DAWN Fridayfax 2000 #4

Switzerland

60 new churches since 1997

Since 1997, 60 new churches have been planted in Switzerland and 10 closed, according to the recently published "2nd Swiss Prayer Map". The wall map, based on research performed by FocuSuisse, the national Dawn movement, is intended to support intercession by showing the relationship between the number of churches and population in each area. The research revealed that Switzerland, with its 7.113 million inhabitants in 2,904 towns and villages, has 1,186 independent churches, 305 ethnic Christian gatherings, 1,078 Reformed parishes and 1,590 Catholic churches.
Source: FocuSuisse, Im Oberhof 16, 8240 Thayngen, Switzerland, fax (052) 640 00 98, tel 640 00 99, www.focusuisse.ch.

Switzerland

"Since foreigners found a place in my pastor's heart..."

"... they have also found a place in the church," writes pastor Werner Spalinger. "And we have also begun to see both Swiss and foreigners coming to Jesus. We started out by visiting refugee homes, showing the Jesus Film and offering prayer and reading material. Hardly anyone turned down the offer. We then started to offer translation in our services. Since we invited a group of gypsies into our homes for a meal, one after the other is coming to Jesus..."
Source: Werner Spalinger, President, FocuSuisse, Zug, Switzerland

USA

Jane Fonda became a Christian

Jane Fonda, the actress, political activist and wife of Media mogul Ted Turner has decided to become a Christian, according to a report from WorldNetDaily's Joseph Farah. She became interested in Christianity through conversations with her chauffeur, and now regularly attends Bible studies and church. At a recent environmental conference, she refused to take part in a meditation, saying "it would be better to pray to Jesus Christ". Fonda and Turner have now decided to live apart.
Source: WorldNetDaily and others,

Global

"and you will hear of wars..." (Matthew 24)

Crises and wars are often the only way that a nation which has turned away from God can be brought to seek him again. "At the start of the year 2000, around one third of the world's 235 nations is in a state of war," reports war researcher William D Shingelton from the National Defence Council Foundation, a 'think tank' in Alexandria, USA, led by retired Mayor Andy Messing. That figure is around twice as high as at the height of the Cold War (35); the number has grown from 60 in 1998 to 65 in 1999, with an increase to 66 expected in 2000. The group sees the following as reasons for the increase in the number of conflicts: Dark Side capitalism, in which an oligarchy controls most significant elements of the economy (as in Russia); a general decrease in democracy (military coups took place in Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Pakistan and others) and the general inability of the USA to establish conditions for global political stability. The NCDF currently rates the following nations as the least stable: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Chechnya, Angola, Eritrea, Serbia, East Timor, Congo and Sierra Leone.
Source: NCDF, fax (+1) 703 836 3443

Middle East

Fatally ill Arab boy healed through prayer

Abdul (name changed) is the 12-year-old son of an affluent and faithfully Muslim Arab family. Abdul became seriously ill; no doctor could help, and even foreign doctors in a special clinic were unable to diagnose the illness exactly. Abdul's condition became progressively worse. Eventually, the doctors declared that there was nothing which could be done, and told his parents to take him home so that he could die in familiar surroundings. The maid, a follower of Isa (Jesus) from a South-East Asian country, heard the family expressing their frustration at the lack of hope for their son; she told them "If you bring Abdul to the place where we meet for prayer, we will pray for him in Jesus' name, and he will be healed." That was a very courageous step, because the prayer meetings are forbidden by the Islamic law in the nation, and everyone who attends has serious problems if they are caught. Despite the risk, the father decided to take his son to be prayed for by Christians. God touched the boy, who was miraculously healed.
Source: www.geocities.com/beruma1,

Global

Year 2000: no problem

Most of the feared computer problems related to the year 2000 rollover did not occur, frequently because of the significant precautionary efforts made by many companies and governments. Here are some of the problems which could not be prevented: - In London, a child cut the cables to the family computer so that the 'Millennium Bug' could not crawl in; - In New York, one customer faced a bill of $176,160 for returning a rented video 100 years late; - A German businessman discovered that $11.9 million had been credited to his account due to a computer error; - Newborn babies in a Copenhagen hospital were registered as 100 years old; - In Naples, a court was forced to close because a computer added a century to some sentences, and subtracted it from others; - In Auckland, New Zealand, the international airport announced that it had made the transition into the new year without problems. The press release was dated 1 January 100.
Source: Bob Hall, bobhall@cmd.org.nz

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