Next, Compass Direct is reporting that Saudi Arabian officials continue to hold
four Filipino Christians in jail, but have released their wives and children. Saudi
religious police arrested 16 believers at a home Bible study in early January. Earlier
reports indicated that the children’s imprisonment was intended to pressure their
parents into revealing more about the activities of the Church. Currently, those that
remain in jail are in solitary confinement and face a possible deportment.
News Archives
Next, Compass Direct is reporting that Saudi Arabian officials continue to hold
four Filipino Christians in jail, but have released their wives and children. Saudi
religious police arrested 16 believers at a home Bible study in early January. Earlier
reports indicated that the children’s imprisonment was intended to pressure their
parents into revealing more about the activities of the Church. Currently, those that
remain in jail are in solitary confinement and face a possible deportment.
Opposition to evangelistic outreach in Pakistan continues even as the country
endures terrorism from its neighbors. International Friendship Evangelism’s T. E.
Koshy says the hostility faced by believers is often very serious. “The parliament
passed a law, which is known as the ‘blasphemy law’. That means [with] any statement
derogatory to the Allah, there can be capital punishment. So that means, if you preach
the Gospel, that’s a blasphemy-and that’s why in Pakistan, there is so much
persecution.” Koshy says in spite of the discrimination, people continue to hear the
Gospel. Although, he adds that for many believers in Pakistan, there is no going back.
“The persecution has been highly intensified in the recent months and years. Unless
people are willing to lay down their lives, it is not going to be very easy. If I’m afraid of
my death, I’m not worthy to follow my Jesus. So, I went, preached the Gospel, and the
Lord protected us. Over 5000 people accepted the Lord.”
Meanwhile, officials at the Jesus Film Project have some ambitious goals for the
current year. We talked with the director of the Jesus Film Project Paul Eshleman. He
shares some of the challenges facing the ministry that’s attempting to put the story of
Jesus in everyone’s language around the world. “I think the biggest challenges will be
those areas where the Jesus film doesn’t have access in the countries to free
distribution. We’re going to be using extensively the Jesus film on video cassette and
audio cassette. We would hope during this year to distribute some 10-million video
cassettes throughout the world.” According to Eshleman, they’re planning to produce
the radio version of the Jesus film in more languages this year. “We’ve developed a five
half hour radio programs and rather than push forward to get the Jesus Film completed
in some of the smaller languages of 10 or 15,000 people, we’re going back and
developing it for audiences of 20, 30 and 50-million.”
We begin today in Mozambique where a missionary was gunned down in his
attempt to save his family. Martin Brooks with Good News for Africa says the
attack took place last week at their training facility there. He says four armed robbers
made their way past security and broke into two homes…including that of Cecil Bird.
“The robbers kicked in the back door. He grabbed a baseball bat. They shot into the
room. They didn’t hit him at that stage. He ran through the house to get the front door
open to get his family out. They followed Cecil out the front door and shot him twice.”
Bird died at the scene. Brooks says most of the suspects have been identified. He
reminds us that prayer for missionaries is vital. “You never know. The Lord is using it
for good. I would ask that the people would pray for his students that are coming to
study. For the students that Cecil has touched since he entered the country in 1993,
that the Lord’s kingdom would be advanced.”
We turn next to Venezuela where the December mudslides are being called the
worst natural disaster in South American in the last century. International Aid’s
Sonny Enriquez just returned from that country. He says they’re taking a two-pronged
approach to attacking the disaster. “First, is the immediate response to their current
situation, and this is predominately to emergency relief commodities. Now the plan of
the government is to set up new communities. That’s where we would like to see how
we could be of help to the church partners and their new communities, specifically in
the area of health care.” Enriquez says when they help physically, people open up to
the Gospel as did one of their military escorts. “This military escort was observing us all
throughout the trip and then at the end he said tell me something more about what
you’re doing. And, again, the team just came to him and started sharing and later one
he says I’d like to be a Christian too.”
We turn next to Venezuela where the December mudslides are being called the
worst natural disaster in South American in the last century. International Aid’s
Sonny Enriquez just returned from that country. He says they’re taking a two-pronged
approach to attacking the disaster. “First, is the immediate response to their current
situation, and this is predominately to emergency relief commodities. Now the plan of
the government is to set up new communities. That’s where we would like to see how
we could be of help to the church partners and their new communities, specifically in
the area of health care.” Enriquez says when they help physically, people open up to
the Gospel as did one of their military escorts. “This military escort was observing us all
throughout the trip and then at the end he said tell me something more about what
you’re doing. And, again, the team just came to him and started sharing and later one
he says I’d like to be a Christian too.”
The Russians have been trying to wrest Grozny from Chechen militants for a
month, and the fighting has left the area pock-marked and battle-scarred. The
violence has also caused foreign ministry to slow down or evacuate, but as Book of
Hope’s John Young says, that doesn’t mean that the work of the Gospel has stopped.
“Right now, we’re not doing any work in Chechnya because of the war that’s going on
down there. But, we have folks in our national churches that have been involved in
ministries in the southern Russia area-there’s always something going on, and that just
continues to give God opportunity.” Young explains the phenomenon that changes
evangelistic outreach in these times. “When things are smooth and going great is when
people are satisfied, and they don’t feel like they need any spiritual help, but a place
that’s in turmoil is a place where God is and where God wants to reach out and touch
the hurting people. Even though there’s constant turmoil there, it continues to be an
open door.”
Meanwhile, the Christian nephew of an Indian parliament member was recently
attacked by members of a fundamentalist Hindu party. Compass Direct reports
that the Shourie family has been at odds since the nephew’s conversion, since Arun
Shourie has been at the forefront of a campaign against Christians. During the attack,
fundamentalist Hindu party members referenced the murders of missionary Graham
Staines and his sons and threatened further violence.
Topping today’s news ministry leaders in Sudan have mixed reviews of the
government upheaval there. The Bridge International’s R-K Ulrich says they are
working among the refugees in Uganda and those returning to Southern Sudan. She
says the Muslim government has been trying to stamp out Christianity in the south. She
says she’s concerned violence will resume. “There’s always a risk to be taken in a
country like that. Because people go in and they rebuild. If the government makes the
decision that they become a more hard line government again, they may come back
again and raid the whole area and pull the people out again.” Ulrich says they’re
equipping pastors to be leaders. “As they go in, instead of it being the chief that is doing
magic and witchcraft, the chief is the pastor who gives the good news of the Gospel.
So we have helped finance some educational programs, carpentry tools and wood
work, setting up some Bible Schools.”
