Jacksons, Missions

Jackson’s Update June 17

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Jacksons – June 6th Update

On Thursday Dawn and Fraser fly over to Belfast for the Mission Africa Conference. 

On Friday, we meet with the Mission Council to discuss our future roles. Please pray for alertness and good concentration.  Pray that God’s leading will be clearly discerned by all and that all concerned will have the courage and grace to follow whatever course he reveals.

We know that he has been preparing the way for what’s next for us and will help us through any challenges and obstacles. May God be glorified in our lives and the continued work of Mission Africa.

Pray for safety in travel, flying from Leeds/Bradford airport on election day.

We have all been hit by a debilitating bug over the last week but are glad it happened before the trip to Ireland. Pray for a recovery of strength before we travel.

Pray for a reaching out towards those enslaved by hatred, lies, fear and despair in countries throughout the world.

Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update June 17

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Blythswood Update – June

The modified “therapeutic community” approach, in the Christian environment of the Daniel Centre, enables young men to integrate into society. They learn to cook, wash and iron, to keep their rooms clean and tidy and to help with jobs around the Centre. They progress to semi-independent living in on-site apartments while learning to budget their money and take care of themselves. 

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

Barnabas, Missions

Barnabas Update June 17

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Myanmar Update – June 2017

Open Doors

Amod is on the run. He’s from the Rohingya (Muslim) tribe and converted to Christianity after 33 years as a Muslim. Christian Rohingyas are doubly disadvantaged. The country refuses to acknowledge them and the Rohingya tribe rejects Christians who’ve converted from Islam.

Amod maintains his witness and pastors Rohingya Christian families who are now scattered. His vision is to see 500,000 Rohingyas come to Christ before he dies.

Attempts to build trust between the Burmese army, insurgents and minority groups, including Christians, have so far met with little success.

Conversion from Buddhism to Christianity is seen as betrayal of family, community and even country. Church leaders are targeted by radical Buddhists in order to paralyse the church. Local communities put extreme pressure on believers from Buddhist and Muslim backgrounds to reconvert.

Blythswood, Missions

Blythswood Update May 17

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Blythswood Update – May

The Suits on Bikes Group (Businessmen who do sponsored bike rides on behalf of Talita Kum) held a sponsored ride at Royal Deeside on 12th May.

Blythswood is requesting prayer for a planned extension to the Daniel Centre and for the necessary permits and funds to come in good time. 

A team from Inverness Royal Academy will be leaving for Romania on 24th June to help with the Talita Kum project.

Other teams will be going out to Romania at the same time from Culloden Academy and Millburn Academy to help out with other Blythswood projects.

Jacksons, Missions

Jackson’s Update May 17

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Jacksons

Continue to pray for Fraser, Dawn and family as they await guidance on their own future.

Nigeria Update – May

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Thousands of Christians and other non-Muslim religious minorities in Central Nigeria are being killed by Fulani militia.  In 2014, the militia was named the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world by the Global Terrorism Index.

Whole villages – men, women and children – are being wiped out, their land taken away and their homes destroyed.

These attacks, which are decimating families, are also contributing to an emerging famine, as people are too scared to work in the fields, where the Fulani militia members wait to attack them at their most vulnerable.

In the south of Kaduna State in central Nigeria, more than 800 men, women and children have already been killed and over 10,000 have fled their homes, according to the Catholic Diocese of Kafancha.

Barnabas, Missions

Barnabas Update May 17

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Barnabas Update – May

Despite the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and her winning a parliamentary seat in April 2012, little has changed for Burma’s Christians. The military continues to pursue its agenda of intimidation, violence, rape and trafficking against ethnic minority groups, many of whom are majority Christian.

They face targeted and severe abuse for both their ethnicity and their faith. The Burmese military has continued to intimidate and harass pastors and other Christian workers, disrupt worship services and destroy churches. In impoverished areas, Christian children are enticed to join government-run schools, where they are prevented from practising their faith and beaten for failing to recite Buddhist scriptures.

 Barnabas Fund assists Christians in Burma (Myanmar), with:

  • Bible distribution,
  • support for orphans,
  • widows and refugees,
  • the construction of churches and Christian schools.

Barnabas has also provided Kachin refugees with emergency aid, including shoes for 1,000 needy children.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In Indonesia

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Indonesia Sentences Ahok to Prison for ‘Blasphemy’

May 9, 2017 (Morning Star News)

Indonesia took a huge leap backwards in its reputation as a moderate Islamic democracy when a court sentenced the Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Purnama, to 2 years in prison for “blaspheming” the Koran.

Islamic extremists, opposed to having a non-Muslim lead the city, organized massive demonstrations against Ahok.

The two-year prison sentence was shocking as prosecutors had recommended a two-year probation.   The verdict is certain to embolden the Islamic extremists who erupted in jubilation at its announcement.

Saying the trial was purely legal and not political, the lead judge Santiarto said Ahok’s comments had degraded and insulted Islam, according to The Associated Press.

Huge street protests against Ahok in the past six months are one sign of a hard-line Muslim movement in Indonesia. Another sign is the habit of vigilante groups preventing Indonesia’s religious minorities from practicing their faith.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In Sudan

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Church Building Demolished, Two Christians Arrested in Sudan

May 8, 2017  Morning Star News

Authorities in Sudan demolished a church building yesterday (May 7) as Christians were preparing to worship.

Authorities notified church leaders of the impending demolition just a week prior. It was one of at least 25 the government designated for destruction in an order last year claiming the churches were built on residential or government land.

Mohamad el Sheikh Mohamad, a general manager in the Ministry of Planning, urged that it be implemented immediately.  It targets a wide range of denominations, from Catholic to Pentecostal.

Christians in Sudan complain that the Islamist government of Omar al-Bashir is targeting their buildings while favouring Muslims and their mosques.

The Sudanese Ministry announced in April 2013 that no new licenses would be granted for new churches in Sudan, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population after South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011, when Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

Sudan ranks fifth on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians face most persecution.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In Iran

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News Source – George Thomas, Undisclosed Location, Aug 2014

Christians are the most persecuted religious minority group in Iran. Iranian believers who convert from Islam to Christianity, face even more scrutiny.

 Now one television channel operating from multiple secret locations is beaming messages of hope directly into the Islamic country.

 Since 2006, Mohabat TV has been beaming Christian programmes via satellite to the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia. But the channel’s main focus is the Islamic nation of Iran.

 “We are seeing a huge, huge number of Iranians who are reaching out to our channel to find out more about Jesus,” Mike Ansari, who oversees the popular channel, said.

 “Many of our viewers claim that Islam has not delivered to their expectations. When they turn the channel on and see Mohabat TV they hear a new message of Jesus, of forgiveness, of love, of acceptance,” Ansari said.

The Persecuted Church Across the World

Persecution In India

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Attacks on Indian Christians

Amanda Casanova | Religion Today May 18, 2017

Violent attacks on Christians in India are increasing, according to a new report.  In 2016, attacks against Christians jumped by about 20 percent, while physical violence is up about 40 percent.

The All India Christian Council says that there is an anti-Christian attack every 40 hours as the governing Hindu nationalist party tries to create a “Hindu nation” in India.  The violence has spread to 23 states.

The attacks are described as physical beating, torching of churches, vandalism, burning of Bibles, death threats and forcing Christians to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism.

In February, an evangelist in India reportedly fell into a coma after he was harassed by Hindu nationalists for publicly distributing copies of the New Testament.