Fraser is currently at the TEASA Consultation in Johannesburg.  Give thanks for some excellent and thought-provoking presentations.  Pray for him as he presents his workshop on Wednesday, 12th.

Dawn’s still discussing anger in the Maximum Bible study and a particular warder came up whom many of the men find awkward, obstructive and difficult to deal with. Thank God that some of the prisoners have already realised that this man needs prayer and they need humility in their attitudes before him. Pray that God will be glorified and others confused (in a good way) by unexpected behaviour.

Pray for the inmates who follow Jesus. They say that many who are active in the gangs know that what they are doing is wrong but don’t want to give it up for Jesus. Pray for a life-giving change.

Faiek was a new member of the Medium A Bible study today. We have a tradition that newcomers introduce themselves at the start of class. Faiek said straight away that he was a Muslim, but the imam hadn’t come today and, whilst lying on his bed, he’d felt a call to attend the Bible study. Pray that he felt welcomed, understood what he heard, was intrigued by what he experienced and will return next week. He accepted the offer of a Bible in Afrikaans to take away for himself. Pray that he will read it and encounter Jesus.

Steadfast Global, 7^th June 2024

Pakistan:  

74-year-old Christian businessman, Nazeer Masih Gill, died in hospital on 3 June as a result of serious head injuries he received after being attacked by a mob in Sargodha, Punjab on 25 May. The mob formed outside Mr. Gill’s home around 6 a.m. after he was falsely accused of burning pages from the Qur’an. After police arrived to take Mr. Masih into custody for further investigation, the mob attacked throwing bricks and stones and striking him about the head to his serious injury.   

India:

A young Christian widow who witnessed the murder of her 22-year-old husband, has fled her home and community in fear of her life. Jime Kawasi is now in hiding after relatives killed Kosa Kwasi on 4 May following a ruling by villagers in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh, that families with Christian converts were forbidden from participating in festival offerings to local gods. The killing also resulted in five other Christian families fleeing the village and area.

Nigeria:

Media outlets have reported the good news that 350 hostages, most of whom are women and children, were rescued by the Nigerian army following a raid on a Boko Haram camp in the Sambisa Forest in Borno State. Of the number, 209 are children – many believed to have been born as a consequence of forced marriage, 135 women and six men. The released captives are being cared for by the authorities ahead of their return home.

Daniel Centre

Aura, replacing Louisa as Counsellor in the Daniel Centre, has started work and is doing well.  Danny’s sister in Germany who worked for the Daniel Centre in its early years is very ill with cancer.

For 4 days later this week, Balazs visits a project that Blythswood supports in Bulgaria with Jeremy Ross and James Campbell.  The project involves a church plant among the Roma people,

Balazs will continue working with their 3 partners in Ukraine after Christian Aid finishes their commitment there in February.  Olga, who co-ordinates that work, now hopes to live permanently in Cluj with the Daniel centre rather than return to her native Ukraine.

Balazs also works with a Christian Seminary in Moldova which prepares students to work among the Communist and Muslim populations of the old Soviet Union.

 Talita Kum

Adi is in good form and does not want to give up teaching the TK1 and TK2 children himself, so they are currently well-staffed.  Nor does he seem to have any intention of giving up plans for an eventual TK4.  He is currently working with his camp for HIV sufferers and will again be receiving volunteers from Inverness for his summer camp for young people at the end of June.

Give thanks for the encouraging Restoration session Dawn and Ashley held on Saturday, despite some last-minute attempts at disruption. We spent the morning looking at how our actions affect others, how the ripple effect of offending is far wider than we like to believe, how distorted patterns of thinking influence the decisions we make and how we can live lives of integrity.

We have decided to call the community outreach Restorative Transformation (RT), aiming to help people transform their lives by restoring relationships on all levels – with themselves, their families and friends, the community and ultimately with God.  

Dawn is having interesting discussions about anger management at Drakenstein.  Thank God several men have felt able to ask personal questions, feeling that the Bible study groups are a safe place.

Pray the participants will apply what they learn to their own lives to make a big difference in the community.

Give thanks for progress Fraser has made on the extension to our church website and for his workshops for the Theological Education Association in Southern Africa conference in Pretoria in June, particularly to pitch them so attendees see the relevance to their local situation(s).

Steadfast Global, 24^th May 2024

Eritrea:

Release Eritrea has reported the death in prison of Reverend Ghirmay Araya who was 83 years old. Rev. Araya who was a founding member of the banned Full Gospel Church, was arrested in 2021. He was never formally charged by the regime and until his death, was being held in the maximum security Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Centre. According to the report, one of Rev. Ghirmay’s sons, Samuel Ghirmay, who is a Lutheran minister, is also detained in the same prison. He was arrested for his faith seven years ago. As we give thanks for Rev. Ghirmay’s faithful ministry across six decades, we also pray for his grieving family.   

