Dear Friends
This is a reminder that the there is a Believers All Love Muslims prayer meeting this coming Wednesday  (23rd)  at our place 7 Kexby St  Balcatta - 7.30pm.   Please come and pray with us if you can.

Luke and Janelle Tassell have produced a booklet for '20 days of prayer for Muslims in Perth'.  They've called it "My Neighbour Wears a Burka" .  The great thing about it is that it focuses on Muslims in Perth and it will be a great encouragement for Christians to pray for Muslims in our city.  If you would like a copy please email or phone me and I will post you one free.
Yours in Christ
Bill Rowlands  9345 1672 June 18, 2010

Burma (Myanmar)
Christianity was treated with suspicion by the government leaders who suppressed it in favour of Buddhism. However two events had helped shape the current surge in church growth:
1. In September 2007, Buddhist monks led a protest in the streets of the capital city which was brutally put down by the military. Since then the military junta sort to reduce the Buddhist influence through relaxing strict regulation on church activities which they had thus far suspected to be in support of frontier states who are seeking autonomy.
2. The devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008 saw a significant Christian presence through aid works. This appreciation grew as a result of the selfless and loving actions of Christians.
source: Asia Harvest May 2010

International Day of Prayer for Burma - Sunday 8th March
Christians across the world are encouraged to pray using the following prayer points: 
* Pray for all who are persecuted for their faith in Burma
* Pray that the Christian Church will be strengthened in its ability to shine the light of God's love and truth in Burma
* Pray for the Pastors who are often singled out and attacked by Burma Army soldiers when they first enter a village
* Pray for strength, wisdom and hope among the people who live under direct control of the military dictatorship in Burma.   Pray they will be unified and encouraged by their efforts to serve one another through love and perseverance.    
Source: Christians Concerned for Burma

*Home of Christ Orphanage This is an orphanage started by the Heavenly Man, Brother Yun. Read also Letter from Pastor Zhang, director of the orphanage.
Perth contact: Shirley Tsao

Burundi
President Pierre Nkurunziza, spirit-filled Christian, said several hundred schools have been built so far without aid from Western governments, China or Muslim nations. The Burundi government provided the materials, with some assistance from Christian ministries such as Aid for the World in New York. The Burundi people constructed the schools. "All Burundians had to engage in community work," Nkurunziza said. "Every Saturday they came together to help build these schools." March 20, 2009 <more>

Erithea
Since 2002 the regime of President Isaias Afewerki has detained well over 2,000 Christians, out of a tiny population of only 5 million, without trial, and has forced dozens of churches and Christian ministries to close. Many believers have been tortured to force them to renounce their faith. The Eritrean Government recognises only three churches: the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran-affiliated Evangelical Church of Eritrea. All other churches have been closed. The secret police routinely spy on Christians.
Many leading pastors and Christian activists have been arrested and often disappear without trace inside Eritrea's prison system. Relatives often do not know their fate. Christian prisoners are tortured by being locked in shipping containers where they suffer extreme heat by day, and biting cold at night, or by being forced to balance on their stomach for prolonged periods, with their hands and feet tied behind them. Christians undergoing military service are not allowed to meet together for worship or to read a Bible. Many have been told to renounce their faith or face lengthy jail terms.
Source: Intercessors Network April 20, 2009

*In 2005, Dr Rebekka and her co-workers, Ratna and Eti, were convicted of attempting to convert Muslim children to Christianity. Following their release from prison in June 2007, they continued to serve the Lord from the home of Dr Rebekka and as freed people they ministered to the inmates of their former prison. The Voice of the Martyrs reported Dr Rebekka recalling her own time in prison, she said the floor of their prison cell flooded several times and snakes were a constant threat. "I had entered into the school of God. In prison I had nothing, but God supplied everything I needed and He taught me to depend on Him alone. I learnt that complete dependence on God comes through persecution."

*Papua Church's other major threats beside Persecution. Despite the mounting persecution from Muslim dominant government officials and migrants in the former Dutch colony the church pastors are kept busy keeping preserving the family unit that is now ravaged by malaria and HIV. "I am completely worn out by all the funerals I have been holding lately,” prompted a church leader when asked of his struggle for autonomy in his state. <more>

*Shariah Laws dividing Indonesia as politicians jostling to gain support amongst muslim dominated provinces by approving legislation in support against the constitution guiding principle of Pancasila that guarantees religious freedom. There is fear now that Indonesia's democracy will collapse into similar chaotic malfunction as experienced in Nigeria.

*Dehes Ministry The founder is a Perth-based evangelist, Sebestian Sugiarto, ordained by the Indonesian AOG movement with special emphasis in Central Kalimantan. Amongst his team members are Perth-based Kim Poh and marriage counsellors, Abraham and Margaret Verughese. Faced with challenges in the forest of Borneo Sebestian testified, "in carrying out His work I don't have to know everything because my God does."

India

Iran

CHRISTIAN SATELLITE TELEVISION BLOCKED IN IRAN

Protesters gathered to mark the tenth anniversary of a student uprising against the Islamic regime have been dispersed violently.  An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people assembled at Tehran University, the site of the 1999 uprising. According to some news sources Iran's government had not given a demonstration permit. The government has cracked down on civilian freedoms and interactions since the unrest after the elections-- including restrictions placed on cell phone and satellite signals.  
SAT-7 's Terry Ascott said their Christian broadcasts have suffered. "The truth is that the Government has blocked many of the satellite channels. I'm not sure how they're doing it. Until now, it's not really been possible to block multiple satellite channels coming into the country without up-linking interference to the satellite," said Ascott. Ascott doesn't believe that the problem is going to go away anytime soon as far as peace is concerned. "There's been a fundamental undermining of trust in the regime, so this is a new dynamic."

