Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions, Whats On

Blythswood Update – March 18th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

Balazs’s meeting with a retired Christian investment banker for funding to refurbish their large depot went well with a possible commitment to provide about 20% of the required amount.  They also hope to sell a property in Cluj.

The plans are however overshadowed at present by the lockdown occasioned by the corona virus and the effect it is having on all business transactions.

Meanwhile some of the young men at the Daniel Centre are being sent home from work because of the health crisis and may be off work for a considerable period of time.  Florin has not been improving in attitude or performance and has been given two weeks to find alternative accommodation.

The Centre has sufficient funds to continue its work for 2 to 6 months according to the unfolding circumstances.

Talita Kum

All schools in Romania, and with them TK1 and TK2, have been closed although the milder version of the coronavirus is the more prevalent there.  No deaths have been reported in the country but a large number of Romanians returning from Italy and Spain because of the lockdowns in those countries could radically change that.

The fortnightly English quizzes and Blythswood shops which brought in considerable funding for Talita Kum have also been affected though they are looking into the possibility of transferring the quizzes online.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World, Whats On

Freed from bonded labour! – March 18th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Barnabas Fund 10 March 2020

Christian families set free from the yoke of bonded labour in Pakistan’s brick-kilns because of the generosity of Barnabas Fund supporters are, in turn, releasing their brothers and sisters from the same burden of debt!

The 1,001 families whose lives have been transformed since Barnabas first stepped in to help in 2017 have since given enough money themselves to free another 86 families caught in the quagmire of debt.

Many of the freed families have voluntarily and joyfully set aside a small portion of their wages, low as they are, to donate to a “revolving loan fund” which is used to repay the debts of other bonded Christian labourers. The freed families are thrilled to be in a position to help other believers.

Widower and father-of-two, James Iqbal, who was freed in Phase 1 of the project, back in 2017, said “It will be my utmost priority to lend a hand in this noble cause in helping my other brothers and sisters. We had never imagined that we could be free.”

His contributions and those of other freed families, gathered together, are what have set free the extra 86 Christian families.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions, Whats On

Barnabas Update – March 18th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Iranian Christian prisoners and the coronavirus

Barnabas Fund 10 March 2020

The Iranian government has been continuing to release tens of thousands of prisoners serving sentences of less than 5 years, including a few Christians, to lessen the spread of coronavirus within prisons.

Among those released was Christian prisoner Ramiel  Tamraz, who was freed on 26 February.

Official government statistics confirmed 145 coronavirus related deaths and 5823 cases of infection on 7 March, but some sources suggested the figures may be higher.

Schools and universities were closed down to prevent the spread of the virus.

Iran is in need of “urgent prayer”, an Iranian Christian told Barnabas, particularly for the cities of Tehran and Qom, where the outbreak of coronavirus is particularly severe.

“At the moment everyone is suffering. The issue is affecting everyone. The shortage of medical equipment, medical personnel and medicine are a very main concern. Lack of training is another one. People don’t know how to deal with it,” she explained. “Christians are pleading prayers and for God’s mercy for Iran and Iranians.”

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World, Whats On

Former Muslim from Sudan Forced into Hiding – March 18th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Morning Star News March 10, 2020

More than a year ago, Muslims in the area between Sudan and South Sudan noticed that Ahmed Alnour was no longer reciting his Islamic prayers five times a day.

He worked as a scrap trader on the border formed from the peace agreement that ended civil war in Sudan in 2005 but  was soon forced to flee when area Muslims confirmed that he had become a Christian.

He saw them and heard them saying, “We will kill you because you left Islam and became infidel,” and they tried to burn down his home on April 1, 2019.

Neighbours doused the flames and he was unharmed, but on April 8 the assailants returned at 1 a.m. as he slept. He awoke to find his house in flames.

Christians rescued him and took him to a hospital the following morning. He had lost all his possessions in the fire but not his faith in Christ.

The 43-year-old father of 7 children had put his faith in Christ just a few months prior.  Paralyzed from an illness for three months, he received a visit from two evangelists who prayed for him and told him of salvation in Christ.

After placing his trust in Christ, he was healed.  “I was able to get up and walk after three months of sickness.”

Baptized last Christmas, he has got a place to stay and a job from church friends at an undisclosed village but someday hopes to return and tell his family about Christ.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World, Whats On

Persecuted Christian Women – ‘the Biggest Data Gap’ – March 18th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

World Watch Monitor March 6, 2020

The UN Secretary-General last week called it ‘the biggest data gap in the world: the unquestioned assumption that men are standard, and women the exception. Very often, women are not counted, and their experiences don’t count.

In its Gender-specific Religious Persecution Report 2020, Open Doors says the two most-reported persecutions used against Christian women and girls globally are sexual violence and forced marriage.

