Two American Christians recently returned from a two-week visit to the Kurdish region of northwestern Iraq. Dr. Paul Kingery and James Filibeck were researching a book while they traveled openly throughout the region. They found the people hospitable and open as they toured schools, markets, rural areas and other points of interest. The two were able to openly discuss their Christian beliefs while addressing difficult questions about the Trinity, Western morals and other religious topics. They found that Iraqi Christians are fleeing war-torn Baghdad for the peace and relative hardship of the Kurdish region. About 70 squatter families have settled outside the ancient graveyard outside the Kurdish regional capital of Arbil. Kingery and Filibeck are bringing other Christians back to the region in teaching positions at local universities. (Christian Newswire)

TEEN PROSTITUTION PREVENTION WORKERS ATTACKED IN INDIA

In more bad news out of India’s Rajasthan state, Hindu militants attacked workers affiliated with Salem Voice Ministries (SVM) who attempted to protect young women in the region from being forced into a life of prostitution. The ministry workers have been threatened and attacked while police allegedly have worked to discourage their efforts. SVM reported that much of the regional economy in villages surrounding Bharatpur is based on prostitution. Girls 12 to 15 years of age, though sometimes as young as 10, are pedaled on roadsides with their fathers or brothers alongside them to fix the “price.” The brother of one teenage girl said the customers are “mainly truck drivers” who pay the equivalent of about US$1 per half hour, taking the girls to their trucks or thatched huts a few hundred yards away from the road. (Assist News Service)

NIGERIA’S RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS HIGHLIGHTED BY ATTACK ON TEEN

The case of a 15-year old Nigerian schoolboy, suffering for two years with a brain injury sustained when Muslim students attacked Christians in June 2004, highlights the religious tensions in north-central Nigeria. The boy remains partially paralyzed in his right hand and leg from a machete cut to his head that occurred during the attack on eight Christian students after school officials ignored previous threats. Rev. Joseph Hayap, secretary of the Kaduna chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said the attack is only one of more than 20 religious conflicts that have occurred in the region since 1987. The conflicts have resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 Christians and the destruction of about 500 churches. The Kaduna region is acting under a dual legal system of sharia (Islamic law) along with customary courts. Hayap believes this allows Muslims to believe they are above the law. “They see Islam as a religion whose adherents cannot be subject to the rule of law,” he says. (Compass Direct)

* HCJB World Radio, together with partners In Touch Ministries, SIM and the Evangelical Church of West Africa, began airing weekly half-hour programs to Nigeria in the Igbo language in 2000. In 2003 weekly broadcasts were added in two additional languages, Yoruba and Hausa. HCJB World Radio also has helped with radio ministries in six cities with more in the planning stages.

CHURCH TARGETS ‘COWBOY CULTURE’ WITH COOPERATIVE FELLOWSHIP

In May the Assemblies of God sanctioned the formation of a Cowboy Church Fellowship to allow likeminded cowboy churches to communicate and cooperate. There are about 200 cowboy churches in the Western U.S. attended mainly by ranchers, wranglers, cowboys, horse owners, rodeo participants and farmers. “We’ve never really approached this culture as a ministry,” says Russ Weaver, president of the new group. For the past nine years Weaver has pastored the first Assemblies of God cowboy church south of Fort Worth, Texas. About 700 people meet each Sunday in a dirt-floored, barn sanctuary with an altar made of hay bales. Despite the modern PowerPoint sermon projected on the screen, church activities include a small group of trail riders and team roping. “We don’t have a gymnasium,” Weaver says wryly. (Evangelical News/Assemblies of God News Service)

AIDS OUTREACH IN SOUTH AFRICA PRODUCES PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL RESULTS

Workers at the Living Hope Community Center in Cape Town, South Africa, openly welcomed local black healers when they approached them for HIV/AIDS education. The Baptist-affiliated center, started in 1999 by Fish Hoek Baptist Church and CCFm, one of HCJB World Radio’s partner stations, has gained widespread community approval. When local witchdoctors, known as sangomas, failed in treating AIDS patients, they approached Living Hope for help. The center agreed to teach the sangomas modern medicine relating to HIV/AIDS as part of an eight-week course that included study of the Gospel of John. Sangomas remain powerful in South African black culture with an estimated 80 percent of blacks seeking their council. At least one sangoma has converted to Christianity, and many are now sending their own children to Living Hope’s kids’ club activities. (Religion News Service/The Washington Post/HCJB World Radio)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local partners to plant local radio ministries in six South African cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pinetown, Roodepoort and Badplaas. The mission also helps with projects such as the Living Hope Community Center (a ministry of partner Fish Hoek Baptist Church) near Cape Town.

