August 19, 2003
From The Voice of the Martyrs
IRAQ
(ASSIST News Service)
The establishment of a Shiite theocracy in Iraq is a strong possibility because they are the most well organized group, according to Norm Nelson, president of Touchstone Ministries and director of Compassion Radio. The clerics are in total control in several cities, adjudicating legal matters with virtue police enforcing Sharia law. There is a small but growing Christian church in Iraq and a quiet but profound movement toward Christ among the Muslims. There are important distinctions between the established Christian church, which operated under Saddam Hussein, and a burgeoning underground church movement, mainly fueled by younger Iraqis. Pray for unity among the believers in Iraq. Pray for Christians around the world to assist Iraqi Christians in distributing relief supplies of food and clothing. Pray our powerful God will confound the efforts of the Shiite clerics to distribute relief supplies in an attempt to win the hearts of the people.
Would you like to help Iraqi Christians in a personal and practical way? Learn more about VOMs Action Pack program by clicking here.
SERBIA
(Forum 18 News Service)
On the evening of August 8, during a music concert organized at Vrdnik by the local Church of God Pentecostal church and led by a German Pentecostal band, the power line was cut by an axe. After power was restored the concert continued, but there was an explosion across the road and some people left the area. After the concert ended one person drove his car in the park where spectators were, threatening organizers that he was armed. No injuries were reported. The Helsinki Commission is urging the Belgrade government to hunt down those responsible. Read more by clicking here.
Pray the local authorities, in their desire to encourage tourism, will investigate this attack and prosecute those who were responsible. Pray the Lord will move in love and power to make Himself known to the attackers.
SAUDI ARABIA
(Compass Direct)
A week after he was deported from Saudi Arabia for doing Christian proselytizing among Muslims, Eritrean Christian Girmaye Ambaye confirmed that he had been banned from returning to the strict Muslim kingdom for the next five years. He has now returned home to his family. Read more by clicking here.
Pray for Ambaye and his familythat God will direct him to another restricted country where he can courageously share the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray more bold servants will rise up to bring light to the spiritually dark kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SOLOMON ISLANDS
(Religion Today)
Six Anglican missionaries who were taken hostage four months ago in the Solomon Islands have been killed. A senior member of the Anglican order said, "Our worst fears were confirmed." The six members of the brotherhood set off from Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, last April to look for another member of the order who is now thought to have been murdered. Warlord Harold Keke was thought to have seized the six men to use as human shields in case the peacekeepers attacked his forces. The Melanesian Brotherhood is an order of evangelists founded by a Solomon Islander in 1925. Pray God will comfort the other members of the brotherhood and strengthen their evangelistic zeal. Pray a miracle of God's grace will lead Harold Keke to repentance and the forgiveness of Christ.
UNITED ARAB ERMIRATES
(Religion Today)
Following lengthy judicial delays, the UAE deported Rev. Fernando Alconga back to Manila on July 23, more than nine months after he was arrested in Dubai. Alconga had been living in the UAE since 1994. He was arrested at a shopping center after he gave an Arab Muslim a Bible. He was charged with "preaching other than the Muslim religion." In April, a criminal court found him guilty of the charges, but the presiding judge suspended his one-year prison sentence. After a series of appeals, the Supreme Court upheld his deportation order on July 12. Give praises to God that Pastor Alconga has been returned to his wife and son in Manila. Praise God that his arrest has made more Filipinos aware of the difficulties of Christians in the Middle East. Pray God will open the eyes of Christians worldwide to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Muslim-controlled countries.
UZBEKISTAN
(Forum 18 News)
A Pentecostal pastor, Bakhtier Tuichiev, intends to seek political asylum outside Uzbekistan due to "intolerable conditions." In July, a survey of religious freedom in Uzbekistan conducted by Forum 18 News reported that unregistered religious activity is illegal and believers are routinely punished even for religious meetings in private homes. Missionary work is banned. Religious literature is censored and the government tries to prevent the spread of Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, Hare Krishna and other religions regarded as non-traditional. Read more by clicking here.
Pray God will give mental, emotional and physical strength to Pastor Tuichiev. Pray that when government officials interrogate Christians, they will rely on the Holy Spirit to give them His words. Pray many officials will be drawn into the Kingdom of God.
