Yemen: attack on Catholic care home
18 Mar 2016
Yemen's civil war has split the country in two, with ongoing warfare and humanitarian needs. Shiite rebels control the north. The south is controlled by a government backed by Saudi Arabia. There is a power and security vacuum: lawlessness and extremist groups such as al-Qaeda prevail. Christians need our prayers. Last Friday a care home in Aden for eighty elderly and disabled, run by the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity and founded by Mother Teresa, was attacked. At least sixteen were killed. The dead include four missionary sisters (two from Rwanda, one from India and one from Kenya) and several of their helpers (including at least five from Ethiopia). No members of the community they served were harmed. There is concern for the safety of an Indian priest, whose whereabouts are unknown. Pray that families, friends and colleagues of those murdered will know the comfort of Jesus.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Russian Orthodox Church are planning an October summit in Moscow on religious persecution. The summit will shine a global light on persecuted Christians and draw attention to this crisis. Delegates from around the world will be able to join hands with people of other churches and denominations to pray for their brothers and sisters in Christ. They will hear firsthand reports of the suffering that is taking place. Also, earlier this week, a new 280-page report chronicling the persecution of Christians by IS was submitted to the US state department, proving that there is enough irrefutable evidence for the agency to designate IS atrocities against Christians as ‘genocide.’
Turkey: ministry and missionaries
18 Mar 2016
Multi-lingual missionaries know persecution but continue to distribute tracts and share the gospel with Turkish, Iranian and Iraqi people groups using materials in Farsi, Arabic, Turkish and other languages. People in the villages are very receptive and open to the gospel. Once word gets out that missionaries are in a village the authorities come and stop their ministry, so they go in and out in less than one day, then wait for another opportune time to visit. Cities are more open. Authorities have a hard time controlling missionaries. They go door-to-door, giving out 12,000 evangelistic tracts, New Testaments, and other materials every month. New believers are formed into small groups. This organisation and other similar ones need translators for unreached people groups, funding for laptops (internet cafes are not safe), vehicles (they travel miles in their work), and most of all God’s anointing, direction and protection.
North Korea’s fifth nuclear test
18 Mar 2016
It was reported today that North Korea has test-fired two ballistic missiles, the fifth time it has done so. This was in defiance of the sanctions resolution which the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted this month against the country. A panel of experts found ‘serious questions about the efficacy of the current United Nations sanctions regime’, said the Arms Control Association. The most recent Security Council resolution addresses deficiencies in sanctions by providing states with new tools and expanded authority to enforce limitation measures more effectively. This could help curb North Korea’s access to dual-use materials and technologies. On 31 March leaders of more than fifty nations will gather for the fourth and final nuclear security summit. See
In television’s ever-growing quest for shock-driven ratings, Channel 7 has stooped to a new low with its ‘Seven Year Switch’ offering. Australian Christian Lobby managing director Lyle Shelton said a programme glamourising partner-swapping and disloyalty did not present a vision of flourishing human relationships conducive to building a civil society. ‘Channel 7 really should ask itself if this presents a vision of human dignity or is just crass voyeurism. Many marriages and relationships have produced children by seven years. Is glamourising partner-swapping really a good idea for the individuals and children who may be involved?’ Mr Shelton said that the programme plumbed a new low of so-called reality television. He urged shareholders to express concerns to management: complaints could be lodged online, on the Channel 7 Facebook page, or on twitter @Channel7.
Kurdish forces recapturing cities from Islamic State in Iraqi Kurdistan have discovered incredible tunnel networks which jihadists use as escape routes. In the Yazidi city of Sinjar, seventy tunnels have already been discovered. The narrow tunnels, less than a metre wide, could be as deep as nine metres under the surface. They are equipped with electric lighting and basic amenities. Some are fortified underground command and communication centres, some are rigged with explosives. A news correspondent travelled to Al Anbar province and flew over abandoned IS positions near Fallujah, where they filmed entrances to some of the IS tunnels. There are tunnels running all across this region. In some areas the infrastructure has been made unsafe by them.
MPs reject changes to Sunday trading laws
11 Mar 2016
Two weeks ago we prayed about the Government's intention to liberalise Sunday trading laws in England and Wales. This week the planned changes to allow local councils to extend Sunday trading were dropped when MPs rejecting change outnumbered those for change in England and Wales, even though ministers sought to limit the rebellion by promising only to trial the changes in twelve areas.
Shahid (not his real name) recently shared a picture showing him baptising new converts to Christianity on the same shores of North Africa where IS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians in February 2015. Shahid is proof that God is moving powerfully across parts of Muslim-majority Middle East and North Africa. He is from Libya and grew up a devout Muslim, attending schools where a strict interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence was taught. He became an expert in the Quran, memorising the entire Muslim holy book, but the closer he examined the Muslim laws, the more he became disillusioned with what he read. Desperate and despondent, he decided to abandon the faith of his childhood and become an atheist. Then he came across Kingdom SAT, Leading The Way's 24-hour satellite channel, which broadcasts Christian teaching across the Muslim world. Shahid secretly connected with Christians in Lebanon and Jordan and was eventually introduced to Jesus Christ.