Zprávy HCJB 22.7.2007 - 28.7.2007

	Luteránský pastor myanmarského sboru sťat v Manipuru v Indii.
	62 letý reverend Pau Za Khen, pastor Evagelického Lutheránského sboru Horního Mynmaru byl sťat neznámou skupinou v indickém státu Manipur ve městě Churachanpur ve čtvrtek 5. července. Khena unesli z domu jeho dcery čtyři muži den předtím a po několika hodinách mu usekli hlavu. Jeho ostatky byly druhý den nalezeny v rýžovém poli za městem. Měl svázané ruce a zavázané oči. Khen dříve sloužil jako pastor v Khen Maan, barmské vesnici asi tři kilometry od hranice s Indií. Byl také vůbec prvním starostou této nově vzniklé vesnice. Údajně za ním na návštěvu chodili jak indičtí vojáci, tak manipurští povstalci. Motiv jeho vraždy je zatím nejasný a policie není, kdo za ní stojí.
	Laoská provincie připouští křesťanství a tlumí jeho pronásledování.
	Místní křesťané v provincii Attapeu v jižním Laosu se radují. Po letech pronásledování místní vládá uznala křesťanství jako zákonné křesťanství. Před pouhými pěti lety místní úřady v Attapeu nařídily věřícím vzdát se víry nebo se z vesnic odstěhovat. Křesťanům bylo zakázáno používat obecní studny, rýžové mlýny a jiná obecně prospěšná zařízení. Počátkem roku 2002 křesťanství vyznávalo 73 lidí. Koncem téhož roku po těžkém pronásledování zůstalo jen 30 pevných věřících. V následujících letech pronásledování křesťanů pokračovalo, křesťanům byly upírány základní potřeby a byli nuceni chodit na nákup potravin dvě hodiny daleko. Místní úřady označily obydlí křesťanů plakáty přilepenými na vchodové dveře. V roce 2004 byla na rok uvězněna řada misionářů, jejich zvířectvo bylo zabaveno a museli zaplatit vysokou pokutu. Nyní se křesťané v Attapeu poprvé mohou legálně sejít na bohoslužbě v kostelech. Místní misie podporovaná Christian Aid Mission plánuje výstavbu kostelů v pěti vesnicích. V současnosti se k bohoslužbám v provincii schází 336 věřících a jejich počet pravděpodobně díky novým svobodám prudce poroste. Zdroj: Christian Aid Mission
	Spojené misijní úsilí poskytne 4000 biblí ročně africkým dětem.
	Má Vlastní Bible je společnou akcí Worldwide Christian Schools, Bible League a Association of Christian Schools International, jejímž cílem je poskytnout 4000 afrických dětí ročně jejich vlastní Bibli. Dale Dieleman z Worldwide Christian Schools řekl, že je to velká věc, když si děti mohou samy číst Bibli. „Některé děti již řekly ‘Nyní si mohu číst sám o tom, jak mne Bůh miluje.’” Dieleman dodal, že poptávka roste a organizátoři jsou nedočkaví z toho, co bude za dva roky. “Program se v roce 2008 rozšíří do Keni a Ugandy prostřednictvím Ugandské Biblické Ligy. V roce 2009 se bude pokračovat do Súdánu.” Církve a školy pomáhají shromažďovat finanční prostředky. Cena za jednu Bibli africkému dítěti je 5 dolarů. „Boží Slovo je živé a dobré. Mění lidi – dokonce i mladé – kteří to neodmítají,“ řekl Dieleman. „Bude to zdaleka nejdůležitější kniha, kterou kdy dostali.“ Zdroj: Mission Network News
	Jihokorejský křesťan nelezen zabit Talibanem
	Afghánská policie našla ve středu 25. července kulkami provrtané tělo jednoho z 23 jihokorejských křesťanů zajatých Talibanem. Stalo se tak krátce poté, co tito militanti oznámili, že začne jejich zabíjení. Oběť, muž, 42letý mladý pastor Bae Hyung-kyu měl údajně 10 ran po kulkách v hlavě, hrudníku a oblasti žaludku. Podle zprávy, kterou vydala policie, bylo jeho tělo nalezeno v oblasti Mušaki okresu Qarakagh provincie Ghazni. Muž, který se jmenuje Qari Yousuf Ahmadi a který si říká mluvčí Talibanu řekl ve středu, že unesení jsou ve „velkém nebezpečí.“ Dodal, že Taliban není spokojen s odpověďmi afghánské a jihokorejské vlády na požadavek, že Talibán propustí vězně pod podmínkou, že jihokorejské síly opustí oblast. Všichni zajatci jsou členy sboru Seammul Community v Bundangu jižně od Soulu. Podle zpráv realizovali svůj výlet nezákonně, přes kritické připomínky, že se „zbytečně vystavují riziku.“ Nicméně jihokorejští křesťané tento výlet obhajují s tím, že všichni lidé včetně muslimů v Afghánistánu mají právo slyšet o lásce Pána Ježíše. Podle Hlasu Ameriky je Jižní Korea počtem vysílaných misionářů na druhém místě na světě za USA. Na různých projektech ve 160 zemích pracuje 12.000 jihokorejských misionářů. Zdroj: BosNewsLife
	Open Doors organizují kampaň zaměřenou na Olympijské hry v Číně v roce 2008.
