Zprávy HCJB 15.7.2007 - 21.7.2007

 Starodávná tabulka svědčí o historické přesnosti Knihy Jeremiáše Proroka.
   Výzkumník Britského Musea učinil objev potvrzující faktickou správnost starozákonních historických popisů. Píše to britský deník The Telegraph. Minulý týden hledal Michael Jursa, hostující profesor z vídeňské univerzity, mezi hliněnými textovými tabulkami ze starověké Asýrie nějaké záznamy finančního rázu. Přitom zde narazil na povědomé jméno. Znovu prohlédl knihu Jeremiáš a zjistil, že se zde toto jméno skutečně vyskytuje. Jde o Nebo-Sarsekima, hlavního eunucha krále Nebúkadnesara II. Podle Bible byl Nebo-Sarsekim s Nebúkadnesarem, když Bybylóňané dobyli Jeruzalém. Malá hliněná destička datovaná 10. rok vlády Nebúkadnesara II. je příjmovým dokladem o platbě zlatem, které Nebo-Sarsekim složil na účet babylónského chrámu kolem roku 595 před Kristem. Výzkumníci z Britského Muzea studují již pět let přes 130 000 těchto hliněných destiček a vedoucí výzkumného projektu Dr. Irving Finkel o nálezu řekl, že je to „světový objev.“ Řekl, že o hlavním eunuchovi se Starý Zákon zmiňuje jen jedenkrát a nyní se ukázalo, že přesně. Řekl také, že průkaz pravosti takového drobného detailu, „dává nový druh síly“ celé knize Jeremiáš a celému Starému Zákonu. Zdroj: OneNewsNow.com, Breaking Christian News
Pozn. překl.: V kralickém překladu - je zřejmě překlad jmen a funkcí nepřesný: Nergalšaretser, Samgarnebu, Sarsechim, Rabsaris … Asi má být (dle anglické verze) Nergalšaretser ze Samgaru, Nebosarsekím, vrchní úředník …
 
 Co působí homosexualitu?
   „Co působí homosexualitu?“ je sporné téma Hovoru Týdne v pořadu „World Radio“ na HCJB Global-Australia. Eric Skattebo v něm hostí Edmunda Smithe z Malajsie, který líčí svou cestu od homosexuála ke šťastně ženatému muži a otci. Smith a jeho manželka nyní vedou Real Love Ministries. Tato misie lidem pomáhá opustit homosexuální způsob života. Smith popisuje, jak tento jejich program postupně přináší obnovu a jak křesťané mohou lépe pochopit někoho, kdo zápasí s náklonností ke stejnému pohlaví. Poslech (v angličtině) je možný na http://www.hcjb.org/worldwide/australia/world_radio_programme.html
 
 Na Ukrajině se 231 tisíc lidí zúčastnilo festivalu pořádaného Franklinem Grahamem.
   Před šestnácti lety by v Kyjevě na Ukrajině něco takové nemohlo být povoleno. V Rusku by to bylo zakázáno dokonce i dnes. Nicméně o tomto víkendu 6.-8. července se na Ukrajině uskutečnila velká národní slavnost náboženské svobody, které se zúčastnilo přes 132 000 lidí - pamětníků komunistických zákonů, aby tak tuto novou skutečnost oslavili a volně se rozhodovali pro víru. Festival Franklina Grahama přilákal na olympijský stadion v Kyjevě 124 586 diváků, přičemž dalších 107 000 lidí celý děj sledovalo pomocí živého televizního přenosu na 104 dalších místech po celé zemi. Druhý večer festivalu stálo přes 40 000 lidí na dešti, když na konci Grahamova vystoupení přeběhli zpod krytých tribun na plochu stadionu. Do konce víkendu výzvu uposlechlo a na cestu za Ježíšem Kristem se vydalo 6694 osob. Zdroj: Religion Today

*HCJB Global Voice spolu s místními partnery vybudovali Radio Emmanuel pracující na 500-wattovém FM vysílači v Kyjevě od června 2005. Dva další pomocné vysílače jsou umístěny jinde v Kyjevě a ve Dněpropetrovsku. Vysíla4e současně šíří signál New Life Radio – satelitní sítě provozované Christian Radio for Russia s hlavním parnterem HCB Global Voice. Kromě toho jsou programy v Ukrajinštině vysílány na krátkých vlnách.
 
