As severe drought spreads in Kenya where crops have failed in the five of the country's eight provinces, relief agencies are bringing both physical and spiritual encouragement. Dave Evans of Food for the Hungry, for example, says the ministry's teams have switched from working on long-term projects to addressing the most urgent needs. "There are pockets in Kenya where you have almost nothing produced," he says. "So these are the areas that we will be focusing on. Without outside assistance, there will be some malnutrition and probably loss of life." Evans says the teams have a holistic approach to ministry in Kenya. "This might be talking to people about the gospel. It might be demonstrating ways of handing out food and actually working on longer term relief and rehabilitation and development activities that allow them to talk about God's sovereignty and God's love for these people." (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local partners to install radio ministries in Nairobi (two stations), Mombasa and Tinderet.

HEALTH OF JAILED CHRISTIAN CUBAN DISSIDENT SAID TO BE FAILING

The health of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, one of Cuba's most prominent dissidents, is said to be deteriorating a month after prison officials stopped outsiders from bringing him food and other basic supplies. His wife, Elsa, and other relatives attempted to visit him on Monday, July 12, but were forced to leave with the food and toiletry items that they had brought for him. "I know that my husband's life is in danger, and I welcome the urgent intercession of all men and women of goodwill in the world, including Cuban authorities," she said in a statement. "This man does not deserve to die in a dungeon. He and his family have lost everything, except God, for the noble cause of human rights. He deserves a just treatment. He is not a danger to society and deserves to be free with his family and people." Biscet's meager rations have been reduced to almost nothing, forcing him to live off handouts from fellow prisoners, said U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. Biscet is languishing in a "three-by-six-foot cell with insufficient light and ventilation, no shower or running water, a hole for the toilet and no bed," his wife added. He is prohibited from keeping any personal possessions, including his Bible. A Christian medical doctor and pro-life activist, Biscet was sentenced to 25 years in jail April 7, 2003, as part of a massive crackdown on human rights activists in Cuba. (BosNewsLife)

* HCJB World Radio continues to air Spanish programs to Cuba via shortwave from South America. Hundreds of listeners have enrolled in the ministry's "Bible Institute of the Air," a Spanish correspondence program incorporating radio broadcasts. In addition, numerous pastors' workshops sponsored by Apoyo, a joint training ministry with Leadership Resources International, have been held in Cuba since the mid-1990s.

NIGERIAN BELIEVERS ACCUSE STATE GOVERNOR OF LEADING PERSECUTION

Gov. Alhaji Ahmed Sani of Nigeria's Zamfara state, who first introduced sharia (Islamic law) in the country four years ago, is being accused by Zamfara's Christians of religious persecution. The state's Islamic government recently said it would demolish all churches it marked as "illegal structures," close all businesses belonging to Christians during Muslim prayers, and enforce a new law banning clothing that is not compliant with sharia. In addition, the Zamfara state government has decreed payment of school tuition for Christian children. While Muslim students do not pay tuition fees in the state, Christian students are charged the equivalent of $50 to $250 per term. Saidu Dogo, secretary general of the Christian Association of Nigeria, says the implementation of sharia in Zamfara and other northern states is aimed at eliminating Christians and their religion. (Compass)

PORTUGAL'S EVANGELICAL LEADERS AIM TO PLANT 4,000 CHURCHES BY 2015

Following extensive discussions, the leaders of Portugal's Evangelical Alliance unanimously ratified "Portugal 2015," a long-term strategy to plant 4,000 churches in the country in the next 11 years. Following careful research under the coordination of pastor Paulo Méndez, a missionary Bible teacher from Brazil, the nation's evangelical leaders decided on this national missionary project using the long-term strategy from Discipling a Whole Nation (DAWN). In order to reach the goal, the current rate of church planting must continue for the next decade. (FridayFax/DAWN Europe)

CHURCH-PLANTING EFFORTS CONTINUE TO BEAR FRUIT IN GERMANY

While evangelical Christians make up only 3 percent of Germany's population, a paradigm shift is taking place, says Greater Europe Mission's Fred McRae. "The situation for church planting in Germany has really turned the corner, and as a church planter I would say Germany, relatively speaking, compared to where it used to be, is a church-planting paradise." More than 1,000 churches have been established in Germany the last 15 to 20 years. He says the battle in this effort isn't against the post-Christian culture, but against Christians who often lack the motivation needed to plant churches. McRae is also concerned about mission groups. "Mission organizations are still working in Germany and in Europe the way it was done 40 to 50 years ago. I'm afraid that the organizations are going to miss the paradigm shift that God has brought about." He adds that church-planting consultants are needed to motivate and train more German believers. (Mission Network News)

BAPTIST LEADER URGES CHRISTIANS TO FOCUS ON 'GOD'S KINGDOM AGENDA'

Southern Baptists are being called to adopt a lifestyle of "holy living, sacrificial service and global witness" through the Southern Baptist Convention's effort known as EKG or "Empowering Kingdom Growth." Ken Hemphill, author of The Heartbeat of God and national strategist for EKG, a joint initiative of the SBC and LifeWay Christian Resources, encourages Christians to examine themselves to see if they are focused on "God's kingdom agenda." God is searching for believers who will make His kingdom and its righteousness their chief priorities, he says. "What God is looking for is a church, a denomination, a family, a teenager or young person who would be courageous enough to say, 'No matter what the climate and current of our day is, I'm going to live up to the standard of God's name.'" Hemphill contends that Christians cannot experience true joy and abundance until they are fully focused on God. Until that happens, efforts at self-fulfillment will only be met with frustration. "We spend about 11 percent of our income on entertainment," he said. "We're the most entertained generation that's ever been, and yet we're so bored that we don't know what to do." (AgapePress)

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