Eritrea

You will rot here until you sign this paper

These were the reported words of an Eritrean military commander to Helen Berhane, a well-known gospel singer of the Evangelical Rema Church, who has been held incommunicado in Mai Serwa military camp since 13 May 2004. Some 1,750 believers, men, women and children, including at least 26 pastors, three Orthodox priests and Muslims too have been imprisoned in Eritrea in the last three years simply for practising their religion. Many are held in inhumane conditions including underground cells and metal shipping containers which are often swelteringly hot in the day and very cold at night, with no sanitary facilities. Detainees receive very poor food and little or no medical care. For more information go to: Amnesty International § The church we attend in the UK has welcomed a group of refugees from Eritrea some of whom have first-hand experience of being imprisoned for months and years in shipping containers, their only crime being to believe in Christ and not belong to a registered church. Support for Amnesty International with prayer may bring the prisoners only hope of release. Les and Pilar

Argentina

From the actual end of the world

I am writing from Tierra del Fuego, the Land of Fire where we have a great move of the Holy Spirit at work, miracles are happening in the lives of thousands of people who live here at the actual end of the earth. Ruben, 38, Rio Grande

Brazil

Unexpected mission field on our doorstep . . .

We were invited to help teach about Christ in a local school with a reputation. After just a few classes we organised a day away and 150 young people came, their souls open to Jesus. They are so needy of love, a hug, a touch, most of them don't have a proper family or are living in orphan places. The RE teacher asked for help, so next week I will run the classes and I get to speak to the teachers as well. The Mission School students are all thrilled, they never worked outside their churches before. On Saturdays we are going to the slums to clear away rubbish, dirt and mice, then prepare a nice meal and we will eat with the poor there to celebrate Jesus together. Silvana Mara, Pouso Alegre School of Mission

Chile

Free materials about drugs and rehabilitation

I am an former missionary and practitioner in the rehabilitation of drug-addicts. I am happy to help anyone, anywhere with materials. René Muga, 51, Santiago de Chile

Colombia

Can you tell me who is the Holy Spirit ?

Can anyone explain to me in a clear, simple way, in Spanish, everything about the Holy Spirit. Arnold Augusto Sierra, 51, Cartagena de Indias. § Arnold, I am going to send you part of my book in Spanish called God in Three Persons which you can download free here I fully cover the subject of the Holy Spirit in an easy to understand way. Best wishes. Pastor Virgilio Zaballos, DCI in Barcelona, Spain.

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Ecuador

I am a soldier, want to go into missions . .

I have been a professional soldier for 18 years and with just 5 years to go to retirement I want to move into overseas missions, step by step. Does anyone know how I can do both jobs side by side ? William Acosta, 38, Santa Rosa. (Spanish only)

France

The story of the week . . .

Running on empty From Rob Reeve, Lille, France "I'm not going to stop", I said to myself as I approached the 20km mark of the half marathon. The sun had been beating down all day and it was now at full strength. I leaned over to take a last splash of water from a trough to prepare for the last kilometre – and then oblivion. The next hours were a hellish kaleidoscope of pain and confusion. I felt dislocated from reality – plunged into some alien world of nausea and humiliation. "What's happening to me? Where am I? Will this ever end?" As the hours passed, I began to conclude that perhaps this was madness and that I had been somehow detached from my previous life. "Would I ever get back?" Robert Reeve, Nations en Marche, Lille. http://www.nations.org.uk § Did he get back ? Read the full short story here in less than a minute. Don't miss it. and don't miss The Last Word for Today on a similar theme, at the end of this edition . Les and Pilar

India

One fine midnight God appeared in my dreams.

I was not able to see his glorifying face, but I heard his calm and loving voice. He warned me for my sinful life. At that instant I suddenly woke up and got too much frightened and cried out for the sinful life I've spent before. I cried like anything for my sins and prayed to God shoutedly. After that some spirits went away from my heart . I felt that very clearly and I was fully happy. I've got peace and even my face was fully cherished with joys and laughter. And finally I slept while praying. Abraham, 50, Surapet Village

