Zprávy HCJB 27.2.2007

 Novozélandský pastor riskoval život při záchraně tonoucí.
   Zdroj: Assist News Service. Pastor Geoff Wikland ze sboru Eden Assemblies of God v Aucklandu si v sobotu odpoledne 10. února odskočil během sborového pikniku zaplavat si na populární pláž Maori Bay v Muriwai. Zde zahlédl 15-letou Senivii Simpson a jejího přítele, jak byli zachyceni proudem. Týden předtím Wikland ukončil 20-denní půst a věděl, že riskuje. Nicméně jim plaval na pomoc, když viděl, jak Simpsonová mizí pod vodou. Zatímco mladík byl zachráněn jeho bratrancem, Wickland se dostal až k dívce. Kvůli velkým vlnám však již nebyl schopen odtáhnou ji do bezpečí. Nechal ji, aby se držela velkého skaliska a sám byl odnesen pryč. Plaval po proudu, až se dostal k jinému skalisku, kde mu nějaký rybář hodil záchranné lano. „Vyškrábal jsem se skoro až na skalisko, ale vlny byly tak silné, že popruh lana se přetrhl a pak to se mnou dvakrát hodilo na kámen,“ vysvětloval později. Odřel si obě paže, levou nohu, trup a pravé rameno. Ztrácel sílu, držel se záchranné bóje. Přidržovali ho jiní dva plavci a pak připlul záchranný člun a vytáhl ho. „Ani na chvíli mi nepřišlo na mysl, že tam zůstanu,“ řekl Wikland. „Spíše jsem se v duchu obdivoval, jak mne Pán zachraňuje.“
 
 Všechny zprávy v angličtině.
   FLOODS IN BOLIVIA AFFECT 350,000, LANDSLIDES HINDER RELIEF EFFORTS

Sources: New Tribes Missions, BBC News, Periodico26
Two months of heavy rain and flooding in Bolivia has prompted the government to declare a state of emergency. More than 350,000 people are estimated to be affected, and more than 35 people have died as water levels continue to rise. Local authorities in the worst-hit areas say many communities have been completely cut off by the floods, hampering relief efforts. Recurring landslides have blocked many roads, with helicopters required to distribute food in some areas.

One of the areas hardest hit is the city of Trinidad in the northeastern Beni province where approximately 90,000 residents are stranded in the city surrounded by a roadway that acted like a dike. During a tour of the effected regions, President Evo Morales said, “We have instructed the authorities to draft a plan to evacuate Trinidad in case the water keeps rising. If the water flows over the dyke, the whole of Trinidad will be washed away.”

New Tribes Mission (NTM) reported that many people in the Ese Ejja, Yura and Yuqui tribes, among whom NTM missionaries serve, have lost their gardens, causing food shortages. The Ese Ejjas were already having hunger problems due to last year’s floods, but this year is much worse. There are no reports of the flooding directly affecting NTM missionaries.

The flooding, affecting as much as 90 percent of Bolivia, is considered the worst to hit the country in 25 years and is believed to be caused by the climate anomaly, El Nińo. The floods have also destroyed close to 500,000 acres of agricultural land and crops, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

* HCJB Global Voice has worked with local radio partners to plant local AM and FM stations in the Bolivian cities of Santa Cruz, Tarija and Tupiza. Four stations with eight transmitters in four cities (La Paz, Caranavi, Santa Cruz and Sucre) are also affiliated with the ALAS, the ministry’s Latin American satellite radio network that makes Spanish programs available to local stations 24 hours a day.