 Podle průzkumu hodlá většina Novozélanďanů ignorovat protivýpraskový zákon.
   Jen 29 procent Novozélanďanů podporuje návrh zákona Sue Bradfordové proti výprasku dětí přes zadek, který byl nedávno přijat. 78 procent dotázaných hodlá zákon ignorovat a bude své děti při přestupcích dál vyplácet, i kdyby za to měli být soudně stíháni. Nedávný průzkum pořízený skupinou „Rodina především“ (Family First New Zealand) zaznamenal stálou a zdrcující opozici proti novému zákonu. „Tento zákon přisoudí obrovskému množství dobrých rodičů a prarodičů roli narušitelů zákona. Politici selhali při naslouchání a uznávání hlasu Novozélanďanů,“ řekl Bob McCoskrie, národní ředitel Family First. „Novozélanďané se nenechají ohlupovat tvrzením protivýpraskové lobby, že naplácání na zadek je zneužíváním dítěte. Neviděli potřebu takové zákonné úpravy ani dříve ani nyní. Chtějí, aby se politici pustili do skutečných případů zneužívání dětí, aniž by postihovali správnou rodičovskou praxi.“ Family First vyzývá zákonodárce, aby zákon upravili v tom smyslu, že výchovný výprask není trestným činem. Průzkumu, který proběhl ve třetím červnovém týdny, se zúčastnilo skoro 1000 lidí Zdroj: Challenge Weekly, Assist News Service
 
 Muslimové se omlouvají za útok na kostel v Pandžábu.
   Muslimové se omlouvají za útok na kostel v pakistánském Pandžábu z minulého měsíce, ale nenabízejí žádné odškodné za tento útok ze 17. června, kdy dav vzal útokem osamělý vesnický kostel. Útočili puškami, tyčemi a holemi, křesťany zranili a budovu poškodili. Křesťané uvnitř budovy bojovali, ale nebyli schopni zabránit zničení množství Biblí a zpěvníků. Kostel patří Armádě Spásy a je ve vesnici Chak 30 km severně od Faisalabádu. Útočnící se kromě toho doznali, že jeden muslimský obyvatel plánoval spálit stránku Koránu – za což je v Pákistánu doživotní vězení – a hodit to na křesťany. „Je nám to líto a slibujeme, že se to nebude opakovat,“ uvedl jeden z původně obviněných muslimů, 41letý Faizur Rehman v notářsky ověřeném místopřísežném prohlášení 28. června. „Křesťanští obyvatelé jim odpouštějí,“ řekl advokát Khalil Tahir Sindhu, právní zástupce křesťanské komunity. Dodal, že obě strany se dohodly na ukončení soudních sporů, ve kterých se vzájemně obviňují z vyvolávání nepřátelství, a připustil, že on sám nebyl pro mimosoudní vyrovnání. „To je vyhlášení beztrestnosti,“ namítal právník. Zdroj: Compass Direct News
 
 23 korejských křesťanů uneseno v Afghánistánu Talibanem.
   Talibanští militanti unesli 23 jihokorejských evangelických křesťanů, kteří v Afghánistánu cestovali autobusem. Policie potvrdila, že jde o zatím největší únos cizinců, který je součástí „teroristické taktiky“ používané povstalci. Ve svém vyjádření řekl zástupce policejního ředitele provincie Ghazní, Mohammad Zaman, že ozbrojení povstalci zastavili 19. července autobus na hlavní silnici z Kandaháru do Kábulu. Jiná zpráva pocházející z Radio Svobodná Evropa financovaného USA uvádí 18 unesených. Příčina neshody v počtu unesených zatím není jasná. „Jsou v našich rukou, vyslýcháme je a naše požadavky a reakce budou oznámeny později,“ řekl mluvčí Talibanu Said Yousuf Ahmadi telefonicky z neznámého místa. Oh Soo-In, administrátor protestantského sboru v Saem-Mul blízko hlavního města Jižní Koreje Soulu řekl reportérům, že unesení byli členy jejich sboru a byli na misii v Afghánistánu od pátku 13. července. Do Jižní Koreje se měli vrátit za 10 dnů. Afghánští úředníci označili únos za součást pokusů povstalců ukázat afghánské vládě, že není schopna zajistit bezpečnost svých lidí. Dva Němci a šest Afghánců unesených jihovýchodně od Kábulu ve středu 18. července jsou stále nezvěstní. Zdroj: BosNewsLife, BBC News
 
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   ANCIENT ARTIFACT SUPPORTS HISTORICAL ACCURACY OF BOOK OF JEREMIAH

Sources: OneNewsNow.com, Breaking Christian News
A researcher at the British Museum has made a discovery that supports Old Testament historical accounts as fact, states a report from The Telegraph, a British newspaper. Last week Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, Italy, was searching for financial records among tablets from ancient Assyria when he found a familiar name. Jursa scanned the book of Jeremiah and found that the name was that of Nebuchadnezzar II’s chief eunuch, Nebo-Sarsekim. In the Bible, the eunuch was said to be with Nebuchadnezzar when the Babylonians took Jerusalem. The small tablet, dated to the 10th year of Nebuchadnezzar II’s reign, is a bill of receipt acknowledging Nebo-Sarsekim’s payment of gold to a temple in Babylon around 595 BC. Researchers at the British Museum have been studying more than 130,000 tablets for more than 5 years, and research leader Dr. Irving Finkel called this discovery “a world-class find.” He said this eunuch was a throwaway character in the Old Testament, and now it has been proven accurate. He says with such a minor detail proving to be true, it gives a “new kind of power” to the whole book of Jeremiah and the entire Old Testament.

