AUSTRALIAN   PRAYER   NETWORK   NEWSLETTER

* NIGERIA: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY

* REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS INFLUENCE GROWS IN IRAN

* SYRIA: SECURITY FORCES FIRE ON PROTESTERS

* UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DROPS RELIGIOUS
DEFAMATION RESOLUTION

* PROSPECTS DIM FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN NEPAL

* THREE QUARTERS OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IS AGAINST
CHRISTIANS

* GOVERNOR OF CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC APPLAUDS JESUS
FILM

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NIGERIA: A DAY IN
THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY
Editors Note: Not many of us will get to serve on the front line of
the mission fields of the world. All of us however can pray for those
whom the Lord calls to that field of service. How many of us really
understand what missionaries sometimes face in areas where
Christianity is a minority religion.   The following first hand report
from a missionary in Nigeria (name withheld for security reasons)
gives us an insight into what they face as part of their commitment
to serve the Lord in a foreign land.
Last night my husband heard gunshots around midnight. Not long after
the Bishop rang to say that a church had been burnt down in the town
and we needed to be on alert. We warned others on the compound,
especially the guards. At work this morning some students were
waiting for me saying they did not want to go to the village they
were meant   to do their practical work at. They were scared by
reports of the activity of during the night. Reports came in of the
burning of tyres on the road to the town and that there was also
trouble in communities on either side of town.
I told staff coming from those areas not to come to work. From there
things just deteriorated. Cars came into the hospital compound
dropping off their passengers and then going out again, returning
later with another load of passengers. The compound started filling
up. It was a major effort to stop everyone congregating just inside
the gate and trying to see what was happening. There was sporadic
waves of   screaming and people running into the compound from
different directions, mainly women and children.
Cars, motorbikes and people were running/driving helter skelter up
the road and into the compound. I tried to call for military or
police presence but the mobile network was down and I could not get
through. Many staff were requesting permission to go into town for
one reason or another. I tried to dissuade them from leaving the
compound. Some had left their children at home and did not know how
they would be cared   for. Others had heard of family members whose
house had been burnt down and needed help. I managed to dissuade any
from travelling into town.
We started hearing of other churches being burnt down, and could see
fires in the distance. We could hear and see the perpetrators very
close to the hospital compound. I had to stop staff gathering rocks
and pipes to bash people with. The injured started to arrive.
Initially it was only those who had rocks thrown at them and small
cuts but this soon escalated to major head wounds from machete cuts
and broken legs and arms from being bashed with pipes.We ran out of
sutures and still could not get hold of the police or
military.
Perpetrators got in one side of the compound but were quickly pushed
back. Finally the military police did arrive shooting their guns
everywhere and eventually things did calm down. The body of a student
was brought in. He had had his throat slit and his body was just
dumped on the ground outside outpatients. I left as things started to
quieten down but many families stayed the night there for safety.
Throughout the day I did a lot of ‘relieving’ people of their
machetes and other weapons while they were on our compound, trying to
see that all injured received care.
Many people were killed, many injured and many lost homes and
property, some of them our friends. Please join me in praying for
them, that they will feel God’s love in a way they have never felt it
before and recognise it as such. A very unforgettable day, but God
prevailed. No one who was on the hospital compound, and there must
have been in excess of two thousand mainly women and children, was
harmed with even the slightest scratch. Our God is awesome and
greatly to be praised for taking care of us and averting danger when
it came.
Source: Private email from source personally known to
Editor
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REVOLUTIONARY
GUARDS INFLUENCE GROWS IN IRAN
On March 8, 2011, Ayatollah Kani, 80, was elected Chairman of the
Assembly of Experts, the body that will elect the next Supreme Leader
of Iran.   The election was called after the incumbent, Ayatollah
Rafsanjani, fearing defeat, withdrew his candidacy, stating that he
did not want to hurt the standing of the assembly. Rafsanjani served
as President of Iran from 1989 to 1997. In 2005 he ran for a third
term in office but lost to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Relations between Rafsanjani and members of the assembly who support
