In This Issue: Stories from Algeria, Libya, Vietnam, and more
- ALGERIA: Eyes to Read
- LIBYA: Story of Hope
- VIETNAM: First Evangelism Festival Since the War
- NORTH KOREA: Freedom Week
- ISRAEL: A Palestinian Paradox
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!
ALGERIA: Eyes to Read
Source: OM News, April 6, 2011
Natalie* was a devout Muslim. She prayed and fasted regularly, but one day she woke up and completely forgot the verses from the Qur’an and how to pray as a Muslim. She panicked. Someone told her to go to her room and pray that God would show her the way. So Natalie went to her room, and during this time God touched her. Through this and the love of her brother and sister, who were already believers in Christ, Natalie came to faith.
When she went to the church, she confessed her faith in God, and they gave her a Bible as a gift. She was shy to take it because she thought they should give it to someone who could read. But Natalie took the Bible and went home. At home, she kneeled in agony, praying to God and blaming her parents that she had never learned how to read and write.
At this very moment, Jesus revealed himself to her, face to face. He told her to pick up her Bible, saying, “I will teach you how to read.” Natalie picked up her Bible, and since then she can read her Bible in Arabic fluently!
Praise God for his goodness to Natalie! Praise God that more are coming to faith in Algeria. Please pray for the work of OM in Algeria.
*Name changed
>> Full story.
LIBYA: Story of Hope
Source: Open Doors, March 23, 2011
In the midst of the current chaos and unrest in Libya, John, a secret believer, was traveling covertly by jeep from one location to another at the mercy of escorts, hoping to escape to another country. He and a few others had been dropped off at an oil field in the middle of the desert to await the driver who would escort them to the next location. A close encounter with armed oil-field workers who thought they were bandits alerted John to the dangers that existed, and he silently praised God for his protection on the trip so far. He later wrote to update his progress and share his story of hope.
“So we kept waiting and hoping our contact person would show up,” John explained. “Finally our contact shows up, coming out of the desert. As he stops his car, we head to greet him. As he opens the jeep’s door, I think I recognize the music from his car as being Christian worship songs, but I cannot believe it … Anyway, since I had been [one of] the guys in the trunk on the trip to this location, I get the opportunity to ride with driver Samy as we continue our journey. And indeed Samy is listening to a cassette of Christian worship. Songs like ‘Jesus, only you’ and ‘Blessed are those who dwell in the house of the Lord.’ You can just imagine how happy and hopeful I get. So I ask Samy what the music is about and he replies, ‘Yes, we are free now!'”
John ended his story by saying, “May his people really experience in the coming days or weeks not only political freedom, but also personal and religious freedom. May they indeed be freed from the grip of Islam on their life and respect a person’s freedom of faith-choice. Keep praying for us. God be praised.”
>> Full story.
VIETNAM: First Evangelism Festival Since the War
Source: Worthy News, April 12, 2011
The first American evangelist to openly preach in Vietnam since 1975 says thousands of people have committed their lives to Jesus Christ at meetings that were nearly halted by Vietnamese authorities.
Luis Palau, 76, spoke from Ho Chi Minh City where he held massive gatherings [April 9-10] in the city’s Thanh Long Stadium to mark the 100th anniversary of Vietnam’s Protestant church.
The [football] stadium has a reported capacity of 5,000, but many people were seen standing and sitting on the soccer field, BosNewsLife observed.
Palau said the response to a call to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior was also viewed as an encouragement for devoted Vietnamese Christians involved in evangelism. “They hope to see 10 percent [born again] believers in Vietnam by 2020. So they [have] nine years to win seven or eight million people.”
>> Full story.
>> View video reports and a slide show of the festival here (Luis Palau Association).
NORTH KOREA: Freedom Week
Source: Missions Network News, April 18, 2011
Open Doors USA is offering several ways in which people can help brave Christians in North Korea, estimated at 400,000, during North Korea Freedom Week April 24-30.
Last year there were 23 Christians in a house church in Pyungsung province who were discovered by the police. Three of them were immediately sentenced to death because of the meeting.
There are 50,000 to 70,000 Christians suffering in labor camps because of their faith in Jesus Christ. North Korea under Kim Jong-Il has more political prisoners than any country in the world – estimated at over 200,000.
People can receive prayer e-mails from Open Doors during North Korea Freedom Week. The e-mails will offer information on North Korea and how Christians can pray for believers there, based on Scripture from Isaiah 59 through 66. To sign up to receive the seven e-mails, go to Open Doors.
>> Full story.
>> See also North Korea Set to Indict US Christian Accused of Proselytizing (Worldwide Religious News), and don’t miss this new 5-minute video, North Korea Primer, from Voice of the Martyrs.
ISRAEL: A Palestinian Paradox
Source: International Mission Board, March 30, 2011
To say it stings when people think he’s a terrorist would be an understatement.
Esa’s* hometown of Bethlehem in Israel’s West Bank is predominantly Muslim, but he’s a follower of the Christ born right there in his own backyard 2,000 years ago.
“When I was in America, my wife and I visited different churches. I met a lady, and she started to shake my hand,” he said. But when she found out he was Palestinian, she snatched it away before he could shake it, and she left. “It really hurt,” Esa said.
“‘Christian’ and ‘Palestinian’ just don’t go together sometimes for people,” he said. “But we have Palestinians here who love Jesus. We pray for our brothers in Christ.”
That includes the ones on the other side of the dividing wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. And that includes the Jewish people there who have yet to know Jesus as Savior, too.
*Name changed
>> Full story.
>> Also read about Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish: A Palestinian Martin Luther King (HuffPost Religion), or watch an interview here (Viewpoint with James Zogby).
Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for the Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. A mission leader in her local church, avid reader, and follower of world news, Pat is also a Northeast Regional rep for ACMC (Advancing Churches in Missions Commitment).
