Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood – Update 2 – April 23rd

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

A mixed bag from the Daniel Centre.  Cosmin and Alex are on a final warning.  Though still on drugs, they are at least not using in the home and both have been more positive in helping and keeping their rooms tidy.  Alex now has a scholarship for free driving lessons.  Ionuz, who had been away for 6 months and returned in February , was fired from his Casino job for stealing.

Danut, with a slight disability, has become very polite and keeps his room tidy.  Damian, the delivery lad with three bikes, has become more negative and late with his various payments.  He is on notice to leave the Centre at the end of April.  André, very impertinent, is constantly losing jobs and blaming the employers for firing him.  He must find a job and stick with it by the end of April.

New arrival Emil is well behaved with a positive attitude and found a job within 2 days of arriving.  Another new arrival, Rares, is becoming less positive but has already paid a year’s rent for his room at the Centre.

Almost none of the lads attend the fellowship meetings with Danny and Sergiu but Sergiu takes some of them to his lively Pentecostal church with him every fortnight.  Sergiu himself is a university graduate and an ex-Daniel Centre resident who has a real heart for the lads.

Blythswood board members visit Romania and Serbia for a week this coming month.

Talita Kum

No updates from Adi this time.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Fund – April Update 1

by Robert MacNaughton

Updates on the persecuted Church

Barnabas Fund, 22 March 2023 (excerpts)

  • Uyghur house church pastor Alimujiang Yimiti (Alim) has been released after 15 years’ imprisonment in China and is now home with his family. Alim, a convert to Christianity from Islam, served as a pastor in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, until his arrest in 2008 for alleged anti-state activities.  He was finally sentenced in August 2009 after being subjected to two trials held in secret, with his family prohibited from attending.  Give thanks for Alim’s release.
  • At least 10 residents of a community in Kaduna State, Nigeria, were killed in an attack by suspected Fulani extremists on 14 March. The attackers also looted a shop before being repelled by police.   Around 84% of the Atyap people are Christians.  Ask the Lord to comfort the bereaved and heal those wounded in the Atyap community.
  • A Christian aid worker from the United States who was abducted by Islamists in Niger more than six years ago has been released. Jeff Woodke, 61, was taken by armed jihadists from his home in northern Niger, in October 2016.   Give thanks for the release of our brother and pray for his recovery following his lengthy ordeal.
  • The blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian Christian region within Azerbaijan, has been continuing for more than three months.  Residents suffer shortages of food and medicine, along with power and energy outages.  Pray for a peaceful resolution.
Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Algeria: Only 8 Protestant churches stay open – March 29th 2003

by Robert MacNaughton

Church in Chains, 15 March 2023 (excerpts)

The Algerian authorities’ ongoing crackdown on Christians has seen more church buildings shut down and sealed in recent months and by March only eight Protestant churches remained open in the entire country.

In Algeria, which is 98 percent Muslim, since 2006 no church affiliated with the Algerian Protestant Church (EPA), has received a licence and the National Commission for Non-Muslim worship has ignored all applications.

In November 2017 the Algerian authorities began a crackdown on the EPA, demanding that affiliated churches prove they have licences.  Since then over 20 churches have been shut down and their buildings sealed.  Once a court orders a church to close, police put wax on the door so that no one can enter the building without breaking the seal.

The authorities may not admit to closing churches for religious reasons but they find some reason to close down a church.  They want all churches to register, and they want them to meet only in a specific, approved location.

Members of closed churches have been forced underground and can only meet as illegal house churches or online.  Many Algerian church leaders are receiving online training.  What is happening in Algeria is what happened to the first Church in Acts.  They are closing down the buildings, but the Church is a group of people who believe in Jesus Christ, and they can meet wherever.

Since the crackdown began at least 12 Algerian Christians have been convicted on faith-related charges, including blasphemy and proselytism, and have received prison sentences of between 6 months and 5 years.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons – April Update 1 (excerpts)

by Robert MacNaughton

Thank God for music.  We had three guitar players and an amazing session of heartfeltly sung simple worship songs before we started the actual class.  Whatever our circumstances, music can make such a difference.

