Zprávy HCJB 15.10.2006 - 21.10.2006

 Living Water International slaví 15 let.
   Living Water International (LWI) slaví významné výročí – 15 let misie založené na vodě a evangeliu. O roku 1991 dokončila LWI přes 3000 vodovodů ve 22 zemích, které denně slouží 5 milionům lidí. Oslava LWI bude ve dnech 3. a 4. listopadu v Houstonu v Texasu. Prezident LWI Jerry Wiles rozeslal mnoho emailových pozvánek „Přijďte, kdo žízníte,“ aby oslavy LWI získaly náležitý rámec. Řekl: “LWI ukazuje cestu k životu. Hasí žízeň lidí toužících po čisté nezávadné vodě a po pravdě, naději a lásce, které mhou být získány jen v Pánu Ježíši.“ Při letošní slavnosti bude uvedena hudební dvojice muže a jeho manželky s přiléhavým názvem Vodotisk. (Assist News Service)
 
 Syrský ortodoxní kněz unesen a popraven v Iráku
   Ve středu v noci na 11. října byl syrský ortodoxní kněz Otec Boulos Iskander nalezen ve věku 59 let sťatý a zohavený na předměstí Mosulu v Iráku. Iskander byl unesen v pondělí a od rodiny únosci vymáhali výkupné 350 000 USD. Únosci souhlasili, že sníží tuto sumu na 40 000 USD, pokud církev kněze odmítne komentáře papeže Benedikta XVI z minulého měsíce. Aby vyhověla požadavkům únosců, farnost Sv. Eframa umístila 30 velkých tabulí v okolí Mosulu s nápisy distancujícími se od papežových komentářů. Rodině se podařilo sehnat výkupné. Avšak Iskanderovo tělo bylo nalezeno další den a jeho ostatky byly převezeny do místní nemocnice. (Assist News Service)
 
 Misie pomáhá sirotkům a vdovám po řádění Světlé Stezky.
   Vůdce peruánských maoistických povstalců Sendero Luminoso (Světlá Stezka) Abimael Guzman byl v pátek 6. října odsouzen k doživotnímu trestu vězení za to, že 12 let vedl povstání, které v osmdesátých a na začátku devadesátých let zahubilo asi 70 000 lidí. V této souvislosti zahájila misijní organizace Latin American Indian Ministries (LAIM) projekt na pomoc sirotkům po obětech. Podle zdrojů z křesťanských kruhů v Peru při divokém zabíjení zahynulo i 30 000 křesťanů z kmene Quechua žijícího v Andách v oblasti Ayachucho. Pobito zde bylo i 800 pastorů. Po obětech zůstalo 5 000 vdov a asi 14 000 osiřelých dětí. Prezident LAIM Dr. Dale W. Kietzman prohlásil, že „nyní je možnost udělat něco pro vdovy a sirotky mezi Quechuas v peruánské vysočině.“ LAIM si to představuje jako svépomocnou komunitu, která se bude věnovat sirotkům - obětem řádění povstalců. Světlá Stezka je nyní větším dílem ochromena. V omezeném rozsahu provozuje činnosti spojené s výrobou drog v jižních a jihovýchodních oblastech Peru. (Assist News Service)
 
 214 křesťanů v Bělorusku vstupuje do protestní hladovky za církev v Bělorusku
    Více než 214 křesťanů protestantů se připojilo k protestní hladovce proti postupu vlády v Bělorusku proti církvi Nového života. Církvi s 1 000 členů v Minsku byla odmítnuta registrace a jsou kladeny překážky každému jejímu kroku v hledání místa k pronájmu. Církev v roce 2002 koupila budovu, která ale byla zablokována vyhláškami o územních plánech a nakonec město nařídilo její nucený prodej. V pátek 6. října se členové Nového života do budovy nastěhovali a zahájili protestní hladovku. Budovu ohrožovaly nákladní vozy, přívěsy a buldozéry až do úplného rozehnání stávkujících. Zpráva se rozšířila po celém Bělorusku i za jeho hranice a všude se křesťané postavili za církev Nový život. V pondělí 9. října se 500 věřících sešlo na modlitebním shromáždění, aby se modlili za církev. Podle zpráv z pátku 13. října nyní drží 214 členů Nového života hladovku. Viktoria Medveděva jako nová stávkující, řekla, “Jsem připravena stávkovat, dokud nám úřady nevrátí kostel.” Situace se stává kritickou zahájením 11. dne (17. října) stávky. Mezi stávkujícími jsou starší občané odmítající jídlo a vodu. (World Evangelical Alliance)
 
