Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood Update – August 19th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

István is still somewhat disconnected from reality.  The new Alix now has a gas station job.  Cipri is physically more stable and profiting from psychiatric help.  The brothers Daniel and Gaby have good jobs but unhappy with them – Daniel wants to continue High School studies.  The old Alix is on a 2-month ultimatum to leave the Centre – he may change work as he has back problems from lifting heavy white goods in his delivery job.  He may move out with another of the resident who qualifies for a mortgage.

There are bureaucratic delays in developing the depot which houses the charity shop.  By re-developing the depot, two new rental properties will be made available.

Dani continues to be encouraged by his sessions with psychologist counselling on his work.

Talita Kum

Adi now has an end-of-August deadline for re-submitting his application for EU funding for running costs for TK1 and TK2.  The TK3 and TK4 developments now face cost swell beyond the original estimates.

The 1-week summer camp for 40 children starts on August 20th. 

TK1 and TK2 await government directions on handling school re-openings in the current health situation.

New Covid cases in Romania are now at 1500 daily.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood Update – August 1st 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

Two weeks ago was the first time for the Daniel Centre to have all their lads in employment.  István has since resigned his job at Carrefour as he was under pressure for being too slow.  A new lad, Alix, has since joined the Centre and is not yet in work.  Cipri has started having faints and is a cause for concern.

The Centre’s re-licensing application has been submitted on time and progress has been made on selling the adjoining site for flat developments.  There is also movement on selling the airport property.  Blythswood will soon be closing their charity shop in Cluj as it has been loss-making over the past 6 months, rather than a source of funding for the Daniel Centre.

Dani is encouraged in his interactions with the lads and has a psychologist now giving him regular feedback and counselling on his work.

Talita Kum

Adi can now re-submit an application for EU funding for running costs for TK1 and TK2 after his initial application was turned down last year.  The TK3 and TK4 developments are still at the stage of waiting for planning permits.

The schools are still closed but Adi now has funding in place for a 1-week summer camp in the mountains for 40 children.

Because of a legislative 2-week black hole where it was deemed illegal to impose self isolations for the Covid crisis, Romania has now seen an upward spike in new cases to over 1000 a day.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Update – August 1st 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Fulani Muslim rescues Nigerian Christians

Barnabas Fund, 28 July 2020

A Fulani Muslim man rescued two Nigerian Christian missionaries  when he found Pastor Zakka Ibrahim and Samuel Mabas exhausted and hungry and gave them shelter. The men were kidnapped by Islamists on 17 May and abandoned by their kidnappers without food.

Their rescuer looked after them for two days before taking them to church leaders.  The men have since returned home.

The majority of Fulani nomadic cattle herders are Muslim, although some have converted to become Christians, and many live peacefully alongside their Christian neighbours.

Other Fulani have become radicalised and carry out savage raids on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, attacks that have sharply increased during the coronavirus lockdown.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons Update – August 1st 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

There is much talk from politicians about tackling gender based violence but the courts are starved of money and staff and refuges are closed down.  Pray for wisdom for Dawn as she thinks about the direction of her service in South Africa.

 Fraser has been helping to run a 3-day course on Online Theological Education aimed at African Bible Colleges.  More than 450 people signed up to attend online.

 Unfortunately, many of the speakers appear to have little knowledge of actual life in Africa, advocating techniques and equipment either not available or unaffordable to most theological colleges.  Pray that Fraser will be able to give sensitive and helpful feedback to the organisers

We may be unable to visit the prisons but have faith that His work goes on through his people (warders and inmates) whether publicised or not.

The knock-on effects of the lockdown restrictions become more apparent each day. Queues outside soup kitchens lengthen as people starve because their usual day by day work has been prohibited.  Corruption in local and national government mean that money, supposedly for covid19 relief, disappears and food parcels are not distributed.

 Pray that Dawn and Fraser would know how best to help.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood Update – July 7th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

The 5-year licensing is in progress but is usually quite a bureaucratic process.

The residents have been generally in better form over the past few weeks.  Dani meets them more on an individual basis because of the Covid restrictions.

Negotiating goes on with the local council as the Daniel Centre refurbishes one property for renting and they await a better offer on a second property – the airfield property – they want to sell.

These ventures would release more funding for the Centre as the Cluj charity shop becomes less viable.

Talita Kum

Food deliveries continue for the families of the TK children and for older people in the community.

Adi has arranged picnics for children who would normally be attending Talita Kum at this time of year.

Summer camps and the annual International Arts Camp will take place as planned with funding now in place.

Infections continue to rise, now up to 400 a day.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Update – July 7th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

“Where is democracy” for Chinese churches?

