A pastor in Turkey has asked for prayer after a bomb blast at a wedding party in the south-east of the country killed 54 people and injured 100 more last Saturday. Josh Wentz, pastor at Batikent Protestant Church in Ankara, was speaking after the attack in Gaziantep, near Syria's border. He said there is hope in this dark time. ‘What gives us hope is knowing that in the Bible God is no respecter of persons, and He doesn't prefer any one group of people over another - He has love for all people. It's our prayer that everyone in Turkey will come to know that love.’ Officials said the incident appeared to be a suicide bombing committed by a 12-year-old boy. President Erdogan said that IS was ‘the most likely perpetrator’ of the attack. Also see Prayer Alert article 6, below.
USA: churches help flood victims
26 Aug 2016
The floodwaters in Louisiana are beginning to recede, revealing thousands of homes and businesses destroyed by over 2 feet of rain in 2 days. More than 20,000 were rescued. Churches not swallowed up by water opened their doors as Red Cross shelters and national relief organisations rolled up their sleeves to help with the clean-up. First Baptist Church in Zachary, the only church in the area sufficiently dry and equipped to become an overnight shelter, is welcoming flood victims to its Family Life Centre. Leaders took donations, organised rooms of clothing and bedding, and set up a games room for children and a medical station for volunteer doctors and nurses who offered to help. The Red Cross helped set up showers, cots, and kitchen systems. Many other churches in the area are surveying and fixing damaged homes. Repair teams have been ripping out soaked drywall and accessing homes where ‘water went all the way up to the ceiling’.
Syria: Christian agency’s aid to Aleppo
26 Aug 2016
World Help has announced that it is delivering emergency supplies of basic food and bedding for Syrians trapped in war-ravaged Aleppo. The aid convoy will be a ‘first-step’ response to the crisis in the city. They said, ‘For more than five years, Syria has seen its children suffer in refugee camps, drown in the Mediterranean, or suffocate under the wreckage of what used to be a home. Today, more than ever, Syria needs our help.’ News of the emergency delivery comes after images of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh and the death of his brother in hospital illustrated again the severity of the catastrophe. Children make up more than a third of the casualties in Aleppo.
Middle East: child suicide bombers
26 Aug 2016
As reported in article 3 above, an IS child suicide bomber killed at least 54 at a Kurdish wedding party in Turkey. He was aged between 12 and 14. Turkish authorities said that a destroyed suicide vest was found at the scene of the bombing. They are investigating the possibility that militants could have placed the explosives on the child without his knowledge and detonated them remotely, or that a mentally disabled child was duped into carrying the device, a tactic seen elsewhere in the region. Also this week Iraqi police removed a bomb belt from a suicide bomber aged 14. Officials suggested he may have been drugged before being sent on his mission. See:
Israel: new West Bank plan
26 Aug 2016
Last week Israeli defence minister Liberman unveiled a plan to contend with Palestinian terrorism. The main points were to find alternative civilian leadership to replace Palestinian president Abbas, and to map towns and villages throughout the West Bank as ‘red’ and ‘green.’ Regions from which no terrorist activities are launched will be ‘green’ and earn various benefits and easing of restrictions. Regions from which terrorists originate will be ‘red’, and security measures will be levelled against them. While it is unclear whether residents of red areas will be denied permits to work in Israel, it's already known that green areas will be rewarded with the expansion of their development plans. The proposal ignores tight security cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian security forces that has been effective in maintaining calm and preventing the outbreak of another widespread intifada on the West Bank.
Muslim converts
19 Aug 2016
Visions of Jesus are stirring Muslim hearts! Click on the ‘more’ button to watch a short video of Muslim leaders and Imams saved and baptised. Across the nations many Muslims are converting to Jesus Christ after they have dreams and visions. Amazing revival is happening in the Muslim world.
Revival in Iran
19 Aug 2016
There is a side to Iran that the media does not cover. We do not hear about the Iranians who love America, Israel and Jesus Christ. CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief, Chris Mitchell spoke with some Iranian believers in central Turkey. ‘When someone gets baptised in this house church, people clap and cheer like fans at a football match. While they have suffered persecution and often fled for their lives, they still possess an infectious and joyous faith.’ Iranian believer Raizal said ‘Growing up, the name Jesus Christ was always on my mind. It wasn't long before I started liking Christianity. It was really sweet to me, the feelings, the stories, everything. So by the time I was 15, I believed in Him and became a Christian.’ He also told CBN that a great revival is underway within Iran. In 1994 there were about 100,000 believers; now there are three million.
Pray for those in authority
19 Aug 2016
The series of UK changes caused by the EU referendum result may have slowed down as Government ministers take their summer breaks, but behind the scenes there is undoubtedly much activity as politicians, civil servants, business and other national leaders work on strategies to deal with changes in direction. When should the formal process of exiting the EU start? What is to be the UK's range of negotiating positions on such a wide range of subjects? Do we have the skills needed to ensure as favourable an outcome as possible? What are our 'red lines' beyond which we will not go? On top of all that our political leaders need to deal with the fractures and fault lines both within and between the UK nations that were so evident during the campaign and immediately after the result. Politicians face huge challenges on a wide range of topics and need our prayers.