NewsBytes - February 2009

CONTENTS

1. TRAGIC FIRES RAVAGE AUSTRALIA
2. ZIM’S TAILSPIN OPENS DOORS TO MINISTRY
3. KENYAN CHRISTIANS CALLED TO PRAY
4. NEW LAWS FOR INDONESIA
5. SEVERE MISSION PILOT SHORTAGE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
6. ERITREA’S MARTYRS
7. CYBER MISSION TRIPS FOR YOUTH
8. ONLINE TESTIMONIES CAN BE DANGEROUS (SAUDI ARABIA)
9. DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR THE CHIN PEOPLE IN BURMA
10. CHRISTIAN RADIO FOR HIV/AIDS AFFECTED IN EUROPE
11. ORISSA GOVERNMENT WARNED AGAINST PERSECUTION
12. USA: Love INC.
13. OPERATION NOAH’S ARK (UK)
14. FINLAND’S NOKIA REVIVAL
15. NEW CHRISTIAN ONLINE SITE FOR TEENS
16. IN FACT: CONGO
17. RESOURCES:
    * Audio Library * WORLD GO!Manual * New Film Release * Global Poverty Prayer Week Downloads

1. TRAGIC FIRES RAVAGE AUSTRALIA

Record-high temperatures that reached 45 degrees Celsius followed by shifting winds contributed to devastating wildfires in Victoria, Australia, killing more than 181 people so far, with dozens still missing; destroying nearly 2,000 homes and blackening some 1,200 square miles. An estimated 5,000 people are reported as homeless. Victoria Premier John Brumby referred to the fires as the “largest natural disaster in our state’s history and Australia’s history.” Churches as well as homes have turned to ash. Said Rev. Stephen Holmes whose church no longer exists, nor most of his parish: "It's devastating, it's unbelievable.--it's just carnage." Many area churches have opened their buildings to provide emergency centres, accommodation and pastoral care, and have established an Emergency Bushfire Relief Fund. [BBC/HCJB/ASSIST 10 Feb.’09]

2. ZIM’S TAILSPIN OPENS DOORS TO MINISTRY

Zimbabwe is in a state of emergency, facing several crises at the same time. Charles Debter of Global Aid Network [GAIN USA] says inflation was last reported at more than 230-million percent. The UN sets unemployment at 93 percent. Food is scarce and unavailable, money is worthless, and a cholera epidemic has spread to every province. Through a partner, Life Ministries, GAIN USA has been able to provide enough cholera medication to treat 80,000 people. It is also sending water purification filters and 20 truckload containers of food, which is more than 2.5 million meals, to orphanages, clinics and teachers. Adds Debter, "It's part of a larger project of sharing the love of Christ with the poor, and they're actively training in discipleship and evangelism and church planting. They are really overwhelmed and need our prayers." [MISSION NETWORK NEWS, 6 Feb.’09]

3. KENYAN CHRISTIANS CALLED TO PRAY

Last month the Kenyan government declared a national crisis as the number of starving Kenyans doubled in only 3 months, quickly reaching over 10 million. The crisis was caused by drought and a 99% crop failure, along with post-election attacks in 2008, which cost the country at least 20,000 acres of maize cultivation. Overall, food staples in Kenya have risen about 44% in price. Although the government is now offering lower prices on seed, distributing extra soil and importing 5 million bags of maize to assist its people, the aid is not enough to immediately quell the crisis. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, is calling on the church to pray. Worldwide Christian Schools [WWCS] has also responded, starting a fund which is allowing one Christian School in Alale, Kenya to become an oasis for over 600 students. [MNN, 5 Feb.’08]

4. NEW LAWS FOR INDONESIA

Sharia-based laws have been passed in more than half of Indonesia’s provinces with support for such Islamic religious laws expected to grow as the country heads towards its presidential election in July. Sharia inspired laws vary vastly across the regencies and include requiring both Muslim and non-Muslim women to wear headscarves; arresting and then charging women found “loitering” alone on the street after 10 p.m. with prostitution; providing conditions for Quran literacy among schoolchildren; as well as severe punishment for adultery, alcoholism and gambling. Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, is a democracy that promises religious freedom to its citizens. For the most part, non-Muslims can worship freely in Indonesia and live peacefully amongst Muslims. Although there have been protests against the sharia-based laws, the Home Affairs Minister had stated last February that the government saw no need to nullify the some 600 sharia-based laws passed by local governments. Political analysts predict President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will partner with several Islamic parties to get a majority vote. [COMPASS NEWS, 2 Feb.’09/ CHRISTIAN POST, 6 Feb.’09]

