AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER
* DARFUR WOMEN DESCRIBE GANG RAPE HORROR
* CHRISTIAN LEADERS IDENTIFY CHALLENGES THE CHURCH WILL FACE IN
2008
* KENYAN GOVERNMENT LOOKS TO CHRISTIANS TO FACILITATE HEALING
AND RECONCILIATION
* MULTIPLE WIVES WILL MEAN MULTIPLE BENEFITS IN BRITAIN
* NEPAL GOVERNMENT SAYS 'WE MUST FINE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE A
CHRISTIAN'.
* ERITREA GOVERNMENT IMPRISONS MORE THAN 2000
CHRISTIANS
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DARFUR WOMEN
DESCRIBE GANG RAPE HORROR
The seven women pooled money to rent a donkey and cart, then
ventured out of the refugee camp to gather firewood, hoping to sell
it for cash to feed their families. Instead, in a wooded area just a
few hours walk away, they were gang-raped, beaten and robbed. Naked
and devastated, they fled back to Kalma. "All the time it lasted, I
kept thinking: They're killing my baby, they're killing my baby,"
wailed Aisha, who was seven months pregnant at the time. (The baby
Aisha was expecting at the time is doing well. His name is
Osman.)
The women have no doubt who attacked them. They say the men's camels
and their uniforms marked them as janjaweed - the Arab militiamen
accused of terrorizing the mostly black African villagers of Sudan's
Darfur region. Their story, confirmed by other women and aid workers
in the camp, provides a glimpse into the hell that Darfur has become
as the Arab-dominated government battles a rebellion stoked by a
history of discrimination and neglect.
Now in its fourth year, the conflict has become the world's
worst humanitarian crisis, and rape is its regular byproduct.
Sudan's government denies arming and unleashing the janjaweed, and
bristles at the charges of rape, saying its conservative Islamic
society would never tolerate it. In Sudan, as in many Islamic
countries, society views a sexual assault as a dishonour upon the
woman's entire family. "Victims can face terrible ostracism," says
Maha Muna, the U.N. coordinator on this issue in Sudan. Some aid
workers believe the janjaweed use rape to intimidate the rebels, and
their supporters and families. "It's a strategy of war," Muna said in
an interview.
A senior Sudanese government official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of retaliation from his superiors, acknowledged
the janjaweed had initially received weapons from the government -
something the government officially denies - and said authorities now
are struggling to rein in the militias. Nasser Kambal, a prominent
human rights activist offers a similar view. "I don't think raping
was planned by the government. Killing and looting and torture, yes,
but not rape," he said.
UN workers registered 2,500 rapes in Darfur in 2006, but believe
far more went unreported. The real figure is probably thousands a
month, they said. Victims usually can't identify their aggressors,
which makes prosecutions impossible. Only eight offenders were tried
and sentenced for rape crimes by Sudanese courts in 2006. They
received three to five years prison, and 100 lashes in accordance
with Islamic law.
Sheikas in Kalma said they report over a dozen rapes each week.
Human rights activists in South Darfur who monitor violence in the
refugee camps estimate more than 100 women are raped each month in
and around Kalma alone. The workers warn of an alarming new trend of
rapes within the refugee population amid the boredom and slow social
decay of the camps. The sheikas say they are making some headway
toward persuading families to accept raped women back into their
embrace and let them report attacks to aid workers.
Collecting firewood is becoming more perilous as the trees around the
camp dwindle and women are forced to go ever farther afield for
supplies. It is strictly a woman's task, dictated both by tradition
and the fear that male escorts would be killed if the janjaweed found
them. The seven women say they haven't left the camp since they were
attacked. They have started their own small workshop and make water
jugs out of clay and donkey dung to sell to other refugees. As they
worked on their large pile of jugs and bowls, they said they are even
poorer than before, because they now have to buy their firewood from
other women. "But at least we never have to go out again," said
Aisha.
Source: Intercessors
Network
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CHRISTIAN LEADERS
IDENTIFY CHALLENGES THE CHURCH WILL FACE IN 2008
(Editors note: It is interesting to ponder on what the Church would
be like and the influence it could have if we all applied these
principles to our individual lives and the corporate life of the
congregations to which we belong.)
Sixty one key Charismatic/Pentecostal leaders in the American Church
gathered recently to seek the face of God for 2008. They began their
gathering by kneeling together to repent of the pride that has
tainted the American church. At the end of their time together they
made the following statement outlining the challenges they believe
God had spoken to them about during their time in His presence.
1. We must open themselves to the experience of personal revival.
We must rediscover the power of fasting. We must study the Word in
order to hear from God more powerfully. We must get back to a
simplicity of devotion to Jesus.
2. We must embrace humility by being genuine, touchable and
accessible. God is raising up a new breed of leader today who will
display "anointing without arrogance, boldness without brashness, and
power without pride."
3. We are experiencing gracious judgment. Gracious judgment, is
where God corrects us but leads us to repentance and obedience. We
must be men and women of character in a world of compromise.
4. We must balance the prosperity message. God is calling us to a
higher standard of ethics, integrity and corporate governance. We
must teach our people "to give extravagantly, not expecting anything
in return" instead of suggesting that people should "give to
get."
5. It's time to get back to evangelism. Our priorities must return to
soul-winning and discipleship. While stressing the absolute
importance of the presence and power of God in our churches, we must
guard against an inordinate emphasis on manifestations of the Holy
Spirit. We must get back to the core doctrines of the Bible, and test
all things.