Indonesia

Remembering the victims of the London 7/7 Bombing

Today must be the most heart-breaking day for me and especially for all my brothers and sisters in UK. On the BBC website I read about Helen Jones, about Lee Harris and Samantha, about Sharifi and Shahara Islam, and other sad stories about the victims until I couldn't continue anymore. I posted all of their photos in my website, hoping that people here would aware that each one of these victims should have lived longer without the jihad actions that some people here are proud of. We have a lot of people here in Indonesia that can understand the tragedy fully, because not just once we were struck by the same bombings. There's so much hatred in this world that was created by our loving God, so much wrong and destructive idealism. We love Muslims, but we hate the way they look at us and treat us. You in England live with 10% of Muslims, whilst we here are surrounded by 85% of Muslims, but we face the same threat of sudden violent death every day from a violent minority of fanatics. Only Jesus can take control of them. Quoting victim Helen Jones, words: 'Tragedy is never God's will. God's is the first heart to break and God is the first to shed a tear.' With lots of prayer, Your brother in Indonesia. Name removed for security reasons § Our dear sensitive, caring friend, as you say it is just too painful to keep on reading the stories of this senseless loss of innocent lives and all their hopes and dreams, and to feel the raw hurt and the emptiness in their families who will never be the same again. And then you can't help but think about all the thousands of families in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Darfur and North Uganda who have also lost their sons, daughters, wives and husbands in similar uninvited violence. And can we ever forget the Tsunami and the Pakistan earthquake ? "Come again Lord Jesus, come soon, put this world and its peoples right as only You can and have promised to do." Les and Pilar.

New Zealand

Church any day, anywhere . . .

A movement that encourages Christians to meet as church on any day of the week and in a location of their choice is spreading around New Zealand. Since it began in 2001, the Revolution Street Church Movement has been taking the Gospel out of the church buildings and into the streets through people meeting in homes and public places. One street church is run by young people who meet each week to pray for their workplace and to find ways to reach out to other employees. Another church has been established at Waihi Beach to reach the surfing community. They often catch up on the waves when there is a 'decent swell' and meet on Wednesday nights. Another street church sponsored a local touch team competition. "We played with them, held a hangi with them - many of whom were not Christian - and more." The essence of being a mission church is the difference between going out from a fortress and bringing people back, to going out and dwelling where the people are. It's a church willing to adapt its practices to effectively reach those it is ministering to. The Revolution http://www.therevolution.org.nz

Pakistan

Mission at 48 degrees C . .

Karachi has more than 12 million souls and thousands were impacted in our recent meetings and through literature. From July 14 to 18, we are holding a campaign in Lahore, a city of 8 million where the daily temperature is 40 to 48 C. Our evangelists in Baluchistan and Afghanistan border area urgently need thousands of Urdu Bibles and we need your help with this, please. Pastor Muqaddam Zia, Faisalabad

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Peru

Mission at 30 degrees below zero . .

At this time of year at day breaks the snow falls in the mountains and the valleys, everything is white, everywhere is cold with grey skies and a bitter wind. We hardly see the sun and people get sick. At night from 10 to 30 below is normal and there is 5 to 10 cm of ice. Daytime can be very hot for a while and the changes make people sick. Tomorrow I am leaving for Crucero in the mountains to be with the Quechua believers, such poor people but they trust in the Lord and He gets them through. Filiberto Lima Vargas, Peru

When your Dad coughs blood what can you do ?

Dear Les and Pilar, please pray for my father because blood is coming from his nose and mouth. He sells sweets in the streets to children and we are a poor family. I missed my last five year's school because we couldn't pay the fees. A man at church has a clinic and he did an X-ray and found contagious TB in my Dad. He needs specialised treatment which is very expensive so there is no way, but with the Lord nothing is impossible if you will help us with your prayers. The daughter of the family, 17. § This young lady has been reading these pages for years and writes to us. This is all very genuine and sad but there is a happy ending, for once. Our friend in Peru is a former student of ours, Pastor Raquel Yupanqui in Ayacucho, and she has a village clinic. She told this young lady about a new free Peruvian government program that could treat her Dad, save his life and provide food once a month for the family while he could not work. Last we heard, Dad had just gone in for treatment. Les and Pilar

Peru, Uruguay and India What never fails to multiply churches ?

