Fraser had a very successful training event with librarians from South African, Kenyan, Malawian and Nigerian institutions last week.  The group bonded very well and there was a real spirit of co-operation and a desire to make the portal as good and as easy-to-use as possible.  The group were really excited by the potential of some of the things Fraser is building into the portal, especially the video-chat tool and the online learning environment.

Some days we have four 2½ hour blocks of time without power which is particularly disruptive for Fraser’s work and internet access. Pray that the supply will be improved.

Stoffels is to be released in August after 30 years inside.  As deputy leader in his room, he is concerned that the “leader” feels he doesn’t need to deal with particular sins before taking communion and resents attempts to suggest otherwise.  Pray for patience for Stoffels in this.

There have been no stabbings in Drakenstein prison for 6 months, warders attributing this to God’s influence.  Derick last week felt a burden lift and God told him that it was because of prayers made on his behalf.  No longer tempted by thoughts of suicide and now with a far less stressful prison job, he is very much encouraged.

World Watch Monitor, February 25, 2019 

Tajik authorities are barring children from attending religious services and have burned thousands of calendars with Bible verses.

In December, the official responsible for non-Muslim communities, visited a religious community to obtain information.  While he was present, a few children under the age of 10 came into the meeting to see their parents briefly.

He later summoned the leaders of the community to explain why the children were present in the meeting.  The community was fined almost eight times the average monthly wage for violating the Religion Law.

In the same month, 5,000 calendars with Bible verses were confiscated by custom officials and destroyed.

Tajikistan has the highest percentage of Muslims in Central Asia, approximately 97%, but the former Soviet republic is determined to be secular and to keep Islam under control.

‘Islamic oppression’ and ‘dictatorial paranoia’ has made Tajik Christians a target of persecution.  Christian converts from a Muslim background are most vulnerable.

Talita Kum

Four of Blythswood’s Scottish leaders will be over in Romania on Wednesday, 13^th March, for important discussions on the way ahead for Talita Kum as well as for other Blythswood projects in that country.

Remember specifically the hope of opening Talita Kum 3 and Talita Kum 4 to cover pupils in their final four years of secondary school, and their application for grants from the EEU to part-fund such a project.

Daniel Centre

There is particular concern at the moment for one young man who is epileptic but who has been able to find part-time work in a Romanian supermarket chain.    

He had a severe seizure while in bed last Saturday which was accompanied by severe pain in his arm.  A visit to the hospital revealed that he had somehow broken it.  He has consequently been feeling very suicidal because it will affect his ability to turn up for work.

Although previously unresponsive, and even antagonistic to the Gospel, he had finally come to a fellowship group on the Friday evening before his seizure.  Pray that his hopes for some divine intervention in his life will rest on a calm faith.

Death threat to Armenian Christians in Turkey?

Barnabas Fund, 5 March 2019

Vandals have spray-painted the threatening words “you are finish” in English and Arabic on a church in Istanbul.

The menacing graffiti was scrawled on a door and wall of an Armenian Church in the district of Balat. Church authorities have filed a criminal complaint with police.

Armenian-born politician Garo Paylan said, “Hate attacks against churches and synagogues take place several times every year”.

It is not the first incident of vandalism against churches in Turkey.  Last April, the words “this homeland is ours” were sprayed on another Armenian church and rubbish dumped at its door.

Over 1.5 million Armenians are thought to have died in a state sanctioned genocide in Turkey during World War I in the quest to create a purely Turkish and Muslim state.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, March 10, 2019

Across Mexico, but especially in rural regions, basic services of water and electricity to members of minority religions are being cut off, in an attempt to force them to convert to the majority religion.

Meanwhile, children are excluded from school – denying them their right to an education – if they or their parents belong to a minority faith.  Elsewhere, children are forced to participate in religious activities at school against their will, under the guise of ‘cultural education’.

One of the most difficult days in the school year for religious minority children is the Day of the Dead, which falls on 2 November and is thought to have roots in Aztec goddess worship.

