DAWN Fridayfax 2000 #45

Indonesia

Supernatural protection in Lili

Some time ago, the people of the Tugutil village of Lili in Indonesia were in danger of having their village overrun by Muslim "jihad" forces. Recently, some of them have been able to come out of the jungle, and share their testimony of God's supernatural protection: "God in His mercy has seen fit to preserve this little band of believers. One time, four large boatloads of Muslim attackers arrived at Lili and started to invade the village. They suddenly couldn't see the road, the two houses on the beach, or even the small road that led to the village a few hundred yards away. They all got scared and piled back into their boats and left." "Another time, a large group came up the beach from the Moslem village to the south. When they reached the mouth of a small stream only a hundred yards or so from the road into the village, they 'saw God' according to a few reports! The next morning, Lili's inhabitants saw the footprints of a couple hundred men that came up to that point and then turned around and went back." "Still another time, some self-styled jihad (not the trained ones from Java) persuaded some local Moslem villagers to accompany them on an attack against Lili. As their boats came into the bay they saw two large red boats toward the south end of the bay. The closer this small army advanced, the clearer the two red boats became, so they changed course and retreated as fast as they could. But, lo and behold, as they went back to sea and skirted around these two large red boats, they suddenly disappeared!" "Some of the local Moslem men began declaring to any and all would-be attackers from outside the area that if they were to attack Lili they would be fighting against God! A few of these 'Lili Defenders' have left the area for fear that some of their 'stupid' brethren might attack Lili, calling God's wrath down on them all!'"
Source: Steve & Eida Irwin, New Tribes Mission, e-mail: steveida_irwin@ntm.org

Cuba

'Ants' lead hundreds of thousands to Jesus

"Between 200,000 and 300,000 Cubans have found Jesus in recent years," reports Aktionskomittee fuer Verfolgte Christen's Horst Krueger. "The awakening among the island's 10.5 million inhabitants began suddenly in the east-coast harbour town Baracoa," he reports, "where one church grew from around 65 members to several thousand in a few years." The church leader was pastor Alipio, head of the Christian churches in Holguin province. One pastor likened the population's sudden opening to the gospel to "suddenly opening the hatch of a grain silo; the ripe corn just falls in." The Ministry of Justice officially recognises around 500 churches, including official house churches. In addition, there are some 3,700 house cells and similar groups, with an official membership of around 120,000, and another 70,000 on the waiting list. Sunday schools have an attendance of 40,000, holiday Bible schools up to 70,000. "How is it possible for churches to grow so much?" asks Krueger, and gives his own answer: "Ants. South American ants can defoliate a tree or eat 30 square meters of Soya beans in a single night. The keys are effort and organisation. For me, Cuba's many unknown evangelistically active Christians are like ants who often travel great distances under difficult conditions in order to build the Church of Christ in remote areas."
Source: Horst Krueger, AVC (Action Committee for Persecuted Christians), fax (+41)-32-3554242

Ecuador

Low point reached

"There has been little international news from Ecuador," report Dr. Eckehard and Dr. Klaudia Wolf, doctors with the 'Deutsche Missionsgemeinschaft' (German Missions Agency). "The major strikes and social unrest are probably behind us, and the people have become tired. Corrupt politicians have stolen millions, the climatic phenomenon 'El Nino' has destroyed the coastal infrastructure. The currency was devalued 370% last year, and inflation runs at 100%. The national income is not even enough to pay the interest on the international debt. But never before have so many people made a decision of faith in the mission's hospitals as in the last year. Many new churches have formed in Quito, the Andean capital, and others have gone through a process of spiritual cleansing. A national prayer movement has formed: Christians are praying for renewal, starting in their own ranks."
Source: Drs. E. and K. Wolf, DMG, fax (+49)-7265-959109

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