In This Issue: Congo, Iraq, Japan, and More
- DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – An Easter Gift
- BURUNDI – President Commits to ‘Put God before Everything’
- IRAQ – Four Christians Killed within 48 Hours
- JAPAN – Pastor Says, ‘Listen to Migrant Workers’ Cries’
- INDONESIA – Former Witchdoctor Now a Faithful Evangelist
- TURKEY – International Day of Prayer Called for April 18
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
World News Briefs, edited by Pat Noble, are published twice a month.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – An Easter Gift
Source: ASSIST News, March 30, 2009
This Easter, a group of U.S. volunteers will celebrate [the Easter holiday] by taking the JESUS film to people groups [in] Eastern Congo. “Traveling over Easter is certainly special – it is the message of the Cross that we are sharing,” said Anderson Ohman, who will be visiting the Congo with his 17-year-old son.
The group of eight volunteers, traveling as part of the The JESUS Film Project, will present the JESUS film 15 times and coordinate follow-up with new Christians through local churches.
“With the long history of violence and war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the most fleeting concepts for people is forgiveness,” said the man who will be leading the group. “Being reconciled with bitter enemies is something that is not done by human hands but only by God. Our desire is that this trip would be part of the healing process for the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Full story here.
See also: More encouraging stories about how the JESUS film is being used around the world, and (on the more negative side) a recent Human Rights Watch report from the DRC, Brutal Rapes by Rebels and Army. MUCH fuel for prayer here.
BURUNDI – President Commits to ‘Put God before Everything’
Source: Joel News International, JNI 680, March 31, 2009
The president of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, is taking the lead in building free primary schools in his country. Education and health-care projects are part of Nkurunziza’s efforts to bring reconciliation and development in a nation where some 300,000 people died during a 12-year civil war between the minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus.
Nkurunziza’s father, a former Member of Parliament, was massacred by Tutsis in 1972. Nkurunziza later lost five of his siblings during the war. In 1994, while he was was teaching at a university in Burundi, Tutsis came onto the campus and began killing Hutus. He escaped with some of his students to the bush and lived there for the next 10 years. He joined the guerilla movement in 1996 and became its leader in 2000. The guerilla group later became the political party that nominated Nkurunziza for president.
Although he attended an Anglican school, Nkurunziza said he became born-again in 1997 after receiving a Bible from a rural minister. “I started reading the Bible from beginning to end,” he said. “When I finished, I got saved. That’s it.”
He began leading other rebel combatants to Christ and said God spared his life after a near-fatal shooting. He hid without anyone to care for his wounds for four months.
When he returned to his troops – miraculously alive – he told them they would have to put God first in their movement if he were to remain their leader.
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See also: Burundi’s Born-again Ex-rebel Leader (BBC, 2005)
IRAQ – Four Christians Killed within 48 Hours
Source: The Christian Post April 5, 2009
Four Iraqi Christians were murdered within two days by unknown assailants, according to a Christian persecution watchdog group.
Shabah Aziz Suliman was reportedly killed in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on April 1, and Nimrud Khuder Moshi, Glawiz Nissan, and Hanaa Issaq were murdered thereafter in Dora, a historical Christian neighborhood of Baghdad.
Islamic extremists often target Christians under the assumption that they are supporters of the coalition force since they share the same faith as the West.
Constant death threats, lack of economic opportunities, and security instability have forced more than half of the Iraqi Christian population to flee the country within the past five years.
The U.N. High Commission for Refugees reports that although Iraqi Christians make up only three percent of Iraq’s population, they account for nearly half of the refugees leaving the country.
Full story here.
See also: Iraqi Christians Still Face Persecution (Christianity Today)
JAPAN – Pastor Says ‘Listen to Migrant Workers’ Cries’
Source: Ecumenical News International, April 8, 2009
A Japanese Christian leader is urging churches to “listen to the cries” of temporary migrant workers, many of whom are now without jobs as the employment rate sours the world’s second-biggest economy during the global economic crisis.
As of the end of October, 76,811 businesses notified the labor ministry that they employed 486,398 foreign workers. Of these, 43.3 percent were from China, 20.4 percent from Brazil, and 8.3 percent from the Philippines.
“News reports say that once they become unemployed, they are driven out of company housing where they lived with their families and forced to sleep in the open. Young children die of cold,” said the Rev. Hidetoshi Watanabe, a representative of a Tokyo-based group for migrants’ rights nationwide, Solidarity Network with Migrant Japan.
“Foreign temporary workers have been at the forefront of those who have been fired and discarded,” said Watanabe, “Have their cries reached the ears of the churches?”
Full story here.
See also: Evangelicals Make Case for Welcoming Immigrants (Christian Post)
INDONESIA – Former Witchdoctor Now a Faithful Evangelist
Source: New Tribes Mission April 13, 2009
“He resisted the first efforts of people bringing the gospel,” missionary Ron Berglund wrote. “When his uncle became a believer, Ke’Tomas asked him if he could have all of his witchcraft items. His uncle refused this request and instead urged Ke’Tomas to put his faith in the Lord for salvation.”
Ke’Tomas and his friend Ke’Owen decided to study Scripture with the missionaries and came to understand their need for Jesus Christ.
“Since that time, both Ke’Tomas and Ke’Owen have served faithfully as evangelists in the surrounding villages,” Ron wrote.
Ke’Tomas is very excited over the translation of Romans in his own language. He told Ron that there is so much for them, as believers, to learn from studying Romans.
Full story with picture here (in both English and Spanish).
See also: Land Dayak, Semandang (Joshua Project).
TURKEY – International Day of Prayer Called for April 18
Source: World Evangelical Alliance Announcement, April 14, 2009
Our Dear Worldwide Family in Christ,
We would like to invite you to join us in a commitment that we as the current churches of Turkey have made: From this year, 2009, to set aside every year, the day of April 18 as the International Day of Prayer for Turkey.
On April 18, 2007, Necati Aydin, Tillman Geske, and Ugur Yüksel were murdered for no other reason than actively living and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We know that their deaths, [which] saddened God’s heart and our hearts, were not in vain. We therefore call upon the body of Christ worldwide to join us to pray for the church and the land/people of Turkey. Pray that the church in Turkey is anointed and strengthened in the Holy Spirit to live for the glory of God. Pray that the outcome of this will bring hope and blessing to the land and people of Turkey as hearts and eyes are opened to the Kingdom of God.
In His Uniting Love,
Association of Protestant Churches (Turkey)
See also: detailed prayer points prepared by the Association.
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