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Today’s Headlines:

UNIDENTIFIED ATTACKER HURLS GRENADE AT ORTHODOX CHURCH IN KOSOVO MISSIONARIES IN SAUDI ARABIA URGED TO LEAVE AS THREATS INCREASE CHRISTIAN JORDANIAN WIDOW AVOIDS LATEST ARREST ATTEMPT CAMPAIGN AIMS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF PERSECUTION IN NORTH KOREA DOZENS TURN TO CHRIST AT CLOSE OF MEETINGS IN THAILAND SOUTHERN BAPTISTS SET TARGET HIGH FOR MISSIONARY SUPPORT OFFERING

Today’s News Stories:

UNIDENTIFIED ATTACKER HURLS GRENADE AT ORTHODOX CHURCH IN KOSOVO An unidentified person attacked an Orthodox church in Urosevac, Kosovo, with a hand grenade Friday, Dec. 12, despite being guarded by Greek troops from the NATO-led KFOR. A grenade was thrown into the churchyard of the Church of St. Uros in the town of Urosevac in southern Kosovo at about 8 p.m. No one was injured, but a vehicle parked nearby was damaged. An initial police investigation failed to turn up any suspects. Since 1999 there have been many such attacks on Orthodox sites without any arrests being made. Church members expressed gratitude to the Greek troops for their protection, preventing it from being destroyed like other Serbian Orthodox churches in the Urosevac and Nerodimlje region. The grenade exploded approximately 30 feet from the front steps of the church that was built in 1933. In June 1999, just after U.S. troops under the NATO KFOR command arrived in the area, the church was twice subjected to arson attempts. Since then it has been under constant KFOR protection. (Forum 18 News Service)

MISSIONARIES IN SAUDI ARABIA URGED TO LEAVE AS THREATS INCREASE The U.S. State Department intensified its warnings about terrorism in Saudi Arabia today, telling Americans to leave the country. It was the third such travel warning issued for Saudi Arabia this month and the second in nine days. The unspecific threat appears to target not only the U.S., but all Western entities, including Christians and mission workers. Despite the threats, Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors USA says missionaries are undeterred. “As far as Open Doors is concerned, we have ways of working in different countries. Obviously, I can’t tell you some of the ways that we work in Saudi Arabia. But needless to say, we have avenues of getting Christian materials there, and we just need to pray that those will continue to flow into the country.” Dykstra credits expatriate staff members for their ability to maintain ministry levels, but he urges prayer support. “Pray for those Christians who are working there and witnessing there, and remember the handful of Saudi Christians. Pray for new converts who will endure persecution for the sake of the gospel. It’s a really tough place to be.” (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio reaches across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe with Christian Arabic programming aired via shortwave, satellite and local stations. The Radio Al Mahabba (Radio Love) Arabic satellite network airs programs direct-to-home 24 hours a day. This region has the world’s highest concentration of personal satellite dishes.

CHRISTIAN JORDANIAN WIDOW AVOIDS LATEST ARREST ATTEMPT Jordanian police used an outdated arrest warrant Tuesday, Dec. 16, in another foiled attempt to detain Siham Qandah, a Christian widow fighting to retain custody of her two daughter, Rawan, 15, and son, Fadi, 14, in Jordan. But when police came to arrest Qandah Tuesday evening, she wasn’t home. Although the local court had decreed last June that Qandah must relinquish her children to a Muslim guardian or be jailed, the arrest warrant has been blocked since September. The day after the attempted arrest, Qandah encountered her estranged brother, Abdullah al-Muhtadi, the same man who had tried to take her children away after her late husband reportedly converted to Islam before he died. “I will prove that you are not a good mother,” Al-Muhtadi told her. “You are trying to make them Christians, but they are Muslims.” (Compass)

CAMPAIGN AIMS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF PERSECUTION IN NORTH KOREA A Christmas campaign in the U.S. has been launched to raise awareness of Christian persecution and human rights violations in North Korea. The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) calls the project the Liberty Initiative for North Korea. Project Director Faith McDonnell says up until recent years, little has been known about the horrendous persecution Christians face in the communist country. The campaign was started to address that situation, McDonnell says, “to inform people about what has been happening in North Korea, to get them to pray for North Korea, to advocate for changes in U.S. policies on North Korea.” As part of the initiative, the IRD is distributing Christmas buttons that say “Merry Christmas” in Korean. The buttons are meant to serve as a reminder of those believers who cannot openly celebrate Jesus’ birth. Beginning in early 2004, the initiative will enter the next phase, equipping church members for grassroots advocacy on North Korea. The campaign will also provide information about public policy initiatives to support freedom for all Koreans, promote human rights and democracy in North Korea, and support persecuted Christians and other North Korean refugees. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

DOZENS TURN TO CHRIST AT CLOSE OF MEETINGS IN THAILAND A Thai evangelistic ministry saw 51 people respond to the gospel after three days of meetings in a Bangkok hotel Dec. 5-7. The ministry, supported by Christian Aid Mission, held daily 80-minute Bible-teaching sessions on various subjects such as creation, sin, repentance, faith, salvation and assurance. During the first evening, the owner of the hotel told how he became a believer after God healed him from a sickness that had prevented him from sleeping well for 30 years. Then everyone in his family turned to Christ. More than 450 people of Thai and Myanmar background attended the crusade, including 250 non-Christians — 170 who had traveled in 21 small trucks and six taxis from an area about 36 miles south of Bangkok. On the closing night, 51 people came forward to put their faith in Christ. After further instruction, 27 of them were baptized before leaving the hotel. (Mission Network News)

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS SET TARGET HIGH FOR MISSIONARY SUPPORT OFFERING Churches in the nation’s largest evangelical denomination are being encouraged to increase their giving to an annual offering for missionaries. Southern Baptist churches are being asked to increase their contribution to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering by 33 percent. That offering, along with the denomination’s cooperative program, is used to send missionaries overseas and support more than 5,000 missionaries already in the field. For each of the past several years, more than 1,000 new missionaries have been appointed. However, giving has not kept pace with that growth, says Dr. Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board. Last year the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) had to defer more than 100 missionaries because the funds were not available. Rankin says the opportunities for people to be reached for Christ are greater now than ever before. The SBC official is convinced that Christians in the U.S. have been blessed so they can bless others. “The primary blessing is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ so that those in despair can find hope, and those in the bondage of sin can hear of a Savior who loves them and died for them.” The goal for this year’s Lottie Moon offering is $133 million — 15 percent more than last year’s total. The “challenge” goal is $150 million. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

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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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