AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER
- SHARIA ACTION IN MALI TERRORISES THE POPULATION
- MAINE AND MARYLAND (U.S.A.) APPROVE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
- EGYPT: WHAT SALAFIS WANT FROM COPTIC GIRLS
- BRITISH EVANGELICAL COUNCIL WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF NEW ANGLICAN ARCHISHOP OF CANTERBURY
- TEN COMMANDMENTS JUDGE GETS ALABAMA CHIEF JUSTICE SEAT BACK
SHARIA ACTION IN MALI TERRORISES THE POPULATION
In northern Mali sharia law has been in effect since last spring, when Islamists took control of much of the country, which had been considered a model nation until then. The Islamists stone adulterers, amputate limbs and squelch all opposition. They have destroyed tombs at a world heritage site in Timbuktu. Despite the risks, Paul Mben, a journalist from the capital Bamako, which is not yet under Islamist control, ventured into northern Mali. Before the trip, he negotiated with Islamist leaders for safe passage. In return, he was forced to accept certain conditions. During his 3 weeks in the north, he had to conform to the Islamists’ dress code, as well as submit to a number of searches and interrogations.
But he never revealed to the Islamists where he was staying overnight, and he never stayed in the same place for more than a day. He lived in constant fear of being kidnapped. Upon returning to Bamako he learnt that seven armed men had been following him in the north, with the aim of taking him captive. A checkpoint on the road to Gao marks the beginning of the region controlled by the new rulers of northern Mali. Adolescents wielding Kalashnikovs stand at the barrier. The oldest one shouts instructions through a megaphone: “No cigarettes, no CDs, no radios, no cameras, no jewellery,” an endless list of everything that’s impure. The men stand guard in the name of the Prophet Muhammad.
They stop the few long-distance buses still coming from southern Mali. One of the men, weapon at the ready, inspects the buses by walking down the aisle and checking to make sure everyone is in compliance with the Islamists’ rules. Are women and men sitting in separate areas? Are the women wearing the hijab? And are the men wearing trousers that reach their ankles, the kind radical Muslims believe the Prophet favoured? The driver and passengers submit to the procedure in silence. When it’s over, the inspector jumps out of the back door, with Kalashnikov still in hand. The bus has now been cleared to pass through the checkpoint.
Mali is a divided country. In April last, forces from the Tuareg ethnic group drove the Malian army out of the country’s northern regions in only a few weeks. The south is still administered by a government that is incapable of defending itself. They proclaimed the Tuareg nation of Azawad, which no nation in the world has recognized. The Islamists are armed with the remains of the arsenal of the former Gadhafi regime in Libya. They are also well connected with al-Qaida fighters who operate from a safe haven in this region of North Africa. The buildings in Gao show the struggle between the two groups, including bullet holes and blackened and crumbling walls.
The world is concerned that Mali could turn into another Somalia or Afghanistan. In principle, the UN Security Council has approved the deployment of international troops against the north. The European Union has decided to send military advisors, and the US is considering the use of remote-controlled drones to fight the Islamist leaders. Northern Mali, must not become a second Somalia, says German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, believes that the Mali Islamists were behind the recent attack that killed the American ambassador in the Libyan city of Benghazi. Gao, a city of 100,000 people, has become a lifeless place since the Islamists took over.
It was once a stopping point for tourists travelling to Timbuktu, but now the roadside stands have disappeared, bars and restaurants are closed and music is banned. The new rulers have put up signs at street corners, written in Arabic that read: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” Garbage collection has been suspended, leaving waste to rot in the streets at temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius. Around 400,000 people have already fled the Islamists. Most who have left represent the better-educated parts of the work force, like the engineers who kept the power plant and waterworks in operation. Foreign aid organizations are gone, as are many of the former government officials.
“Gao is a dead city,” says Allassane Tour ƒ ©, a mechanic. Like many others he is unemployed and claims Gao’s economic output has “declined by 85%” since the spring. The Islamic police are now the city’s biggest employers. Armed police officers, most of them young men, are sent out into the neighbourhoods to drum into residents what is considered “haram” (impure) and “halal,” (pure). Until recently, the Sharia courts’ sentences were carried out in public, but now the Islamic police have become more cautious. Since an angry crowd managed to rescue people who had been convicted of crimes from the executioner, hands and feet are now being severed in secret at a former military base outside the city.
Source: OpenHeaven.com
MAINE AND MARYLAND (U.S.A.) APPROVE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
Altering the course of U.S social policy, Maine and Maryland have become the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, while Washington state and Colorado set up a showdown with federal authorities by legalizing recreational use of marijuana. The outcomes of these ballots taken during the recent US elections were a milestone for persistent but often thwarted advocacy groups and activists who for decades have pressed the causes of homosexual rights and drug decriminalization. “Today the state of Washington said it’s time for a new approach,” said Alison Holcomb, manager of the campaign that won passage of Initiative 502 in Washington.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who opposed legalization, was less enthused. “Federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly,” he said. The results in Maine and Maryland broke a 32-state streak, dating to 1998, in which gay marriage had been rebuffed by every state that voted on it. They will become the seventh and eighth states to allow same-sex couples to marry. In another gay-rights victory, Minnesota voters defeated a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage in the state. Similar measures were approved in 30 other states, most recently in North Carolina in May.
The outcomes of the marriage votes could influence the U.S. Supreme Court, which will soon consider whether to take up cases challenging the law that denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The gay-rights victories come on the heels of numerous national polls that, for the first time, show a majority of Americans supporting same-sex marriage. Maine’s referendum marked the first time that gay-rights supporters put same-sex marriage to a popular vote. The president of the National Organisation for Marriage, an advocacy group that opposes same-sex marriage, Brian Brown, insisted the results did not mark a watershed moment. “At the end of the day, we’re still at 32 victories,” he said.
The marijuana measures in Colorado and Washington will likely pose a headache for the U.S. Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, which consider pot an illegal drug. The DOJ has declined to say how it would respond if the measures were approved. Colorado’s Amendment 64 will allow adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, though using the drug publicly would be banned. The amendment would allow people to grow up to six marijuana plants in a private, secure area. Washington’s measure establishes a system of state-licensed marijuana growers where adults can buy up to an ounce. It also establishes a standard blood limit for driving under the influence.
The Washington measure was opposed by Derek Franklin, president of the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention. “Legalizing is going to increase marijuana use among kids and really create a mess with the federal government,” Franklin said. “It’s a bit of a tragedy for the state.” In Oregon, a marijuana-legalization measure was defeated. In Massachusetts, voters approved a measure to allow marijuana use for medical reasons, joining 17 other states. Arkansas voters rejected a similar measure. In all, 176 measures were on the ballots in 38 states, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.
Other notable results from the election were:.
