Steadfast Global, 23^rd August 2024 (excerpts)

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):

In what remains a largely unreported campaign of violence, the bodies of more than 30 people were found on 24 July following an attack on a Christian community in the Beni territory, North Kivu province.  Islamist extremists of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are believed to be responsible for the atrocity.  

Nigeria:

A pastor and his 13-year-old daughter remain in the hands of their abductors despite a ransom of almost £3,000 having been paid for their release. Pastor Isa Andrew, chaplain of All Saints Protestant Church in Zamfara State, was seized along with his daughter, Grace, from their home on 14 July. The kidnappers have demanded a further £3,000, threatening to kill them if payment is not made.

Uzbekistan:

Regional authorities in Bukhara are denying a Baptist congregation access to a building they have used for worship since 1971 after it was sealed in May 2021 following water damage caused by a burst pipe. Despite asking permission to repair the building or build a new meeting place, they have been told that work must be done by a specialist state company. In neighbouring Khorazm Region, two buildings under construction by local Baptists were demolished on 30 July without a reasonable explanation being given.

Praise

1. All 8 members of Awad’s Family are now in a safe area of Sudan. The trip took 12 days (the highway being patrolled by the militant rebels). When they arrived at Kasla, they all ended up in hospital, suffering high level trauma and malnutrition.
2. I have been diagnosed with a slipped disc, affecting my sciatic nerve. The doctor suggested another nerve block injection, so I was off work for 3 weeks. So far, about 65-70% successful. Still sciatic pain is an issue.
3. I was invited to represent the ‘faith-based community’ at 2 community events for Immigrants August 8th and 9th to raise awareness of workplace rights. Only God.
4. Met a local family at the book kiosk who were excited to see the books they saw last summer when they visited the ’Logos Hope’! They bought numerous books!  I later sold a bible to a Saudi who had read it first in 1999 while studying outside his country.

 Prayer Requests

1. After distributing a hot meal to the lads at the labour camp, I shared about the ‘Living Hope’ (1 Peter. 1)..

2. Leyton was preparing for his vacation back home to Bangladesh when he suffered a stroke and passed away shortly afterwards at the hospital.

3. Nasir and Harrisul were both badly injured. Though both were desperate to be home to their families, neither had the means to go home.

4. Remember Roton whose father died but he got home to see him before he died, Arif whose father is in a critical condition, his mum diagnosed with mouth cancer, and Ajith whose nephew is in ICU on life support.

Thank God for the (unexpected) time we’ve been able to spend with family and friends in the last few weeks. Perhaps we didn’t appreciate how much we needed a bit of time in the UK without lots of commitments already being planned.

Thank God for smooth journeys up to Glasgow and Keswick and back, and for all the uplifting and informing teaching we received – plenty to take back and share in various places in South Africa. It was lovely to be able to spend time and have family outings with James and Ruth too.

We were able to speak at St Nicholas Church, Haxey last Sunday.  Dawn’s been invited to speak at the Haxey Mother’s Union this Wednesday and both of us will be at Epworth Baptist Church this Sunday before we have tickets to return to South Africa on August 25th, but we’ve not been able to meet as many people as we’d have liked.

Somalia:

A recent convert from Islam to Christianity has been attacked a second time after his relatives discovered his new location. Mohammad Abdul had fled the Lower Juba Region after being hospitalised with a knife injury after an attack on 5 May. On 8 July, 5 relatives tracked him to a rented house 30 miles from his home and again attacked the whole family, stabbing Mohammad in the abdomen, breaking his wife’s ankle and beating their five children. The assailants fled after neighbours came to assist the family. The couple continue to be in fear of their lives and have received hospital care following the assault.

Pakistan:

A 15-year-old Christian girl was abducted and raped by two Muslim men as she returned from visiting a shop near her home in the Lahore area on 1 July. After searching for their daughter, they eventually saw her with one of the suspects. She was unsteady on her feet and injured. A medical examination confirmed the assault and despite reporting the suspects to the police, no action has been taken against them. The family has faced pressure to withdraw the complaint.

India:

The State Assembly of Uttar Pradesh has increased the maximum punishment for unlawful conversions from ten years to life imprisonment, has also raised the bar for the granting of bail and made new provision for any person to file a complaint under the legislation. While it is claimed that the bill aims to curb the practice of targeting women for marriage and forced conversion, it is feared that the legislation will be misused to target the lawful activities of non-Hindu minorities.

Daniel Centre

They are still without a Counsellor in the Daniel Centre after Aura’s departure but have some candidates to interview to replace her.  Danny therefore carries much of the burden for the time being.

Christina, the Blythswood financial officer who has been at the Daniel Centre for 15 years, has now completed and submitted all the papers necessary to regularise their renting out of their depot.

They are at capacity in the Centre with 2 new lads joining in July.  They have now taken Julian back into their guest room as he is too vulnerable to be left on his own after Ciprian leaving their joint rental.

Olga, who helps Balazs to keep tabs on their Ukrainian partner ministries, will continue in this role after regular Disaster Emergency Funding through Christian Aid comes to an end in February.

Partners in Serbia have rented new premises for afterschool activities and hope to launch a youth version of Christianity Explored with the help of a Brazilian pastor.

Talita Kum

Paul Davidson, in Romania with Inverness school pupils, has given Balazs an encouraging feedback of their time at summer camp with Adi for TK1 and TK2 children.

4 days after the expiry of the previous visa waiver, the new South African Minister of Home Affairs announced the extension of the waiver for those awaiting a decision on their visa application. It’s for another 6 months (until December 31st).  The good news is – he’s committed not to allow such a gap between the end of one extension and start of another to happen again.

