MOB BURNS DOWN CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA

PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN GOES INTO HIDING AFTER COURT ACQUITTAL

MYANMAR’S CHIN CHRISTIANS CALL FOR PRAYER AS PERSECUTION CONTINUES

AUSTRALIA’S VISION RADIO NETWORK ADDS 200TH RELAY STATION

RETURN OF PEACE, REFUGEES TO SIERRA LEONE GIVES BOOST TO MISSIONS

MINISTRY LAUNCHES PROJECT TO DISTRIBUTE GOD’S WORD ACROSS RUSSIA

Today’s News Stories:

MOB BURNS DOWN CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA An irate mob set fire to a newly opened Catholic school in the northeastern Indian state of Assam Wednesday, Jan. 19, accusing school staff of attempting to “convert Hindus.” The building was destroyed. A news report in The Assam Tribune claimed that local villagers opposed the establishment of the school. However, most parents welcomed the school and even helped with construction of the building that would have served as a classroom for their children, said Vinay Masih of the Evangelical Fellowship of India. “The newspaper exaggerated the incident by alleging that a mob of about 10,000 people attacked the school, whereas the mob was only 70 people strong,” he said. Vicar General Father Varghese Kizhakevely added that the allegations of conversion were “baseless” and called for action against the arsonists and others involved in the attack. (Compass)

PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN GOES INTO HIDING AFTER COURT ACQUITTAL While a lower Pakistani court acquitted Christian Anwar Masih of blasphemy charges Dec. 17, he has been unable to join his wife and four children because of threats on his life. Members of a militant Islamic group, Lashkar-e-Mujahideen (Islamic Religious Army), have vowed to kill him because of his alleged remarks against the prophet Mohammed. He joins several other Pakistani Christians who have been cleared of charges but have been forced to seek asylum abroad because of continued death threats. (Voice of the Martyrs)

MYANMAR’S CHIN CHRISTIANS CALL FOR PRAYER AS PERSECUTION CONTINUES Chin Christians in southern Myanmar (Burma) are calling for a day of prayer Sunday, Jan. 30, as persecution continues in the area. The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) is also calling for protests against the oppression at embassies around the world. On Monday, Jan. 24, more than 400 exiled Chins gathered near the Burmese embassy in New Delhi, India, to condemn the systematic persecution of Chin Christians by the ruling military regime in their homeland. In a recent example, government forces defaced and then destroyed a 50-foot concrete cross on a hilltop in Matupi township Monday, Jan. 3. The cross had been in that location for two decades as a testimony to the people’s faith in Christ. Since the mid-1990s government forces have destroyed at least half a dozen crosses and several churches in Chin state. In many cases these have been replaced with Buddhist pagodas. The CHRO believes that the destruction of crosses and church buildings, and the persecution of Christian religious leaders is designed “to crush the will and psychology of Chin Christians.” (Voice of the Martyrs/Assist News Service)

AUSTRALIA’S VISION RADIO NETWORK ADDS 200TH RELAY STATION The 200th relay station in Australia’s Vision Radio Network went on the air on Australia Day Wednesday, Jan. 26, a milestone in the ministry’s effort to make Christian radio available to everyone in the country. The station is in Yulara, a town of 3,000 near Ayres Rock, a popular tourist destination. “The fact that it happened on Australia Day is a huge bonus,” said Chief Executive Officer Ian Worby. “As it turned out, that was the only day the technician was available which makes this a milestone we will not quickly forget.” The network first started broadcasting on Feb. 1, 1999, with a single station near Brisbane. (Vision Radio Network)

* 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 11 languages. 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.

RETURN OF PEACE, REFUGEES TO SIERRA LEONE GIVES BOOST TO MISSIONS As refugees begin returning to the West African country of Sierra Leona, it’s giving a boost to outreaches such as the Kisi audio Scripture translation project, says Tom Dudenhoffer of Audio Scripture Ministries. “They will be able to take with them copies of Scripture and the ability to play those Scriptures as long as they’re using the hand-powered units,” he says. “They’ve already developed the habit of listening to the Scriptures at least one hour a day. That’s one of the minimum requirements when Scripture-listening programs are instituted. Most people listen for two hours a day.” Dudenhoffer hopes outreach will expand in the rural areas of the country. “The times of peace make it possible to contact people who before had either been on the run, who were refugees, who didn’t think about anything other than pure survival,” he explains. “Now that there is some peace, we fully expect that there’ll be more requests to assist in the distribution of God’s Word in that area.” (Mission Network News)

MINISTRY LAUNCHES PROJECT TO DISTRIBUTE GOD’S WORD ACROSS RUSSIA As life returns to normal in Beslan, site of the terrorist attack in southern Russia last September that left more than 350 people dead, many of them children, a literature ministry has vowed to saturate the area with God’s Word. Rob Hoskins, executive director Book of Hope, said the tragedy reminds him that children die every day without Christ. “I made a commitment that the Book of Hope would go every single town and village throughout Russia,” said Hoskins after recently returning from a trip to Beslan. “In cooperation with Russian churches we’ve started Project Beslan which is the delivery of God’s Word to every single child and young person in the nation of Russia,” he said. “We’re making a commitment to send 32 million copies of the Book of Hope to Russia in the next five years.” The Book of Hope combines the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to tell the life story of Jesus Christ in chronological order. The book ends with the plan of salvation, explaining how readers can give their lives to Christ. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio reaches across Russia with a variety of radio ministries. The mission has been sending gospel broadcasts across the country via shortwave since 1941, first from Quito, Ecuador, and in recent years from the U.K. In the early 1990s the ministry began “planting” local radio ministries in Russia and now works with partners nationwide. In 2000 HCJB World Radio helped launch New Life Radio, the first Christian Russian satellite radio network. Nearly 50 downlinks have been placed in more than 35 cities in Russia and neighboring countries.

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