	Křesťané doufají, že se jim podaří pokrýt Čínu modlitbami v období, kdy svět se chystá na Olympiádu 2008 v Pekingu. Aby pomohli modlitebnímu úsilí křesťanů týkajícímu se jejich čínských bratrů a sester ve víře, podporuje Open Doors zvláštní modlitební kampaň pod názvem „Jedna minuta/ Jeden rok/ Jedna země.“ Křesťané jsou vyzýváni, aby se modlili každý den alespoň minutu, nejlépe v 8 hodin ráno pekingského času. Open Doors poskytuje na své internetové stránce pekingský čas a také čas do zahájení Olympiády. Kdo se zaregistruje, mailem dostane měsíční modlitební kalendář a také bude dostávat zprávy s informacemi o Číně a speciální témata k modlitbám. „Olympiáda je jedinečnou příležitostí pro věřící na Západě, aby se sjednotili v modlitbách nejen za naše čínské souvěrce, ale i za komunistickou vládu v Číně, aby zaručila svobodu vyznání pro všechny věřící, zvláště pro členy domácích církví,“ řekl Carl Moeller, prezident Open Doors USA. „Je to i příležitost k modlitbám za obětavé křesťany, kteří jsou pronásledováni.“ Zdroj: Open Doors, Christian Newswire
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	CONTROVERSIAL TV EVANGELIST TAMMY FAYE MESSNER DIES AT 65 Sources: BosNewsLife, Christian Etailing Controversial television evangelist, singer and author Tammy Faye Messner (formerly Bakker) died in her home the morning of Friday, July 20. She was 65. Messner had surgery for colon cancer in 1996. By 2004 the disease had spread to her lungs, and this May doctors stopped her treatment. Messner appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” show on Thursday, the day before she died. She told King she couldn’t swallow food, weighed only 65 pounds and looked forward to “going straight to heaven” after her death. A family graveside service was held at a private cemetery where Messner’s ashes have been interred. Born Tammy Faye LaValley in International Falls, Minn., to Pentecostal preacher parents, she married Jim Bakker in 1961. Together they co-hosted “The 700 Club” and began “The PTL Club” in 1974. Praise the Lord (PTL) expanded and became a network with 13 million cable subscribers, bringing in close to $130 million annually at its height in the 1980s. Tammy Faye was a fixture of her first husband’s ministry, her heavy mascara running as she tearfully beseeched television viewers to open their hearts to Jesus. After being convicted of fraud in 1989, Jim Bakker served five years in prison, and during that time he and Tammy Faye were divorced. In 1993 she married Roe Messner, a contractor whose company built the now-defunct Heritage USA theme park in Fort Mill, S.C., which became a popular attraction. “Our family is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Tammy Faye,” Bakker said in a statement. “She lived her life like the song she sang, ‘If Life Hands You a Lemon, Make Lemonade.’ My heart aches for my two children, Jamie Charles and Tammy Sue, who loved their mother dearly. They both told me their mom was so full of life that it is hard to believe she is gone.” LUTHERAN PASTOR FROM MYANMAR BEHEADED IN MANIPUR, INDIA Sources: Voice of the Martyrs, BosNewsLife Rev. Pau Za Khen, 62, pastor of the Upper Myanmar Evangelical Lutheran Church in northeastern India’s Manipur state was beheaded by an unidentified group in the town of Churachanpur on Thursday, July 5. Khen was abducted from his daughter’s home by four men the previous day and beheaded several hours later. His decapitated body was found in a paddy field outside of town the following morning. His hands were tied behind his back and he was blindfolded. Khen formerly served as a pastor in Khen Maan, a village in Myanmar about three miles from the border with India. He was also the founding chief of the village. Both Indian soldiers and Manipuri rebels reportedly used to visit Khen Maan. The motive behind the killing of the pastor was not immediately clear, and police have been unable to identify those responsible for the attack. * 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. BANGLADESH CHRISTIANS BEATEN, THREATENED AFTER POLICE LEAVE Source: Compass Direct News Islamic radicals in a Bangladesh village have meted out more beatings and death threats to Christians after a special police force meant to offer protection for three months withdrew after only a week. The Islamic extremists in Durbachari, Nilphamari, continued their violence against Christians last week. A national newspaper printed an article on Sunday, July 15, about the Nilphamari Christians, clearly naming -- and thus targeting -- Rev. Albert Adhikari as a key advocate for the Christians. The article quoted the leaders of three prominent Islamic groups who called for a ban on the activity of Christian individuals, churches and non-governmental organizations throughout Bangladesh. Violence in the Nilphamari district arose after 41 Muslim converts were baptized in a river on June 