In Uruguay in 1998, 150 years after the first missionary arrived there were only 1,000 churches with evangelicals at just 2% of the population. After pastors and leaders were challenged to start a strong prayer movement the evangelicals swelled to 5% and the number of churches doubled by 2005. In the 1990s, Peru was a war-torn nation reeling under the impact of terrorism. The Church began a prayer movement and used the radio to challenge believers to pray specifically for the unevangelised and unchurched regions of Peru. This nation with less than 1% of evangelicals in 1960 now has 10%. In India, church planters operate verse by verse through Luke 10, they prayer walk the whole area, find the 'man of peace', perform miracles and works of deliverance, bring down strongholds and go on the plant churches in homes resulting in thousands of new churches in recent years in Central and North India. The evidence is clear and irrefutable, strategic church planting coupled with deliberate, focused prayer, is resulting in unprecedented church multiplication in many nations. Source: Amaury Braga, Dawn Ministries From Joel News http://www.joelnews.org

Republic of Congo

God has done great things here

By stopping the war and now we are facing a great event never done in the last 40 years, we have elections. Malenge K. Andrew, 52, Kalemie

Rwanda

Can any reconciliation be more costly than this ?

Almost all of Renata's family had been killed in the genocide and she had been raped many times and is now HIV positive. She was very traumatised and could trust no-one. Then last year someone invited her to an AE healing seminar but she saw that there were also released prisoners there and this was too painful for her and she almost left. When she was taught that Jesus was her Pain Bearer this was astounding to her even though she was already a believer. She cried a lot and gave Him all her sufferings and felt a great release. The next day a prisoner stood and confessed he had killed her family. She was shocked and felt great sorrow. But then she told him he had been very courageous to confess and she walked up to him and hugged him, telling him she forgave him. Since then she has also been able to forgive those who raped her and says her health is much better since then. With bowed head Francois admitted that he had killed many people, but had come under a heavy weight of guilt whilst in prison and had confessed. After his release, awaiting trial, he was invited to the seminar where he heard the good news about the cross. This was new to him and he took everything to the cross. For the first time he felt clean and pure. But the amazing thing, he said, was that the survivor of a family he killed was present and was able to forgive him. African Enterprise, South Africa http://www.africanenterprise.org.za/index.htm

About the Philippines

Can you tell me about this nation ?

We want to know what it is like there, the customs, the peoples, the main religions and any others, and what about churches, what are they like ? (In Spanish only) Daniel y María Alejandra Cueliche, 38, Argentina § Daniel and Maria, what you need is this page at Operation World which has everything about every nation on earth. Wikipedia has this which is excellent but it does not have the data on the churches. The BBC has this. Les Norman.

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Uganda

What's life like for the children here ?

A class of British ten year old's got in touch with the 10 year old son of our friend George Purkweri in northern Uganda and asked what life was like for Junior and the young people there. Mum helped him to reply, and the answers are so eye-opening, and so innocent and beautiful that we are going to share them with you. Click here to see the letter.

United States

Free One Year School Of Prayer

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The Last Word For Today Life In The Fast Lane . . .

The Running Man, Kasimir Malevich, 1878-1935, Russian painter and designer © Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris

We are living life at a dizzying speed, and God is nowhere to be found. We're not rejecting God; we just don't have time for him. We've lost him in the blurred landscape as we rush by on our way to church. We don't struggle with the Bible, but with the clock. It's not that we're too decadent, we're too busy. We don't feel guilty because of sin, but because we have no time for our spouse, our children or our God. It's not sinning too much that's killing our souls, it's our schedule that's annihilating us. Most of us don't come home at night staggering drunk. Instead, we come home staggering tired, worn out, exhausted and drained because we live too fast. Read the full, short article here § It won't take you a minute to read it because if the introduction has caught your eye, you probably haven't got much more than a minute to spare and you know that isn't right. Yes ?

Today's World Christian News

 

 

 

 

 

  1985 - 2006

© 2006 | The World Christians Network
Answering the call to the lost,  the last and the least since 1987
Sponsored by The DCI Trust, England

 Who Are We ?

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Who are the editors ?

After 28 years training leaders and helping them to start new churches, missions and Bible Schools, Les Norman these days is a guest speaker and a writer with a heart for the lost, the last and the least of the world and the Chairman of the DCI Trust. Pilar is a teacher, an intercessor, counsellor and a very popular Christian poet in the Spanish language. Our daughter Elisabeth is a youth leader. If you speak Spanish here is Pilar’s book of 180 Christian poems free.
More about us here

Ladies and gentlemen, our own non-profit group or charity as it is known in the UK or NGO in the developing world The DCI Trust (1987-2006) needs the support of a world of readers so that we can support mission to the lost, the last and the least of the world. No deductions for our expenses are ever taken because we cover them ourselves with pleasure. We welcome your support and friendship from wherever you are in the world and we will write back to you the same day. Thank you

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