In This Issue: Prayer for North Korea, justice ministry in France, and more
- NORTH KOREA: How You Can Pray
- FRANCE: Small Steps towards Justice
- SYRIA: Miracles on the Border
- MALDIVES: Christian Deported for Bringing in Literature
- WORLD: Fewer than 2,000 Languages
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 share it freely!
Quotable
And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:12-13)
NORTH KOREA: How You Can Pray
Source: Open Doors, November 27, 2012
Secret letters from North Korean Christians express how much they appreciate our prayers and practical support. One church leader wrote, “Without you we would not be able to function as Christians.” Along with their gratitude, several secret church leaders related specific prayer requests.
With burdened hearts, they share that many refugees who were arrested in China and repatriated are now in North Korea’s notorious prisons. Some that had converted managed to conceal their new-found faith and were released after serving their sentence. After months of “reeducation” in the prisons, the biggest challenge they face is not holding onto the truth, but learning how to live as human beings again. They say that after months or years of being treated as an animal, many have become selfish, rude, and even violent. The letters asked us to pray for those going through the difficult transition to life after the prison.
Physical survival is also one of the top requests for prayer. North Korean church leaders say that Christians and other civilians struggle to collect enough food, medicines, and other daily necessities to survive.
» See also: Why Are North and South Korea Such Opposites? (Darrow Miller and Friends).
FRANCE: Small Steps towards Justice
Source: OM International, November 29, 2012
“Andre” and his wife, a couple working with OM France, have a heart particularly for women who are victims of human trafficking. For just over three years, with the help of local churches and many volunteers, they have been giving their days, and often their nights, contacting these women – many of whom are Nigerians and an increasing number of Romanians – to offer practical help and share the gospel.
Andre is in contact with local authorities and even the national court of asylum, fighting for these women to be recognized as victims of human trafficking.
A while ago, Andre accompanied “Kate” as she went before the national court of asylum. Her request was rejected and Andre wrote a letter to the judge overseeing the case. Consequently, Kate was allowed to pass before the judge again, who this time was more sympathetic. He allowed Andre to plead her case. They are still awaiting the results. Andre trusts in the sovereignty of God, yet asks for prayer that the authorities make a just decision
» Read the full story. See also more Europe news from OM.
SYRIA: Miracles on the Border
Source: Baptist Press, November 16, 2012
[A Beirut] Christian relief team heard about the needy Syrian widow living outside a Lebanese Muslim village near the Syrian border. So they took food to her.
Apparently, Jesus had been there first.
A refugee from the civil war in Syria, the Muslim widow, along with her three children, had sought shelter in Lebanon – like more than 100,000 other Syrians. She was observing a traditional 40-day period of solitude to mourn her dead husband, so she had received nothing from the local Islamic aid society.
When the Christians knocked at her door, the widow appeared fully covered in black, including an opaque veil over her face. She explained her period of self-isolation. They offered to leave the food outside, but she unexpectedly invited them in. They sat with her and her children on the floor of the temporary dwelling.
“Who are you?” she asked anxiously.
“You don’t know us, but we have great love in our hearts toward you,” the team leader answered, explaining their reasons for helping Syrian refugees. “That love comes from God, who has worked in our lives.”
To their amazement, she responded by removing her veil – unheard of in her conservative Muslim culture. Then the words came flooding out.
“I want to tell you what happened to me yesterday,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Tell me about this person that I saw in my dream.”
» See also: God Is at Work in Syria (Mission Network News) and Syrian Christians Targeted for their Politics or their Faith? (Compass Direct News).
MALDIVES: Christian Deported for Bringing in Literature
Source: ASSIST News Service, December 1, 2012
Authorities in the Maldives held a Bangladeshi Christian in jail for 23 days before deporting him for bringing Christian literature into the South Asian archipelago that claims to be 100 percent Muslim.
Customs officials found Jathish Biswas, 46, with 11 books on Christianity in the Dhivehi language. Arrested on September 27 at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Malé, the nation’s capital, he was deported on October 19, after being held in jail for 23 days.
“While I was not physically harmed, authorities treated me as if I wanted to destroy their nation by bringing in Christian books,” he told Morning Star News by phone. “They stripped me almost naked to see if I was carrying anything else … Customs and police officials would ask me question after question and deny me proper food.”
The Maldives – the only nation [besides] Saudi Arabia to claim that all of its 300,000 citizens are Muslims – has laws banning the import of any material that contradicts Islam. A recently implemented regulation under the nation’s Religious Unity Act of 1994 states that no one in the country can “carry or display public books on other religions and books and writings that promote and propagate other religions,” or translate into the Dhivehi language “such books and writings on other religions.”
» See also: Police Detain Nine Christians, Send Two to Labor Camp for Holding Free Medical Clinics and Evangelizing in Rural Inner Mongolia (China Aid).
WORLD: Fewer than 2,000 Languages
Source: Mission Network News, December 4, 2012
“We see getting the Scriptures into each language as being a key part of completing the Great Commission,” says Russ Hersman of Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Wycliffe reported some major progress in recent days: less than 2,000 languages lack God’s Word.
“This is the first time that it’s ever dropped below 2,000, so that’s a real milestone for us,” Hersman states. This also means that fewer translation projects need to be started than what are already in progress.
Wycliffe Global Alliance reports that 1,967 languages are in need of a translation project. Three areas of the world house nearly 75% of these languages: Central Africa and Nigeria, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
Political and religious roadblocks, security, and limited access can make translation work in these regions especially difficult. But a lack of Scripture often triggers a ripple effect on other areas of ministry. Church planters can’t effectively share the gospel and disciple new believers without God’s Word, and Christian radio can’t reach remote areas unless it has been translated.
“There’s a ton of work to be done, if people would like to be involved,” says Hersman.
» Read the full story, or see 2012 Scripture Access Statistics.
» Editor’s note: Mission Network News recently published a number of other brief, diverse news stories that might interest our readers. One reports on the use of audio scriptures in India, another explores concerns of Christians in Egypt, and a third gives a glimpse of the causes and results of conflict between different cultures in Burma. Finally, a more personal story from a worker in rural Mexico reminds us to draw on God’s limitless resources for ministry. I found it a timely word. Enjoy!
Marti Wade is a writer, speaker, and project manager for the Church Partnerships Team at Pioneers. As a mission mobilizer, she has also trained and sent out many short-term teams to do relationship-based research to serve among the world’s least-reached peoples.
Marti has managed and published Missions Catalyst since 2004 and is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of women serving cross-culturally in the Muslim world. She and her husband Chris live in Oregon.