Across every region of the world, sexual violence continues to be the most prevalent means of exerting power and control over Christian women and girls. Often this sexual violence is outside marriage; but forced marriage also gives an appearance of respectability from which a woman cannot escape.

Women are disproportionately targeted, in many more ways than men, especially if they are converts from another faith such as Islam or Buddhism. These young women are physically alive, but they are hidden and isolated; hence their suffering is frequently un-reported. They are also lost to the Christian community and to the future of the Church.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions, Whats On

Jacksons Update – March 18th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Fraser is busy with a final report for the American trust who paid for the training events last year, praying that they continue to support NetACT.

Hugenote College moves to full online learning during the coronavirus shutdown, Fraser having to develop more training materials quickly.  NetACT’s Executive Committee need wisdom in deciding whether to cancel their AGM, planned for Ethiopia in July.

All prisons are closed to any visitors for at least a month. May inmates and officials, especially followers of Jesus, be ready to give answers about their rock, hope and faith.

A man at Medium A wanted to surrender a weapon which he had concealed.  It has been found where he said it would be and so there’s one less firearm on the streets.

Schools close tomorrow, a major problem in a society where people live hand to mouth – if the parent cannot work, there is no food.  If the virus gets into the township areas where people live at extremely close quarters, the effect could be devastating.

Please pray for Ruth as she decides upon the next stage of her journey in life.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions, Whats On

Blythswood Update – March 4th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Daniel Centre

Balazs is meeting with a retired Christian investment banker to discuss the funding to refurbish a large depot they have owned for 20 years.  Once funding was in place, it would take them about a year to be up and running and ready for potential renters.

Alix is apprehensive about leaving the Daniel Centre and needs a nudge out of the nest.  Florin has lost his job at Carrefour and has no concern for fire prevention measures – he probably needs to be sent away from the Daniel Centre for a week or two as a wake-up call.  Istvan has been moved to the meat department at Carrefour and is doing well.

 Talita Kum

Adrian Poppa is now in position for a meeting with the authorities to discuss documentation and technical plans for TK3 and TK4.  The EU funding line which was refused in December (because salary projections for staff were too low) is possibly being re-opened by the authorities. 

It is possible that the Talita Kum salaries are set too low and therefore hampering the recruitment of qualified teachers.

A Nokia representative who was at one of their recent quiz nights has offered to supply them with second-hand laptops and perhaps extend this offer to the Blythswood work in Serbia as well.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World, Whats On

Christian from Wuhan asks for prayer – March 4th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Barnabas Fund, 2 March 2020

Wuhan is the Chinese city of eleven million quarantined following the coronavirus outbreak.

A Wuhan Christian describes how all the churches have become “virtual”, their ministries now run on the internet, because no one is able to visit and worship in person. People are only allowed out of their homes once every two days – and only for food.

At the same time, it is imperative to be in masks and gloves, the whole city is smelling of bleach, entrances, streets and even incoming parcels are disinfected.

“I want to talk you about the needs of believers in Wuhan.  Believers call it the plague.  In fact, many believers fell ill. They got sick at the beginning when it was still possible for them to attend the services.  Pray for them, they are all discouraged.  There is a shortage of medical masks, as well as medical personnel. Many of our brothers and sisters work there as doctors, pray for them also.”

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions, Whats On

Barnabas Update – March 4th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Forcing Christian converts to declare their faith

Barnabas Fund, 24 February 2020

Christian converts from Islam no longer have the choice of keeping their faith secret in Iran after the “other religions” option was removed from the application form for ID cards.

The choices available to new applicants are only the four religions recognised under the Iranian constitution: Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Zoroastrianism.

The new rule reflects the strategy of harassing Christian converts from Islam and pressurising them to emigrate – Muslim-born converts to Christianity now have to reveal they are Christian or lie about their faith.

The ID cards, which are compulsory for every citizen aged 15 and above, are a necessary part of daily life in Iran and are required to access basic government services or to make bank transactions. The holder’s religion is then easily accessed by the state’s computer network.

Converts are frequently arrested and then released to drive them to leave the country, meaning that many leaders of convert groups have little Biblical education.”

The removal of the “other religions” option marginalises other religious groups including Bahais and Hindus.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World, Whats On

Eleven Congolese Christians killed by Islamists – March 4th 2020

by Robert MacNaughton

Barnabas Fund, 25 February 2020

Eleven Christians were killed in an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in north-east Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on 18 February.  A local Christian leader confirmed that the ADF deliberately targeted Christians in the attack.

Attacks by the ADF are common in the region – every time the military in the DRC mount an operation against the ADF, the civilians are attacked as retribution.  Many people, including Christians, have fled to neighbouring Uganda.

The ADF Islamist militant group has wracked majority-Christian DRC with violence for  more than 20 years.

Over 200 Christians, including women and children were abducted and a church mission hospital was looted by the militants, during a raid in Ituri province, on 23 August 2019.