Day: September 16, 2015

In this Issue: Sometimes the news is not what you expect

1. INDIA: Witch Hunts Not a Thing of the Past
2. INDONESIA: Attack Unites Muslims and Christians
3. NEPAL: The Day Jesus Invaded a Buddhist Monastery
4. GERMANY: Hundreds of Muslims Turn to Christ

For additional news, see our Twitter feed.

A new film about the life of Muhammad is causing a stir in the Muslim world.

Dear Readers,

Have you noticed that sometimes the news is just plain confusing? For example, the recently released film Mohammad: The Messenger of God (trailer above) is causing a stir in the Muslim world. It took me by surprise to read that Iranians made the film, while the fatwa against it is coming from Muslims in India. Wouldn’t you expect people in India, home of Bollywood, to support the project, while Iran, with so many hardliners about the arts, to object? But it’s not so simple. I had the same weird feeling when I read about that Pakistan is one of the top exporters of bagpipes: a challenge to my sensibilities. And maybe that’s a good thing!

I am wired to try to see connections and often God seems to use this gift. But I have to be careful how I use it and avoid any kind of “witch hunt” (see India story below). Some see a connection between the tragedy this week in Mecca and God’s judgment. My heart, though, hurts for those who sacrificed to seek God and were met with injury and death in their most holy place.

I do see a connection between the Muslim Hajj (September 21-23) and Jewish Yom Kippur (September 23) as they overlap this year. That means that, this month, many of the world’s people will be seeking to be cleansed from sin by a pilgrimage to their most holy places. Don’t miss the opportunity to pray for their cleansing—by the blood of Christ.

May they enter the true Holy of Holies with Jesus,
Pat

Source: Mission Network News, September 3, 2015

It’s easy to assume that the extreme superstition that fueled historical tragedies like the Salem witch trials is a thing of the past, but Mission India says that’s not the case. Fear-driven witch hunts are a very real and disturbingly common part of society in many of India’s states. The problem is especially serious in Jharkland, where 37 percent of all witchcraft-related murders occur.

For example, in early August, five women were killed in the state of Jharkland when villagers claimed they were witches. The entire village contributed to the angry mob that blamed the women for many of the community’s issues, including illness and poor crop yields.

Last August in the state of Assam, a 63-year-old woman was beheaded on the basis that she had cursed the village with an illness. In July, a couple and four of their children were killed in their sleep when their own relatives accused them of causing the sickness that was spreading among infants in the village.

» Read full story, which links to a 2014 article with analysis of the phenomenon (Washington Post).

» Also read the secular coverage of the same event, Five Women Killed in India, and a story on witchcraft in Afghanistan, The Fortune Teller of Kabul, both from The Guardian. And check out Occult Beliefs on the Rise among Chinese Communist Leaders and Satan Has Come to Detroit: Try Not to Worry (Christian Today).

Source: Missions Network News, September 11, 2015

Muslims and Christians aren’t known for working together. But in rural Indonesia, Muslims and Christians in a small village are going “against the grain.”

Four radical Muslims brutally attacked Pastor Yuda, an indigenous church planter in Borneo supported by Forgotten Missionaries International (FMI).

“The local people [Muslims] are coming together with the church members to try and find out who the person [was] who hit and attacked Pastor Yuda, and bring that person to the police” [reports FMI’s Bruce Allen].

Pastor Yuda’s village is 98 percent Muslim, and “the leader of that village, although he’s Muslim, does not want any conflict between Muslims and Christians or the church members in that area,” Allen shares.

» Read full story and prayer points.

Source: GodReports, September 4, 2105

Tyler Connell, with Ekballo Project, is currently in the Himalayan Mountains in one of the most unreached places of the world, distributing Bibles, praying for the sick, and preaching the Good News. A month ago, Tyler and his team trekked to one of the highest villages in the Tibetan region of Nepal. They split into groups of four and prayed for the Holy Spirit to direct their paths. Tyler’s group felt led to walk to the highest point of the village where they observed ancient ruins protruding above them.

At the moment they reached the promontory, a monk appeared, smiling as he approached them. “Hi, I’m Jems,” he said in perfect English. “We’ve been watching you guys; it is rare for anyone foreign to come to our village. Would you like to come inside our monastery?”

“We are followers of Jesus, the man and God greater than any other god,” Tyler told the monk.

“Oh, I once heard of Jesus, in India, but wasn’t able to do any reading on who he was,” the man replied.

“Can we introduce you to him through the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Jesus?” one asked.

» Read full story and watch related video series Life in the Himalayas. The Ekballo Project uses film as a mobilizing spark on college campuses and churches to send believers into the unreached, unengaged regions of the world. See also Tyler’s recent article in Mission Frontiers.

Source: Christian Broadcasting Network, September 13, 2015

In Germany, hundreds of Muslim refugees are turning to Christ at a Berlin church. The Evangelical Trinity Church has swelled from 150 to 600 members in just two years, and many are Muslims fleeing Iran and Afghanistan.

Mohammed Ali Zonoobi, an Iranian asylum seeker, was recently baptized.

“I feel like I am born again,” he sobbed.

Many of the refugees are seeking asylum in Germany, and converting to Christianity can increase their chances of staying. If they’re sent home, converts can be persecuted—even put to death—for leaving Islam.

The church’s pastor said he believes the power of Christ is changing their lives.

“I know that sometimes people also come here because their hope is that they will be granted asylum status,” he said. “I invite these people in because I think that coming here does change people, despite their original motivation for doing so.”

Pastor Martens said only about 10 percent of those who are baptized do not return [to the church].

» Read full story and watch video report or read At a Berlin Church, Muslim Refugees Converted in Droves (Associated Press).

» See also this 16-minute video about Syrians that decided to walk to Germany (The Guardian), and read The Significance of Syria in the Bible History and Civilizations (Rev. Peter Sadid).