© Copyright 2006 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA

Zhang Rongliang, pastor of a Chinese house church, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison by the Zhongmu City People’s Court on Thursday, June 29. Zhang is a key leader in the China for Christ house church movement, spending a total of 12 years in prison for his religious activities throughout the years. In the most recent case he was convicted him of "attaining a passport through cheating" and "illegal border crossing." He had been detained for several months without charges and not notified of the verdict until Tuesday, July 4, allowing him only four days of the 10-day allowance to appeal the verdict. Suggesting higher government influenced the verdict, Zhang’s lawyer said, "It is very clear that the verdict was not made independently by the People’s Court." Zhang’s wife, Chen Hongxian, has not seen her husband for six months. She is especially concerned since Zhang suffers from five chronic diseases, including severe diabetes and high blood pressure. (Compass Direct)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra broadcasts 16.5 hours of Mandarin and 14 hours of Cantonese programming each week.

UPDATE: OFFICIALS IN INDIA MOLEST GIRLS IN ORPHANAGE, ATTACK BUILDING

State officials in northwestern India’s Rajasthan state continue to harass Hopegivers International partner Emmanuel Ministries International (EMI). Madan Dilawar, Rajasthan’s minister of social welfare, recently visited the orphanage a week ago and promised to take care of the children if they all just became "good Hindus." One child replied, "Where were you when we were starving on the streets?" On Thursday, July 6, a group of men arrived claiming to own the orphanage and began molesting young girls, entering their shower facility and attempting to rape them. The men later attempted to enter the girls’ hostel and then damaged the windows with rocks after the doors were locked. They reached through damaged windows in the middle of the night in order to touch the girls. When screams arose, the men started a fire that quickly required fire department aid and further damaged the building. (Assist News Service)

SENTENCES CANCELED OR REDUCED FOR 19 MEXICAN CHRISTIAN PRISONERS

Nineteen Christian men who were wrongly accused of causing the deaths of 45 people in Chiapas, Mexico, in 1997 have had either their sentences reduced or will be released on parole in the next three to six months. In addition, the men will all be moved to a lower-security prison closer to their homes and families. An inter-institutional commission negotiated for a political solution for the wrongful convictions. The case against these 19 men claimed they participated in the murder of 45 Tzotzil Indians in an armed confrontation on Dec. 22, 1997, in the Acteal area of the municipality of Chenalho, Chiapas. Several group sentences were passed down in several separate cases. There was clear evidence of the innocence of 10 of these 19 men, more than half of whom are evangelical believers from a nearby community. (Evangelical News/Open Doors)

UPDATE: WARREN TO VISIT NORTH KOREA TO PLAN 2007 STADIUM EVENT

Dr. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in California and author of the best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Life, will travel to North Korea Monday, July 17, as part of a 35-day tour of 13 Asian and African countries. However, contrary to earlier reports, he will be meeting only with leadership in preparation for his return in March 2007 to preach in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Pyongyang Revival. These leaders have quietly secured permission to hold the first public outdoor Christian service in North Korea in 50 years in honor of the revival. The event will take place in a 15,000-seat stadium. Warren said he hopes to promote religious freedom amid North Korea’s oppressive religious control. (Larry Ross Communications)

UZBEK BELIEVER CHARGED FOR POSSESSING CHRISTIAN LITERATURE

Uzbek Christian Lepes Omarov could face up to three years of prison for criminal charges of "breaking the law on religious organizations" in the town of Muinak in northwestern Uzbekistan. Authorities seized legally imported Christian literature from the man’s home in Uzbekistan which has highly restrictive laws against the import and production of religious literature. Penalties range from a fine for a first offense to three years of corrective labor for a second offense. Omarov was removed from his job as a sports teacher three years ago because he refused to renounce his faith in Christ. This region of Uzbekistan is known for being particularly oppressive to Christians. No Protestant churches in the area have been registered which means, under Uzbekistan’s harsh religious restrictions, that all Protestant activity is illegal. (Forum 18 News Service/Voice of the Martyrs)

* HCJB World Radio airs daily 30-minute Uzbek programs from an AM station outside the country. More than 15 million people speak this language.

