Elsewhere, American Leprosy Mission is excited to be involved with a new
global alliance to focus on countries still struggling with outbreaks of leprosy.
ALM’s Chris Doyle says they recently joined the effort in order to better meet physical
and spiritual needs. “We think we’ve got the bases covered worldwide. This alliance
was launched and we’re glad to be a part of this alliance to try to really focus on some
of these countries that really need some help to eliminate leprosy as a public health
problem.” Doyle says their involvement with the partnership allows them to fulfill their
mission. “American Leprosy Mission’s focus and purpose is on the spiritual side. The
physical side, in providing leprosy treatment and rehabilitation is sort of our ‘open door’
to work with people and to work in some of the countries where you couldn’t
otherwise go as missionaries. But, our main purpose is to share the good news of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ with these people.”
News Archives
Headlining the news today, the resignation of President Boris Yeltsin as
President of Russia surprised many, including missionary leaders. Russian
Ministries Peter Deyneka says he believes evangelism and religious freedom will
continue under the control of his replacement, Vladimir Putin (poo-tihn). “Apparently
he’s taking the same line as Yeltsin did, which was very apropos for Christian work
and evangelistic work right now. We can’t predict the future.” And they’re going to
need that freedom because Deyneka says there’s a new evangelistic opportunity among
the Chechen war refugees. “There are hundreds of thousands of refugees. We, here at
Russian Ministries are taking this seriously and are encouraging other mission groups to
join us in a partnership to participate in this evangelism. These are primarily Muslim
who for the first and maybe the only time in their lives will have a chance to hear the
Gospel as they are outside of Chechnya.”
Next, assessment teams are confirming reports of massive casualties and
destruction in Venezuela and missionaries say there’s much work to do. South
Baptist International Mission Board’s Dickie Nelson says up to 50-thousand are
dead and 400-thousand people are homeless. Nelson says they’re planning assistance
in two phases. “One would be very immediate that could involve things like large water
purification systems, mobilizing some of our states that have these portable kitchens
that can feed thousands of people daily. And, then more long term we would probably
be looking at volunteer teams in terms of some type of reconstruction of both churches
and homes.” Nelson says while the physical needs are important, so are spiritual needs.
“We’re looking at a people that are going to be devastated and without hope. What we
have to offer, way beyond the physical is the fact that there is hope in Jesus Christ.
We’re going to find people that are really looking for answers. And, we’re going to
offer them the Good News about what Christ can do in their lives.”
The latest fighting in Indonesia comes at the end of a year of continuous
violence that plagues an area once known as a haven of religious harmony.
Voice of the Martyr’s Todd Nettleton says: “The Muslims are not going to give up
until they hold a majority on some of these islands, and the frightening thing is that the
government has not really taken any steps to stop this. It makes it much more
dangerous to be a Christian and much more of a challenge for Christian groups to
operate in an environment that is obviously a tinderbox.” Nettleton adds that the future
of evangelism is somewhat uncertain, but: “We can pray for these brothers and sisters
that the gold that is in their lives will show through and will win others to Christ. And
then, pray for safety for our couriers, and pray for wisdom that we’ll know how best to
help.”
Elsewhere, Farms International is expressing thanks to God for the work
accomplished through 1999. They are now serving the poor in seven countries
through eleven micro-credit programs with a new program set to begin in Ecuador with
the Quichua Indians. The group adds that it is exciting that five of the countries they
work in are in the “10/40 Window”, a region of the globe that is the least evangelized.
Their work helps churches to be able to reach out to where traditional missionary work
is limited.
We begin today in Indonesia where fresh ethnic and religious clashes erupted on the country’s ravaged spice islands. The violence has been linked to this week’s outburst elsewhere in Indonesia. Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton says: “The violence is beginning because Muslims are attacking Christians. It’s an organized plan to force Christians off of the islands, where, up till now, they have been a majority. It started out in Ambon, and now it seems to be spreading to other islands in western and eastern Indonesia.” Nettleton adds that prayer is needed because: “There have been reports of churches being burned, there have been people being killed. We have just had a courier that has delivered some aid to Christians who have been displaced. We try to provide support to churches to help them rebuild, to help them continue to serve the Lord. I think we can pray for the safety of these people, further, we can pray for their witness.” Nettleton says despite the trouble, national workers have no plans to evacuate.
Next, nearly 12-million people remain homeless in India in the wake of the cyclone that hit India in October. The storm clobbered the shores of Orissa State, setting back industrial development in the region by 20 years. Operation Mobilization’s Peter Dance says they’re doing what they can to help. “OM has really got quite a few we’re sending in – about 150 people to minister and work in one particular area. Obvious we can’t reach the whole state, but we are moving in to see houses built, to see wells dug, to help them plant their crops.” According to Dance, helping them physically is an open door to show the predominately Hindu peoples the Gospel. “Going into one particular area, working there for a long period of time, seeing all of it come together – the whole well-being of whole person, we’re going to share the love of Christ, in that way show that we care and that Christ cares for them.”
Laos’ government is reportedly stepping up its disapproval of evangelistic outreach. The Far East Broadcasting Company’s Hmong director says there has been a substantial increase in arrests of people who listen to FEBC’s radio programs. The problem has become serious enough that the central Evangelical Church of Laos has advised its Hmong believers to stop listening to FEBC in order to avoid arrest. FEBC asks believers to pray for Christians in Laos as they grow in faith.
Elsewhere, missionaries around the world are advised to take Y2K precautionary measures. The general director of the Society of International Ministries says they have suggested that their missionaries in the world’s 139 developing countries avoid air travel and keep a week’s worth of supplies and cash. Still, the best form of action is prayer as many missionaries are sharing the Gospel in countries that are vulnerable to technology disruptions.
Topping the news today, Christian workers appear safe, but cautious in the wake of a military coup in the Ivory Coast last week. Ironically Lutheran Bible Translators Bill Behrend says most of their staff is in the Ivory Coast for safety concerns. “We have really gone to the Ivory Coast as a safe haven. The people who are there in the Ivory Coast are either have been in Sierra Leone or Liberia. Both of those countries have severe domestic disruption in the past years and we were able to find a place in Ivory Coast so we could transport some of the translators there and to continue the work.” According to Behrend, LBT is in the process of returning to these counties, but the transition has been delayed by the coup. “Because you have to be concerned about the safety of the people who are there. Certainly, for the time that the violence is going on, no one can really do any work during that period of time and there’s the distractions of being worried about a repeat of some unpleasant experiences from before. So, we pray very much for the restoration of calm in Ivory Coast.”