Maryland voters approved a measure allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition, provided they attended a state high school for three years and can show they filed state income tax returns during that time. About a dozen other states have similar laws, but Maryland’s is the first to be approved by voters.
In Oklahoma, voters approved a Republican-backed measure that wipes out all affirmative action programs in state government hiring, education and contracting practices. Similar steps have been taken previously in Arizona, California, Michigan, Nebraska and Washington..
In Michigan, labour unions suffered a big loss. Voters rejected a first-of-its-kind ballot initiative that would have put collective bargaining rights in the state constitution.
Source: Charisma News
EGYPT: WHAT SALAFIS WANT FROM COPTIC GIRLS
In Islam, a child is given the religion of the father the day he or she is born. In Egypt when children turn 16 they receive a State-issued identity (ID) card with their State-designated religion stamped on it. Those born to fathers registered as Muslim are deemed Muslim regardless of the actual belief of the father or the child because identity affiliation is far more important than faith in Islam. As Muslims, they are not permitted to leave Islam and they are obliged to live according to Sharia Law: observing food and clothing restrictions, remaining separated from Jews and Christians, and other stipulations. Furthermore a Muslim woman must marry a Muslim man.
Christians who wish to convert to Islam find getting a new ID card is easy. However, as Muslims are not permitted to leave Islam, their religious identity may not be changed. In recent years two courageous Egyptian fathers, both converts from Islam, have sued the Interior Ministry for their right to change their religious identity. Both cases failed because thecourts would not permit apostasy from Islam. Death threats forced both families into hiding. Because their children are deemed Muslim, their daughters will be obliged by law to marry Muslim men and their sons, though free to marry a Christian, would be obliged by law to raise those children as Muslims.
It is well known that fundamentalist Muslim men are being encouraged to seduce and marry Christian girls. By marrying Muslim men, the Christian girls are used to increase the Muslim population. Fearing the influence of Christians, Salafi Muslims (hard-line Sunni fundamentalists) oppose all interfaith marriage and want it criminalised; they also want the legal marriage age for girls dropped from 18 to nine. It is well known that Salafis kidnap Coptic Christian girls for forced conversion and forced marriage to Muslim men to ensure Christian wombs are producing Muslim babies. In these cases the Salafis insist that the girls have converted freely, ensuring that the girls cannot be rescued.
As soon as the Salafis assert the girl is a convert who deserves freedom of religion, the police, local officials and wider Muslim community will rally to hold on to her as one of their own. Born on 1 August 1998, Sarah Ishaq Abdelmalek is only 14. She was last seen on 30 September, entering a stationery shop near her school. After filing a missing persons report with the police, her father received a call telling him that he will never see his daughter again. According to a school friend, the 27-year-old son of a local Salafi leader — had been pursuing Sarah for some time. He now stands accused of abducting her.
The Salafist Front has issued a statement that Sarah converted to Islam freely and married a Muslim man. Sarah is under the marriageable age of 18 according to Egyptian law. Will President Morsi bend for the Salafis out of respect for fundamentalist Islam or will he enforce Egyptian law and return Sarah to her parents? Will he follow other precedents and place Sarah in a secure Muslim girls home until she is of marriageable age or will he allow her the opportunity to declare her true faith and then protect her? Egyptian human rights organisations are lobbying for Sarah to be reunited with her family. The prospects are not good. Surely a more obscene abuse of human rights would be hard to find.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL —
* comfort, strengthen, preserve and ultimately rescue Sarah Abdelmalek; may he have mercy on this family and all families likewise grieving the loss of their abducted daughters.
* redeem this case to draw international attention to the plight of hundreds of Coptic Christian girls who have been abducted, raped and trafficked across religious lines; may the LORD of hosts expose and destroy this obscene trade.
* enlighten many — Muslims included — to the terrible implications of Islam’s apostasy law: not merely that it mandates death but that it forces people to live their whole lives as prisoners of Sharia, with no means of escape, generation after generation.
Source: Religious Liberty Monitoring
BRITISH EVANGELICAL COUNCIL WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF NEW ANGLICAN ARCHISHOP OF CANTERBURY
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has warmly welcomed the appointment of the Right Rev Justin Welby to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. A statement issued by the Council states: “We recognize in him a man of deep devotion to God, exceptional intellectual and leadership qualities, and a range of experience which like the Prime Minister we see as a breath of fresh air for the Church’s ministry to real people facing the demanding situations and decisions of contemporary life. In the run up to the appointment much has been made of Justin Welby’s old Etonian background, and his limited experience as a bishop.
“It was as if these factors would automatically disqualify him for this most senior role. Yet anyone who knows him recognizes his excellent and non-prejudicial way with people of all kinds of backgrounds, and his wide-ranging hands on experience in all aspects of practical church ministry as a parish priest, residentiary canon, Dean of Liverpool, and his most recent post as Bishop of Durham. Add to that his experience in the oil industry in Paris and London, in Coventry his expertise in reconciliation, and his knowledge of ethics and finance about which he has written widely, all this spells a fresh and relevant additional skill set for the many challenges which will face him in his new role as Archbishop.
“We’re glad as a recognition of his orthodoxy, the wider Anglican Communionis already welcoming the new Archbishop’s appointment. Significantly his experience in Africa has been welcomed by one of Nigeria’s most prominent Muslim politicians, which says much about Justin’s Welby’s interpersonal and communication abilities, and is also hopeful perhaps for some contribution to reconciliation in the troubled relationships between Nigeria’s Christians and Muslims. Clearly this is a man committed firmly to the message of the Bible, and truth and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to transform persons, communities and the nation.
“He, Caroline and their five children deserve the commitment of all our prayers. This is a good moment for our church and nation, and the wider world too. It’s a good moment also, to thank God, and pray that he will pour forth his blessing on his modest but gifted servant, Justin Welby, that he may in the grace of God lead this Church of England out of its present moribund state to have a significant impact for Christ and the gospel on all the communities of our nation.”
Source: Press release by Church of England Evangelical Council
TEN COMMANDMENTS JUDGE GETS ALABAMA CHIEF JUSTICE SEAT BACK
Judge Roy Moore, the former judge ousted for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument has won his old job back as Alabama’s chief justice. Republican Roy Moore defeated Democrat Bob Vance by obtaining 52% of the vote compared with Vance’s 48%. Moore became known as “Alabama’s Ten Commandments judge” in 1995 when he was sued to remove a homemade plaque of the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the state judicial building. The Alabama Supreme Court threw out the suit, but the legal battle helped him win the race for chief justice in 2000. A state court kicked him out of office three years later when he refused to abide by a federal judge’s order to remove the monument.
