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The parents of 18-year-old Ingy Helmy Georgy Labibe continue to be unsuccessful in their attempts to retrieve their daughter since she was abducted Jan. 4 while shopping in her hometown of Mahala el Kobra, Egypt. Unable to locate her, the family turned to local police officers for help, but they refused to file a missing person report. Soon after, the parents were notified that their daughter was in the custody of Fahmy Taha Mahmoud and would officially be converted to Islam. The Copts Association reports that at 18 years of age, the woman is still considered a juvenile under Egyptian law which prohibits the conversion of minors. The report added that the woman is "vulnerable to episodes of depression and has been medically diagnosed with a psychological condition." Despite the family's repeated offers to pay a ransom, Labibe has not been returned. Again the family sought police assistance, but Police Chief Mahmoud Mohammed Hamid still refuses to file a report on Labibe's disappearance. Authorities also turned down the family's requests for the woman to be physically examined to assess whether she had been sexually violated. Michael Meunier, president of the U.S. Copts Association, said that young Christian women in Egypt are vulnerable to attacks and "have repeatedly been the targets of Muslim extremists, intent on converting them to Islam." (Assist News Service)

CONFERENCE PROMPTS RECONCILIATION AMONG BURKINA FASO PASTORS

A recent Frontline Shepherds' Conference sponsored by Global Advance Ministries in Burkina Faso brought more than just much-needed teaching to a group of pastors, says mission spokesman Marc Rylander. "When these men started boarding this bus from different backgrounds and different denominations . . . it was literal silence," he said. "They had not spoken to each other. It was as if they were enemies because they just happened to be from different denominational backgrounds." Rylander says aside from teaching there was, more importantly, healing in the evangelical community. "For three days they attended our Frontline Shepherd's Conference, so they had to interact, they had to minister together, and in the midst of that God was doing a unique thing. When they got on the bus to return to their villages, these men hugged, they prayed and they worshiped together out loud during the two or three hours that it took to get back to their village." (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio has worked alongside local partners in eight cities of Burkina Faso to help begin local radio ministries. Broadcasts air in nine languages: Arabic, Bissa, Dioula, French, Fulfuldé, Goulmacéma, Kasséna, Lélé and Mooré. Partner stations are being planned for an additional two cities in Burkina Faso.

CHRISTIAN LITERACY CENTERS HELP SPREAD GOSPEL ACROSS INDIA

An innovative approach to literacy in India is opening doors for ministry despite the spread of anti-Christian sentiment, says Roger Massey of the World Bible Translation Center. "What our Bangalore office has begun doing is working together with the government, using the book of Proverbs and the Gospel of Mark as reading primers," he says. "They've established about literacy centers. As a result of that, there are people who are becoming worshipers of Jesus." Some of their distributors have been attacked and chased out of villages. While many do return for follow-up, Massey says this is a matter of prayer. "They'll be facing more opposition from religious activists who are against the message of Christ. Pray that the Lord will protect them as they go out in remote areas. Pray that the Lord will give them boldness, and that they wouldn't shy away from what they've been called to do." (Mission Network News)

* "The Voice of the Great Southland," the shortwave station operated by HCJB World Radio-Australia, airs more than 44 hours of weekly English programming across India. Two half-hour programs in Urdu, airing Monday through Saturday, went on the air in July 2003, and a daily 15-minute program in Hindi began in January. A studio with programming and a follow-up center has been established in New Delhi. In partnership with FEBA Radio, HCJB World Radio also airs weekly Christian programs to eastern India via shortwave in three languages: Bhojpuri, Chattisgarhi and Mundari.

GERMAN LUTHERANS CONVERT PUB INTO WORSHIP CENTER

Converting churches into pubs is nothing new in secularized Germany, but now a pub has been transformed into a church. In Hildesheim (near Hanover) worshipers follow a Lutheran liturgy where beer and schnapps used to flow freely. The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church -- a theologically conservative church in partnership with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the USA -- has remodeled a former pub near the city center. The congregation needed new premises because the lease for the previous building on the outskirts had expired. The 30 members of the church then renovated the pub within five months, doing most of the work themselves. Representatives of neighboring Lutheran and Roman Catholic parishes attended the consecration ceremony. Superintendent Markus Mueller reminded the congregation of the previous use of the building. Men and women had come to the pub to drown their sorrows in alcohol. They were yearning for a wholesome and meaningful life. "But beer and schnapps would never get them there," he said. "Only Jesus could fulfill their deepest needs and bring them a new life." (IDEA)

AMERICAN, ARAB PASTORS TEAM UP TO COMBAT RELIGIOUS HATRED

As the seemingly never-ending cycle of violence continues in the Middle East, an American and an Arab pastor have joined together to issue an urgent appeal for "people of faith" to help "rid the world of religious hatred." Pastors Garry Ansdell of Hosanna Chapel in Bellflower, Calif., and Ameal Haddad of the Bellflower Church of God have co-founded Ambassadors for Peace in a bid to get people from around the world to sign on to resolution calling for the end of religious hate. "We have drafted a resolution for people of goodwill to sign, and by so doing they say they'll no longer allow this unbridled religious hatred to continue unabated," said Ansdell. "This is not about politics or ecumenical movements but it is about the divine right for all people to make choices and stand up for what they believe without fear of reprisal. We want the ability to share our faith no matter what." Haddad, who hails from Jordan, added, "Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Christians must be free -- whether in Saudi Arabia, Asia, the U.S., Syria or Sudan -- to share their beliefs. We can no longer be silent. We seek freedom of religion, freedom of worship, and freedom to debate. Let everyone quote from their own book the whole truth from it without hiding or covering parts of it, regardless of its offence." (Assist News Service)

EVANGELIST AIMS TO MOBILIZE 1 MILLION CHRISTIANS TO PRAY FOR U.S.

International evangelist Morris Cerullo hopes to mobilize 1 million Christians in prayer for the U.S. through his "Save America Now" campaign, launched earlier this year. Cerullo believes that disaster is looming for the nation. "God was faithfully revealing His prophetic secrets to His servants (Amos 3:7), not to scare -- but to prepare -- in this case a mighty prayer initiative that would pierce the darkness and push back the forces of the enemy that are set against America -- while issuing a 2 Chronicles 7:14 call to national repentance and prayer," Cerullo said in a website report. Thousands of churches took part in a week of prayer and fasting Feb. 7-14. Cerullo's ministry also has run full-page ads in leading newspapers such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post in an effort to raise awareness about the prayer call and to educate the nation about its Christian heritage. A national TV special is planned for the last weekend in October to "send voters into the polling booths in a spirit of prayer," Cerullo added. (Charisma News Service)

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