RLPB 639. March Update, incl. Burkina Faso, Papua, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Laos, Uganda

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 639 | Wed 30 Mar 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.
View archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB).   

MARCH 2022 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING THIS PERIOD, WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* BURKINA FASO [RLPB 635 (2 March)], after jihadists in eastern Burkina Faso conducted a string of attacks on non-Muslim schools, including the Saint Kisito de Bougui, a Catholic seminary with over 140 minor students just 10km east of the region's largest city, Fada N'Gourma.

UPDATE: On Friday 18 March jihadists abducted 15 youths from Nagré (no further details available). Nagré is 30km south of Fada N'Gourma on the N18 Hwy which leads to Benin. On Sunday 20 March 24 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in two jihadist attacks: 13 in an ambush near Natiaboani, about 45km south of Fada N'Gourma on the N18 Hwy; and 11 from a roadside bomb near Napadé, about 100km due south of Fada N'Gourma, close to the border with Togo and Benin. Burkina Faso is roughly 50 percent Muslim and 20 percent Christian with a history and tradition of peaceful co-existence and openness. Please pray.

* PAPUA (INDONESIA) [RLPB 636 (9 March)], after three United Nations human rights experts issued a joint statement calling for urgent action to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Indonesia's West Papua and Papua provinces.

UPDATE: PAPUANS PROTEST PLANNED DIVISION
-- fear it will lead to more colonisation, militarisation and exploitation.

On Tuesday 15 March Indonesian police fired into a crowd of Papuans in Dekai, the main town in Papua's Yahukimo Regency, killing two and wounding at least seven, three critically. The predominantly Christian indigenous Papuans have been protesting in various cities since December when the Indonesian government announced a new plan to carve West Papua and Papua into five (or some reports say six) provinces. According to an analysis by the President of the Papua Baptist Church Synod, the Reverend Dr Socratez Yoman, 'These new provinces are only for political and military purposes and to move excess population [i.e. Javanese Muslims] from Java [into Papua].' Human rights activist Veronica Koman concurs, warning that more provinces would amount to more Indonesian troops. 'This will bring Papuan people's lives under more militarism,' she said. Please pray.

* UKRAINE [RLPB 637 (16 March)], that the Lord would effect a breakthrough in negotiations and that Ukrainian and Russian believers would reject any pressure or temptation to hate and reject the 'other'. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will facilitate unity in Christ's Church - a unity born of a familial love that transcends ethnic, denominational and political distinctions, a unity that will reflect the warmth and light of God's grace into a troubled world.

* NIGERIA [RLPB 638 (23 March)], after large formations of around 100 well-organised and well-armed Fulani militants attacked Christian communities in predominantly Christian southern Kaduna: in Kachia LGA (south-west) where, on 17 March, they abducted 46 adults and 9 children; and in Kaura LGA (south-east) where, on 20 March, they killed 34 people and torched over 200 homes across four neighbouring villages.

UPDATE KADUNA

(1) ATTACK IN GIWA LGA, NORTHERN KADUNA

Father Felix Zakari
(Catholic Diocese of Zaria)

From the evening of Thursday 24 March through to the early hours of Friday 25th, a large formation of Fulani jihadists attacked at least nine villages in Giwa Local Government Area (LGA) in Kaduna's predominantly Muslim far north. They destroyed and burned houses, stores and animals. More than 50 residents were killed and at least 100 were abducted, carried off into the nearby forest. Among the abducted at gunpoint is Reverend Father Felix Zakari, of St Anne's Catholic Church, Zango Tama parish. Not only did the jihadists target the priest, but they razed the church building to the ground, sending the residents a clear message. The Catholic Diocese of Zaria has appealed for prayer. Please pray.

(2) ATTACK ON KADUNA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

At around 12 noon on Saturday 26 March, a formation of more than 200 well-organised, well-armed Fulani jihadists emerged from a nearby forest and invaded Kaduna International Airport's Runway 5. An official who raised the alarm was shot dead. Flights were delayed while Nigerian forces repelled the attackers. Whilst unsuccessful, the audacious attack has left many wondering how long it will be before Nigeria is overwhelmed. In a worst-case scenario, Boko Haram (now under new leadership) might re-seek and re-gain support from Islamic State (also under new leadership since 10 March). This would be catastrophic for Nigeria's Christians, especially those in the Muslim north and volatile mixed Middle Belt, and nowhere more so than in predominantly Christian southern Kaduna. Please pray.

MARCH 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* INDIA: BOYCOTTS, PERSECUTION AND PUBLIC SHAMING

(1) CHHATTISGARH: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DENIED

In Nawagarh village, Janjgir District, in the north-eastern tribal-belt state of Chhattisgarh, pressure is mounting against a group of five church-going families. At least one of those families identifies as Hindu but, having rejected idol worship, had become interested in Christianity. Hearing of the situation, Hindu nationalists decided to intervene. First, the village was ordered to boycott the families, denying them access to water, grains, workers and social contact. When that failed to dent the families' resolve, the Hindu nationalists upped the ante. The Hindutva elements entered the village at about 9pm on 2 March. They gathered local gangsters, supplied them with free alcohol, and employed them as proxies to attack the five church-going families. The gangsters rounded up the families into a hall where they beat, abused and threatened them, saying if they refuse to worship Hindu idols then they will be forced to leave the village. Embracing their freedom to refuse to worship the lifeless Hindu 'no-gods' (Isaiah 37:19) the families have fled and taken refuge in nearby villages. Please pray.

'...and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us from [their] hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord' (vv19,20, from King Hezekiah's prayer, Isaiah 37:14-20).

(2) DELHI: PASTOR TET BEATEN, BOUND AND ABUSED IN PUBLIC

Video: 'Pastor being accosted by a mob in Delhi'
posted by Scroll.in (verified), 3 March 2022.

