Largely due to their efforts, President Alejandro Toledo decided last year to commute de Vinatea’s sentence, opening the way for his release. During his incarceration, de Vinatea led Bible studies for inmates and pastored a small church inside the prison. (Open Doors)

ARSON SUSPECTED IN FIRE THAT DESTROYS HISTORIC COLORADO CHURCH A tiny white frame church on a knoll along a historic Western stagecoach line in Colorado was destroyed by fire early Sunday, Nov. 16. Colorado officials suspect that an arsonist torched Virginia Dale Community Church which was always kept unlocked as a haven for travelers along a lonely stretch of U.S. 287 between Fort Collins, Colo., and Cheyenne, Wyo. The nondenominational church, dating back to 1880, is believed to have been started by Sheldon Jackson, the indefatigable Presbyterian missionary who established more than 100 congregations in states stretching from Wisconsin to Nevada before moving on to Alaska. The old church was part of a designated historical site, the Virginia Dale Stage Stop, on the Overland Trail. Today Virginia Dale is barely a wide spot in the road. All that remains of the wooden church is a concrete foundation crowned by a blackened wood-burning stove strewn with charred timbers and ashes. An organ and piano are among the casualties. Church members, buoyed by local support, have vowed to rebuild. “They can’t defeat us,” said Shirlie Moen. Architects and contractors have offered to build a little wooden church — just like the one that burned. “That’s our plan,” Moen said. (PCUSA News)

* PARTNER RADIO MINISTRY HOXO IN PANAMA DEDICATES NEW STUDIOS The dedication of a new studio complex at Radio Station HOXO, HCJB World Radio’s partner ministry in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, Nov. 8, demonstrated how God can revitalize a ministry that most had left for dead 11 years earlier.

The once-dilapidated station, on the verge of shutting down in 1992 due to runaway debts and equipment failures, again has a vibrant ministry in this strategic country. Today HOXO is a healthy outreach, on the air 24 hours daily, reaching across Panama, the “crossroads of the world,” with programs in Spanish, English and Cantonese.

“It was an incredible joy and delight that Tom Fulghum was invited to take part in the dedication of HOXO’s studios,” says HCJB World Radio President Dave Johnson. “Knowing the crisis that this ministry had gone through not many years ago, it’s significant to see how they have matured and stepped out on their own with support from the Christian community in Panama”

Fulghum, who serves in HCJB World Radio’s member care department in Colorado Springs, Colo., said it was “absolutely wonderful” to take part in the dedication, held in Panama’s newest, most modern shopping mall. “From a station that 11 years earlier was in the pits of despair, I walked into the ministry’s new complex with three studios-one for HOXO-AM, one for Stereo Vida-FM, and a talk studio in between.”

More than 500 people were present for the event, including a local pastor who lauded the station for being “faithful through all of Panama’s trials” since going on the air in 1949 and becoming associated with HCJB World Radio in 1963.

When the mission first asked Fulghum to help restore the station in 1992, it seemed like an impossible task. “The station had a debt of $60,000 that was increasing at a rate of $3,000 a month, worn out equipment and an inactive board,” he said. “The few people on staff often went unpaid due to the financial situation.”

The country itself was in shambles following the downfall of dictator Manuel Noriega. Revenue from cooperating broadcasters was also down, the station’s AM and FM transmitters were in poor shape, and the building for the AM transmitter was surrounded by a slum, vulnerable to robbers and other hazards.

Then Fulghum read about Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones when God commanded the prophet to speak to the bones, “I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord'” (Ezekiel 37:5-6). “It was impossible to read about that without thinking about HOXO,” he said. “I just knew that God was going to rescue that station!”

For more than five years Fulghum traveled back and forth from Quito to Panama, taking measures to revive the ministry. “At first I couldn’t find anyone to serve on the board,” he said. “But then people who had said no came up to me and said yes!”

By 1999 the station was self-sufficient financially — partly because the old AM transmitter site was sold at a high price to make room for a new highway going from the airport to Panama City.

Fulghum said the turnaround of HOXO has been his most satisfying experience in 36 years of missionary service with HCJB World Radio. “I wish I could take the credit for what has happened, but it was all God,” he said. (HCJB World Radio)

FREE WORLD WALL MAP: Full-color, 22-inch by 34-inch world wall map. To order, e-mail your name and mailing address to .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Editor’s Note. Feel free to forward this to any interested friends. Our lists are distributed for information purposes and to encourage prayer. HCJB World Radio does not necessarily endorse or support the activities on which it reports. _______________________________________________ HCJBDaily mailing list

with subscribe in the subject line.

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