© Copyright 2006 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA

Bombings in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, that killed more than 135 train passengers and injured more than 250 during the height of the evening commute Tuesday, July 11, has rocked the city of more than 17 million people. The attacks targeted first-class cars on seven trains servicing many of the prosperous suburbs as well as millions of poor and middle-class residents. Gospel for Asia (GFA) reported that none of the organization’s 250 missionaries in the city were on the trains that were bombed. GFA President K.P. Yohannan is asking believers everywhere to pray for the people of Mumbai. He noted the evil powers involved in any terror attack and said, “That is why we are working so hard to bring the good news of God’s love to India and the rest of Asia -- so that they can know the real peace that only He can give.” Mumbai has the world’s largest subway and commuter train system, serving more than 6 million people daily. (Assist News Service)

* Radio programs in 17 languages air to India from HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra. The programs are produced at the ministry’s studios in New Delhi, India.

KYRGYZSTAN LAW TO BE MORE RESTRICTIVE ON RELIGION

Officials from the Religious Affairs Committee in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan say that the country’s religion law may soon be amended to restrict evangelism or proselytism. “I hope that the new draft of the law will be as close as possible to international standards,” said local official Shamsybek Zakirov. “But we have to take local reality as our starting point.” Reports from Protestant pastors indicate an increase in persecution in Kyrgyzstan’s southern regions where Muslims oppose any evangelistic efforts and commonly call Religious Affairs officials “enemies of Islam” for registering any Protestant groups. Orthodox Christians, however, do not face such strong opposition, Zakirov said. “We have no problems with the Orthodox because they don’t make converts among Muslims.” Kyrgyz State Secretary Adakhan Madumarov, who is from the country’s southern region, has also called for tougher laws regulating the activities of religious organizations in the country to be adopted. (Forum 18 News Service/WorldWide Religious News)

AFGHANISTAN MISSION HOSPITAL ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR

CURE International announced a new medical director at their hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dr. Jacqui Hill has previously been working as the head of obstetrics and gynecology where CURE has a comprehensive women’s healthcare center that treats nearly 10,000 patients each month. Family medicine is the hospital’s main focus while they also offer internal medicine, various surgical specialties and pediatrics. There is a dedicated feeding unit for malnourished children and resident and midwife training. CURE uses the hospital as a means to share their hope in Christ with the Afghan patients and families. (Mission Network News)

* 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.

CHINESE FILMMAKER RELEASED AFTER 5 MONTHS IN POLICE CUSTODY

A Chinese filmmaker who had been making a documentary about China’s underground Christians was released Tuesday, July 11, after more than five months in police custody. Wu Hao was arrested on Feb. 22, and police had repeatedly refused to give details about charges or let his family see him, saying the case had to be kept secret. The man’s sister, Wu Hao, kept a web diary that indicated the police kept the filmmaker under “supervised residence” where authorities hold prisoners in small hotels in isolated areas under constant surveillance. Members of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders issued a statement saying they were “immensely relieved” to learn of Wu’s release after lobbying China’s government to intervene. He lived in the U.S. for 12 years before returning to China in 2004 to make documentaries. (Associated Press)

BILLY GRAHAM PREACHES POWERFUL GOSPEL MESSAGE IN BALTIMORE

Although 87-year-old evangelist Billy Graham was frail and ailing, he delivered a powerful gospel message on the final day of his son’s festival in Baltimore, Md., Sunday, July 9. In front of more than 33,000 people, Graham joined long-time associates Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea for what may be his last crusade appearance. “We all have a terminal disease called sin,” Billy Graham said. “The end of that road is death, judgment and hell.” After the service Graham said, “Unfortunately, I’m getting too old to do this, and I thought on my way out, this may be the last opportunity to preach to an audience like this.” Graham was driven to the platform in a golf cart. (Baptist Press/Religion Today)

