Zprávy HCJB 12.1.2006

 LIDÉ POSTIŽENÍ ZEMĚTŘESENÍM V PÁKISTÁNU SE PŘIPRAVUJÍ NA NÁPOR TUHÉ ZIMY
   Zima neobyčejnou silou sevřela řadu míst Asie. Přes 2 miliony lidí, kteří přežili zemětřesení v Kašmíru, čeká tento týden silné sněžení. „Nemají stany se zimní vložkou, žádná kamna. aby se ohřáli nebo si něco uvařili,“ řekl Kevin Turner z organizace Strategic World Impact (SWI). „Děti bez bot stojí ve sněhu.“ Extrémní podmínky by mohly ztížit práci týmu SWI směřujícímu do oblasti tuto neděli. I když jde převážně o muslimskou oblast, Turner věří, že křesťané zde mohou přispět k lepšímu poznání. „Obyvatelé jsou naprosto ohromeni, když vidí křesťany přicházející jim na pomoc,“ řekl Turner. SWI nedávno v Pákistánu pořádala výukovou konferenci, které se zúčastnilo přes 50 pastorů – mužů toužících věnovat své životy evangeliu. „Někteří pastoři jsou vystrašeni a lze tomu porozumět,“ řekl Turner. „Kostely jsou vypalovány do základů, lidé znásilňováni nebo zabíjeni, je to hrozné. Ale kalamita tříbí. Když udeří kalamita, je to příležitost - odrazový můstek pro církev k působení na místě, k působení Kristova těla svědectvím mezi postiženými, bez ohledu na jejich náboženství, a ukazovat jim cestu k pravdě.“ (Mission Network News)
 
 VŠECHNY ZPRÁVY V ANGLIČTINĚ
   MUSLIM MAN DROPS ‘BLASPHEMY’ CHARGE AGAINST PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN

A Pakistani Muslim in the Punjabi town of Sangla Hill dropped formal charges last week against a Christian he had accused of setting fire to pages of the Koran. Mohammed Saleem’s accusations last November triggered a violent reprisal from local Muslims, destroying four churches and landing Yousaf Masih in jail for allegedly desecrating the Koran. As part of a reconciliation agreement reached by local Muslim and Christian leaders on Thursday, Jan. 5, Saleem signed an affidavit declaring Masih innocent. Local Christian leaders agreed not to press charges against the mob of 2,000 Muslims who attacked the town’s Christian community. Police have held 88 rioters in custody since the assault. It is not yet clear how the agreement will affect legal proceedings. Bail has been denied to the rioters, and Masih also remains under arrest. (Compass)

EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS IN PAKISTAN BRACE FOR BLAST OF WINTER COLD

More than 2 million people, all survivors of the earthquake that hit the Kashmir region of Pakistan, face heavy snow this weekend as unusually cold weather tightens its grip across much of Asia. “They don’t have winterized tents, no stoves for heat or cooking,” said Kevin Turner of Strategic World Impact (SWI). “Children are standing in the snow without shoes.” It could also cause problems for a team from SWI heading to the region this Sunday. While this is a predominantly Muslim area, Turner believes Christians can make a difference. “They’re absolutely flabbergasted when they see Christians are coming in to assist them,” he said. SWI recently held a training conference in Pakistan attended by more than 50 pastors -- men who are willing to lay down their lives for the gospel. “Some of the pastors are scared and you can understand why,” Turner explained. “Churches are burned to the ground, people are raped and killed, and it’s terrible. However, calamity clarifies. When calamity strikes it’s the opportunity . . . a stepping stone for the church to be there and be the body of Christ, ministering to the afflicted, no matter what their religion, pointing them to the truth.” (Mission Network News)

CHURCH IN IRAN GROWS AMID INCREASING PERSECUTION

American evangelist Sammy Tippit says the church in Iran is growing despite increasing persecution against Christians in the country. “One of the things that has happened is that when threats begin to come against Christians, those who are in leadership are pressed into a corner where they have to raise up other leaders because they know that they could be taken away at any moment,” he said. “God just has a way of turning those types of things into something good for His glory.” Many Christians live under the constant threat of harassment, imprisonment or even death. “We do know of some instances where people have been arrested just . . . for meeting together with other Christians in their homes,” Tippit said. He recounted an incident in which a Turkish Christian was sharing his faith with people from the same ethnic background living in Iran “Just within the last week-and-a-half, he was martyred.” (AgapePress)

