Afghanistan: rescuing refugees
26 Aug 2021
Airbnb is offering free housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees globally and is seeking more assistance from hosts who rent their property through the accommodation-sharing company. Samaritan's Purse, the Christian humanitarian group led by Franklin Graham, is responding to the situation in Afghanistan by partnering with other organisations to get men, women, and children out of the country. They are sponsoring flights which have carried hundreds to safety. Open Doors say Afghanistan is the second most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian, after North Korea. Most Afghan Christians are converted from Islam. Pray for God to protect the thousands of Christians in hiding in Afghanistan. Ask God to provide permanent accommodation and living costs for Christians recently rescued from Afghanistan into neighbouring and distant countries. Ask Him to provide the fearful and anxious with peace of mind as they settle into completely unfamiliar environments and possibly need to learn a new language.
Argentina: profound anti-Semitism
26 Aug 2021
Argentines are far more anti-Semitic than they acknowledge and nearly 40% of the population believes that ‘Jewish businessmen’ are benefiting from the Covid pandemic. ‘In Argentina, we have a very distorted vision of ourselves’, said an award-winning columnist. ‘We think we are not anti-Semitic, but in many ways, this is an anti-Semitic country.’ He went on to say that myths about the Jews are part of Argentina's popular culture. The study’s main author was ‘surprised’ by the magnitude of antisemitic sentiment, particularly among younger people. Argentina is home to over 200,000 Jews, the largest community in Latin America.
Afghanistan: anti-Taliban resistance group
26 Aug 2021
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) has thousands of fighters in its Panjshir valley stronghold but wants to pursue negotiations with the Taliban before fighting. Amrullah Saleh, who was vice-president before being ousted by the Taliban, is now in Panjshir. The region successfully fought off Soviet forces in the ten-year Soviet-Afghan war and the Taliban in the 1990s. The NRF forces are led by Sandhurst-trained Ahmad Massoud, with many local resistance forces and US-trained ex-Afghan soldiers joining them. The mountainous valley, known for its natural defenses, has never been under Taliban control, partly thanks to Massoud's father, a notorious guerilla warrior. The NRF believes that for lasting peace it must address the underlying problems of a country made up of ethnic minorities, none of which is a majority. The NRF's ultimate goal is a decentralised form of governance in the country.
Iran: prisons chief apologises
26 Aug 2021
The head of Iran's prison service has apologised after hackers leaked videos showing the abuse of detainees at Tehran's notorious Evin prison. The security footage showed guards beating prisoners and dragging one along a floor. Mohammad Mehdi Haj-Mohammadi said he took responsibility for the ‘unacceptable behaviour’. Many political prisoners and dual and foreign nationals are held at Evin. BBC's Jiyar Gol says the leaked videos confirm decades of reports of mistreatment and abuse at prisons across Iran. Also, former political prisoners say the footage is nothing compared to what they experienced in detention. They accuse authorities of routinely using sexual, physical and psychological torture - a charge Iran's government denies. The hacked screen showed the message, ‘Evin Prison is a stain of shame on Raisi's black turban and white beard’ - a reference to Iran's new president, who is a hardline cleric and former judiciary chief.
As if Haiti doesn’t have enough to deal with, gang activity is now complicating earthquake relief efforts. The earthquake death toll stands at 2,200 with at least 340 still missing. Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is conducting emergency medical flights and flying in aid. But since the roads aren’t a great option for transporting relief, the need is overwhelming. MAF’s Dave McCleery says, ‘Gang activity has affected Port-au-Prince for a long time. They have taken control of and closed the main roads into the southern peninsula where the earthquake took place. This is a real concern because of the large quantity of aid that’s needed. We can certainly fly in and deliver it, but it’s much more expensive and takes a lot longer than if it’s delivered by road.’
Taiwan: homegrown vaccine criticised
26 Aug 2021
Taiwan is administering its domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine, amid criticism that its approval was rushed. The Medigen vaccine had not completed phase three trials when it was granted emergency approval by regulators. Medigen said there were no major safety concerns, and antibodies created were no worse than AstraZeneca's vaccine. It is expected to complete the final round of trials being held in Paraguay later this year. Taiwan's vaccination efforts have been hampered by delivery delays and hesitancy amongst its population. President Tsai Ing-wen led the way in receiving the Medigen jab on 23 August. The objections have mainly come from the opposite political party, the Kuomintang, who say it is unsafe. More than 700,000 people have already signed up for the vaccine, which requires two doses 28 days apart. Less than 5% of Taiwan's population is fully vaccinated: around 40% have received just one dose.
We are so grateful for your prayers for Afghanistan during this critical season. We are sensing an important window this next month for God’s saints around the world to cry out with fervent, desperate prayer for the truth of the Gospel to go forth in power and love in the land of Afghanistan.
We would like to call for a 30 day season of daily prayer starting today Monday August 23rd through to Tuesday September 21st around these 5 prayer points below.
Please join us as the Lord leads you.
Prayer Points:
- Pray for the power of the Gospel to reach the lost and broken! Focus on the gospel as the answer not the government. 1:16
- Pray for Laborers to be thrust forth in the harvest fields of Afghanistan. Matthew 9:37-38
- Pray for the hurting brothers and sisters enduring severe persecution and suffering during this season. Let’s stand together with them in prayer! 13:3
- Pray for finances for the Harvest. Get behind RUN (runministries.org) and/or numerous other ministry initiatives that understand how to multiply in spiritually dark times. Phil 4:19
- Pray for an increase in spiritual discernment and wisdom for our government leaders around the world. 1 Timothy 2:1-5
Let’s cry out with Courageous and Bold Faith according to Ephesians 3:20-21,
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen”
We will be publishing further updates during these 30 Days at www.ipcprayer.org/pray4afghanistan
On Tuesday, the Paralympics gets underway in Tokyo.
IPC and our friends at Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA) and Japan international Sports Partnership (JiSP) have been inviting the world to be praying for the Games, the athletes and specifically for Japan during the Olympic season. Our target has been to raise a million hours of prayers.
The primary reason - Japan is the second largest unreached people group in the world and really needs our prayers.
There’s been a quarter of a million hours of signed up prayer to date from across 86 countries. We know too of tens of thousands of hours of “not-signed-up”.
As the Paralympics, like the Olympics gets underway with no spectators, so we turn again to prayer.
While we are inviting all generations both across Japan and around the world to pray we are particularly appealing to the next generation to pray for Japan. We have just launched an Instagram campaign, a Youtube Channel and a youth-focused website at www.japan1million.world.
Please would you consider taking part by:
- Signing up, if you haven’t already, and receive prayer points each day by email.
• Sign up your ministry, church or organisation.
• Help get the message out by forwarding this email and sharing the online posts.
We all pray and long to see spiritual breakthroughs across Japan. As Hudson Taylor said, “When we work, we work, but when we pray, God works."
We believe transformation is coming.
Together for 1 million!
More info and sign up at www.japan1million.world