13 MONTAGNARD CHRISTIANS IN VIETNAM RECEIVE PRISON SENTENCES

Source: BosNewsLife
Vietnam sentenced 13 Degar Montagnards, a major ethnic group in the country’s volatile central highlands, to prison terms of up to 15 years for “being house church Christians” and their involvement in religious rights campaigns, representatives said on Sunday, July 15. Topping the security forces’ most wanted list were K’Pa Binh, 31, and K’Pa Cin, 42, who were each sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment last month by a court in Gia Lai province. They were sentenced for their involvement in the Montagnard Foundation Incorporated (MFI) which demands more rights for Christians and reports about persecution of the predominantly Christian ethnic group. Details of the June sentences only emerged this weekend. Binh was detained in September 2006 for participating in a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration in 2004. He has been held at T-20 Prison in the central town of Pleiku ever since. On Friday, June 1, charges were apparently changed and he received the 15-year prison term. Cin, a fellow Christian and rights activist who was held since last November in the same prison, received a similar sentence. Among the others who were imprisoned include Rmah Ca, 35, Siu Blok, 54, Puih Alum, 57, Rcom Wit, 32, and Nai H’Ngat, 32, the only female. Their various sentences included “preaching a spreading Christianity,” “helping refugees” and “being a house church Christian.”

KYRGYZSTAN TIGHTENS RELIGIOUS LAWS AMID CONCERNS ABOUT EXTREMISTS

Sources: Associated Press, WorldWide Religious News
Kyrgyzstan will tighten its regulation and surveillance of religious groups in the largely Muslim nation in Central Asian, a government official reported on Thursday, July 12, citing concerns about extremist groups. More than 2,100 religious organizations are registered with authorities, said Toigonbek Kalmatov, director of the State Agency for Religious Matters. Another 400 groups are believed to be operating illegally in the country and are causing “great difficulties,” Kalmatov said. Kyrgyz laws required that all religious groups be officially registered and present an operating charter, Kalmatov told reporters. Authorities are obligated to monitor the groups to ensure they do not violate laws, and new legislative proposals would help tighten oversight. “These measures have become necessary in connection with the great number of religious movements operating in Kyrgyzstan, illegally and without registration,” he said. Kalmatov gave no details regarding the new legislation. The poor, largely rural ex-Soviet state has been buffeted by political turmoil for nearly two years, and there are growing fears of Islamic extremism, particularly among in the poor, densely populated Fergana Valley.

* HCJB Global Voice is bringing words of hope and encouragement to people across Central Asia via radio. Together with partners, Christian broadcasts go out in languages such as Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Southern Uzbek and Urdu.

PAKISTAN’S PARLIAMENT UNLIKELY TO PASS RESTRICTIVE ‘APOSTASY’ BILL

Source: Compass Direct News
Christian and government leaders are hopeful that Pakistan’s parliament is unlikely to support the death penalty for Muslims who abandon their faith. Critics have worried that the Apostasy Act 2006, proposed in May, signaled further reduction of religious freedom in Pakistan, where vigilante enforcement of sharia (Islamic law) has been on the rise. The “apostasy” bill is not expected to be approved in its original form by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice where it is being revised, a member of the committee said. “The person who changes religions of his own will and wish, according to his own thinking, should not be punished at all,” said Sher Afgan Khan Niazi from Islamabad. “Therefore we don’t consider that it will be passed in this way.” At the same time, calm returned to the Pakistani villages of Shanti Nagar and Charsadda where death threats against Christians who refused to convert to Islam have not been carried out. The Christians in the two towns have concluded that the unfulfilled ultimatums to convert to Islam in recent months were isolated incidents and not cause for concern.

* HCJB Global Hands sent two medical teams from Ecuador to Pakistan following the Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake that left tens of thousands dead and thousands more injured and homeless. Staff members helped SIM International with relief efforts.

VIRTUAL MISSIONARIES HOPE TO REAP REAL-WORLD HARVEST ONLINE

Sources: Mission Network News, World Gospel Mission
Virtual reality has become a spiritual reality for World Gospel Mission (WGM). More than 8 million people are members of SecondLife.com, a life-like virtual world. WRM has now created a manual to equip virtual missionaries. It teaches readers how to transform virtual relationships into real relationships. “We look at that world and say, ‘They need to be reached like anybody else in the world.’ Behind the avatars [online identities] that you find in Second Life, there are real people, and we know that they need to hear the gospel like anybody else does,” said WRM President Hubert Harriman. There are already some truly Christian churches on the site, but evangelism is a new idea in a world where many citizens behave as though there are no consequences. While WGM does not encourage Second Life membership, the handbook is designed for those already involved “to be able to talk to another avatar in a very friendly way, bringing up the things of Christ, living out their life in that second life as a Christian,” said Harriman. “We want to send missionaries anywhere we can.”

© Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
 
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   231,000+ ATTEND FRANKLIN GRAHAM FESTIVAL IN ONCE-COMMUNIST UKRAINE

Source: Religion Today
Sixteen years ago in Kiev, Ukraine, an event like this would not have been allowed. Even today in Russia it would be forbidden. Yet on the weekend of July 6-8, Ukraine hosted a grand nationwide expression of religious freedom as more than 231,000 who were formerly subjugated to strict communist rule gathered to celebrate and openly choose their faith. The Franklin Graham Festival drew 124,586 to Olympic Stadium in Kiev plus more than 107,000 who participated in the event via live satellite broadcast in 104 additional venues across the country. On the second night of the festival more than 40,000 people stood in the rain as thousands poured onto the field at the end of Graham’s message. By the end of the weekend, 6,694 people responded to the invitation to follow Jesus.

* HCJB Global Voice worked with local churches to establish Radio Emmanuel, a 500-watt FM station, in Kiev in June 2005. Two additional outlets in Kiev and one in Dneperpetrovsk are also affiliated with New Life Radio, a Russian satellite radio network operated by Christian Radio for Russia with HCJB Global Voice as the principal partner. In addition, weekly Ukrainian programs air to the country via shortwave.

DUTCH POLITICIAN REPORTS CRUCIFIXIONS OF IRAQI CHRISTIANS

Source: BosNewsLife
Militants have crucified Christians in Iraq, including converts from Islam and people involved in “mixed marriages,” said Joel Voordewind, a senior parliamentarian with the Netherlands Christian Union Party. He was part of a Dutch delegation that visited several countries in the Middle East where he managed to confirm information received from a “trustworthy source” at the United Nations about the recent crucifixions. Several Iraqi Christians “are nailed to a cross and their arms are tied up with ropes. The ropes are put on fire,” Voordewind said. He also described how a person, who “survived” a crucifixion “even showed holes in his hands,” apparently from nails. Voordewind said victims of the crucifixions are “in most cases Christian converts who abandoned Islam or people who, religiously speaking, are involved in mixed marriages.” He did not say how many Christians have been crucified in recent weeks and months, apparently not giving all details before releasing his official report, which is expected shortly. The politician was due to present his findings to Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen, a Christian Democrat, within the few next days. It comes as thousands of Christians are reportedly fleeing Iraq because of ongoing threats and violence directed against them.

ANTI-CHRISTIAN GROUP IN INDIA FAILS TO GRAB BIBLE COLLEGE’S LAND

Source: Assist News Service
About 20 people in an anti-Christian group recently drove onto the building site of a new Gospel for Asia (GFA) Bible college in Maharashtra, India, and attempted to stop the construction of a fence. Group members didn’t want the fence to go up because it would keep them from illegally using the Bible college’s property and well. The anti-Christians had been squatting on government land behind the Bible college property and they were trying to take over the GFA property too. “The mob came into the compound and forcibly stopped the fencing work, issuing threats against the workers,” said M.A. Lalachen, a GFA regional leader. “They think they can easily grab our land since we are a persecuted minority.” When the group continued to hassle the construction crew, GFA leaders in the area called a government inspector to clearly define the lines between the government land and Bible college property. The inspector explained to the anti-Christian group that it was illegal for them to reside on the Bible college land. The group left, but not before issuing a threat, “We will return to this property again soon.”

* Radio programs in 17 languages air to Asia and Southeast Asia from HCJB Global-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra. Most of the programs are produced at the ministry’s studios in New Delhi, India.

CHINESE PREPARATIONS FOR OLYMPICS INCLUDE RELIGIOUS CRACKDOWNS

Source: Compass Direct News
Christians throughout China fear tough restrictions on their freedom to worship in the coming year due to a government crackdown ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Christians across China are reporting a shortage of Bibles, even in cities where Bibles previously were readily available. There are reports of ongoing house church raids and arrests, and an unprecedented number of foreign Christians have been expelled from China in recent months. In addition, research presented at a government meeting in January revealed that the number of Christians in China may have reached 130 million, including 20 million Catholics -- much higher than previous government estimates, according to a report from the China Aid Association (CAA). As preparations continue for the Olympics, critics around the world are calling on China to account for ongoing human rights abuses, including religious freedom abuses.

ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA DEFEATS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE MOTION

Source: Anglican Journal
There were tears in the eyes of some, others bowed in prayer, and some quietly walked out of the plenary room shortly after the defeat on Tuesday, June 24, of the motion to allow the blessing of same-sex unions, only to face church and secular media who wanted to know how they felt about the decision. “I think they (bishops) were trying to respond to what they heard in synod -- people wanting more study, time for discernment,” said Bishop Fred Hiltz, primate-elect of the Anglican Church of Canada, who had voted in favor. “I have my own personal opinion, as you know, but my responsibility is now to work with this decision. There needs to be a pastoral response. We have a very divided church, and no doubt many, many people will be disappointed by this vote. I will try and reach out pastorally to those who are disappointed.” Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton, Alberta, chair of the Primate’s Theological Commission, added, “I don’t think there were any winners. We know that people on both sides . . . left with a profound sense of sadness that the body of Christ was broken.”

© Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
 
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   JAPANESE EARTHQUAKES SPARE MINISTRY CENTER, OPEN OPPORTUNITIES

Sources: Mission Network News, BBC News
A second strong earthquake struck in the Sea of Japan off western Japan hours after a separate killer quake struck the northwestern coast Monday, July 16. The quakes, one measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, injured hundreds, killed nine and forced thousands to evacuate. SEND International’s Rob Pocklington said the quakes struck in an area fairly removed from the organization’s ministry center. “We have people, church-planting missionaries and others who are very strongly linked to the national evangelical churches in Japan,” he said. “Anything at all that we do would be through those who are involved in both missionary work and in the national churches.” Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA) is not directly involved in relief. However, a JEMA-endorsed ministry called CRASH enlists volunteers to serve in the stricken area and has sent an offer to local missionaries for emergency help. Pocklington said the quake is reminiscent of the magnitude 7.3 quake that hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6,400 people. “Not only was it a physical shaking in Japan, but it also shook up the lives of many people,” he explained. “Therefore, our prayer is that God would use this time to speak into the lives of many in Japan who need to know the Lord.”

* Weekly one-hour Japanese broadcasts air from HCJB Global Voice-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra. Programs are also available on the Internet via on-demand archives and air via a digital satellite network in Japan. An HCJB Global representation site opened in Tokyo in August.

CAMBODIA BANS DOOR-TO-DOOR EVANGELISM FOR NON-BUDDHISTS

Source: WorldWide Religious News
Cambodia has banned Christian groups from door-to-door proselytizing and is seeking to limit other religious activities by non-Buddhist organizations, which it says disrupt society. A directive from the Ministry of Cults and Religions obtained by the French news service Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, July 17, stated, “Christians are prohibited from visiting people’s houses by knocking on the door and waiting to say ‘the Lord has arrived.’” Distribution of religious literature will also be confined to churches which now must be approved by the ministry before they can be built. While the ruling applies to all non-Buddhist groups, it is aimed at curbing Christian evangelical influence in largely Buddhist Cambodia amid reports of children being tricked into converting, officials said. Christian missionaries are reportedly offering cakes and other sweets to children in exchange for abandoning Buddhism, local media outlets reported. Food, clothing and free English lessons are also offered by many church groups, which then introduce religion into their activities. “It is prohibited to use money, materials and other means in order to convince followers of a religion to convert to another one,” the ministry directive said. The groups’ tactics “disturb the daily lives of the people and can cause other insecurities in society,” it added.

* HCJB Global Voice, in cooperation with Campus Crusade for Christ, worked with a local partner to plant Cambodia’s first Christian radio station in 1998. New Life Radio in the capital city of Phnom Penh broadcasts the gospel in Cambodian and English.

PERUVIAN CHRISTIAN REARRESTED DESPITE 3 INNOCENT RULINGS

Sources: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Assist News Service
A Peruvian Christian man has been returned to prison after the Peruvian Supreme Court again nullified a court decision absolving him and issued an order for his rearrest. He has already been found innocent three times. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that Carlos Jorge Garay was first arrested when he was 19 and charged with terrorism. He was released on Nov. 2, 2004, after spending 12 years in prison. Garay was absolved of all the charges after a lengthy judicial process. However, he has now been informed that his previous acquittals have been invalidated and that he must return to prison to await a retrial, following a Supreme Court order. “What is curious is that in this trial, a person who, in a previous trial stated that he did not know Carlos, now says that he does,” said lawyer Lourdes Zegarra. Other witnesses are testifying from behind dark glass so that it’s impossible for Garay or his lawyers to know who is accusing him. “In his three years of freedom, Garay has married and now has an infant daughter. He expressed concern that if the courts refuse to release him from prison, it may be another four years before he sees his daughter,” CSW reported.