12. Two weeks later (Tuesday, June 26) Muslim villagers attacked and severely beat Christian converts. The next day they gave the Christians a 24-hour deadline to leave the village or face further beatings and the destruction of their homes. Last-minute intervention from local officials provided temporary relief. However, when Adhikari paid a repeat visit to Durbachari on Wednesday, July 11, he learned the special police force assigned to the village for three months had withdrawn after only a week. UPDATE: DARFUR ‘PEACEMAKING LAKE’ LIKELY DRIED UP, EXPERT SAYS Source: BBC News Just days after Boston University researchers announced the discovery of an underground lake the size of Lake Erie in western Sudan’s Darfur region that could help end violence in the region, another expert claims the lake probably dried up thousands of years ago. Alain Gachet, a French geologist who used satellite images and radar in his research, said the area received too little rain and had the wrong rock types for water storage. However, Gachet claimed there was enough water elsewhere in Darfur to end the fighting and rebuild the economy. Gachet, who has worked on mineral and water exploration in Africa for 20 years, said the depression identified by the Boston researchers was probably full of water 5,000 to 25,000 years ago. “This watershed is completely dry today on the southern border of Egypt, Libya and northwestern border of Sudan -- one of the worst areas in the world,” Gachet said. He conceded that the Boston researchers had a slim chance of being right, but he said he was not optimistic. Analysts say competition for resources such as water is behind the unrest. More than 200,000 Darfuris have died and 2 million have fled their homes since 2003 CHRISTIAN BUSINESSMEN PLANNING ‘WORLD’S LARGEST CROSS’ IN NAZARETH Source: Religion Today The Christian Post reported that a group of Christian businessmen in Israel are planning to build the largest cross in the world in the boyhood town of Jesus. The initial private building plan for the “Nazareth Cross” calls for a structure almost 200 feet high decorated by 7.2 million mosaic tiles of Nazareth stone. The site will be an attempt to draw tourism to the struggling economy of Nazareth as well as pay homage to the early life of Christ. The project’s website (nazarethcross.com) states: “Nazareth is the starting point for Christian pilgrimage. Here Gabriel proclaimed to the virgin: ‘Hail, highly favored one!’ An estimated 300,000 pilgrims flock to Nazareth each year in addition to the 100,000 local visitors. They come to see this special place where Jesus spent most of His Life and from where He started His public ministry.” © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
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	PROVINCE IN LAOS RECOGNIZES CHRISTIANITY, EASES PERSECUTION Source: Christian Aid Mission Native Christians living in Attapeu province of southern Laos are rejoicing. Following years of persecution, the local government now recognizes Christianity as a legitimate religion. Only five years ago local authorities ordered believers in Attapeu to renounce their faith or be exiled from their villages. Christians were prohibited from using common wells, rice mills and other public facilities. At the beginning of 2002, 73 people professed faith in Christ. But by the end of the year, after heavy persecution, only 30 believers remained steadfast. Persecution continued in subsequent years as Christians were denied basic resources and forced to walk two hours to buy food. Local officials marked the homes of Christians by attaching posters to their front doors. Persecutors poisoned the believers’ animals and threw rocks at their homes. In 2004 several missionaries were arrested and imprisoned for one year, their livestock was confiscated and they were forced to pay fines. Now, however, for the first time in Attapeu, Christians are able to legally worship in churches. An indigenous ministry assisted by Christian Aid Mission plans to construct one church in five different villages. Today 336 believers gather for worship in the province with a sharp increase expected because of the new freedoms. EGYPTIAN POLICE RELEASE CHRISTIAN WOMAN TO VIOLENT MUSLIM FAMILY Source: Compass Direct News Police in Alexandria, Egypt, have returned a woman who left Islam and embraced Christianity to her fanatical Islamist family despite threats from her relatives to kill her. On Monday, July 23, eyewitnesses said the family of Shaymaa (Eman) Muhammad Al-Sayed, 26, dragged her from the Bab-Sharky police station where she had been held for a week. Family members severely beat her in the nearby Shatby Cemetery before forcing her into their microbus and driving her away. Authorities took Al-Sayed into “protective custody” on Monday, July 16, after a relative spotted her in a market. But instead of protection, local