Category: News Briefs

Source: The Christian Post, September 15, 2014

[More than] 20 Christians were arrested for holding a prayer meeting at a home in Saudi Arabia, where Christian churches and worship are banned. The Christians, many of them women and children, are appealing to the United States for help.

According to a report on Fox News, the Christians were arrested at the home of an Indian national in Khafji, a city in east Saudi Arabia, by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Their whereabouts is unknown.

Although the Saudi government has denied having any knowledge of the arrests, the Saudi Gazette reported that the arrests took place two Fridays ago.

“Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia), who raided the house in the city’s Aziziyah neighborhood, arrested 27 people of various Asian nationalities, including women and children, and seized copies of the Bible and various musical instruments,” said the Gazette.

» Read full story. (Note, other reports say 28 people were arrested. We were not able to confirm if any have been released.)

» Have a heart to reach out to the people of Saudi Arabia? Check out the Saudi Advocacy Network.

Source: CBN News , August 8, 2014

Chinese authorities are accusing a Canadian missionary couple of spying. Kevin and Julie Garratt own a coffee shop in Dandong, a Chinese city near the North Korean border, which they opened in 2008. Peter’s Coffee House, named after their son, made a name for itself in the city for its menu and as a place where locals could practice their English. Originally from Vancouver, the Garratts worked as teachers in southern China since 1984 before moving to Dandong and opening the popular coffee shop.

On Monday, Chinese authorities accused them of espionage and stealing state secrets. The couple had been hosting church services in their home and taking food and aid across the border into North Korea, with government permission.

The investigation comes a week after Canada accused a China-sponsored hacker of infiltrating Canada’s National Research Council.

» Read full story. See also a related story from the Wall Street Journal. Readers, do any of you know if this couple has been released?

Source: Morning Star News, September 13, 2014

Among a wave of attacks against non-Hindus since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in India on May 26, a Christian couple in Bihar state required hospital treatment after Hindu extremists beat and publicly resolved to kill them.

A small band of men forcefully entered the home of Shri Lal Khatiyan in Balwanazir, Kaliyanganj, the morning of August 30, asking who had visited and calling him and his wife pagans as they beat him, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). When Khatiyan’s wife, Asha Devi, tried to intervene, they called her a slut and hit her on the head with the handle of a sickle, EFI reported.

“Asha sustained a deep cut on her head, and Lal has pain in his chest,” said a local pastor who goes by the single name of Ajayan, adding that they their injuries required hospital treatment.

Later that day, about 100 Hindu extremists with clubs stood in each corner of the village and threatened to cut into pieces any Christian who tried to leave the area to file a police complaint, area pastor Laxmi Prasad told Morning Star News.

“The Hindu extremists warned the Christians that they should not go to anyone’s house, and neither should they entertain anyone in their house,” Prasad said. “The believers somehow contacted me by telephone, and I immediately informed the area superintendent of police.”

Authorities that evening sent two policemen to provide protection to Christians.

» Read full story.

» See also a story from neighboring Pakistan, where dozens of Christians were accused of blasphemy and arrested in a dispute concerning their rights to bury their dead in an old Muslim graveyard (Voice of the Martyrs).

Sources: various, via Pat Noble

Finally, something on the lighter side. Last week was the first ever World Nomad Games! Hundreds of competitors from 19-20 countries met in Kyrgyzstan for five days. The president of Kyrgyzstan has deemed 2014 as the year for strengthening Kyrgyz statehood.

The Kyrgyz team set a new record for the fastest time erected a yurt. You can watch this time-lapse video of Mongolians building a ger [yurt] but know that they took a lot longer! See also a BBC slideshow from the event.

Since God loves every tribe, nation, and language, do you think we might have some ethnic games in heaven? I hope so.

In This Issue:

1. AFGHANISTAN: Election Crisis
2. MIDDLE EAST: Media Fueling Terror Threats
3. WORLD: Bad News, Good News
4. LAOS: Five Christians Accused of Murder Found Not Guilty
5. YEMEN: Woman Burned to Death for Her Faith

Dear readers,

Lately I have been thinking about influencers and other leaders and those they recruit and lead.

You have probably heard about the foreign fighters in Syria (Your Middle East). Take a peek into the life of a Tajik recruit (Inter Press Service). Use it as fuel for prayer!

We are often told to pray for our leaders (those in authority). A kingdom worker in the Republic of Congo had an amazing sovereign appointment with one. See also 10 Muslim Leaders You Need to Know to Better Understand the Spiritual Battle (InContext Ministries).

Pray, too, for Afghanistan. September 2 was to have been the inauguration of the first democratically elected president. The UN has delayed the audit of a disputed election in that country, see story below, and pray for Afghanistan and its future leaders. Lebanon is also currently without a president, a situation that has increased a sense of insecurity for that nation’s Christians.

When I think of influencers, my thoughts naturally turn to newscasters and media. Some of today’s news pundits seem nothing more than what I call secular preachers, but journalists can be a different breed. Eddie Arthur expresses my own feelings in his blog post In Praise of Journalists. I wonder if he read about Ilgar Nasibov, the Azeri journalist beaten unconscious (Note: graphic image). If you’d like to pray for journalists, check out the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In the battle with you,
Pat

Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for 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. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.

Source: Email from Prayercast, August 31, 2014

Currently overshadowed by other situations in the Middle East, the nation of Afghanistan faces a mounting crisis. Results from June’s election remain contested with claims of fraud on both sides. Tensions are high as this fragile nation stands on the brink of an outbreak of further violence. With over 30 years of continuous war and upheaval, Afghanistan desperately awaits true peace.