We still think we did the right thing by not being illegal immigrants for those 4 days and are grateful for the opportunity to rest and reconnect in the UK.  Please continue to pray for wisdom and sensitivity to God’s leading.

If anyone wants to arrange a time to meet up we’ll be at the Keswick Convention Wednesday-Friday (July 31st-August 2nd), available during the day in Glasgow July 29th/30th and August 6th/7th, and in Westwoodside, North Lincolnshire for other times between now and when we fly back on August 25th.  Other mutually convenient locations could possibly be arranged.

Pray for the men in Drakenstein, for someone to stand in for Dawn and continue the Tuesday Bible studies. A Restorative Justice process is scheduled to start in Medium A on Monday.  Pray for the team from Hope Prison Ministry, the inmates participating, and the prison officials involved. Thank God for confidence that lives will be changed in unexpected ways.

Thank God that Fraser can continue his work and has been able to set up a second screen for his computer.

Steadfast Global, 12^th July 2024 (excerpts)

China:

Since his release from prison in March after serving a seven-year sentence, Chinese pastor, John Cao (64) has maintained a written record of his situation. On 4 June he was detained by police and held for 20 hours without a reason given. Two days later he found security officials installing a CCTV camera outside his 88-year-old mother’s home where he is currently staying. Despite being a U.S. citizen, pastor John is unable to leave Changsha city in Hunan province or access medical care because the authorities have not given him an ID card or passport.

India:

A Christian woman was brutally killed on 24 June in a dispute over ancestral land in Dantewada District, Chhattisgarh state. Bindu Sodi (32), who was the sole bread winner for her family, died from her injuries after being repeatedly struck with an axe and stones by her uncle Chetu Sodi and his son Kumma Sodi. The men claimed that she and her family had forfeited their rights to the land because they had become Christians. Both Chetu Sodi and his son were later arrested by police.

Nigeria:

The devastating loss of life across central and northern Nigeria resulting from the relentless attacks of militant Fulani herdsmen and other Muslim fundamentalists is not the only tragedy facing Christians in this nation. In a recent interview president of the Church of Christ in Nations denomination, Rev. Amos Mohzo shared that at least 70 congregations in the Mangu and Bokkos areas of Plateau state are no longer worshipping because of the attacks. Many of these Christians who fled to IDP camps remain there because of the ongoing instability.

Praise

The night before Alaween’s wedding (the local lad who has been on a spiritual journey), I spent a precious evening with him, his mum and younger siblings at their home. Taking me home in his car he played the song, ‘The Way Maker’ saying, ‘this is still my favourite song’.

Aamir, the brother of Mustafa from Bangladesh who lost his life after a JCB accident, continues to reach out to John, from Bangladesh who served on the Logos Hope. He said recently that he had given his life to our ‘Best Friend’!

At a meeting on ‘injustices amongst migrant workers’, I met a local man from the Labour Marketing Regulatory Agency who had loved every minute of his training in Scotland! He gave me his email and mobile number if I needed his help in trying to help trolley boys, cleaners etc. at the labour camp.

Prayer Requests

For Awad and his family in Sudan. God miraculously provided enough to get all 8 of his family members out from the area where the war and atrocities are raging. However, because of internet failure for almost 5 weeks now, sadly he has not been able to contact them nor send the money needed to get them out.

For all Trolley Boys working in the mall whose boss has not renewed their visas and who are now illegal in the country. The LMRA representative I recently met is willing to try and help them.

For the future of the Kiosk. We were told last week that we should hear this week if our request for a rent reduction has been approved.

The South African Department of Home Affairs didn’t do its usual thing of announcing the extension of the visa waiver at the last minute. Despite still having thousands of backlogged applications leaving people in limbo, there has been no announcement, so we have to leave the country by tonight (30^th June) or be here illegally.

We didn’t quite expect this to happen, but at the same time we’re not particularly surprised.

Thank God for the sense of peace within the sadness and organisation of a sudden departure. Thank him that we have a strong sense of his presence through it all, his preparation of the way and that he has something in mind for what’s going to happen, even if sometimes we have to wait to understand.

Thank God for being able to research and purchase plane tickets online and that we’ve saved and kept an “emergency ticket” fund.

Thank God for friends and neighbours who have taken care of our animals and given us a lift to the airport, and for Dawn’s parents who always have space for us.

Pray for the men in Drakenstein who will miss the Tuesday Bible studies (and Dawn will miss them).

Pray for a smooth journey back to England.

Pray for wisdom about whether to abandon the current visa application and try again.  There’s always a sneaking suspicion that our paperwork has been lost. The problem is not knowing.

We have return tickets for the end of August, so we should get the usual 3-month tourist visa at the airport.

Steadfast Global, 28^th June 2024 (excerpts)

China:

The persecution in Xinzhou, Shanxi province has continued since the gospel first reached the city in 1883. China Aid recently learned that 76-year-old Pastor Du Mingliang was detained on 15 March 2021 and charged with organising illegal border crossings. He is currently serving a 5-year-prison sentence.

Iran:

Eight of the Christians arrested in the city of Izeh during raids last Christmas, were sentenced in late May to a combined total of 45 years in prison. With the exception of Yasin Mousavi, who was given a 15-year sentence, little is known of the other Christians involved other than names and punishments imposed. All but Iman Salehi are currently on bail and awaiting summons.

Pakistan:

4 weeks after the 25 May mob attack and the murder of her husband Nazeer Masih Gill (74), his heart-broken wife, Allah Rakhi Bibi (72), died on 21 June after suffering a cardiac arrest. Her son said that she had constantly talked about Nazeer ever since.