Originally from the north-eastern tribal-belt state of Jharkhand, Pastor Kelom Kalyan Tet (35) has been living and ministering in Delhi - India's federal capital - for the past 18 years. On the morning of 25 February, Hindu nationalists ambushed, beat and abducted Pastor Tet, accusing him of forcible conversions. They then took Pastor Tet to Peepal Chowk in south Delhi's Fatehpur Beri, and tied him to a metal grill dividing the road. Then, as traffic passed by on the right side and the left, they incited the swelling crowd to beat and abuse the pastor on racial, caste and religious grounds. After two hours of abuse, during which he feared he would be killed, Pastor Tet realised that the ropes had come loose and made his escape. What saddened Pastor Tet the most was that nobody objected to the violence or intervened to help him, not even to call the police. Pastor Tet and his pregnant wife are now living in fear and hoping for justice. Please pray.

(3) MEANWHILE: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN FLUX

A WIN IN THE COURTS

On 25 March India's Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the Hindu nationalist group Hindu Dharma Parishad asking police to monitor the activities of Christian missionaries, whom they accuse of forcibly converting tribals. Not only was the petition dismissed, but the apex court warned Hindu Dharma Parishad that it would face a fine if it ever came up with such a petition again! The petition had already been dismissed by Madras High Court in 2021. Considering the way Christians are treated in India, it might be more applicable to ask the police to monitor the activities of Hindu nationalist organisations. Praise God this petition was rejected!

A LOSS IN HARYANA

On Friday 4 March the Hindu nationalist BJP government in India's north-western state of Haryana introduced the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Bill, 2022, to the state legislature. The Bill seeks to 'prohibit religious conversions which are effected through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage or for marriage by making it an offence'. Despite loud objections from the opposition, the Bill passed on Tuesday 22 March. Kiran Choudhry of the opposition Indian National Congress party drew attention to the fact that the Bill violates Article 25 (1) of India's Constitution which reads: 'Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.' Calling it a 'scary Bill', she warned that it that would 'deepen the communal divide'. Please pray.

* INDONESIA: APOLOGIST KECE JAILED FOR TEN YEARS

On 24 February, in West Java's Ciamis District Court, Christian apologist Muhammad Kece was sentenced to ten years in prison. Kece was deemed to have violated laws on (1) Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE), (2) hate speech in relation to SARA (ethnicity, religion, race and other) and (3) blasphemy. He received the maximum sentence because he committed his crimes 'intentionally and knowingly', and deliberately created a commotion 'by making videos about a large number of lies'. The former Islamic teacher and convert to Christianity (baptised in 2014) established a YouTube channel in 2020 through which he offered an intellectual critique of Islam and defence of Christianity. By August 2021, Indonesia's powerful Islamic organisations had had enough. They levelled a complaint leading to Kece's arrest on the charge of blasphemy [RLPB 619 (13 Oct 2021)]. Kece has been assaulted in prison and his health has deteriorated. He was hospitalised twice in January: first with dengue fever, and subsequently in a critical condition with Diabetes Mellitus and low platelet count requiring a blood transfusion. Please pray.

* LAOS: HOMELESS AND LANDLESS FOR CHRIST

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports (24 March) that, on March 15, authorities in Phalanxay district, Savannakhet province, met with Christian widow Seng Aloun and other church members to discuss the conflict between the family and Dong Savanh village officials. On 6 December, when Seng Aloun tried to take her deceased husband's body to the Dong Savanh village cemetery for burial, she and her entourage were attacked by local authorities and village residents who objected on the grounds of the family's 'foreign religion'. Forced to retreat, the family buried their patriarch in the family rice field. However, the persecution did not end. In February, the authorities expropriated the family's land and villagers torched the family's home.

Homeless and landless, with children to raise, Seng Aloun posted video footage of the attack to social media along with a request for help. When police asked her to remove the footage, she refused. When they subsequently asked her to lie about who was responsible (i.e. the village chief), she refused. A local Christian leader who has been helping Seng and her children asked the authorities why they had not interrogated and investigated the village chief. Despite district officials promising Seng they would help her, nothing has changed. As she explained to RFA, 'We still live in the forest outside the village.' Bounthone Chanthalavong-Wiese, president of the Alliance for Democracy in Laos, told RFA that the authorities spent most of the 15 March meeting denouncing the Christian family, not those who obstructed their burial, torched their home and stole their land. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told RFA that the Lao government should tell the local authorities to stop harassing and oppressing people of different faiths. 'It's their right to believe in any religion,' he said. 'If they believe in Christianity, let them be Christians.' Please pray.

Seng Aloun's video footage; Radio Free Asia (24 March).

* UGANDA: HIGH COST OF FAITH IN EASTERN REGION
-- two shocking stories from Morning Star News, 22 March

(1) On 8 March Muslim relatives sprayed acid on Juma Waiswa (38), his wife, Nasimu Naigaga (32), and their 13-year-old daughter as punishment for leaving Islam. The family put their faith in Christ on 17 February after a pastor visited their home in Intonko village, Namutumba District in Uganda's Eastern Region, and explained the Gospel to them. When their Muslim relatives heard of it, they called a family meeting where they ordered the family to renounce Christ and return to Islam. When the family refused, their relatives beat and cursed them as apostates deserving of death. Finally, Waiswa's father sprayed the family with acid. A Christian neighbour called the pastor who took the family to hospital in Mbale, although the daughter's injuries were so severe she needed to be transferred to Jinja. The next day, while they were all in hospital, their house was torched. The family requests prayer for healing and for a safe place to stay while recovering. Please pray.