Known as the world’s most dangerous place for a child to be born, Afghanistan is a nation that has seen much suffering. The Taliban’s removal brought an increased freedom to a broken nation, but the wounds remain deep. With more than 48,000 mosques covering the countryside, 99.9% of Afghanis are Muslim. Yet God is moving mountains to draw them to himself! Twenty years ago only dozens claimed Christ; today there are believed to be several thousand.

» Pray for Afghanistan.

Source: Mission Network News, August 29, 2014

More threats are coming out of radical Islam. Middle East expert with E3 Partners Tom Doyle says we need to be careful what we believe. “Lots of it is false. Lots of it is to tie up the government. Lots of it is to produce fear in the hearts of people. Look at the obsessive news coverage that we’re seeing. These guys are pretty savvy with media.”

Doyle points to the James Foley murder as an example of that. “Everything was rehearsed and scripted. To be able to be put out and tied to Guantanamo Bay, the way he was dressed and with an English-speaking Muslim. All of that is done to just show fear.”

It reminds him of the Assyrian Empire, who did the same thing. Entire villages would kill themselves knowing the Assyrians were coming.

Doyle points to another example. “This week there was an e-mail going around saying the Christians were being lined up and being beheaded. That didn’t happen. Someone put that out. We need to be careful. Christians shouldn’t live in a state of fear, but we need to be prepared.”

» Read full story.

Source: Erich Bridges, International Mission Board, August 26, 2014

The cascade of grim global headlines overwhelmed a friend of mine recently. He announced that he couldn’t take it anymore — at least until tomorrow.

“I don’t know why I care,” he wrote. “I don’t know why I bother. I check the news. Bad. All bad. Unless the news is horrible, it’s bad. Why care? Why bother? Why not just play ‘Angry Birds’ and pretend it doesn’t affect me? It sounds easier.”

Despite his frustration and discouragement, I know he won’t stop reading, watching, caring, and praying. He’s an intelligent and compassionate young man, for one thing. He’s concerned about world affairs. He makes a point of keeping up with what’s happening and tries to understand it.

Another young person I know returned recently from a youth mission trip to Amsterdam, the Dutch capital. She and the group arrived there the same week in July that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew. Two-thirds of the passengers were Dutch. People on the streets of Amsterdam were just beginning to experience the shock of the tragedy as the youth team walked through the city and distributed more than 6,000 copies of the Gospel of John.

Some people they encountered rejected the small gifts of truth. But many accepted it — many more than the Amsterdam-based Christian worker helping the young people expected — and they began reading it. Perhaps they were looking for something to hold onto, something to hope in.

» Read full article.

» Read also these articles about our world: World’s Top Church-Destroying Countries (Christianity Today) and a report from InContext Ministries about how the influence of various countries is viewed, positively or negatively, by the rest of the world. And see this great, concise piece from Asia Harvest, God’s Solution to Terrorism. Part one addresses the “real cause of global terrorism.” Look for part two in next month’s Asia Harvest newsletter.

Source: Barnabas Fund, August 21, 2014

A group of Christians in Laos who were falsely accused of murder have been found not guilty. The believers, who remain in custody, were arrested after a sick woman sought prayer at her local church, converted to Christianity, and later died. The five Christians, four of whom are church leaders, have been detained since June 24.

The accusations came after Mrs. Chan, a convert to Christianity, passed away on June 21. Mrs. Chan had been suffering from an unidentified illness for two years, and local Christians prayed for her recovery. After her health initially improved, Mrs. Chan and her eight children became Christians and began attending church. Mrs. Chan’s health then deteriorated further, and she died on the way home from hospital.

Mrs. Chan’s sons and daughters wanted a Christian burial for their mother. When the village authorities prevented this from going ahead, Mrs. Kaithong, the leader of the Saisomboon church, appealed to the district chief. The five believers were then arrested, initially over the burial dispute, and later charged with murder. Buddhist leaders stepped in and conducted Mrs. Chan’s funeral service against her family’s wishes.

» Read full story.

» Interested in East Asia? We’ve been following stories about Christianity in China. See China Plans Establishment of Christian Theology (China Daily) and Why Is China Nationalizing Christianity? (The Diplomat), as well as China Removed More than 200 Crosses (Worthy News).

Source: Morning Star News, August 29, 2014

On the morning of June 9 in southern Yemen, Saeed woke to the sound of screaming. He shot out of bed, pushed panicked family members aside and saw his wife stumbling out of their kitchen, engulfed in flames.

His wife, Nazeera, had been preparing breakfast at about 9 a.m. when she poured liquid from a cooking oil bottle into a hot pan. The liquid flashed, and the bottle exploded. While her four children watched, screaming, Nazeera was being burned alive.

“I rushed out of the room,” Saeed told Morning Star News, weeping. “I couldn’t even speak to ask her what happened. All I could think about was putting the fire out and then getting her to the hospital. But my 16-year-old son, he couldn’t stop himself and held on to her, hugging her while she was burning. He got hurt, and I had to pull him away from her.”

About two weeks later, Nazeera, 33, died as a result of her burns. When Saeed returned to his home in a village after her death, a relative told him the unthinkable – members of both his family and hers had taken the vegetable oil out of the bottle and replaced it with gasoline. Saeed knew the reason – many years ago, the two had become Christians and refused to return to Islam.

» Read full story.