Rev. Naw-Karl Mua, a Lutheran pastor to the Hmong community in St. Paul, Minn., has been arrested in Laos along with two European journalists. All are accused of murder, a charge that an international reporters' advocacy group calls "grotesque and absurd," reported The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Reporters Without Borders, an organization based in Paris, said the journalists were detained while doing a story about Hmong rebels who have battled Laos' communist government since 1975. It is unclear where the group is being held. The official Lao News Agency reported Wednesday that Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise and French cameraman Vincent Reynaud were arrested along with an "American of Hmong origin" for helping "bandits" kill a security official in the remote northeastern village of Khai. Bishop Peter Rogness of the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said his office has been working with the State Department and congressional offices to find Mua. His wife, Sue, said she just wants the "U.S. government to work with the Laotian government to bring my husband home." All three were reported to be "physically well." Mua entered Laos on May 23 to help the churches and address the issue of human rights abuses in Laos. Fluent in English, French, Hmong and Laotian, he also served as a translator for the two journalists. (Assist News Service)

3 BOYS KIDNAPPED BY SUDANESE GOVERNMENT DIE IN CAPTIVITY

The three young boys who were among 16 persons kidnapped by Sudanese government forces May 22 have been killed in captivity, a ministry called Servant's Heart learned on June 8. The remaining seven women and six young girls are reportedly being held at the Sudanese government's military headquarters near southern Sudan's Adar Yel oilfields. There is concern that if not released, the women will be forcibly converted to Islam or "married" to military officers, and the girls sold as slaves. In addition to the kidnappings during the May 22 attack on 10 non-Muslim villages, 59 people were also killed, including the region's only pastor, Jacob Manyal. His wife was not killed as reported earlier, but remains in captivity. Her two sons, Ruon, 6, and Reath, 4, and a 4-year-old boy named Duoth Chuol Kuon were later murdered. (Voice of the Martyrs/Freedom Now News)

MISSIONARY BEATEN IN INDIA'S RAJASTHAN STATE

A native missionary from the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan was attacked by opponents of the gospel recently while visiting a village. The missionary, who lived in a neighboring town, visited the village to conduct a regular Sunday meeting for believers. As he was boarding a bus to return home, a group of fanatics surrounded him and began to beat him. One man lashed the missionary with his belt while others kicked him until he lay helpless on the ground. His attackers threatened him, saying if they saw him again in their village, they would kidnap or even kill him. After they left, the missionary made his way to the home of believers where he was cared for. The leader of the Rajasthan-based ministry asked for prayer that this man and others like him would be strong in the face of so much persecution in Rajasthan. The leader added that many missionaries are being sued in courts throughout India. The lawsuits are harassment suits, seeking to frustrate the advance of the gospel, not because the missionaries have acted illegally, he said. (Missions Insider)

MINISTRY MOVES AHEAD ON SATELLITE RADIO NETWORK FOR HAITI

A satellite radio network is going into Haiti with the main purpose of evangelism. It's the latest phase of the project, "Operation Saturation," with the goal of giving every Haitian access to the gospel. Wayne King of Men for Missions International lays out the backbone of the ministry's vision. "We have just completed our uplink to the satellite system, and the signal is strong," he says. "We are now ready to move strongly throughout the entire country of Haiti." Donors have given funds to distribute more than 42,000 fix-tuned radios throughout the country. These radios are designed to pick up only the local Christian station. (Mission Network News)

SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH VOTES TO ORDAIN WOMEN BISHOPS

The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC), meeting in Edinburgh from June 12-14, made a historic decision today (Friday, June 13) by voting to accept women bishops and ending centuries of male-led tradition. At the 2002 General Synod most of the 156 members supported the motion which gave churches throughout Scotland the opportunity to spend a year discussing the issue further in their own dioceses. The motion received its second and final reading on Friday and required a two-thirds majority for it to be passed. Out of 153 votes cast, 124 voted in favor, including all seven bishops of the SEC. Until now only the Anglican/Episcopal Churches in the U.S., Canada and New Zealand have elected women as bishops. (Anglican Communion News Service)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO'S SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT GETS ALUMNI AWARD

HCJB World Radio Senior Vice President Dr. Jim Allen is the latest recipient of the Clyde Cook Missions Award from Biola University in California. Presented by the school's alumni association during the annual "Alumni Family Weekend," Allen was recognized for his "overall service, contribution and commitment to the mission field in accomplishing the Great Commission."

Rick Bee, senior director of alumni and friends at Biola, says Allen was selected because of his "years of service and commitment in the area of missions. He is an unsung hero who has been effective and consistent in service and has a real heart to serve the Lord."

The award was given in honor of Biola University President Dr. Clyde Cook who served as a missionary to the Orient after graduating from Biola and Talbot Seminary in La Mirada, Calif. The award was presented at the university's chapel service Friday, Feb. 28.

Allen says it was a "big surprise and honor" to be selected. "This award is an added confirmation of God's call on my life to serve Him in missions. It serves as a validation on our obedience to follow Him, seeking to make disciples of all nations. It is also a very humbling recognition of a task that I feel most unworthy to carry out."

A 1964 graduate of Biola, Allen also graduated from Talbot in 1966 and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Ore., in 1980. After 21 years of pastoral ministry, including 10 years as senior pastor of Montavilla Baptist Church, in Portland, Allen and his wife, Trish, joined HCJB World Radio as missionaries in 1984. During their first years in Ecuador, Allen served as interim pastor at English Fellowship Church in Quito, a ministry to the local English-speaking community.

A gifted communicator, Bible teacher, administrator and counselor, he later became assistant to the president and has served as senior vice president since 1997. He also oversaw the mission's world offices for many years and continues as director of world offices relations. As a result, the Allens have traveled extensively worldwide. "Trish and I get our deepest satisfaction from seeing God at work in the hearts and lives of our missionaries and knowing that He has allowed us to spend time with them in one setting or another," he says. (HCJB World Radio)

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