Headlining today’s news Christian communities in Indonesia’s Moluccas Islands fear the onslaught of “religious cleansing”. Thousands of people have fled the region, including mission agencies like New Tribes Mission. Agency spokesman Guy Sier explains why. “There’s a Muslim Jihad under way there to stamp out Christianity. This is more than just rhetoric we are seeing entire Christian villages wiped out and burned to the ground, churches set afire and pastors murdered.” Sier is praying the violence doesn’t spread to nearby Sulawesi (SUH-lah-WEHS-ee) where many of their Moluccas missionaries have relocated. “We have seen that type of violence erupt into one Sulawesi city and that’s causing us some great concern and are watching that closely to see if that’s going to spread and catch on in some of the other cites.” Pray for safety as missionaries continue to share the Gospel.
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Next, negotiators in the Philippines ended talks with Muslim rebels and returned home without any of the hostages. The rebels appear to be targeting both foreigners and Christians, and many evangelistic groups are on alert. Due to the sensitive nature of their work, a Christian development organization in the area agreed to be interviewed, but not named. We’ll call our source “Jim”. “Some of the projects are affected by ongoing conflict between Muslim rebels and the government forces. The fighting is still going on in some areas-this conflict has resulted in destruction to both Muslims and non-Muslims. Villagers had to flee to evacuation centers; their farms and most of their animals were left unattended.” “Jim” says they are watching the events in the south and adds believers need prayer. “We need to pray that there be a resolution to this conflict. Pray that they’d have the strength to go on, and perseverance and the faith to trust God in this situation.”
The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention reports that Monday, a missionary family in the Ivory Coast, was carjacked by armed gunmen. The robbers shot missionary Travis Forsythe and drove off with 2-year-old Nathaniel in the back. They later left the boy unharmed in a village. Wife Kimberly has since developed pregnancy complications worsened by this experience. She remains hospitalized at this time.
Meanwhile, Voice of the Martyrs is reporting that Chinese Pastor Li-Dexian, was released after being held in custody for about 12 hours. This is an answer to prayer for those who feared for Pastor Li’s life if he were to be incarcerated. VOM adds that one of the most impressive things about his congregation was the dignity with which the believers in Hua Du conducted themselves during their next meeting following their pastor’s arrest. Please continue to pray for believers in China.
Headlining today’s news, United Nations officials are holding peace talks in an attempt to avoid another outbreak of fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea. While the situation remains tense, SIM International’s Ron Frazee says there is something good that’s come from all the fighting. “They both have armies or soldiers sitting on the front line. Both on the Ethiopia side on the Eritrea side there are studios producing radio programs and these soldiers are listening. And many times they ask questions, but very often the soldiers say, I have accepted Jesus into my life to be my Savior.” Frazee says their mission agency has been affected by the fighting. “Some of the work in the north part of Ethiopia has had to stop because of the fighting. Missionaries pull out and go down to Addis Ababa and then when things settle down they go back again. And, this has happened several times. So, that is somewhat disruptive to the work.”
Next, in the areas south of the Sahara, Evangelical Baptist Missions is reporting a plague of medieval proportions. AIDS has decimated the population, and the numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate, leaving millions of orphans. It is for this reason, EBM’s Dave Seefried says they began a new ministry. “We’re looking at getting a plot of ground there in Zambia. We want to build a cluster of orphanages there, perhaps 12 to 15. Our purpose in developing the orphanages is to get the local national church heavily involved so they can take some ownership.” Seefried says the children have many questions and the Gospel provides the reply. “What we desire to do is to build these orphanages and then to raise a generation for Christ. To stop the AIDS epidemic through preventative measures is one thing, but to raise a generation who are trained in Biblical ways, this is the answer.”
Sammy Tippit Ministries reports an unexpected change of plans for their Lima, Peru crusades. The meetings are now scheduled for May 18th through the 20th, because the stadium where the crusade was to be held is needed for run-off elections for the country’s presidency. Due to the change, the meetings are now slated in advance of the elections. Please pray for the pastors and leaders working on the crusades, and for the people of Peru that their hearts will be open to the Gospel.
Meanwhile, Mission Network News’ Joel Hill is on assignment this week with Manmin World Ministries in South Korea. The evangelistic organization has many vibrant ministries in connection with one of the largest churches in the country. He filed this report on the group’s activities. “Confidently taking the stage in traditional white costumes with brightly colored vests, members of the Hallelujah Gospel team begin a tightly choreographed routine of traditional Korean Folk Dance, accompanied by praise music. This is just one of the dozen mission teams that ManMin Ministries is using to reach Koreans for Christ. Johnny Kim with ManMin says Koreans’ love of music and art transcends generation, social or gender barriers. The groups use that to their advantage as they perform in parks, in churches and around the world. ManMin Gospel teams have even been used to reach inmates in prison, and soldiers on military bases. All the while sharing the love of God through the common bond of music. Reporting from Seoul, South Korean for Mission Network News, I’m Joel Hill.”
Open Doors is still trying to figure out what happened between the Jordanian government and the evangelical community’s plans for a three-day “Third Millennium and Easter Celebration”. When event coordinators went to the governor’s offices to check on formal police protection for the event, they were told that permission to hold the event had been cancelled. An estimated six percent of the national population are considered Christian, the majority of whom belong to Catholic or Orthodox faiths.
Next, the hostage standoff in the Philippines continues to fill the atmosphere with tension. SEND International’s Dave Lowen says they felt it was time to move, for the safety of the people they were working with. “We decided it’s important for us to get our people out of there. I was in correspondence with our director in the Philippines. He was in correspondence with the U-S Embassy there and the latest is news is that the crew arrived safe and sound in Manila.” Lowen adds that their crew will complete their coursework on the “Teaching English as a Second Language” while in Manila. He says this is a vehicle they can use to share the hope of Christ. He asks that people pray. “There have been decisions made for Christ during this time. One of my prayer requests would be for their nurture, for their safe-keeping. Another concern would be for friends who were not able to be evacuated.”