police and State Security Investigation officials subjected her to days of severe physical and emotional torture. Her maltreatment included electrical shocks, beatings and being photographed naked. Al-Sayed’s repeated requests to press charges against her family for attempting to kidnap and kill her were ignored. After becoming a Christian in January 2003, she obtained Christian identity papers under the name of Maryan Eleya Saleeb and married a Christian man. However, Egyptian law does not permit anyone born a Muslim to change his or her religion or to marry a Christian. * HCJB Global Voice reaches across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe with Christian Arabic programming aired via shortwave, satellite and local stations. The mission’s Arabic satellite network airs programs direct-to-home 24 hours a day. This region has the world’s highest concentration of personal satellite dishes. UPDATE: CHRISTIANS START CLEAN-UP OPERATIONS AFTER JAPANESE QUAKE Source: Assist News Service Volunteers with Christian Relief Assistance Support and Hope (CRASH) are arriving in Kashiwazaki, Japan, after a devastating 6.8 earthquake hit the region only two months after a similar quake in the nearby Noto Peninsula and just 2˝ years after another massive earthquake that wiped out villages and left thousands homeless. The city has been without water, electricity and gas for most of the week, and those whose homes collapsed have crowded into shelters. CRASH has contacted most of the churches and ministries in the city, many of which suffered extensive damage. The sanctuary of the Kashiwazaki Holiness Church collapsed, but the pastor and his family did not suffer any injuries. Missionaries Jerry and Laura Mort with the Church of Christ have been forced out of their home once again, the second time in three years. The Niigata Bible Institute and Campground outside of the city, which sustained some damage, is serving as a base camp for Christian volunteer operations to the city. The CRASH assessment team has set up the volunteer center at the camp and is accepting volunteers. NATIONAL BIBLE BOWL CHAMPIONS RECEIVE ‘BENEFITS FOR ETERNITY’ Source: Breaking Christian News Ten-year-olds Alivia Bierley and Colton Thayer of Tollesboro, Ky., worked four long years to become the champions of the National Bible Bowl Championship in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, July 5. More than 500 people attended the event. Bierley’s mother and coach said she believes the Bible Bowl has benefits for eternity and that her main goal was not for her daughter to win the competition, but rather to teach her the Bible. The report noted that both winners are already applying their Bible knowledge to everyday life. Bierley said Scripture has helped her to not succumb to peer pressure while Thayer said he uses Scriptures to influence others in a positive manner. “It is amazing to sit in the kids’ presence,” noted reporter Carrie Carlson, observing that the students’ knowledge of Scripture surpasses that of many adults. PASTOR, BROADCASTER, DISCIPLESHIP LEADER RAY ORTLUND DIES AT AGE 84 Source: Assist News Service Ray Ortlund, a well-known pastor, author and radio broadcaster, died at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, Calif., the evening of Sunday, July 22, following complications due to pulmonary fibrosis. He was 84. Ortlund’s ministry philosophy has always emphasized three priorities: God, other believers and reaching the world for Christ. He was best known for his emphasis on small group discipleship. Beginning in 1970, Ortlund and his wife, Anne, began leading their own small groups. In the past 37 years they discipled and mentored hundreds of young leaders and pastors, a practice that Ortlund continued until his passing. Two public memorial services are planned, one in Newport Beach and the other in Pasadena. © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
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	JOINT EFFORT TO PROVIDE 4,000 BIBLES YEARLY TO CHILDREN IN AFRICA Source: Mission Network News My Own Bible is a joint effort of Worldwide Christian Schools, the Bible League and the Association of Christian Schools International to provide 4,000 children in Africa with their own Bible annually. Worldwide Christian Schools’ Dale Dieleman says it means something when the children can read the Bible for themselves. “Some children have actually said, ‘Now I can read for myself that God loves me.’” Dieleman added that demand is growing, and organizers are excited about the next two years. “[The] program will be expanding in 2008 to Kenya and into Uganda through the Uganda Bible League. We will be going into Sudan, probably in 2009.” Churches and schools are helping with the fundraising effort. It costs $5 to put a Bible in the hands of a child in Africa. “The Word of God is alive and well, and it