6. We must root out racism in the church. Unless we develop a
true "kingdom DNA" in our churches-by welcoming and celebrating all
ethnic groups-we will not successfully impact our culture or enact
biblical justice on issues such as immigration policy.
7. Holiness is not an option. We must learn to restore those who
fall but we also must focus on how to prevent moral failure - which
will require a new emphasis on holy living.
8. God is calling us to transform society. Western culture is
becoming increasingly hostile to the Christian faith. We must not run
from our calling to transform culture but engage in a kingdom
mission to effect change. We believe that Christians for too long
have viewed politics, education and the financial realm as evil when
we must see those arenas as mountains to claim for Christ.
In summary our faithfulness to God will be determined not by our
prophetic conferences, the size of our churches, the trendiness of
our music or whether we have gold dust appearing in our meetings. It
will be judged by whether we make the salvation of men and women our
priority.
Source: Charisma
Magazine
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KENYAN GOVERNMENT
LOOKS TO CHRISTIANS TO FACILITATE HEALING AND
RECONCILIATION
Churches across Kenya are being asked to play a key role in bringing
peace to the violence-torn nation in a desperate attempt to prevent
all-out genocide. "Everyone, including politicians, expects the
churches to play a big role in terms of reconciliation, healing,
resettlement and trust building," said Canon Peter Karanja, general
secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK).
Kenyan churches are seeking a long-term healing effort that will
require the sustained engagement of international ecumenical
partners. Said Anglican Archbishop of Kenya Benjamin Nzimbi: "We need
your prayers for people to come back to their senses. We must bring
Kenya back where it ought to be."
Meanwhile rape is on the rise in Kenya. Hundreds of women have been
the victims of sexual attacks. Many are gang rapes, carried out by
groups of armed men. Staff in the Nairobi Women's Hospital alone are
treating an average eight to ten rape victims a day. Almost half of
the cases at the hospital's specialised clinic are girls under the
age of 18. One case was a two-year-old baby girl.
Crisis talks are currently underway between the rival parties.
Please pray that peace will be restored to Kenya.
Source: The Christian
Post
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MULTIPLE WIVES
WILL MEAN MULTIPLE BENEFITS IN BRITAIN
Husbands with multiple wives may now claim extra welfare benefits
following a year-long Government review. Even though bigamy is a
crime in Britain, the decision by ministers means that polygamous
marriages can now be recognised formally by the state, so long as the
weddings took place in countries where the arrangement is legal. The
outcome will chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife, as
is permitted under Islamic law. Ministers estimate there may be up to
a thousand polygamous partnerships in Britain, although no exact
record exists.
The decision has been condemned by the Tories. Under the deal, a
husband with multiple wives may also claim additional housing
benefit and council tax benefit to reflect the larger property needed
for his family. In Britain, bigamy is punishable by up to seven years
in prison. Islamic law however permits men to have up to four wives
provided the husband spends equal amounts of time and money on each
of them.
Chris Grayling, Shadow secretary for Work and Pensions, said that
the decision was "completely unjustifiable". "Multiple marriages are
illegal in the UK, so to have a situation where the benefits system
treats people in different ways is totally unacceptable and will
serve to undermine confidence in the system. "This sets a precedent
that will lead to more demands for the culture of other countries to
be reflected in UK law and the benefits system." Mr Grayling also
accused the Government of trying to keep the ruling quiet because the
topic is so controversial.
Source: UK
Telegraph
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NEPAL GOVERNMENT
SAYS 'WE MUST FINE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN'.
Hindus have been launching a series of attacks against Christian
organizations in Nepal. In a nation where 75 percent of the
population is Hindu, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) reports of a small
congregation of four Christians in a small village when Rajan
expressed a faith in Jesus Christ. But that's back down to three now
after he lost his family and crops, and was forced to leave his home
and village, because of his conversion.
"Hindu neighbours have dug up Rajan's cauliflower and potatoes,"
VOM reports. "He has lost his whole year's income. He was recently
fined 6,000 rupees (about $100, a large sum in Nepal), after water
from his field spilled over into a neighbour's field," the VOM
sources reported. "Normally, this would not be a problem, but the
neighbours consider water from Rajan's field unclean because he is a
Christian. "Normally, we wouldn't fine you, but because you changed
your religion and became a Christian, you need to pay 6,000 rupees,"
the villagers told him, according to VOM.
They even turned Rajan's wife and family against him, and he was
forced to leave his home, to stay with a pastor briefly, and then to
move to another village. "When Rajan left his home to live with the
pastor he was sad, but said his experiences had made Jesus more
precious to him than before," the Voice of the Martyrs reported. "His
pastor told us that as persecuted believers, they have learned that
one of the results is that Jesus becomes much more precious to
them."
Source: Intercessors for
America
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ERITREA GOVERNMENT
IMPRISONS MORE THAN 2000 CHRISTIANS
The Eritrean government has imprisoned more than 2,000 Christians.
Some of the imprisoned Christians are kept in metal shipping
containers and routinely tortured. As a result there have been cases
of prisoners who have died, lost their sight, and/or have been
paralysed. Due to the severity of persecution, many churches have
gone underground and many Christians have been forced to flee the
country.
Thirty Christian youth belonging to the Pentecostal Church in the
Red Sea port city of Massawa were arrested by the Eritrean government
last week. The campaign to arrest Christians has spread to several
other cities, including the capital city of Asmara, where detainees
were being forced under torture to reveal the names of other
believers.
Source: Intercessors
Network
http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/
--
Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/ (20,000 articles 4000 humor)
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