The Berber Evangelistic Association works to give the 25 million Berbers of North Africa access to the Bible in their own languages. See related story below.
Day: February 6, 2019
NORTH AFRICA: God Provides a Husband
Source: Partners International, January 30, 2019
D. is a woman who has been a convert for years but who do not attend church. She isn’t able to attend church or leave her home due to the traditions of Kabyle [Berber] society. We’ve been in contact with her for the last two years [by] phone. When she became the age that her society deems the age to get married, she made it clear to her family that she would never agree to marry a non-Christian.
Her mother began to question her. “Where will this Christian man come from? No one knows that you exist.”
D. became worried, but we prayed with her. We told her that beyond the walls and roof of her house, she has a Father in heaven who will provide for her because he loves her.
A few weeks after we prayed with her, a man within our church expressed to us his desire to get married. We told him about D. and how she wanted to get married to a Christian man. We then put them in contact with each other and prayed the Lord would bless them. The Lord allowed their relationship to progress and they recently celebrated their wedding in a church.
We give glory to our Lord who tells us that he will build his Church, and nothing will prevail against it.
» Read full story and learn about the Berber Evangelistic Association, an affiliate of Partners International.
» Marriage questions are tricky for new believers in contexts with few Christians, but also for Christian parents who are concerned about their kids’ choices. See When Christians Marry Muslims (Shane Bennett).
SOUTH ASIA: Solar-powered Evangelism
Source: OM News, January 2, 2019
A team in South Asia is using the sun to help share the good news with people who have never heard it. In this region, there are many isolated villages scattered about the mountains, disconnected from the rest of society. This results in a lack of education and illiteracy for many. OM has been sending teams with solar-powered audio Bibles to these villages. These audio Bibles are not just great for reaching those who cannot read, but also a great tool to help villagers share the gospel with others.
On a recent outreach to one village, a team met a woman who had received an audio Bible from another team a few months before. As she listened to the words of scripture, she understood that [Jesus] is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Eliza shared this good news with her husband and they both began to realize this news was too good to keep to themselves. They decided to share it with their whole village.
Pray that Eliza, her husband, and others who have received audio Bibles would not just hear the message of hope and see it as something good, but would truly accept the gift of salvation by putting their faith in Jesus and continue to share it with others.
» Let’s also lift up other believers who live in isolated areas. See Ten Ways to Pray for the Secret Church in Afghanistan (Open Doors).
BRAZIL: American Missionary Accused of Genocide
Source: God Reports, January 25, 2019
An American missionary in Brazil is under investigation and may be charged by authorities with genocide for making illegal contact with a remote indigenous tribe, potentially exposing them to diseases.
Brazil’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) have asked authorities to look into an incident that took place in December involving missionary Steve Campbell and the Hi-Merimã tribe. FUNAI notified federal prosecutors and the police in early January about the alleged encounter.
Campbell and his wife are based in Rondonia, Brazil and work with the Jamamadi Indians in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. While Campbell lived among the Jamamadi, he entered the more isolated Hi-Merimã tribe’s area by accident while teaching the Jamamdi how to use GPS devices, according to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
» Full story includes pictures and background on this situation, which has also been covered from diverse angles by other news sources.
INDONESIA: Former Governor Released after Two Years in Prison
Source: World Watch Monitor, January 25, 2019
Jakarta’s former governor, known widely and simply as “Ahok,” walked out of prison January 24 after serving nearly two years for blasphemy.
He was granted early release, four months ahead of schedule, for good behavior. Outside prison in West-Java he was greeted by his eldest son and Nicholas and a group of supporters.
In a letter to his supporters last week, the Chinese Christian, whose real name is Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, asked people not to come to prison to welcome him, out of concern “for the common good” and “for the sake of public order,” according to the Catholic news service UCAN.
“Ahok will finally be out of prison and reunited with his family, but he should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” Elaine Pearson of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said earlier this week. “Ahok’s unjust conviction is a reminder that minorities in Indonesia are at risk so long as the abusive blasphemy law remains in place.”
Since 1968 more than 150 people have been imprisoned and at least six people were convicted under this law in 2018 alone, said the organization.
» See full story with links to related news.
» Also read Tides Turn against Indonesian Christians, which reports a shift in interreligious relations these last two years (Mission Network News).
EGYPT: Work Begins on New Coptic Church, as Promised
Source: Barnabas Fund, February 4, 2019
Work began on January 26 to build a new church at New Alamein, one of 15 of Egypt’s new “fourth generation” cities on the country’s north coast. Church leaders thanked President al-Sisi for allocating the land, which seems in line with his promise that new towns should include churches as well as mosques.
New Alamein, about 110 km [or 68 miles] west of Alexandria, is designed to accommodate three million people and be a gateway between North Africa and southern Europe.
The president attended the opening of the cathedral in Egypt’s planned new administrative capital. At the Christmas service on January 6 (when Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Eve) he expressed his support for Christians, [saying,] “You are our family, you are from us, we are one and no one will divide us.”
Al-Sisi’s government has also continued the process of legalizing church buildings with 508 applications approved in 2018. However, progress is slow and more than 3,000 churches that have applied for approval since 2017 are still waiting to be registered.
» Read full story and see a more general article about the fourth-generation cities.
» See also Is Sisi Good for Egypt’s Christians? (Wall Street Journal).