NEW ZEALAND PASTOR RISKS HIS LIFE TO SAVE TEEN CAUGHT IN RIPTIDE

Source: Assist News Service
Pastor Geoff Wikland of Auckland’s Eden Assemblies of God was swimming at a church picnic at a popular beach on Maori Bay in Muriwai, New Zealand, at about 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, when he saw that 15-year-old Senivia Simpson and a friend were caught in a riptide. Weak after having been on a fast for 20 days, Wikland knew the risks, but swam to their rescue when he saw Simpson had gone under. While the young man was rescued by his cousin, Wikland reached the girl, but was unable to get her to safety as a large wave separated them. Simpson was left clinging to a rock while Wikland was swept away. He swam with the current, reaching a large rock where some fishermen threw him a lifeline. “I just got to the rock, but the force of the huge waves was so great that they broke the harness of the lifeline and threw me up and against the rocks twice,” Wikland explained. The pastor’s arms, left leg, torso and right shoulder were injured. His strength gone, he clutched a lifebuoy while two other swimmers aided him until a rescue boat arrived. “It never once crossed my mind that I was going to die,” Wikland said. “Rather, I was wondering how the Lord was going to save me.”

WORLDWIDE ANGLICANS ADDRESS ‘FRACTURE’ WITHIN U.S. EPISCOPALS

Sources: Religion Today, Christian Newswire
The schism within the U.S. Episcopal Church regarding the issue of same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexual leadership was recently addressed by the international Anglican Communion. In a mid-February meeting in Tanzania, the world Anglican Communion warned of a “fracture” in the U.S. Episcopal Church and urged that they abide by a 1998 resolution that defines marriage as heterosexual and rejects blessing same-sex unions. The Anglican leadership, called primates, also asked the bishops not to give consent to any candidate for bishop who is living in a same-sex relationship. The primates wrote, “At the heart of our tensions is the belief that the Episcopal Church has departed from the standard of teaching on human sexuality accepted by the communion in 1998.” According to a Global South Primates press release, during the meetings seven Anglican province leaders refused to take communion with their fellow bishops due to the “impaired” or “broken communion” between their provinces and the Episcopal Church.

BIBLE-READING MARATHON, PRAYER DAY TO COMBAT EVIL IN BENIN

Source: Mission Network News
Christians are holding a Bible-reading marathon in the West African country of Benin Feb. 28 to March 3 in association with that country’s National Day of Prayer. Bible Pathway Ministries’ Ken Sharp believes the events couldn’t have come at a better time. “It’s truly God’s timing to follow up about one-and-a-half months after their national Voodoo Day, and just prior to their national election, to help combat the darkness and to give the people there in Benin, that strength and truth of the word of God,” he says. The Bible-reading marathon has even received national attention. “The president of Benin is a believer and rules politically with the fear of God, and he wants to try to get this Bible reading marathon -- they’re planning on broadcasting it over the TV, nationwide,” Sharp said. John A. Hash, founder of the International Bible Reading Association, who is partnering with Bible Pathway Ministries for the event, has seen the importance of people reading through God’s Word to prepare their hearts to pray in the way God would have. Of Benin’s 7 million citizens, 65 percent believe in voodoo.

* HCJB Global Voice worked with the Council of Protestant and Evangelical Churches of Benin to help put a Christian FM station on the air in Cotonou in 1998. The station broadcasts the gospel in French, English and seven tribal languages. Partner ministry SIM also records programs in eight languages at the studios in Parakou. A nationwide FM network is being planned.

SURVEY: CELEBRITIES, ATHLETES NOT TEENS’ PRIMARY ROLE MODELS

Source: Religion News Service
Dispelling the conventional wisdom that celebrities, athletes and entertainers are the primary role models teenagers look to most, a survey conducted by the American Bible Society revealed that more than two-thirds of young people between the ages of 12 and 18 believe parents are the most important role models in today’s society. After parents, 41 percent of teens said teachers and coaches were role models followed by siblings (40 percent), religious leaders (19 percent), athletes (18 percent) and celebrities (17 percent). When choosing role models, the teens surveyed said the most important qualities they look for include biblical principals such as honesty, integrity, loyalty and truthfulness. Nearly 85 percent of teens selected Jesus as the embodiment of a biblical role model. The survey also discovered that teens today look for role models and heroes within their reach, with whom they have access and regular interaction. More than 1,100 youths participated in the eight-question survey conducted by Weekly Reader Research on behalf of the American Bible Society.

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