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[Shammu]

Operation Renewed Hope Introduction

by Staff
December 19, 2007

MEDIA ADVISORY, (christiansunite.com) -- Operation Renewed Hope is a medical mission agency dedicated to the following mission statement: (1) The salvation of all men through faith in Christ. (2) The relief of suffering of all men regardless of their beliefs or nationality. (3) The sending of part-time and full-time medical missionaries. The agency began in 1992 and is supported by individual and church funds.

ORH conducts evangelistic medical clinics around the world working through Biblically-based missionaries. >From these clinics, ORH leaves established local churches for the continued care of the people.

ORH acquires, warehouses, and ships thousands of pounds of medical equipment to hospitals in need. Over the years, ORH has shipped to over twenty nations.

ORH recruits and trains teens and adults to participate in the evangelistic medical clinics. The training is rigorous and instructive. The boot camp students receive instructions in jungle survival, medical care, and medical assistance.

ORH offers help to the sick outside of the United States through medical resources found in the United States. Recently, a 1 year old received corrective surgery for a desperate heart condition.

ORH also supports Homes of Hope. These homes are conducted by nationals and missionaries and must meet the regulations set forth by ORH. The homes generally are under-supported and in difficult regions of the world. ORH salutes these selfless people who seek in the purest fashion to help children in greatest need.

Operation Renewed Hope plans to begin a program of instruction for medical missionary training. This program will take the student through an Associate in Nursing and add two years of training in the needs of remote medical work.

ORH conducts relief work in disaster areas. After hurricane Katrina, ORH brought food, water, and restoration teams to thousands. Hurricane Mitch and the Tsunami of 2004 were met with major efforts by those of the ORH team.

Current nations of interest for ORH are Cambodia, Uganda, Guyana, Honduras, Sudan, Mexico, Indonesia, and India. These nations are targeted for conducting remote medical clinics. Other nations in which ORH has worked are Russia, Panama, Mali, Romania, Bosnia, and many others.

The goal is simple. ORH seeks to help every person that can possibly be helped requiring no religious test for help. The help is distributed equally regardless of race, nationality, or creed. That is what Jesus would do.

Operation Renewed Hope Introduction

[Shammu]

Near Jesus' Birthplace - a Birthplace of Hope-Bethlehem Hospital is Safe Haven for Expectant Mothers

by Staff
December 19, 2007

BETHLEHEM, (christiansunite.com) -- A mere 500 yards away from the traditional site where the laboring Mary found shelter in a stable and a safe manger to deliver the Baby Jesus, the poor women of Bethlehem find hope and a safe place to give birth. Holy Family Hospital is an obstetrical/gynecological facility - the only one in the region that can handle the complicated medical conditions of women living in extreme poverty. Here modern state-of-the-art birthing facilities and neonatal intensive care units for preemies serve the needs of all Bethlehem women regardless of creed, ethnicity or ability to pay.

The need is great. Living in poverty and under pervasive political stress creates a high-risk-situation for pregnant women. Twenty-five percent of the women served by the hospital live in refugee camps. The hospital is the designated care provider for four refugee camps operated by the UN and every month over 200 women overcome curfews, road closures and roadblocks to deliver here. Thirteen percent of the infants born need intensive neonatal care and Holy Family Hospital is the only facility in the region to serve this need. Despite all these hazards and hardships, since 1990 the hospital has delivered over 40,000 babies.

Colleen Marotta, Executive Director of the U.S. based Foundation which supports the work of the hospital, sees the facility as a birthplace of hope for the expectant mothers and fathers, "The women who give birth may have different traditions but they are united in that primal need of all laboring women for safety and care as they bring their children into the world. Like Mary and Joseph, these families are on a journey to find a place of refuge, a place of hope and promise, a place where their babies can be delivered safely. In the entire Bethlehem region, only one place is their destination - Holy Family Hospital".

In 1989, at the request of Pope John Paul II, the Order of Malta, an international charitable organization, took over the hospital facilities -- a former general hospital, -- and determined to provide medical services to women and infants. In the year 2000, the late Holy Father named Holy Family Hospital one of his top 100 priorities for the new millennium.

According to the familiar Christmas story, the Virgin Mary traveled with Joseph to the city of Bethlehem, arriving just as her labor began. Desperate for lodging that could both shelter them and provide a safe place to give birth; they found "no room at the inn" and were forced to make do with a stable. This may all make for charming nativity scenes with oxen and donkeys and hay-filled mangers, but there is not an expectant mother in the world who would not want better accommodations for her own newborn.

