If Western sanctions go as far as excluding Russia from the World Wide Web, the country's own internet is ready, according to Russia’s presidential aide on the internet. ‘Technically, we are ready for anything now,’ he said. However, the shutdown will not be painless. Failures always occur when moving from one technology to another, and those keeping data abroad will experience difficulties. Russia has a data privacy law. All companies processing personal data of Russian citizens are obliged to store it on servers within the country’s borders. The professional network website LinkedIn has already been banned in Russia for refusing to comply. Twitter and other social networks have agreed to move data about Russians to the country.

How do you persuade someone who already thinks they’re a Christian to become one? The largest mission field in Western Europe is not self-identifying atheists or Muslim immigrants; it is people who call themselves Christians but exhibit few, if any, signs of faith. A Pew Research Centre report stated that people who identify with Christianity, but rarely or never attend church services, make up the biggest segment of the region’s population. 46% of Western Europeans are non-practising Christians, 18% are regular church attendees, 24% are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% follow other faiths.

Eritrea could be on the verge of major change. For 20+ years, it has battled with Ethiopia and Somalia. President Afewerki’s regime conscripts citizens indefinitely into fighting its wars, and represses opposition. Much of Eritrea’s money has gone to defence against enemies, resulting in it being one of the poorest countries, with a mass exodus of Eritreans to Europe part of the biggest global migration crisis since World War II. However, Ethiopia now has a new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. He has already made a number of significant changes to government policy, including freeing thousands of political prisoners and amending a harsh anti-terrorism law. He has extended a hand of peace to Eritrea and agreed to a peace deal. Thousands of people celebrated, the border is open, embassies will open, and the countries will work together to strengthen ports, resume air flights, open telephone lines, and more. Afewerki’s regime has made Christians suffer as the 6th worst persecuted in the world, but Abiy has recently released 35 Christians from prison. Pray for Islamic extremists in the region to lose their power due to his influence.

Formerly, Colombia was a democratic country with guaranteed religious freedom. However, large areas are now under the control of criminal organisations, drug cartels, revolutionaries, and corrupt paramilitary groups. Christians are extremely vulnerable. Guerrilla groups force them to pay a ‘protection tax’ as an insurance against assault or murder. They issue death threats to those involved in evangelism, fearing that believers will continue to stand in opposition to the reign of terror they use to maintain power. In indigenous communities, violence is employed to frighten Christians whom they see as threats to ethnic customs and different worldviews. In all of these situations, Christians are prevented from freely congregating and sharing their faith. Pray for peace and hope for these Christians, and that they will stand strong in the face of persecution.