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Today’s News Headlines:

CHINESE AUTHORITIES RELEASE BISHOP, TRY 3 HOUSE CHURCH LEADERS 2 CONGREGATIONS MAY LOSE CHURCH BUILDINGS IN RUSSIA HINDU MOB IN INDIA ACCUSES CATHOLIC PRIESTS OF RAPE, MURDER ROBBER SHOOTS CHRISTIAN WORKER OUTSIDE OF BANK IN BANGLADESH GRANDMOTHER’S PREACHING, FEEDING MINISTRY TOUCHES HUNDREDS * HCJB WORLD RADIO HELPS PARTNERS PLANT FIRST STATION IN INDONESIA

Today’s News Stories:

CHINESE AUTHORITIES RELEASE BISHOP, TRY 3 HOUSE CHURCH LEADERS After 10 days in custody, Bishop Wei Jingyi, a leader in the underground Catholic Church in China, was released the afternoon of Sunday, March 14, reported AsiaNews. Jingyi insists on allegiance to the pope, contrary to the policies of the Chinese government. He was arrested at a tollbooth as he was returning from meeting some foreign friends at the Harbin airport. His visitors, both from France, were also detained but then released. In other news, a secret trial was held for three Chinese house church leaders, Liu Fenggang, Xu Yonghai and Zhang Shengqi, on Tuesday, March 16. They are accused of providing intelligence to foreign organizations. A report from China Aid Association indicated that the trial lasted three hours, and the accused are awaiting the verdict. When family members tried to attend the trial, they were prevented by police. Once source said the three were accused of leaking information about a court case in 2000 to a foreign magazine, Christian Life Quarterly, that prosecutors called an “evil cult” magazine. (Voice of the Martyrs)

2 CONGREGATIONS MAY LOSE CHURCH BUILDINGS IN RUSSIA Two congregations in and near the Russian port city of Sovetskaya Gavan could lose their church buildings unless they pay much higher “commercial” rent to the state. Grace Church, a Pentecostal congregation, and the Moscow Patriarchate’s Parish of the Annunciation in a neighboring village, both face substantially higher fees. The Sovetskaya Gavan city council abruptly annulled the contract under which it uses the premises where Grace Church meets. The church claims it does not have the money to challenge the decision in court or to rent a new building for services. Grace Church secured use of a two-story state property in 1999. Under a contract approved by former Mayor Yuri Grigoryev, the building was offered without charge for a period of 20 years on condition that the Pentecostals use it as a place of worship and carry out extensive repairs at their own expense. The building was “in an awful state” when the congregation took it over, said Andrei Nadtochi, a former deacon in the church. In the past five years church members have invested substantial sums in repairing the building and are unable to pay the lawyers’ fees required to defend their claim to it. The decision also affected the parish in a neighboring village. (Forum 18 News Service)

HINDU MOB IN INDIA ACCUSES CATHOLIC PRIESTS OF RAPE, MURDER Hindu fundamentalists have accused Catholic priests of rape and murder in the death of a teenage girl in Madhya Pradesh, India, despite assurances from police that the death was a suicide. Geeta Devi Saket was a Dalit (low-caste) student at Deosar Girls’ Boarding School, operated by the Catholic diocese of Satna. A report from Compass Direct indicated that a maid found the girl’s body hanging from an iron doorframe on the evening of Wednesday, March 3. Members of Bajrang Dal, the militant youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), blamed the Catholic priests of raping and murdering the girl. As workers from the school were taking the girl’s body to a nearby hospital for an autopsy, they were attacked. Fr. Thomas Thelakkatt was beaten unconscious. The others managed to escape, taking him with them back to the mission compound. An autopsy later confirmed that the girl had committed suicide, but the mob of about 2,000 surrounded the mission compound and refused to acknowledge the finding, reported AsiaNews. Police intervened, but mob leaders accused the police of complicity. Christians in India fear further incidents of violence as April 10 general elections approach. The ruling BJP party has increasingly supported Hindu groups opposed to the spread of Christianity in India. (Voice of the Martyrs)