Says Marotta, "Outside Holy Family Hospital's doors, the primitive conditions in which Our Lord was born still exist and women often find themselves delivering their babies in the most unsanitary and unsafe of conditions. Holy Family Hospital is a haven for the Mary and Josephs of the modern day"

Near Jesus' Birthplace - a Birthplace of Hope-Bethlehem Hospital is Safe Haven for Expectant Mothers

[Shammu]

Dad, 3 kids alive after 3 days in snow

By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago

PARADISE, Calif. - A father and three children who vanished on a Christmas tree-cutting trip in the Northern California mountains were found alive Wednesday after huddling in a culvert for warmth during three days of heavy snow.

"I'm just amazed how well they did," Lisa Sams said after seeing her children and ex-husband for the first time since they were rescued. "It was like butterflies in my stomach, like if you were going to go on a very first date."

A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew spotted Frederick Dominguez atop a small bridge and landed nearby, sinking into 2 feet of snow, flight officer David White said. The family had taken shelter in a culvert beneath the bridge and stomped "help" in the snow, White said.

White said it was the last opportunity for the helicopter, with snow falling heavily as it descended.

"With another storm coming in, they were just happy to get out of there and get home," he said.

The helicopter ferried the family to safety in two trips; Alexis, 14, and Joshua, 12, were taken out of the woods first. Dominguez, 38, smiled at cheering family and friends as he and 18-year-old Christopher emerged from the helicopter a short time later.

"Our hearts are all full right now," said Cory Stahl, who closed his pest control business so his employees could help look for Dominguez, a co-worker. "It's a very merry Christmas now."

All four were talking and drinking hot chocolate while being checked at Feather River Hospital for dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite, treating physician Kurt Bower said. He expected them to be released later in the day.

Bower said the family had some water but nothing to eat during their ordeal.

"I'm surprised how good they are," he said. "There's a miracle from God in there somewhere."

More than a foot of snow had fallen in the area since the family disappeared, covering any tracks leading from the truck. Drifts ranged from 1 to 7 feet deep across the heavily wooded and canyon-crossed area.

The rescue teams had been racing time and the elements to find the four, as a powerful storm carrying even more snow was headed into the region. The search effort expanded with a break in the weather Wednesday morning, and the helicopter was able to join the search around midday after low-lying clouds lifted.

Dominguez and his children had been missing since Sunday in the region about 100 miles north of Sacramento. Dominguez's pickup truck was found Monday night parked along a mountain road some 25 miles northeast of Chico.

The family also appeared better equipped than rescuers initially thought. Earlier reports said the family went into the woods wearing T-shirts and light jackets, but all four were wearing heavy winter coats when they emerged from the helicopters, and some had wool caps.

Dominguez's co-workers said he is devoted to his children and takes them to church every Sunday, as he did this weekend before heading out in search of a Christmas tree.

"He lives for his family," said Mairleen Grove, the pest company's office manager. "When he walks in the door, he makes everybody smile."

Dominguez parked his Chevrolet pickup along a road near the mountain hamlet of Inskip on Sunday afternoon, then likely walked downhill into the woods with his children and became lost, Butte County Search and Rescue spokeswoman Madde Watt said.

"You could get turned around very quickly," she said.

It was clear at the time and for hours after the family entered the woods. The first storm wave didn't hit until Monday.

Because Dominguez had custody of his children at the time, his ex-wife did not know they were missing until she discovered that her youngest child failed to show up at school Monday. Authorities were alerted at 8 p.m. Monday and immediately began a search.

They quickly found the pickup — a bare spot beneath it, indicating little snow when the trek began — but at least 8 inches of snow was covering the ground, hurting efforts to track them.

The search effort expanded significantly Wednesday morning, as snow had stopped falling for the first time since the family went missing.

About 2 feet of snow was expected to fall Wednesday night and Thursday morning in the area where the family had been missing, said Jared Leighton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Sacramento.

Dad, 3 kids alive after 3 days in snow

[Shammu]

`Survivor' lunch lady won't take $50,000

Wed Dec 19, 1:04 PM ET

NEW YORK - Denise Martin, who gained fame as the lunch lady on CBS' reality show "Survivor: China," is donating the $50,000 she received from producer Mark Burnett to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDs Foundation.