© Copyright 2006 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA

A cholera outbreak in the southwestern African nation of Angola has killed more than 2,000 people, according to World Health Organization statistics. Half of the 44,000 reported cases have occurred in the overcrowded capital city, Luanda, where an inadequate clean water supply and poor sanitation contribute. Cholera has now spread to 14 of Angola’s 18 provinces with fatality rates as high as 30 percent in some areas. The most vulnerable to death are young children. Cholera victims suffer from vomiting, leg cramps and diarrhea that severely dehydrate victims. A $385,900 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is helping World Vision increase its response to the epidemic. Working closely with Angola’s Ministry of Health, World Vision is supplying medical supplies, safe drinking water and bleach to control the spread of the disease while conducting training and education to prevent further infections. (Mission Network News)

GUARDS STOP ATTACK BY ‘INSANE’ MUSLIM EGYPTIAN

Guards at the Coptic Christian St. George’s Church in southern Egypt stopped a Muslim man from carrying out a knife attack on Tuesday, July 11. The guards detained Mohammed Masoud Khalil and turned the man over to police in the town of Qous where authorities claim he was mentally ill. However, Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Glenn Penner says, "The Egyptian government is increasingly using mental illness to cover up sectarian motives behind such attacks." Egyptian officials cited mental illness as the reason behind attacks on four churches in Alexandria on April 14 when an elderly Christian was stabbed to death and several others injured. (Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

PERMIT PROCESS PREVENTS CHURCH BUILDING PROJECTS IN BOSNIA

All religious faiths are finding difficulties obtaining permission to build or rebuild places of worship in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Which faith has difficulty appears to depend on the dominant faith of the region. For instance, Mosques are freely built without official sanction in Muslim-dominated areas while Protestant and Catholic churches are routinely denied permission indefinitely. In other ethnic and religious regions, Mosques are denied permission to build. One Protestant pastor said, "We have been waiting for planning permission for more than six years. It is basically impossible to get it, even though in law we have the right to build a church." Many Protestant congregations avoid problems in obtaining building permission by purchasing a house and converting it to a church. (Forum 18 News Service)

TWR ANTENNA IN GUAM GOES DOWN IN ‘HEAVY WEATHER’

"Heavy weather" on the South Pacific island of Guam Friday, July 7, caused Trans World Radio’s antenna to be damaged. The towers remained intact while the antenna stretching between them was ruined, putting the radio station off the air for four days. TWR reported that at the time when extra help was needed to assist with repairs, a visiting church team from the U.S. became available to provide labor. Half the antenna was functioning on Wednesday, July 12, while the remaining damage was expected to be fully repaired today. (Mission Network News)

3 SOMALI CHRISTIANS GUNNED DOWN, CHILDREN KIDNAPPED

Somali Christians are bracing for more attacks after reports of at least three Christian men being gunned down in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The three men were apparently hit by automatic gunfire as they returned home from a prayer meeting. Muslim violence is spreading across the nation and latest reports indicate "some children of Somali Christian refugees" in neighboring Kenya were kidnapped by Muslim relatives and taken to Islamic institutions back in Somalia for "rehabilitation." The situation for Somali Christians has deteriorated rapidly since last month when Mogadishu was taken over by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), a strong militant group that has pledged to implement sharia (Islamic law) in the country. World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission researcher Elizabeth Kendal said, "The rise of the UIC is very bad news for Somalia’s small Christian [minority]. The situation has gone from dangerous and horrific to totally desperate." (BosNewsLife)

© Copyright 2006 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA

A Pentecostal theological college in southern part of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan is under pressure from local prosecutors who say the college lacks the required licensing from the Minister of Education. The college immediately ceased all teaching activities and applied for this license when the law was initially passed in May. The same prosecutor’s office tried to close the seminary last year with no legal basis for its actions. Chief Prosecutor Erzhan Ezaliev said, "It is a lie that the seminary has stopped teaching students. According to our information there are at present six students studying there. Personally, I am neutral towards Protestants. But the law is the same for everybody." Local sources believe the prosecutor’s office is acting on behalf of regional authorities who are alarmed at the growth in the number of Protestants in the region. (Forum 18 News Service)

CHRISTIAN TV IN BEIRUT KEEPS BROADCASTING DESPITE BOMBINGS

Israeli air strikes in Beirut are provoking fears of war, but offices of the Christian satellite TV ministry SAT-7 have remained undamaged so far. The station continues to minister despite the ongoing unrest. "It’s very difficult for people who are themselves depressed to radiate hope," said SAT-7 Chief Executive Officer Terry Ascott. "I would ask prayer for all the Christians in Lebanon that they would be beacons of light and hope and optimism . . . that the love and the peace of Christ that is in their hearts would radiate through." How does the station operate when the power is off in much of the country? "The Lebanese are quite resourceful, having been through 20 years of civil war and disturbances." Ascott explained. "Many of the areas do have back-up generators so they can keep essential appliances working, and television is one of the ‘essential appliances.’" (Mission Network News)

