---------------------------------------------------------------------- Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid February 12, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 6 Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- John Lindner, Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Vietnam: Brutal Persecution Continues; 67 Pastors in Prison 2. Jordan: Qandah Watch Continues 3. Colombian Mission Continues at Cautious Pace 4. India: Anti-Christian Tensions Mount 5. Indonesian Christians Request Prayer 6. Photo of the Week: Nigerian Child Witch Delivered Note: It is the policy of Missions Insider to refrain from mentioning names that could make the subjects targets of anti-Christian activity. Names can be mentioned of ministries conducting work commended by authorities or located in areas of greater religious freedom. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Vietnam: Brutal Persecution Continues; 67 Pastors in Prison Reports received by Christian Aid state that 67 Christian pastors are imprisoned in undisclosed locations by Vietnamese authorities. These 67 included 11 Hmong pastors in the North, and another 56 Ede and Mnong pastors in the Central Highlands who were taken from their homes without any reason given by the police. Their families have not been successful in locating the whereabouts of their abducted husbands and fathers. Recently discovered secret government documents describe a program of systematic persecution of Christians called "Plan 184." The 2002 list of persecution countries published by Open Doors ranks Vietnam as the fourth worst persecutor of Christians worldwide, behind North Korea, Laos and Sau di Arabia. The persecution is brutal. In Lai Chau Province, a Hmong pastor was tied up and tortured at his house until he was unconscious. Two police then carried him to the local police station and put him in jail. Later, police forced him and all members of the 21 families that attend his house church to perform public work. Then, to pressure these Christians to renounce their faith, police set fire to several of their homes. In desperation, all 21 families fled to the jungle in fear for their lives. In another instance in the same province last September, 17 police and local authorities destroyed the houses and belongings of two Hmong pastors. They chased them out of the village and the families escaped into the jungle to keep their faith. Vietnamese police often enter house churches, breaking up the worship services, ripping Bibles and songbooks from the worshipers' hands, driving the people out of the house and threatening them with death. Many are forced to sign a paper recanting their faith. At least 356 house churches have been closed by authorities. Last June in Quang Ngai, a Hre pastor was beaten unconscious by five police officers as he was on his way to visit church members. His family took him to the emergency room of the local hospital. To hide any evidence of this atrocity, the police went to the hospital and his home and destroyed all paper work and x-rays of his treatment. Though partially recovered, he still has recurrent headaches and dizziness. Yet he can't return to the hospital for a check up because he is under house arrest and forbidden to leave home. A nine-day meeting of Vietnam's Communist Party's powerful Central Committee in mid-January called for the establishment of Communist cells within every approved religious body. Aid has been sent to Vietnamese ministries to help care for some of the families, enabling them to obtain basic necessities. To learn how you can help, write and put MI-406 740-VEC on the subject line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Jordan: Qandah Watch Continues "No news is good news" is certainly true of the situation concerning the Jordanian Christian widow who has been ordered to turn over her teenage children to be raised as Muslims or be arrested and jailed. Though the court's deadline was last Wednesday, as of last night, no arrest had yet been made. Christian Aid's contact in Jordan suggested that police might be waiting for the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice to conclude. In any case, the only way out for Mrs. Siham Qandah and her two children is if King Abdullah II overturns the court ruling or lifts the ban on their leaving the country. Mrs. Qandah has a Christian relative in a neighboring country who would receive her and her children. Short messages to the king can be made at his website http://www.kingabdullah.jo by clicking "feedback." Letters also can be faxed to his royal office at (011) 9626-535-3025. Mrs. Qandah's Christian husband died in the conflict in Kosovo. When she went to collect widow's benefits, she was told she could receive nothing because her husband had converted to Islam before he died. Now, Jordanian courts have ruled her children must be raised as Muslims. More details and a photo of Mrs. Qandah and her two children, Rawan (15) and Fadi (13), can be found on Christian Aid's website at http://www.christianaid.org. Please continue to pray that Mrs. Qandah and her two Christian children be delivered from those who would force the children to become Muslims. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Colombian Mission Continues at Cautious Pace An indigenous mission in Colombia is continuing to win souls to Christ despite the ongoing insurgency. "Although we are moving at a slow pace because of this cursed satanic war that envelops our country, we saw 14 professions of faith in the valleys of Colombia recently," the leader told Christian Aid. "We also have two new workers being trained to go out and serve as evangelists." The leader, who began work in that part of his native land in 1965, last reported he had 23 coworkers with 16 churches and 10 additional mission stations. He said workers are both careful and scared as they do door-to-door evangelism. "We try to avoid the many armed bandits that patrol these regions," he said, "but when we do come across one of these groups, our workers are quick to share the gospel with them, although they usually do not want to hear anything related to God or Christianity." Please pray for these brave missionaries who labor in the face of great danger. For more information, or to learn how you can support this work in a high-risk area, write to and put MI-406 201-VOC on the subject line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. India: Anti-Christian Tensions