Martin told viewers on Sunday night's live finale that she'd been demoted to janitor at a school in Douglas, Mass., after finishing fourth on the show. After hearing her story, Burnett surprised Martin with the money to help get her life back.

On Tuesday, Martin acknowledged on CBS' "The Early Show" that she'd been promoted to custodian, at her own request, before the competition began.

"It was not my intention to be misleading," Martin, 40, said on the broadcast. "I'm sorry, and I apologize to everybody."

In a statement issued Tuesday by the network, Martin said she took "full responsibility" for her actions.

"I do not feel comfortable about accepting the $50,000. I would instead ask that it be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation," the statement said. "Please accept my apology. I would also like to thank all the people who have supported me through this experience."

'Survivor' lunch lady won't take $50,000

[Shammu]

Surviving Girl Evacuated in Panama Crash
Dec 26 09:02 PM US/Eastern
By ARNULFO FRANCO
Associated Press Writer

DAVID, Panama (AP) - The sole survivor of a plane crash was reunited with her family Wednesday after rescue workers trekked for five hours to carry the 12- year-old American girl out of a remote mountain area, then airlifted her to a hospital.

Francesca Lewis, wearing a neck brace and with one arm bandaged, met with her parents at a hospital in the town of David, capital of Chiriqui province.

Michael Klein, a prominent California businessman, and his 13-year-old daughter Talia—a friend of Francesca—were killed in Sunday's crash near the jungle-flanked slopes of the Baru volcano, 270 miles west of the capital, Panama City. The Panamanian pilot Edwin Lasso, 23, was also killed.

Francesca was in stable condition at a private hospital with hypothermia, contusions and muscle injuries, and does not remember much about the crash, said Samuel Cattan, the doctor treating her.

"She lost consciousness, and she only remembers (the plane) falling into a cloud, and then she saw trees," said Cattan.

He said Francesca will probably remain hospitalized for at least a week.

Francesca's mother, father, uncle and sister came down from the United States to care for her. Earlier Wednesday, her mother, Valerie Lewis, told The Associated Press her daughter could walk, but had apparently suffered a broken arm and hypothermia.

"My husband spoke to her by phone this morning," Lewis said. "She sounded good. She just said 'Hi, daddy. See you soon.'"

Rescue workers struggled for five hours against heavy rains and high- altitude winds to carry Francesca by stretcher from the crash site to a spot where a helicopter could land, Chiriqui Civil Protection Director Armando Palacios told AP.

A preliminary investigation showed the Cessna 172 struck a tree and split in two, said National Civil Protection Director Roberto Velasquez.

"It is miraculous that the girl could survive that impact," he said.

Rescuers spent two days combing the mountainous area before finding Francesca and the bodies of the three others Tuesday. But cold, wet weather prevented her immediate evacuation, and she was initially treated in a makeshift shelter.

Michael Klein, 37, was the chief executive officer of Pacificor LLC, a Santa Barbara-based company that manages several hedge funds. He founded two companies in the 1990s before becoming president and CEO of eGroups Inc., which was the world's largest group e-mail communication service. Yahoo Inc. purchased eGroups for $450 million in August 2000 and it is now known as Yahoo Groups.

Aviation authorities said the cause of the crash was not yet known, but Panama's RPC radio reported that witnesses saw the plane flying at a very low altitude around noon Sunday amid buffeting winds.

Michael Klein was on vacation with the two girls at an eco-resort he owns in the Central American nation, according to Kim Klein, his ex- wife and Talia's mother. The three had been scheduled to return to Santa Barbara on Monday, she told the AP from Boquete, Panama, an area close to David, on Tuesday.

Their plane disappeared after departing from Islas Secas off Panama's Pacific coast, heading for the Chiriqui volcano, about 285 miles west of the capital.

A colleague described Klein as a brilliant businessman who skipped high school and graduated from college at age 17.

"One of the most interesting people you could ever speak to on any ... myriad of subjects," Kurt Benjamin, the vice president of business development at Pacificor, told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. "He's just an unbelievable individual."

Benjamin said Klein was close to his daughter.

"Her father was so proud of her," he said. "She was an amazing, accomplished horseback rider—just an absolute winner. Solid, solid young girl."

Surviving Girl Evacuated in Panama Crash

[Shammu]

Assyrian revival stirs in Turkey
By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul

In a corner of 21st Century Turkey, a congregation still worships in the language of Christ.

