Prayer Hub

Myanmar: Systematic Torture and Churches targeted

The U.S. State Department released a statement condemning the "gross violations of human rights" after Burmese security forces fired heavy artillery into a town in the predominantly Christian Chin state, setting at least 100 homes and two churches on fire.

The attack was in retaliation after a Chin militia shot and killed a Burmese soldier who was breaking into houses and looting properties, according to a report.

The Southeast Asian country’s military, locally known as Tatmadaw, started attacking Friday morning after the militia, Chinland Defense Force, killed a Tatmadaw soldier while he was looting properties.

The presence of the Buddhist nationalist military makes civilians and militias in conflict-ridden states nervous. The military has been accused of vandalizing places of worship and civilians’ homes, raping girls and women, abducting civilians to be used for forced labor and shooting civilians to death.

ICC quoted the India-based Chin Human Rights Organization as saying that several religious buildings, including Church on the Rock, Presbyterian Church, and a building attached to the Thantlang Baptist Church, the largest congregation in town, have also caught fire.

“The first rockets to be fired into the town landed at the entrances to the Thantlang Baptist Church,” ICC said.

Other Christian communities in Chin state had also been targeted since the military coup in February. “Now that the military has started a real operation in Chin state, we can expect a lot of such abuses and acts, and we urge the international community to keep a close eye on this.”

Last month, a beloved youth pastor, Cung Biak Hum of Thantlang Centennial Baptist Church, was shot dead as he tried to help one of his congregants save their burning home after it was set ablaze by the military during an attack on civilians in Chin state.

Information on his Facebook page showed that he was married with two sons and was pursuing a master's of divinity degree at MIT Yangon.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, highlighted the pastor’s murder in a tweet at the time, calling on the international community to “pay closer attention” to the “living hell” civilians have been experiencing there since a Feb. 1 coup brought back full military rule following years of quasi-democracy.

More: Christian Post

Some Good News from Myanmar…

Amidst the often shocking bad news, it is encouraging to hear of many young people coming to Christ across Myanmar at this time. We are receiving reports that there has been an amazing response to the Gospel through social media programming with many tens of thousands of Burmese youth responding in recent days and wanting to know more about how to know and follow Jesus.

75,000 in four days last week were asking for help, so that it has become overwhelming to the small local ministry team to cope.

Please give thanks and pray for effective means to follow up with these masses of inquirers and to answer their questions wisely and effectively, possibly through online classes that give some basic teaching and can provide resources for them to download and use.

Pray for Burmese-speaking ministry leaders (both local and abroad) to jump into this amazing potential harvest as the nation is being shaken through civil war conditions since the February military coup.

Pray: For the safety of the Christian community in Myanmar (Psalm 91:1-16), that they may know the

peace of God in their lives as they face dangers each and every day; that they will know the presence

and protection of the Holy Spirit surrounding them.

Pray: For the families of those who have lost loved ones during these times of crisis. May they be comforted and provided for, especially the widows and children who have nowhere to turn.

Pray: For those afflicted by COVID in Myanmar. We pray for communities ravaged by this virus, that they may find help, support and care amidst the terror and suffering.

USA: Pro-life laws advanced

The Ohio Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation on Wednesday to stop infanticide by ensuring that babies who survive abortions receive basic medical care. The State Senate Bill 157 passed in a 25-6 vote and now heads to the state House for consideration.

The pro-life bill would create penalties for abortionists who fail to preserve the health or life of a child who survives an abortion. It also would require abortionists to report to the Ohio Department of Health when a baby is born alive in a botched abortion.

“The bill acknowledges the simple fact that regardless of the circumstances surrounding his or her birth, every child deserves our compassion and care,” said Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, a physician and the lead sponsor of the legislation.

Babies do survive abortions, though no one is sure exactly how many. In America, most states do not keep track of abortion survivors, but a few do.

Between 2016 and 2018, three states reported 40 babies were born alive after botched abortions. According to the state health data, 11 babies were born alive in Minnesota, 10 in Arizona and 19 in Florida. Texas reported six babies were born alive in botched abortions in 2019. In Michigan, state health reports from 2008 through 2013 indicate that 11 babies were born alive after abortions.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as the personal testimonies of nurses and abortion survivors themselves, also provide evidence that babies survive abortions. According to the CDC, at least 143 babies were born alive after botched abortions between 2003 and 2014 in the U.S., though there likely are more.

A recent analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that protections for babies who survive abortions are inconsistent across the United States, with fewer than half of states maintaining sufficient protections. (Excerpt from Life News)

The Wisconsin legislature is expected to pass four pro-life bills Wednesday to educate and empower parents while protecting their unborn babies from being killed in abortions.