transforms people -- even at young ages -- which is [the group] we are really trying to reach,” Dieleman said. “It will be by far the most important book they could ever receive.” * HCJB Global represents the voice and hands of Jesus in a growing number of nations in Sub-Saharan Africa from its regional headquarters in Accra, Ghana KAZAKHSTAN THREATENS TO SEIZE BAPTISTS’ HOMES TO PAY FOR SERIES OF FINES Sources: Forum 18 News, Assist News Service An increasing number of Baptist-owned homes in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan are threatened with seizure because they are owned by church leaders or used to host unregistered worship services. Kazakhstan’s senior religious affairs official, Yeraly Tugzhanov, denies that this represents persecution. “No one is being persecuted for their faith,” he said. “Let them pray. But the law on religion requires them to register. No one has a problem with that.” After issuing a spate of fines for holding unregistered worship -- which the Baptist Council of Churches refuses on principle to pay -- officials are moving to seal private homes and threaten them with seizure. Once sealed by court executors, owners of such property cannot sell it or even gain access to it. This has already led to a mother and her young child being deprived of their home, and a family of 14 has been threatened with losing half of their property. Court executors have seized cars, washing machines and even pigs to cover nonpayment of fines. They have also taken money directly from church members’ wages in what the Baptists complain is an “economic war” against them. 30 EXTREMISTS IN INDIA DISRUPT BIBLE STUDY, THREATEN PASTOR Source: Assist News Service Thirty Hindu extremists from the radical Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks (RSS) group threatened to attack a pastor in the village of Tarihal in southern India’s Karnataka state on Friday, July 20. At about 6:30 p.m. Pastor Antony David, who works for My Hope India, was with his co-workers, Vijay Kumar and Moses, conducting Sunday school and Bible study in the village. As they were about to start, David saw a group of 30 RSS members from the neighboring village of Revadawadi. As he went outside the group turned violent, accusing him and his colleagues of “forceful conversion activity.” When they heard this, the local villagers told the extremists to leave and that it was not their right to be fighting in Tarihal. After they left, David said, “We had experienced this kind of incident on July 14 in a prayer meeting. These activists came inside while the prayer was going on and stopped the prayer and took all the Bibles. This time I am sure that they wanted to attack and physically harm us.” COLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY DENIED STATE FINANCIAL AID Source: Religion Today Christianity Today reported that Colorado Christian University (CCU) in Denver has appealed a federal district court decision that denies state financial aid to its students because the school is “pervasively sectarian” in its religious affiliation. The case could eventually set a dangerous precedent for other Christian institutions of higher education. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education ruled in 2004 that CCU -- a nondenominational school -- was ineligible for state-funded tuition grants because faculty and students are required to share certain religious views. CCU filed a lawsuit in protest, but on May 18 a U.S. district judge ruled against the university, noting, “even its secular instruction is infused with religious components.” Greg Baylor of the Christian Legal Society said, “The most immediate impact [of the decision] may be on legislatures that are considering vouchers for the K-12 context.” CCU President Bill Armstrong added, “I think it’s a question of whether those who choose to attend a religious school are second-class citizens.” * NEW TRANSMITTER DOUBLES POTENTIAL AUDIENCE OF STATION IN POLAND Radio CCM, a Christian Polish radio network founded by a former underground ministry during the Cold War, has added a new, more powerful transmitter from the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., more than doubling the coverage area of its Chorzów outlet. More than 4 million people in the area now have access to local Christian broadcasts, and the six-station network can potentially reach the entire Silesia region of southern Poland. “This is huge,” said Mike Dworak, sub-regional director for Central Europe. “It takes a lot of work, a lot of people and a lot of prayer to accomplish something of this magnitude.” It is estimated that less than 2 percent of the population in Poland are believers. Thousands of listeners have responded to the programming since the network began with a single transmitter in Oswicim (Auschwitz) in 1998. “Your evening programs are deeply moving,” wrote one listener recently. “The testimonies of changed lives remind me that God is in control. May Radio CCM lead many more people to an encounter with Jesus!” When asked about specific needs for the ministry, Dworak replied, “Please pray for the continued health of the Radio CCM staff as they strive to help the network become self-supporting and for the ability to better publicize the stations and spread God’s Word.” Radio CCM is owned and operated by DEOrecordings, a Christian nonprofit organization founded in 1975 with the primary goal of spreading the gospel through music and the mass media. © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
