A school for missionary children that closed in the fall of 2002 due to armed conflicts in the country will reopen in September 2004. The board of the International Christian Academy (ICA), meeting in late January at the campus in Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), that had miraculously escaped damage during the fighting, decided unanimously to prepare for the reopening. The decision was based on a number of factors: suitability of the campus, availability of qualified and committed staff members, favorable developments in the country, and the "consensus that God was leading each participant and board member to make this decision." Board members recognized that a "certain level of risk remains, and each family will make its decision to send their children to ICA based on the clear leading of the Lord for them individually." The school will resume on a smaller scale than before the war. Special efforts will be made to better serve the needs of families that home-school their children. (SIM)

* Fréquence Vie (Frequency Life), an HCJB World Radio partner FM station operated by SIM and local churches in the coastal city of Abidjan, broadcasts a message of hope and encouragement in Côte d'Ivoire. The station airs 17 hours of daily programming in French and local languages.

MOLDOVAN OFFICIALS RENEW CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION LICENSES

Florin Pindic Blaj of Little Samaritan Mission stood in awe as the communist government in Moldova granted him an extension on radio licenses for 13 Christian radio stations. Blaj says the charity work the ministry conducts was taken into consideration in the license renewal process. "We still provide for 10,000 orphans," he said, adding that the ministry provides food containers and about 7,000 winter coats. Blaj said the radio stations are overrun with telephone calls and letters from people seeking information on the gospel. The staff has received more than 5,000 telephone calls asking for counseling and prayer. (Mission Network News)

ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS IN 5 INDIAN STATES CONCERN U.S. CONGRESSMEN

Four U.S congressman who recently traveled to India to investigate religious freedom in that country expressed concerns about anti-conversion laws that have been adopted in five of the country's states. The delegation, sponsored by Jubilee Campaign, a human rights organization that focuses on international religious liberty, visited a humanitarian project in Bombay, met with Muslim victims of violence in Gujarat, and toured a resettlement area. The delegation included Congressmen Joseph Pitts, Steve Chabot, Trent Franks and Todd Akin. Franks said he was "very grateful for the opportunity to participate in what was a compelling trip to India. With the embrace of new market reforms and a population of 1.05 billion, half of whom are under 25 years old, India has the technological and human resource potential of becoming a major world leader in the years ahead. We appreciated meeting with government leaders, and their willingness to discuss religious freedom openly and frankly, and I look forward to continued dialogue on this and other topics of mutual interest to our nations." A report from Jubilee added that the congressmen were "especially concerned to learn that five states have enacted anti-conversion laws that intimidate low-caste Hindus from converting to another religion, and that a national anti-conversion law is on the table." Critics argue that the new rule denies the right to religious faith guaranteed by India's constitution and implies that Dalits are incapable of making personal faith decisions. (Assist News Service)

CHRISTIAN AID MISSION LAUNCHES APPEAL TO HELP UGANDAN REFUGEES

Christian Aid Mission launched an appeal Monday, Feb. 2, to help victims of the ongoing conflict in northern Uganda. Fighting between the Ugandan government and the rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) began in 1986 and is characterized by human rights abuses against civilians and extreme brutality. The abduction of children by the LRA has terrorized communities in the north. Abducted children, some as young as 5, are used as porters, soldiers and sex slaves. In June 2003 the fighting escalated from the north into the eastern Teso region, displacing more than 300,000 people. This brings the total number of Ugandan refugees to more than 1.4 million. Christian Aid Mission partners are providing emergency aid to the newly displaced persons and educating people in camps about basic hygiene, nutrition and HIV/AIDS. It is also helping 472 displaced families affected by HIV by providing household kits containing food, cooking oil and utensils, blankets and soap. Some 11,000 people in isolated refugee camps are receiving mosquito nets to help prevent malaria. "There is great mistrust between government troops and the population because of allegations of corruption and human rights abuses," says Dan Silvey, Africa policy officer at Christian Aid Mission. "Many people in the north question the government's commitment to ending the war when many of its troops have been deployed outside the country." (Christian Aid Mission)

* HCJB World Radio, together with the Evangelical Churches of Kampala and FEBA Radio, broadcasts the gospel locally in Uganda on two FM transmitters. HCJB World Radio also worked with Jesus Focus Ministries to put a 500-watt FM station on the air in Masaka. Programs air in English and Luganda.

NEW TRIBES MISSION BEGINS WORK AMONG UNREACHED TRIBE IN GUINEA

New Tribes Mission (NTM) has begun working among an unreached tribe in the West African country of Guinea. NTM spokesman Jim Sheffield says work with the Landuma tribe is still in the early phase of evangelism, and there are only a few Christians in the area. The goal is to plant a church, disciple the believers, ordain church leadership and translate the Bible into a language that tribal members can read and understand. The work is not without obstacles. Tribal members are "not very open" to the gospel as they face increasing social pressures from the tribal religious leaders who do not want to see change. Missionaries recently assigned to the village of Landuma are also struggling with the hardships that come with living in a Third World country. (Mission Network News)

'SPIRITUAL MOTHER' OF CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT DIES AT AGE 85

Fuchsia Pickett, renowned Bible teacher, author and a "spiritual mother" in the charismatic movement, died in her Tennessee home early Friday, Jan. 30. Pickett, whose more than 50 years of ministry influenced many Christian leaders, was 85. Pickett's friends and her pastor said she was recovering from pneumonia, but died of natural causes. Although she once traveled extensively, preaching, writing and teaching, Pickett's deteriorating health had prevented her from maintaining a rigorous speaking schedule. Judy Wirt, administrator of Fuchsia Pickett Ministries for the last three years, said Pickett was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia in October. Bible teacher/author Judson Cornwall, a close friend of Pickett, said she will be "greatly missed by Christians worldwide. Her insight into the Scriptures was phenomenal." Pickett didn't fit the mold of a charismatic teacher. Reared in a Methodist family and educated at John Wesley College, she served as an ordained Methodist minister for 17 years. In 1959 she was dramatically healed of Hodgkin's disease and joined a Pentecostal Holiness church. She stepped into the pulpit at a time when women's callings were typically confined to the nursery, and she taught on the importance of a crucified life when self-promotion and prosperity were the hallmarks of prominent ministries. Her teaching combined prophetic revelation and verse-by-verse exposition. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)

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