Month: July 2020

A ministry team in West Africa is meeting the needs of truck drivers and sharing scripture with them. See story below (International Mission Board). This edition of News Briefs features stories from Africa.

In this edition:

1. WEST AFRICA: Gospel Spreads Among Truck Drivers
2. SUDAN: Apostasy Law Abolished
3. TANZANIA: Wild, True Story from COVID-19
4. GHANA: 20 New Disciple-Making Groups Start During COVID-19
5. BURMA: Testimonies from Karen Christians

Source: International Mission Board, June 17, 2020

In West Africa, truck driving is a dangerous and stressful job. Drivers face job insecurity, the threat of being robbed, extortion from corrupt policemen, and cultural and linguistic barriers as they cross through borders taking imports from the coast to landlocked countries farther east.

So when Christians offered to pray for Ahmed one day as he prepared to leave the port and transport his next load, he didn’t mind, even though he was Muslim. As he continued on his route though, he was amazed that the police never harassed him, just as the Christians had prayed.

The next time he saw the believers at the port a few months later, he gathered a group of his friends and went over to them. The last time, the Christians asked him if he’d listen to a story, but he’d been in a hurry to leave. Now, he wanted to know more.

“God answered their prayer,” he told the whole group. “Now, we’re going to listen to their story.”

Each time Ahmed returned to the port, he found the believers and asked to hear another story. As the months passed, he understood his sin and his need for a Savior, and he put his faith in Christ.

» Full story includes more about this strategic and compassionate ministry to truck drivers as well as photos and a video.

» Readers might also be interested in a brief analysis of movements to Christ in Muslim societies (Justin Long).

Source: Jubilee Campaign, July 2020

On July 12 it was announced that the government of Sudan has taken action to restore human rights and religious freedom for its citizens by eliminating discriminatory alcohol restrictions, abolishing apostasy laws, criminalizing female genital mutilation and cutting, and granting women travel rights. Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari stated of the landmark decisions, “we [will] drop all the laws violating the human rights in Sudan.”

These fundamental changes by the Sudanese government were made with the ratification of the Miscellaneous Amendments Act, and its most commendable achievement is the abolition of the discriminatory and problematic portion of the nation’s criminal code Article 126 which, according to Library of Congress, states that “any Muslim who declares publicly that he/she has adopted any religion other than Islam commits the crime of apostasy and is punishable with the death penalty.”

In 2014, BBC News reported on the sentencing death of pregnant Sudanese Christian woman Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, who was told by the presiding judge that she had only three days to renounce Christianity and return to Islam if she wished to be acquitted. She was also sentenced to 100 lashes for marrying a Christian man. After numerous condemnations by international human rights NGOs, Ibrahim was acquitted of her charges and her case was ultimately dropped.

The abolition of Sudan’s apostasy laws under the temporary government ensures that no individual ever again has to go through the accusations, harassment, and tribulations that Meriam had gone through though she committed no crime other than being a devout Christian.

» Read full story.

» Also read about a recent update on religious freedom in Yemen, where the news is not so positive (Open Doors via Mission Network News).

Source: Timothy Two Project International, April 22, 2020

We have been trying to connect with all our key pastor friends in Africa. [One] sent this news back to me. This story is the wildest, [most] miraculous story I have heard. This is directly from his mouth and he is a faithful man, so I know that this is true.

This pastor went from Tanzania into Congo to do ministry in March. By the time he returned to the city, he found out that the borders had all closed [due to COVID-19] and he could not return home. He had little money so was not sure what he could do. A Christian family allowed him to sleep in their basement, which was musty and resulted in making him sick. We were worried about him so sent to him $100, which is a decent amount of money there. He said that God used me to “save his life.”

“After receiving that money, I talked to a certain captain of a locally made boat. I gave him that money to help me get back to Tanzania. On Tuesday, the man put me in a sack as luggage. He threw me in a boat [and] the soldiers didn’t notice. The boat left Congo port with other sacks. We traveled from Tuesday to Friday while I was in a sack. On Thursday, the boat got storms because of the wind. On Friday midnight, we reached Lake Tanganyika’s shore. They opened that sack at the top and they threw me in a forest. I got out [and] walked one day and half in a forest, then I reached in Kigoma town. On Saturday night I reached my hometown. I have made the story short, but I faced many dangers that threatened my life. I thank God I’m now in Tanzania.”

“What God did was a miracle. He saved my life. Thank you for contacting me and for allowing God to use you.”

» Read full story and pray for brothers and sisters who continue to both suffer and serve the suffering during this time of shutdowns, shortages, and sickness.

» We read another wild story from East Africa, this one about a man in Ethiopia who was raised from the dead after a Christian prayed for him, resulting in 25 witnesses following Jesus (Great Commission Ministry Ethiopia, a ministry of Cru, via God Reports).