SHINING PATH ORPHANS PAIRED WITH PERUVIAN SENIORS FOR ‘NEW LIFE’

Source: Assist News Service
Fifteen years of violence perpetrated by Peru’s Shining Path guerrillas left behind a terrible legacy that includes 14,000 orphaned children. But a 250-acre farm in the cloud forest area of southern Peru will offer new hope to orphans and take them off the streets. “These kids will spend half the day farming and the other half in school,” said Latin American Indian Ministries (LAIM) President Dale Kietzman. “The Apu Ayllu Refuge will create a home for children and stop decades of abuse and start a life of love.” Apu Ayllu is a Quechua word meaning a “rich God-based family-run community.” The farm will pair indigenous senior citizens with indigenous young people to create a self-sustaining agricultural community. “We will have elderly couples living with the kids in a grandparent-grandchild relationship,” Kietzman said. “These older people know how to farm, and this will be out in the country, away from influences of the city.” Initial plans call for buildings that will house 200 youths, widows and seniors as well as a school building, clinic and administrative offices. “We also expect to develop more job skills than just farming,” he added. “Abandoned youth will be given a family to live with, a chance for economic, emotional and spiritual empowerment, an education in Quechua, Spanish and English, and a new life in which to grow.”

* HCJB Global Voice, together with local partners, has helped plant Christian radio stations in seven Peruvian cities. Affiliate stations in three cities also carry Spanish programming distributed by ALAS, the ministry’s Latin American satellite radio network. Radio programs in both Spanish and Quechua also air across Peru via shortwave from Quito, Ecuador.

POLL: MOST NEW ZEALANDERS PLAN TO IGNORE NEW ANTI-SPANKING LAW

Sources: Challenge Weekly, Assist News Service
Only 29 percent of New Zealanders support the Sue Bradford anti-spanking bill, called “smacking” in New Zealand, which became law recently. Another 78 percent plan to ignore the law and continue to spank as a form of correction for children, despite the possibility of prosecution. A recent poll commissioned by the group Family First New Zealand has encountered continued, overwhelming opposition to the new law. ”This law will turn the huge proportion of good parents and grandparents into law-breakers, and politicians have failed to hear and acknowledge the voice of New Zealanders,” said Bob McCoskrie, national director of Family First. “New Zealanders have not been fooled by the claims of the anti-smacking lobby that smacking is child abuse. They didn’t see the need for the law change in the first place, and they still don’t see the need. They desperately want politicians to tackle the real causes of child abuse without penalizing good parenting practice.” Family First is calling on representatives to amend the bill so the law explicitly states that reasonable spanking for the purpose of correction is not a criminal act. The poll surveyed almost 1,000 people during the week of June 11.

© Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
 
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   MINISTRY WORKS TO GET RADIOS, GOSPEL TO UNREACHED REBEL FORCES

Source: Mission Network News
While violence has displaced hundreds of thousands in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sam Vinton of Grace Ministries International says workers at Radio Kahuzi are trying to figure out how to get radios into the rebel-held areas. “That is a burden that they have right now,” Vinton says. “‘How do we get something to those people that the armies and the U.N. have not been able to reach?’ Maybe the gospel should be considered a real answer to this.” Vinton says that through years of civil war, God sustained the radio ministry in Bukavu. In fact, it’s grown into Kindu, Kumba and Cameroon, along with increased demand for the Bible correspondence course. “I think the biggest prayer is that the power of the gospel would be able to penetrate into the areas where no one would be able to dare to go into that jungle area to try to reach these people. They’re out there, and the gospel certainly through radio can reach them. That, I think, would be our greatest prayer need.”

* HCJB Global Voice works with local partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to broadcast the gospel on Christian stations in Boma, Bukavu and Kinshasa. Programs go out in English, French, Kikongo Fioti, Lingala, Luba and Swahili. Weekly programs in the Songe and Kikongo San Salvador languages also air from local FM stations in the country.

DISCOVERY OF HUGE UNDERGROUND LAKE MAY END DARFUR WAR

Source: BBC News
BBC News reported that a huge underground lake has been found in Sudan’s Darfur region which scientists say they believe could help end the conflict in the arid region. Some 1,000 wells will be drilled in the region, with the agreement of Sudan’s government, researchers from Boston University (BU) said. Analysts say competition for resources between Darfur’s Arab nomads and black African farmers is behind the conflict. More than 200,000 Darfuris have died and 2 million fled their homes since 2003. “Much of the unrest in Darfur and the misery is due to water shortages,” said geologist Farouk El-Baz, director of the BU Center for Remote Sensing, according to the Associated Press. “Access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, will help the peace process, and provides the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur,” he said. The team used radar data to find the ancient lake, which is the size of Lake Erie in North America -- the 10th largest lake in the world. A similar discovery was made in neighboring Egypt where wells have been used to irrigate 150,000 acres of farmland, the researchers say.

* HCJB World Radio’s community development staff helps bring clean drinking water and sanitation to rural Ecuadorian communities. In 2005 they helped install wells in 16 communities, water systems in three villages, and a water supply for a Christian camp. The projects are benefiting a total of nearly 5,000 people.