ROBBER SHOOTS CHRISTIAN WORKER OUTSIDE OF BANK IN BANGLADESH In Dhaka, Bangladesh, an Inter-National Needs Network staff member was robbed and critically wounded outside a bank recently. Daniel Sarkar was shot in the stomach. IN Network Bangladesh Executive Director Smith Adhikary responded to the news by rushing to the location and transporting Daniel to a hospital in a van. Sarkar lost a lot of blood and nearly bled to death. It took two emergency operations before the bullet was successfully removed. He is now recuperating at home. Ministry spokesman Rody Rodeheaver says team members believe the incident was isolated, but admits there is reason for concern. “There are violent episodes against workers,” he says. “It’s happening more frequently, but we want to be very careful with this because we don’t want to see terrorism under every bush, or persecution under every bush.” Rodeheaver says as tensions rise and believers begin to feel the pressure, they need prayer support believers around the world. “Pray for our people in these overseas settings that they would be reminded of the sovereignty of God and that they would become more determined to share the love of Christ to their neighbors and co-workers.” (Mission Network News/IN Network)

GRANDMOTHER’S PREACHING, FEEDING MINISTRY TOUCHES HUNDREDS People have thrown bricks at Mina Paille to stop her from preaching, but the 80-year-old St. Louis woman has not stopped. She is the founder of the Love & Care Youth Center and Church which has become a safe haven for many of society’s outcasts. With the help of volunteers, the grandmother of six runs the site for weekly Bible studies, chat sessions, prayer, church services and free groceries. Up to four days a week, the feisty woman ministers God’s Word, often filling the modest sanctuary with the homeless and other needy people. “I didn’t know love until I met God,” she often relates to the congregation. Paille immigrated to the U.S. in 1964 and gave her life to the Lord. She established the center in 1981 together with her daughter, Martina Gray. “We were in a storefront back then,” Gray recalls, adding that the center was originally next to a bar. “Mom would come home bloody, having been hit with bricks. Someone had even pulled a gun on her once.” Yet none of it hindered Paille who “prayed the bar out of the neighborhood” and later occupied that space as well. Today the center feeds more than 200 people a month. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO HELPS PARTNERS PLANT FIRST STATION IN INDONESIA More than 350,000 people living on the remote Indonesian island of Sumba (between Java and Timor) have access to Christian broadcasts through a cooperative effort involving HCJB World Radio, Indonesia partner discipleMakers (DM) and local believers.

With help from John and Esther Brewer of HCJB World Radio’s Asia/Pacific regional office in Singapore and financial backing from three Christian businessmen in Java, DM Weekarou went on the air Thursday, Feb. 19. It broadcasts at 100.5 FM with a temporary 250-watt transmitter and a makeshift studio and antenna.

Plans are to upgrade to a 500-watt transmitter when the unit arrives from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind. Initial programming from Weekarou (near Waikabuba) is in the Bahasa Indonesian language.

“This is a grassroots effort, and partnerships are vital,” Esther says. “It’s exciting to help plant our first station in Indonesia. Our goal is to use the broadcasts to evangelize the more heavily populated western part of the island.”

Despite the station’s humble beginnings, it has a surprisingly strong signal. “The funding businessmen from Java heard the station clearly in a remote village, and then halfway across the island as they drove to the other side eastern airport,” John says. “This was a very moving experience for them.”

HCJB World Radio’s involvement in the project began in July 2003 when the Brewers met a man named Paulus from DM. “We met at a conference near Jakarta,” John explains. “He was thrilled to contact us, declaring that it was a divine appointment and his only reason for being there. He already had the vision of using radio to supplement his existing ministry.”

DM has a network of evangelist training schools that train and “plant” evangelists who then live in their assigned areas, supporting themselves and sharing the gospel. “This means there is ‘built-in follow-up’ for the radio broadcasts,” John adds. “Our partner also has many Christian contacts in Indonesia.”

DM students are learning how to run the Sumba station and future stations planned for Indonesia. “We’re talking about beginners here with no background in radio,” John says. “We are thankful that a trainer who serves with Back to the Bible in Jakarta has volunteered to help us. He is excellent! He recently conducted classes on how to write programs to reach our specific unevangelized audience.”

While in Sumba, the trainer gave the students an assignment to write a five-minute radio program for the next day. All 10 students completed their scripts which were recorded in the studio. Their assignment for the next day was a five-minute testimony. These were also recorded and later aired on early broadcasts.

Although Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country in the world, the Brewers don’t expect any religious threats as Sumba is mainly animist. “The local government is supportive, and the new station is a local endeavor, so that should help with security. The mayor and other leaders in the community are excited about it.”

However, the station faces many challenges in getting established on the island. For example, the building housing the station, originally planned as a hotel, has been the target of robbers in the past. “But we believe this is a theft issue, not a Muslim threat,” John says.

DM, in partnership with HCJB World Radio, has a vision to establish five stations and three recording studios in the next two years, and a total of 25 stations within 10 years. (HCJB World Radio)

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