Lausanne World Pulse – World Pulse Archives – World Pulse Archives
CHINA: Small numbers of shoppers are being attracted to a growing number of Christian bookstores in Shanghai and other major cities. Some Chinese publishers are adding Christian titles to their lists. Large state churches operate small bookrooms.
CUBA: To solve shortages of foreign exchange and energy, many of the country’s old sugar mills will be shut down. The worldwide slump in tourism has seriously cut Cuba’s reserves. Prices will go up at dollar stores. Sugar production has dropped markedly since the peak year of 1989.
ETHIOPIA: Two new missionary families are pioneering a nationwide friendship and discipleship movement based on sports activities. They will work with churches to set up leagues and soccer clinics. They will start youth centers in the north with a major focus on athletics. In addition, the centers will offer counseling about HIV/AIDS, marriage and family life, and education in English, computer skills and business ventures.
GHANA: The World Bank is sponsoring a hand-washing program in an effort to save children from diarrhea, which kills more of them than either malaria, tuberculosis or AIDS. Along with cleaner water, health education and rehydration therapy, persuading people to wash their hands with soap seems to offer the best protection. A London study found that it cuts diarrhea by forty-three percent. The government of Kerala, India, is investing in a similar three-year program.
HAITI: A new broadcast center has transformed operations at radio station 4VEH. It offers more space, better equipment and increased efficiency. The center has drawn visitors from throughout Haiti and the West Indies. 4VEH broadcasts on two stations in French, Creole and English thirty-five hours daily to an estimated 400,000 listeners.
INDIA: Christians in Jharkland state united with Muslims in Dhumka to defeat an extremist Hindu candidate. Often targeted for persecution, Christians have not tried to find remedies in the country’s political process. The result of this local election may stir Christians elsewhere to take political action.
INDONESIA: Campus Crusade Indonesia has launched “1,000 Days of Transformation,” to end in December, 2004. Leaders say, “Transformation is the major thing we want to see in every believer.” As churches experience spiritual awakening, more people will hear the gospel and ignite a movement across all levels of society.
IRAN: Christian visitors to Iran found that in the city of Mashad they were welcomed into church members’ homes for worship there, but not at Sunday worship services, lest they draw attention to the church. However, they worshiped at four churches in Tehran. The churches appeared to be thriving and included numerous young people. The largest is a church affiliated with the Assemblies of God.
ISRAEL: Fighting has left many Palestinians in dire need of medical care. Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem serves about 4,100 patients. Nearby village clinics serve about 450 children and ten thousand women.
MEXICO: The sharp rise in crime has affected the economy and politics. The surge is blamed on the recession. Crime costs Mexico more than $5 billion a year and hurts tourism and foreign investment. Kidnapping is especially prevalent. Extortion and bribery hamper efforts to cut crime.
NIGERIA: The use of Arabic will be required of everyone-including Christians-in the northern state of Zamfara, in order to build the Islamic faith. The Islamic legal code was introduced in 1999.
PAKISTAN: In a striking victory for Christians, the blasphemy conviction of Ayub Masih was overturned by the Supreme Court. He had been accused of blaspheming Muhammad by a cobbler in his home village in 1996. Lower courts had upheld his conviction, which carried a death sentence. Assassins had tried to kill Masih during his imprisonment. In 1997 a judge was murdered after acquitting two Christians accused of blasphemy.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: Al-Najda Children’s Club in Gaza serves more than one hundred children, ages eight to fourteen, in morning and afternoon shifts. Gaza schools operate two shifts because of limited classroom space. Children ages fourteen and under make up nearly half of Gaza’s population.
RUSSIA: Fathers are deserting their families at an alarming rate causing a surge in the ranks of single mothers among the poor. The number of children born to unwed mothers is also increasing. The divorce rate is climbing. Single-mother households are among Russia’s poorest.
RWANDA: Reported baptisms in Rwanda’s nineteen prisons show that a revival may be underway among the 115,000 male and female inmates-many of them facing genocide charges from the 1994 massacre of 800,000 people. Figures show that 6,581 prisoners were baptized from 1998 to 2001. Many of those baptized have confessed their part in the genocide and asked forgiveness of surviving relatives.
SOUTH AFRICA: Africa Enterprise (AE) celebrated its 40th anniversary with a Jabulani (“rejoice”) mission. Ten AE teams gathered with local churches to do evangelism in Port Elizabeth and Pietermaritz-burg, especially among young people.
TIBET: Tibetans will become a minority in Lhasa in the next few years because Chinese are pouring into the city as part of an economic development drive. The influx of money and skilled workers is expected to bring prosperity and stability. Critics say Tibetan culture is at risk. Of Tibet’s 2.6 million, ninety-five percent are ethnic Tibetan, but in Lhasa (pop. 200,000) about fifty percent are Chinese.
October 4, 2002