NATIONAL PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER 9th March 2009 * HOPE COMES TO MYANMAR * ZIMBABWE'S ILLS INFECTING NEIGHBOURING ZAMBIA * SPEAKER PELOSI DEFENDS CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS IN NATIONAL'S CAPITOL * UK BISHOP SAYS HOSPITALS MUST REDISCOVER THEIR CHRISTIAN ROOTS ----------------------------------------------- HOPE COMES TO MYANMAR In a country ridden with political struggles, economic strife and natural disasters, it would seem there's little room for optimism. Severe flooding and rat infestations have plagued the landscape, ushering in death, disease and famine. But for a growing number of people in Myanmar, a ray of hope has come and they are joyous despite all the hardships they endure. Gospel for Asia native missionary Than Dara has a burning desire to share the one true Hope with the desperate people of his nation. Knowing their pain—because he has gone through the trials alongside them—he cannot keep quiet about the Saviour who gives him strength to face every new day. And as a result of his passionate witness and outpouring of love, many people in Myanmar are choosing to follow Christ. Putting his own difficulties aside, Than visits villagers in their homes, distributes tracts, prays for those in need and shares about Jesus with those who need encouragement. For many who cried out to their gods but received nothing but silence, they are thrilled to hear about a God who really cares about their situations. Although they know that things may not be physically better in their lives on earth, many people are deeply comforted to know that in eternity they have a bright future. Than has reached many villages with this message of hope. Recently, 17 new believers publicly professed their choice to walk with Jesus. Ranging from young to old, they had one thing in common—they rejoiced in their newfound faith. Than feels tremendously blessed that he is able to bring a fresh, encouraging perspective to those who are deeply hurting in Myanmar. He is thankful that so many are turning to Jesus. He requests prayer that many more people will see that Jesus truly cares for them, and that the kingdom of God will flourish and bring joy to his entire country. Source: Gospel for Asia ----------------------------------------------- ZIMBABWE'S ILLS INFECTING NEIGHBOURING ZAMBIA Zimbabwe faces runaway inflation, high unemployment, disastrous agriculture policy and rampant disease. Although Zimbabwe’s parliament unanimously passed a resolution to form a unity government with Robert Mugabe as President and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister, little has changed. Morgan Tsvangirai will be faced with answering the challenges. But it may be a scramble to keep the country under control. The alarming news is that like the cholera epidemic, borders won’t contain Zimbabwe’s ills. Missionary Rody Rodeheaver of I.N. Network says thousands are fleeing to Zambia. “It is very hard to contain the problem in Zimbabwe. It is spreading, and creating turmoil within the evangelical church.” Zimbabwe refugee camps are springing up near the border with Zambia, laying a heavy burden on the goodwill of its neighbours. The problem is that Zambia’s government is taking land from the subsistence farmers and giving it to the Zimbabwean refugees, many of whom were the commercial farmers who lost their land as the result of Mugabe’s agriculture policies. It’s creating turmoil in the church, because it’s threatening Zambian livelihoods. Such a situation is dangerous for ministry. Rodeheaver says, “We need to really pray for the leadership of the evangelical church and for other Christian organizations working in the area building bridges and helping to reach out to refugees and to try to deal with the problems that are created when a ruler in another country sets such bad policy.” The instability has already forced postponement of a number of mission trips slated for both Zimbabwe and Zambia. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- SPEAKER PELOSI DEFENDS CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS IN NATIONAL'S CAPITOL Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi recently confirmed to Capitol Hill missionary Rev. Rob Schenck that the war against Christmas is real. Schenck is a missionary to elected and appointed officials on Capitol Hill and was a VIP guest at last year's US Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony held on the Capitol's West Lawn. Following the ceremony that included traditional Christmas carols played by a US Air Force band, Rev. Schenck thanked Speaker Pelosi for keeping Christmas at the US Capitol. Pelosi politely acknowledged the remark, then pursued Rev. Schenck to tell him she had been "mugged" for doing so. I realised the Speaker was saying she had paid a serious price politically for allowing the Christmas celebration to go on. She obviously took some political heat for it. For that, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be commended, and I made sure I did so." Schenck also said, "The fact that Nancy Pelosi said she was assailed for allowing a Christmas observance at the US Capitol confirms the war against Christmas is not a figment of the so-called religious right's imagination. If one of the most liberal, arguably left-wing political leaders in our country, the woman third in succession to the presidency, is getting pummelled for lighting a Christmas tree and allowing Christmas carols on the lawn of the Capitol, that would qualify as a war against Christmas." Source: Faith and Action ----------------------------------------------- UK BISHOP SAYS HOSPITALS MUST REDISCOVER THEIR CHRISTIAN ROOTS The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali says Christians must take back their place in the public square and that places such as hospitals need to rediscover their Christian roots. Responding in part to the recent firing and re-hiring of Christian nurse Caroline Petrie for offering to pray for a patient, the bishop was also quoted as saying it was ironic "that a country which developed the Christian tradition of nursing, should suspend a nurse who offered to pray for a patient." "Of all professionals, nursing is one that is firmly rooted in the Christian tradition," he wrote. "It arose first in the religious orders and although it began to become secularized after the Reformation, it's Christian foundations were re-discovered by people like Florence Nightingale, the founder, in many ways, of modern nursing. A place for Christians in the public square must be reclaimed," he concluded. "It is time for a movement of Christians that will put the Christian case vigorously in public debate that will remind the nation of its Christian heritage." Source: Christian Today
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