 Vrtání nových studní je v Ugandě příležitostí k evangelizaci.
   Dohoda o zastavení palby mezi Lord’s Resistance Army (místní teroristická organizace – pozn. překl.) a vládou Ugandy představuje pro křesťany naději, že se všichni lidé budou moci vrátit domů. Během konfliktu budovala misijní organizace Lifewater International studně pro lidi, kteří prchali před boji. Ve spolupráci s místní církví Deliverance Church k tomuto účelu vytvořili speciální skupinu Joy Drilling. Nyní po zastavení palby se křesťané těší, jak budou vrtat studny ve vesnicích, kam se lidé vracejí. Její člen Pat Klever říká: “Joy Drilling se těší, jak bude pomáhat lidem znovu osidlujícím svou starou otčinu a začínajícím nový život.” Skudnaři vždy hledají spojení s místní církví a spolupracují s ní. Studnařina není to hlavní: “Snad bude možno spolupracovat na nějaké evangelizaci,” říká Klever. “Snad bude možno modlit se, kázat a šířit Boží slovo. Když už pracovníci ve vesnici jsou, mohou tam být týden nebo dva a bavit se s jejími obyvateli. Výsledkem jejich práce tak již jsou nově založené sbory.” (Mission Network News)
 
 Tisíce hinduistů z nízkých kast přecházejí na novou víru jako vyjádření protestu
   Tisíce indických hindských Dalitů z nizkých kast, kdysi známých jako “Nedotknutelní,” přecházejí masovými obřady na křesťanství a budhismus, aby tak částečně vyjádřili protest proti bezpráví v kastovním systému. Konvertováním od hinduismu mohou Dalitové uniknout předsudkům a diskriminaci normálně jim hrozící. Joseph D´Souza, prezident Dalit Freedom Network a nově konvertovaný křesťan, popsal konverze jako “slavnostní příležitosti.” “Myslím, že je důležité toto chápat jako volání po lidské důstojnosti, pláč po uznání hodnoty člověka,” řekl. Dalitové přijížděli v nákladních automobilech na obřad, který se konal ve veřejném parku v centru města Nagpur, kde měli náboženští vůdci plamenné projevy proti zacházení s nízkými kastami. Obdobné masové obřady se tento měsíc konají napříč celou Indií. Navzdory oficiálním zákonům zakazujícím předsudky žijí čtyři pětiny indických Dalitů v izolovaných venkovských oblastech, kde předsudky přetrvávají. (WorldWide Religious News/BBC)
 
 Přes 200 korejských studentů slíbilo zúčastnit se misie.
   V souvislosti s Týdnem studentské misie v Korejském baptistickém teologickém učilišti v Taejeonu v jižní Koreji asi 200 nebo 300 studentů slíbilo podílet se na mezinárodní misii. Ještě více jich prohlásilo, že i když možná necítí zvláštní Boží povolání pro misii, chtějí a jsou k dispozici jít tam kam je Pán pošle. Učitelé i studenti fakulty se za studenty modlili, zvláště za ty, kdo jsou do mezinárodní služby. Hlavním řečníkem byl prezident International Mission Board Jerry Rankin. Řekl: „Osobně jsem dojat počtem studentů, kteří se zavázali k misijní službě i těch, kdo prostě řekli ‘Chci jít.‘ Těším a velmi očekávám mnoho forem a způsobů, kterými Bůh využije touhu těchto mladých lidí stát se Jeho nástrojem ve světě.“ Sdružení korejských zahraničních misií (Korean Foreign Mission Board) má přes 500 misionářů sloužících v 44 zemích světa. (Baptist Press)
 
 Etiopští křesťané zbiti během bohoslužeb.
   V Henno v severní Etiopii několik muslimských duchovních 20. července podnítilo útok na asi 50 křesťanů. Tato a související další zprávy nedávno došly do Washingtonu prostřednictvím organice na ochranu lidských práv International Christian Concern (ICC). Zpráva svědčí o rostoucím násilí proti křesťanům. U dvou prominentních muslimů v Henno, kteří konvertovali ke křesťanství, se konaly bohoslužby místních křesťanů. Služby a zpěv pozvaného sboru přilákal pozornost celé vesnice. Muslimští představitelé reagovali nepřátelsky, vyvolali srocení s využitím místních part. Na jednoho ze dvou křesťanů-hostitelů zaútočili kovovými tyčemi. Pětkrát byl raněn na hlavě, přišel o sedm zubů a utrpěl hluboké tržné rány končetin, takže byly vidět šlachy. Jeho těhotná snacha potratila, protože ji také těžce zbili. Celkem bylo vážně zraněno 12 osob a pěti dalším lidem musely být rány zašity v nemocnici. K žádnému zákroku policie nebo prokuratury vůbec nedošlo, avšak mezi místními muslimy rostou protesty muslimů proti tomuto jednání. Následně se čtyřicet sedm významných místních muslimů stalo křesťany, odmítlo islámské stanovisko. „Když islám hodlá zabíjet nevinné bratry a sestry – nechceme být muslimy!“ (International Christian Concern/www.persecution.org)

