INDIA
CHRISTIAN tribals in India, especially in Orissa, are under great pressure to convert to Hinduism. Hindu nationalist groups are running ‘Ghar Vaspi’ (re-conversion) ceremonies for tribals who have become Christians to return to Hinduism. Though India’s tribal groups are not traditionally Hindu, the Hindu government counts them as Hindu and deems them low caste. Therefore the conversions are called ‘re-conversions’ or ‘homecomings’. Hindu nationalists charge Christians with destroying India’s Hindu fabric, traditions and society through “unethical conversions”. On March 4, 212 Christians were publicly converted to Hinduism in a Hindu temple in western Orissa. Hindu activists boast that some 10,000 Christians have been ‘re-converted’ in Orissa in recent years, and aim for 400,000. Christians refusing to convert are harassed and violently assaulted.
Pray for: all believers suffering because of their faithfulness, that God will provide their needs and redeem their suffering, bringing good from evil; Christians – who from fear, confusion or manipulation have converted to Hinduism through Operation Ghar Vaspi or threats of violence – that they will hear again the call of Jesus, receive strength and courage from the Holy Spirit, and return to the Saviour Redeemer; and God to raise up believers with public voices for justice from among India’s elites.
AFGHANISTAN
IN spite of the continued influence of the Taliban, an underground Christian movement is growing in war-torn Afghanistan. Before the Taliban came to power and during their brutal regime, many Afghans fled their nation. After the war was over, officials expected about 600,000 of those refugees to return. But to their surprise, more than two million have come back – and some are bringing with them what they didn’t have when they left – faith in Christ.
“It is surprising how many people found the Lord while they were in Pakistan,” one relief worker told the Charisma magazine (January issue). “Many had supernatural dreams, where Jesus appeared to them and revealed Himself to be the truth. Others were won to Christ through the network of Pakistani believers in remote, mountainous areas.” Most foreign Christians working in the country are reluctant to give out information that might compromise their work and the safety of Afghan believers. But evangelism is alive, not only among the Christian workers who have come to help rebuild the country, but also among the Afghan believers themselves.
Pray for the many believers who have returned from overseas that they will continue to passionately and courageously share Christ; and for the new believers to grow in maturity.
PAKISTAN
ON Jan 15 terrorists attacked the Pakistan Bible Society in Karachi, injuring two staff workers. Fifteen minutes later a car bomb exploded, injuring 13 of the large crowd drawn by the grenade attack. Earlier on Jan 5, Pakistani pastor Rev Mukhtar Masih, 50, was murdered as he waited for a train around 3am. He had been receiving death threats from local Islamic militants.
President Musharraf has promised to tackle domestic terrorism. But that involves radical things like madrassa reform, curriculum reform, stopping the finance of terrorists, closing down extremist Islamist groups, upholding religious liberty in all provinces, and enforcing rights, justice and rule of law according to the constitution. However, he relies on the MMA – a coalition of six Islamist pro-Sharia, pro-Taliban, anti-West parties that hold the balance of power in Pakistan – to retain power and get motions through parliament. The MMA are pushing for the full Islamisation of Pakistani society.
On Jan 18 the MMA renewed their drive to advance their cause: the enforcement of Sharia law nationwide in accordance with the recommendations of the Islamic Ideology Council. The government is compromised by its dependence on the MMA. Pakistan’s Christians are extremely vulnerable.
Pray for President Musharraf to have the conscience and courage to take those radical steps that are necessary to make Pakistan safe and truly free; for the Christians of Pakistan, that they will not shy away in fear, but will draw closer to God and be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to live lives of faith and faithfulness in the midst of persecution, for the glory of God.
UGANDA
LAST Dec 31, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader and spirit medium Joseph Kony killed 21 of his wives and children as they tried to escape his LRA camp in Sudan because they were starving. Many rebels, who are mostly kidnapped children, have deserted the LRA ranks in response to a government amnesty. The UPDF (Ugandan army) recently killed the LRA’s chief army commander The army claims to have virtually defeated the LRA.
However, Acholi Archbishop John Baptist Odama said, “The LRA presence in the north is still strong. They are still killing people in Lira, so I don’t know what the UPDF thinks it is doing claiming they have nearly defeated them.” (Jan 22).
The WEA Religious Liberty Prayer ministry took up this northern Ugandan conflict last May as a persecution issue rooted in intense spiritual warfare. Christians following the development have seen amazing answers to prayer in the past months. Let’s persist to see this 17-year reign of evil defeated.
BOSNIA
THOUGH the war in Bosnia ended in 1995, people are still suffering from its legacy. Many still live in refugee camps because their homes were destroyed or are now occupied by other refugee families. In some areas, 90 percent are unemployed and a lot of people are dependent on soup kitchens for food. In the midst of the turmoil is the tiny evangelical Church estimated at no more than 700 believers out of four million.
Bosnia is one of the least evangelised countries in Europe. Despite the many obstacles, the Church is growing. and ministering to the many suffering people. Many leading church plants are young and they often feel isolated and forgotten. Pray for God to meet the need for more experienced missionaries to work alongside them and for churches around the world to respond to Bosnia’s spiritual and material need. |