(2) On 13 March, in Eastern Region's Namutumba District, hard-line Muslim villagers attacked former mosque leader Swaleh Mulongo of Bugobi village. After meeting with a local pastor for many years, Mulongo put his faith in Christ on 13 January. When he stopped leading Muslim prayers, the new mosque leader launched a campaign to find and threaten him. The attack left Mulongo with deep head wounds, a broken wrist and bruises on his back; he was hospitalised in Iganga. The attackers also targeted the local pastor, killing his animals and leaving a threatening letter warning: 'We know you are a deceiver, and that you converted our imam to Christianity. We shall soon get hold of you, which will be a big regret to your family and the entire church.' Please pray.

They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! (Psalm 118:11 ESV).

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 569. September Update, incl. India, Sudan, Pakistan, Armenia vs Azerbaijan, Laos, Nigeria, Papua (Indonesia)

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 569| Wed 30 Sep 2020
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18 ESV)

SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE - during this period we prayed concerning:

* UZBEKISTAN [RLPB 565 (2 Sep)], where a highly repressive Religion Law is currently under review. Unfortunately, the draft law made available on 19 August was very disappointing, especially as the government of reformist President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had indicated a willingness to address the issue of religious liberty. As a key Silk Road hub, Uzbekistan is a highly strategic country. Please pray that God will give the government courage to amend the draft religion law and to uphold, protect and defend religious freedom, free speech and security. May God protect and bless his Church in Uzbekistan.

* INDIA [RLPB 566 (9 Sep)], where the Hindu nationalist Sangh Parivar - of which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the political arm - continues to incite communalism and exacerbate India's Christian Crisis.

UPDATE: LAW TO CRIPPLE FOREIGN FUNDED NGOs

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2020, was introduced into the Lok Sabha (House of the People, the lower house of parliament) on 20 September. As reported in The Hindu (21 Sep): the Bill passed on Monday 21 September, 'even as the Opposition raised concerns that the legislation may be used to target political opponents and religious minorities'. The Hindu explains: 'The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of the country.' The Wire elaborates (22 Sep): only a person 'registered to accept foreign contributions' may receive them; and 'organisations receiving foreign funds will no longer be able to transfer them to small NGOs [non-government organisations] working at the grassroots level'. As NGOs note, this will 'kill' the entire sector.

Staines family

Most Indian critics of the Bill seem very accepting of the fact that the law's purpose is to weed out NGOs that engage in 'dubious activities' and which 'cause mischief', specifically those which attract hostility because they have 'engaged in [religious] conversion'. In his defence of the Bill, the honourable Member from Uttar Pradesh, Mr Satya Pal Singh, raised the case of Mr Graham Staines. The Australian missionary cared for poor lepers in the north-eastern state of Odisha (then known as Orrisa) from 1965 until January 1999 when he and his two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6), were martyred, burnt to death by militants belonging to the Hindu nationalist youth militia, Bajrang Dal. Ignoring 30 years of compassionate humanitarian service, proponents (and opponents!) of the FCRA cite the Staines' ministry as an example of the sort that needs to be stopped. In the view of the Hindu nationalist-dominated Indian parliament, the problem is not the religious intolerance of Hindutva, but religious conversion, something previously regarded as a fundamental human right (as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18). The Evangelical Fellowship of India has protested the besmirching of Graham Staines' legacy and requested the record be corrected.

Please pray that the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2020, and the attitudes behind it, will attract all the international criticism and indignation that it deserves until it is amended. And may the LORD provide his servants with everything they need as they continue, in the face of escalating violent persecution, to bring light and life to India.

* SUDAN [RLPB 567 (16 Sep)], where the transitional government of Prime Minister Hamdok is advancing peace and liberty, despite the ever-present threat of Islamic resistance.

UPDATE: A PLEA FOR SUDAN

Sudan is straining under the burden of severe economic crisis. The transitional government of Prime Minister Hamdok desperately wants the US to remove Sudan from its state sponsor of terrorism list so it can receive aid and investment. PM Hamdok has pleaded with the US not to link sanctions relief to recognition of Israel, for not only is the situation in Sudan simply too volatile at this stage, but the transitional government does not have a mandate to alter foreign policy. Like many others, PM Hamdok believes Sudan deserves sanctions relief precisely because, since its transformative revolution - which ousted the terror-sponsoring Islamic regime - the transitional government has been advancing peace, freedom (including religious freedom) and democracy. The state is fragile; the situation is volatile. Without sanctions relief the government might collapse, which would give Islamists and the military the opportunity they crave. Please pray for Sudan.

* PAKISTAN [RLPB 568 (23 Sep)], where, despite the October 2018 acquittal of Asia Bibi (a well- known Christian victim of Pakistan's notorious blasphemy law), Christians continue to suffer disproportionately - even sentenced to death - due to malicious accusations of 'blasphemy'. (There are currently no updates on the cases mentioned.) Please pray.

UPDATE to 'Pakistan: No Christian Girl is Safe' [RLPB 564 (26 Aug)]

Maira Shahbaz (14) has escaped from the home of her Muslim captor and abuser, the already married businessman Mr Mohamad Nakash, whom the Lahore High Court deemed to be her husband. Maira, her mother, Nighat, and three siblings have together gone into hiding. Nakash has threatened to kill them all. A family friend told Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need, 'Maira is traumatised. She cannot speak. We want to take her to the doctor, but we are afraid we might be spotted. We are all very frightened, but we place our trust in God'. Please pray.