*Personál studia HCJB World Radio-Australia nahrává pořady v jazyce Oromo a vysílá jej pro 28 milionů posluchačů v Etiopii a Keni prostřednictvím krátkovlnné stanice FEBA.

 
 Zrušení činnosti uzbeckých organizací kvůli jejich ´systematické misionářské práci´
   Dva úřady korejských nevládních organizací činných v Uzbekistánu musely na tři měsíce pozastavit práci pro uplatňování svého protestantského programu. Aktam Zhalilov, odborník na Regional Policies Fund v Uzbekistánu, který dodal novinářům zprávu ve středu 18. října, prohlásil, že Institute of Asian Culture and Development a World Korean Aid Fund byly nařčeny, že sestávají z evangelikálů a “jsou zapojeny do systematické misijní práce v oblasti”. “Jihokorejští misionáři pracují v různých centrech pro výuku cizích jazyků, počítačového vzdělávání a ve zdravotních střediscích, kde se snadno navazují kontaktky s mladými lidmi a sociálně slabými skupinami.”, uvedl Zhalilov. Zhalilov také vyzval k vytvoření společné databáze všech organizací a cizích státních příslušníků působících ve středoasijských státech, jejichž ilegální misijní aktivity byly odhaleny. (World Religious News)
 
 Všechny zprávy v angličtině.
   LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL TO CELEBRATE 15 YEARS OF MINISTRY

Living Water International (LWI) is celebrating the milestone of 15 years of ministry reaching the world with water and the gospel. Since 1991, LWI has completed more than 3,000 water projects in 22 countries that serve 5 million people daily. LWI is holding its celebration November 3-4 in Houston, Texas. LWI President Jerry Wiles has issued a widely distributed email invitation to “Come Thirsty” to help LWI celebrate. He said, “Come Thirsty to make a life-saving difference. Come Thirsty to quench the world's thirst for clean, safe water and the truth, hope and love that can only be found in Jesus.” This year’s gala and reunion event will feature the husband and wife musical duo appropriately called Watermark. (Assist News Service)

SUNDAY RAIDS THE RECENT STANDARD WITH UZBEK POLICE

Police in Uzbekistan seem to be favoring Sunday morning worship services as a prominent time for raids. In recent weeks, three separate raids took place in the capital of Tashkent and the nearby town of Angren. The first took place on September 24 when two church members were fined at a Baptist church in Tashkent midway through the services. Again on October 1 in Angren nearly 50 members of a registered Pentecostal church were taken to the police station after their Sunday service was raided. The same Tashkent Baptist church was raided a second time on October 8 along with a Protestant church in northwest Uzbekistan in the city of Nukus in the Karakalpakstan region where all Protestant activity is banned. In a separate incident, professional dancer Zamira Shirazova was dismissed from the same region’s folk group under accusations of “taking part in a religious sect.” (Forum 18 News).

SYRIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST KIDNAPPED, BEHEADED IN IRAQ

On Wednesday night, October 11, Syrian Orthodox priest Father Boulos Iskander, 59, was found beheaded and dismembered in a suburb of Mosul, Iraq. Iskander was abducted on Monday, October 9 and a $350,000 ransom demanded from his family. The kidnappers agreed to reduce the sum to $40,000 if the priest’s church publicly rejected Pope Benedict XVI’s comments from last month. To meet the demands, the St. Ephram parish posted 30 large signs around Mosul separating itself from the Popes comments. The family managed to raise the ransom money. However, Iskander’s body was discovered the next day and his remains were brought to a local hospital. (Assist News Service)

SALVATION ARMY WINS LONG STRUGGLE WITH RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT

After a seven-year struggle with the Russian government, the European Court of Human Rights delivered an important victory to the Salvation Army. On October 5, the court unanimously ruled the Russian government infringed on the rights of Salvation Army’s Moscow branch by rejecting its re-registration as a local religious organization. The court said the government had violated the ministry’s religious freedom by violating its right to “manifest one’s religion in community with others” without state intervention. The Salvation Army had operated in Russia since 1992, was turned down for re-registration in February of 1999. The Moscow Justice Department said Salvation Army’s Moscow branch operated as a subordinate to a foreign religious organization. In court later, the branch was accused of being a paramilitary organization because its members wear uniforms and carry out services. The European court awarded the Salvation Army the equivalent of slightly more than $12,500 to be paid by the Russian government. Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice said, “The decision sends a strong message that religious freedom is an integral and important aspect of the European Charter of Human Rights.” (Baptist Press)

* HCJB World Radio reaches across Russia with a variety of radio ministries. The mission began sending gospel broadcasts across the country via shortwave in 1941, first from Quito, Ecuador, and in recent years from the U.K. In the early 1990s the ministry began “planting” local radio ministries in Russia and now works with partners nationwide. In 2000 HCJB World Radio helped launch New Life Radio, the first Christian Russian satellite radio network. More than 63 downlinks have been placed in more than 42 cities across Russia and neighboring countries.

NEW WEBSITE MATCHES CHRISTIAN VOLUNTEERS WITH ORGANIZATIONS

TechMission has launched a new free website designed to match hundreds of thousands of volunteers with Christian volunteer opportunities in urban ministries and short-term missions. Called ChristianVolunteering.org, the site allows users to type in their zip code to find a list of volunteer opportunities nearby. Searches can also be framed by interest area or skill sets. Organizations can post their opportunities for free. Opportunities are also listed for virtual volunteering where people can work from home by providing services at a distance. Examples of this include accounting, graphic design, computer programming, grant writing, translation, legal support and online tutoring. Research shows faith-based volunteers represented over 34.8 percent of all volunteers in 2005. Last year the leading secular Internet volunteer matching service (VolunteerMatch) placed over 475,000 volunteers in 37,000 nonprofit organizations with the volunteer time valued at $232 million.(Christian Newswire)

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

 
 Všechny zprávy v angličtině.
   INDIA’S ECONOMIC BOOM PROMPTS MARKETPLACE MISSIONS TRAINING

As India’s economy takes off and a new middle class develops, Global Advance is hosting conferences intended to ingrain marketplace missions into business people. Global Advance’s Jonathon Shibley says, “This is an opportunity that God is giving them to use their resources, use their knowledge, to be able to reach the people in the marketplace as places like Hyderabad, and Mumbai and Delhi continue to just explode on the economic scene.” The staff works to re-train the national’s thinking so that every transaction is a ministry opportunity. Shibley says during a conference, they work to get businesspeople to own the idea that “their job really is a mission field where they can display God's glory through their talent, through their work.” In addition, Shibley says, “Through the money that they generate, they can be generous to invest that back into the kingdom.” (Mission Network News)

214 CHRISTIANS ENTER HUNGER STRIKE FOR BELARUS CHURCH

More than 214 Protestant Christians have joined a hunger strike protesting government actions against the New Life Church in Belarus. The 1,000-member strong church in Minsk, Belarus has been denied registration and obstructed at every turn as it has tried to rent a meeting place. The church purchased a property in 2002 but was blocked with conflicting zoning ordinances ending with the city ordering the forced sale of the building. On Friday, October 6, 17 New Life members moved into the building and commenced a hunger strike in protest. Trucks, trailers and a bulldozer menaced the property for some time until dispersing. As word spread, Christians from across Belarus and beyond have risen to show solidarity with New Life church. By Monday, October 9, 500 believers attended a prayer service for the church. Reports from Friday, October 13 indicate 214 New Life members are taking part in the hunger strike. Viktoria Medvedeva, a New Life hunger striker said, “I am ready to starve until the authorities return our church.” As the hunger strike enters its 11th day (17 Oct) the situation grows critical. Amongst the hunger strikers are some senior citizens who have given up both food and water. (World Evangelical Alliance)