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	6 FOREIGN MEDICS RELEASED FROM LIBYA AFTER 8 YEARS IN PRISON 6 FOREIGN MEDICS RELEASED FROM LIBYA AFTER 8 YEARS IN PRISON Source: BosNewsLife Following long negotiations and prayer vigils, six foreign medics held in Libya for eight years on charges of infecting hundreds of children with HIV were released Tuesday, July 24, after the European Union (EU) agreed it would work on normalization of relations with the African nation. The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor received a hero’s welcome at the airport in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital. They arrived from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on a French presidential plane. The medics, including Orthodox Christians, were charged with deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the AIDS virus, as part of an experiment. All have denied the charges, saying the children were infected because of unhygienic circumstances in the hospital, including sharing dirty needles. The nurses also said “confessions” cited by prosecutors as evidence were made under torture. Last week Libya bowed to international pressure and commuted the death sentences to terms of life imprisonment. They were later pardoned, setting them free. The deal that allowed their release did not come cheap. Relatives of the 438 children received about $1 million each through an EU-supported AIDS fund for medical treatment. However, Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Hungary, Dimiter Ikonomov, emphasized this was not an admission of guilt. UPDATE: SOUTH KOREAN CHRISTIAN FOUND KILLED BY TALIBAN Source: BosNewsLife Afghan police on Wednesday, July 25, found the bullet-riddled body of one of the 23 South Korean Christians held hostage by the Taliban shortly after the militant movement said it would begin killing them. The male victim, a youth pastor named Bae Hyung-kyu, 42, reportedly had 10 bullet holes in his head, chest and stomach. His body was discovered in the Mushaki area of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province, said police in published remarks. Self-described Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said earlier Wednesday that the hostages were in “grave danger.” He added that the Taliban was not satisfied with the Afghan and South Korean governments’ response to demands that several Taliban prisoners be released and that South Korean forces leave the county. The hostages are all members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, south of Seoul. They reportedly made their trip illegally amid criticism for putting themselves “unnecessarily at risk.” Yet, South Korean Christians have defended these trips, saying all people, including Muslims in Afghanistan, have the right to learn about the love of Jesus. South Korea is second only to the U.S. in the number of Christian missionaries it sends abroad with an estimated 12,000 engaged in projects in about 160 countries, the Voice of America reported. ‘TRADITIONALIST CATHOLICS’ ACCUSED OF DEMOLISHING ANOTHER CHURCH IN MEXICO Source: Compass Direct News Officials on southern Mexico’s Chiapas state arrested 14 “traditionalist Catholics” following the destruction of an evangelical church in a community of San Juan Chamula near San Cristóbal de las Casas on Sunday, July 22. State Public Security officers arrested several of the traditionalist Catholics, who practice a blend of traditional Mayan religion and Roman Catholicism, for tearing down Prince of Peace Pentecostal Church in Nishnamtic, said evangelical attorney Esdras Alonso González. In retaliation for the arrests, Nishnamtic village caciques (bosses) on Sunday jailed five evangelicals. Those officials in turn were arrested early Monday morning, and the evangelicals were freed. In response to the rescue, on Monday, July 23, Nishnamtic traditionalist Catholics then illegally locked up seven evangelical women, including one carrying her 9-month-old baby, in the municipal jail of San Juan Chamula. Authorities later rescued the women and infant. At the same time, in Los Pozos village also near San Cristóbal, evangelicals continue to go without water and federal food aid that town bosses had agreed to