SEPTEMBER 2020 ROUND-UP - also this month

* ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH AND TURKEY

On 27 September fighting erupted between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Orthodox Christian ethnic Armenian enclave inside Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan. [For a helpful explanation, see 'Nagorno-Karabakh: Europe's Post-Soviet "Frozen War"' (Now This World, 28 Jan 2018) YouTube 4:19; and RLPB 560, July Update (29 July 2020)]. Provocations and accusations aside (for now), the clashes portend a serious escalation and an existential threat to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Neo-Ottoman Turkey (a NATO member and the biggest threat to peace in the region) immediately expressed its support for Azerbaijan and appealed for international action against Armenia which it labelled 'the biggest threat to peace in the region'! Azerbaijani forces have captured six Armenian-held villages and the strategic 3000-metre-high Murovdag peak in Karabakh. According to Nagorno-Karabakh leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, the Turkish government has airlifted hundreds (or thousands) of Syrian mercenaries/jihadists into Azerbaijan. His claim is supported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR, 28 September) and independent Turkish media (Ahval, 27 September). Turkey's President Erdogan has long dreamt of establishing a neo-Ottoman Islamic empire. A century after the Armenian Genocide, neo-Ottoman Turkey still dreams of eliminating Armenians. Please pray.

* LAOS: THE NEED FOR THE GOSPEL

Lao Christians expelled form their homes 
RFA Feb 2020

According to reports, the Communist government in Laos has passed a law aimed at improving the situation for evangelical Christians. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports (23 September): 'The Law on the Evangelical Church, approved and signed into law on December 19, 2019, allows Lao Christians the right to conduct services and preach throughout the country and to maintain contacts with believers in other countries. Lao churches must fund their own operations, however, and must obey other Lao laws, rules, and regulations.' In rural areas, tribal animists have long viewed Christians as 'bad elements' who attract the wrath of belligerent spirits. Christians have been denied food and driven from their villages by angry, fearful animists. Despite immense suffering, the Church is growing [see RLPB 287 (19 Nov 2014)]. According to RFA, church members are working with the Interior Ministry - holding seminars and meeting with local authorities - to make the law more widely known. This is truly amazing! Please pray that as the law is explained, the light of Christ and the liberty he offers might also shine through. Pray for the Church in Laos.

Laotians need Jesus; which is why the Church needs liberty. For a wonderful story of how Christ is at work through his Church in Laos, see Christian Aid Mission, news (24 September).

* NIGERIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS RAVAGES THE NORTH

(1) KIDNAPPING AND DEATH IN KATSINA AND KANO

Hassana and Hussaina 

At 10:30pm on Friday 18 September in Nigeria's northern state of Katsina, well-organised criminal elements (suspected Fulani) shot Ibrahim Garba through the stomach and kidnapped his teenage twin daughters, Hassana and Hussaina, both of whom are Christians. Ibrahim, who is an elder in the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), survived the shooting and was hospitalised. The family was attacked in their home beside the church in Kwakware village, Kankara Local Government Area. Kwakware area resident Charles Yahaya told Morning Star News (22 September): 'This is one incident among many. It is the sustained and targeted kidnapping of Christian girls in northern Nigeria, after which they are forcefully converted to Islam and married off, thereby becoming sex slaves. Something is going on in our country that needs to be addressed systematically and collectively by all well-meaning citizens.' Meanwhile kidnappings and killings continue to plague Kaduna, despite a curfew (see MSN). Please pray.

2) BLASPHEMY IN KANO; SHARIA UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Several blasphemy cases have been registered recently in Nigeria's northern state of Kano; one in particular has attracted worldwide attention. On 25 April the head of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, Mubarak Bala (36 - an apostate) typed a post to Facebook in which he called Islam's prophet, Muhammad, a terrorist. Kano lawyers registered a complaint. Three days later Bala was arrested; he has not been seen since. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu (22) - a singer with the Tijaniya sect - was accused of blasphemy in March after he composed and sang a song in which he elevated another 'prophet' above Muhammad. In August, a sharia court sentenced Yahaya to death by hanging. Also in late August, a court in Kano sentenced Omar Farouq (13) to 10 years' jail for blasphemy because of remarks he made to another child during an argument. On 25 September the head of the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland, Piotr Cywinski, wrote to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, not simply requesting his intervention, but offering to gather 120 adult volunteers (of which he would be one) each of whom will serve a month of the boy's sentence. While President Buhari might opt to pardon the boy in an effort to make the now embarrassing case go away, the issue of sharia in northern Nigeria simply must be addressed for it is unconstitutional, discriminatory and contributes enormously to Islamic radicalisation and the persecution of Christians. Please pray.

* PAPUA (INDONESIA): PASTOR KILLED

Rev Yeremia Zanambani. 

On 19 September Rev Yeremia Zanambani was shot dead while tending to his pigs. Jakarta Post reports (21 September): 'Yeremia was the head of a theological school in Hitadipa district in Intan Jaya and a pastor in the Imanuel Hutadipa congregation of the Indonesian Evangelical Christian Church (GKII). He was also a Bible translator and a community leader of the Moni tribe.' Terrified locals - members of seven Christian congregations - have fled into the bush. Executives of the GKII and the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), as well as figures from the Moni tribe, are currently probing the incident and have appealed to President Widodo, requesting a full investigation. Papuans believe Yeremia was shot dead by Indonesia troops (TNI). Meanwhile, the TNI insists that a separatist militia shot the pastor to discredit the TNI ahead of the UN General Assembly (commencing 22 September). The situation in the mostly Christian Papuan Provinces is at crisis point; calls for a referendum grow louder by the day. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF) and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 329. Sept. Update, Incl. China, Syria, Europe, India, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Tanzania

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 329 | Wed 30 Sep 2015

By Elizabeth Kendal

SEPTEMBER 2015 UPDATE -- During September we prayed concerning ... 

* CHINA (RLPB 325), after Christian attorney Zhang Kai (37) was taken by Chinese security officials and 'disappeared' into secret detention.

