Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update Jan 2018

Blythswood – January Update 1

Talita Kum

Give thanks for the £1000 donation from Souter Charitable Trust for Talita Kum 2.

Daniel Centre

Pray for the young men in the Centre, that they would settle in and that their individual care programmes would work well for them.

The system of donating every month is not new to Blythswood Care.  Last year, we gave it a new name – Life Transformer – because that is what the donations do; transform lives.

The Life Transformer programme is initially a one-year commitment to partner with Blythswood Care. 

Donors will follow the story of Adrian, a young man in the Daniel Centre, whose life is gradually being transformed through his experience of the care, encouragement and support and he is receiving. 

Barnabas, Missions

Barnabas Update Jan 2018

Syria – January Update 1

No justice for Christian genocide survivors

Barnabas Fund 21 Dec 2017

Survivors of Islamic State’s genocide against Christians are not receiving justice in government trials of militants.

Former Islamic State fighters are being tried under counter terror laws “without any distinction based on the gravity of the offences they are accused of committing.”

Authorities have made “no efforts to solicit victims’ participation in the trials,” – Christians have not been able to give evidence as witnesses.

The use of counter terror laws to secure convictions appears to be an effort to clear a large backlog of cases. But it has left victims side-lined and raises the prospect that the perpetrators of the genocide against Christians and other minorities may never be held fully accountable.

Jacksons, Missions

Jackson’s Update Jan 2018

Jacksons – January Update 1

 Give thanks for the fortnight Dawn was able to spend with Ruth in England.

Our car has developed an unexpected fault and Fraser’s finding it hard to get the dealership to communicate. Pray that the car will be fixed in time to collect Dawn from Cape Town airport on Thursday morning. Thank God for the Church family who are ready to help if needed.

Fraser and the other NetACT staff have a meeting with one of the directors of Langham Literature next week.  Langham has a long history of supporting theological education in the developing world, including annual grants of literature to many seminaries and Bible colleges, so it is very exciting to discover how they can be involved in what NetACT is doing.

 Fraser has been suffering from an intermittent stomach upset for a few weeks.  Pray that we would be able to identify what is causing it.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecuted Church Chile Dec 22nd 2017

Why are Chile’s churches under attack?

World Watch Monitor December 15, 2017

Seven hours’ drive south of Santiago, 27 churches have been burnt down in the past couple of years.

The attackers leave messages with the demands of the Mapuches, a tribe whose land was taken from them during Chile’s colonisation by Spanish Catholics.  Many Mapuches now identify as Christian: 55% Catholic, 32% Protestant.

But for some others, Christians are still seen as invaders.

Of the 20 churches burnt down between 2015 and 2016, 12 were Catholic, 8 Protestant. In 2017, a further 7 have been torched. Many belonged to the poorest in Chile, and were attended by Mapuches themselves.

Abelino Apeleo, an Anglican bishop and ethnic Mapuche, said the primary issue is ignorance on the part of some of his fellow Mapuches.  “Those with a more radical, violent attitude blame the Church for creating the problems of the Mapuches,” he said. “This is totally wrong. And of course, we cannot support violence as a response.”

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecuted Church Belarus Dec 22nd 2017

BELARUS – Christians fined for distributing religious literature

 

Barnabas Fund 14 Dec 2017

 

Lepel town police have continued to disrupt and arrest members of a church library ministry for singing and offering Christian books and magazines to passers-by at the entrance to the town market. The local court repeatedly fined one of them to the total equivalent of double his monthly wage.

 

 “I’ve been conducting the street library ministry for 16 years, offering Bibles, children’s literature and magazines for people to read and return,” said a church member. “Over the last 10 years we never had any conflicts.” The street library had not been disrupted for thirteen years until mid-October 2017.

 

A Christian sustained a facial injury during his arrest and detention by the police of Lepel town, north-eastern Belarus. He has lodged a complaint with the “Investigative Committee.”

 

The government in Belarus enforces strict regulations on Christian groups and requires all religious communities to register with the State.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecuted Church Sudan Dec 22nd 2017

Sudan Takes Over Church Properties

An Islamist judge in Omdurman upheld the eviction of two pastors from their church-owned homes, ruling that Hisham Hamad Al-Neel, a Muslim businessman behind most cases filed to obtain church property, should take over the houses. 60 other Christians have been summoned over their refusal to relinquish property.

The two pastors and their families remain homeless since police raided their houses on Aug. 15 and evicted them. Pastor Abdalla has two children, ages 8 and 10, and Pastor Nalu has a 1-year-old boy.

Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since South Sudan seceded in July 2011.

The government announced in 2013 that no new licenses would be granted for building new churches in Sudan.

Sudan since 2012 has bulldozed church buildings on the pretext that they belonged to South Sudanese.

Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update Dec 22nd 2017

Blythswood – December Update 2

Talita Kum

The Mission Team discussed the possibility of transferring our support to other areas of Blythswood.  We felt, however, that the Castle Street church family had slowly come to learn more about the Talita Kum and Daniel Centre projects over the past year and that it would be good to extend that growing acquaintance with these two projects for at least another year.

Remember the school children as they spend the Christmas holidays away from the daily influence of the Christians who run the Talita Kum project.

 

Daniel Centre

As mentioned above in relation to Talita Kum, our congregation will continue to give monthly support to the Daniel Centre for the coming year.

Some of the young people in the Daniel Centre will be having their first experience of Christmas in a genuine Christian environment. 

Pray that the wonder of the first Christmas 2000 years ago will also be the wonder of these young men as they spend Christmas together with their fellow residents and committed Christian leaders.

Jacksons, Missions

Jackson’s Update Dec 22nd 2017

Jacksons – December Update 2

 

Thank God for prayer being answered.  We got rain last week which should help regenerate the grazing destroyed in the fires.  We got the official traffic certificate necessary for the car.

 

Fraser’s business case for NetACT is now with the Stellenbosch IT department for them to add technical details. Pray that it would be ready to present to the university early in the new year.

 

Pray that NetACT staff will return to work in January with new inspiration as to how to embody following Jesus in their lives and courses. 

 

Remember the town in Nigeria where InReach is changing lives in the 95% Muslim community.  The woman who invited her Muslim friends to the group and these friends are now receiving threats.

 

The women were asked if they wanted to move to a safer area but one of them replied, “If I go, who will share this amazing Christ with my people?”  Give thanks for the change that Jesus brings.

Barnabas, Missions

Barnabas Update Dec 22nd 2017

Syria – December Update 2

With 7 Syrian families now confirmed to be arriving in Dingwall around the middle of January, and with the situation in Syria still very volatile, the Mission Team agreed last week to transfer our giving to the Barnabas Fund from Myanmar to Syria.  The article below highlights the need of Syrian Christians for our ongoing prayerful support.

More than 120 churches destroyed by Islamists

Barnabas Fund 14 Dec 2017

“Terrorists destroyed more than 120 churches,” a notable Syrian Christian leader told his counterpart in Russia and the Russian foreign minister during a visit to Moscow.

However, the leader expressed hope that with the expulsion of Islamic State (IS) from most of Syria and Iraq, “the issue of providing assistance to people who need to return to their homes, creating jobs and bringing their lives back to normal comes to the fore.” He was hopeful that destroyed churches and other Christian buildings will be rebuilt.