AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * ACID ATTACKS ON WOMEN IN NEPAL INCREASING * FASTING AND PRAYER TURNS CHILD'S LIFE AROUND * AN EXAMPLE OF EXTRAORDINARY FORGIVENESS * MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE BIBLE AS GOD'S WORD * PRO-LIFE SENTIMENTS BUILDING IN UK POLITICIANS * POLISH MAN WAKES FROM COMA AFTER 19 YEARS ----------------------------------------------- ACID ATTACKS ON WOMEN IN NEPAL INCREASING A rampant crime in neighbouring India and Bangladesh, acid attacks on women have increased substantially in Nepal, especially near the Indian border. The names and ages vary but most of the victims have some things in common. They come from low-income families with low literacy levels and have some Indian connection. There is no concerted public condemnation, let alone any case of the attackers being brought to justice. Akriti Rai, 22, was attacked by her husband, his first wife and his sister. Rai's husband Santosh is a soldier and has been sheltered by the Nepalese army. The army said it would conduct an internal investigation into the attack but it has never made public what punishment Santosh received, if any at all, while Akriti lives with massive scars on her forehead, cheeks and nose that will never go away. The army has been consistently turning a deaf ear to human rights organisations' demand that soldiers guilty of civilian crimes be tried in civilian courts. Sadina Khatun, had acid thrown at her by her husband when she was breastfeeding her baby. Aslam is said to have been suspicious that she was having an affair. The attack has left bruises on Sadina's face and left arm and burnt the baby in the forehead as well. Manjta Upadhyay who works in a Women's Rehabilitation Centre, enumerated the causes for the growing attacks. 'There is no specific law for such a crime,' she said. "The state is ineffective and the culprits get away without any deterring punishment." The open border between India and Nepal also encourages crime in the border towns. 'There are cases when a man wanted by police flees to India and spends the day there, sneaking back at night to sleep in his own bed,' Upadhyay said. The feudal society in Nepal's Terai belts, where women are regarded as subservient and of little worth, allows such crimes against women to flourish, she said. 'There is this psychological factor,' she said. 'When a man suspects his wife or girlfriend of infidelity, there's this desire to punish her by 'marring' her for ever so that she becomes unattractive to other men'. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- FASTING AND PRAYER TURNS CHILD'S LIFE AROUND The power of fasting and prayer to change things was vividly illustrated by a father and son who addressed a national children's leaders' conference recently in Christchurch. The conference was organized by the Link National Network of Children's Ministries and Grace Vineyard Church. Andrew Shepherd, children's pastor at Crossway Baptist Church in Melbourne, said that although his son, Luke, had been brought up in a Christian home, he had gone away from God, and become immersed in the death metal music culture. Luke's life was causing torment in the family, to the point where he had to ask him to leave unless he brought his life into line within the family home. In the midst of this torment, Mr. Shepherd was challenged about fasting after reading a book by Jensen Franklin. "At that time, Luke, aged 18, was as backslidden as you could be. It was causing incredible grief in the family. So we decided to fast for 40 days. But I was so desperate for a breakthrough in my son's life that I decided to go for 45 days," he said. Luke - who attended the conference with his father - said he had decided, when he hit high school age, he was going to live for himself. "I got into death metal music, which is satanic. It was more than music to me - it became my life. My life turned into hatred of anything to do with the Church, everything I had grown up believing. I loved mocking my parents and the things of God." Luke said that one night, he went as usual to a friend's place to party. While there, he started having visions, and an encounter with God. "God began to soften my heart, and speak to me about everything I was doing." At 2am he called his father to come to pick him up. From that time, he had a total turnaround and his life changed. "The next day, in everything I did, I began living for God. I burned all my music, all my clothes, all that had to do with my old life. I ran into a church to rededicate my life. I am now doing an internship at Planetshakers Church in Melbourne." Mr Shepherd said at the conference that leading up to that night nothing appeared to have changed. A week before it was as bad as it had ever been. The day after the encounter, everything had undergone a radical change. People did not recognize him. "If last year you had told me that I would be bringing my son to this conference, two months into a remarkable internship, spending two hours a day reading his Bible, I wouldn't have believed it." He reminded the leaders of a saying by John Wesley, that God is limited by only two things: unbelief and a lack of prayer. Our prayer life is the only thing that will change things. God is looking for people who will take on the dare of being extraordinary." Source: Challenge Weekly ----------------------------------------------- AN EXAMPLE OF EXTRAORDINARY FORGIVENESS Gary Ceran lost his wife and two of his children, when a drunk driver