World Vision offices attacked in Pakistan.

Pakistan (MNN) -- World Vision is mourning the brutal and senseless deaths of six of their staff members in the Mansehra District of Pakistan after an unprovoked attack by gunmen.

The international humanitarian organization confirms reports that gunmen entered its compound, threw grenades, opened fire on staff inside its office, and left the compound after letting a self-made bomb explode. The compound is located 65 kilometers north of Mansehra town.

World Vision's Dean Owen says six Pakistani staff members were killed and eight injured. "There were somewhere between 15 and 20 individuals who broke into our compound. They shot up the staff and robbed the staff of jewelry, money, computers, and phones. World Vision typically loses one staff member a year to violence; never, ever in our 60 year history have we lost six in one day."

So far, nobody has claimed responsibility, says Owen. "We really cannot speculate as to whether this was an attack because of the nature of our work, because of our faith -- we're just not really sure. But this is a devastating blow to our organization globally."

Owen says, of those who were killed in the attacks, all were Muslims. "In some countries where we work, there are no Christians to hire." So they hire Muslims to help them do the relief work--Muslims who fully understand that World Vision is a Christian organization.

All of World Vision's Pakistan work has temporarily suspended. "We will be conducting a thorough and extensive review of our security measures, and if need be, strengthen our security efforts," says Owen.

In addition to those killed, 8 employees are hospitalized with injuries. Four of them were released from the hospital, while the other 4 remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

No threatening letters were received prior to the attack. World Vision's relief and development work in Pakistan is conducted by local citizens, and local leaders have strongly condemned the attack. World Vision sees the incident not only as an attack on its own local staff, but also as an attack on the Pakistani people themselves.

All of World Vision's operations in the country have been suspended for the time being.

World Vision remembers those staff who died as dedicated people seeking to improve the lives of people affected by poverty and disasters.

Since 1992, World Vision has primarily focused on relief interventions in Pakistan. The work expanded in 2001, when the agency began collaborating with other aid groups in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab Province with emergency relief assistance and community development initiatives. After the devastating October 2005 earthquake, World Vision expanded its operations in Pakistan.

Staff members testify that the chilling scene of mutilated bodies, many women and children, is hard to take in as they go around comforting the bereaved and encouraging the wounded.

Security forces that have been deployed in the area stood watching yesterday as mass burials started. Many locals are accusing the government of not reacting to rumors about the impending violence in the early hours of Sunday morning.

An interview between Mission Network News and Open Doors' Africa Director helps put the attack in perspective:

Q: Did the Christians of Dogo Nahawa suffer the attack because of what Jos Christians did to Muslims in January?

A: We understand that what is happening in Nigeria is first and foremost a spiritual battle between darkness and light. The battle has many disguises and faces. Some are saying the attack was revenge for the January fighting. Others say it was the result of fighting over farmland. There are also those who say it is a fight for the control of the city of Jos as capital of Plateau State. All of these may very well be part of the general motive, but it would be oversimplified to say that any one of these is the sole reason for the most recent attack. The villagers of Dogo Nahawa had nothing to do with the January violence. Additionally, a great percentage of those killed were women and children. Our coordinator explained, "One group of 65 bodies we saw included only nine men. The rest were all women and children."

Q: How do we help Christians in the West understand this and the other attacks in the past?

A: I think it is very important that we at Open Doors remind people that this is a spiritual battle. And in the realities of this battle, some Christians react to the honor of God and others don't. I think it is also important to understand that the Nigerian Christians are not super human beings. Those Christians in northern Nigeria face discrimination, humiliation and attacks almost on a daily basis. They have built and rebuilt homes and churches so many times. They have gone to morgues to look for the bodies of their loved ones so often. Is it realistic to expect them not to snap at a certain point in time? The question is: "Would I, in a similar situation, defend my family and community?" Our coordinator testifies that the youth of Dogo Nahawa are livid over this attack. When a pastor encouraged them to forgive, they were extremely offended. This is not to be commended, but it has to be understood.

Q: What is Open Doors doing to help the victims of Sunday's attack?

A: Our team is on the ground visiting the bereaved, the injured, and those now in the hospital. A high priority for us is to respond to the immediate need for food and water. Open Doors has been pursuing every avenue available to us to help the church equip their members always to be able to give an answer to the hope they have, to reach out to Muslims in love, and to react to their adversaries in a way that is pleasing to God. We also help ostracized Christians find others ways to earn an income.