At an early morning Sunday church service, chanting in Aramaic fills the air together with the sweet scent of incense.

Men pray standing, their palms open to heaven. Most of the women are behind a wooden lattice at the back, their heads covered in scarves.

These people are Assyrians and the region they know as Tur Abdin was once the heartland of their ancient Christian church.

At the turn of the last century an estimated 200,000 Assyrians still lived here. Today there are fewer than 3,000 left.

But recently, there have been signs of a possible revival.

Homecoming

In the nearby village of Elbeyendi, Aziz Demir contemplates what remains of his home - just the walls and a jumble of loose rocks.

Two decades ago, the Assyrians were caught up in the Kurdish conflict here.

Unwilling to side with the insurgents or Turkish troops, Aziz, his neighbours and thousands like them fled to Europe.

Their abandoned homes crumbled to ruin.

It was just the latest Assyrian exodus from the region. Many had fled nationalist oppression before or left to seek economic opportunity.

But now Aziz and 10 other families have come back.

"It was our dream to return to the land of our ancestors. We had so many comforts in Europe but something was always missing," Aziz says.

"We also want to prove to other Assyrians that it is possible to return and be settled here."

Reconstruction

What the families found in Elbeyendi though was utter destruction.

Just behind Aziz's old house is the village church, thought to date to the 4th Century.

It is still standing, just, but unsafe.

Inside, the walls are covered in graffiti left by soldiers who fought here: pictures of snakes and daggers, and a skull and crossed-bones.

Outside, family graves have been opened over the years and robbed.

"It is hard to express our feelings when we arrived from Europe and saw what had happened. We just asked, 'Why?'," says Aziz's wife, Semso, standing in front of the ruins of the house where she got married.

"But the situation is better now. We are trying to look forward without forgetting what happened in the past," she adds.

On the edge of the old village, the beginnings of a new one has sprung up.

The community has built 17 enormous stone villas so far and a new church will open next year.

The Kurdish conflict has not ended but this area is safe now.

Looking ahead

The Assyrians say Turkey's accession talks with the EU also convinced them to return.

"We lived through many difficulties here but Turkey is more concerned with human rights now - it is more democratic," believes Yakup Demir.

"That is why we came back, because we believe the future here will be better."

But if this return is to prove enduring, the next generation has to be equally convinced - and they have spent their entire lives until now in Europe.

"There is nothing here, just a pile of rocks," complains 17-year-old Ishok, who was brought up in Switzerland and speaks no Turkish.

He has no plans to stay here.

"There is no internet here, I have no real friends. It is boring," he shrugs.

A short drive from Elbeyendi though, there are further tentative signs of renewal.

Dayrul Zafaran monastery, the Saffron Monastery, was the seat of the Syriac Orthodox church in the days when tens of thousands of Assyrians lived here.

Today, EU cash is helping fund restoration work on the 5th Century, honey-coloured brickwork and a new archbishop has re-invigorated the spiritual side of life.

Twenty local boys are being schooled in the monastery in the hope some may become the next generation of much-needed Syriac priests.

There is a constant flow of visitors through the gates, many of them curious Turks.

Optimism

Christians have recently become the targets of a surge of nationalist feeling in Turkey.

Three missionaries were murdered this year, two priests were attacked and one Syriac monk was even kidnapped.

But the mood at the monastery is determinedly optimistic.

"We believe the project of the EU means democracy, human rights and tolerance," says Archbishop Saliba Ozmen.

"We believe that through this project our community too will be more tolerated. We will be happier people as Turkish citizens," he says.

With such a turbulent history, the relative stability in this region now has encouraged the Assyrians' positive outlook.

It has also prompted some community members living abroad to send money to help protect what's left of their heritage here.

For now though, only a handful have chosen to return to Turkey themselves.

The hope of those pioneers is that - eventually - others may follow.

Assyrian revival stirs in Turkey

[Shammu]

Keep your eyes on Turkey.......... 

If They promote themselves as the 'go-between' of the ME and EU. They were the headquarters of eastern leg of the Roman empire and outlasted the western leg by over a 1000 years. They were overthrown by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

[Shammu]

Dallas Man Regains Freedom to Distribute Gospel Tracts
By Lawrence Jones
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Jan. 12 2008 01:20 PM ET

A Christian man who was told by police that he needed to purchase a ticket in order to share his faith outside a Dallas area transit station will no longer face those restrictions.