The interruptions of satellite signals are happening mostly in Tehran.  The programs that do make it through elsewhere are meeting ready hearts. "People caught up in this kind of change are, perhaps, more open than ever to the Gospel of Christ," said Ascott. SAT-7's programs address living in tension and include encouraging verses such as 1 Peter 5:7 which urges viewers to "cast your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you." SAT-7 planned to send Scriptures to viewers who have registered a mobile phone or e-mail address.
Ascott told of a man who saw one of SAT-7's programs. After losing his job, he worried how he would support his children. He prayed asking God to protect his children. That night, his daughter called from Armenia where she lived. She told him a man dressed in white had come to her house saying her father had sent him to warn her of a gas leak. She called her dad to ask him how he'd known, but he was too afraid to tell her his side of the story. Instead, he wrote a letter to SAT-7 telling them his story. Although not yet a Christian, he is in awe of their God.
The ministry of SAT-7 is having a powerful effect on people who live in areas where the message of Christianity is not well received. Ascott asks for prayer that the broadcasts will stop being interrupted and that the programs will give hope despite the tension and uncertainty about the future. Pray also that the economic downturn will not affect SAT-7's ability to financially support broadcasting in Iran and other nations.  
Please pray:  
* for the internal conflicts in Iran to cause Iranians to become totally dissatisfied with the religion of Islam. Pray for the demonic bondage of Islam to be broken and for the people to be set free to worship the only True and Living God.  
* for every scheme of Satan to be turned into an opportunity for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in Iran. Pray for all corruption to be exposed and for honesty, integrity and justice to prevail in Iran.    

* for disagreements to arise between the Ayatollahs and President Amadinejad and for the Lord to raise up the man He wants to lead Iran. 
Source: Mission Network News July 2009

Iran CHURCH LEADERS PLEAD FOR HELP

Iraqi church leaders have appealed directly to the Iraqi Prime Minister for increased efforts to curb the continuing attacks against Christians in that country. The heads of 10 Iraqi churches have urged the prime minister to use the army to watch over Christians in the country. Church leaders said police efforts to curb violence were insufficient and more needed to be done to stabilize the country.  The Prime Minister assured the church heads that he would do whatever was in his power in cooperate with them.
Source: Intercessors Network Sep 2009

Maldives
A Sunni-Muslism enclave in the Indian Ocean populated by migrating Indians over hundreds of years. Legislation exists to define a Maldivian as Sunni Muslim and imposed strong sanctions on conversion by citizen to any other faith.

read: Maldives atheist who felt persecuted 'hangs himself by Charles Haviland BBC News July15, 2010

Nepal
In the 1950s there were 25 known Christians in the entire country. In 1990 the number grew to 25,000. Today, many researchers believe there are around 600,000 believers scattered throughout the country.
source: Asia Harvest May 2010

North Korea
A Perth pastor who visited North Korea in April 2009 reported how a member of her delegation was detained in jail because a mobile phone and camera were found in her possession. The hermit nation is currently in a state of high militarily alert as this report from Intercessors Network confirmed:

Even as the North Korean government recently allowed two high-profile Christian bands to perform at a music festival in Pyongyang, the fear of punishment that authorities have instilled in North Korean Christians keeps most of them from publicly revealing their faith. As many as 400,000 Christians are estimated to worship secretly in the country, whilst more than 200,000 North Koreans (of which at least 40,000 are believed to be Christian) are estimated to be held in political prison camps for various perceived “disloyalties” to the regime, including adherence to Christianity. A delegation of North Korean refugees spoke of their experiences prior to fleeing their native country as part of North Korea Freedom Week held in New York recently. They told how North Korea is preparing its citizens for war informing its people that the world hates North Korea and that the world is about to attack North Korea. Whilst of course not true the use of that kind of rhetoric internally, when there’s no other source of information, creates a sort of wartime mentality that North Korean leaders use most effectively to control and constrain their population. Rations have also been cut back for North Korean citizens, creating further instability. Underground Christians in the country use all this as motivation for evangelism. There’s an opportunity in the midst of this ongoing chaos for the church to come together, to unite and to be a place of stability and hope during this very, very difficult time. Just years ago, South Korea was as closed as the North. Pray that God would revive North Korea in the same way.

Ukraine
After the collapse of the Soviet Republic in the 1990s Ukraine church grew rapidly as Ukrainians begun searching for a new moral compass that communism had failed to provide. Church doubled in size quickly, however, the growing churches soon turned inward, spending their energies on discipling new converts. Evangelism nearly stopped. When the churches noticed, they cranked up outreach again. In Ukraine, however, a period of prosperity sabotaged spiritual interest, and stagnation set in reported Christianity Today.
*Nigerian pastor Sunday Adelaja's Embassy of God Church is the largest of the many charismatic churches in Kyiv (Kiev), the capital of Ukraine. With 25000 weekly attendants the church is also the largest in all Europe
*Hillsong Kyiv is linked to Brian Houston's Hillsong
*82% of Ukrainians are Christians, majority of which belong to the Eastern Orthodox denominations.
*Many Ukranians (estimated 50%) are pastoring Russian churches.
*Ukraine sends more missionaries than any other Slavic country. The fact that Russian is the first or second language of everyone in the former Soviet Union is one of the gifts of Soviet colonialism. Thus, Ukrainian missionaries can have a much greater impact than evangelists from the West.


Faith and Hope in Ukraine - How Eastern Europe's most missional evangelical church is rethinking tradition and the Great Commission by Susan Wunderink | posted 10/17/2008 0PMstianity Today

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