Fraser is still struggling with the difficulties of setting up a new library system for Mukhanyo Theological College.  The amount of remedial work involved is now starting to impact some of his day-to-day work for other colleges.  Pray he finds a way to manage everyone’s expectations and that he’d be able to communicate what he needs from Mukhanyo in a very clear way which they will understand and fulfil.

Pray for one of the men at the Medium A Bible study.  He was sexually assaulted by a member of staff at a different prison and is being encouraged to make a case which he has reservations about.  Pray for healing, courage and wisdom.  Unless offences are challenged and brought into the light there will be no change, whether in the prison system or country at large, but it requires courage to do so.

Unless we hear from the Department of Home Affairs by this Friday (March 31st) we will have to leave the country the following week.  The men at Drakenstein prison are praying and have faith that all will be sorted out. Thank God that he holds our future, even when we aren’t sure where we’ll be.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Illegal Bibles Change Lives in Iran – March 29th 2003

by Robert MacNaughton

The Voice of the Martyrs, March 24, 2023 (excerpts)

Owning, printing, importing or distributing Bibles in Iran is illegal.  Since they are so difficult to obtain, Bibles are treasured by Iranian believers, and few have their own copy of God’s Word.

Despite the prohibitions and scarcity, Christians in Iran are working on placing copies of God’s Word into people’s hands.  When they receive a shipment of Bibles, our Iranian brothers and sisters hand-deliver the Bibles to strangers. They knock on the doors of people they don’t know and give Bibles to anyone who will accept the gift, sometimes placing the Bibles in mailboxes.

Front-line workers have shared numerous stories of Iranian Muslims who read the Bible for the first time after unexpectedly receiving one in their mailbox and later became followers of Christ.

The Islamic Revolution of 1979, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, created the world’s only Shiite Islamic theocracy and profoundly changed every aspect of life in Iran.  Today, many of those who committed their lives to Islam and Islamic rule are filled with despair.

This disillusionment has opened new doors for the gospel, which is sweeping across the nation via Christian media and bold evangelists in Iran’s growing house church movements.

However, the government continues its attempts to thwart this move of God.  Christian leaders and pastors are often arrested, tortured and imprisoned, and their families are harassed.  Some, left with no other options, choose to flee the country.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

The Paxi in China – March 29th 2023

by Robert MacNaughton

The Joshua Project, 28 March 2023

Linguistically, the Paxi are members of the Tai Lu language group.  While almost all Tai Lu are Theravada Buddhists, the Paxi are Muslims.  The Paxi are a fusion of the Tai Lu and the Hui, who converted them to Islam 200 years ago.

Since then, the Paxi have struggled against continual persecution and prejudice from the Buddhist community. They do not observe any of the Theravada Buddhist festivals and refuse to intermarry with non-Muslims. The Paxi have been ostracized by the Tai Lu Buddhist community and forced to live in their own villages as socially distinct. 

Strictly adhering to the Sunni Muslim way of life, the Paxi follow Islamic teachings and traditions.  They receive frequent visits from Hui teachers who help them in their faith and understanding of the Koran.

A small number of Tai Lu follow Christ.  Pray these believers would go to the Paxi, testifying to Christ’s power and love.

Pray for the spiritual blindness and bondage to the evil one to be removed from the Paxi people, so they can understand and respond to Christ.  Pray that the Paxi people would have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings.  Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood – April Update 1

by Robert MacNaughton

March 28th

Daniel Centre

Blythswood have now received an additional £240,000 from the Scottish Government through Christian Aid to add to the second half of this year’s Ukraine support up to the end of August. 

Balazs had a successful trip to the school that Blythswood supports in Kenya including a meeting with the Hungarian ambassador there.  The Hungary government is unfortunately scaling down its support in the country.

Julien and Cipri continue well in their apartment and Damian and André have become positive influences in the Daniel Centre.   Drug abuse has become a bigger issue among the lads, however, and Balazs feels that a stronger stance is needed than the other staff members are comfortable with. 