For two years, Daniel Bailey had been peacefully sharing his faith and passing out Gospel tracts to passers-by at the Dallas Area Transit Station until an officer told the disabled man that he must either purchase a ticket or leave the area.

When Bailey contacted a DART personnel who had given him permission to witness at the station two years ago, he was told that a passed Code of Conduct prohibits his activities.

Upon learning of Bailey's case, Christian legal group Alliance Defense Center contacted transit officials to defend his free speech rights.

The prohibition of free speech was unconstitutional, read a letter written by ADF senior legal counsel Erik Stanley to DART's president and executive director Gary C. Thomas.

In a response letter, Thomas agreed to allow Bailey to express his faith at the station without having to purchase a ticket.

“Christians should not be treated as second-class citizens simply because they choose to exercise their faith in public,” said Stanley.

“We appreciate the quick and courteous response of DART officials in resolving this matter and are pleased that Mr. Bailey will now be able to return to his activities,” said Stanley.

Dallas Man Regains Freedom to Distribute Gospel Tracts

[Shammu]

Australia WW2 warship found and ends 66-year mystery
Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:55am GMT

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's greatest military mystery was solved on Monday with the discovery of a World War Two warship which went down with all 645 crew in a fierce battle with a German vessel more than 66 years ago.

A day after searchers located the wreck of the German merchant raider HSK Kormoran off the West Australian coast, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said they had also found the Australian battlecruiser HMAS Sydney, sunk by the German ship.

Rudd, flanked by top military commanders, said it was "a historic day for all Australians, and a sad day for all Australians".

"It's very important to understand that this is a tomb and there are 645 Australian sailors entombed there," he said, adding both ships would be declared war graves.

The sinking of the HMAS Sydney II is Australia's greatest naval tragedy, with all hands lost after a 30-minute battle with the German ship on November 19, 1941.

The cruiser was also the biggest ship lost with no survivors from any World War Two nation, historians said, vanishing after sailing ablaze over the horizon at the end of the encounter.

News of the sinking devastated Australians, plunging the nation into a deep wartime gloom, and the mystery of its disappearance had remained a national obsession. Several false discoveries of the ship's wreck have occurred before.

"It's so many emotions that all I can do is cry," said Debra Malycha-Coombs, whose uncle Walter Leslie Curwood was a 23-year-old wire operator on the Sydney. "My mother died over 20 years ago not knowing where he was," she said.

The only witnesses to the battle were the 317 survivors on the Kormoran, which was disguised as a Dutch freighter, the Straat Malakka, when it encountered the Australian ship.

The Sydney was found by a government-funded research ship at a depth of 2,470 metres (8100 feet), about 240 km (150 miles) west of Shark Bay, off the coast of Western Australia, Rudd said.

While a photographic survey would not be carried out until next week, high-resolution sonar images showed the wreck was near intact and a protection order was placed over the ship.

The Sydney was found 22 km (14 miles) from the Kormoran by American wreck hunter David Mearns, who located the British cruiser HMS Hood and Germany's battleship Bismarck in their North Atlantic graves.

Germany's government had also been informed of Kormoran's discovery and the resting place of 80 German crew, Rudd said.

The navy's official version of the battle (www.navy.gov.au), based on incomplete accounts from Kormoran survivors, says the German ship lured the more heavily-armed Sydney in close and then opened fire with torpedoes and six-inch guns.

Before the wreck's discovery, the only trace of the Sydney came from last year's discovery of the remains of an unknown sailor buried on remote Christmas Island after his body washed up in a bullet-riddled life raft in February 1942.

Australia's navy chief Vice-Admiral Russ Shalders said there was no doubt the wreck belonged to Sydney as sonar images perfectly matched the 6,800 tonne cruiser, which had previously distinguished itself in the Mediterranean.

"For 66 years, this nation has wondered where the Sydney was and what occurred to her. We've uncovered the first part of that mystery. The next part of the mystery, of course, is what happened," Shalders said.