Source: Charisma News
Have you visited our Web site? Australian Prayer Network
~~
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 187 | Wed 28 Nov 2012by Elizabeth Kendal
‘For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love
of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8:38,39 ESV)
kidnapping Coptic girls for forced conversion and marriage to Muslims.
Surely this is every Christian parent’s and every Christian girl’s
worst nightmare. Please pray against this evil.
UPDATE: Morning Star News (MSN) reports on another trend of Islamic
fundamentalist women wearing niqabs (a black face covering, with only a
narrow slit for the eyes) attacking Coptic girls and women on trains.
MSN knows of three incidents in the past month. In one attack, a
16-year-old Coptic girl was attacked on her way to school by two
niqab-wearing women who cut off her hair. About a week later, a
13-year-old girl was attacked in the same way. Then on 10 November two
of these women attacked Nareman Smoul (30) as she was travelling to
collect her daughter from an evangelical school. After abusing her as
an ‘infidel’, the Muslim women pushed Nareman to the floor, cut off her
hair and then kicked her off the train causing her to break her arm. Of
course the criminals cannot be identified because they were wearing
niqabs.
* ERITREA (RLPB 185), after another Christian prisoner died in custody.
We also prayed for Christians caught up in the refugee-trafficking
crisis.
UPDATE: On 21 November Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported that
Philemon Semere (22), an practising Christian Eritrean refugee, was
abducted by traffickers in Sudan while en route to Israel. Philemon is
being held by Bedouin traffickers in one of several purpose-built
torture-extortion centres operating with impunity in the Sinai. He is
being beaten and tortured by captors who are demanding US$25,000 ransom
while threatening to take a kidney from him if the money is not
forthcoming. According to CSW, ‘When payments are not forthcoming,
vital organs are illegally harvested in unhygienic conditions,
generally resulting in the death of the person concerned.’ Pray that
Egypt will be forced to stamp out this obscene criminal activity. (Pray
Isaiah 59:15b-19.)
* SUDAN (RLPB 186), where President Omar el-Bashir is waging a genocidal
jihad against the predominantly Christian Africans (non-Arabs) of the
‘new south’ (Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile). This obscene
genocide, which employs aerial bombardment, ethnic cleansing,
government-engineered famine and denial of humanitarian aid, attracts
virtually no international attention. It is quite unbelievable that the
international community can stand idly by while this Islamist and
racist regime bombs and starves its citizens, killing tens of thousands
and displacing hundreds of thousands. Pray for God himself to
intervene directly. (Pray Psalm 10.)
UPDATE: Between 20-22 November the Sudan Air Force bombed civilian
targets in South Sudan’s northern Bahr El Ghazal State, killing at
least seven people. According to Persecution Project, 16 people were
killed and many more were wounded. Sudan Tribune reports that thousands
of terrified civilians have deserted their villages and are fleeing
towards the state capital, Aweil. Whilst Khartoum denies bombing the
South (witnessed by Reuters journalists) it has not responded to the
South’s accusation that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops are massing
along the border near Raja in Raja County in Western Bahr el Ghazal.
The SAF may well be ethnically cleansing the area ahead of a military
incursion aimed at capturing it. South Sudan’s army is on high alert.
NOVEMBER 2012 ROUND-UP – also this month . . .
* KENYA: TERROR ESCALATES
On Sunday 4 November Islamic militants launched a grenade at 10 am into
the church in the Administrative Police compound in Garissa. The grenade
hit Chaplain Julius Mukonzi in the head, exploding and killing him
instantly. Eleven others were injured, three critically. Police suspect
militants from Somalia’s al-Shabaab are responsible. Morning Star News
reports: ‘The Garissa Pastors Fellowship released a statement saying that
more than 20 Christians in the city have recently lost their lives to
Islamic terrorist attacks.’ On Sunday 18 November a bomb filled with ball-
bearings exploded on a bus in Eastleigh, the commercial centre of
Nairobi’s ethnic Somali population, killing nine. Almost immediately
ethnic Kenyans were rioting, attacking ethnic Somalis in the street,
accusing them of being aligned with al-Shabaab. Security is deteriorating
and tensions are soaring.
* NIGERIA
KADUNA: TWIN CHURCH BOMBING KILLS ELEVEN
On Sunday 25 November a bus and car drove into the Jaji military barracks
in Kaduna, after convincing the guards they were conveying equipment to
the church. The bus drove up to the wall of St Andrews Protestant Church
and exploded just as the service was ending; there were no casualties.
Ten minutes later, however, as worshippers gathered around the bombed-out
bus, the car exploded nearby, killing at least 11 people (possibly as many
as 20) with some 60 wounded. The church, which serves military personnel
and their families as well as civilians in Jaji, is about 40km north of
Kaduna City. Morning Star News adds that Rev. Titus Sambo and Israel
Olaleye, both students at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Kaduna, were
amongst those killed.
KANO: A MISPRONUNCIATION LEADS TO RIOTS
On 22 November an Igbo tailor working in the town of Bichi near Kano in
the north, mispronounced the Hausa name for a popular garment. [Igbos are
southerners and mostly Christian.] The Hausa [northern Muslims] who heard
it were incensed and rioted claiming it was a blasphemy. The Igbo tailor
was macheted to death and then seven churches, eight businesses and a
house were torched.
* PAKISTAN: ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY WHILE PREACHING
Morning Star News reported on 9 November that Karma Patras (55), an
evangelist from Nankana District in Punjab Province, has been languishing
in prison since his arrest on 13 October over a gospel message that
offended Muslims. Patras was addressing a Christian funeral gathering when
some Muslims in attendance objected to his reference to the sacrificial
death of Christ. [Islam not only maintains that Jesus was not crucified,
it states that Jesus, when he returns, will wage war against those who say
he was. http://quran.com/4/157-159 ] Patras narrowly escaped being beaten
but was arrested at his home later that day. A Muslim mob subsequently
besieged the Sangla Hill Police Station, demanding that Patras be turned
over to them so they could lynch him. However, Patras had already been
transferred out of the area. Due to death threats, Patras’ extended
family, which includes many children, has been forced to flee.
SOMALIA: YET ANOTHER MARTYR
On Friday 16 November Al-Shabaab militants publicly beheaded Farhan Haji
Mose (25) after accusing him of being a spy and leaving Islam to embrace
the ‘foreign religion of Christianity’. According to Morning Star News,
Mose had converted to Christianity in 2010 during time spent in Kenya.
Pray for the church in Somalia.
