In This Issue: “We cannot NOT pray”
- DAGESTAN AND CHECHNYA: Unreached, Unengaged Peoples
- SYRIA: Caught in the Crossfire
- CHINA: Ministry Befriends Migrants
- THAILAND: Thai Believer Ministers to Sea Gypsies
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Greetings!
It seems that every blog, news feed, and email I read this past week included a call to prayer for someone or some nation. Wow! Are we in a season of increased prayer? Here are just some of the prayer campaigns (in chronological order).
- April 28-May 5, North Korea Freedom Week
- May 1-May 31, Lausanne Invitation to Prayer
- May 2, Worldwide Awareness Day for North Korean Refugees
- May 2, USA National Day of Prayer
- May 2-6, Prayer for Malaysia’s General Election
- May 4, A Day to Pray for the Balkans
- May 19, Global Day of Prayer
- June 1-2, World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk
Why not cover all of these needs by praying for the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world? Listen to the new CEO of the Lausanne Movement, Michael Oh, challenge the church to NOT not pray. Then sign up for prayer emails for the month of May from Lausanne.
And while you’re praying would you pray for my team coordinating an upstate New York Perspectives class?
Thanks!
Pat
Quotable:
“What, then, is the nature of petitionary prayer? It is, in essence, rebellion – rebellion against the world in its falleness, the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal. It is, in this its negative aspect, the refusal of every agenda, every scheme, every interpretation that is at odds with the norm as originally established by God.” David Wells
DAGESTAN AND CHECHNYA: Unreached, Unengaged Peoples
Source: Mission Frontiers, March 2013
Today a blossoming church in the former Soviet Union is overcoming the “-isms” of the past, awakening to God’s heart to send messengers of God’s grace who can communicate a Caucasus Jesus to Caucasus souls on Caucasus soil.
Today praying groups have “taken into their hearts” (persistently and long-term) 31 of the 34 unreached peoples of Dagestan and the 11 unreached peoples between Chechnya and Adygheya.
Thirteen of 45 language groups are legitimately engaged with various phases of intentional, cross-cultural efforts toward disciple-making movements. Fruit comes from “work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
Still, 32 unreached peoples in Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia remain painfully isolated from God’s blessings of messengers, the message, and [Christ-focused] communities. But we know that God responds to persistent, praying people!
» Full story.
» Listen to Compassion Radio’s interview with a worker from Central Asia. He reveals some very interesting history of the area. If you want to take Central Asia into your heart for prayer, follow Pray4CA (Twitter).
SYRIA: Caught in the Crossfire
Source: Christian Aid Mission, April 17, 2013
As the exodus of Christians from Syria continues unabated, more reports are surfacing of the alarming conditions facing those who choose to remain.
“When people leave their houses in Syria in the morning to go to work, they say goodbye to their families in case they don’t come back,” a ministry leader in Damascus told Christian Aid Mission.
The stories from inside Syria describe extremely harsh and dangerous living conditions for everyone. Few people are employed. The infrastructure is in tatters. People are beheaded. Girls are raped and killed. The prices for gas and food are ten times what they were two years ago.
Some 300 churches in and around Syria have been damaged or destroyed. Before the revolution, Syria was governed as a secular nation, and Christians enjoyed some measure of freedom to worship in their churches. The legal protection afforded them by the current government would most likely vanish if the rebels seize power.
In spite of the tenuous situation, God is moving and subtle changes are taking place. The Syrian government appears to trust Christians more and is permitting them [freedoms].
“One reason is because the Christians are not politically active. Their purpose is to build a heavenly kingdom,” explained a spokesperson for Christian Aid Mission. “They are showing the love of Christ in tangible ways that were not possible before the war. Christians now have unlimited opportunities for ministry in Damascus.”
» Full story.
» Take a look at the photo essay Syria in Ruins (The Atlantic) and read about ordeal that refugees face at The Zaatari Refugee Camp (The Arabist).
CHINA: Ministry Befriends Migrants
Source: Operation Mobilization, April 25, 2013
Go almost anywhere in Hong Kong on a typical Sunday and you’ll have to compete for space with tens of thousands of foreign domestic workers enjoying their day off. Over 150,000 Filipinos and 150,000 Indonesian maids work in the city. So do at least 18,000 Pakistanis, over a third of whom were born in Hong Kong. Many are descended from relatives who migrated there when Hong Kong was a British Crown colony and then British Dependent Territory, allowing English speakers to get good jobs.
OM Hong Kong’s office move to the poorest district of Kowloon left them enough money to create a separate center for ministry to migrants. A church service for Indonesians is now held in this large, well-lit space on Sunday afternoons. On two other days each week, Chinese lessons are given to Pakistani children and their mothers. No Christian signs or symbols adorn the center, so even though visitors know that staff are Christians, they feel comfortable.
Team members also travel to a Christian primary school two afternoons a week to offer free after-school tutoring to non-Chinese students, and on Fridays up to 50 volunteers from various churches join them in visiting families. While they never try to force their faith on anyone, they find they are sometimes able to share a testimony or pray with individuals in Jesus’ name.
» Full story. Of particular interest is the growing outreach to Pakistanis and how that has unfolded.
THAILAND: Thai Believer Ministers to Sea Gypsies
Source: AsiaStories, April 21, 2013
Wasana Moonsiti closes her eyes and leans back, fighting seasickness as the boat rolls through the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea toward the island of Koh Payam, Thailand. There a small group of Moken people await her arrival. The Moken, or Sea Gypsies as they are commonly known, are semi-nomadic sea dwellers whose primary source of income is fishing and gathering shells.
Sliding her feet across the wobbly wooden plank, Moonsiti carries packages to dockworkers who form an assembly line to help unload the cargo. Boxes filled with snacks, food, medical equipment, and Bible stories are the catalysts Moonsiti uses in sharing the gospel among the Moken.
Moonsiti says it was not easy starting to teach the Bible here, but God has begun working in this village.
“I started with Genesis, ‘In the beginning, God created the world…’
» Full story. See also a related photo essay and short video.
» See also Delivering Bibles Before the Tundra Melts, which describes outreach to a rather different nomadic group. The Nenets are reindeer herders in Arctic Russia (OM).
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.