From The Voice of the Martyrs
IRAQ
(ASSIST News Service)
The establishment of a Shiite theocracy in Iraq is a strong possibility because they are the most well organized group, according to Norm Nelson, president of Touchstone Ministries and director of Compassion Radio. The clerics are in total control in several cities, adjudicating legal matters with virtue police enforcing Sharia law. There is a small but growing Christian church in Iraq and a quiet but profound movement toward Christ among the Muslims. There are important distinctions between the established Christian church, which operated under Saddam Hussein, and a burgeoning underground church movement, mainly fueled by younger Iraqis. Pray for unity among the believers in Iraq. Pray for Christians around the world to assist Iraqi Christians in distributing relief supplies of food and clothing. Pray our powerful God will confound the efforts of the Shiite clerics to distribute relief supplies in an attempt to win the hearts of the people.
Would you like to help Iraqi Christians in a personal and practical way? Learn more about VOMs Action Pack program by clicking here.
SERBIA
(Forum 18 News Service)
On the evening of August 8, during a music concert organized at Vrdnik by the local Church of God Pentecostal church and led by a German Pentecostal band, the power line was cut by an axe. After power was restored the concert continued, but there was an explosion across the road and some people left the area. After the concert ended one person drove his car in the park where spectators were, threatening organizers that he was armed. No injuries were reported. The Helsinki Commission is urging the Belgrade government to hunt down those responsible. Read more by clicking here.
Pray the local authorities, in their desire to encourage tourism, will investigate this attack and prosecute those who were responsible. Pray the Lord will move in love and power to make Himself known to the attackers.
SAUDI ARABIA
(Compass Direct)
A week after he was deported from Saudi Arabia for doing Christian proselytizing among Muslims, Eritrean Christian Girmaye Ambaye confirmed that he had been banned from returning to the strict Muslim kingdom for the next five years. He has now returned home to his family. Read more by clicking here.
Pray for Ambaye and his familythat God will direct him to another restricted country where he can courageously share the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray more bold servants will rise up to bring light to the spiritually dark kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SOLOMON ISLANDS
(Religion Today)
Six Anglican missionaries who were taken hostage four months ago in the Solomon Islands have been killed. A senior member of the Anglican order said, "Our worst fears were confirmed." The six members of the brotherhood set off from Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, last April to look for another member of the order who is now thought to have been murdered. Warlord Harold Keke was thought to have seized the six men to use as human shields in case the peacekeepers attacked his forces. The Melanesian Brotherhood is an order of evangelists founded by a Solomon Islander in 1925. Pray God will comfort the other members of the brotherhood and strengthen their evangelistic zeal. Pray a miracle of God's grace will lead Harold Keke to repentance and the forgiveness of Christ.
UNITED ARAB ERMIRATES
(Religion Today)
Following lengthy judicial delays, the UAE deported Rev. Fernando Alconga back to Manila on July 23, more than nine months after he was arrested in Dubai. Alconga had been living in the UAE since 1994. He was arrested at a shopping center after he gave an Arab Muslim a Bible. He was charged with "preaching other than the Muslim religion." In April, a criminal court found him guilty of the charges, but the presiding judge suspended his one-year prison sentence. After a series of appeals, the Supreme Court upheld his deportation order on July 12. Give praises to God that Pastor Alconga has been returned to his wife and son in Manila. Praise God that his arrest has made more Filipinos aware of the difficulties of Christians in the Middle East. Pray God will open the eyes of Christians worldwide to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Muslim-controlled countries.
UZBEKISTAN
(Forum 18 News)
A Pentecostal pastor, Bakhtier Tuichiev, intends to seek political asylum outside Uzbekistan due to "intolerable conditions." In July, a survey of religious freedom in Uzbekistan conducted by Forum 18 News reported that unregistered religious activity is illegal and believers are routinely punished even for religious meetings in private homes. Missionary work is banned. Religious literature is censored and the government tries to prevent the spread of Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, Hare Krishna and other religions regarded as non-traditional. Read more by clicking here.
Pray God will give mental, emotional and physical strength to Pastor Tuichiev. Pray that when government officials interrogate Christians, they will rely on the Holy Spirit to give them His words. Pray many officials will be drawn into the Kingdom of God.