Gao Zhisheng
(Photo: China Aid Association)

UPDATE: On Thursday 24 September China Aid Association reported that internationally acclaimed Christian attorney Gao Zhisheng (51) -- who has been under house arrest since his release from secret detention in August 2014 -- had been taken away by Chinese security officials just one day after talking to Associated Press [article and video]. Fortunately, China Aid was able to report the next day that Gao had been returned to his home detention. No further details are known and the situation is unclear. One can only assume he has been cautioned. Grave concerns are held for Gao Zhisheng (51) and Zhang Kai (37) and for religious freedom in China. Please pray.

* THE CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST (RLPB 326). At the time of writing, the  massive surge in migration into Europe was forcing a spotlight on the Syrian crisis.

UPDATE ON SYRIA CRISIS: After noting the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Syria, the Prayer Bulletin commented that if ethnic-religious minorities are to survive, 'the West might need to swallow its pride and talk to Assad and to Russia'. For its part, Russia was attempting to assemble an anti-ISIS coalition that would include the Syrian government. But with the US, the Arabs and Turkey all insisting, 'Assad must go!' Russian efforts were in vain. Increasingly though, many in the West were coming to realise that should the Syrian government fall, ISIS is poised to take power. By mid- September, Russia was on the ground in Syria, importing materiel -- including fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks and missiles -- and establishing a base for forwards operations. This has forced the US to negotiate. Presidents Putin and Obama still hold to opposing views. Putin maintains that the Syrian war developed due to the West's support of radical Islamic elements committed to illegal regime change. Obama maintains that the war is Assad's fault because he used violence to put down supposedly 'peaceful pro-democracy' protests (as did, we must note, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey and Egypt). The West still harbours ideas of 'good rebels', something Christian leaders have decried as 'naive' and pure 'fantasy'. Please continue to pray for the Church in Syria. 

UPDATE ON EUROPE'S MIGRANT CRISIS: Concerning the migrant influx, the Prayer Bulletin noted, 'This will most certainly end badly.' Reports are emerging that German and Swedish local governments have begun passing laws giving authorities the right to acquire vacant properties, such as holiday homes, caravans, resorts and offices, for the housing of migrants. In one German town, 150 students were given 24 hours to evacuate their school so migrants could be housed there. There are also reports of local governments evicting residents from state housing so migrants can be housed in state-owned complexes. There are also reports of landlords evicting tenants because they can earn considerably more from the government by housing migrants. Reports are also emerging of clashes, rapes, weapons and criminality and of local fear and anger at the sky-rocketing financial and social costs. Christians are called to be generous and hospitable, but governments have a mandate and duty to safeguard national security. By confusing the two, Europeans are creating a catastrophe. Pray for the Church in Europe.

* VIETNAM (RLPB 327), where the ruling communist party persecutes Degar Christians on ethnic-religious grounds, and CAMBODIA, which rejects Degar asylum seekers at Vietnam's request.

* SAUDI ARABIA & THE UN HRC (RLPB 328). We prayed for believers in Saudi Arabia, and in particular for Saudi Christians who are gravely imperilled no matter where they are in the world. We noted that the UN Human Rights Council has appointed Saudi Arabia -- one of the world's worst human rights abusers -- as Chair of the Consultative Group that appoints the experts who investigate and report on human rights all around the world. We prayed that Christians will realise their hope must be in God alone.

SEPTEMBER 2015 ROUND-UP -- also this month . . .

* INDIA: EXTREME VIOLENCE
On 4 September some 30 members of the Anugrah (Grace) Church met for prayer in Hututag Village, in the north-east state of Jharkhand. After a while, four Hindu women came and abused the Christians. Later, two men came and threatened the two pastors. Eventually a mob of some 15 militant Hindu nationalists arrived, armed with guns, axes, spades and clubs. Aware the militants were after their pastor, the believers forced him into the roof. When the militants could not find the pastor, they beat the Christians. Six were hospitalised with multiple broken bones and serious flesh and head wounds caused by shovels and axes. Other believers suffered cuts and bruising. 'Since April of this year we have been pressured to choose between Christ and our lives,' Pastor Bharti told Morning Star News. He said the Hindus want the Christians out. Unfortunately the village head is a Hindu nationalist who supports the militants. This sort of extreme violence with impunity is becoming increasingly common across India. Pray for the Church in India.

* LAOS: AUTHORITIES WANT TO REIN IN CHRISTIANITY
On 2 September a Christian leader, Mr Bounthung, and a fellow Christian Mr Neuy, accepted an invitation to spend time in fellowship and prayer with believers in Nong-hang Village, Khammouane Province. The group was enjoying a meal together when police stormed in and arrested the visitors, who have since been charged with spreading the Christian religion. Prison conditions in Laos are amongst the worst in the world. On the night of 8 September a prison guard named Wansi, along with four accomplices, entered the home of Pastor Singkeaw Wongkongpheng in Na-ang Village, Luang Prabang Province. When they grabbed his wife, Pastor Singkeaw asked the men if they were after money. They replied that they had come to kill the pastor on the orders of the secret police. The prison guard stabbed Pastor Singkeaw three times in the back before the pastor's son managed to chase the assailants out of the house. Pastor Singkeaw did not survive. He leaves behind a wife, six children and a church of 58 members. Pastor Singkeaw had been ignoring threats for years, insisting that Christ must be preached. Pray for his family and for the church in Na-ang Village. Please pray for Laos.  

* NEPAL:  ANTI-CONVERSION LAW ENSHRINED IN CONSTITUTION
On Sunday 13 September Nepali lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to pass Nepal's new constitution. While Christians are concerned about the retention of anti-conversion measures, Hindu nationalists are furious about the retention of the word 'secular' because they had been demanding Nepal be declared a Hindu state. [For background see RLPB 321, Nepal's Constitution: Religious Liberty at Risk (5 Aug 2015).]