Mount The pace of harassment, intimidation and persecution of India's own missionaries seems to have quickened since the state of Tamil Nadu passed its anti-conversion law last October. The law seems to have emboldened India's Hindus to greater audacity. One Indian newspaper falsely said in December that 1500 Hindus were forcefully converted to Christianity, fanning hostilities even further. "It did not happen," said a Christian leader in Bihar State. "It was published by anti-Christian groups to put the Christian community in trouble." In Orissa State, radical Hindus fabricated false charges of forced conversions against a certain missionary, and acts of harassment and intimidation have been going on for weeks. His very life might be in danger. "Missionaries in Chattisgarh are facing tough opposition," says a mission leader in Maharashtra State. Chattisgarh State was carved out of Madhya Pradesh State in 2000. One pastor could not even conduct a prayer and fasting meeting in his own church due to interference by Hindu radicals. Last November, Hindus in Maharashtra attacked the home of a native missionary while he was away. They destroyed furnishings, a signboard and frightened his wife and children who were home at the time. The family moved to another community for their own safety. A film team in Madhya Pradesh was attacked with stones and clubs, putting one of the members into a coma. Police were called and the team members were hospitalized. They since have been dismissed, but now must pay huge hospital bills. In Andhra Pradesh, a children's home that last year moved into new facilities for 300 children was suddenly cut off when a hostile neighboring Hindu landowner claimed the home's driveway was on his land and brought in heavy machinery to dig a huge trench through it. The highly volatile matter is still unsettled. Recently, American Joseph Cooper was charged with illegal religious activity in Kerala State, attacked with clubs and irons in the street, and then deported after he was released from the hospital. "And for every incident we hear about, there are probably 100 that we don't know about," said Christian Aid's senior news editor, John Lindner. Yet missionaries in India continue to proclaim the gospel despite the danger. When Indian preachers recently conducted a three-day convention in Bastar, the third largest tribal district in India located in Madhya Pradesh, Hindus forced some Christians to revert back to Hinduism. While that was going on, five families came forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is of note that despite the enactment of anti-conversion laws in four states and the rabid harangue of Hindus against alleged forced conversions by Christians, not one case of forced conversions has ever been documented. The only documented forced conversions are those of Hindus forcing Christians to revert back to Hinduism. Pray for missionaries and gospel preachers of India who wage a constant battle against harassment, intimidation, often unresponsive police, and sometimes prejudicial courts. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Indonesian Christians Request Prayer Christian groups in Indonesia fear that if the U.S. goes to war against Iraq, they will come under attack by hard-line Muslims in their country. "Please pray for our safety here in Sulawesi," one group wrote. "Any U.S. attack on Iraq will fan the growing anti-Christian sentiment here in Indonesia. Muslims here always identify the U.S. with Christianity." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Photo of the Week: Nigerian Child Witch Delivered http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-4-06.asp This child was found on the street handing out charmed biscuits to other children that allegedly would cause them to become witches. The child had been kicked out of his home by his mother and grandmother after he confessed that he had been practicing witchcraft a long time and had even contributed to the death of his 32-year-old father. Some of the local people wanted to stone him, but a local preacher working with a Nigerian mission rescued the boy and brought him to its headquarters. There he was prayed for and delivered from witchcraft. The mission dared not send the child back to his home locality, lest the unenlightened villagers stone him. To reach the hundreds of frustrated school drop-outs now roaming the streets as criminal gangs, the mission hopes to construct a rehabilitation and vocational training center. It also believes that the child delinquency problem can be addressed through establishment of a Christian high school. The Nigerian mission is seeking major capital for these two projects. For more information write and put MI-406 550-BAN on the subject line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission Statement: Missions Insider is a free weekly email report from Christian Aid Mission, your link to the world of indigenous missions. We seek to establish a witness for our Lord in every tribe and nation (Matthew 24:14) by supporting highly effective native missionary ministries based in poorer countries overseas, or where believers are persecuted. Christian Aid has contact with more than 6000 indigenous ministries that have a total of 300,000 missionaries on the field or ready to go when support is available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Permission to Republish The content of Missions Insider is Copyright 2003. You have permission to share this newsletter with any evangelical Christian whom you think would be interested in reading it. Permission is granted to reproduce articles in whole or in part on websites, e-mail networks or print media as long as the stories are faithfully replicated and credit is given to Missions Insider at http://www.christianaid.org. Please send notices of publication to . Thank you. ------------------------------ Contact Us ----------------------------- Check us out on the web at: http://www.christianaid.org. Christian Aid can be reached by phone at 434-977-5650, or by writing Christian Aid at P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. In Canada, visit http://www.christianaid.ca or write to . ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to Missions Insider Report, or to view archives, visit http://www.christianaid.org/insider.htm. Christian Aid's Privacy Statement: http://www.christianaid.org/privacy.htm
--- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
top of page