Australia WW2 warship found and ends 66-year mystery
~~~~~~~~~~

I know this isn't exactally Christian news...........

[Shammu]

German leader stresses support for Israel

by Anke Landmesser Mon Mar 17, 11:42 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday underlined her country's support for Israel and largely sidestepped questions about controversial Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Germany is aware that Israel must fight daily for its right to exist," Merkel said after a first-ever joint Israeli-German ministerial meeting.

As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stressed settlement actvity will continue, Merkel, who was in Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state, would only say the issue was a complex one.

"The practical situation is more complicated than the way one sees it from afar," Merkel said in response to a question after a joint news conference.

While she declined to go into details at the news conference, she said she and Olmert had "open and very direct" talks on the issue, widely seen as a major hurdle in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

But Olmert stressed Israel will continue settlement construction in annexed east Jerusalem.

"There are places that we will not give up as part of a final (peace) agreement and that is why there is no reason that we stop building there," he said, alluding to large Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank.

Merkel focused largely on bilateral issues, but asked about almost daily rocket fire launched at southern Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza, she said: "there are conditions that don't make talks any easier."

In a joint statement, Merkel and Olmert underlined bilateral cooperation in "the fight against international terrorism."

"Cross-border terror networks can only be countered through joint action by the international community."

The two sides also discussed Iran's controversial nuclear policies.

"Israel and Germany share the same serious concerns over Iran's efforts to obtain a nuclear arsenal," Olmert said.

"We also agreed on the need to continue establishing a series of measures to halt this process," he said.

In a highlight of her largely symbolic visit, Merkel laid a wreath at Israel's Holocaust memorial earlier in the day.

Accompanied by Olmert and several Israeli ministers, a sombre-faced Merkel turned up the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem memorial before laying a wreath and pausing for several seconds of silence.

Dressed in a black suit, Merkel -- the first German chancellor born after World War II -- also visited the Children's Memorial and signed the guestbook at the end of her third visit to Yad Vashem since taking office.

"In view of Germany's responsibility for the Shoah (Holocaust), the German government... underlines its determination to build a future together," she said.

On Tuesday, Merkel will become the first German chancellor to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, an honour normally reserved for heads of state.

Upon arrival on Sunday, she visited the grave and home of Israel's founder and first prime minister David Ben Gurion at the Sde Boker kibbutz in the heart of the Negev desert.

Her three-day visit is designed to mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel, which will be officially celebrated in May.

More than six decades since the Holocaust, in which the Nazis killed six million Jews, Germany is Israel's most important political and trading partner in Europe.

German leader stresses support for Israel

[Shammu]

Vietnamese Christians organize against abortion

Abortions now outnumber live births in Vietnam while a center in Ho Chi Minh City is taking in unmarried pregnant women for care.

By Asia News

In a Hồ Chí Minh City suburb Redemptorist Fathers celebrated a Mass on December 28, Holy Innocents' Day, dedicated to praying for those who abort out of “cowardice.” About 30 unmarried pregnant women from a Redemptorist-run home and people from a pro-life group took part in the function.

Co-celebrant Fr Joseph Le Quang Uy urged those present to pray “for those who abort out of cowardice” because they are concerned that “children will affect their income and work” and “their reputation among neighbours” if the latter are born out of wedlock. Sadly too often so “parents drive away pregnant unmarried daughters or ask them to abort.”

For him abortion is a crime against humanity. For this reason pro-life activists must be supported through prayers that they may be able to convince women who want to abort not to do so. By contrast, “aborted children do not need our prayers because they become angels,” Father Uy said.

Redemptorists founded a pro-life group in 2005 whose members visit pregnant women seeking abortions at state-run hospitals and health-care centres and encourage them not to do it.

Martha Hoàng Thị Hoa, 29, told UCA News that in order to bring her pregnancy to term she had to leave her paternal home. She works for a local garment company and earns a million dong (US$ 62.5) a month, not enough for her needs and those of her son, so she plans to collect used items to make money.

“My father, a parish council member, is a straight-laced man, so he never accepted my unwanted pregnancy,” she said.

At the shelter where she is staying women have to leave two months after they give birth so that other pregnant women can take their place.

Marie Nguyễn Thị My, 22, is a college student from Vinh City, in northern Vietnam. She decided not to abort after talking to a priest. “I will protect the child God gives me,” she said.

My, who is seven-month pregnant, still prays for her boyfriend to return to her so that their son might have both parents to raise him.

