DAWN Fridayfax 2000 #41

Worldwide

300,000 churches pray for the persecuted church

Over 300,000 churches in at least 130 countries will take part in the 5th International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) on 12th November 2000. This year's main service will take place in Melbourne, Australia. Current persecution of Christians is increasingly a topic of international attention, according to the World Evangelical Fellowship's Human Rights Commission. At present, some 200 million Christians are persecuted because of their faith. Despite persecution, Christianity often grows fastest where human rights are least respected. More information is available in the Internet at www.idop.org
Source: IDOP

Germany

Youth celebration 'Pure God'

"A new hunger for the reality of God has grown amongst youths," reports Andreas Eichler from the youth church 'teen-eXplosion' in Reichenbach/Vogtland, Germany. Staff from a number of the region's churches and movements want to cooperate more closely to help the young generation reach and grow in their calling. Some 500 13- to 20-year-olds attended the first meeting, "PowerPraiseNight" held on 23rd and 24th September 2000 in a converted factory building, with the motto 'Pure God'. Teenagers and youths were on stage, leaders and staff in the background, supporting. "It began with a powerful worship and praise time with a youth band from Lichtenstein. Sketches and dances reinforced the message, and Mareike preached. People confessed their sins, which they could symbolically throw into a barrel beneath the wooden cross on the wall...". Further youth celebrations are planned, "which could also move from city to city".
Source: teen-eXplosion Reichenbach, tel. (+49) 3765 711 817, e-mail teen-eXplosion@t-online.de

Worldwide

Escalation of transformation

"In the last ten months, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of cities experiencing or on the way to transformation," writes George Otis, Jr., Director of the Sentinel Group and publisher of the world-famous video 'Transformation'. The video shows what can happen when God's intervenes in a city or region. "While working on the first Transformation video, we knew of around eight towns or regions which had been transformed through the Gospel of the Kingdom. This number has now more than quadrupled in a very short period. The 'Transformation' video is now available in 150 nations, and we know of almost 1,000 places in which Christians join in united prayer to experience what the video depicts," says Otis.
Source: George Otis, Jr., The Sentinel Group, USA

Congo

Soldiers demand Bibles instead of money

Last month, missionary Werner Eschler returned to Congo (Zaire) and Zambia after 8 years' absence, sent by the missions board of the Swiss Evangelical Methodist church. Many people in Zaire still knew him, and visited him wherever he stayed. Compared with his previous period as a missionary in the war-scarred nation, he found many more roadblocks, but the soldiers often don't want money any more; they want Bibles or tracts. As soon as they received something to read, Eschler and his team were allowed to proceed.
Source: Pastor Stefan Moll, Schulhausstr. 31, CH-4563 Gerlafingen; e-mail: emk.gerlafingen@umc-europe.org

India

Follow-up to 'two-headed baby'

"It is true," writes well-known Indian surgeon and missions leader Dr. Victor Choudhrie. "I sent Pastor Earnest Singh to the remote village, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from here, to investigate the healing of a baby with two heads (the Friday Fax reported). Singh's report reached us on 14th September 2000. The region is swarming with Naxalites (militant Hindus) who control all movements and confiscate cameras, but we managed to get a photo of the healed child. She was born with two heads and four eyes, only one of which was normal; the others looked like balls of flesh. The people's first reaction when the baby was born was that it was the Devil incarnate, and they planned to put the baby in a clay jar and throw it into the jungle. They later began to pray with four Christians, Adru, Shadru, Dashru and Labhu. As they prayed, the baby was transformed, its two heads becoming one, with two normal eyes. The little girl, now called Esther, is healthy in every respect."
Source: Dr.Victor Choudhrie; e-mail victor@bom6.vsnl.net.in; Tel/Fax (+91) 7145 63229 or 63383

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