MUSLIMS APOLOGIZE FOR CHURCH ATTACK IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Source: Compass Direct News
Muslims have apologized for attacking a church last month in Pakistan’s Punjab region but offered no compensation for the Sunday, June 17, attack where the mob stormed the village’s lone church with guns, axes and wooden sticks injuring Christians and damaging the building. Christians inside the building fought back but were unable to prevent many of the congregation’s Bibles and hymnbooks from being destroyed. In addition to wounding seven Christians and destroying books at the Salvation Army church in Chak, a village 20 miles north of Faisalabad, the perpetrators admitted that a Muslim resident had planned to burn a page of the Korahn -- punishable with life imprisonment under Pakistani law -- and blame the Christian community. “We are sorry and promise that this will not happen in the future,” Faizur Rehman, one of 41 Muslims originally accused with attacking the church, said in a June 28 notarized affidavit. “The Christian people have forgiven them,” said lawyer Khalil Tahir Sindhu, legal representative for the Christian community. He added that both parties had dropped court cases in which they accused each other of instigating violence, though he admitted he was not in favor of the out-of-court settlement. “This is called impunity,” the lawyer protested.

425 WAL-MARTS TO CARRY FAITH-BASED TOY LINE, BIBLICAL ACTION FIGURES

Sources: WorldWide Religious News, USA Today
Early next month 425 Wal-Mart stores nationwide will begin carrying faith-based toys from One2believe that target parents who would rather that their kids play with a Samson action figure than a Spider-Man action figure. It’s the first time the world’s largest retailer has carried a full line of religious toys. “We’re seeing interest from parents in faith-enriching toys,” said Melissa O’Brien, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. Religious products have become a multibillion-dollar business, and the toy move comes as it targets a younger audience. But until now, most faith-based toys have sold successfully only in specialty religious stores, not at mass-market retailers, said Jim Silver, editor of Toy Wishes magazine. About one-sixth of Wal-Mart’s 3,300 stores will carry the One2believe line which will get two feet of toy aisle shelf space. One way Wal-Mart decided where to carry them, she says: Stores that sell a lot of Bibles will carry the new line. For David Socha, chief executive officer of One2believe, it’s a dream come true. “Our goal is to give the faith-based community an alternative to Bratz dolls and Spider-Man,” he said.

YOUTUBE PROVIDES NEW ONLINE AUDIENCE FOR CHURCH ARMY IN U.K.

Sources; Assist News Service
YouTube, with almost 20 million visitors each month, now hosts short stories from Church Army evangelists in the U.K., showing how the staff reaches communities with the gospel. The Church Army page on YouTube aims to showcase the work being done by its 300 or so evangelists across the U.K. and Ireland. Skateboarding evangelist Andy Milne talks about being the only “Bible” the young people he works with will ever read, and London-based Nick Russell shares the difficulties of living and working with his wife and baby daughter on one of southeastern London’s toughest estates. Kinder Kalsi, a former Sikh, talks about Chill, a new form of church for young people started in Langsett, Sheffield. David Coleman, Church Army’s Communications manager comments; “For some time we have been thinking about how more people could get a glimpse into what it is like to be an evangelist in different contexts today and YouTube gives us a perfect platform to do just that.” Church Army is a society of evangelists within the Anglican Communion which exists to enable people to come to a living faith in Jesus Christ.

* HCJB Global is also on YouTube. To view a series of archived videos, visit the following websites: YouTube.com (enter “HCJB” in search box); http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=hcjbglobal&p=r.

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   MONSOON FLOODING IN INDIA DISPLACES 1 MILLION, INCLUDING MISSIONARIES

Sources: Assist News Service, Mission Network News, Gospel for Asia
Monsoon flooding in India is causing a myriad of troubles for residents, including missionaries and churches. More than 1 million people in Orissa, a province on India’s east coast, have been displaced, including several Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionaries who fled the flash flooding there on Saturday, July 7. As missionaries Bihuda Chauhan and Pardesi Nima and their families moved to higher ground, they were able to carry some food with them, but they lost everything that was in their homes. GFA leaders in Orissa are assessing the situation. As soon as it’s safe, GFA aid workers will be in the state offering assistance. All transportation in the area has been shut down, making travel and communication virtually impossible. The most recent report indicates that this first round of rain has stopped and the water is beginning to recede. Monsoon rains are part of India’s normal weather pattern. The term “monsoon” actually means “weather” or “season,” referring to an annual wind pattern that brings rain to the subcontinent. The monsoon season, which runs from June through September, accounts for the majority of the country’s rain.

