In This Issue: News from Pakistan, Syria, North Korea
- PAKISTAN – 60 Homes of Christians Reduced to Ashes
- AFRICA – Unreached Peoples on the Move
- NORTH KOREA – Christians Arrested, One Executed
- SYRIA – Paul Returns to Damascus
- LAOS – Village Officials Announce Ban on Christianity
- TURKEY – Wedding Dresses Help Support Christians
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 forward it freely!
World News Briefs, edited by Pat Noble, are published twice a month.
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PAKISTAN – 60 Homes of Christians Reduced to Ashes
Source: ASSIST News Service, July 30, 2009
The trouble began for the Christian residents of Korian when Talib, a Christian vendor, brought home a piece of paper that had Quranic verses written on it, along with some other papers. Talib’s children ripped apart the paper, not understanding its contents.
When some local Muslims found the torn pieces of paper, anti-Christian hostility spread like a wildfire in the village. Local Muslim clerics accused the father and son of committing blasphemy and made inflammatory statements [which] incited Muslim residents of Korian and adjoining villages.
Some 500 Muslims from nearby villages, armed with firearms and explosives, attacked the Christians of the village. The Christian residents fled to safety as Muslim clerics announced their verdict to “kill the blasphemers.”
The chemical used by the mob to set fire to Christians’ houses utterly destroyed the targeted houses. The mob also took away Christians’ cattle.
>> Full story with pictures and map.
>> See also Christians Burned to Death in Islamic Attacks (Compass Direct). By the way, July 26 was a day of prayer for Pakistan’s persecuted minorities.
AFRICA – Unreached Peoples on the Move
Source: Lausanne World Pulse, August, 2009
The unreached people groups of Africa are found in all areas of the world. According to an estimate by The Migration Policy Institute seven to eight million African irregular [illegal or undocumented] migrants now live and work in Europe.
Aaron Terrazas, citing the U.S. Census Bureau 2006 American Community Survey [observes that] the number of African immigrants in the United States grew forty-fold between 1960 and 2007, from 35,355 to 1.4 million.
Most of these “displaced” people, whether abroad or in the African urban centers, come from ethnic groups or religious blocs that constitute the UPGs [unreached people groups] of Africa.
These constitute African mission fields abroad [and] should be given opportunity to hear the gospel.
>> Full story.
>> See additional articles about immigration in the August edition of World Pulse.
NORTH KOREA – Christians Arrested, One Executed
Source: Baptist Press News, July 30, 2009
North Korean authorities arrested two Christian women earlier this year and publicly executed one of them, human rights activists in South Korea have claimed.
Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was accused of distributing the Bible, organizing dissidents and spying for South Korea and the United States, according to The Investigative Commission on Crime against Humanity, an alliance of anti-North Korea activists.
She was executed June 16 in Ryongchon, a city near North Korea’s border with China. The following day, her parents, husband, and three children were sent to a political prison camp in Hoeryong, the activists said.
The group claimed it has papers obtained from North Korea documenting the arrests and execution, the Associated Press reported. Their claims could not be independently verified because North Korea’s government tightly controls the flow of information in and out of the country.
>> Full story.
>> Editor’s note: Interested in North Korea (or any other specific topic or part of the world)? Consider signing up for breaking news from a service like Google Alerts.
SYRIA – Paul Returns to Damascus
Source: Joel News International 692, June 30, 2009
A 77-minute film that tells the story of Saul of Tarsus has been released in the Middle East. The movie, titled ‘Damascus’, was filmed on location in the Syrian capital Damascus and other historic places in the nation. It was produced by Arab Christians, in Arabic, with a cast of 20 prominent Arab actors and actresses from Syria.
The film has been endorsed by President Bashar al-Assad and premiered in Assad’s personal theater in Damascus in March. More than 1,100 Syrian political, religious, and business leaders attended the premiere. The film has also been endorsed by Protestant and Catholic leaders, and [publicly] premiered at the Vatican in May.
The film is also known in the region as ‘Damascus Is Speaking,’ and will be shown and distributed throughout churches in the Middle East and around the world.
The Joshua Fund reports that 300,000 copies of the film are currently being produced on DVD for distribution in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel.
>> Subscribe to Joel News.
>> See the film’s (English) trailer.
LAOS – Village Officials Announce Ban on Christianity
Source: Compass Direct, July 16, 2009
Following the confiscation of livestock from Christian families earlier this month, officials in a village in Laos called a special meeting for all residents [on July 11] and announced that they had “banned the Christian faith in our village.”
The chief of Katin village, along with village security, social, and religious-affairs officials, warned all 53 Christian residents that they should revert to worshiping local spirits in accordance with Lao tradition or risk losing all village rights and privileges – including their livestock and homes, according to advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom.
The Katin village leader also declared that spirit worship was the only acceptable form of worship in the community.
The previous Sunday officials and residents had confiscated one pig each from nine Christian families and slaughtered the animals in an effort to force them to renounce their faith. The seizure of each pig – the equivalent of six weeks’ salary for an average laborer in the area – was punishment for ignoring the order to abandon Christianity.
>> Full story.
TURKEY – Wedding Dresses Help Support Christians
Source: Turkish World Outreach, July 27, 2009
In Muslim Turkey, converts to Christianity are often fired from their jobs when employers learn of their faith. Unemployment is high and jobs are very hard to find. Fortunately, a ministry in the US has found a way to help needy Turkish believers without making them dependent on continuing assistance.
Brides in Turkey typically rent their wedding apparel, and this organization provides Turkish Christians with a stock of wedding gowns they can rent out from their homes or local shops. These are given to them free of charge. The ministry relies on donated dresses, and most are received from Christian women who treasure the opportunity to share their own used gowns.
If you have a wedding dress you’d like to give for this cause, please make sure it’s clean and in excellent condition, and send it to the address below. Though not required, it will also help if you provide a US$10 donation for the average cost of shipping a gown overseas. Your gift of a dress or funds is tax-deductible.
Please send dresses to Turkish World Outreach, 508 Fruitvale Court, Grand Junction, CO 81504 USA, attention Steve Hagerman.
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