Category: News Briefs

Source: World Vision, February 2019

Venezuela is in crisis. The economy has collapsed and an uprising of political opposition to President Nicolas Maduro has put the country’s leadership in question. More than 3 million Venezuelans—5,500 per day in 2018—have left the country seeking food, work, and a better life.

Latin America’s largest migration in recent years is driven by hyperinflation, violence, and food and medicine shortages stemming from recent years of political turmoil. Once-eradicated diseases like cholera and malaria have returned, and children increasingly are dying of causes related to hunger and malnutrition.

An estimated more than 1.5 million people have settled in Colombia; nearly 700,000 in Peru; nearly 280,000 in Ecuador; and Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are each hosting 100,000 Venezuelans or more. About 290,000 Venezuelans have settled in the United States and more than 200,000 in Spain, according to the UN International Organization on Migration.

While the influx from Venezuela has caused tensions in host countries, it also has brought out their hospitable spirit. Still, needs among families in transition are great. And forecasts for 2019 show the number of displaced people may increase to more than 5 million. World Vision staff in neighboring countries are helping.

» Read full story. It’s quite informative. We’re also praying for the people of Haiti, a country recently in an uproar. See Haiti Braces for More Violence (CBC News video).

Source: World Watch Monitor, February 14, 2019

A Colombian pastor was killed as he left his church in the northwest of the country, in a region that has been plagued by violence from armed groups, local sources told World Watch Monitor.

Pastor Leider Molina, 24, had just finished preaching in his church in Caucasia, Antioquia state in northwest Colombia, on Friday, February 9. As he stepped outside he was hit by five bullets. Molina was known as a passionate preacher and an active youth leader working for his church and city, 670km north of the capital Bogotá, the source said.

The Caucasia region has suffered an escalation in violence for the last four months, according to the source. Armed groups fight for control of drug trafficking routes and the ownership of illicit crops.

“Communist guerrillas, paramilitary groups, criminal gangs, and drug cartels all see the Church as an enemy to be eradicated because, thanks to the preaching and courageous action of leaders and pastors, many young people have renounced armed conflict and illegal activities,” the source said.

The church in the area is terrified, according to the source. “Some Christians have fled with their families, while others have decided to stay awaiting the government intervention. Church leaders, however, continue their work despite the death threats,” said the source.

» Full story also reports on two other pastors in the region killed last September.

Source: Pioneers USA, February 13, 2019

Immigrant ministry is never boring, especially when God uses interesting means.

Recently, a few of our interns were out in the city to look for spiritually receptive people in the Muslim neighborhood near us. Our goal is to see Muslims come to faith in Jesus by investing our time getting to know the Muslims in our city. The day seemed to be a bust, and they were tired. However, they decided to press on and go to dinner at an immigrant restaurant there in the area.

Just after stepping into the restaurant, they met Ali, their waiter. He was full of joy. After a bit of conversation and talk of spiritual matters, Ali leaned in with a surprise.

“I had no peace in Islam, but I found peace in Jesus.”

“I am no longer a Muslim,” he said in a low volume. “I’m a Christian. I had no peace in Islam, but I found peace in Jesus.”

Within a few days, we gathered together for breakfast with Ali and his two sons. We wanted to hear his story of coming to faith. And as we talked, his 16-year-old son noticed the movie Nacho Libre on my teammate’s shelf.  It’s a slapstick comedy about a monastery cook who moonlights as a luchador, or Mexican wrestler, to supplement the funds used to feed the orphans in their care.

Ali and his sons were spiritually inspired by the movie, despite its silliness. They say that the movie was their first exposure to Jesus. In it, they saw a Christian caring for orphans, and that raised questions in their hearts about a God who cares for the marginalized and downtrodden. And God had prepared their hearts to hear a message of his love before seeing Nacho Libre.

» Read full story.

» For another story about God working in mysterious ways, read about a ministry outreach in Ireland in Plowing with the Big Red Bus (Operation Mobilization).

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.

1. NORTH AFRICA: God Provides a Husband
2. SOUTH ASIA: Solar-powered Evangelism
3. BRAZIL: American Missionary Accused of Genocide
4. INDONESIA: Former Governor Released after Two Years in Prison
5. EGYPT: Work Begins on New Coptic Church, as Promised

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).

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.

» Read full story.

» 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).

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.

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).

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).

 

Once again it’s time for the world’s largest human gathering, the Kumbh Mela. See related story below. Image from Allahabad, 2001 (source).

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