MINISTRY AIDS ORPHANS AND WIDOWS FROM SHINING PATH TERROR

Peru’s Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) Maoist guerrilla leader Abimael Guzman received his sentence to life in prison on Friday, October 6, for leading a 12-year rebellion in which about 70,000 people died throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. In the meantime, Latin American Indian Ministries (LAIM), has launched a project to help the widows and orphans of the victims. According to sources in the Christian community in Peru, the savage killings included those of 30,000 Quechua Christians in the Ayachucho area of the Andes including 800 pastors who were murdered. The violence also has left behind more than 5,000 widows and nearly 14,000 orphaned children. Dr. Dale W. Kietzman, president of LAIM, explained that there is now the “possibility of doing something very positive for the widows and orphans among the Quechuas of the highlands of Peru.” LAIM envisions a self-supporting community that will provide training to the orphans created by the guerilla activities. Now mostly ineffective, the Shining Path continues to carry on limited activities funded by the drug trade in southern and south eastern Peru. (Assist News Service)

PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS ASKING FOR PRAYERS, CONGRESSIONAL HELP

Jim Jacobson, president of Christian Freedom International (CFI), says that as tough as it sometimes seems to be a Christian in America, it can be a lot tougher outside the United States. In some parts of the world, he says, being a believer is not only not getting any easier, it is becoming increasingly dangerous. “We're actually seeing a major increase in the persecution of Christians, especially in Islamic-dominated nations at this time,” Jacobsen notes. “Christians in these nations are seen as surrogates of the West; and so, if these radicals can't take their hatred out directly at America, then the next best thing is that they're targeting minority Christians in their country.” The CFI spokesman says these brothers and sisters in Christ are asking for American believers' prayers and for U.S. Congressional pressure on the governments that condone religious persecution. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

SURVEY: MARRIAGE RATES REACH LOWEST EVER IN U.S. HOUSEHOLDS

A new U.S. Census Bureau report shows that for the first time ever traditional marriage has ceased to be the preferred living arrangement in the United States. Seventy-five years ago, married couples accounted for 84 percent of American households. Now the rate is just under half. Out of roughly 111 million family households, more than 14 million were headed by single women, another five million by single men, and 36.7 million belonged to a category described as “non-family households.” This term applies primarily to homosexual or heterosexual couples cohabiting out of formal wedlock. Douglas Besharov of the American Enterprise Institute says it is difficult for the traditional family to emerge unscathed after three-and-a-half decades of divorce rates reaching 50 percent, and five decades of out-of-wedlock births. Besharov predicts the social landscape is moving toward cohabitation and temporary relationships. He also sees a move towards a “much more individualistic society” over time. “[W]hat I see is a situation in which people -- especially children -- will be much more isolated, because not only will their parents both be working, but they'll have fewer siblings, fewer cousins, fewer aunts and uncles,” he says. (Agape Press)

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

 
 Všechny zprávy v angličtině.
   WELL DRILLING BRINGS OPPORTUNITY FOR EVANGELISM IN UGANDA

A ceasefire agreement between the Lord's Resistance Army and the government of Uganda has left Christians hopeful that people will be able to return to their homes. During the conflict, Lifewater International provided water wells for people who had moved away from the fighting. Working along with the local Deliverance Church, the partners formed the Joy Drilling Group to create the wells. Now, with the ceasefire, Christians are looking forward to switching their focus to drilling wells in home villages where people are returning. Lifewater's Pat Klever says "Joy Drilling is looking forward to helping people resettle into their old communities and to be able to begin their lives again." Lifewater always seeks out the local church and works with them while well drilling. Drilling wells is not the main focus. "Maybe they'll work together collaboratively to form a crusade," Klever says. "They'll have some time of praise and worship and sharing the Word of God. As they're on the site working they may be in a village for a week or two and spending time with people. There have been churches planted as a result of their work in the communities" (Mission Network News)

MUSLIM WOMAN KILLED AFTER DAUGHTER CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY

A Muslim woman was murdered on the east coast of Australia, in Queensland's Gold Coast region following her daughter's conversion to Christ. On the evening of Monday, October 9, Kaihana Hussain, the teenage daughter of Muslim immigrants, told her parents that she was converting from Islam to Christianity. Her father responded in fury, attacking the girl. Kaihana's mother, Yasmin, intervened to aid and protect her daughter. , Kaihana fled the family's apartment, dressed only in her underwear, her clothes torn off, blood splattered over her severely scratched and cut body. When Police arrived at the scene, they discovered the mother with a fatal knife wound to the chest. Kaihana's father, Dr. Muhammad Hussain was also bleeding from a potentially fatal knife wound to the chest. Blood was splattered on walls, floors and doorways throughout the three-bedroom luxury apartment. Dr. Hussain is presently hospitalized in critical condition. A Muslim source said, "It is the Islamic way that if a son or daughter does or plans to do something that is unacceptable or wrong for a Muslim, then it is the mother who is automatically at fault and will bear the brunt of the blame." (World Evangelical Alliance)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia operates a shortwave station in Kununurra, reaching across the Asia Pacific region with programs in 20 languages. Studios at the office in Melbourne are used to record programs in English and Oromo, a language spoken in Ethiopia.

