3 INDONESIAN WOMEN ACCUSED OF TRYING TO CONVERT MUSLIM CHILDREN

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY OPENS IN SUDAN AS PEACE ACCORD HOLDS

MONTAGNARD REFUGEES ‘IN GOOD SHAPE’ AFTER RETURNING TO VIETNAM

POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FAILS TO DETER EVANGELISTIC EFFORTS IN NEPAL

SHIP OUTREACH LEADS TO PERMANENT MEDICAL CENTER IN SIERRA LEONE

Today’s News Stories:

3 INDONESIAN WOMEN ACCUSED OF TRYING TO CONVERT MUSLIM CHILDREN Charges have been laid against three Christian Indonesian women as the result of a picnic that they led in Jakarta in December 2004. The picnic was conducted by a church-run children’s program called Pondok Ceria (House of Children). Some Muslim children joined the picnic, and there were no problems until some of their parents raised complaints last month. Sources in Indonesia said that the three women were summoned to the police station on Tuesday, May 3, and charges of attempting to evangelize the Muslim children were brought against them on Saturday, May 14. They could face up to five years in jail under the Children Protection Constitution. Pondok Ceria is intended as a fellowship for Christian children, but many Muslim children have expressed a desire to participate in the games and teachings. (Voice of the Martyrs)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local partners to establish up to 10 local Christian radio stations across Indonesia since 2004. Broadcasts from HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station, “Voice of the Great Southland,” also encourage listeners nationwide. In addition, HCJB World Radio has helped with relief efforts since the Dec. 26 earthquake/tsunami and subsequent quakes that have devastated parts of Indonesia.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY OPENS IN SUDAN AS PEACE ACCORD HOLDS Expectations are high for Christian outreaches in Sudan following the much-accorded peace deal in the non-Muslim southern part of the country. “There’s a lot of optimism in Southern Sudan as a result of the peace accord, so there’s a lot more people going into southern Sudan right now assessing the situation on the ground there,” says Joseph Owens of the Bible League. “You can see that there’s a lot more activity along the border.” Owens says because the peace deal is holding, the ministry’s teams can move around. The timing is important as he describes a recent discovery. “As we started to work in southern Sudan, we found inventories of Bibles in Kenya and Uganda that were not being distributed — tens of thousands of Bibles just sitting on pallets and needing distribution. For probably more than 20 years, not many Scriptures have gone into southern Sudan.” (Mission Network News)

MONTAGNARD REFUGEES ‘IN GOOD SHAPE’ AFTER RETURNING TO VIETNAM After a three-day monitoring trip last week to Vietnam’s central highlands to check on the well-being of the Montagnards who had voluntarily returned from Cambodia, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that they “seem to be in good shape and back in the swing of normal life.” Vu Anh Son, UNHCR’s representative in Hanoi, met with local authorities and 18 returning families during his May 18-21 visit to Gia Lai and Kom Tum provinces in the central highlands. A total of 35 Montagnards returned home in March after an agreement was signed by the UNHCR, Vietnam and Cambodia two months earlier. Son said all of the returnees were treated well when questioned by the local authorities upon their return to Vietnam. “No one I met amongst the returnees claimed they were beaten or harassed during their stay in Pleiku or upon their return home,” said Son who visited the returnees in their homes. The returnees are among the 750 mostly Christian Montagnards who fled to Cambodia in the past year. They cited religious persecution and land grievances as the main reasons for fleeing Vietnam. (Assist News Service)

POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FAILS TO DETER EVANGELISTIC EFFORTS IN NEPAL Evangelistic efforts continue to move ahead in Nepal despite continued political unrest in the Himalayan country. Emergency rule in Nepal was lifted in April. However, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Sha pursued a political crackdown, and gatherings remain banned. It’s an increasingly unstable environment for Christian cross-cultural work, said Interserve Executive Director Doug Van Bronkhorst. “There’s a crossfire. There are two groups competing for power,” he said. “It’s a civil war, and all sorts of people are caught in the middle. Anybody that has to travel to do their work, and I suppose that would apply, say, to a church planter/evangelist, would definitely have difficulty because travel is often one of the issues.” Van Bronkhorst says team members will continue to work despite the escalation of trouble. “We do pray for their safety. But of course, if that was our first concern, we wouldn’t let them be there at all. Pray that they’d be able to continue their ministry and won’t be hindered by the war in terms of what they’re doing, and that they’ll continue to have courage and peace as they deal in the midst of the conflict and the uncertainty. We’re grateful nobody has been hurt yet or even . . . directly threatened.” (Mission Network News)

SHIP OUTREACH LEADS TO PERMANENT MEDICAL CENTER IN SIERRA LEONE A new permanent center for polio victims and war-disabled persons in the West African nation of Sierra Leone has been opened by Mercy Ships. Known as NEW STEPS, the center began as a 20-foot long shipping container that staff members from the Mercy Ship Anastasis dropped off on a visit to Sierra Leone in 2000. Amputees and others injured during 10 years of civil war were the original target group, but other needs were soon discovered, including resumption of polio vaccinations and assisting people suffering from the effects of cerebral palsy, amputations, car accidents and birth defects. Today the center outside of Freetown provides a wide range of ongoing health and development services to more than 30 area communities. (Mercy Ships)

Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Editor’s Note. Feel free to forward this to any interested friends. Our lists are distributed for information purposes and to encourage prayer. HCJB World Radio does not necessarily endorse or support the activities on which it reports.