crashed his car into theirs. Ceran's wife, Cheryl (47); son, Ian (15); and daughter, Julianna (7), were all killed in the front seat, while Gary and two other children survived in the back. He would've been quite justified to have called for a maximum sentence for the perpetrator - in fact the judge was ready to give it - but Ceran instead asked for mercy. Standing in front of the shackled Carlos Prieto, who had caused the death of his wife and children, Gary Ceran addressed the judge. "I want Carlos to know that I forgive him," he said. "If Carlos were to look me in the eye, shake my hand and say that he'll do all in his power to see that this will never happen again - that would be enough for us." According to the report, Carlos Prieto had been driving with a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit. Prieto, who gave Ceran a written apology after the hearing, told the court in broken English, "First, I just want to thank this wonderful man who has forgiven me. I wish I could do something to heal the pain. To heal the heart. There is not a time I don't think about it." He added that he took full responsibility for his actions and the crash. Ceran's family had experienced the pain of family tragedy before, as three other children had died from brain tumours, and a premature set of twins died soon after their birth. Source: Associated Press ----------------------------------------------- MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE BIBLE AS GOD'S WORD More than three-quarters of Americans believe the Bible is literally the word of God or directly inspired by God, according to a Gallup survey, with 19 percent saying the Bible is a compendium of myth and legend. The three surveys found that an average 31 percent of the respondents said that "the Bible is absolutely accurate and should be taken literally word for word." This literal-belief structure has influenced a number of public issues, including teaching evolution in public schools, same-sex relationships, the role of a husband and a wife in marriage, observance of a day of rest, the idea of men-only clergy and even "seemingly unrelated topics" such as immigration. A Pew Research Centre survey of 1,010 adults last year found that 67 percent of Americans say the United States is a "Christian nation," compared with 60 percent a decade ago. The Bible continues to be the best-selling book ever. Americans alone buy 25 million Bibles a year, according to Publisher's Weekly. Bible sales are now reaching $609 million a year, with specialty Bibles available for myriad "niche" audiences, from motorcycle riders to campers, brides and archaeologists. "Immerse," a water-resistant Bible for troops overseas, is now available from publisher Bardin & Marsee. Source: Intercessors for America ----------------------------------------------- PRO-LIFE SENTIMENTS BUILDING IN UK POLITICIANS Although abortion has been "legal" in the UK for 40 years, things are beginning to change. A nationwide campaign to ban abortion was reportedly given a boost by a "fiery" sermon by the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who called abortion an "unspeakable crime." "I urge politicians to have no truck with the evil trade of abortion," he told a congregation at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh." We are killing in our country alone, the equivalent of a classroom of kids every single day. When's it going to stop? They must consider their own consciences and whether or not they can approach the altar to receive Holy Communion," he noted, referring to Catholic pro-abortion politicians. "It's not up to me to judge them, I'll leave that to God. It's far beyond time that the present Abortion Act of 40 years ago was re-examined. The Catholic Church believes that every life has been created by God in His own image. This means that all life is sacred which is why we oppose abortion. Pro-life activists claimed it as another sign that public opinion is hardening against the UK's liberal abortion laws. "There is absolutely no doubt that we are seeing a change in public opinion," James Dyson, the LifeLeague national coordinator, claimed. "People are much more willing to listen to the pro-life case and the politicians will have to catch up." The Royal College of Obstetricians recently reported that an unprecedented number of doctors in the UK are refusing to be involved in abortions. Source: The Independent UK ----------------------------------------------- POLISH MAN WAKES FROM COMA AFTER 19 YEARS A Polish man, in a coma for nineteen years, recently returned to consciousness and began relearning how to live. Sixty-five-year-old Jan Grzebski, is reportedly amazed by the colours he sees on the streets of Poland, as his wife walks with him in his wheelchair. The last time he had been out, his country was under communist rule. "I could not talk or do anything, now it's much better," says Jan, who now catches up with the world by watching TV in the morning. Doctors had advised Jan's wife, Gertruda, that he would not live, but she never gave up hope. "Now he can sit in his wheelchair and we have breakfast and coffee together," she said. Gertruda added, "I would fly into a rage every time someone would say that people like him should be euthanized, so they don't suffer. I believed Janek would recover, this is my great reward for all the care, faith and love." In response Jan was quoted as saying, "It was Gertruda that saved me and I will never forget it." Source: Associated Press
top of page