Fiji: Urgent prayer need
In a personal prayer request Rev Suliasi Kurulo, Christian Mission Fellowship International (CMFI), urged Christians to pray for the Fiji Islands. He noted that four consecutive days of torrential rain in the Fiji Islands caused most towns, cities and villages to be flooded. Most villages and homes are 15 feet under water, as roads turn into seas of debris. Rev Suliasi Kurulo also wrote that people are warned to prepare for the worst if a cyclone was to hit the nation in the aftermath of the current rainfall and flooding. Local newspapers reported that the flood is worse than the one in 2009, because of the duration and disruption of services, homes, business and roads. According to National News, a leading relief organization said that they don’t have the capacity at this stage in distributing food, which is the immediate need at the moment.
Pray: with Rev Suliasi Kurulo and CMFI for God’s grace and strength that He would give them a heart of compassion in this time of national need. (Ps.37:19)
Mexico: Missionary couple slain
A married couple who had served for 28 years as Baptist missionaries in Mexico were murdered on Tuesday Jan 31, John and Wanda Casias were strangled with electrical cords when intruders broke into their house and stole a safe, televisions and ministry vehicles, along with other items. The area has suffered heavily from attacks by drug cartels in recent weeks, including the murder of the mayor of El Cercado, leading to the tentative conclusion that the crime was committed by people serving narcotics traffickers. Drug traffickers in Mexico oppose the message of Christ because it turns people away from their business, and thus Christians have been among the targets of the criminals. The killers left Wanda Casias dead inside
the house and the body of her husband was reportedly found in a storage room of a small building elsewhere on the property.
Pray: that the Church would be strengthened to become a powerful witness to counteract the drug cartels. (Zec.10:12)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/mexico/article_1386234.html
Nigeria: Christians ask for protection
As Nigerian terrorist attacks continue, citizens are blaming the government for failing to protect them and asking why President Goodluck Jonathan is not doing more to save the Christians under attack by Islamist extremists. These latest calls mark a stark reverse of public opinion for President Goodluck Jonathan, hailed as Nigeria's Barack Obama when he took office in May 2010, promising to bring change and prosperity. Jonathan, a Christian and whose middle name Ebelechukwu means ‘God's Mercy’ admitted that members of his government might have sympathies toward Boko Haram, the Islamist terror group attacking churches and government offices. Citizens are so angry with these revelations that they have taken to the streets carrying mock coffins and placards calling him ‘President Badluck.’ Journalists are saying the President ‘has come across as clueless when it comes to dealing with Boko Haram.’ President of the Christian Association of Nigeria decried the government's failure to protect Christians from attacks and accused some security agents of taking sides. (See Prayer Alert 04-2012)
Pray: that ‘God's Mercy’ will be poured out over Nigeria and for the present situation to be turned around. (Ps.10:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/violence.puts.pressure.on.nigerias.president/29207.htm
Saudi Arabia: Ethiopian Christians to be deported
Approximately 35 Christians in Saudi Arabia face deportation on the charge of ‘illicit mingling’ according to a report by the global rights body Human Rights Watch (HRW). Police arrested the group of 29 women and 6 men after raiding a prayer meeting in the city of Jeddah. The group was arrested in a private home where they had gathered to pray during the run-up to Christmas, which is celebrated by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians on January 7. The men were beaten and called ‘unbelievers’ and the women were strip-searched, apparently on the spot. HRW spoke to a man and two women by telephone from the prisons where they are being held. They say they have been charged with mixing with unmarried persons of the opposite sex – even though HRW says Saudi Arabia has no law defining ‘illicit mingling.’
Pray: for these believers in Saudi Arabia as they meet together that the authorities would be held back and recognise the rights of believers to gather in worship. (Ps.11:7)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/11229-ethiopian-christians-to-be-deported-from-saudi-arabia
