Barnabas, Missions

Barnabas Update March 2018

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The Middle East – March Update 1

Liberated Mosul still not safe for Iraqi Christians

Barnabas Fund, 1 March 2018

The presence of Iranian-backed Shia militia in Mosul means Christian do not feels safe, more than seven months since the city was liberated from Islamic State.

The Shiites are met with a lot of distrust and not seen as allies. The city has not become safe for Assyrian Christians.

Many Christians used to live in Mosul and the nearby Nineveh Plains, but they remain very hesitant to return to their homes, many of which are damaged or destroyed.

Violence against Christians began in Mosul long before the arrival of Islamic State.

In 2008 and 2009, Christians began to be threatened, abducted and killed for their faith. A well-known priest was abducted and slaughtered. His body was found in pieces.

For Iraqi Christians considering what lies ahead, their future prospects remain bleak.

Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update Jan 2018

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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

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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

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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.

Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update Dec 22nd 2017

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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

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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

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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.

Jacksons, Missions

Jackson’s Update Dec 5th 2017

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Jacksons – December Update 1

Thank God that we were able to pick up our car last week.

Fraser would love to see discussions on the best way forward turned into a concrete action plan. The staff at Hugenote College are apprehensive about the move to computer-based teaching.  Please pray they would be able to embrace the challenge and be open to the possibilities.

Fraser is currently writing a business case to ask Stellenbosch University to physically host the NetACT portal. Again, please pray as it’s not a procedure Fraser is comfortable with.

Dawn has met two Nigerian students. Studying at Stellenbosch is hard for them because Nigerians are not encouraged to think originally, just to take in what their teachers tell them. They find the more independent study methods expected at Stellenbosch difficult to achieve.

When Dawn told them about the intention to include study skills guides on the NetACT library portal, they were very enthusiastic and just wished it was already up and running.

Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update Dec 5th 2017

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Blythswood – December Update 1

Talita Kum

Talita Kum has the full support of the school and town mayor. Local teachers volunteer their time to help. Talita Kum has made basic improvements to the housing of some of the poorest families, benefiting the children and their parents.

We now have a charity shop in Jimbolia which is very successful. The profits from the shop go towards the costs of running the after-school club with the aim of making it self-sufficient in time.

Daniel Centre

Since 2000, the Daniel Centre, near Cluj-Napoca in Romania, has offered a home to almost 100 abandoned young men.

Young people leaving state care often end up living on the streets.  Growing up, they receive very little education or training in life skills and struggle to find work and somewhere to live. 

Up to 18 young men can be accommodated in a Christian environment, learning to cook, wash and iron their clothes, to keep their rooms clean and tidy and to help with jobs around the Centre. They then progress to semi- independent living in on-site apartments. 

Those who have achieved independence still regard the Daniel Centre as home, knowing that there is always an open door.

Barnabas, Missions

Barnabas Update Dec 5th 2017

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Myanmar – December Update 1

Christians hope Pope will speak for them

 

November 27, 2017 By World Watch Monitor 

 

The Pope landed in Myanmar today to start his six-day visit to Southeast Asia.

 

Among those welcoming him were more than 7,000 ethnic Kachin from northern Myanmar.

 

The predominantly Christian Kachin, together with the Karen ethnic minority, live along the country’s borders and have faced years of government oppression.

 

Myanmar’s Catholic Cardinal Bo said that the “Rohingya situation is a great tragedy but at least 66 churches in Kachin state have been destroyed since the conflict reignited in 2011.”

 

AP journalist Julhas Alam writes that “Christianity is viewed by many as a colonial belief after the country was ruled by the British for a century until its independence in 1948”.

 

A human rights activist adds that Myanmar has seen a “rise of religious intolerance, which has come from within society, although there’s evidence that elements of the military-backed political parties are also involved in this.”