restore more than three months ago. JESUS MARCH ’06 HAS ‘UNQUANTIFIABLE EFFECT’ ON NIGERIAN ELECTIONS Sources: Assist News Service, Religion Today Until recently, elections in Nigeria have been characterized by killing, assassinations’, burning down of houses and the kidnapping of political opponents. But surprisingly, the April election and recent swearing in of new leaders were peaceful despite monumental electoral fraud. Ben Ukadike, president of World Rescue Ministries International, attributes the absence of violence during the election to Jesus March 2006. During the event the name of Jesus was invoked in over 30 states of the Nigerian Federation, asking Him to dismantle and overcome demonic forces of political, religious and economic disintegration. Ukadike believes that the spiritual impact of a march where close to 50 million people called on Jesus to take over the affairs of the country cannot be quantified. One Nigerian State government allowed its radio stations to broadcast the march, and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) also broadcast the Jesus March 2006. Today many Christians and non-Christians alike say that nothing short of divine intervention has kept Nigeria together despite what happened during the last general elections. Ukadike says unprecedented Christian unity was witnessed during the march as Christians of different denominations closed ranks to achieve the common course of enthroning the Spirit of Christ over the people and government of Nigeria. * HCJB Global Voice, together with partners In Touch Ministries, SIM and the Evangelical Church of West Africa, began airing weekly half-hour programs to Nigeria in the Igbo language in 2000. In 2003 weekly broadcasts were added in two additional languages, Yoruba and Hausa. HCJB Global Voice also has helped with radio ministries in six cities with more in the planning stages. NEW DOCUMENTARY CLAIMS THERE IS ‘NO PEACEFUL ISLAM’ Sources: OneNewsNow.com, Religion Today OneNewsNow.com reports that Bryan Daly and Gregory Davis, directors of a new documentary on Islam, aim to convince the Western world that Islam is not a peaceful religion hijacked by a few radical fanatics. “Islam: What the West Needs to Know” features interviews with many experts on Islam. According to Daly, there are many peace-loving, nonviolent Muslims; however, there is no peaceful Islam. “Islam is primarily not a religion but a political ideology,” he said. “And this political ideology is not peaceful but explicitly expansionary. Allah demands that the world comes under his law and [that] Muslims must fight to institute that law over the world.” Muslims who do not engage in jihad (or expansion of Islam) “are not following Islam,” Daly said. © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA
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	RADIO PIONEER, AUTHOR GEORGE OTIS SR. DIES AT AGE 90 Sources: Christian Etailing, Assist News Service Pioneering Christian broadcaster and author George Otis Sr. died Sunday, July 22, at his home in Murrieta, Calif., the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News reported. He was 90. The founder of the Voice of Hope Radio Network, Otis launched shortwave radio stations around the globe, and his ministry in Israel later started what came to be known as Middle East Television. High Adventure Ministries, which Otis founded in 1979, continues to broadcast news, Bible teaching and audio Bible readings worldwide from Jerusalem. “When the Lord made George Otis, He threw away the mold,” said Pat Robertson, founder of CBN which purchased a station in the Middle East through a partnership with Otis. “He was quite a man who had irrepressible joy and enthusiasm. He will be remembered fondly for his wonderful work with Voice of Hope ministries, and he will be greatly missed.” Otis wrote more than a dozen books, including Millennium: The 1,000-Year Reign of King Jesus and his autobiography, High Adventure. A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 28, at the Church On the Way in Van Nuys, Calif. Otis is survived by his wife of 55 years, Virginia, two sons and three daughters. UPDATE: IRAQI COURT REDUCES CHRISTIAN GIRL’S MURDER SENTENCE Sources: Compass Direct News, BosNewsLife Iraq’s Kurdish regional high court has reduced the jail sentence for a teenager who fatally stabbed her uncle as he beat her for converting to Christianity and “shaming” the family by working in public. After reviewing the case for more than two months, the court in Erbil on April 30 upheld an earlier decision by Dohuk’s juvenile court that Asya Ahmad Muhammad was guilty of killing her uncle even though she acted in defense of herself and others. Clearing her of an original conviction for premeditated murder, the court reduced the 15-year-old girl’s sentence to 3˝ years, down from five years. Muhammad stabbed her uncle in July 2006 