GERMAN YOUTH CONFERENCE CONFIRMS HIGH INTEREST IN MISSIONS

A youth conference for world missions in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 8, registered 6,000 participants between the ages of 15 and 25, showing this generation’s interest in missions and evangelism. Detlef Bloecher, director of the German Missionary Fellowship and chairman of the Association of Evangelical Missions, reminded the conference participants of the need to fulfill the Great Commission. Erwin Damson, executive director of the evangelical Ludwig-Hofacker Association which organized the conference, said the event proves that young Christians are not self-centered but interested in reaching out with the gospel. (Assist News Service)

HUNDREDS OF CHURCHES JOIN INITIATIVE TO END HOMELESSNESS IN DENVER

The Denver Post reported that more than 450 religious leaders took part Tuesday, Jan. 10, in the official kickoff of a new effort to help homeless families and seniors find housing. The “Family and Senior Homeless Initiative: One Congregation, One Family” program is part of Mayor John Hickenlooper’s 10-year plan to end homelessness in Denver. Since the program’s start in July, more than 55 homeless families and one senior have been paired with mentoring teams from 45 area congregations. Of those, 47 families have been placed in permanent housing. When a church congregation commits to working with a homeless family, it gives $1,200 to the Denver Rescue Mission which will find a home for the family and pay for its first month’s rent and deposit. Mentors meet with the family seven times during a four- to six-month period to teach such things as budgeting and parenting skills, keeping a job, and getting information on community resources. (Religion Today)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO CAPTURES VISION TO BRING HEALING TO THE NATIONS

While HCJB World Radio is best known for its radio outreach started 75 years ago in Quito, Ecuador, the mission has been involved in medical ministries for more than 50 years, operating two hospitals, nine medical clinics and a community development outreach. Now the ministry has a vision to work with medical partners around the world, putting “hands and feet” to its broadcasting outreach.

“We’ve learned some lessons, and now it’s time to look outside of Ecuador and into the rest of Latin America and the world,” said International Healthcare Coordinator Sheila Leech. “We’ve already been involved to a limited extent with projects outside of Ecuador for years. The program to eliminate river blindness, for example, has been used as a model in Colombia and Venezuela.

“In the last couple of years we’ve partnered with a group in Bolivia, helping them start a mobile medical clinic ministry by donating our older, renovated truck for their use. Staff members now speak at conferences outside of Ecuador and have been sent to Africa to explore potential partnerships.”

This year the potential of going abroad to help people with their medical and spiritual needs became acutely evident as three relief teams from Ecuador traveled to Indonesia and then Pakistan following natural disasters in those areas.

In March a team from Quito went to Nias Island, Indonesia, to help the survivors of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami. While there, an earthquake struck, and our medical team was first onsite in Nias Island to provide emergency medical care. In the fall of 2005 HCJB World Radio, in partnership with SIM International, sent two teams to a remote area of Pakistan to help victims of the Oct. 8 earthquakes which left tens of thousands dead, thousands more injured and up to 3 million homeless. Four members of the teams to Pakistan were Ecuadorians who work at Hospital Vozandes-Quito.

“We’d also like to expand our water and sanitation project ministry into Bolivia,” Leech added. “We’re also talking with potential partners in Colombia and Honduras to help them start and run community clinics through local churches. Radio programming that addresses various health issues such as HIV/AIDS is being prepared and used on local radio in Ecuador. We hope to use this programming across Latin America and beyond. We’re also looking for staff to serve in Sub-Saharan Africa with medical programs that we’re supporting in the Republic of Congo, South Africa and Malawi.”

She envisions local partners taking the lead in these ministries while HCJB World Radio’s role would be a supportive one. “I’d like to see short-term teams traveling to Africa for construction projects and having HCJB World Radio missionaries on loan to our partner ministries for defined periods of time in order to work alongside partners and train them. We could also help partners find donated equipment and supplies.”

Ecuadorians already hold many of the key leadership roles at Hospital Vozandes-Quito. “Most of the missionary doctors concentrate on medical education,” Leech explains. “The satellite clinics started by HCJB World Radio are staffed and managed nearly exclusively by Ecuadorian healthcare professionals with minimal input from missionaries. And our research lab is staffed entirely by Ecuadorians. Four of our medical clinics are owned and managed by nationals—all future clinics will run this way.

“There’s a richness in sharing ministry among missionaries and national staff. As more well-prepared nationals emerge, we’ll ensure that the best people are placed in key positions, whether missionaries or nationals.”

Leech says she is optimistic about the future as the healthcare ministries expand in Ecuador and beyond. “God has provided us with top-class facilities, and our family medicine residency is known for excellence. We plan to start training medical missionaries to serve on foreign fields. We want to see our healthcare ministries extend beyond the borders of Ecuador, Latin America and into the uttermost parts of the earth. God has allowed us 50 years to work and learn in Ecuador. Now it’s time to move out and provide integral care and healing to the nations.” (HCJB World Radio)

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