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Today’s Headlines:

BLAST DAMAGES RELIEF AGENCY’S OFFICE IN AFGHANISTAN, INJURES WORKER MINISTRY SENDS PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL AID TO STORM VICTIMS IN JAMAICA TRIAL EXPECTED SOON FOR CHRISTIAN ACTIVIST IN VIETNAM CAMBODIAN AUTHORITIES SELL MONTAGNARD REFUGEES FOR BOUNTIES AROUND-THE-CLOCK PRAYER TOWER MINISTRY LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA LACK OF VOLUNTEERS SLOWS MINISTRY TO ORPHANS IN GUATEMALA, CHINA

Today’s News Stories:

BLAST DAMAGES RELIEF AGENCY’S OFFICE IN AFGHANISTAN, INJURES WORKER An explosion that killed as many as seven people and destroyed a building in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 29, also damaged the nearby Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office and inflicted minor injuries on a staff member. “The windows and doors of two ADRA buildings have been damaged by the blast,” said Dr. Peter Jaggi, ADRA’s country director for Afghanistan. “Debris from the car bomb is in our yard and our office and apartment are full of glass splinters.” ADRA is primarily involved in humanitarian concerns such as water projects, hygiene, basic health initiatives and education. The Kabul attack came just hours after an explosion at a school in southern Afghanistan killed at least 10 people, nine of them children, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. (Assist News Service/BosNewsLife)

MINISTRY SENDS PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL AID TO STORM VICTIMS IN JAMAICA While Jamaica avoided the brunt of Hurricane Charley, residents in the island nation are feeling the aftermath as keenly as survivors in Florida. For many Jamaicans affected by the storm in St. Elizabeth, poverty means the loss of a roof or house is nearly irreparable, says Angel Aloma of Food for the Poor. “We have sent down 1,200 sheets of zinc and 300 two-by-fours to the area to help with the repairs of roofs. We have been rebuilding homes for 30 families who lost their houses completely.” Aloma says the outreach in opens up evangelistic opportunities. “Action is always a great introduction for faith, and because we work almost exclusively through churches, whatever help we send down to those areas comes through the churches of the area, so it actually becomes an outreach of the area churches.” Many farmers lost their crops in the floods, creating a potential food shortage — another area where the ministry can help. (Mission Network News)

* Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., worked with Tarrant Baptist Church in Kingston to install a 500-watt FM transmitter, antenna and studio.

TRIAL EXPECTED SOON FOR CHRISTIAN ACTIVIST IN VIETNAM Reliable sources in Vietnam say that authorities are working to put activist pastor Nguyen Hong Quang on trial “as soon as possible.” A court decision to prosecute is expected by early next month. Based on previous human rights cases, Christians are concerned that Vietnamese authorities will upgrade the charge on Quang to “possessing and distributing materials harmful to the state,” a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Quang was arrested on June 8 and originally charged with “inciting others to interfere with officers doing their official duty.” Quang compiled evidence on numerous human rights infractions by state officials. Five other workers from the Vietnam Mennonite Church, of which Quang is the general secretary, are also incarcerated on related charges, some having been held since March 2. At the time of Quang’s arrest, authorities seized all of the documents and files belonging to the Mennonite Church. They also removed many files that Quang and his colleagues had compiled that expose official corruption, religious liberty violations and other human rights abuses. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

CAMBODIAN AUTHORITIES SELL MONTAGNARD REFUGEES FOR BOUNTIES Vietnamese authorities, with the help of Cambodian officials, are hunting down Montagnard refugees in an effort to prevent word of human rights abuses from reaching the outside world. Ksor Krok, half brother of Kok Ksor, president of the Montagnard Foundation, was arrested by Cambodian police in the area of Ban Lung in Rattanakiri province, northern Cambodia and sold to Vietnam on July 20. He was then taken to the prison facility in Pleiku, Vietnam, where he was tortured. A Cambodian source who asked to remain anonymous advised the Montagnard Foundation that Vietnamese authorities offered him a reward of US$500 to return Ksor Ni, another brother of Kok Ksor, to Vietnamese authorities. Ksor Ni, speaking via videotape, said that his mother was beaten and shocked with stun guns by police for participating in this year’s Easter prayer vigil when tens of thousands of Christian Montagnards conducted peaceful demonstrations inside Vietnam. They were calling for an end to years of persecution by the communist government. Vietnamese government security forces brutally attacked the demonstrators, and Human Rights Watch reported that “hundreds of demonstrators were wounded and many were killed.” (Assist News Service)

AROUND-THE-CLOCK PRAYER TOWER MINISTRY LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA A 24-hour prayer tower ministry was launched in the Sydney, Australia, area this summer that encourages people to pray for the nation and uphold individual requests. More than 100 people representing about 20 churches from various ethnic backgrounds have been participating. The tower was opened by Jesus Calls, a nondenominational India-based ministry founded by Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran. The tower is manned every day around the clock with full-time staff and as many as 30 volunteers to answer people’s prayer requests. Tower Manager Anand Prasad said response to the call for prayer for Australia has been overwhelming. People have begun fasting and praying for the nation in view of the upcoming federal elections, he said. Since the prayer tower opened, it has received an average of 20 to 30 calls per day from people in distress who need prayer and support. Prasad encourages people from any ethnic or cultural background to use the prayer tower. (Religious Media Agency)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia began operating a shortwave station called “Voice of the Great Southland” in January 2003, reaching across the Asia/Pacific region with programs in English, Urdu and Hindi. Additional languages, transmitters and antennas will be added as resources become available. Studios at the office in Melbourne are used to record programs in English as well as Oromo, a language spoken in Ethiopia.

LACK OF VOLUNTEERS SLOWS MINISTRY TO ORPHANS IN GUATEMALA, CHINA New shoes are allowing Christians into orphanages, but the lack of volunteers may prevent that outreach from being as effective as it could be, says Tiffany Taylor of Buckner Orphan Care International. Volunteers are needed to join short-term ministry trips to Guatemala and China to help deliver shoes through a project called, “Shoes for Orphan Souls.” Volunteers also conduct mini-vacation Bible schools for the children. Taylor says the situation is challenging but rewarding. “Even adoptive parents don’t get into the orphanages to see what it’s like for the children,” Taylor says. “We’ve built wonderful relationships in a Muslim region of China called Urumqi. They are opening the doors for our teams to be able to come in.” Buckner offered seven short-term trips this year, up from three trips in 2003. (Mission Network News)

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