South Asia: Rescued from bonded-labour slaver
The International Justice Mission writes, ‘Praise God for 115 people rescued from bonded-labour slavery just this week! These children, women and men were rescued by IJM, our partners and local authorities from six brick kilns, a rice mill and several roadside cafes. All had been forced to work in gruelling conditions for the last 2 to 10 years. Instead of going to school, many of the children had grown up making bricks alongside their parents. We are so grateful for local officials who quickly took up cases from IJM and our partners, and how they treated the victims with dignity and respect. Please pray for follow-up in all these cases and for these families to resettle safely as they begin new lives in freedom.’
168 hours of prayer on Table Mountain
At the time of writing, intercessors have been praying since 6pm on Saturday 22 February and will finish at 6pm on Saturday 29 February. They are praying the Word of God without ceasing in pre-registered one-hour slots from Genesis to Revelation. There are also seven evenings of prayer, worship and encounter meetings during this period. The prayer focuses on unity (Psalm 33), healing of the nation and the land (2 Chronicles 7:14) and revival in South Africa and the nations (Habakkuk 2:14). On Saturday 29 February prayer and prophecy will focus on repenting on behalf of the nation for bloodshed, sexual immorality, idolatry, breaking covenant with God, witchcraft, etc.
People broken before the Lord
Revival is happening in Tennessee. People from various denominations, by praying and fasting together, are seeking to ignite the fire of God to transform lives in a thousand churches across the state. ‘Awaken Tennessee’, a prayer and fasting initiative from 26 January to 23 February, is described by Pastor John Butler as ‘a concentrated prayer effort across the state for true revival in our churches that triggers an awakening in local communities, the state and the nation’. The initiative started last year when 400 churches in Nashville came together to pray for every single resident of their city. This was a huge success, so this year organisers invited churches across the state to participate. Award-winning singers / songwriters Terry and Barbi Franklin, using their prayer network, contacted churches to take part in the initiative. Pastors are reporting that their services are exploding with revival services as a result of the Holy Spirit showing up and taking over.
Christian safe houses on North Korea border
A woman who fled to China illegally was recently baptised, even though such an action could have resulted in her being repatriated and killed. Over two years ago, Bon-Hwa crossed the border into China, where it is illegal to help North Korean escapees. Despite the risk, Open Doors partners have set up ‘safe houses’ along the border for North Korean Christians, as well as for women who could be forced into a marriage. It was at one of these safe houses that Bon-Hwa became a Christian. It was too risky to be baptised in her new home town, so she and two other Christians, including the pastor, walked many hours to a remote location for the service. The pastor said he almost cried: ‘It was a beautiful moment and such a privilege to baptise a North Korean believer in these circumstances.’