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

23 KOREAN CHRISTIANS KIDNAPPED BY TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN

Sources: BosNewsLife, BBC News
Taliban militants have kidnapped 23 South Korean evangelical Christians who were traveling in a passenger bus in Afghanistan in what police confirmed is the biggest known seizure of foreigners as part of stepped up “terror tactics” used by insurgents. In a statement, Mohammad Zaman, deputy police chief of Ghazni province, said gunmen stopped the bus Thursday, July 19, on the country’s main highway from Kandahar to Kabul. A second report on U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty put the number kidnapped at only 18. The reason for the discrepancy in the reported figures was not immediately clear. “They are safe with us, we are investigating them and our demands and reaction will be announced later,” said Taliban spokesman Said Yousuf Ahmadi by telephone from an undisclosed location. Oh Soo-In, a senior administrator at the Saem-Mul Protestant Community Church near the South Korean capital of Seoul, told reporters the abductees were from her church and had been on an evangelical mission in Afghanistan since Friday, July 13. They were due to return to South Korea 10 days later. Afghan officials have described the attacks as part of insurgents’ efforts to demonstrate that the Afghan government is incapable of providing security to its people. Two Germans and six Afghans abducted southwest of Kabul on Wednesday, July 18, are also missing.

* HCJB Global Voice 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.

15 CHURCH LEADERS ARRESTED, VBS WORKERS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED IN CHINA

Sources: China Aid Association, Assist News Service
A total of 15 house church leaders were recently detained in the Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu and Anhui July 10-14. According to eyewitness reports cited by China Aid Association (CAA), four military police officers raided the home of Pastor Fu Pengtu in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, where they arrested four people, including the pastor’s wife, Gao Chinxia, Xie Yanan, Pastor Liu Yukang and Chen Binghui.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, authorities raided the Zhongzhuang house church in Jiangsu province where 150 children were meeting for vacation Bible school (VBS), reported CAA. Officials from the county government, the Public Security Bureau (PBS), the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and local police department arrested a total of 10 people, including Pastor Zeng Zhengliang and the VBS teachers. CAA also reported that authorities used “brute force,” injuring two of the workers, one of whom is reportedly continuing to undergo treatment in a hospital after losing consciousness for half an hour.

On Tuesday, July 10, PSB officers in Anhui province’s Mingguang county detained a local house church leader, Pastor Lu Jingxiang, and arrested him in his house in Qiaotou. The PSB didn’t provide any legal papers for the arrest and claimed that Lu was involved in “illegal religious activities.”

WIDOW OF WYCLIFFE BIBLE TRANSLATORS FOUNDER DIES AT AGE 91

Source: Mission Network News
Elaine Mielke Townsend, 91, the widow of W. Cameron “Cam” Townsend who founded Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1934, died in Rock Hill, S.C., hospital Saturday, July 14, after a brief illness. She had been in weakened health since a stroke in her Waxhaw, N.C., home in February 2006. “All Wycliffe staff members mourn the loss of Elaine Townsend -- ‘Auntie Elaine’ to many,” said Wycliffe USA President Bob Creson. “She and her husband were outstanding examples of faith in God and commitment to the Bibleless peoples of the earth. Were she still with us, I know her message to us would be, ‘Finish the task!’” Following her husband’s death in 1982, Elaine continued her late husband’s vision, championing the cause of those who speak minority languages. She shared her husband’s dream of seeing the Bible translated into every language, no matter how small the number of speakers. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, July 21, at the JAARS Center in North Carolina. She is survived by four children, 21 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

* LIGHTNING STRIKE SILENCES CHRISTIAN STATION IN ARIZONA FOR 3 DAYS

Source: HCJB Global
A lightning strike the afternoon of Tuesday, July 17, knocked World Radio Network (WRN) station KNOG-FM in Nogales, Ariz., off the air for nearly three days, causing an estimated $10,000 in damages. WRN is one of HCJB Global’s cooperating ministries with 23 Spanish- and English-language outlets, most along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Thankfully, no one was hurt, and there is no visible damage to the building or facilities,” said WRN Director Glenn Lafitte. “However, much of the studio equipment, telephones, computers and other equipment were not working properly and may have to be replaced.”

KNOG Station Manager Marcos Romero said the lighting struck at about 3 p.m., hitting the antenna tower and sending a power surge through the studio-transmitter link (STL), a cable that enters the studio.

“This damaged two very important pieces of equipment in the studios, the audio processor, two of our station automation systems and the switch that provides Internet distribution for our offices,” he explained. “This affected both our broadcasts and our networking. Fortunately, many pieces of equipment were spared from damage.”

The KNOG studios not only house the facilities for the local FM station in Nogales, but also serve as a satellite uplink that feeds repeaters in Green Valley, Tucson and Phoenix, Ariz., as well as providing programming to WRN stations in Douglas, Bisbee and Yuma, Ariz.

With help from network engineers Jimmy Stinson and Paul Salzman as well as Western Regional Coordinator Dwight Lind, the station went back on the air this afternoon (Friday, July 20). Chief Financial Officer Dave Mattox is coordinating the insurance claim.

“We still need to replace equipment so our recording studios will be operational again,” Romero added. “I would say it will take 20 more hours of work to complete the repairs.”

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