MALAWI FAMINE REACHES PEAK, LEAVING MILLIONS IN NEED

The East African nation of Malawi continues to suffer from a famine that reached its peak in late 2005. One of the poorest nations in the world, Malawi was declared a "disaster area" by the president who warned that 5 million people -- almost half the population -- were in danger of starvation. In addition, 14 percent of Malawians are infected with AIDS, making many farmers too sick to work. Millions are still in need of food aid. Ironically, the worst-hit villages lie in a fertile river valley fed by Lake Malawi, but farmers often can’t afford the basic equipment and machinery needed to farm or the means to transport water to their fields. Since food is available to those with money, Christian Aid Mission recently transferred funds to an indigenous ministry, allowing the immediate purchase and delivery of food to some of the starving people. (Christian Aid Mission)

* In partnership with African Bible College, HCJB World Radio helped plant a Christian radio station in Lilongwe, Malawi, in 1995. The station airs programs in Chichewa and English. Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., also installed FM transmitters at stations in two Malawian cities, Blantyre and Mzuzu, in 2000.

CONFLICTING RELIGIONS FIND COMMON GROUND IN JERUSALEM

In an area of seemingly perpetual religious conflict, differing faiths have found one thing in common. An international gay pride parade called WorldPride planned for Aug. 6-12 in Jerusalem, Israel, has been denounced by Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. Jewish radicals put a bounty on parade participants while Muslim clerics threatened to flood the streets with protesters. Sheik Taissir Tamimi, head of the West Bank and Gaza Strip’s Islamic court, said, "We consider this offensive and harmful to the religious integrity of the city." Parade organizer Hagai Elad said the event is intended to be an example of peaceful coexistence to people of different faiths and cultures in a strife-torn city. Three Christian Zionist groups in Jerusalem issued a joint statement condemning the march, saying the choice of venue was intended to stir conflict. (Religion Today)

* RADIO STATION HCJB AGAIN TOPS LISTENERSHIP SURVEY IN BRAZIL

For the second consecutive year Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, was named "Best International Station" in the 2005 survey of Portuguese-speaking shortwave listeners conducted by the Santa Rita DX Club in Brazil. DX is a telegraph term for distance, and DXers are listeners who enjoy hearing signals from distant stations.

HCJB was one of 19 shortwave stations mentioned by respondents to the survey. Others in the top five included Radio Japan, China Radio International, Chile-based Voz Cristă (Christian Voice) and Radio Canada International.

"This is exciting, especially when one considers that two Christian broadcasters placed in the top five," said Allen Graham, director of indigenous and international broadcasts at Radio Station HCJB. "Praise God for allowing us this opportunity to touch Portuguese-speaking listeners!"

HCJB, the flagship station of HCJB World Radio, an international ministry founded in 1931, also topped the "Most Listened-to Station" category.

Shortwave listeners from Brazil and other parts of the world who took part in the survey also chose HCJB for having the "Best Female Presenter," Ingrid Winter of Curitiba, Brazil. Mário Miki, also of Curitiba, placed second in the "Best Male Presenter" category.

Respondents again named program producer Eunice Carvajal for having the "Best DX Program"—the seventh consecutive year for that honor. She is the sole program producer at the ministry’s studios in Quito. Most of the programs are produced at HCJB World Radio-Brazil’s studios in Curitiba.

Portuguese-language programs air from Quito 7˝ hours a day in three programming blocks. Preaching, interspersed with music and informational programming, proclaims the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to listeners across Brazil.

A brief program in the indigenous language, Culina, was recently added to the beginning of the evening Portuguese broadcast. A small group, the Culina people live in southern Brazil and northern Peru.

Carvajal added that shortwave continues to play a key role in reaching people for Christ. Referring to the Portuguese broadcasts that reach various regions of Brazil, she said, "The audience is growing, and the average age of our listeners is 30. That means the majority of listeners are young people, and they like our programs and voices. The statistics seem to support our motto, ‘We’re more than a voice, we’re friends who care.’" (HCJB World Radio)