AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * THE PACIFIC AND SOUTH EAST ASIA IN TURMOIL AS NATURAL DISASTERS STRIKE * MUSLIMS PRAY ON CAPITOL HILL * CHRISTIANS EMIGRATING AS ISLAMIC INFLUENCE GROWS IN LEBANON * IRAN: A CRITICAL TEST OF WESTERN RESOLVE * 40 DAYS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN BEGINS WITH 38 BABIES LIVES SAVED IN FIRST WEEK * G-20 TAKES HELM OF WORLD ECONOMY ----------------------------------------------- THE PACIFIC AND SOUTH EAST ASIA IN TURMOIL AS NATURAL DISASTERS STRIKE SAMOAN TSUNAMI The South Pacific Islands of Samoa and American Samoa have been devastated by a tsunami that hit the islands on Tuesday September 29th. An earthquake measuring 8.3 caused waves between 3 and 6 metres which hit the south-west coastlines of the two Islands. The official death toll currently stands at 144 and is expected to rise. Many of those who have died have relatives and friends in Australia. The impact of the quake/tsunami has sent Samoa into great panic and distress because of the loss of homes, food and water. Please pray: * for strength and peace as emergency organisations send relief to the areas that were affected the most. Pray that people will be generous in supporting relief efforts in Samoa. * also for those families that are in Australia and around the world who have loved ones in Samoa that may have died or have been injured in the quake. Pray God will comfort and bring peace to their hearts. * for medical teams, all disaster relief organisations and for material supplies to help rebuild the islands that where affected in Samoa. Pray for the counselling teams that will bring strength, wisdom and comfort to those who are traumatised by the disaster. Pray that through this crisis that people's hearts will cry out to God for the Samoan people. PHILIPPINES TYPHOON AND FLOODS Tropical Storm ‘Ketsana’ hit Manila, with winds of up to 100 km an hour. 300 deaths have been recorded so far. About 380,000 people have been left homeless. Water was 8 metres deep in the worst affected areas. People have been left without water, food and power. 30 people have also died in Vietnam, and 11 in Cambodia as a result of the floods and storms. The storm brought dropped 455 millimetres of rain in just 24 hours causing extensive flooding in Manila and neighbouring provinces. The flood in Metro Manila was the worst in four decades. Pray for: * The provision of basic needs of flood victims like food, clean water, clothes, health and sanitation and housing. * The psychological recovery of the victims and economic recovery of the worst hit areas. * More government, foreign and private aid to reach the people instead of trickling into the pockets of corrupt government officials. EARTHQUAKES IN SUMATRA An earthquake measuring 7.6 has devastated western Indonesia. Buildings and bridges have been destroyed in Padang, Sumatra, which has a population of 900,000 people. Thousands are trapped under rubble in Sumatra and rescue teams are working tirelessly to evacuate them. A second earthquake measuring 7.0 struck 150km south of the epicentre one day after the first shock. In excess of 1,000 people are believed to have died in the quake with the toll is expected to rise significantly. Pray for: * those affected by the quake and for personnel sent in by relief organisations that they will be able to make a difference to the suffering being experienced by the people of the affected area. * the medical teams endeavouring to treat people injured and maimed by the quakes. * the counselling teams that they will bring strength, wisdom and comfort to those who are traumatised by the disaster. Source: Compiled by APN from various sources ----------------------------------------------- MUSLIMS PRAY ON CAPITOL HILL Despite dire warnings that 50,000 Muslims would turn the Capitol into "a giant outdoor mosque," the event that took place on Friday, September 25, 2009, only drew about 3,000 Muslim faithful to the west lawn of the Capitol for a "mass Muslim prayer service." Media reports said it appeared to be more like a "pep rally for America," than a threat to the country. During his sermon, Abdul Malik, a New York imam encouraged Muslims while trying to reassure Americans of their support for this country. "I want the American people to know: We love you, this is our country. We are with you," said Malik. America "is one of the best places in the world to live," Malik said. "What we have done here today we couldn't do in any Muslim country." However, Malik made it clear Islam would seek to make converts. "America, it is my intention to invite your children to the worship of one God," he said. "It is my intention to remove every idol from every place -- nothing physical. It is a confrontation of ideas, because the most powerful weapon you have in your hand ... is truth." The event included recitations from the Qur'an, a sermon and the Friday prayer observed by Muslims. Those attending sat segregated by gender on the ground facing east toward the Capitol and Mecca, the sacred site of Islam in Saudi Arabia. "The prayer event was an attempt to show Americans that Muslims do not hate the United States, an organizer said. Malik said President Obama had inspired the event by his comments about Islam in speeches, but he said the president had nothing to do with organizing or sponsoring it." On the eve of the Muslim prayer service, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said everyone has a right to gather in the nation's capital, but he and others were concerned about the focus of the Muslim prayers. Perkins asked, "Are they praying for the wellbeing of our nation? There has been a lot of silence in the Islamic community when Americans have been attacked by acts of terror from the Muslim community. We would hope that we would hear from the Muslim community that these acts of terror would not be tolerated, and denounce them." Perkins further called on Christians to evangelize the Muslim community and to pray for their eyes to be opened to the truth. "That's the only thing that's going to stop radical Islam -- the love of Jesus Christ and the Gospel that sets people free," he said. During the event on Capitol Hill, some Christians gathered nearby to preach and share the Gospel of Jesus. Some sought to share the Gospel with individual Muslims. Others gathered in prayer for the salvation