Another woman, who is six-month pregnant, said the more than 1,000 cement containers hold the ashes of aborted foetuses the Redemptorists have cremated. Members of the pro-life group the former founded collect around 50 to 200 aborted foetuses every day from hospitals and clinics in the city for a decent disposal. A Redemptorist father said that each 10-by-10-by-30-centimetre container can hold the ashes of some 50 to 70 aborted foetuses. Hundreds of the containers are kept in the chapel's sanctuary.

According to the Hồ Chí Minh City-based Center for Protection of Health of Mothers and Children and Family Planning, more than 100,000 abortions take place in the city each year and that, in recent years, abortions outnumbered births. According to its own data, there were 114,002 abortions and 112,426 births in 2003 compared to 108,193 abortions and 107,314 births in 2004.

Vietnamese Christians organize against abortion

[Shammu]

We need to keep our brothers and sisters in Vietnam in prayers. Christian persecution still happens there.

[Shammu]

Power of Prayer Changing Lives in Indonesia
By Lucille Talusan
CWN Southeast Asia Correspondent
May 9, 2008

CWN.org - NORTH SULAWESI, Indonesia -- Christian World News is taking a closer look at how the power of prayer transforms lives.

Few people know that power more than the young people you are about to read about. Once they lived the party lifestyle of drugs, alcohol and casual sex. Today, they still have fun, but in a different way and for a very different reason.

If not for the lyrics of their songs, people might think this group of young people was high on drugs or drunk with wine. But instead, they're filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

It's a typical Saturday night for the Frontline Youth Ministry. It's a far cry from the miserable lives most of these kids used to lead.

Maria Poli shares how scared she was three years ago, when at the age of 17 she learned that she was pregnant.

"I was raised in a Christian family, but I wanted to try new things in my life, including smoking, drinking and free sex," she told CWN News. "When I became pregnant, I was scared my parents would disown me, so I decided to get an abortion. I felt so broken, I wanted to die."

Erick Ilham was raised in a strict Muslim family and he blames his parents' harsh religious practices for leading him to drugs.

"I don't understand why my parents always beat me until my head was bleeding," he said. "I thought maybe that was the way to teach me to be a good person. But they hurt me and I hated them. I used to drink and get high on drugs, but when I got desperate for drugs, I cut my arm and sipped my own blood."

Maria and Erick are only some of the teens who share the same sad experiences of being abandoned, desperate and lost. They all came to Christ through the ministry of Frontline fellowship.

"Today, Jesus is my saviour and my Lord," Ilham said. "If my family finds out i am a Christian, they will kill me. But I have peace. I can feel God in my life."

While the Frontliners worship and intercede for their nation, another group of young people from the City Worship Church are getting prepared for their street ministry.

Christian World News joined the teens as they were going out to the streets in Manado. It was drizzling but they didn't care at all. What they thought was more important was to share their testimonies and bring Christ to the people that night.

Doni Kowaas, a former street kid himself, leads the team as they pray for the youth. He shared his testimony of how God got him off of the streets.

"At the age of 12, I was forced to live in the streets," Kowaas said. "I got into drugs and all kinds of trouble until a Pastor invited me to a retreat. There I gave my life to Jesus. I want these people to experience God's love and let them know that God can change their lives."

These young people realize how important their role is in the transformation of their nation.

"As we preach the good news, we should be good role models and influence the people to live for God," said Frontline Ministry's Imelda Tampi. "This is the only way that our city can be reconciled with God, not only our city but the whole Indonesia."

Power of Prayer Changing Lives in Indonesia

[Shammu]

German Court Rules Muslim Girl Can't Skip Swimming Lessons

Thursday , May 08, 2008

FC1
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A German court on Wednesday ruled that a Muslim student cannot skip co-ed swimming lessons because her religion prohibits form-fitting clothes that do not cover her body, The Local reported.

The 12-year-old girl’s parents sued a school in the northern city of Remscheid after it refused to let the girl skip the lessons. The court sided with the school, saying that the state’s responsibility to educate the girl outweighed an infringement on her religious freedom.

Last year the girl’s parents rejected an offer from the school saying she could swim in leggings and a T-shirt. They argued that her body still would be visible through wet clothes, The Local reported.

The court concluded that because the swim lessons take place in water, there would be very little time that her body would be seen.

The parents’ attorney said the family will appeal the decision.

German Court Rules Muslim Girl Can't Skip Swimming Lessons
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Many countries are increasing scrutiny on Christians, all the while kowtowing to islam.

Well, I'm glad of the ruling, however, the court case can be used as precedent against Christians later. Homeschooling is outlawed in that country. The government and schools are going against Christians more and more as well. Germany has been targeting Christians and home schoolers and taking the kids away from the families. People have been moving away from the country to avoid the growing persecution. Of course, you don't read about it much in the mainstream news media.

[Brother Jerry]

now if only the rest of the civilized world would follow suit.