Displaying items by tag: Asia

Spring comes late to Nanai country in the Russian Far East. Ice on the river is three feet thick, after winter temperatures of 40o below zero. Anton, Timur and Misha were sent by Wycliffe Russia to Siberia to learn about the Nanai people and their language. When they arrived at a village, they were welcomed by a leader who was a Christian. His mother, however, was not a Christian and she did not approve. The Bible translators demonstrated a Nanai audio dictionary to a small group, including the disapproving mother. She was not a believer, but she was passionate about her language and was surprised to find that Anton and his friends shared her passion; so she accepted them and became their friend. After hours discussing the language using Bible stories, the conversations turned to God. The leader’s mother listened intently, no longer disapproving. Because these visitors were interested in her language, she was now interested in their God. See also the world article on Tajikistan.

On 2 March Israel held its third election in a year. Already huge Likud roadside billboards bearing the faces of Blue and White and the Arab Joint List leaders have been erected, stating, ‘Yes to a Jewish and democratic state, no to supporters of terror.’ Israel’s elections are not over. The party headed by Benjamin Netanyahu continues its campaign against the formation of a minority government by Blue and White with the support of the Joint List. Foreign minister Katz called members of the Joint List ‘terrorists in suits’. 64% of Arab voters support the Joint List joining the government, but the right-wing/ultra-Orthodox and many of the general public, including Blue and White voters, don’t. Knesset members are receiving constant curses and insults by those against such cooperation. Is Israel prepared for real cooperation between Jews and Arabs at the highest level?

As well as targeting individuals for exercising their freedom of religion and belief, Tajikistan’s regime also targets Christian communities. For example, the Full Gospel Protestant Church's two buildings in northern Tajikistan have both been confiscated. One of them had a vision in 2018 for a kindergarten to open there - but in 2020 there is still no sign of it. Between August 2019 and January 2020, the state fined leaders of four Protestant churches between £574 and £902 each (the average monthly offering in some of these churches is £41, the average monthly salary about £123). ‘They were fined for arranging a translation of the Bible into modern Tajik’, a local Protestant said. The translation is needed as some Christians think that other translations use archaic words and some passages are unclear.

Afghanistan’s population is 99.9% Muslim, containing 72 unreached people groups. There are 48,000 mosques and no churches. Any belief contrary to Islam is illegal. Converting from Islam to Christianity results in death. Christian believers gather and worship in secret. Yet extremist violence has caused many Muslims to question their faith. Though impossible to document, it is undeniable that the Church is growing and Muslims are turning to Christ. Some encounter Jesus in dreams and visions; others hear the Gospel through Christian radio. Christian relief agencies also share the love of God through meeting the nation’s immense physical needs; some have died as martyrs. Amid great persecution, there are several thousand believers in Afghanistan today. War and violence are almost routine, and many have given up on anything ever changing. That is what made the recent historic agreement between the United States and the Taliban so monumental. 

She was picking fruit on a sweltering summer’s day in June 2009 with Muslim women when a dispute arose over a shared cup of water because the Muslim women would not drink from a cup that they considered ‘unclean’ as it had been used by a Christian. This culminated in Aasia Bibi being accused of insulting Muhammad. ‘My husband was at work, my kids were in school’, she recalled. ‘A mob came and dragged me away. They made fun of me.’ ‘I am not angry at all, I’ve forgiven everyone from my heart and there is no hardness in me. I learned how to be patient after having to leave my children behind.’ These are the gracious words of Aasia Bibi, the Christian mother-of-five who spent nearly eight years on death row in Pakistan, falsely accused of ‘blasphemy’.

Last week Prayer Alert intercessors praised God for 115 people rescued from bonded-labour slavery in India. This week we can celebrate the release of 204 people, including 41 children, from two large Indian brick kilns in one of their largest ever joint rescue operations. Click the ‘More’ button for the heart-warming story of recovery.

NEW DELHI: Tensions remained high in India's capital on Thursday (Feb 27), as thousands of riot police and paramilitaries patrolled streets littered with the debris from days of sectarian riots that have killed 38 people.

An uneasy calm has descended over the affected northeast fringes of the Indian capital, punctuated by sporadic outbreaks of violence overnight.

The unrest was the latest bout of violence over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's citizenship law, which triggered months of demonstrations that turned deadly in December.

India's parliament has passed a bill which offers amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from three neighbouring countries.  The bill provides citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), says this will give sanctuary to people fleeing religious persecution.  Critics say the bill is part of a BJP agenda to marginalise Muslims.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) passed the upper house of parliament, where the BJP lacks a majority, by 125 votes to 105 on 11 December. It had cleared the lower house two days earlier.

The bill has already prompted widespread protests in the north-east of the country which borders Bangladesh, as many people there say they will be "overrun" by immigrants from across the border.

Sunil Kumar, director of the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, said on Thursday it had registered 34 deaths, adding that "all of them had gunshot injuries".

Many of India's 200 million Muslims fear the citizenship law - combined with a mooted citizens' register - will leave them stateless or even sent to detention camps.  They and critics see Modi's right-wing ruling party, which is linked to once-banned militaristic Hindu group RSS, as wanting to turn officially secular India into a Hindu nation.

His party has denied the allegations but in recent weeks BJP politicians, including in an ugly recent campaign for Delhi elections, have called the demonstrators "anti-nationals" and "jihadists".