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei have sharply deteriorated over the
last year. During the 2007 elections for chairmanship of the
assembly, Rafsanjani, beat Ayatollah Jannati, a hardliner even by
Iranian standards.   The defeat of Jannati, was perceived as a blow
that could weaken Ahmadinejad. Yet today the star of Ahmadinejad and
the Revolutionary Guards continues to rise, and the power base and
influence of Rafsanjani, who could still constitute a challenge to
the current regime, is fading.
Rafsanjani is regarded by the West as a “good conservative” – someone
who can initiate changes. Since the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988,
he has been trying to contain the growing influence of the
Revolutionary Guards. The division between him and the Guards under
the leadership of Ahmadinejad continues to widen. Today, the
Revolutionary Guards are gradually completing their takeover of Iran,
as Rafsanjani and other senior figures of the first generation of the
revolution are being pushed out of positions of power.
Despite growing international sanctions and attention, the Iranian
regime is still confident enough to act against those who played a
central role in the history of revolutionary Iran. The Revolutionary
Guards have built up their role to “guard the Revolution and its
achievements.” Ahmadinejad’s presidency represents a golden
opportunity for the organization, which is attempting to recreate in
practice the first days of the revolution – expressing revolutionary
passion through the support of terrorist groups and “liberation
movements” in the Middle East and beyond.
Developments in the Middle East are allowing the Guards to expand
their influence among Islamist elements in other Arab countries. The
Guards are able to activate sleeper cells in the Arab countries and
increase assistance to the rising Islamist elements. This is at a
time when the opponents of such a policy are getting weaker. The
growing self-confidence within the Revolutionary Guards is displayed
in its continuous weapons shipments to terror groups in Africa and
the Middle East. It also signals the strengthening of Iran’s
strategic cooperation with Syria.
Ahmadinejad and the Revolutionary Guards are seeking to turn Iran
into a player that can influence global events. Weapons smuggling and
drug trafficking present opportunities for changing the playing
field. The missions undertaken by the Revolutionary Guards are
changing the organization and its role in Iranian society. The
Revolutionary Guards are developing into an economic-military and
political powerhouse in Iran. All those who were able to oppose this
process have been pushed aside in order for the Revolutionary Guards
to slowly complete their takeover of Iran.
Source: International Christian Embassy
Jerusalem
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SYRIA: SECURITY
FORCES FIRE ON PROTESTERS
Troops have again opened fire on protesters in Syria. “It is the most
serious challenge to 40 years of repressive rule by the Assad
family,” the NY Times said. A human watch group added, “Syria’s
security forces are showing the same cruel disregard for protesters’
lives as their counterparts in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and
Bahrain. The government of Bashar al-Assad has promised to provide
greater political freedom and use more restraint in dealing with
demonstrators. However instead, security forces are reportedly firing
on protestors in places all over Syria.
One of al-Assad’s advisors stated that the president didn’t “want any
bloodshed at all.” The advisor claimed to have “witnessed the
president’s directives on not using live bullets whatever the
circumstances.” International observers see Syria as another in a
long line of Arab nations that have fallen victim to popular
demonstrations. “This is exactly what has been happening around the
Arab World,” a Syrian activist explained. “Sixty percent of Syrian
society is less than 24 years old, and they want to be part of
drawing and designing their future.”
Please pray for:
* the Lord to carry out His plans and purposes for Syria. Ask Him to
use this time of unrest to draw the people of this nation into
relationship with His Son. Pray for those who have lost family and
friends in this violence to be comforted and pray that security
forces would use restraint in dealing with crowds.
* Christians in Syria to stand firm in the Lord, interceding for
their country and sharing their faith with boldness. Pray for the
salvation of President Bashar al-Assad. Pray for many in the
government to put their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Pray for the Lord to raise up leaders who will rule Syria with
humility and integrity.
* corruption to be rooted out in the government. Pray for the Lord to
keep terrorist groups from gaining control. Pray for Arab Muslims in
Syria and throughout the Middle East to have the opportunity to hear
the Gospel. Pray for a great harvest of souls and for the Kingdom of
God to come to Syria in power with signs, wonders, miracles, dreams
