Displaying items by tag: Africa

On 20 September, Uganda’s health authorities declared an Ebola outbreak after a Sudan strain was confirmed in central Uganda. Five days later 36 people had Ebola, 26 had died, 399 contact cases were identified, and 104 were in follow-up. Symptoms take two to 21 days to develop. Uganda's excellent road infrastructure allows infected people to travel in any direction for some time before becoming symptomatic, making tracing known contacts significantly more difficult. Pray for the national task force, meeting every day. Pray for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as they set up an Ebola treatment centre. Pray for WHO as it deploys medical supplies and provides logistics and more staff, to help Ugandan authorities to halt Ebola’s spread. Pray for those setting up isolation units to have all the equipment and protective clothing they need. See also

Each zone in Nigeria has unique challenges and opportunities. Christian persecution increases, especially in the north. Some Muslim groups have killed thousands and destroyed hundreds, possibly thousands, of churches. Persecution unites Christians, driving them to the Lord in prayer. It also threatens the core of society and statehood. Pray for restoration and recovery for those who suffer from loss, or rape. Pray for forgiveness and freedom from a spirit of revenge. Pray that believers respond in the most Christ-like way possible, and for enemies of Christ to become His followers. In the south oil industries have polluted pristine agricultural land but only an elite (corrupt) few have benefited. Pentecostal churches are growing: may God give them sacrificial concern for the less privileged in the less-reached areas. Muslim missionary activity has intensified to win ethnic religions and backsliding Christians. Pray for cross-cultural outreach and true conversion of youth.

Unprecedented famine grips parts of Africa. Four years of droughts, Covid-19, and the Ukraine war have created dire conditions. In Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, one person dies from hunger every 48 seconds. Water sources and wells have dried up. Crops have failed, livestock have died, and 22 million people may starve. Many farmers only grow enough to feed themselves. Many relying on livestock see their animals die. Families forced to flee looking for food embark on very perilous journeys. The level of pain and suffering is devastating. Half of Somalia’s population are experiencing crisis hunger levels. One in three children face chronic malnutrition. Before Ukraine’s war Somalia imported 90% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, Ethiopia imported 42%. Kenya 44%, plus oil, iron, steel, and fertilisers. In late August, the first grain shipment from Ukraine brought 23,000 tons of wheat - enough for 1.5 million for a month, a drop in the bucket for needy millions. See also the Europe article on Ukraine cargo ships leaving.

Most of us cannot imagine not having a Bible in the language we speak. But that reality for millions is pushing Bible translators to find new and faster ways to get scripture to every corner of the world. Wycliffe Associates is partnering with churches in distant countries and seeing an explosion of life-changing activity as a result. There are over 5,000 people working in Zambia right now, translating the Bible into 20 native languages. Bishop Henry Mumba‘s first memory of the Bible was hearing the gospel verse John 3:16. When CBN News visited, churchgoers in Mansa, Zambia, were reading and hearing the New Testament in Aushi, their mother tongue, for the very first time. After the Bible reading, there was dancing. ‘It's like God is speaking our language.’ Mumba said.

A young man who accepted Jesus in 2018 was arrested by militias and detained several times during recent years. They tried to force him to recant his faith. There is no rule of law; there are no official law-enforcement agencies. Libya has no law against apostasy, so converts are tried for treason. However, a court based its decision on a law enacted by the elected legislative body between 2012 and 2014 ,which states that an apostate from Islam must be executed if they do not recant. That law and others were cancelled by the current Tobruk-based parliament, elected in 2014. However, as part of a continuing power struggle, the Tripoli supreme court declared the Tobruk-based parliament illegal, allowing courts freedom to still apply the cancelled laws. The accused did not have legal representation during the proceedings.

A North African country of 37 million people, Morocco has enjoyed a degree of stability and peace. The King takes the lead in politics and religious affairs. He is attempting to spread wealth beyond the main cities, and to open a limited space for political discussion. Positive change is slowed by corruption, political repression, and unemployment. Young people and rural dwellers show their frustration in sporadic protests. Morocco is 99% Muslim. Christians number a couple of thousand, each one born into a hostile environment. Few Moroccans have heard the gospel; many have come across slanderous reports about the Church. Christian workers have been expelled. It is hard to gather Christians together for fellowship and discipleship. Pray for the King, and for fresh hope for the people of Morocco. Praise God for Morocco’s Church, for expatriate believers, and for the internet and satellite TV which are lifelines for Moroccan Christians and seekers.

A recent UN report stated as many as three out of four women are forced into marriage among certain Nigerian groups. Take for example Lena, a 14-year-old girl. She became a Christian, but as her father was a Muslim leader in the mosque, she knew it was going to cause problems. Sure enough, she survived physical abuse from her father, forced marriage, and violent sexual assault. By the time she finally escaped, she was a single mother who could not read or write. She persevered with an education and vocational training to be self-supporting. After attending a discipleship school, Lena plans on going back to her hometown, this time as a missionary. Pray for Nigerian women suffering persecution and assault. Pray for healed emotions for the traumatised. Ask God to touch the hearts of abusers perpetuating violence, and thank Him for the courage of women like Lena.

On 2 September, al-Shabaab terrorists killed 18 civilians and destroyed several relief trucks in central Somalia. Al-Shabaab has increased attacks over the summer. In August they killed several Somali soldiers and attacked military bases in Kenya, Mali, and Ethiopia. An attack on a Mogadishu hotel lasting 35 hours killed 21 people. Its leaders want to replace al-Qaeda and expand their reach. Al-Qaeda has not found a leader to replace Ayman al-Zawahiri. If one is not chosen soon, al-Shabaab could declare its East African government separate from al-Qaeda and hope to overthrow the government of Somalia itself. They are receiving resources through forcing people to pay taxes by threatening them, bombing their businesses, or kidnapping their daughters. Despite the danger, many continue to share the story of Jesus. These are not US or European missionaries; they are Muslim background believers living in close proximity in the same culture. World Mission sends them solar-powered audio Bibles in the local language.

Four Christians in Darfur accused of apostasy will have their first court hearing on 30 August. The prosecutor and investigator will present evidence, after which the judge will decide whether to continue the case or acquit the defendants. The four were arrested on 22 June following a raid on a Baptist church, accused of apostasy and subsequently released on bail. They were physically mistreated during their detention. They are charged under Penal Code Article 126, which criminalises apostasy, even though that article was abolished in 2019. Due to fears of community and police harassment, the four believers remain in hiding. There continue to be other reports of harassment of Christians in Darfur. Please pray for the judge to dismiss the case against them, and for physical and emotional healing.

On 30 July Islamist militants beheaded two Christian men during an attack on a minibus in northern Mozambique in Cabo Delgado. IS of Mozambique, known locally as al-Shabaab, claimed responsibility for the killings: its statement declared, ‘By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate killed two Christians, beheading them, and shooting them with weapons.’ In June IS beheaded several Christians in Cabo Delgado, and another during a raid on a Christian village in Nampula. Cabo Delgado is called ‘the Land of Fear’ owing to persistent brutal violence meted out against both Christians and moderate Muslims over several years. Pray that the Lord will comfort the family and friends of the Christians so brutally murdered. Ask that the violence perpetrated against Christians and moderate Muslims by IS militants will come to an end, that the LORD will rescue His people from their powerful enemy, from their foes who confront them.