If the retention of anti-conversion measures was intended to appease the Hindu nationalists, then so far it has failed. On Monday 14 September small bombs exploded in two churches in the far-eastern Jhapa District: Jyoti Church in Damak-10 and Emmanuel Church in Khajurgachi. Fortunately nobody was injured although the properties were damaged. Bombs were discovered in two other churches. One was successfully defused but the other was removed to a police station where it exploded, wounding three policemen, one critically. Pamphlets promoting 'Hindu Morcha Nepal' were found in all four sites. Three suspects have been arrested, although the suspected ringleader, Madhav Bhandari, remains at large. Hindu Morcha Nepal, a coalition of six Hindu nationalist groups, has said it intends to make Nepal 'a Christian-free Hindu nation.' It has warned Nepalese Christians either to return to Hinduism or leave Nepal.  Pray for the Church in Nepal.

* PAKISTAN: CHRISTIANS WARNED
In May, a Pakistani Taliban splinter group aligned to Islamic State (IS) ambushed a bus in Karachi which was headed for a Shi'ite community centre. The militants from 'Khorasan Province Islamic State,' killed 43 people on the bus and vowed to 'attack Ismailis, Shiites and Christians' in coming days. On 22 September Gatestone Institute reported the Pakistani government and military have warned Christians that a terrorist attack on a Christian school or church might be imminent. Most at risk are Christian institutions in the north-west Province of Khyber Paktunkhwa. Priests, nuns and pastors have been warned not to venture far from their churches and not to agree to any outside meetings unless they know the party well. Pray for the Church in Pakistan.

* PHILIPPINES: TERRORIST BOMBING IN CHRISTIAN CITY
Fierce debate continues over the proposal to create an Islamic sub-state in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. Meanwhile, terrorists from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group are suspected of being responsible for bombing a passenger bus in the predominantly Christian city of Zamboanga on 18 September. A 14-year-old girl was killed in the attack and 33 others wounded, almost all Christians. Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco and a congressman representing the city, Celso Lobregat, are resisting efforts to have Zamboanga incorporated into any Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)-run Islamic sub-state.  President Benigno Aquino III wants 'peace' as his legacy but appeasing Islamic terrorists never works. Pray for the Church in Mindanao, Southern Philippines.

* SUDAN: VICTORY FOR CHURCH IN COURTS
Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church has suffered persistent persecution ever since the break-up of Sudan.  In November 2014 government contractors demolished part of the church property, causing great distress to church members. Subsequently, two South Sudanese pastors who supported the church were arrested and jailed: Rev Yat Michael (49) in December 2014 and Rev Peter Yein Reith (36) in January 2015. The men were charged with serious national security offences which could have attracted the death penalty. On 5 August the two pastors were acquitted of the serious charges and released. Initially they were not permitted to travel, but by 19 August the men were home in South Sudan with their families. Now Morning Star News reports that on 31 August Sudan's Administrative Court of Appeal ruled that the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments had illegally interfered with the church by imposing on it a committee to facilitate a Muslim takeover of the property. This ruling is significant on many levels -- praise God.

* TANZANIA: CHURCHES BURNED
On the night of 22 September three churches were torched in Bukoba Municipality, in Tanzania's far north-west Kagera Region. The Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) church in Buyekera Ward, and the Living Water International (LWI) and the Evangelical Assemblies of God (EAG) churches in Kibeta Ward were totally destroyed. Weeks earlier unknown people broke into a Roman Catholic Church in Kagondo Ward in Bukoba Municipality and burned numerous items including vestments, benches and Bibles. Tanzania Daily News reports, 'Within a spell of four weeks, unknown people have set on fire seven churches.' This is not the first time churches in Bukoba Municipality have been targeted in arson attacks. On 26 September Tanzania Daily News reported that seven suspects were 'helping police with investigations'. Morning Star News reports that pastors in the area have been receiving threats from radicalised Muslims who are demanding there be fewer churches in the area.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 319. China & Laos: 'Remember those in prison . . .'

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 319 | Wed 22 Jul 2015

CHINA & LAOS: 'REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON ...'
By Elizabeth Kendal

China and Laos are at once very alike and very different. Politically, both are Communist Party ruled and totalitarian. Geographically and economically, China is a seemingly untouchable rising giant while landlocked Laos is one of the poorest and neediest countries in the world. In China, Christians exist in significant numbers (at least 7.8 percent of the population) and at every level of society. Aided by numerous Chinese Christians in the West, China's persecuted Christians will never be 'invisible' or 'voiceless'. On the other hand, Christians in Laos comprise only 3.4 percent of the population and most are tribal. Consequently, persecuted Christians in Laos are amongst the most 'invisible' and 'voiceless' of all persecuted Christians.

The CCP versus the Cross
9 June 2015
source: China Aid

For decades now, Western politicians have subscribed to the belief that poor human rights are a consequence of poverty and backwardness. To this end, the West has focused almost exclusively on economic development in the belief that human rights will follow naturally. This is essentially a theological error. Human rights abuses arise not from without (poverty and backwardness) but from within: from sin (especially greed and megalomania); from the belief that human life is of little value; and from the arrogance that rejects God and boasts, 'You [God] will not call to account' (Psalm 10). Economic development has not brought rights in China, it is not bringing rights in Vietnam and it will not bring rights to Laos. As requested by the Lao Movement for Human Rights (November 2014), 'International donors should make their future aid commitments to Laos contingent upon the government's tangible progress in addressing key human rights issues.' Above all, the Church should pray.

CHINA: As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wields its new National Security Law [see RLPB 318 (15 July)] the number of human rights lawyers and Christian leaders in prison will escalate. As noted in RLPB 275 (25 Aug 2014) when the CCP released Christian human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng on 7 August 2014, it was telling human rights lawyers, 'Not only are we prepared to torture and destroy you, but we are so confident of impunity that we no longer need to hide it.' Of the more than 230 prominent human rights lawyers harassed and detained over the past 10 days, 13 are being held incommunicado and six have 'disappeared'. As Human Rights Watch cautions, the risk of torture is high. Some have already 'confessed' to being members of a 'criminal gang'. 

