Displaying items by tag: Asia

Mission organisations say that the church is the largest social force in China not controlled by the Communist Party, and the Communist government prohibits large meetings and non-communist social media sites. They are also ‘rewriting’ the Bible to reflect the government’s communist worldview. Ask God to bless church leaders with supernatural wisdom and increased unity with one another (1 Corinthians 1:10). Ask Him to move powerfully in the lives of the victims of flooding that displaced millions and killed hundreds recently. Pray for the young generation of Chinese to experience a hunger for truth and freedom that leads them to salvation (Luke 6:21). Also hospitals in Xinjiang Province must abort and kill all babies born in excess of its mandated family planning restricting ethnic minorities to three children including full-term new-borns. In addition to forced birth control and sterilisation, religious minorities are subject to massacres, internment camps, torture, organ harvesting, and disappearances. See

Centres of Hope are Christian schools open to anybody regardless of faith background. They want to show Jesus’s love to the community, and they don’t attach conditions to entry. But they do want to make sure that they show Jesus as the real source of hope. Young children and teenagers do separate activities. The young ones dance and sing songs about Jesus and watch biblical stories and funny sketches by staff. The teenagers watch a Christian movie and then discuss it. But like everywhere, Syria has taken measures to prevent coronavirus spreading. Many centres temporarily closed, and staff refocused efforts towards humanitarian and emergency aid. Now the centres are re-opening, and they are praying that they will reach even larger numbers of children to show them the love of God and to tell them the good news of salvation.

Fighting continues despite an agreed ceasefire; the Red Cross reports ‘hundreds killed’ in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey and Israel are offering drone support and technologies. Azerbaijan wants to gain control of as much of its claimed territory as possible. Armenians have mobilised to stop it. The Red Cross reports indiscriminate shelling by both sides into towns and cities far from contested areas. On 21 October Russian bombers made a powerful air strike on a convoy and assembly point with Syrian mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh. However researchers found old video footage re-edited and wrongly labelled as portraying recent events. While the majority of online media is news reports, official government information or campaign slogans and images, there is doctored or old footage. Disinformation in conflicts is not uncommon, where accessing accurate information can prove difficult. Pray for peace in this part of the Caucasus: it’s a crisis entangling Russia, Turkey, Israel, Iran, and Azeri and Armenian diasporas.

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the Taliban Government refusing the USA’s demand for them to surrender Osama bin Laden, the longest war in US history began, killing 3,500 coalition soldiers and 110,000 Afghans. A Taliban insurgency continues, and its forces now control nearly 20% of Afghan territory. Almost half the land is ‘contested’, and the Taliban is stronger today than at any time since the war began. A large-scale US effort to defeat the Taliban would prove costlier than the American public (and therefore any president) is willing to bear. In February 2020 the Taliban agreed to stop their attacks on coalition forces and Afghan civilians, and the USA and NATO agreed to remove their forces by May 2021.  Once that happens, there will be nothing to prevent civil war because Pakistan, India, Russia, Iran and others will back their own proxies. Nobody wants a vacuum of power in the country.

Local missionaries are finding ways to expand God’s kingdom on Mindanao island by holding Bible studies and church services in areas so remote it requires three hours through rough terrain to reach by motorcycle, and five hours during the rainy season. Although the island is untouched by coronavirus it is a nest for communist rebels, the New People’s Army, and the Islamic extremist Abu Sayyaf Group. Terrorism is rampant. The armed wing of the Communist Party has waged a protracted guerrilla war against the government since 1969. The government, USA, and EU have designated it as a terrorist organisation. Where the pandemic has reached and lockdowns are in effect, missionaries are using Zoom, Facebook messaging and other internet means for regular fellowship, prayer meetings and Bible studies. Filipinos sharing the Good News of Jesus need our prayers as they face Islam and Communism.

CSW has called on China to release Christian human rights defender and former lawyer Zhang Zhan, who is on a hunger strike, causing fears for her health, after 150 days in detention. She posted videos and articles from Wuhan about the Covid-19 outbreak. Social media platforms are blocked in China. She questioned whether the authorities' response to the epidemic infringed on human rights, and asked if the severity of the outbreak had been covered up. She was deeply concerned about the voiceless Wuhan citizens who face destitution after losing livelihoods. She is accused of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ and refuses to plead guilty. Zhang’s lawyer met her for the first time in detention on 18 September and reported she was still on a hunger strike and had lost weight. Detention staff are force-feeding her as she refuses to eat or drink anything.

‘The fastest-growing church in the world has taken root in one of the most unexpected and radicalised nations on earth,’ according to Sheep Among Wolves, a two-hour documentary about Iran’s revival that is reproducing discipleship movements that own no property or buildings, have no central leadership, and are predominantly led by women. Many of the ruling class still follow Islam, ‘because that’s where the high paying jobs are’, according to the film; but the majority of the ordinary people love God and recognise that Islam is the problem. The most powerful Christian leaders are very gentle, courageous women going out on the highways and byways sharing with prostitutes, drug addicts and everybody they come into contact with. Praise God for the abundance of Bibles in Farsi being distributed, and pray for those still translating His word into various Persian ethnic languages.

The continuing trend of peace initiatives between Israel and its Arab neighbours are creating an upheaval of the Middle Eastern order. Please continue to pray for the people of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories as their leaders seek a stable footing in this season of realignment. Pray for a just and swift end to the Syrian civil war through the peace process that includes the Syrian regime, rebel and Kurdish factions. Pray that the Lord will continue to expose the duplicity and danger of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that the Lebanese people will continue to turn against terrorist groups and unite together in the formation of a new government. We pray for a shield of divine protection around the state of Israel, that the schemes of her enemies will be thwarted.

Elisa arrived home just in time to see Islamists murder her father and her husband, who was a pastor. Her uncle had already been beheaded. Grief-stricken and fearing for their lives, Elisa and 18 family members joined 200,000 others fleeing the Islamists’ advance. This year the insurgents, who have been active in northern Mozambique for three years, have pledged allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). The thousands displaced by the repeated, devastating attacks have fled to other parts of the country where conditions are crowded and resources are stretched. Front-line workers have reported burnt and destroyed churches, schools, clinics and police stations. As Christian workers provide comfort and food to the displaced, they are also offering Bibles to give hurting people the hope of Jesus Christ. Pray for an end to the ongoing violence. Pray also that the many enduring this trauma will gain hope and eternal life through faith in Christ.

Haredi Jews are more conservative and reclusive than modern orthodox Jews. Some Haredi are ignoring lockdown laws and embarrassing their peers who are socially distancing and wearing masks. Recently Rabbi Mordechai Leifer died of Covid-19 complications. Ashdod, his city, is one of the ‘red’ cities where infection is especially high. However neither the rampant virus spread that led to the nationwide lockdown, nor the fact that the virus was spreading especially quickly through Ashdod’s Haredi community prevented thousands of them from crowding together for his funeral, ignoring coronavirus restrictions and violating the law. A handful of police tried to hold the crowd at bay, but the mourners formed a tight-knit ring beyond the reach of the officers. When the funeral dispersed, some mourners resisted police efforts to scatter the crowd and even began rioting. Haredi make up 12% of the population but their morbidity rates are four times those of the general population.