ZIMBABWE: GOD BREAKS THROUGH
Harare’s Anglicans returned to their churches on Sunday 25 November after
the Supreme Court ruled that the excommunicated pro-Mugabe bishop Nolbert
Kunonga, who had seized control of the properties by force some five years
ago, must return the properties to the Anglican Church. For background and
details see ‘Zimbabwe: let justice roll on’ (Religious Liberty Monitoring,
20 Nov 2012 http://elizabethkendal.
Mr Precious Shumba said they had not met any resistance from most priests
aligned to Kunonga. Some renegade priests even expressed repentance and
have sought re-integration into the Anglican Church. This will require a
process of truth, reconciliation, re-education and re-commitment. Kunonga
had incurred bills amounting to some $300,000. The legitimate Bishop of
Harare, Bishop Chad Gandiya, praised God for this breakthrough. Let us
also give thanks!
—————–
To view this RLPB with hyperlinks, go to Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin
blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.
- ISRAELIS PRAY AS THEY FIGHT OFF HAMAS ATTACK
- SPAIN’S BABY BLACK MARKET EXPOSED
- ESTIMATED 25,000 COME TO CHRIST IN EGYPTIAN DESERT
- MR BEAN STAR CALLS FOR REPEAL OF BRITISH HATE SPEECH LAWS
- BRAZIL SOAP OPERAS IMPACT BIRTH RATE AND DIVORCE STATISTICS
- MARIJUANA LEGALISED IN WASHINGTON AND COLORADO
- SCIENCE CONFIRMS NO MORE NEED FOR DESTRUCTION OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
ISRAELIS PRAY AS THEY FIGHT OFF HAMAS ATTACK
Editorial comment.
At the time of writing (by necessity, due to other ministry commitments, 6 days before this newsletter reaches your mailbox) rockets are being launched on Israel from Hamas sites in Gaza and Israel is deciding whether to invade Gaza in order to try and destroy the rocket launching sites and ammunition stockpile of Hamas. Dozens of people on both sides have died in the fighting. More than 560 rockets have slammed into Israel so far, with another 300-plus intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries. The Israeli army continues to pound Hamas buildings and weapons’ storage facilities by land and sea. They’ve targeted more than 1,350 terror sites in the last six days. Some 31,000 reservists have already been called up for apossible ground offensive. In Jerusalem, hundreds of Israelis have gathered at the Western Wall to pray for their nation and for protection for the army. They prayed Psalm 121: “He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.”
By the time you read this newsletter those circumstances will probably have radically changed, thus making our story “out-dated”. For this reason we have made a decision not to cover this conflict in our weekly newsletters. We understand that many of our readers who are vitally interested in this subject will be disappointed but we are simply not geared to provide time sensitive coverage to ongoing events such as this where the situation changes almost every day. The same applies no matter what the subject, as you will have noted with our decision not to cover the recent super storm in America for the same reason. For those who wish to be informed about the situation on a regular basis we recommend that you access the website run by Robert Stearns (a leader within the International Prayer movement) at http://www.eagleswings.to/ and perhaps even register to receive his regular e-newsletters.
We are very conscious of the number of newsletters we already send across our very large national and international network and respect our readers desire not to be further overloaded with information they can obtain from other sources. We will continue to provide appropriate articles outlining background information on events in the Middle East, that are not widely reported by other media channels, through our monthly Israel News and/or International News newsletters. Thank you for your understanding.
Please pray:
* for wisdom to be given to both political and military leaders to make the right decisions that will lead to the cessation of the current conflict without the need for a ground invasion of Gaza by Israel.
* for the safety of both soldiers and civilians and for the successful thwarting of missile strikes from Gaza.
* for the protection of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and for no further hostilities to break out on other Israeli borders especially with Hezbollah to the north.
Source: Australian Prayer Network
SPAIN’S BABY BLACK MARKET EXPOSED
At a cemetery in Barcelona, trucks arrived for a court-ordered exhumation. All across Spain, officials are opening the coffins of dead newborn babies to see if there are any human remains inside. They have discovered that many of the coffins are empty. Spain is reeling from one of the worst crimes since World War II. The sheer scale of it is staggering: perhaps 300,000 Spanish babies have been taken from their mothers at birth and sold on the black market. Beginning during the Franco dictatorship in 1939 and continuing until the 1990s, newborns were stolen from hospitals and trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests, and nuns.
It began as a system for taking children from families considered politically dangerous to the Franco regime to re-educate them. In many cases, the attending nurse would take the newborn from the mother to have to it examined or cleaned. The nurse would return with a dead baby that was kept for that purpose in a freezer at the hospital as proof that the child had died. Then an empty coffin would be buried to further cover up the crime. What began as a system of political control gradually turned into a giant money-making operation. It came to light when a man named Juan Moreno sat by his father’s deathbed and was told that both he and his childhood friend Antonio Barroso were both purchased from a nun.
“It was horrible, first to know that my father was dying, but then to learn that my father wasn’t really my father and that my best childhood friend was stolen just like I was,” Moreno said. Barroso recalled, “When I was a boy, other boys at school said that my mother wasn’t my real mother. So I asked my mother, and she said, ‘of course you’re my son.’ But when I did a DNA test with my mother, the probability of maternity was 0%.” Barroso started Anadir, an association fighting for justice for the victims of this scandal. ” I needed to establish an association to try and get the courts to pay attention because they were ignoring us” Barroso said.
As their story spread through the media, more and more Spanish women, who believe their babies were stolen, started to come forward. Outside a courthouse in Valencia, women looking for lost children or siblings held up signs for the TV cameras. “I’m looking for my daughter born in 1982,” one woman said. “I saw her at birth and I didn’t see her again. They told me she had died.” “I’m looking for my brother, who was born in July 1971 in Valencia,” another woman said. Barroso said, “Spain was a supermarket for babies, for Spaniards and for the rest of the world.” The Spanish have started to examine death certificates and adoption papers and found that many were falsified — and not very creatively.
The use of “Mary and Joseph” to describe the child’s biological parents was common. “The crimes were committed for money. There was no criminal organization with a mafia boss in charge. Every hospital had its own business,” Barroso said. Women looking for their parents, siblings, or children all said they felt the government was dragging its feet. “Sometimes we feel as if they’re playing with us,” Anabel, who is looking for her parents, told CBN News. “We want fair justice and some brave judges,” she said. “We want the government to support us because they have the means and power to order and say these are the mothers of these children and to turn over the archives.”
Another woman who is looking for her sister said, “We need to know where our parents, brothers and sisters and babies are.” Enrique Vila, a lawyer for the victims said, “Spanish justice is deceiving us by giving the image they are working to resolve the problem” he said. Rumours of stolen babies have circulated in Spain for decades. But the first case only went to court this year. “It is incredible that there are doctors, medical assistants, nurses and nuns, still loose on the streets, who have stolen children and become rich and have not yet been arrested.” Vila said. “I do not believe the thefts were a policy of the Catholic Church, but the actions of individual priests and nuns, as well as doctors and nurses.
