*Tato a další zprávy jsou v originální anglické verzi zde.

© Copyright 2005 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org

The bodies of Richard and Charlene Hicks, a North American missionary couple serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, were found dead outside their burned home in southern Guyana the evening of Wednesday, March 30. Police in the South American country said the body of Richard, 42, was badly burned while that of Charlene, 58, appeared to have been killed by a heavy blow. The U.S. Embassy in Georgetown reported that the details surrounding their deaths are inconclusive, but local officials are investigating the incident as a double homicide. The Hicks had been working in Guyana since 1994, translating the Bible into the Wapishana language, spoken by the main group in the remote area. Charlene grew up in a missionary family in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas. Rich, a Canadian, grew up in South Africa where his parents were involved in missions work. After Rich finished college he worked in cabbage and sauerkraut production in Nova Scotia. Char finished college and began to teach, eventually teaching missionary children in Mexico and in other schools around the world. After further education in Saskatchewan and an extended visit to Guatemala, Rich began linguistics training in Dallas where he met Char in 1990. They married in 1992, and two years later they went to Guyana to help with language development and translation. The couple had no children. (Wycliffe Bible Translators/WorldWide Religious News/Associated Press)

TURKMENISTAN POLICE FINE 5 BAPTISTS FOR HOLDING 'ILLEGAL' SERVICE

Despite being members of a nationally registered church in Turkmenistan, five Baptists in the eastern city of Turkmenabad were taken to the local police station, interrogated, fingerprinted and fined 1.5 million manats (US$60) each for holding an "illegal" church service. If they fail to pay by April 10, the fines will be doubled. They were held for five hours and pressured to write statements about why they had become Christians and what religious activity they were involved in. All five were eventually freed after midnight, but told to report again the following morning with their identity documents. When they returned to the police station, they were met by officials from the prosecutor's office who explained that if the Baptists' registration was indeed in order they would not be punished. However, the case was then handed to the secret police which continued to seek punishment. When the officers raided the Baptists' home meeting the evening of Tuesday, March 1, they insulted one of the Baptists, asking her why she was a Christian and insisting that she follow her ancestors' Islamic faith. "The security police don't even know the new religion law which allows us to meet," one of the members complained. "They just wanted to make fun of [us]." (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Back to the Bible to air Christian programs in the Turkmen language. Broadcasts began in 2001 and have been aired daily since 2003.

UZBEK POLICE ARREST JEHOVAH'S WITNESS, PRESSURE HIM TO DENY FAITH

On Friday, March 4, Jehovah's Witness Oleg Umarov was summoned to the local police station in the Yunusabad district of Uzbekistan. Two secret police officers then reportedly pressured him to renounce his faith. Umarov had recently completed a five-day prison sentence with a fellow Jehovah's Witness on charges of "disruptive behavior." Jehovah's Witness spokesman Andrei Shirobokov said he believes authorities were trying to "frighten fellow Jehovah's Witnesses" in this district of the city. Trouble began for Umarov and fellow Jehovah's Witness Dmitri Plashchev on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when they were detained by police outside their home. The two men were taken to the police station where they were beaten and thrown into a cell. Shirobokov reported that the two secret police officers who later questioned Umarov claimed they would seize other Jehovah's Witnesses. "This clearly shows that the arrest of the two Jehovah's Witnesses for disruptive behavior was pure fabrication," Shirobokov said. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio airs weekly Uzbek programs from an AM station outside the country. A total of 15 million people speak this language.

IBS RELEASES CONTEMPORARY URDU BIBLE TRANSLATION IN INDIA

International Bible Society (IBS) released its contemporary Urdu Bible translation at a ceremony in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, March 1. The translation makes God's Word accessible in modern language to more than 400 million Urdu speakers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Europe. "We determined that a new translation was needed because the Urdu-speaking people, most of whom are Muslim, were using a 1935 revision of a translation originally done 160 years ago," said IBS Group Vice President PLN Murthy. The translation culminates 13 years of work by a team of 25 scholars from South Asia led by Dr. Sam Bhajjan, a distinguished scholar in Islamic studies. Mike Richards Sr., chairman of the IBS Board, presented the Urdu Bible to Arjun Singh, India's cabinet minister for human resources. The next day IBS leaders met in New Delhi with a delegation of Muslim leaders who had traveled from various parts of northern India. Richards and IBS President Peter Bradley read Scripture portions that emphasize the power and promises in God's Word. They also presented a copy of the Urdu Bible to each Muslim leader and played selected passages as they followed along in their new Bibles. (International Bible Society)

STUDY: INCREASING NUMBER OF U.S. CHRISTIANS SKIP CHURCH SERVICES

The latest study by the Barna Group identifies a growing trend for spiritual Americans to exercise their faith in places other than church, and George Barna said it would not be surprising if a larger portion of the born-again population shifts "from the 'churched' to 'unchurched' column of the ledger in the next 10 years." Barna found that one out of five unchurched people read the Bible in a typical week, six out of 10 pray to God each week, and 5 percent have shared their faith in Jesus Christ with people who are not professing Christians during the past year. Also, nearly 1 million unchurched adults tithe their income, though the money typically goes to a variety of parachurch ministries rather than a local church. During a typical month, six out of 10 unchurched adults worship God in a place other than a church service. Three out of 10 study the Bible, and one out of seven have times of prayer and Bible reading with family members. Four out of 10 seek Christian enrichment through television, radio, magazines or faith-based websites, and one-fourth of unchurched adults claim to have conversations with one or more friends who hold them accountable for carrying out their faith principles. Overall, Barna concluded that one in three American adults are unchurched. (Religion Today/Baptist Press)

CHRISTIAN CHEERLEADERS OPEN DOORS TO SHARE GOSPEL IN U.S., BEYOND

A Georgia-based organization is bringing together cheerleaders who have a passion for Christ and a desire to be servant leaders. It was nearly 20 years ago when the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders was formed. John Blake, the ministry's national event coordinator, says there are many cheerleaders who want to honor God with their talents and gifts. "We want to use cheerleading as a way that we can reach out," Blake said. "We want to equip them to be servant leaders -- to be leaders who lead by example -- not in a negative light, but in one that's positive and uplifting like a cheerleader should be." The ministry has chapters and members throughout the U.S. and reaches out to cheerleading clubs as well as to private and public schools. "We see the public schools and the all-star squads as our outreach opportunities, our ministry. We don't want to be secluded, we don't want to be in a bubble; we want to reach out and let them know that a Christian organization has excellence as well," Blake said. The ministry is sponsoring mission trips to the Czech Republic and Russia this year. The group is also hosting a national competition in Orlando, Fla., in early April. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

© Copyright 2005 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org