Barnabas Fund, 30 June 2020

“Where is democracy?” a Christian in China asked after two communist party-approved candidates were foisted on their church committee.

Four deacons presented a written complaint against two candidates put forward by the local United Front Work Department when it confirmed its candidates on their church committee, effectively handing control of church activities to the government.

The new Template for Religious Activity Venues demands that all such venues establish a “democratic management committee” with “clergy members, representatives of religious citizens, and other relevant members”.

A clergy member from a church in Shandong province lamented, “If we don’t follow the Template, our church will be shut down.”

In Henan, a communist-party-supporting preacher was appointed director by government officials in December 2019 because he fulfilled the criteria of “proactive cooperation with the government”.

The continuing crackdown in China has seen hundreds of “house churches” and official churches shut down, with violent police raids, thousands of arrests and detentions, imprisonment of pastors and forced installation of surveillance cameras inside some churches.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons Update – July 7th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

The new NetACT journal has now received an International Standard Serial Number.  Technical issues hindering Fraser helping Nehemiah Bible Institute with their online courses have now been resolved.

 The students on this course all come from one of the poorest areas of Cape Town, and some will struggle with the level of internet access needed to download the course.  Many townships rely on informal connections to power lines which are unsafe and illegal and often cause devastating fires in the crowded conditions.

The prison ministry team are meeting to discuss the possibility of running Restorative Justice courses to parolees and others outside prison as we are still not allowed in.

Running courses within prison brings many challenges; there are just as many for courses outside. There is a desire within the team to achieve quality of impact upon lives rather than quantity of people who attend courses.

The InReach team in Nigeria are under surveillance and at serious risk of kidnap and violence by people who are not happy with the way God has been using InReach to introduce Muslims to Jesus.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood Update – June 17th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

Alix has taken over from Titi as cook.  One resident, another Alix, is worked off his feet in a courier service, but no resident has lost his job because of the lockdown.

Ciprian had been suicidal but is now recovering with psychiatric counselling.  István wants to quit his job rather than get up for morning shifts.  Soreen will have to leave the Centre soon for disciplinary reasons, seemingly always in the centre of any trouble in the Centre.

Ionuz who had previously left the Centre to live independently continues to deteriorate in his health with more frequent seizures and will probably have to go for a retirement pension.

The Centre had a BBQ, in spite of very thundery weather, for about 15 previous residents on Friday, 5th June, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Daniel Centre opening.

Talita Kum

The three shops re-opened on June 2nd and continue to do well.   Food deliveries for the families of the TK children and for older people in the community.

Schools will re-open in September but Adi has arranged picnics with social distancing for children who would normally be attending Talita Kum at this time of year.

Summer camps will go ahead, this year without foreign volunteers like Millburn Academy in Inverness and are looking for funding.  The annual International Arts Camp with artists from countries less affected by Covid 19 will also take place as planned.  This camp is funded by local government.

In Romania generally, infections have been on the rise again, up from 120/150 to 300 a day.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Update – June 17th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Turkey’s president to protect minority religions

Barnabas Fund, 9 June 2020

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will do “everything possible” to protect “members of other minority faiths”, following a recent attack on a church in Istanbul.  Police are currently holding a man in detention on suspicion of carrying out the church attack. 

Critics of the government say the rhetoric of the president has fuelled recent intimidation and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, including the fatal stabbing of a 20-year-old Kurd in Ankara.

Opposition MP, Tuma Celik, who is a Christian, said, “I don’t have evidence they (recent events) are an organised effort, but I believe they are the result of polarising rhetoric used by the most senior members of the government.”

Hostility towards Christians has worsened in recent years, as secularism has given way to Islamisation with the rise of Erdogan’s AKP.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons Update – June 17th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Fraser had a NetACT Executive Committee meeting on Friday, organising an online AGM, and looking at ways for NetACT to address Chinese economic colonisation of Africa.  As NetACT grows, the staff team is having to develop new regional organisational structures. 

Fraser has been asked to help develop online courses for Nehemiah Bible Institute which provides pre-degree theological education.  Fraser is now in better health and able to be up all day.

Hugenote plans to allow some students to return next week with the challenges of enforcing social distancing within the student accommodation.

Pastor Fillies of Drakenstein Medium A retires at the end of June, has to move out of their prison bungalow and needs to find somewhere suitable in the area for himself and his wife to move to.  Covid 19 is spreading through the staff and inmates in the prisons. Pray for the staff and inmates.

People in Nigeria still ask us for financial help. Pray for wisdom in knowing how to respond to particular requests.