Days of torrential rains caused at least 29 deaths and forced more than 300,000 from their homes in Indonesia’s worst flooding in five years. Ministries in the area are also affected. Paul Jenks of AMG International which operates child care centers in Jakarta said, “75 percent of Jakarta is flooded. Most of the work that we do with children in Jakarta are the poorest of the poor and live along drainage canals and are very, very susceptible to flooding, when even a small flood happens.” While Jenks doesn’t have official word, he’s not hopeful the childcare centers are still operational. “I’m sure that they are all under water. We’re going to have to find alternate sites just to be able to do [food] distribution.” AMG International has already committed funds for disaster relief. “This is the fourth major disaster that Indonesia has had in just the last couple of years,” Jenks said. “It seems to be a place that’s prone for such things. So, it’s wonderful to have funds readily available so that we can respond immediately when there is such a problem.” (Mission Network News)

* HCJB Global Hands has sent three teams overseas in the last two years to help local partners with relief efforts. In 2005, a team from Ecuador went to Indonesia to help survivors of the December 2004 tsunami, and they stayed an extra week to help victims of an earthquake on Nias Island. Two teams also went to Pakistan following the devastating earthquake in the Kashmir region.

LEADER OF MISSIONARY COUPLE’S ABDUCTORS CONFIRMED DEAD

The leader of the Philippine-based terrorist group Abu Sayyaf which abducted American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham in 2001 was confirmed dead by Philippine and U.S. authorities two weeks ago. Kaddafy Janjalani was killed in a gun battle with Philippine soldiers in the jungles of Patikul, Sulu, in what both governments describe as a successful campaign against global terrorism. The Burnhams, missionaries with New Tribes Mission, were abducted at Dos Palmas in Puerto Princesa City in May 2001 and held captive for more than a year. Gracia was rescued by Philippine soldiers while her husband Martin was killed in the rescue operations. Military intelligence is speculating on the future of the terror group following the loss of its primary leader and believe there is no one with Jajalani’s strength. His death will likely either end the group’s 15-year terror activities in southern Philippines or the group will push harder to avenge the death of its leader who had a $5-million reward on his head. (Assist News Service)

SURVEY: 300 MILLION CHINESE CALL THEMSELVES ‘RELIGIOUS’

New polling data in China reveals that 300 million Chinese consider themselves “religious,” three times more than previous government estimates. The survey of 4,500 people, conducted by professors Tong Shijun and Liu Zhongyu of the East China Normal University in Shanghai, was published in the state-run China Daily newspaper today (Wednesday, Feb. 7) and in Oriental Outlook magazine. The data indicated that 12 percent of all believers, or 40 million people, were Christians. This number is much lower than some other estimates of the Christian population and it is unknown if it includes any of the “house churches” that are unregistered with the state. Beijing’s official number of Christians was only 16 million in 2005 and about 10 million in the late 1990s. About 200 million of those recently polled indicated they are “Buddhists, Taoists or worshipers of legendary figures such as the Dragon King and God of Fortune.” The average age of worshipers has also fallen, said the report, as about two-thirds of the survey group fell in the 16-39 age group while only 9.6 percent were 55 or older. (WorldWide Religious News/Associated Press)

HIGH-TECH COMPANY BROADCASTS PRAYERS TO ISRAEL’S HOLY SITES

A new technology run by a Tel Aviv company called Pray Over IP is selling phone cards that allow Christian and Jewish customers to record their prayers and have them broadcast through speakers at holy sites while live webcams provide real-time views of the sites. An estimated 1,500 people use the site each day to connect with places such as the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The company, founded 18 months ago, is the brainchild of Avshalom Neumann who got the idea by watching tourists visiting the sites using their cell phones to call relatives abroad, enabling distant people to get their prayer presence in the holy place in spite of travel costs. The firm expects to generate millions in revenue this year and plans to expand to other sites. Some religious leaders have been critical, saying the technology has no business near holy places. (Assist News Service)

RAT-INDUCED FAMINE IN INDIA ALLOWS CHRISTIANS TO SHINE

A famine in India brought on by an influx of rats every few decades has allowed one Christian ministry the opportunity to demonstrate Christ’s love. Every 50 years the most common type of wild bamboo in northeast India blossoms, sending rats on a rampage to devour them. After that, the rats turn their attention to local rice fields, resulting in widespread famine in areas where traditional agriculture is practiced. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many Hindus consider the rats holy and do not exterminate them. Officials with Bibles for the World are helping many of those affected. “We cried out to God and shared the plight of our people with a few of our friends,” said Mawii Pudaite who co-founded the mission with her husband, Rochunga. “We were able to send some truckloads of rice to these severely stricken areas.” She noted that a Christian official in one state “instructed his people to build barns [to] store food. So they were quite well prepared [for the famine].” Pudaite expects the effects of the famine to continue for at least three years. (OneNewsNow.com)

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