5. SEVERE MISSION PILOT SHORTAGE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

A sharp drop in Mission Aviation Fellowship’s (MAF) pilot numbers in Papua New Guinea, putting the lives of people in remote communities at risk. The decrease in the normal level of pilots (about 20) is due to various factors including illness, pilots undergoing training and fewer new pilot applications. MAF Regional Operations Manager Stephen Charlesworth noted, “In addition to more routine work, we would normally carry out at least 400 medical evacuations each year--more than one a day--across the country. But with the number of pilots and flying hours greatly reduced in 2009, it means that the lives of people in need of emergency assistance are at greater risk and, in some cases, being lost because we can’t reach them.” Papua New Guinea, with 7 million people, has some of the world’s most remote and isolated communities, with few roads and primitive bush villages connected only by walking tracks. [Mission Aviation Fellowship, rlgmedia]

6. ERITREA’S MARTYRS

Three Christians incarcerated in military prisons for their faith have died in the past four months in Eritrea, including the death on Jan. 16 of a 42-year-old man in solitary confinement, according to Christian support organisation Open Doors. The man, a member of the Church of the Living God, reportedly died from torture and complications from diabetes. This follows the death of another man (37) in the same prison in Mitire, tortured for refusing to recant his faith. Open Doors also learned of a 36-year-old man who died in October while imprisoned for his faith at the Wi’a Military Confinement Centre, after prison commanders refused to give him medical attention for malaria. Incarcerated Christians from throughout Eritrea have been transferred to the Mitire prison in the country’s northeast. The government of President Isaias Afwerki has stepped up its campaign against churches it has outlawed, earning it a spot on the U.S. Department of State’s list of worst violators of religious freedom. [COMPASS, 21 Jan.’09]

7. CYBER MISSION TRIPS FOR YOUTH

Nearly 2,000 teens have signed up to participate in the “Online Mission Trip,” an organiSed effort to inundate popular social networking sites like Facebook with the message of Christ. For two weeks, 1–14 February 2009, students from the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, Bermuda, and elsewhere will electronically share the gospel with those both far away and right next door. Pre-event training was held in January. Participants will upload videos and photos, post links and blogs, and use status updates to share their personal walks with God. The goal is to eventually lead people into face-to-face discussions. Outreach events and new-believer followups will begin on February 15, including a free 4-part series from Lifechurch.tv entitled 'What’s Next?'" [CHRISTIAN TODAY/ASSIST, 12 Feb.’09]

8. ONLINE TESTIMONIES CAN BE DANGEROUS

Five months after the daughter of a member of Saudi Arabia’s religious police was killed for writing online about her faith in Christ, Saudi authorities have reportedly arrested a 28-year-old Christian man for describing his conversion and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary on his website. In his blog last December, which Saudi authorities have blocked, Bin Saleh wrote that his journey to Christ began after witnessing the public beheading of 3 Pakistanis convicted of drug charges. Shaken, the English literature graduate began an extensive study of Islamic history and law, as well as Saudi justice. He became disillusioned with sharia (Islamic law) and dismayed that kingdom authorities only prosecuted poor Saudis and foreigners. After reading how Jesus forgave, rather than stoned, a woman condemned for adultery, Bin Saleh eventually received Christ as Saviour. [COMPASS, 2 Feb.’09]

9. DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR THE CHIN PEOPLE IN BURMA

Numbering some 1.5 million, the Chin people are one of Burma's large indigenous groups. Approximately 80% are Christians and they are often subjected to severe human rights abuses by the ruling party (SPDC). Every 50 years the bamboo covering the mountainous Chin State flowers, bears fruit and then dies. When this happens the region is plagued by rats that devour not only the bamboo fruit but also every other edible crop. This year they have left behind a wasteland, eating even the crops planted for harvest in 2009. 100,000 families face famine and many have already died. Villagers scavenge in the forest for roots to eat. Instead of taking measures to alleviate the suffering, the SPDC is making things worse by continuing its policies of forced labour and theft of any remaining livestock. In the UK, Baronness Cox and Jubilee Action are calling on the government to provide aid to this region. [JUBILEE ACTION, Winter '08]

10. CHRISTIAN RADIO FOR HIV/AIDS AFFECTED IN EUROPE

With 100 new infections every day, RUSSIA has one of the fastest growing AIDS rates in the world. The number of officially registered HIV cases increased one hundredfold between 1997 and 2005. Roughly 40% of new HIV cases are women of childbearing age. UKRAINE has experienced the most severe AIDS epidemic in Europe, with an estimated adult prevalence of 1.4%, and is spreading rapidly among injection drug users and through heterosexual transmission. In BELARUS, which also has one of the highest HIV/AIDS incidence rates in the region, 76.6% of all HIV-infected persons are between 15-24 years old. With this in mind, Trans World Radio's Russian, Ukraine and Belarus ministry RUBM has been working on a series of programmes that raise awareness and give information and hope to those who are addicted or infected. Interested listeners are also connected with Christian rehabilitation centres. RUBM is also planning to air a series called 'HIV in a Child's World' in Siberia, where there are many children's homes that care for HIVI+ children who have been abandoned by their parents. [TWR InfoServe Vol.13, No.6]

