Story number 1 for 14 Sep 2001

(Russia)–Topping the news, Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a surprisingly comforting message of sympathy to the United States following a devastating terrorist attack on Tuesday. Russian Ministries’ Andrew Semenchuk says the response comes from experience. “There’s been a strong, aggressive fanatic entrance into the country from Iran, Iraq and that’s where the Chechnya problems all arose. That’s why they are so sympathetic to us.” Semenchuk urges prayer for the church as a whole. “We should be praying that the Christians there would be faithful in a peaceful loving way to present God as a god of love, not as a god of vengeance or a god of hate-this [showing love] is what Christians are doing.” Semenchuk says their approach has opened other doors for outreach in Mongolia.