Work at the depot is now complete and contractual negotiations with potential renters are taking place so that the depot can begin to generate income for the Daniel Centre.

 Talita Kum

Blythswood have had talks with the owner of the land that Adi would like to buy adjacent to Talita Kum as a sports area for the Talita Kum children.  The owner, however, is asking for much more than Blythswood are currently willing to pay.

Talitha Kum is currently running at capacity, mainly with children from the Roma community.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Fund – March 15th – Update 2

by Robert MacNaughton

Aid to Syrian Christians 3 days after disaster

Barnabas Fund, 15 February 2023 (excerpts)

Barnabas has delivered food, blankets and other aid to Christian survivors of the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake.

The distribution of 1,500 food gift boxes containing rice, lentils, chickpeas, bulgar wheat, noodles, beans and salt to families in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo began on 9 February, just three days after the quake.  We also gave out several hundred pairs of new shoes.

The next consignment, containing 1,200 food parcels, 1,000 blankets, 250 health kits and 200 coats, is already being distributed in northern Syria to help Christians who lost everything when the 7.8 magnitude quake struck in the early hours of 6 February.

We are also about to distribute blankets and heaters to Christian survivors in Turkey.

“Thank you for being there,” said Angela, a Christian in Aleppo, in a video message to Barnabas supporters. Her family home was severely damaged by the earthquake.

“The Public Safety Committee has evacuated the whole building because many cracks had hit our building,” she explained.  “We are staying in a room in a hospital.”

“God bless you all,” she added.  “Please continue your prayers for our beloved Syrian brothers and sisters and those who lost their families and loved ones.”

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

The Bathari people in Oman – March 15th 2003

by Robert MacNaughton

Joshua Project, 14 March 2023

Bathari is a language of southern Oman, but few people speak Bathari.  The remainder have switched to speaking Omani Arabic, Oman’s trade language.

The Bathari people are Sunni Muslims who believe that Allah spoke through his prophet Mohammed and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith.  They seek to live righteously according to Mohammed’s teachings.  They have never understood that they need a sinless saviour.

One of the main holidays for Sunni Muslims is Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.  They already understand the value of the sacrifice of a son; this can be a connection to the ultimate sacrifice of the ultimate Son.

“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”  Psalm 42:1

Pray for this kind of longing for the Lord among this people group!

The Bathari people need to put their identity in Christ, especially as they are in the process of losing their identity as a distinct people group.  Pray they would have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings.  Pray for workers who are driven by love and by the boldness of the Holy Spirit.  Pray for a disciple-making movement among them to begin soon.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons – March 15th – Update 2 (excerpts)

by Robert MacNaughton

Fraser is grappling to extract usable data from Mukhanyo Theological College’s current system to transfer it to a new library catalogue.  Pray for a workable way forward with their librarian, maybe having to persuade him to re-catalogue parts of their library from scratch!)

A man in Maximum with a very long sentence cares not if he’s released.  He met Jesus in prison and nothing matters as much as his being changed from the man he was outside and far more imprisoned than he is now.

A Medium A Bible study regular was transferred to a different prison several months ago and when he returned was not the same as when he left.  Pray for his physical, emotional and mental healing. 

Dawn recently led Bible studies at Drakenstein Maximum and Medium A on forgiveness.  The rightness of the subject was underlined when a man in Medium A said that the recent session reinforced what was said at their church service on Sunday.  The men have much that needs to be forgiven.  Several have experienced (and acted on) Holy Spirit-induced sleepless nights about those they need to apologise to, seeking to forgive others and understand why it is hard for victims to forgive them. 

Pray for conversation guided by the Holy Spirit at the upcoming Elders’ meeting of our Wellington church when possible sources of disruption will be discussed. 

Thank you for your prayers for Ruth’s health.  Pray she’ll continue to regain her strength and avoid new viruses.   

The government waiver for renewing our visas expires at the end of March.  Pray for either a positive answer or a further, but not last moment, extension.