THOUSANDS OF LOW-CASTE HINDUS ADOPT NEW FAITH IN PROTEST

Thousands of India's low-caste Hindu Dalits, once known as "Untouchables," are converting to Christianity and Buddhism in mass ceremonies as part of a protest against the injustices of the caste system. By converting away from Hinduism, Dalits can escape some of the prejudice and discrimination they normally face. Joseph D'Souza, the president of the Dalit Freedom Network and a Christian convert, described the conversions as a "celebratory occasion." "I think it's important to understand that this is a cry for human dignity, it's a cry for human worth," he said. Dalits were arriving by the truckload for the ceremony in a public park in the central city of Nagpur where religious leaders gave heated speeches against the treatment of lower castes. Similar mass conversions are taking place this month across India. Despite official laws banning prejudice, four-fifths of India's Dalits live in isolated rural areas where prejudice persists. (WorldWide Religious News/BBC)

UPDATE: AGAINST ALL ODDS, INDONESIAN RADIO GETS OK

As reported last week, Back to the Bible's radio station in North Sumatra, Indonesia was seeking local government approval to operate in an area that is predominantly Muslim. Back to the Bible's Mark Blowers reports good news regarding their petition. "It actually has been approved," Blowers said, "and all the paperwork has been signed. We won't actually receive the certificate until the end of 2006. Once we have that, then there is no recourse for any of those opposed to the station, and there is opposition to the station." The granted license is credited only to saints on their knees in prayer. "This is obviously God's doing because this place is 99-percent Muslim. To be able to broadcast the Gospel along with other programs that are going to help the people is just an answer from God." The station has received more than 10,000 letters in its first year. (Mission Network News)

*WHISTLING FROG WINS INDEPENDENT CHRISTMAS RADIO AWARD

The first Independent Christmas Radio Award has been awarded to the Bradford-based Whistling Frog Productions - a ministry of HCJB-UK - for a series of radio features they made for HOME FM in Huddersfield. 'Homeless at Christmas' told the story of how Nightstop, a charity in West Yorskhire, looks after young people with nowhere to go during the festive season. Many of the Nightstop families are Christians and the winning programs linked their Christian faith into the meaning of the Christmas story. The five short features were played as part of the evening news slot during December 2005 on HOME FM.

Independent Christmas is a commercial radio sponsorship scheme run by Jerusalem Productions, part of the Jerusalem Trust, one of the Sainsbury family charitable trusts from one of the UK's leading supermarket chains; they exist to encourage the inclusion of Christian programming on mainstream radio and TV in the UK. The Jerusalem Awards ceremony took place last week at the Royal Society of Arts in London. Whistling Frog Productions also scooped the top award in the 'Reflections' category for 'Exterminate! Exterminate!' - a breakfast show insert featuring two daleks, fictional mutant extraterrestrials popularized in the UK TV series Dr. Who, discussing 1 Corinthians chapter 13. The winning reflection was broadcast on Pulse Classic Gold in Bradford.

Whistling Frog Productions is a radio group specializing in creative programming that looks at the spiritual side of life. In the last nine years the Whistling Frog team has picked up no less than 24 radio awards for material broadcast on commercial radio in the UK. To listen to the winning reflection, log on to www.audiopot.org and type 'dalek' into the search box.

In Britain, rather than focus on the traditional world of Christian radio, HCJB-UK has a passion to reach those outside the church who listen to secular radio stations. To achieve this we use the name 'Whistling Frog Productions' - placing our own award-winning radio material on local commercial stations, utilizing Christians already working in the radio industry and offering quality training to aspiring Christian broadcasters. The ethos of Whistling Frog Productions is simple: to produce creative, non-cheesy radio for a mainstream audience on Christian themes, making sure the final product is entertaining, thought-provoking and definitely not preachy. The Whistling Frog Productions team also produces a weekly Sunday breakfast show on commercial radio in West Yorkshire, are involved in professional radio training in the UK and overseas, and they operate a Radio Volunteers Group in Bradford every Tuesday evening.