Zhang Kai

Pastor Zhang Shaojie (RLPB 275), church leader Ms Yang Rongli and Uyghur house church leader Alimujiang Yimiti are amongst numerous pastors and Christian leaders currently detained in China. They have been arrested for protesting the illegal acquisition of church land, for appealing about being labelled a 'cult', or for resisting the forced removal of crosses. On 14 July, amidst the massive nation-wide crackdown on human rights lawyers, a group of Christian human rights lawyers, led by attorney Zhang Kai, announced the formation of the 'Lawyers for Protection of the Cross' group.  According to China Aid, these lawyers have declared their willingness to pay any price for their beliefs.

LAOS:  Several church leaders are currently languishing in appalling conditions in Laotian prisons.  Amongst them are pastors (Mrs) Kaithong, Puphet, Muk and Hasadee, as well as lay-leader Tiang [RLPB 298 (25 Feb 2015)].  These church leaders had prayed with a terminally ill Christian lady who later died. The authorities then arrested the Christians and charged them with her murder. Subsequently the church leaders were found guilty of practising medicine without a licence. This ruling that equates prayer with medicine will have profound implications for the Church in Laos. After their lawyer filed an appeal in March, the prisoners' families were threatened with their loved-ones' prison time being extended. Torture is routine in Laos prisons and prisoners are routinely held in stocks. 

'Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them ...' (Hebrews 13:3a ESV)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR

* Christians and human rights lawyers imprisoned in China, where risk of torture is high; may they look to the Lord for absolutely everything they need and may God restrain violent hands and pierce hardened consciences.

* the courageous Christian human rights lawyers of the 'Lawyers for Protection of the Cross' group, especially for Zhang Kai, its leader; may their courageous efforts not be in vain and may God bless everything they do as they put their liberty and their bodies on the line in defence of the Cross. 

* Christians imprisoned in truly appalling conditions in Laos where torture is endemic; may they look to the Lord for absolutely everything they need and may God restrain violent hands and pierce hardened consciences.

* God the sovereign king to intervene in seemingly untouchable China and desperately needy Laos; may the Lord Jesus Christ continue to build his Church and may the Holy Spirit sustain, comfort, encourage and strengthen his vulnerable, threatened and persecuted people.

~ ~ ~ ~

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON IN CHINA & LAOS

China and Laos are very alike and very different. Whilst both are totalitarian and Communist Party ruled, China is a seemingly untouchable rising giant and landlocked Laos is one of the poorest and neediest countries worldwide. Not only are numerous Christian leaders and human rights lawyers already incarcerated in China, that number is about to rise markedly as the Chinese Communist Party asserts its authority in a nationwide crackdown. Furthermore, the risk of torture is higher now than it has been for some time. Meanwhile in landlocked Laos, persecuted Lao Christians are amongst the most 'invisible' and 'voiceless' persecuted people in the world. Several Lao Christian leaders are currently languishing in appalling prisons where torture is routine.  Please pray for China and Laos and for Christians imprisoned there. (Hebrews 13:3)

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 298. Feb Update; Incl. Syria, Nigeria, Egypt, Laos, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 298 | Wed 25 Feb 2015

By Elizabeth Kendal

URGENT: IS SEIZES ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS IN HASSEKA
Hasseka Province in Syria's north-east is contiguous with Nineveh in northern Iraq and historically home to many Assyrian Christians. Since early 2012 the region has been heavily infiltrated by jihadists entering from Turkey (to fight the Kurds) and coming across from Mosul with a view to establishing a Caliphate. Presented with the options of conversion to Islam, subjugation with jizya (protection money), death or exile, most of Hasseka's Christians opted for exile and fled; only a remnant remained.

source

On Monday 23 February at about 4am Islamic State (IS) jihadists stormed 35 Assyrian Christian villages along a 40km stretch of the Khabour River south of Qomishli in Hasseka Province, forcing some 3000 Christians to flee for their lives. Churches were razed and at least 150 Christians are now captives of IS, which recently called for Christians to be killed (see RLPB 297). IS has reportedly demanded a prisoner exchange with Kurdish forces. If the Kurds do not release their captured jihadists, then the Christian captives will be killed -- and it will be awful. Pray for a miracle and that God's promised presence will be palpable as God dwells with his people. This is the 'sanctuary' (miqdas: place where God dwells) promised to the faithful in Isaiah 8:11-14a. [See footnote.]

FEB 2015 UPDATE -- During February we prayed concerning ...

* NIGERIA (RLPB 295), where elections -- now postponed to 28 March -- threaten to destabilise the nation further.

* NIGERIA (RLPB 296). When Boko Haram attacked Baga in Nigeria's far north-east on 3 January, it razed the town, seized the military base of the multi-national force stationed there and killed an estimated 2000 civilians. From Baga, Boko Haram moved against the Borno capital, Maiduguri, which they failed to infiltrate, though they did capture Monguno on 25 January, along with its large military base [RLPB 294, (27 Jan)]. It also launched attacks in northern Cameroon and south-east Niger. Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin have agreed to assemble a regional joint force to tackle the problem and totally 'dismantle' Boko Haram.

UPDATE: On 11 February Boko Haram used two girls as suicide bombers in an attack on Diffa in south-east Niger, killing seven. On 16 February a female suicide bomber was used to attack a bus station in Damaturu, Yobe State. On 21 February the Nigerian Army liberated Baga, scoring a significant victory. There were many casualties and the jihadists were forced to abandon much weaponry. Mopping up continues. On Sunday 22 February a seven-year-old girl died along with seven others when Boko Haram attacked a market in the city of Potiskum, Yobe, using the seven-year-old girl as a suicide bomber. Terrorism continues. US military equipment to aid in the fight against Boko Haram has arrived in Cameroon. On Tues 24 February Chadian soldiers engaged Boko Haram fighters near Garambu in Nigeria's far north-east, reportedly killing 207 jihadists. May the Lord break through his enemies in northern Nigeria.