The Evangelical Fellowship of India in a statement said:  'The Christian community in India, and especially in the Delhi region, is deeply shocked and pained at the bloodshed, carnage and mayhem let loose on the streets, homes and mosques of the national capital.  The Evangelical Fellowship of India condemns this reprehensible violence that has so far resulted in 23 deaths, as the work of vested political interests and forces of hate.

'We appeal to the people of Delhi to maintain peace, and not to give in to vicious vitriolic fed by rumors and spread through social media. We must not let hate win.

'EFI calls the Church at large to uphold the people of Delhi in our prayers. This Ash Wednesday, as we begin the season of Lent, let us pray for peace and harmony to prevail in our land, and for violence to cease.

More at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/tensions-high-in-new-delhi-as-death-toll-from-sectarian-riots-12478078  More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-50670393 
More at: http://efionline.org/articles/350/20200226/efi-statement-on-the-violence-in-delhi.htm

Malaysia, a beautiful nation in SE Asia, is in political crisis as the government coalition came apart on 22^nd February weekend. The King has interviewed Members of Parliament to find out where they stand and consider whether to call a snap election to form a new government.  

Concerns are that it could open the back door for the old, oppressively corrupt regime to come back to power.  The timeline of this developing situation to date is summarised in this graphic.
 
As we go to print, we are hearing that Malaysia's Parliament will not hold a special session on Monday 2nd March to decide the next prime minister, the country's monarch announced, a day after interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the legislative body would do so.

The king made the declaration on Friday, as Mahathir's own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, made a surprise announcement that it has nominated party president, Muhyiddin Yassin, as its candidate for prime minister.

With the latest development on Friday, it is now unclear what role the 94-year-old Mahathir would play as chairman of the party, also known as Bersatu. Earlier, the party had said that it wants Mahathir to continue as prime minister.

On Thursday, Mahathir had announced that there will be a special session of parliament on March 2 to select the new prime minister.  He also said that if there is enough support for him, he will stay on as prime minister.

But the announcement on Thursday angered his former coalition allies, led by Anwar Ibrahim, who said it was inappropriate for him to pre-empt a decision by the king, whose powers would be challenged by a vote in parliament. The coalition had earlier nominated Anwar as prime minister.

On Friday, the parliament speaker, Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, also contradicted Mahathir, saying that a special session can only be declared through an official decree by the king.

Please pray with our brothers and sisters in Christ there that the King will do the right thing, that the nation will be protected from corrupt rulers returning, and that a new government coalition will be formed that is representative of the diverse racial groups of the nation and broadly accepted to take the nation forward for the good of all.

Here are a few prayers from local believers:

In the Name of Jesus, we declare that the government of Malaysia will rest on the shoulders of our Lord Jesus Christ! And His name will be called:
Malaysia’s Wonderful Counsellor, Malaysia’s Mighty God, Malaysia’s Eternal Father, Malaysia’s Prince of Peace!
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace over our nation.
Jesus Christ is enthroned forever, among us, to restore sound leadership that cannot be perverted or shaken.
He will ensure justice without fail and absolute equity. Always.
The intense passion of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will carry this to completion. (Isa.9:6-7)

Father God, we declare Your Word over Malaysia:
Blessed are those of our politicians who follow God’s ways, who won’t walk in step with the wicked nor share the
sinner’s way, nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat. (Ps.1:1)
Blessed are those of our politicians who act with justice, love to show mercy and are humble as they live in the sight of God. (Micah 6:8)
The godly politicians in our land are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (Ps.1:3)
Amen

Prayer Summit 2020

Global Prayer for Northeast Asia

Dear Delegates,

It is with much deliberation and prayerful consideration that the Prayer Summit Organizing Team would
like to announce the CANCELLATION AND POSTPONEMENT of the Prayer Summit 2020 from April 7-9 in
Seoul, Korea.

This comes in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the South Korean government has raised the alert to
Level 4, or "serious," advising deep caution and restriction in travels within and out of the country.

The delegates' and volunteers' well-being and safety are of utmost importance as well as being in tune
with how the Lord is steering us. The leaders and organizers convened over the span of a few days to
deliberate and pray, and we felt this was the best call to make at this point.

In light of this cancellation, the Prayer Summit Committee will give a FULL REFUND to all who have
signed up and paid for the conference fee. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment caused, and thank you for your gracious understanding.

We will soon post the updated dates for the Prayer Summit 2020.

Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. should you have any further inquiries.

In this challenging time, we request for your prayers. We believe that the Lord has much good planned in this situation.

For His Kingdom,
Sarah Lee
Prayer Summit 2020 Organizer
Christian Council of Korea, Co-Chair
Website: www.prayersummit2020.com
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On Monday 2 March, Israelis will, for the third time in a year, cast votes for a government. Proverbs 16:9 says ‘In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps’. Lord we ask you to encourage the hearts of the electorate to vote in line with your will. Since two elections with no final results did not take you by surprise, we ask for your purposes to be fulfilled in a clear undisputed election result. Also, Hamas has threatened to restart the weekly riots soon. Israel is supposed to have a cease-fire with Hamas but still rockets are fired and incendiary devices are flown against the Israelis living in that Western Negev area. Father, during this ‘lull,’ do not allow the IDF to become complacent. Protect the young ones from the fire balloons coming across the border which are specifically aimed at killing or maiming Jewish children.