when he came to her family’s kitchen utensil store outside of Dohuk and began beating her, her mother and brother. After Muhammad’s mother fled the premises, Muhammad’s uncle began hitting her with one hand while tearing at her hair with the other, said her lawyer, Asya Ahmad Al-Najar. Local Christians said they thought even Muhammad’s initial sentence was light, considering that it was culturally acceptable for an uncle to beat his niece. Muhammad’s uncle had previously tried to kill her father five times because of his conversion to Christianity. FEBC, FEBA RADIO TEAM UP TO ENCOURAGE IRAQI CHRISTIANS Source: Far East Broadcasting Company Far East Broadcasting Company and its sister organization in the Middle East, Africa and India, FEBA Radio, have teamed up to help encourage embattled believers in Iraq. The ministries are using a small, portable “suitcase studio” that Iraqi Christians use to produce radio programs for broadcast to Iraqi believers. Before the 1991 Gulf War, an estimated 1.4 million Christians lived in Iraq. Today only about 450,000 believers remain in the country, and the exodus continues. Initially, FEBA Radio aired only 1˝ hours of weekly program a week to Iraq via shortwave. Then a church with an FM license offered the team airtime and began producing a daily one-hour program in a local Iraqi dialect. One Iraqi pastor commented, “People are open like never before because they have no peace. When I preach on the topic ‘How do we get peace?’ everyone listens, especially when I talk about the deeper peace that Christ brings.” A colleague in the region sums it up by noting, “It may not seem like a ‘safe’ time to be investing resources in a country going through violent conflict, but now is the time for us to stand with our brothers and sisters in Iraq for the sake of the gospel.” * Engineers at the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., developed a suitcase-sized FM transmitter in 1991. Studio equipment also fits into a suitcase. The portable equipment is used to facilitate “radio planting,” a ministry to establish and develop Christian radio ministries around the world, usually in cooperation with local partners. More than 300 radio stations in more than 80 countries are now on the air. TATTOOS PROVIDE WITNESSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FORMER ROCKER Source: Baptist Press “If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be a missionary, I would have thought you were crazy,” said Southern Baptist short-term missionary Rich Ellis. With his tattoos and multiple piercings, this former drummer in a heavy-metal band quickly learned his tattoos provide a witnessing opportunity within the heavy-metal scene. All tattoos have meaning, so people who have tattoos ask each other about them. On a volunteer mission trip to Poland a few years ago, Ellis found the same was true in Europe. Pointing to Ellis’s leg, a schoolboy asked what John 3:16 meant. “When I found out I was going to Poland for two years, I decided to get a tat (tattoo) in Polish because I knew they would ask about it,” Ellis said. One arm displays an artistic rendition of “One Truth” in English. The other arm says the same in Polish. Every day someone at the coffeehouse where he works stops Ellis to look at his tattoos and ask him questions. Even strangers on the street stop him to ask about his Polish tattoo. “God uses my tattoos to help witness,” Ellis added. It provides him a chance to share about Christ. “God uses everything unique about us to tell His story.” OPEN DOORS CAMPAIGN TARGETS 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES IN CHINA Sources: Open Doors, Christian Newswire Christians are hoping to blanket China in prayer while the world anticipates the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. To help believers unite in prayer for their Chinese brothers and sisters in the faith, Open Doors USA is sponsoring a special prayer campaign called “One Minute/One Year/One Country.” Christians are asked to pray for at least one minute each day, preferably at 8 p.m. Beijing time. Open Doors gives the current time in Beijing as well as a countdown clock to the start of the Olympics on its website at www.opendoorsusa.org. Those who register will receive a monthly prayer calendar via email and also a daily email brief with updated information on China and specific prayer requests. “The Olympics present an awesome opportunity for believers in the West to unite and pray, not only for our fellow Christians but for the communist government of China to grant religious freedom to all worshipers, especially house church members,” said Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller. “It’s also an opportunity to pray for those dedicated Christians who are being persecuted.” © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA

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