11. ORISSA GOVERNMENT WARNED AGAINST PERSECUTION

India's Supreme Court in early January warned the state government of Orissa that it will not 'tolerate persecution of religious minorities.' It said that if the state government cannot protect Christians, then it should 'quit office.' A 3-judge panel issued the warning after a petition made by Roman Catholic Archbishop Raphael Cheenath. Approximately 500 people, largely Christians, have been killed in Orissa since August. [RELIGION TODAY/ EVANGELICALS NOW, Feb.'09]

12. USA: Love INC.

Love In the Name of Christ (Love INC) brings U.S. Christian churches together across denominational lines to help the poor by meeting immediate needs such as food and clothing, to longer-term responses through relational ministries such as life skills training and transitional housing. Over 135 Love INC affiliates in 30 states are helping more than 1 million people in need each year through nearly 9,000 churches, 6,000 community agencies, and more than 300,000 volunteers. Through Love INC, caring Christians are providing help, hope, and God’s love to neighbours in need. [http://www.loveinc.org]

13. OPERATION NOAH’S ARK

The churches of Cardiff, Wales, are recreating Noah’s Ark using ‘Helwick LV 14’, a ship docked in Cardiff Bay, to highlight climate change. The idea is part of Operation Noah’s Ark, a Christian–led campaign that aims to unite churches, environmental groups and individuals in a call for urgent action at the Copenhagen climate talks at the end of this year. Cardiff’s Ark project will involve schoolchildren, teachers, parents, churches, environmentalists, development organisations, a Salvation Army band, a gospel choir and live animals. The Ark symbolises the need to protect life on our planet, and is one of many Arks being recreated by churches in Britain and Ireland. [UK Church Times, 14 Jan.’09]

14. FINLAND’S NOKIA REVIVAL

Over the past 18 years an estimated 15,000 people have come to Jesus through the “Nokia Revival,” a celebration that began when former Lutheran vicar Markku Koivisto was miraculously healed of terminal cancer in 1991. After Koivisto parted with the Lutheran Church, the revival continued and is now a denomination called Nokia Mission Church. The revival has reportedly helped heal many others and has been the starting point of numerous church cell groups. In the highly-secularized, sparsely-populated region of northern Europe, gatherings the size of the Nokia Revival are unusual. Finland has an estimated population of about 5 million people, with only ten percent attending church each month. [ASSIST, 7 Jan.’09]

15. NEW CHRISTIAN ONLINE SITE FOR TEENS

A recent survey reveals that teenagers spend an average of 31 hours a week online: 2 hours are spent on YouTube and in chat rooms–with one in four of the 1,000 teenagers polled by www.cybersentinel.co.uk admitting they regularly spoke to strangers online but thought it harmless. Further online time was dedicated to chatting with friends, searching cosmetic surgery and family planning websites, and investigating diets. At least 3 hours a week is spent researching homework. The latest Christian online forum, Streetbrand Magazine Community, invites young readers to share testimonies, videos, photos, advice and chat. The creators say the launch reflects their concern that ‘sites like Facebook and MySpace may lead teens to hang out with negative people’. [UK Telegraph, 10 Feb.’09; Christian Today 9 Feb.’09]

16. IN FACT:

Life expectancy in the CONGO is only 54 years. 1 child in 12 dies at birth.

17. RESOURCES

• www.audiopot.org is HCJB’s online library of sound. Free downloads of creative Christian audio for use in church, classroom or radio.
• WORLD GO! Manual available by free download from World Gospel Mission: www.wgm.org/Page.aspx?pid=4303
• “The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story” is a new feature film opening March 27, the moving story of the spirited man who spent four decades carrying a 12-foot wooden cross to 315 nations around the world, sharing the love of Christ with everyone he met. Blessitt survived multiple dangers, including 52 war zones, firing squads, beatings and jungles.
• Resources for Global Poverty Prayer Week, 23 Feb. to 1 March, including a DVD, from: http://www.tearfund.org/Praying/Global+Poverty+Prayer+Week

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NEWS BYTES is compiled monthly by Debbie Meroff of OM International, based in London, England. Material may be freely copied and forwarded. Items do not necessarily reflect OM’s position and questions should be directed to the original news source.
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