Many parents protest their children being encouraged to build shrines to deceased family members.  Pray today for an end to the practice of forcing children to participate in religious activities at school against their will.

Morning Star News, March 1, 2019

Christians in a town in southern Ethiopia were stunned when local Muslims attacked 10 church buildings on Feb. 9.

Muslims in Halaba Kulito targeted worship buildings belonging to eight denominations.

“The incensed crowds comprising Muslim residents of all ages from across the town made their way to the churches after being given false information that a mosque in the surrounding countryside had been fire-bombed,” said a Steadfast Global representative.

Halaba Kulito, is a predominantly Muslim town with nearly all Christians there having moved from surrounding villages for work reasons, creating an underlying tension.

Witnesses indicated that the assailants were clearly instructed to target only property and not Christians.

Municipal police were present during almost every attack but took no action.

Dawn, on her way back from the UK, had her padlocked suitcase broken into, but thankfully nothing was taken. 

Pray for the men going through the Restorative Justice course.  Remorse for past actions and gang membership are still major issues.

Pray especially for 3 believers – Fuad, an ex-Muslim in Maximum Security, Reginald, an ex-house-breaker who wants to model Jesus for his 15-year-old daughter, and Xosile, out on bail for murder, who wants his life to change.

Fraser is working on his first NetACT training meeting planned for Pretoria at the end of March which he will have to lead. Pray that he’ll be able to deliver excellent training sessions for the librarians coming from theological colleges in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Malawi.

Pray for Ruth as the A levels get nearer, and for good health and safety in travel.

Talita Kum

The Talita Kum Houses 1 & 2 are located in the small town of Jimbolia in Western Romania near the Serbian border. Each Talita Kum house can cater for up to 40 children mainly from the Roma (gypsy) people.  Talita Kum does get a certain amount of funding because of their focus on these Roma people, which the government appreciates.

Because the town is small, students need no more than 10 minutes to get from their school to Talita Kum at lunch hour.

Retaining staff is also a challenge for Talita Kum since government wages are now about twice what people would get with Blythswood (€1000 vs. €500 per month).  Those who work for Talita Kum therefore see it as a calling. 

Daniel Centre

Most young people are referred to The Daniel Centre by the Romanian Child Protection Services, while a few come through hearing about it from friends. 

One of the main challenges for Blythswood is finding quality social workers since they can find better salaries elsewhere.  The Centre gets a local government grant of €2000 per year, but their expenses run at €5000 per month.  

Barnabas Fund 19 February 2019

An Uzbek mother was killed by her husband on 9 February because she had recently become a Christian.

 “Umida”, a Muslim-background Christian, was attempting to flee the country to seek refuge in Istanbul with Christian friends, when her husband confronted her at Tashkent Airport and slit her throat.

Previously, he had locked Umida in their home to prevent her from going to church and banned her from seeing their two-year-old son after discovering she had asked a friend to get her an Uzbek Bible.

Her parents had taken their daughter to live at their home and allowed her to go to church, but she continued to receive threats from her husband.  Umida’s friends ask for prayers for her parents and her son.

Uzbekistan, a former Soviet Union republic, is secular but more than 90% of the population is Muslim.  Uzbek Christians (converts from Islam and their children) face persecution and violent raids on meetings and homes.

Egyptian Christians hold third funeral on streets

Barnabas Fund, 19 February 2019

Christians in Egypt were forced to hold a third funeral on the streets of their village, Koum al-Raheb, because their church building was sealed by police on 9 December 2018.

Hundreds of Christian mourners, and some Muslim neighbours, held the service on a road in the village.

Members of the 2,500-strong Christian community were celebrating the opening of their new, unlicensed church on 9 December when police arrived to shut it.

Though persuaded to wait until the funeral service ended before confiscating the church keys, the police next day cut off the church’s electricity and water supplies while Christians stood in prayer outside the four-storey building.

The Christians’ homes also came under attack by Muslim villagers throwing stones and thumping windows. One Christian eye-witness described this as orchestrated violence, incited by Muslim fundamentalists using the microphone and speaker system of the village mosque.