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ATTACK ON AID WORKERS IN AFGHANISTAN CONCERNS EVANGELICAL GROUPS
Taliban militants in Afghanistan are believed to be responsible for an attack that killed five people, including two Afghans and three foreign aid workers Wednesday, June 2. They were killed when their car was ambushed in northwestern Afghanistan, reported the Associated Press. The assault was the deadliest on foreign aid workers since the U.S.-led ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001, raising new security fears that already prevent agencies from operating in much of the southern and eastern Afghanistan due to the insurgents. The incident is also raising concerns among evangelical groups such as International Aid (IA) that operates a medical clinic in an Afghan village. IA President Myles Fish is concerned about a new trend. "It wasn't very long ago that someone in a military situation who wore a red cross or was involved in development work was off limits to the combatants, but that seems to be changing both in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's a matter of very grave concern." Despite the increasing violence, IA has no plans to discontinue its ministry in Afghanistan. "There are uncountable opportunities for ministry and people in need all over the world," Miles adds. "Our ability to respond to those needs is in direct proportion to the financial resources that we are granted." (Mission Network News/Associated Press)
* HCJB World Radio is bringing words of hope and encouragement to people across Afghanistan via radio. Together with partners, Christian broadcasts go out via AM in three of the country's major languages, Turkmen, Uzbek and Southern Uzbek.
U.S. SURGEON TO SEPARATE GERMAN SIAMESE TWINS IN AUGUST
Siamese twins born to an evangelical couple in Germany are in the U.S. for medical examinations and preparations for their separation. The operation is "extremely difficult" as the 9-month-old girls, Lea and Tabea, are grown together at their skulls. American surgeon Ben Carson will attempt to separate the babies in late August. Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist, is a specialist for brain surgery in children and has previously separated Siamese twins. A team of five German and five American doctors will assist Carson. The parents are ethnic Germans from Russia who belong to a Mennonite church in Germany. They prefer to remain anonymous to avoid undue publicity. For reasons of faith, they never considered abortion. Costs, including aftercare, are expected to exceed $1 million. More than $220,000 already has been donated, and the family has received numerous offers of assistance. (IDEA)
OFFICIALS IN EASTERN RUSSIA IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON EVANGELISM
In the eastern Russian region of Khabarovsk, Christians face state restrictions in sharing their faith. Pentecostals have reported restrictions on missionary activity beyond where their church is registered, while the Baptists said they need permission to hold evangelistic street concerts. Mikhail Svishchev, the regional state religious affairs official, said that religious activity in state institutions is determined by each individual institution and whether or not the religious representatives coming to them are "sound." (Forum 18 News Service)
IBS TO DISTRIBUTE SCRIPTURES TO CYCLONE VICTIMS IN BRAZIL
Beginning Tuesday, June 15, International Bible Society (IBS) will bring a message of hope through Scripture to Brazilians affected by Cyclone Catarina. The storm began on March 28, hitting 39 cities in the state of Santa Catarina and the northern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. These areas were battered by high winds and heavy rains that killed 13 people, destroyed up to 100 homes and left thousands of families homeless. Approximately 2 million people were affected by the storm that caused $300 million in damages. IBS, working with Campus Crusade for Christ and local churches, will distribute 16,600 New Testaments, Gospels of John and Scripture booklets to people affected by the cyclone. Mario Barbosa, marketing and program director for IBS-Brazil, is leading the distribution efforts. "The Scriptures will bring God's loving comfort to Brazil at a time when it has endured so many hardships due to Cyclone Catarina," he said. "Hundreds of people have lost their homes, and many other homes are damaged. It is so important to bring these people the hope of Jesus when they are facing such great devastation." Along with 13,000 IBS Portuguese New Testaments and Gospels of John, 3,600 copies of the booklets, "The True Seeker" and "What Matters," will be distributed to the victims. (International Bible Society)
* HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel in Portuguese to Brazil via shortwave from Quito, Ecuador, and maintains a world office and radio studios in Curitiba. Portuguese programs, which have been on the air continuously since 1947, generate more listener letters than any language service at Radio Station HCJB in Ecuador. The ministry's Portuguese programs also air on local radio stations across Brazil.
UKRAINE IS BECOMING 'BIBLE BELT' OF FORMER SOVIET UNION
Ukraine is quickly becoming the "Bible belt" of countries linked to the former Soviet Union, says David Shibley of Global Advance. Ukraine now supplies about 80 percent of the pastors in the Commonwealth of Independent States, he says. Global Advance recently held Frontline Shepherds conferences in Ukraine. "We were privileged to see more than 2,200 pastors and church leaders attend three Frontline Shepherds Conferences in three different cities in Ukraine," Shibley says. "The response was just overwhelming. These men have a new commitment to church planting." He adds that this part of the world is "very open to the gospel. What is new is a great evangelistic and missions vision that is now coming into the churches of Ukraine. I believe that the Ukrainian church may well lead the way in northern Europe -- at least of seeing a real vision for fulfilling the Great Commission." (Mission Network News)
10,000 CHRISTIANS TO GATHER IN NEW YORK CITY FOR PRAYER WALK
More than 10,000 Christians are expected to gather for prayer in New York City Saturday, June 5, a month after the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. Up to 250 churches representing various denominations and ethnic groups will participate in "Pray New York!" a united effort to pray for the 8 million people living in the city's five boroughs. Organized by Concerts of Prayer Greater New York in collaboration with the New York March for Jesus and New Hope New York, the event is an "unprecedented initiative to mobilize believers to spiritually and socially transform the world's most influential city," said organizer Rev. Mac Pier. "My vision for the prayer walk is to see the spiritual temperature of the city raised. I believe we are living in an unprecedented time to see our city filled with faith to a level that we haven't seen in 100 years. We want to pray that reality into our city as a united army of intercessors from every tribe and tongue. This year our focus will be on seeking freedom in Christ for the people and institutions that make up our community." (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)
FALL FORCES BILLY GRAHAM TO RESCHEDULE KANSAS CITY CRUSADE
A Billy Graham crusade originally scheduled for Kansas City June 17-20 has been rescheduled for Oct. 7-10 to give the 85-year-old evangelist time to fully recover from a fractured pelvic bone suffered in a fall at his home last month. Earlier it was announced that that Graham's crusade originally set for Pasadena, Calif., July 29-Aug. 1, had been postponed until Nov. 18-21. Graham is listed in fair condition at Mission Hospitals in Asheville, N.C., and continues to undergo rehabilitation. Meanwhile, baritone singer George Beverly Shea, 95, one of Graham's long-time associates, was released from the same facility a week after being admitted for what his physicians described as a "small heart attack" on Thursday, May 27. He will continue a program of "rest, recuperation and medical care for the next four to six weeks," said a spokesperson for Mission Hospitals. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association/Assist News Service)
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Zprávy HCJB 3.6.2004
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