Russia (MNN) -- A government report indicated Russia has more than one million street children, and one crime in four involves underage youths.

Poverty, drug and alcohol abuse are rampant among Russia's youth. But rather than despair, there's hope. Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association says he recently returned from the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (UECB) national youth conference in Russia that could represent a turn in the tide.  "750 youth leaders were gathered together talking about how they were seeing God at work." 

Mock says they're seeing that rather than waiting until they're older, youth are mobilizing in a way only they can. "They are ready to serve today. We had young men--as young as 11-years-old up to 22-years-of-age that showed up to learn how to preach the Word of God--the arms and legs of the local church." 

SGA's role is to come alongside and help. Mock says the time is right for change. "God is raising up this young generation to be the future pastors and missionaries who will be a part of the church body in the days ahead. If we are not active in equipping the youth of today with the Word of God and with zeal, this generation will enter into a time in which godlessness will prevail."

Past conferences offered seminars that covered prayer ministry, personal evangelism, creative evangelism, outreach work in public schools, purity and holiness, coordinating youth ministry and working with rehabilitation ministries, among others.

Keep interceding for these youth leaders, asking God to anoint their labors to reach Russia's young men and women for Christ. Click here if you want to support this effort.

Cornerstone University's ESL Ministry Conference is Apirl 17.

USA (MNN) -- Churches around the United States are looking for ways to reach out to their communities. With the large number of people immigrating to the U.S., why not start a ministry to help them learn English? Not sure how to begin?

For the 9th year in a row, Cornerstone University is hosting their English as a Second Language (ESL) ministry conference April 17 in Grand Rapids, MI. Cornerstone's Director of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Program Dr. Michael Pasquale: "Part of our outreach to our community is to offer this annual conference to equip our local churches to reach out to their neighbors who do not speak English as their first language."

This year's theme is Building Lives That Matter. Pasquale says ESL is more than just about teaching English. "It's not just about preparing grammar lessons, but it's to build into their lives -- to pray for them, to reach out to their neighbors and their communities so that ultimately their lives are built up."

Pasquale says there will be two different kinds of workshops at this year's one-day conference. One will focus on the practical ways of teaching English. The other will focus on how churches can connect with other churches, ministries or organizations to make their ministries more effective.

He says this kind of ministry is important for the local church. "I think it's a core of what the church needs to do. We are to reach out to the world and make disciples of all nations, and it's not just for the church to go overseas. But when the world comes to us, we have an obligation to share with the world right at our doorstep."

Dr. Joe Stowell will be the keynote speaker of this year's conference. He was the featured speaker at an international conference of ESL teachers in Chaing Mai, Thailand, last year, sponsored by the English Language Institute of China.

Pasquale says, "We hope to build off of last year's record attendance: we had over 150 people."

Early bird registration is $50 ($30 for students) through April 1. You can register online at http://www.cornerstone.edu/esl. The conference will be held on the campus of Cornerstone University, 1001 E Beltline NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525.

Honduras (MNN) -- The ministry of Orphan Outreach to the Dump City in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is helping young women step into adulthood. 

When girls attending the Amor, Fe, y Esperanza (AFE School) turn 15 and are about to graduate, the school celebrates a rite of passage with a dress and high heels. The shoes symbolize becoming a woman, being somebody, and one day leaving the garbage dump.

The girls walk into their future with God in their hearts. 

Orphan Outreach does much more in partnership with AFE. The ministry there began when Jeony Ordonez saw children as young as 5 and 6 picking their way across the piles of garbage. His daughter begged him to find a way to help those children.

Jeony discovered approximately 300 children working at the dump in Tegucigalpa, collecting trash to sell, and facing the challenges of disease, forced child prostitution, and death. 

The ministry started addressing the educational and spiritual needs of these children. A mission group helped out by constructing two buildings on the land the government gave them. Two more buildings will serve as a kitchen/cafeteria and a high school building. 

The school has classes from kindergarten to high school and serves approximately 120 students. Orphan Outreach is working with Jeony on Social Justice ministry to advocate a change in the laws so that no more children will be able to work in the dump. 

Orphan Outreach is working in collaboration with AFE to provide operational funds for the school, funds for connecting electricity to the campus, along with other construction projects. Click here if you can help.