Displaying items by tag: Praise

Father Tulak was preaching at a Catholic cathedral in Indonesia when it was attacked by suicide bombers on Palm Sunday. He said God protected church members and guards, who were only two metres away from the bombers when they exploded. ‘What happened in my church is a personal testimony for the world.’ Indonesia is one the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nations. Christians in the area are unfortunately used to these types of attacks, especially during Christian celebrations. Please pray for the injured church guards, who are in a police hospital for protection.

Praise God that the International Justice Mission (IJM) has signed its first collaborative agreement with the business sector in the Dominican Republic. IJM and Aerodom, the largest network of airports in the country, are joining forces to bring an end to sex trafficking. They are launching awareness campaigns in the air terminals, equipping their staff to recognise the signs of trafficking, and establish additional protocols to report these crimes to local authorities.

Indonesia has banned schools from forcing girls to wear Islamic hijab headscarves after the case of a Christian pupil pressured to cover up sparked outrage in the world’s most populous Muslim nation (90% of the population follows Islam). The move was applauded by rights activists, who say non-Muslim girls have been forced for years to wear a hijab in conservative parts of the country. State schools across the archipelago of nearly 270 million people will face sanctions if they fail to comply with the edict. Nadiem Makarim, the education minister, said that religious attire was an individual choice and schools cannot make it compulsory.

Lebanon has failed again to form a new government. President Michel Aoun wants help from other countries to overcome the deadlock. There is economic despair as political instability drives the currency down. As the currency dips further, the minimum wage sinks below that of third-world countries. It is unbelievable how little people are earning now. They are stuck in a vicious circle, with no end in sight. Each time the currency loses value, prices go up, and people can buy fewer daily essentials. A bottle of milk was 3,000 Lebanese lira, now it’s 8,000. But that same bottle of milk bought with US dollars is less than 50 cents. It becomes ¼ of the price for people with dollars, but the poor people pay over double the price. As the crisis worsens, people have nowhere to put their hope, so they are starting to put their hope in Christ.

More than a year has passed since the coronavirus pandemic was declared. World Vision, a leading evangelical interdenominational aid organisation, has partnered with tens of thousands of faith leaders and communities worldwide to reach 59 million people through relief and virus prevention efforts. As the world was shutting down, World Vision kept working, fulfilling the purpose God has bestowed on the organisation and its staff. ‘Covid-19 has been our largest domestic and international response that we’ve ever organised. It’s been a remarkable amount of work and just a wonderful opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this really, really challenging time’, said a World Vision representative.

In what has been called Myanmar's ‘Tiananmen moment’, Sister Ann Roza knelt in front of armed security forces to stop them firing on civilians. She was giving treatment at a clinic when groups of protesters passed by; then they were fired on and beaten by the police and military. ‘I was shocked and thought today is the day I will die. I was asking and begging them not to do it and was crying like a mad person, like a mother hen protecting the chicks. I thought it would be better that I die instead of lots of people. I was crying out loud. My throat was in pain. My intention was to help people escape and be free to protest and to stop the security forces. I was begging them. At that time I was not afraid.’

While working at an Afghan eye hospital, Dan took a fortnight’s trip to Iran which turned into a nine-week nightmare. He was falsely charged with spying and being a missionary and imprisoned in a small dark room, being interrogated and beaten by prison guards. Then he recalls, ‘As I lay on the ground, all of a sudden, the room fills with this glorious light. And I turned around to see what was going on, and there was Jesus. It was at that lowest point that He met me.’ Jesus provided strength to continue and even befriend the guards who beat him, and the courage to boldly proclaim his faith in front of his accusers and an Iranian judge. ‘I preached and told everyone who Jesus is and how much he loved them.’ Not long after he was released. He now trains people to serve in missions.

Praise God for all 88 children rescued during Operation Smile in South Asia. This was a police campaign focused on finding missing children and rescuing child labourers. IJM is so grateful for the tireless work of the authorities. Please pray for the children’s aftercare and safety, and that the government can reunite them with their parents, if safe. Also praise God for a significant conviction in Kenya of a police officer who shot a fisherman and then accused two bystanders of a crime to keep them quiet about the murder. It took five years to complete the trial. Please pray that the news of this conviction would be heard far and wide, so that police would know there is accountability under the law and any abuse of defenseless citizens will result in prosecution.

Prince Philip, 99, had already spent 16 nights in hospital, being treated for an infection. He was then moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital for tests and observation on a heart condition. On 3 March a surgical procedure was performed. The duke will remain in hospital for treatment, rest, and recuperation for a number of days.

A recent survey shows that during the pandemic Christians are reading the Bible more; it is having a positive impact on their mental health, wellbeing and hope in the future. Many also found it helped with loneliness, and amazingly 97% of respondents found that it had completely or partly met their reasons for engaging with the Bible. The answers to the multiple open-ended questions in this survey provided a plethora of rich data. Since the pandemic started, 35% had seen their engagement with the Bible increase while only 5% had seen it decline. This was also reflected in the length of time spent with the Bible, which had increased for 27%. Interestingly 54% of those who were engaging more said they were also discussing it more with others.