D. R. Congo:

Eleven Christians have been killed with several others abducted in a violent attack by Allied Democratic Forced (ADF) rebels in north-eastern Ituri province. The attack on the village of Ndimo started around 8 p.m. on 13 May and is suspected to have been planned to coincide with a visit to the area by the government’s military administrator of the territory. The ADF is a militant Islamic group which has forged ties with Islamic State terrorists with the goal of imposing Shariah law across the region.

Central Asia:

Will you pause and take a moment today to pray for our partner team who are working hard to deliver the retreat programme we support? Over recent weeks some of the leaders have faced personal challenges that have impacted their availability to participate. Please pray for their protection and encouragement.

Fraser’s new laptop should be with him now.  Pray for his managing his time, currently having 10 open projects on his desk.  Things are falling into place for attending and leading workshops at the Theological Education Association conference in Pretoria in June.

Thank God for the men in Maximum and Medium A who attend Dawn’s Bible studies. It’s a privilege to facilitate sessions in which such men feel able to be vulnerable and ask questions about topics that worry them.

In Maximum Bible study we’re looking at anger. Pray that the men would recognise the symptoms of growing anger and choose to react in a godly way.

When asked what changes knowing Jesus has made, Theswin, once an angry and violent number gang man, said, “Being able to love my enemies.” Shortly after giving his life to Jesus, a man told him he was the one who’d shot him outside when he nearly died.  Theswin immediately wanted to inflict harm on him but then a huge sense of peace flowed over him. He told the man he now followed Jesus and, whatever his past deeds, he had to love and forgive him. They became close friends until the other man was released and shot dead. Theswin’s family and friends no longer recognise him as the person he was before meeting Jesus and agree that his reaction to his enemy was miraculous.

Ashley and Dawn have visited another drug support group to offer them their Restoration programme. Many of the support group work during the day.  Ashley and Dawn are prepared to try a mixed group.

Our church leadership now must take a final decision on action over a situation in our congregation.  Pray wisdom for the leaders and our response to their decision.

Barnabas Aid, April 3^rd, 2024

On Easter Sunday morning (31 March 2024), a trailer full of Bibles was set alight outside a church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Please pray for the congregation of Global Vision Bible Church, that the Lord will give them strength and comfort following the incident.

According to the church’s pastor Greg Locke, “At 6:00am our security cameras caught a man dropping off a trailer in the middle of the intersection and blocking the road into our church. He then got out and set fire to an entire trailer full of Bibles right in front of our church”.

The identity of the perpetrator is currently unknown. Police are investigating the matter, and although they cannot provide any further details at this time, they have confirmed that the fire was set “intentionally”.

This is unfortunately just the latest incident in a rising trend against Christians and churches in the United States. In 2023 alone there were at least 436 attacks on churches – more than double the number reported in 2022. These included 315 instances of vandalism, 75 instances of arson, 10 gun-related incidents, 20 bomb threats and 37 other incidents. This was the second consecutive year where the number of reported incidents was more than twice as many as the previous year, and marks an 800% increase in the number of acts of hostility against churches since 2018.

Such acts serve as a reminder that Western society is not immune to Christian persecution. Jesus warns us that the world will hate us (John 15:18-20).

Steadfast Global, 12^th April 2024

India:

A Christian couple have been released on bail pending an appeal against a 2-year prison sentence imposed under anti-conversion law in Madhya Pradesh. Pastor Ramesh Ahirwar (41) and his wife Sakshi (41) were tried and convicted on 11 March following a false allegation that they had pressured a Hindu woman to convert to Christianity. While giving evidence at the trial, the woman in question denied that she had been pressurised or offered any inducement to convert.   

Pakistan:

The father of a young Christian man who was shot and killed in the Sialkot district of Punjab province last November, has reported that he and his family have been threatened with death unless they withdraw the complaint made against the man accused of killing their son. Noor Ul Qamar reported that on 18 March, six armed men led by the father of the alleged killer, entered their home, and made the threat.

Myanmar:

A prominent community and religious leader in Kachin state was killed on 18 March in what has been described as a targeted attack. Nammye Hkun Jaw Li (47) was working in his computer shop in Mogaung township when three armed men entered and shot him three times. As well as being an active advocate against military activities in his home state, Nammye Hkun Jaw Li previously held roles within the Kachin Baptist Convention. He is survived by his wife and three children.