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Today’s Headlines:

WAVE OF VIOLENCE BATTERS CHRISTIANS IN SRI LANKA 2 EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS REARRESTED IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST CONVERTS JAARS TAKES PART IN CELEBRATIONS MARKING 100 YEARS OF FLIGHT HABITAT FOUNDER CALLS 150,000 HOMES ‘SIGNIFICANT BEGINNING’ EVANGELISTIC OPPORTUNITIES MULTIPLY IN INDIA DESPITE PERSECUTION * HCJB WORLD RADIO BROADCASTS HISTORIC CHRISTMAS PROGRAM TO INDIA

Today’s News Stories:

WAVE OF VIOLENCE BATTERS CHRISTIANS IN SRI LANKA The first weekend of December saw Christians in Sri Lanka being targeted with at least 12 new incidents of violence. A small group meeting for prayer in Ampegama was assaulted, and a pastor leading the prayer meeting, as well as some of the members, were beaten by assailants. On Dec. 7 four churches in the Kegalle district were attacked by religiously motivated militants. Belongings were stolen, one church was burned and church members were beaten. In one church a mob smashed the building’s windows and doors, burned the belongings and threatened the lives of some church workers who lived there. On Dec. 9 Buddhist groups held a rally in Embilipitiya. The speakers reportedly said that Christian churches were functioning illegally and should be attacked and smashed. That evening police prevented an attack on a

local Assembly of God Church, but the World Vision office and Catholic church were not spared. Soldiers from a nearby army camp attempted to prevent the Church building from being burned, but were told by the mob to not intervene, claiming they had orders from “higher authorities.” In nearby Udawalawe, the Assembly of God church was besieged by about 30 people who smashed windows and doors and burned furnishings. The pastor managed to escape unharmed, but the home of another pastor was damaged by stones. (Voice of the Martyrs)

2 EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS REARRESTED IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST CONVERTS Two Christians from Alexandria, Egypt, who were originally detained in October have been rearrested. Their first arrest was part of a widespread sweep targeting converts from Islam and those who helped them obtain new identities. Aziz Zakher Sarkis and Sharif Kameel Nazer were taken back into custody on Tuesday, Dec. 16, after being seized without a warrant. They are accused of helping Muslim converts to Christianity obtain new identities. Officer Sayed Zaki, known for his aggressive attitude towards converts, led the arrests. Charges have not been officially lodged against the two Christians or the 22 others who were arrested in late October for “falsifying official documents.” All were released on bail. Following this latest development, converts throughout Alexandria are living in a state of heightened fear. A Christian who converts to Islam in Egypt can receive new identification papers with a new Muslim name within 24 hours, but the opposite is nearly impossible. They will always be regarded as Muslim in the eyes of the law. This means that female converts to Christianity are prohibited from marrying Christian men; children will be treated as Muslims and educated as such at school; and converts who die are buried as Muslims. (Barnabas Fund)

JAARS TAKES PART IN CELEBRATIONS MARKING 100 YEARS OF FLIGHT While the U.S. celebrates 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first airplane flight JAARS, an organization that speeds Bible translation by providing aviation services for Wycliffe Bible Translators and others, participated at a celebration in North Carolina Dec. 12-17. “Being based in North Carolina for many years, we’re part of the state’s aviation history,” says JAARS spokesman Glenn Ferguson. “The North Carolina Department of Transportation asked us to be on display and involved in the celebration. We took one of our Helio Couriers that we use in places around the world to support missions.” The display also gave JAARS staff members the opportunity to share the gospel with the public and explain the needs of missionary aviation. (Mission Network News)

HABITAT FOUNDER CALLS 150,000 HOMES ‘SIGNIFICANT BEGINNING’ Habitat for Humanity International founder Millard Fuller, recently named “executive of the year” by the Nonprofit Times, said the ministry has provided homes for more than 150,000 families in nearly 3,000 communities worldwide. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1976, constructs affordable homes for low-income families. Fuller says Habitat has been so successful in fulfilling its mission because it follows the scriptural mandate to care for our neighbors. “It’s God’s idea,” he says. “The Bible tells us plainly that we should love one another, and we should express love in tangible ways. I think its working because we are doing business with some fundamental biblical ideas.” Fuller says that while reaching the 150,000-home milestone is a “significant beginning,” much more work remains. “More than 100 million people in the world are absolutely homeless,” he says. “So our work is really just beginning.” Rather than give houses away, Habitat provides poor people with low-interest mortgages and requires recipients to invest hundreds of hours in helping to construct their own homes. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

EVANGELISTIC OPPORTUNITIES MULTIPLY IN INDIA DESPITE PERSECUTION Tom Dudenhoffer of Audio Scripture Ministries says the spiritual hunger in India often counters the threat of persecution. In four states of India, parties favoring Hinduism came into power with the Dec. 1 electoral victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party. This could mean hard times for the Christian community since the Hindu culture finds the growing interest in Christianity a threat to their own political stability. In spite of this threat, opportunities for ministry have “almost overwhelmed our missionaries and staff,” Dudenhoffer said. “There seems to be an unusual openness to the gospel even while there’s an increase in persecution.” In one area more than 700 people recently signed up “Scripture listening kits.”

Other ministries report a similar response. Vernon Brewer of World Help witnessed an event in Allahabad where 40,000 believers gathered in India’s holiest city to worship Christ. He says what Christians are doing in India is incredible. “They’re going two-by-two into the unreached villages of Uttar Pradesh, a state of 175 million people, and they’re going to 100,000 unreached villages,” Brewer said. “Their vision and goal is to see 1 million house churches planted in the next five years. What we’re seeing now is the result of Christians going in these Hindu strongholds and marching and praying and believing God for the impossible.”

Dan Hitzhusen of Global Missions Fellowship says short-term teams from North America are opening up incredible ministry opportunities. “A chief who was having a wedding for his son stopped the ceremony, and because there was an American there, allowed him to preach the gospel. Many people professed faith in Christ! In that particular situation the chief set up a piece of land for the new church to get started.” Hitzhusen says the Christians in India are fervent and willing to face persecution. But since many of the believers come from the lower castes “they’re not given any kind of entree into whole villages,” he says. However, villagers will often welcome American Christians. “Whole villages open up, and people come to know Christ,” Brewer says. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO BROADCASTS HISTORIC CHRISTMAS PROGRAM TO INDIA A powerful signal from the “Voice of the Great Southland,” HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra, blanketed the subcontinent of India today with a special program in Hindi called, “Aao Christmas Manayein” (Let’s Celebrate Christmas). The program was also simulcast on FM radio stations in three major cities of India — New Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow with a total population of 35 million — a first for the ministry.

“It’s the first true Christmas program to be aired on local radio stations in India,” said C. Thant Khobung, director of Bibles for the World in India. This was the first of a two-part magazine-format program that includes Christmas carols, street interviews, a Christmas drama and a Bible lesson. The second half will air on Christmas Day, broadcasting at the same time and on the same frequencies and stations.

Reports are coming in from listeners who said they enjoyed the program while in their cars, auto-rickshaws, homes and hotel rooms. Listeners who submit a correct answer to a question pertaining to a character in the drama will receive a Christmas card with a Hindi version of the Christmas story printed on rice paper.

The Christmas program was produced at the studios of Global Media Training Associates, HCJB World Radio’s national partner in New Delhi. Children from a hostel/orphanage in the city provided voices for the drama segment. Much to their glee, it was the first time any of them had heard their voices on the air. They all tuned in to their local FM station to hear the program. (HCJB World Radio)

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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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