of Muslims. Source: Assist Ministries ----------------------------------------------- CHRISTIANS EMIGRATING AS ISLAMIC INFLUENCE GROWS IN LEBANON Christians are fleeing Lebanon as the country becomes increasingly “Islamized,” according to Father Samir Khalil, founder of the Centre for Arab Christian Research and Documentation. One-third of the nation’s Christian population has left since the beginning of the 1975-90 Civil War, and Christians now make up just 34 percent of Lebanon’s population. Christians in the Arab world are moving abroad to places with higher Christian populations, such as America, Europe and Australia, which is increasing the Muslim majority in countries like Lebanon. "The same is happening all over the Middle East, and this is certainly a very tragic situation, which will have great consequences in the future,” Father Khalil warned. "Christians must stay in the Middle East to keep numbers up. Large numbers of Lebanese Christians are leaving as they feel their traditional influence in their country is weakening, while an increasing number of crucial political positions are going to Muslims. In reference to Islamic extremism, Khalil claimed the power of the influential Christian minority to counterbalance it was waning. Christian leaders have long warned about that the pressures of living in a Muslim society, and the economic uncertainties facing the region have prompted many thousands of young Christians to leave, imperilling the future of Christianity in the region. The results of a recent poll show that nearly half of all Maronites, the largest Christian denomination in the country – making up about 22 percent of the population – said they are considering emigrating. Many Christians cited the growing influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon as a reason for their decision to leave. Over 70,000 Christians have fled since the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Christians, have historically played a major role in the development of Lebanon’s political and social institutions. Under the country’s power-sharing system, the post of president is reserved for a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister must be a Sunni, and the parliamentary speaker a Shiite. Currently, the president, the army commander and the head of the central bank all are Maronites, whilst half of the 128 seats in Lebanon’s Parliament are reserved for Christians. Source: Daily Star newspaper --------------------------------- IRAN: A CRITICAL TEST OF WESTERN RESOLVE Iran's effort to develop nuclear weapons potentially constitutes "one of the greatest crises for the world since the Cuban missile crisis," Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land has told reporters. Mr Land said if Iran "gets nuclear weapons, then virtually every country in the region is going to get them. And I can't think of another region in the world where we would less like to have multiple countries with nuclear arms." Iran poses a "critical test" for the civilized world, Land said. Land was one of nearly 50 Christian and conservative leaders who have sent a letter to President Obama and Congress urging quick action to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. The letter included calls for a boycott on arms sales to the militant Islamic regime and economic sanctions on firms that conduct oil-related business with Iran. The range of punishments proposed in the letter "will make it very difficult for the Iranian regime to be able to continue to go down this course," Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition said. The letter also charged Iran with supporting terrorist organizations in other countries and suppressing its own citizens'rights. Tehran "is currently arresting and detaining political opponents, actively persecutes its Christian citizens, and has shot protestors in cold blood in the streets," according to the letter. That letter followed by only four days one from the European Centre for Law and Justice urging the U.N. human rights office to hold Iran and Ahmadinejad accountable for recent human rights abuses. Source: Baptist Press ----------------------------------------------- 40 DAYS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN BEGINS WITH 38 BABIES LIVES SAVED IN FIRST WEEK In what is being called the "most widespread and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history," the 40 Days for Life event kicked off in 212 cities across America last week. The prayer vigil movement began two years ago with a small prayer group in Texas, and has since become a "global campaign". National director David Bereit said, "We have never before seen the intensity of passion and involvement in pro-life efforts that we are seeing right now. This shows that support for the pro-life message is spreading." And, this year's campaign is already yielding fruit. One abortion centre at which people were praying let employees go because business was off whilst two staff members at another clinic resigned as a direct result of the witness of those praying outside. Thus far in the 40 Days for Life campaign, organisers have received reports of 38 mothers who have changed their minds and chosen life rather than an abortion for their babies. One such case was where a women presented for an abortion but after seeing the group praying, she simply could not go through with it. Source: Christian Post ----------------------------------------------- G-20 TAKES HELM OF WORLD ECONOMY The Group of 20 wealthy and developing nations, representing two thirds of the earth's population, declared their crisis-fighting efforts a success in Pittsburgh and promised to give rising powers such as China more say in rebuilding and guiding the global economy. Leaders pledged to keep emergency economic supports in place until sustainable recovery is assured and to implement tougher rules governing banks by 2012. China was particularly active at the Summit, campaigning for changes in the voting structure of the International Monetary Fund to give it more representation, as well as calling for a new international reserve currency to replace the dollar. China, which holds $800 billion in US bonds, is concerned by the instability of the dollar and by the exploding US deficit. Source: Intercessors for America
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