Spain is today a nation of many tortured souls, people who once thought they knew who they were and have discovered they are someone else. One woman said, “I cry every night for my daughter. When she was born, I could not hug her. I only had her on my breast while they cut the umbilical cord then they took her and I didn’t see her again.” Anadir has filed more than 900 lawsuits, but most have been thrown out because of lack of evidence. Even if the Spanish legal system gets to the bottom of this crime, it can never repair the damage done to so many Spanish mothers and the children they never knew.
Source: CBN News
ESTIMATED 25,000 COME TO CHRIST IN EGYPTIAN DESERT
Revival of faith in Jesus Christ is spreading throughout Egypt. In early October, 10,000 young people gathered in the desert north of Cairo to sing, pray and worship the Lord. The youth gathering was followed later in the month with an even larger event called “Count It Right”, a Christian rally which drew 45,000 people. Hundreds of buses brought in people of all ages to the conference grounds, which also hosted artistic and sports activities. But the focus of the event was to present the message of salvation and call people to give their lives to Jesus at a time in Egypt when Christians are being persecuted even more since the June election of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi.
Included in the numbers reported by a Christian leader are:
. 45,000 – the number of attendees
. 25,000 – estimated number of people who gave their lives to Jesus
. 8,000 – cards filled out by people who requested follow-up visits by churches
. 2-3 million – estimated number of people who followed the rally on two Christian satellite channels for six and a half hours of airing time broadcasted live each day to North America, Australia and the Middle East
. 1,000 – children participating in a special program prepared for them
. 5,000 – people attended a one-day parallel festival in the Coptic Orthodox Cave Church, located in Cairo’s garbage dump
. 6,000 – people attended another similar gathering from different churches in Assiut, a city located six hours south of Cairo
The Christian leader blogs: “Great harvest! The sight of thousands of people proclaiming their desire to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour is hard to describe in words. Most of the attendees were from the Coptic Orthodox Church, and one of the nights a Coptic Orthodox priest was the main speaker for the meeting. Have I seen an Orthodox priest preaching from an evangelical pulpit to such a big crowd of people before? Never. Attendees were challenged to put their material things like cigarettes, drugs, magic charms etc into large baskets that were passed around throughout the entire stadium. They were also urged to write down any sins they wished to repent of and also put those in the bins.
“On the first night alone, 12 large wicker baskets were filled with these items. I think Jesus was present in a similar multitude scene before. This was a powerful symbol of a sincere decision they have all made to follow Christ.” The Christian leader explains: “We do not have an accurate count or a clear indication of how many people accepted Christ. Most of the days, more than half of the people in the stadium stood up to pray and repent in response to the altar call. It was impossible for the ushers and evangelism team to pray with all the people and fill out cards with each one. With this in mind, the estimated number was 25,000 people who prayed to receive Christ during the festival.
The Christian blogger added “The Holy Spirit is the only One Who has the exact count, though. We are grateful to Him for His great work among us. We are so thankful to God for His protection over this large event and the large number of people who attended. Grateful for the smooth administration of so many logistics and for the spirit and attitude between all the Believers who worked together to make it possible. We are overwhelmed by His goodness and His heart of mercy towards Egypt, and are expecting more and more signs of revival in the coming days.”
Source: OpenDoorsUSA.org
MR BEAN STAR CALLS FOR REPEAL OF BRITISH HATE SPEECH LAWS
Rowan Atkinson, one of Britain’s most popular film and television comedy stars, has told the government that the hate speech provisions of the Public Order Act must be repealed to uphold the country’s ancient traditions of freedom of speech. He said he wanted to counter “the Outrage Industry: self-appointed arbiters of the public good, encouraging media-stoked outrage, to which the police feel under terrible pressure to react.” A “new intolerance” is being fed by Section 5, the “insult” wording of the Act, he said. “A new and intense desire to gag uncomfortable voices of dissent.”
“‘I’m not intolerant,’ say many softly-spoken, highly educated liberal-minded people,” Atkinson said. “‘I’m only intolerant of intolerance.’ And people tend to nod sagely and say, ‘Oh yes, wise words, wise words.’ And yet if you think about this supposedly inarguable statement for longer than five seconds you realize that all it is advocating is the replacement of one kind of intolerance with another.” The law, he said, is “indicative of a culture that has taken hold of the program of successive governments that with the reasonable and well-intentioned ambition to contain obnoxious elements in society, has created a society of an extraordinarily authoritarian and controlling nature.”
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
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BRAZIL SOAP OPERAS IMPACT BIRTH RATE AND DIVORCE STATISTICS
Brazil’s popular soap operas have done more than just entertain people – they have reduced the birth rate and driven up the divorce rate. A study of population data between 1971 and 1991 shows the rate of marriage break-up rose and the number of children born fell more quickly in areas receiving the TV Globo signal for the first time. Over the 20 years an estimated 3 million fewer babies were born than would have been if soap operas had never been broadcast, and 800,000 more couples separated or divorced, the researchers said. “We find that exposure to modern lifestyles as portrayed on television was associated with increases in the share of separated and divorced woman across Brazil.”
Researchers found that women living in areas covered by the Globo signal had significantly lower fertility. The reason for this was said to be the “aspirational ethos” of the soaps, which tend to portray the upper levels of Brazilian society. Characters generally are whiter, richer and better educated than most of Brazil’s 190 million people. They have fewer children and are more likely to be separated or divorced. If the leading female character in a soap opera was divorced or separated, the divorce rate rose by an average of 0.1%. Women in areas reached by the Globo signal had 0.6% fewer children than those in areas with no signal – an apparently small impact, but equating to millions fewer babies over two decades.
Source: Intercessors Network
MARIJUANA LEGALISED IN WASHINGTON AND COLORADO
Washington and Colorado voters have made history by becoming the first US states to legalise recreational marijuana use. The decision will set up a legal showdown between the states and federal government, which currently backs prohibition. Washington supporters of the policy, named Initiative 502, say the move will raise $2 billion in taxes over five years and reduce small-time arrests. Officials say the money will be spent on education, health care, substance abuse prevention and other government services. In Washington citizens over 21 will be able to buy 28 grams of dried marijuana, half a kilogram of marijuana-infused product, such as brownies, or two kilograms of marijuana-infused liquid.
The rules will be similar in Colorado, but while possession will be legal public use will be banned. Sales won’t start until state officials make rules to govern the new industry, and federal authorities can still take the states to court to stop the initiative going ahead. So far federal authorities have not hinted at their intention to fight the policy, but the Colorado branch of the US Attorney’s Office says it will not change its view on the banned substance. In both Washington and Colorado the legislation passed comfortably, but some law enforcement officials and health professionals claim the proposal could lead to increased marijuana abuse.
Source: Denver Post
SCIENCE CONFIRMS NO MORE NEED FOR DESTRUCTION OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
Source: Christian WeekHave you visited our Web site? Australian Prayer Network
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SUDAN: WHO CARES ABOUT GENOCIDE?