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

 
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   MORE THAN 200 KOREAN STUDENTS MAKE COMMITMENT TO MISSIONS

During a student-led mission emphasis week at the Korea Baptist Theological Seminary in Taejeon, South Korea, between 200 and 300 students made commitments to international missions. Even more acknowledged that, though they may not sense God’s specific call to missions, they are willing and available to go wherever He may lead. Faculty members prayed for the students, especially those making a commitment to international service. Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, was the keynote speaker. He said, “I was personally touched by the numbers of students who were making commitments to mission service and by those who simply said, ‘I am willing to go.’ We look forward with great anticipation to the many ways God will use the willingness of these young people to accomplish His task around the world.” The Korean Foreign Mission Board has more than 500 missionaries serving in 44 countries. (Baptist Press)

PAKISTANI FEMALE STUDENT BEATEN FOR WEARING CROSS TO SCHOOL

A 15-year-old Christian female student faced the wrath of her Arabic teacher and school principal in Pakistan when she refused to take off a cross she was wearing on Friday, October 13. The girl, Kiran Shahzadi apparently told her Muslim teacher, “The cross is our Christian religious symbol so I cannot remove it.” The girl was taken before the school principal who pulled the cross from her neck and threw it in a trash can. Shahzadi was then forced to stand under a hot sun to the point of fainting. When she was taken to a hospital, the doctor there reported she had also been beaten. Police have refused to file a case against the two men despite the insistence of some Pakistani Christian leaders. (Assist News Service)

‘CHRISTIANITY TODAY’ NAMES TOP 50 CHRISTIAN BOOKS OF ALL TIME

In honor of the magazine’s 50th anniversary, Christianity Today have listed 50 landmark books that have changed the way American evangelical Christians think, talk, worship and live. Beyond Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life” and C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity,” editors and writers helped choose works that have changed both faith and the American culture. “The list is admittedly a combination of intuition, guesswork, and collective wisdom,” said Mark Galli, managing editor of Christianity Today. “The point was not to publish an inerrant list and end all discussion, but actually to spark a vigorous discussion. This book list, we trust, will get people talking about what evangelicalism has been and will be at its core.” The list includes several surprises including the number one book, besting both Warren and Lewis, “Prayer: Conversing with God” by Rosalind Rinker. The full list can be accessed at http://ChristianityToday.com/ct/2006/october/23.51. html. (Christian Newswire)

ERITREAN POLICE TORTURE 2 CHRISTIANS TO DEATH, IMPRISON SINGER

In continued examples of extreme persecution, security police in the west African nation of Eritrea tortured two Christians to death yesterday. The two men, Immanuel Andegergesh, 23, and Kibrom Firemichel, 30, died from torture wounds and severe dehydration in a military camp outside the town of Adi-Quala, The two were arrested on Sunday, October 15, along with 10 other Christians who were attending a worship service in a home. The three women and seven men were kept in military confinement along with Andegergesh and Firemichel, and subjected to “furious mistreatment,” one source said. The fate of the 10 other Christians remains unknown. Earlier this month, Eritrean authorities returned popular Christian singer Helen Berhane to military detention after she spent three days in Asmara’s Halibet Hospital for medical treatment. Berhane’s leg was seriously damaged as a result of beatings she received while imprisoned in a metal shipping container since her arrest in May 2004. In addition, In an apparent campaign to bring all religious groups under its control, the government of Eritrea has recently focused its efforts on religious schools, shutting down schools of several faiths. (Worldwide Religious News/ Compass Direct)

BRITISH AIRLINE WORKER SUSPENDED FOR WEARING CROSS TO WORK

British Airways (BA) has banned a Christian woman from wearing a cross on a necklace to work. A British newspaper, The Daily Mail, reports that Heathrow airport check-in worker Nadia Eweida, was sent home after refusing to remove the crucifix that breached BA’s dress code. Eweida is a Coptic Christian whose father is Egyptian and mother, English. She has been suspended from work for two weeks without pay. Eweida, 55, is suing her employer for religious discrimination. “I will not hide my belief in the Lord Jesus,” Eweida says. “Only Christians are forbidden to express their faith. I am a loyal and conscientious employee of British Airways, but I stand up for the rights of all citizens.” Eweida sought permission from higher management to wear the chain after a duty manager initially ordered the cross removed last month. Her request was turned down. (Assist News Service)

*HCJB World Radio’s U.K. staff in Bradford produces programs that air locally in the country such as “The Full Breakfast,” a popular Sunday-morning program.

