Month: December 2022

1. Mozambique: Missionary Pilot and Two Others Imprisoned
2. Morocco: Finding Faith on the Internet
3. Bangladesh: Helping 1 Million Rohingya Refugees
4. Europe: Myths, Truths, and Opportunities for Mission
5. Indonesia: Discovering Christ as a Kurdish Refugee

Read or share the email edition or scroll down for more.

Source: The Christian Post, December 5, 2022

The US-based ministry Mission Aviation Fellowship is urging Christians to pray for the release and safety of one of its pilots, Ryan Koher, and two South African volunteers who have been detained for nearly a month in Mozambique on suspicion of supporting insurgent activity.

Koher, 31, and two South Africans—77-year-old W.J. du Plessis and 69-year-old Eric Dry—were detained in the coastal city of Inhambane on November 4 while they were loading supplies into the aircraft to be taken to church-run orphanages in the Montepuez district in the troubled Cabo Delgado Province.

“I urge Christians around the world to pray for Ryan’s safety and swift release, and call on those in power both in Mozambique and here in the U.S. to do everything they can to resolve this wrongful detainment,” MAF President and CEO David Holsten said in a statement [December 2].

Read the full story or the MAF press release. A Christianity Today article includes more background and some good pictures. Thanks for praying for these men. Koher’s wife Annabel and their two sons have now returned to the US, in accordance with MAF security protocols.

Source: Pioneers-USA, November 15, 2022

Karim’s search for God [began] when he was serving a sentence in a Moroccan prison. Islamic spiritual leaders visited him and gave him lectures about what a bad person he was. “There was little grace,” he says, “only a wide chasm between me and the expectations of Islam.” Their words seemed meaningless. He struggled with the rigidity and lack of compassion he saw in spiritual leaders and was longing for something different.

After he was released, Karim searched the internet for answers and, finding a media outreach website in his language, filled out a simple contact form. To Karim’s surprise, a local believer named Elias sent him a message the very same day.

Elias invited Karim to download a copy of the Bible on his phone and begin reading it. As he did, Elias was there to explain the parts he didn’t understand. “I had so many questions,” says Karim. “How can you say Christ is God? How can I become a Christian? What is the difference between Jews, Christians, and Muslims?”

Read the full story. Also from Pioneers, read Googling Jesus: Nine Amazing Stories of Digital Media Outreach.

Source: Mission Network News, November 18, 2022

A foreign minister of Bangladesh says the country has been left alone to help 1 million Rohingya refugees [who fled to the country from Myanmar]. International funding to help the refugees has decreased every year.

Greg Kelley with World Mission says, “They truly are a stateless people group, which makes the situation all the more tragic. …the likelihood of them getting back into Myanmar is very low. Bangladesh doesn’t want them growing and has shut off the numbers of officially recognized refugees.”

“Meanwhile, babies continue to come out of these camps and the population of Rohingya is growing exponentially.”

The full story briefly describes World Mission’s ministry in the refugee camps, where they recently conducted secret baptisms. Most Rohingya in the camps practice Islam.