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by Elizabeth Kendal
Sudan has been shattered, impoverished and torn apart by systematic racial
hatred and religious intolerance. The Islamist, Arab-supremacist regime of
President Gen. Omar el-Bashir has little concern for ‘infidels’ and
‘blacks’, especially those who oppose and resist Islamisation and
Arabisation.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan’s civil war
mandated that, if South Sudan seceded, the three disputed border regions
of Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile would each have the right to a
referendum to determine whether they would be part of Sudan or South
Sudan. Though geographically linked into the north (Abyei less so), they
are culturally and politically aligned with the South because they are
predominantly non-Arab and non-Muslim. The regime in Khartoum desperately
wants the oil reserves in Abyei and South Kordofan and the water of Blue
Nile. What it does not want is the oppositional ‘infidels’ and ‘blacks’
who live there to exercise their right to self-determination. Bashir
launched his jihad before the secession even took place. Sudan Armed
Forces ethnically cleansed and occupied Abyei in May 2011. For this crime,
Bashir was rewarded with impunity; even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
refused to call it ethnic cleansing on the grounds that the people might
return.
Emboldened, Bashir expanded his jihad into South Kordofan. In early June
2011 SAF-allied Arab militias invaded Kadugli, the capital, having been
instructed to ‘sweep away the rubbish’ (i.e. the Nuba, the ‘blacks’).
After weeks of terror on the ground in which tens of thousands were
killed, the aerial bombardment began. Hundreds of thousands of
predominantly Christian Africans were displaced as homes and farms were
bombed. Again, Bashir was rewarded with impunity. Further emboldened, he
expanded his jihad into Blue Nile. By means of massive population
displacement along with systematic destruction of crops and denial of
humanitarian aid, the regime is effecting a final solution: the
elimination of oppositional ‘infidels’ and ‘blacks’ from the resource-rich
‘new south’. [When the genocide is complete, Bashir will doubtless
organise referendums to be lauded by the West as evidence of his
transition to democracy!]
According to the anti-genocide Enough Project, 81.5 percent of families in
the Nuba Mountains survive on one meal a day and three percent are classed
as having Severe Acute Malnutrition (meaning in the absence of medical
intervention they will soon die). These statistics are moving upwards.
Local church groups are struggling just to keep the population alive.
Agreements concerning humanitarian aid have been signed but never
implemented. Why is this behaviour of Khartoum tolerated? Furthermore,
refugee camps just over the border in Unity and Upper Nile states, South
Sudan, are struggling greatly to host more than 200,000 refugees. Driven
by starvation in the displacement camps, some Dinka Ngok have recently
returned to Abyei only to find that everything has been destroyed, even
their boreholes.
As reported by Christian media agency Morning Star News (MSN), aerial
bombardment of Christian towns across South Kordofan has increased
considerably over the past month. MSN cites NubaReports, a network of
local citizen journalists committed to providing credible coverage of the
atrocities being committed against the Nuba in South Kordofan. It was
established by an American aid worker who remained when his Christian aid
organisation was forced to evacuate. The reports are shocking and include
lists of towns bombed in recent weeks, along with names and ages of
victims. Due to the absence of medical aid, many of the injured will
ultimately die from infection. Why is the ‘International Community’ so
indifferent to this genocide? Is it because the victims are predominantly
Christians and Christian deaths are less economically and strategically
significant as they do not increase the risk of regional sectarian war?
Why is the media not interested? Is it because the media is only
interested in those conflicts from which they can get sensational ratings-
boosting live coverage? Is a double-barrelled racism in play: the victims
are black, diminishing interest; the perpetrators are Arab-Muslims,
diminishing expectation? But the West, if it is to claim any morality,
must care about African genocides and demand more from Arab Muslims. One
major problem is that the US and much of the West have ‘de-coupled’
Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile from Sudan policy. This means
‘engagement’ with Sudan can proceed without reference to these crises.
However, if the West keeps treating Sudan’s threatened non-Muslims and non-
Arabs as if they do not exist, then it will not be long before they
actually do not exist! So much for ‘never again’!
Prayer for Sudan: Psalm 10
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL –
* arise and lift up his hand (Psalm 10:12) and intervene for his
threatened people, bringing the wicked el-Bashir and his evil regime to
account (v15) so that the righteous might be spared and the wicked
might ‘terrify no more’ (v18).
* fan into flame the faith of his people, so that they will look to the
LORD for all things, trusting in him and witnessing his provision and
deliverance. ‘. . . a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly
burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth
justice.’ (Isaiah 42:3 ESV)
* stir up moral indignation and courage so that the West will act against
this evil regime according to the will and directions of the Lord of
Hosts.
* fire up brotherly love and spiritual fervour in the Church, so that
Christians will not rest from intercession until God intervenes and
brings peace.
~~~~
SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
——————————
WHO CARES ABOUT GENOCIDE IN SUDAN?
Sudanese president Omar el-Bashir’s genocidal jihad continues unabated
against the non-Muslims and non-Arabs in the ‘new south’ of Abyei, South
Kordofan and Blue Nile. The Islamist, Arab-supremacist regime in Khartoum
wants the oil and water in its ‘new south’ but it just does not want the
‘infidels’ and ‘blacks’ who live there defiantly opposing Islamisation and
demanding basic human rights. According to http://www.nubareports.org/ ,
aerial bombardment of Christian towns has escalated in recent weeks,
famine is spreading and there is still no humanitarian aid. The most
shameful thing in all this is the indifference of the West. Why does the
‘International Community’ — especially the ‘moral’ West — not care about
this genocide? The Church must care! Please pray for God to intervene in
Sudan. Pray Psalm 10.
——————–
To view this RLPB with hyperlinks, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer
Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.
For Critical Prayer Requests (CPR) for the nations, see
http://criticalprayerrequests.
——————–
We suggest that churches and fellowships using the above Summary might
also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their
worship by people who are leading in prayer.
For more information, updates and helpful links see Elizabeth Kendal’s
blog ‘Religious Liberty Monitoring’ <http://elizabethkendal.
Previous RLPBs may be viewed at <http://rlprayerbulletin.
