DAWN Fridayfax 1999 #25

News from China, Cuba, Indonesia, USA

In this issue:
China: Crippled old woman healed - 70,000 become Christians in only 4 years
Cuba: Fidel Castro's Protestant connection
Indonesia: Population possibly 16-18% Christian
USA: CitiReach International aims to transform American cities

China: Crippled old woman healed - 70,000 become Christians in only 4 years

"Mrs. Chang hadn't had anything to laugh about for a long time", writes Josef Brueschweiler of the Swiss-based mission organisation AVC. "Her arms and legs had been crippled for 21 years, constraining her to her bed. One day, she told her son, the eldest of her 9 children, 'Son, I can't stand the pain any longer. Take me to the hospital.' Her son strapped her to his tricycle and pedaled the 60km (40 miles) to the nearest hospital. The doctors could not help her; some of her organs were already dying. 'She should die at home with her family,' they recommended. A Chinese Christian nurse was walking down the corridor. When she reached Mrs. Chang's bed, the nurse stopped and secretly gave her a copy of the Mark's gospel, saying 'Read that when you get home.' When Mrs. Chang arrived home to her family, she told her son to read from the book. He began 'This is the good news of Jesus Christ!' Suddenly, Mrs. Chang's bones started to move - she was healed! She soon gave her life to Jesus and became a committed Christian. On her way to the well, everyone asked her, 'You are Mrs. Chang. Which doctor healed you? We want him to treat us too!'. Mrs. Chang invited them to her home, and told a large group of women 'This is the good news of Jesus Christ!'. In only 4 weeks, all 600 of the village's inhabitants had decided to follow Jesus. Unfortunately, the police arrived soon, after hearing of the new 'sect', beat the villagers, shot their animals, burned the crops and left, believing that that would be the last they heard of Jesus. They were wrong: in only 4 years, 70,000 people in the region have become Christians as a result of the villagers' steadfast testimony."
Source: Josef Brueschweiler, AVC, fax (+41)-32-3554248

Cuba: Fidel Castro's Protestant connection

There has been much speculation about Fidel Castro's connection to Christianity, because of his Catholic baptism as a child. Johan Candelin, Director of the World Evangelical Fellowship's Religious Liberty Commission, recently met Rev.ÜDr.ÜJorge AÜLeon in Argentina. Dr.ÜLeon reports that Castro's wife and son both have a personal relationship with Jesus. Castro's son Fidel Castro Jr. decided to follow Jesus at the age of 13, and was publicly baptised with 31 others by Dr.ÜLeon in Havana's Central Methodist Church on 31 January 1960. Castro was not present, but his wife attended. Castro's wife was a regular church-goer, having given her life to Jesus a number of years before in a Quaker church. She now probably lives in Spain.
Source: Johan Candelin, via Mark Albrecht, e-mail: MarkAlbrecht@xc.org

Indonesia: Population possibly 16-18% Christian

"According to Indonesian church leaders, the true number of Christians in the country is around twice as high as the official figures," says a report from Johan Candelin following a visit to the country. Christians would hence make up 16 to 18 percent of the population, instead of 7 to 8 percent. In addition, many churches are so new that they have not yet been included in the national statistics.
Source: WEF Religious Liberty Conference, Mark Albrecht, e-mail: MarkAlbrecht@xc.org

USA: CitiReach International aims to transform American cities

"On the brink of the new millennium, many Christians in the US agree that God is about to transform the country's religious, social, economic and political structure, which will result in non-Christians reacting in completely new ways to the message of the gospel," writes Houston's Jim Herrington, once a Baptist leader. With this in mind, a new movement called CitiReach International has been founded in the USA, with the aim of assisting value-transforming movements. The heart of this strategy with its roots in the DAWN movement is the mobilisation of the entire Body of Christ in a city to transform all cultural, ethnic and social groups through their presence and passion. CRI was officially founded on 1ÜMay 1999, and is currently supporting 20 pilot projects. It is presently headed by Dr.ÜJack Dennison, President, CitiReach International (Colorado Springs), Gary Ham, Executive Director Operation Breaking Through (Norfolk), Jim Herrington, Executive Director Mission Houston (Houston), Jared Roth, General Supervisor Foursquare Churches of America (Los Angeles), Mike Steele, U.S. Regional Coordinator Dawn Ministries (Colorado Springs) and Tom White, President, Frontline Ministries (Corvallis).
Source and information: CitiReach International, P.O. Box 63120, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3120, USA; Tel.(+1)-719-528-5770; Fax (+1)-719-548.-9619; e-mail: CitiReachi@cs.com

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