The Republican-led state Assembly is expected to approve the bills after the state Senate passed them by a strong majority last week. The legislation soon will head to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk. A pro-abortion Democrat, Evers is expected to veto the legislation.

All four bills would provide life-saving information and support to protect unborn babies from abortion. Prior to the vote, Republican lawmakers said the measures should not be controversial and they should have bipartisan support.

More: IFA

Pray: Creator God, we praise You that all human life is made in Your image, precious in Your sight. Please would you help us to speak up for the voiceless. Amen. (Psalm 139:14)

Pray: For the wisdom of legislators, that they will be touched by compassion and know God’s love for all life, that they will be brave to speak out and assert the rights of those who cannot be heard.

Pray: For mothers – to recognize and love their unborn children from the moment of conception; to have courage to face any challenges associated with their pregnancies; to turn to God for help; to overcome the temptation of abortion; that they will receive the support they need.

Pray: For fathers – that they will commit themselves to raising their children and caring for the mothers.

Lebanon: Christian Community Dwindling

As Christians in Lebanon face increasingly dire situations, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan warned that the minority community could soon be non-existent in the country. Following the August 2020 Beirut port blast, demonstrations regarding legal proceedings, corruption, weak public infrastructure and the ongoing pandemic have launched Lebanon into an economic crisis.

More than 50% of the population is living below the poverty line. The Syriac Patriarch shared his concerns, “We are very, very scared that if this crisis continues it will be the end of Christians in Lebanon and the whole of the Middle East in a few years. Normally when Christians leave, as happened in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, they don’t return. They ask, ‘Why should we return when we can’t guarantee our children a decent life or religious freedom?’”

In mid-October, demonstrations demanding the removal of a judge from the ongoing Beirut blast investigation left seven people dead. Shiite movements Amal and Hezbollah organized the protests and later accused the Christian group Lebanese Forces of firing at protestors.

The LF leader, Samir Geagea, denied responsibility for the deaths, saying that residents of Beirut’s Christian neighborhood of Ain Al-Remmaneh had “defended” themselves against “Hezbollah militiamen who tried to enter their homes.” Geagea has been summoned for questioning by Lebanese courts over the incident.

More: Persecution.org

Pray: For Christians to commit to staying in the land of Lebanon in order to spread the gospel to their neighbours. (Mark 16:15-16)

Pray: For the preservation of religious freedom so that the people of Lebanon will be confident to: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted'” - (Isaiah 12:4).

Haiti: Prime Minister condemns gangs and kidnappings

In a pre-recorded address, Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has condemned the recent uptick in gang violence and kidnappings in the country, reassuring Haitians that the nation is not running out of fuel, despite severe shortages.

Henry’s speech was the first time the prime minister acknowledged these issues in public since the kidnapping of 17 members of a United States-based missionary group on October 16. The 16 Americans, one Canadian and their Haitian driver were abducted amid a spike in gang-related kidnappings that police are struggling to control.

“If they do not stop their wrongdoing, the law will apply to them,” Henry said in his message. “The only option for bandits and all their sponsors is imprisonment or death if they do not want to change professions.”

The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that kidnapped the missionaries, including five children, has said he would kill them if his demands are not met. Haitian officials have said the gang is seeking $1m per person, but that it was not clear if that included the children, the youngest of whom is eight months old.

Christian Aid Ministries, which had organised a trip to Haiti for the group of missionaries, in a statement published on Thursday said they hoped the hostages would be released soon, despite the worsening political situation in the country.

“Haiti is in a state of anarchy with no active government,” according to the statement. “Gangs are in charge of many areas and [are] controlling the fuel and goods at the seaports.”

Henry’s speech also came days after a widespread strike led schools, businesses and public transport to shut down in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond to protest against the lack of fuel and the country’s worsening economic and security situation. Gangs have been blamed for blocking gas distribution terminals, with at least one gang leader saying he would lift the blockade if Henry stepped down.

More: aljazeera

Pray: Father God, We lift up our missionaries overseas. Lord, you have called them away from their homeland to follow You for Your purpose in their lives and to the lives of those they come into contact with - just as Hebrews 11:8 reminds us of Abraham going by obedience, not knowing what he would find in the journey ahead. Overseas missionaries, much like Abraham, have awoken to the call in their own hearts to venture beyond what they have known to follow in obedience to share with others about You, Lord.

Father, we pray protection over them. We pray for safety and favor as they take every step-in obedience into these lands. We pray that the hearts they come into contact with would be open and willing to hear and receive the beautiful and life-altering truth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray for open doors and victory in Your Name so that more of Your children would come to the table of the Lord. May doors that have been long since closed to visitors swing wide open by Divine influence in order that Your call to all of Your followers may be carried out by Your Holy plan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.