AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * BREAKING THE MACHISMO SPIRIT IN BOLIVIA * CHINA EXPELS FOREIGN MISSIONARIES * TURKEY: STATE PROSECUTOR DEMANDS CHRISTIANS' ACQUITTAL * RUSSIAN YOUTH GET HELP FIGHTING SOCIAL ILLS * INDIA: PERSECUTION WORSE THAN U.S. REPORT INDICATES * SUDANESE SOLDIERS GIVE THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST ----------------------------------------------- BREAKING THE MACHISMO SPIRIT IN BOLIVIA J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, writes of his recent experience in Bolivia dealing with spousal abuse. "The typical indigenous woman in Bolivia quotes an odd saying that is well-known in her country," he says. "Speaking of her husband, she often says: 'The more he beats me, the more he loves me.' That might seem horrific to us, but in Bolivia, where seven out of every 10 women are victims of physical violence, abuse is just a way of life." "It is one thing to know statistics about domestic abuse," adds Grady, "It is quite another thing to talk to a woman whose face has been disfigured by her husband's fist. Thankfully, God is at work today to heal the deepest pain of Latin America's women." Grady agreed to appear on a TV program for women called Vaso Frágil (fragile vessel). Afterwards, women from all over La Paz called in to share their stories about molestation, abandonment and neglect. The next day, about 1,500 Bolivian men jammed into Ekklesia's main sanctuary to hear Grady address the issue of male domination. At one point Grady asked an actor dressed in a clown suit to enter from the rear of the auditorium. He was dressed as El Pepino, a popular figure in Bolivian folklore who represents the machismo culture. In the meeting Grady ordered El Pepino to come to the stage. He took the stick out of his hand and told the audience that his abuse is not funny. Then some pallbearers arrived with a coffin and they carried the clown away. Making a prophetic declaration in the name of Jesus, He told the crowd that El Pepino is not welcome back any more. You might assume the men would have been resistant to the idea of burying their male pride," said Grady, "but actually they cheered when El Pepino was carried away that night. Later, many of them came to the altar to repent of their abusive behaviour and to receive forgiveness from Jesus for the cycle of violence that has afflicted Bolivian men for generations." Source: Global Prayer Network ----------------------------------------------- CHINA EXPELS FOREIGN MISSIONARIES Under the guise of visa problems, more than a hundred foreign Christian workers have been expelled from China. Citizens from six countries working in Xinjiang, Beijing and Tibet were targeted. Lee DeYoung from one of the targeted groups, Words of Hope, who broadcast Christian programs into Tibet, says while open to Gospel radio programs, Tibetans have sometimes been reported to resent missionary activity. But DeYoung says that's not what they have experienced. "We had the opportunity to go along with one of the Tibetan men who is involved in follow-up. There are thousands of responses that come every year to these broadcasts." More surprising, he says is the unlikely place from which interest in our programs has come. Contact has been made with people in monasteries who are listening, who are open to the things of God, and who listen with interest to this Gospel broadcast." It is estimated that Tibet has only a few hundred active Christians. It is expected that the broadcasts will be able to continue to be beamed into Tibet from outside the country. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- TURKEY: STATE PROSECUTOR DEMANDS CHRISTIANS' ACQUITTAL A Turkish state prosecutor has demanded acquittal for two Turkish Christians on trial for "insulting Turkishness" under the nation's controversial Article 301. State Prosecutor Ahmet Demirhuyuk told the Silivri Criminal Court that there was "not a single concrete, credible piece of evidence" to support the accusations filed against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, former Muslims who converted to Christianity more than a decade ago. In remarks to the court, the state prosecutor said the accusers have provided no evidence that the two men had cursed Turkey and Islam and then tried to force them to accept Christianity. Rather, Demirhuyuk said, the plaintiffs have given contradictory explanations of their claims. "There is absolutely no system or practice to consider it a crime for Christians to learn or spread their religion, or to gather for worship," Demirhuyuk said. "Exactly the contrary, within the scope of freedom of religion and belief, everyone is guaranteed the right under the Constitution and laws of Turkey to live and spread his chosen faith." Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- RUSSIAN YOUTH GET HELP FIGHTING SOCIAL ILLS A new Kremlin-based youth movement in Russia has been formed and funded by President Putin to win the hearts of young people. These groups are getting more popular as young people need a sense of belonging and hope. Drugs, alcohol, and sexual abuse only mask this need. Irina Litvinova of Book of Hope International, Russia says. "People think that Russia has been evangelized. But these kids have never heard about God. The Gospel, Litvinova says, is their only hope. That's why they plan to distribute nearly five-million Books of Hope this year. It's having an impact. "We have some really progressive churches that are growing, and they have hearts for reaching these kids. We have some Christian teams that go to different villages, and they reach these kids. And yes, their lives are being changed." Litvinova says they plan to continue their work despite harsh new religion laws. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- INDIA: PERSECUTION WORSE THAN U.S. REPORT INDICATES The U.S. Department of State's 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom gives India's federal government high marks for respecting religious freedom, but Christian leaders said this does not mean that persecution in the country is less than alarming. The incidence of anti-Christian violence is much higher than available statistics indicate, the leaders said, as most cases are not reported to the police and are ignored by the media. The report says the government of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) "generally respected" religious freedom in practice. It asserts, however, that there were "organized societal attacks against minority religious groups, particularly in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janta Party," India's most influential Hindu nationalistic party. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- SUDANESE SOLDIERS GIVE THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST War-ravaged Sudan has seen more than 200,000 people die in the wake of the conflict in the Darfur region, but the Bible League has great hope for the area. "Even in the midst of opposition, we continue to witness lives being transformed and salvaged from spiritual darkness," said Dr. Mwaya Wa Kitavi, Bible League's associate director of Africa ministries. According to the report, the group gained access to six army barracks in Southern Sudan, even though the commander was not a Christian. "But God -who is no respecter of any man - gave us favour," said Kitavi. "As a result, more than one thousand soldiers have committed their lives to Christ, and all have been baptized. Praise be to God!" Source: Mission Network News
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