DAWN Fridayfax 1999 #50

Vietnam

Flood of destruction, persecution - and new believers

At the start of November 1999, the worst floods this century devastated central Vietnam, damaging or destroying 830,000 houses in a matter of weeks. Over 500 people were killed, 500 hospitals destroyed. Half of the population now lives under the poverty line. People are not only threatened by the floods, though, but also by ideology: only thoughts which fit within the government's Communist ideology are allowed. Christian churches have to obtain government permission for their activities and are thereby directly monitored; unregistered churches are illegal, and subject to persecution. Pastor Thi, leader of a fast-growing church movement, reports that entire Christian villages have been destroyed, the houses and churches torn down, useful material confiscated and fields burned. The Christians are then forced to rebuild their houses close to police stations so that they can be better observed. Some are subjected to merciless torture; in one small village, police tried to force two Christians to recant their faith in Jesus by subjecting them to electric shocks for two days. The Christians resisted, and the police eventually gave up. One of the torturers later said "These men are true Christians". The more Christians are abused, tortured or stoned for their faith, the more people put their faith in Jesus; in the midst of the flood of persecution is a flood of new believers. Pastor Thi tells us that the last two years have been the period of fastest church growth; his movement numbered 250 (house) churches two years ago, and over 800 today. Young people make up a large part of this growth: some 30,000 children and youths have become Christians in the last year. This has an immense effect on families: despite being non-Christians, their parents regularly open their houses for Sunday schools and other meetings, and thus themselves become Christians.
Source: HMK, fax (+41) 33 3366861, Postfach 50, 3608 Thun, Switzerland

Siberia

Jesus and the Tuva

Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva, is on the Jenissej. Tuva, known as 'Uriankhai' in Mongolian, is a small nation with a population of 308,000, and was annexed by Russia in 1922. The Tuvas are internationally famous for their singing style khoomei and their triangular and rhombic stamps. As a result of the annexation, Russians are not well-loved. Tuvan society is strongly influenced by Shamanism and Buddhism, and Christianity was almost unknown until the Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Tennessee, USA, financed the translation of the Jesus film into the Tuvan language. Thousands attended the first screening in 1997 in Kyzyl, and almost all wanted to follow Jesus. Members of the regional government and all major local and national figures were invited to a banquet, and were deeply moved that foreign Christians would finance the translation of a film into their language and ask for their permission to show it. As a result, many doors have opened for Christians: the Minister for Education, for example, has given permission to show the Jesus film in all schools. Initial difficulties often solved themselves; in February 1999, a school director refused permission to show the film, and also demanded money. The film team stayed and screened the film anyway, and invited everyone interested in learning more about Jesus to attend a meeting after the film. The school director also came, and now attends a Christian small group.
Source: HMK, fax (+41) 33 3366861, Postfach 50, 3608 Thun, Switzerland

Macedonia

New President is a born-again Christian

Boris Triakovski was elected as President of Macedonia in November's elections. He is 'a born-again Christian' according to George Verzea, European President of the missions organisation 'Evangelism Explosion'. There are only some 700 known evangelical Christians in Macedonia.
Source: George Verzea/Theo Kunst, e-mail 102557.2135@compuserve.com

Chile

New national target of 20,000 new churches by 2009

Around 300 people from all 11 provinces attended a Dawn Congress in Santiago de Chile in November 1999. The delegates agreed to work together to plant 20,000 new churches by the year 2009, and to send 1,000 church planters as missionaries particularly to the nations in the 10/40 Window, also by 2009. The nation currently has between 17,000 and 20,000 churches. 2009 is a particularly significant year for Chile, because it marks the 100th anniversary of the nation's Protestants. "This is the first time that Chilean Christians have deliberately started a long-term national cooperative project," says Berna Salcedo, Dawn Coordinator for South America. One of the attendees came from Pascua, an island 3,000 miles out into the Pacific, where the first person in recent times became a Christian in 1998. Pascua is where Easter Island's famous stone idols were made.
Source: Dawn Ministries, Berna Salcedo, 5775 N. Union Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA, fax (+1) 719 548 7475, tel. 7460

This Web version of the DAWN Fridayfax is maintained by the Jesus Fellowship Church (Jesus Army) as a service to the Christian church. Please visit our web pages which feature the e-zine Streetpaper and its special Revival section.