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.
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.

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.”

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.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood – March 7th 2023 – Update

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

Balazs has been completing his 6-monthly report for Christian Aid on handling the winterisation money for the Ukraine.  He leaves for a week in Kenya on Friday 10th, having arranged to meet the Hungarian ambassador to Kenya in Nairobi to discuss the future of Hungarian aid to the Christian school there and its efforts to be accredited.

Julien and Cipri are doing well in their apartment, Damian continues with his rental delivery scooter.   Two of the lads have been sent out of the Daniel Centre because of drug abuse and a third is on a warning.  7 places are currently filled, with one vacancy, and 6 of the 7 lads in residence have work.  The 7th, recently sacked by his supermarket, is actively pursuing other work. 

Work at the depot continues and only the tarring of the yard remains to complete.

The Daniel Centre team – Danny, Louisa and Agnes – are all doing well.

Talita Kum

Adi had a very successful day trip to Hungary with a group of children and the elderly, and another very successful skiing trip for 18 children in early March.

As I spoke to Balazs, Adi was on his way to meet the owners of the land adjacent to Talita Kum to see if it could be purchased by Blythswood for use as a sports area for the Talita Kum children.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Fund – March 1st – Update 1

by Robert MacNaughton

Updates on the persecuted Church

Barnabas Fund, 22 February 2023 (excerpts)

  • Fifteen Christian families have been expelled from their home village in rural north-western Laos. The families were driven out after their conversion to Christianity and have been left with no place to stay.  The authorities have sought to negotiate with the village in order to allow the families to return to their homes, but so far with no success.  Pray for a resolution that will allow local and regional authorities to enforce a national law protecting the rights of Christians.

 The military authorities in Chin State, Myanmar, announced on 13 February that Christians in seven of the state’s nine townships must register their names seven days before attending church. It is not known if believers would face punishment for attending church without giving their names in advance.  Pray that this new requirement will not become a tool of further persecution.

  • Three worshippers were abducted by an armed gang after attending church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sunday 12 February just days after Antoine Noah, a church minister from Cameroon, was abducted. Pray for our brothers and sisters, asking that they will be kept safe from further harm and swiftly released.

Six Egyptian Christians were released on 17 February after being abducted and illegally detained in neighbouring Libya earlier in the month.  The six men were held at an unofficial detention centre, not controlled by the Libyan authorities.  Give thanks that the six have been able to return home in safety.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons – March 1st – Update 1 (excerpts)

by Robert MacNaughton

Fraser is continuing to make progress with the Mukhanyo college library catalogue.  Pray that his work will help in their training of Christian leaders.  

The NetACT journal might see its day-to-day running moved to a different organisation – less work for NetACT but also less control of the direction of the journal. 

In Drakenstein Medium B, 5 inmates attacked 4 warders with homemade knives.  Other warders retaliating with dogs and batons left a man dead.  Pray for all concerned to experience the change that only God can bring.

Dawn hears that the new head of Drakenstein Correctional Services is hostile towards the Restorative Justice process, pursuing her grudges spitefully and divisively.  May she be surprised by God’s power and overwhelmed by His love. 

Ruth in Glasgow has been confined to bed again and has had to miss a lot of days at work and college.  

Give thanks for an uplifting guitar group in Maximum.  I only take in Christian songs to play and it feels as if I’m singing light into the darkness.  Generous supporters have provided funds for more instruments.

Pray that Hope Prison Ministry leaders will have wisdom and a Christlike attitude.

We see clear signs of God at work in our church, but also some de-stabilising influences.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood – February 15th 2023 Update

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

The Chief Executive Officers of Christian Aid and the UK Disaster Emergency Committee visited Odessa in the Eastern Ukraine at the beginning of February and were very positive in commending Blythswood’s role in administering the funds they had collected.  The Disaster Emergency Fund had had their best ever fund-raising campaign of over £400 million for the Ukraine but now have to move on to other disaster areas.

Balazs hopes to visit Kenya in mid-March where Blythswood sponsors a primary school.  The Kenyan government, however, have now moved towards the American system and given small schools for the poor almost impossible conditions to meet in order to be accredited.  This means that grades 7 and 8 pupils will have to move to public schools in order to continue their education.

Talita Kum

Adi (who runs the Talita Kum project for mainly Roma or gypsy children to give them a meal, games and help with their homework after school) is taking a group of the children and also elderly people for a day trip to Hungary and about 20 children on a skiing trip in early March.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Fund – February 15 – Update

by Robert MacNaughton

Updates on the persecuted Church

Barnabas Fund, 15 February 2023 (excerpts)

  • Islamic State Mozambique announced the killing of 5 Christians in Cabo Delgado Province on 4 February.  The Islamists said that “the soldiers of the Caliphate … captured and slaughtered 5 Christians, praise be to God”. Pray for all those at risk of such violence in northern Mozambique, especially our brothers and sisters.
  • The Mexican Senate of the Republic (the upper house of Mexico’s parliament) has backed recognition of the Armenian Genocide in a vote held on 8 February.  France already recognises the Armenian Genocide. Between 1893 and 1923, 3.75 million Armenian, Assyrian, Greek and Syriac Christians perished in the Ottoman Empire in a policy of extermination of Christian minorities.  Give thanks for increased awareness of these events.
  • Sunita Munawar, 19, a young Pakistani Christian woman, is in hospital after a Muslim man, Kamran Allah Bux, threw acid on her while she was getting off a bus in Karachi on 1 February.  Bux admitted his crime, saying that he threw acid at Sunitra for rejecting his proposal that she convert to Islam and marry him.  Sunita’s family had earlier complained to police about Bux’s unwanted advances but had been ignored.  Pray that justice will be administered to act as a deterrent against harassment of Christian girls and women in Pakistan.