- INDIA’S KARNATAKA STATE NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
- THE PAKISTANI TALIBAN PROLIFERATES ITS REIGN OF TERROR
- SYRIAN CEASEFIRE GOES UP IN SMOKE
- GOSPEL SPREADS LIKE WILDFIRE IN NEPAL
- OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD CELEBRATES DISTRIBUTION OF 100th MILLION SHOE BOX
- EGYPT’S PRESIDENT JOINS IN PRAYERS FOR DESTRUCTION OF JEWS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS
- WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH THE CHURCHES GET GOING
INDIA’S KARNATAKA STATE NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
Attacks on Christians in the south Indian state of Karnataka are being reported almost weekly. With the state assembly election imminent, the frequency and intensity of attacks might further increase. The ruling Hindu Nationalist Party (BJP) appears to be consolidating its Hindu votes in the wake of a new crisis. Attacks on Christians have increased since the BJP came to power in May 2008. While Hindu nationalist groups had been working in Karnataka for decades those groups began to implement their agenda only after the BJP’s rise to power. According to the New Delhi-based Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), Karnataka saw 28 attacks in 2008, at least 48 attacks in 2009, and 56 in 2010.
In 2011, the number slightly decreased to 49 attacks. However, the incidence of attacks has been much higher in recent months. And the total number of attacks is expected to unprecedented levels by the end of this year, thanks to an internal crisis within the Hindu nationalist party. Some key leaders of the Karnataka unit of the BJP are facing corruption charges, which is dividing the party within. Former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was accused of illegally allotting land and granting mining licenses, was forced by the national leadership to resign in 2011. Now, he has announced his decision to leave the party and form his own political group.
Yeddyurappa belongs to the Karnataka’s largest caste community, Lingayat. Though also Hindus, the Lingayats – who represent some 20% of the state’s population – differ from mainstream Hinduism in certain religious matters and have a distinct sense of identity as opposed to other Hindu caste groups. The BJP’s first-ever victory in Karnataka in 2008 was attributed to the party’s decision to have Yeddyurappa as its chief ministerial candidate. With the state election due in 2013, the BJP had little choice but to let Yeddyurappa leave. Corruption is currently the biggest national issue, and the party could not take a risk by featuring him again as its chief ministerial candidate.
The BJP can no longer depend on the Lingayat votes in 2013. BJP’ssecond-most influential Lingayat leader, Jagadish Shettar, may not be able to bring as many votes from his community. Yeddyurappa is also expected to take several legislators of the BJP to his new party. The BJP is trying to unite the Hindus by raising issues against Christians and Muslims according to former leader Michael Kumar. BJP leaders are seeking to consolidate the Hindu vote for the 2013 elections,” Kumar said. Due to the politicization of the caste system in Hinduism, no party can easily mobilize Hindus as onevote bank. The only way to do it is by projecting the Christian and Muslim minorities as enemies of all Hindus.
Kumar, jailed in 2008 due to involvement in a spate of attacks on Christians, said his time in jail led him to quit the Hindu nationalist movement. Kumar confirmed that Hindu nationalists play on emotions. “Hatred is sown among the Hindu youth by spreading of untrue information.” Hindu nationalists allege that Christians are bribing Hindus to convert them, and denigrating their gods. Raising these issues diverts attention from corruption charges against BJP leaders. For example when television channels began questioning the integrity of BJP national president Nitin Gadkari, the party suddenly called for the construction of a temple to Hindu god Rama where once the Babri Mosque stood.
The call for the Ram temple to be built at the disputed location has been one of the most divisive communal issues independent India has witnessed in its history. Christian groups in India have diligently reported incidents of violence against Christians in Karnataka and other states. Since such documentation is now available, they could possibly approach the Karnataka High Court through a writ petition, seeking issuance of directives to the state police and government to ensure the security of the minority community. This is perhaps the only way to compel the state to do its duty as long as the BJP is the ruling party.
Source: World Evangelical Alliance
THE PAKISTANI TALIBAN PROLIFERATES ITS REIGN OF TERROR
On October 9, Malala Yousufzai was on her way home from school in a van with some of her classmates when armed TTP members stopped the vehicle and demanded the children identify her or be killed. Once identified, the gunmen opened fire, hitting Malala and two other girls. Malala gained international attention in 2009 when she wrote a blog for the BBC describing her life under Taliban rule and promoting her viewpoints on education for girls. In 2011, she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize, and she won 1 million rupee ($10,500 USD) and Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize for her courage in speaking out for children’s rights.
The Pakistani Taliban claim Malala deserved to die because she spoke out against the group and supported US President Barack Obama. The TTP believe she is a “spy of the west.” In a seven-page statement, the group said, “For this espionage, infidels give her awards and rewards. And Islam orders killing of those who are spying for enemies. She used to propagate against mujahideen [Muslim guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad] to defame the Taliban. The Qur’an says that people propagating against Islam and Islamic forces would be killed. We targeted her because she would speak against the Taliban while sitting with shameless strangers and idealized the biggest enemy of Islam, Barack Obama.
We did not attack her for raising her voice for education. We targeted her for opposing mujahideen and their war. Sharia says that even a child can be killed if they are propagating against Islam.” While Malala is recovering in a British hospital, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan reiterated their intent to kill her and her father. The barbaric attack garnered widespread outrage. Protests were held throughout Pakistan, and the government offered a reward of 10 million rupee ($105,000 USD) for information leading to the capture of the assailants. In addition, world leaders condemned the assault. United States President Barack Obama called the shooting “reprehensible, disgusting, and tragic.”
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said it was a “heinous and cowardly act.” Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari described it as an attack on “civilized people.” However, this monstrous act of violence is not an isolated incident. The Pakistani Taliban is vigilant in enforcing the country’s blasphemy law. The penalties for violating the law include fines, imprisonment, and even death. It does not take much to break this law which is often misused to settle personal vendettas. Therefore, Pakistan’s Christians are experiencing widespread victimization. There are many reports of churches being destroyed and Christians being extorted, kidnapped, falsely imprisoned, and gunned down.
Please pray:
* for Mulala Yousufzai to make a complete recovery. Pray for her to come to know spiritual healing through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
* for the members of the TTP to be healed from their anger. Pray for them to repent and turn from fanatical Islam. Pray for them to come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Pray too that Muslims do not bear false witness against their Christian neighbours.
* for spiritual revival to come to Swat and sweep throughout all of Pakistan and for the government to overturn the blasphemy law. Pray that God would cover His Church in Pakistan with a mantle of safety and protection and for Christian Believers to be strong in their faith and witness during a time of severe persecution. Pray for them to be courageous and not fearful.
Source: Windows International Network
SYRIAN CEASEFIRE GOES UP IN SMOKE
UN-Arab League representative Lakhdar Brahimi recently negotiated a four-day ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Even though both sides agreed to the truce, it only took moments for the hostility to begin again. The ceasefire is practically over,” said Fawaz Tello, a veteran resistance supporter. “Damascus has been under brutal air raids since day one and hundreds of people have been arrested.” Abdel Jabbar Al Okaidi, head of the FSA military council, said, “The initiative was dead before it started. Our mission is to defend the people. It is not us who are attacking.” While the FSA blames Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for breaking the truce, the government blames the “terrorists.”