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   ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIANS ATTACKED DURING WORSHIP SERVICE

In Henno, Ethiopia, seven Muslim clerics instigated a brutal attack on 50 or more Christians on July 20. This report and others recently received by Washington D.C. based human rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) indicate increasing violence against Christians. Two prominent Muslims in Henno, who converted to Christianity in 2005, were hosting a worship service for other Christians in Henno. The service and the invited choir gained the attention of the whole village. Muslim leaders responded violently and instigated a riot using local gangs. One of the two Christian leaders was attacked with metal rods. He received five deep head wounds, several broken teeth and deep lacerations to his legs with several ligaments protruding from the skin. His pregnant daughter-in-law lost her baby because she was badly beaten as well. In total, 12 people were badly injured and five additional people received lacerations requiring medical treatment. No legal action was taken, but since that time a grassroots protest arose among area Muslims who denounced the attack. In fact, forty-seven key leaders became Christians and renounced Islam stating, “If Islam means killing innocent brothers and sisters – we do not want to follow it!” (International Christian Concern/www.persecution.org)

* Staff members at HCJB World Radio-Australia’s studios record Oromo language programs that air to 28 million speakers in Ethiopia and Kenya via FEBA Radio’s shortwave facilities.

ROMANIAN TELEVISION STATION NOW COVERING ALL OF EUROPE

Romania’s first Christian TV channel is now broadcasting via satellite to cover all of Europe. After 12 years of active presence in Romania, Alfa Omega TV started permanent 24 hour-per- day, 7 day-a-week broadcasting on June,11, 2006, coinciding with the Day of Pentecost. Now, after almost five months of broadcasting, the channel has been included in one of the most important digital DTH platforms in Romania, MaxTV. Their programming is retransmitted by cable TV networks from hundreds of towns in Romania. Their broadcast is free to air through the EUTEL SAT W2 satellite and can be picked up all over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The daily program structure contains programs produced by Alfa Omega TV and other producers from Romania and the international media and also includes language segments in Hungarian, German and Serbian. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel locally in eight Romanian cities via partner ministry Radio Voice of the Gospel. The network is a cooperative effort with the Evangelical Alliance of Romania and the Romanian Missionary Society.

500 VILLAGERS ATTACK CHRISTIAN HOME FOR DESTITUTE IN INDIA

Five hundred villagers in India’s Karnataka state attacked a Christian home for the destitute on Saturday, October 14, following false television news reports the shelter was trafficking human organs, detaining their clients and other fabricated charges. The workers at the Lourd Matha Seva Ashram home for the destitute in Thyagarathi village, near Sagar, India, are in jail on charges of wrongful confinement and abduction. National president of the Global Council of Indian Christians Dr. Sajan K. George said, “Hindu radicals are behind the harassment of the Christian home, and they have levied several fabricated charges, including trafficking in human organs, against the Christians.” (Compass Direct)

UZBEK ORGANIZATIONS SHUT DOWN FOR ‘SYSTEMATIC MISSIONARY WORK’

Two offices of Korean non-governmental organizations operating in Uzbekistan have had their activities suspended for three months for pushing their Protestant agenda. The Institute of Asian Culture and Development and the World Korean Aide Fund were said to be made up of evangelicals “engaged in systematic missionary work in the region,” according to Aktam Zhalilov, an expert at the Regional Policies Fund in Uzbekistan who delivered a report to journalists on Wednesday, October 18. Zhalilov stated, “South Korean missionaries are working under the cover of various foreign language, computer training and health centers, where contacts with young people and socially vulnerable groups are easy.” Zhalilov also called for the creation of a common database in the Central Asian states naming all organizations and foreign citizens whose illegal missionary activities have been exposed. (WorldWide Religious News)

PRAYER BINDERS TO BE DELIVERED TO FAMILIES OF AMISH CHILDREN

Binders containing hundreds of prayers for the victims and families of the October 2, Amish school house shootings in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, will be hand-delivered on Monday, October 23. Following the shootings, Faith and Action president Rev. Rob Schenck asked the organizations 63,000 internet supports to pray for the families of both the young victims and the family of shooter Charles Carl Roberts. Almost 500 prayers were emailed to Faith and Action from around the country. They are being printed out, put in plastic page protectors and bound in blue and brown three-ring binders to be given to the Amish families. Rev. Schenck said, “Both the Roberts and the Amish families were greatly relieved to know people were praying for them. They all expressed surprise. One Amish family told me they were living on the prayers being offered for them.” The delivery of the prayer binders will coincide with a visit Schenck had planned for more than a year before the shootings. (Christian Newswire)

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