* In a separate incident gunmen stormed the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State, south of Abuja, on Monday night 23 February and kidnapped American Free Methodist Church missionary Rev Phyllis Sortor. Nothing else is known at present. Please pray.

* LIBYA-EGYPT (RLPB 297), where Copts are imperilled since IS called for a jihad against them on the false grounds that they persecute Muslim women. The beheading of 21 Copts on a Libyan beach -- an act IS described as 'a message signed with blood to the nation of the Cross' (i.e. for Christians everywhere) -- has shattered the Coptic community. However, mingled with the grief is a sense of honour [link includes moving video]. We can assume that in line with Sharia protocols, the Copts would have been given an opportunity to renounce Christ and convert to Islam to save their lives. Instead, they died proclaiming 'Yasouh, Yasouh, Jesus, Jesus'. As several commentators have noted, the Coptic martyrs had the victory that day, dying undefeated. Also, as Sam Solomon (a convert from Islam) notes, 'We know this was not the end of the story, according to the promise of our Lord in Revelation 2:10, "... Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown".' 

Art by Tony Rezk source

[Blog by Tony Rezk, "Loving Your Enemies"
Messages from the Bible Society of Egypt: (1) & (2)]

FEBRUARY 2015 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* LAOS: CHURCH LEADERS IMPRISONED FOR PRAYER 

On 12 February the People's Court of Savannakhet Province ruled that five Christian leaders -- pastors (Mrs) Kaithong, Puphet, Muk and Hasadee, as well as lay-leader Tiang -- were guilty of a criminal offence causing death. They had been arrested in June 2014 as they gathered to mourn Mrs Chan's death after a long period of illness and hospitalisation [see RLPB 266 (25 June 2014)]. Because they had prayed with Mrs Chan, the Christians were deemed to have practised medicine without a licence, for which they were issued huge fines and sentenced to nine months in prison. The Christians were denied legal representation. This is gross injustice and abuse of power by authorities who just want to intimidate and persecute church leaders. Prison conditions in Laos are appalling and torture is routine. Please pray.

* PAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS FACE FINES AND CLOSURE

BACKGROUND: On 16 December 2014, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) stormed an army-run school in Peshawar (the capital of Pakistan's north-west Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province), killing over 140 students and staff. Schools across the region were subsequently closed so security measures could be put in place. On 23 January 2015 some 300 Muslims protesting Charlie Hebdo magazine attacked a Christian school in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, scaling the walls and forcing open the gates. Armed with iron bars and clubs, they smashed windows and demanded the school's closure; four students were wounded in the pogrom.

The Pakistan government has designated army-run and Christian-run schools to be A+ security risks, passing a law obliging them to implement expensive security measures. As Barnabas Fund (BF) reports: 'These include an eight-foot-high (2.4m) perimeter wall with two feet (0.6m) of barbed wire on top; CCTV cameras; metal detector walk-though gates; evacuation points; and records of staff and students.' Government funding is available, but only for government schools. According to BF, many Christian schools are not being permitted to reopen because they do not meet the new minimum security standards. Those that have opened face government fines and closure. Without a massive injection of funds many Christian schools will be forced to close. [Donate] Pray that the Lord of Hosts will shield his precious children and provide all their needs.

* PHILIPPINES: A TENUOUS PEACE

On Sunday 25 January a fire-fight erupted in Mamasapano in the southern region of Mindanao.  Philippines Special Action Forces (SAF) elite troops had been chasing a 'high-value target' believed to be behind recent bomb attacks in the south, when gunmen from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) opened fire on them. After an eleven-hour gun battle, at least 44 elite SAF commandos and eight civilians lay dead, with many more wounded. The clash comes at a delicate time, with MILF and the Philippines government entering the final stages of a 'peace deal' designed to place a large section of Mindanao under MILF control [to be known as the Bangsamoro Judicial Entity].
Many maintain it is unconstitutional and a betrayal of the Christian population [see RLPB 180 (9 Oct 2012)]. The 'Mamasapano Massacre' puts the peace deal in doubt, especially as MILF is refusing to hand over the killers (claiming the dead are simply 'casualties of war') and refusing to return the weapons it captured (deeming them 'war booty'). Pray for the Church in Mindanao and that the Philippines will know good governance.

* SUDAN: SYSTEMATIC PERSECUTION.

Though the Bahri Evangelical Church in North Khartoum holds documents proving ownership, a Muslim businessman has been given permission to develop the church's land on the grounds that government agents, who infiltrated the church and established an illegitimate committee, sold the  property to him [see RLPB 288 (25 Nov 2014)]. Much of the church has been demolished and numerous believers arrested, including pastors. On 6 January a court ruled in favour of the legitimate church committee. However, the illegitimate committee appealed and the ruling was overturned in the Supreme Court. On 18 February the police issued the church with a court order to relinquish the property. The church's lawyers have lodged an appeal. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Rev Yat Michael and Rev Peter Yein Reith have also been detained while Sudanese Intelligence is waging a campaign of intimidation, vilification and confiscation against Mr Rafat Samir Mussad Obid, the chairman of the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (SEPC) Council responsible for church buildings and land. This is all part of Khartoum's campaign of systematic intimidation and persecution of the Church and of South Sudanese residing in Sudan. Please pray.

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Footnote: For more on God's promised presence and the Isaiah 8:11-14a text, see 'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today', chapter 3: 'A Paradigm for Threatened Christians' . See also, 'The Promise Presence' (pdf).
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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today 
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).