A statement released by the Syrian army said the FSA “clearly violated” the ceasefire agreement and claimed the rebels want to “fragment and destroy Syria.” Syria’s civil war has claimed the lives of more than 35,000 people. Recently, the infighting spread into nearby Lebanon, where a powerful bomb destroyed a Christian district in Beirut. The blast, which killed eight and injured eighty, succeeded in assassinating Brigadier General Wissamal-Hassan, head of the information branch of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces. Authorities believed al-Hassan was killed because he exposed a Syrian plot to incite conflict in Lebanon.
Both Turkey and Jordan took measures to protect their citizens. Jordan’s allies assisted the military in preventing a chemical attack. Turkey also strengthened its borders after a number of Syrian shells landed within its territory. Syrian Christians are being pressured by both parties to join in the war. Some Christians are fleeing the country, while those who remain are under attack by radicals for their beliefs. Western governments are hesitant to become involved in the battle. Since Israel borders Syria, and Syria is allied with Iran and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, it is feared intervention would result in an all-out war. Without international military aid, there is little hope of ending the conflict.
Please pray:
* for a swift and peaceful resolution to the Syrian civil war. Pray for the Lord to comfort those who have lost loved ones. Pray for them to come to know the Prince of Peace during their time of grief and sorrow.
* for Syrian Christians who are forced to flee their homes. Ask God to keep them safely in His care. Pray for them to find shelter, rest, and protection. Pray for stability in the Middle East and for the Syrian conflict to not spread to neighbouring countries.
* God’s protection to surround His Church in Syria. Pray for the Lord to keep Christians safe from the radicals who wish to harm them. Pray for the rebels to turn from Islam to a belief in Jesus Christ.
Source: Windows International Network
GOSPEL SPREADS LIKE WILDFIRE IN NEPAL
According to Kelsey Wales, a Missions Coach with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), the spiritual harvest in Nepal is abundant. “The church is growing — very fast,” she said. “It’s one of the fastest-growing churches in the world right now, which is really exciting.” On a recent “vision trip” to Nepal, Wales and several other TEAM members witnessed God working in the country. While He used TEAM’s traditional approaches of church planting and women’s ministries to bring Nepalese to Him, newer methods are breaking spiritual barriers, too. Wales said medical care is opening doors for the Gospel in western Nepal, an area notoriously resistant to Christianity.
“We’ve really found that professional platforms have been really advantageous to reaching the Gospel and doing that church-planting work,”she said. Believers at TEAM’s hospital in western Nepal have formed many relationships, and used those friendships as a gateway to introduce the Gospel and Jesus Christ. Now, said Wales, those medical workers are expanding their reach to rural villages. Teams trek into hard-to-reach areas and spend several days tending to the community’s medical needs. “Often by bringing that medical aid into a completely unreached area, they’re able to share the Gospel and witness to those people who have yet to even hear of the Gospel,” Wales explained.
TEAM also reaches into the business world, using relationships with co-workers built over time to introduce the message of salvation. Wales shared the widespread needs in Nepal. “There is so much work that needs to happen in Nepal,” she said. “Whether it’s in the medical side in social justice and reaching the tangible physical needs, but just as important, if not more so, the spiritual needs of a very dark and lost country.” Pray that God would raise up workers for the spiritual harvest. Pray for the Nepali church. “There are lot of challenges in the country so just pray for the local church that it would be strong, and that it would be able to overcome opposition.
Source: Mission Network News
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD CELEBRATES DISTRIBUTION OF 100th MILLION SHOE BOX
Samaritan’s Purse will celebrate the 100 millionth gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoe box in 2012. The concept of Operation Christmas Child began in 1990, when Dave and Jill Cooke from Wales were watching a broadcast on Romanian orphanages. They asked the question: How can we help these children, who live in these situations day after day? They knew they could not stop the wars, but they could offer the gift of love. Together, they filled a convoy of nine trucks with medical supplies, food, clothing and Christmas gifts for children, and headed into Romania, which had recently been devastated by war. This was the beginning of the world’s largest children’s Christmas program.
In 1993, Franklin Graham, International President of Samaritan’s Purse, adopted Operation Christmas Child and the project has now spread worldwide. Speaking recently in the UK to primary school students as they packed their shoe boxes, Mr Graham said: “This year we will reach an historic number, that is our 100 millionth shoe box worldwide, and so we appreciate the prayers you send with these gifts that will be sent in Jesus’ name.” Coincidentally, Samaritan’s Purse Australia/NZ celebrates the sending of its three millionth shoe box in November 2012. Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes from Australia/NZ are delivered to children in need in countries across Southeast Asia/Pacific.
Source: Samaritan’s Purse
EGYPT’S PRESIDENT JOINS IN PRAYERS FOR DESTRUCTION OF JEWS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS
Dangers continue to increase for Christians and Jews in Egypt. News reports are saying that the former head of the Muslim Brotherhood, now President of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi “participated in prayers recently in which the preacher urged Allah to ‘destroy the Jews and their supporters.'” This prayer service was broadcast on state-run television in Egypt. The Anti-Defamation League confirmed that Morsi himself could be plainly seen “mouthing ‘amen.'” The anti-Semitic prayer included implicit attacks on Christians, Americans, and other “supporters” of Israel.
The Cleric stated: “Oh Allah, absolve us of our sins, strengthen us, and grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder. Oh Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them. Show us Your omnipotence, oh Lord.” It has also been reported that an early draft of Egypt’s new constitution provides that “the principles of Islamic Shari’a are the main source of legislation”–a stated goal of the new political head of the Muslim Brotherhood. This only further stokes growing fears of the rise of a new radical Islamic power in the Middle East.
Source: Charisma News
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH THE CHURCHES GET GOING
“When times are tough, the Church can be at its best – being, doing and telling the good news of the Gospel.” A recent report by the Christian Post (CP) revealed the positive attitudes and adjustments some churches have made amid the current financially challenging times. Requests for financial assistance have increased from those outside of congregations – and churches have stepped up their spending on behalf of those who need it. Ed Stetzer, the director of Life Way Research noted that many fellowships have approached the challenge with excitement. These difficult circumstances are motivating churches to mobilize people for the work of mercy ministries,”said Stetzer in the CP report.
Rising to the occasion is not just the church staff and leadership, but also those who fill the pews. The survey showed that giving had increased by an average of 4% in the last year. And, while 12% of the 1,000 churches surveyed, did see a 10% decline in tithes and offerings, about 26% recorded an increase of 10% or more last year. Life Way’s Associate Director, Scott McConnell explained that while troubled times can sometimes cause people and churches to hold on to and protect what money they have, “Jesus Christ told His followers that giving out of your poverty is worth far more than giving out of your surplus.” Pastors are living this truth.
Source: Christian Post
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