and visions.
Source: Windows International
Network
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UNITED NATIONS
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DROPS RELIGIOUS DEFAMATION RESOLUTION
The United Nations Human Rights Council has dropped a resolution
condemning religious defamation, putting in its place one that
supports an individual’s freedom of belief.   Critics said that
resolution mainly protected Islam, mirroring the harsh blasphemy laws
used to persecute Christians and other minorities in Muslim nations.
The U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom hailed the new resolution,
saying it “properly focuses on protecting individuals from
discrimination or violence, instead of protecting religions from
criticism.”
For years, Muslim countries pushed for a resolution making it a crime
to criticize religions. The unanimous vote by the 47-member council
in Geneva was also welcomed by free speech activists. U.S.-based
Human Rights First praised the resolution as “a huge achievement
because for the first time in many years it focuses on the protection
of individuals rather than religions.” The nonbinding resolution
calls on countries to guarantee people’s right to have or adopt a
religion or belief of their choice.
During the debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, several
delegations referred to Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti from
Pakistan who were both recently assassinated for their stand against
Islamic blasphemy laws. Nigel Rooke, CEO of Open Doors Australia,
said: “The most disturbing aspects of the defamation resolutions have
been addressed in this new resolution. Open Doors warmly welcomes
this effort of the Human Rights Council to address both freedom of
expression and freedom of religion or belief in a more balanced and
constructive way.”
Source: CBN
News
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PROSPECTS DIM FOR
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN NEPAL
A new constitution, scheduled to be implemented before May 28, may
not include the right to propagate one’s faith. The draft
constitution, aimed at completing the country’s transition from a
Hindu monarchy to a secular democracy, contains provisions that
prohibit anyone from converting others from one religion to another.
Asked if the restriction on converting others violated the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Akal
Bahadur of the Communist Party of Nepal said, “It may, but there was
a general consensus on the prohibition.
Once compiled, the draft constitution will be subject to public
consultation. Religious conversion could become a contentious issue
if the proposed restriction on conversions is removed. Most Hindus
see their religion as an essential part of the country’s identity
that they want to preserve, hence the proposed ban on conversion to
another religion. Dr. K.B. Rokaya, the only Christian member of
Nepal’s   Human Rights Commission, said Nepal’s kings imposed a Hindu
identity on the nation because under Hinduism a king was revered as a
god.
The Nepalese Parliament has no Christian members. According to the
2001 census, over 80 percent of Nepal’s 30 million people are Hindu.
Christians are officially 0.5 percent, but their actual number is
believed to be much higher. Rokaya, a member of the newly formed
United Christians Alliance of Nepal, comprising a majority of
Christian denominations, said Christians would continue to ask for
full religious freedom. “The use of inducement or force for
conversions is deplorable, but the right to preach the tenets of
one’s religion is a fundamental freedom,” he said.
Source: Compass Direct
News
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THREE QUARTERS OF
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IS AGAINST CHRISTIANS
Some 75% of religious persecution is against Christians, according to
UK Catholic organization. Aid to the Church in Need reported that
most of the persecution was occurring in the Middle East, Africa and
Asia. Besides the usual suspects – China, Iran, North Korea, and
Saudi Arabia – countries such as Venezuela, Zimbabwe and even the
Holy Land are guilty of religious persecution. The report also finds
that Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, and Pakistan being among the worst
countries for believers to live in. 100 million Christians worldwide
are facing persecution.
Source: The Christian
Post
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GOVERNOR OF
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC APPLAUDS JESUS FILM
Witches operating in one village were so radically transformed that
they now call the JESUS film, “The Miracle Film.”   The Witches were
convicted by the Holy Spirit, and after repenting of their sins,
turned their lives over to the Lord Jesus Christ. The region’s
governor called the JESUS film team to thank them personally, saying,
“I congratulate you because of   the miracles that your film is doing
among those witches. Now you have the responsibility to preach your
message to all the towns and villages under my supervision.”

Source: Mission Network
News