Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Three Samaritan's Purse Workers Missing in Darfur, Sudan
- Indian Missionaries Call It a 'Privilege' to Suffer
- Muslim Teachers in Pakistan Allegedly Abuse Christian Students
- Hurricane Season Could Be 'Second Disaster' for Haiti
Three Samaritan's Purse Workers Missing in Darfur, Sudan
DeMoss News reports that three Samaritan's Purse employees have been abducted in Sudan. The team, comprised of two Sudanese men and one 36-year-old American woman from California, was traveling in a two-vehicle convoy when they were stopped by a group of armed men 25 miles southwest of Nyala in Sudan's Darfur region early Tuesday evening. Samaritan's Purse is working with U.S. and Sudanese government officials to secure the safe return of its staff. "I have visited Darfur several times and it is one of the most difficult places in the world to work. I'm asking for the prayers from people around the world for a quick resolution and the safe return of our Samaritan's Purse staff," said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse.
Indian Missionaries Call It a 'Privilege' to Suffer
The Christian Post reports that Bible college students in India are calling the recent attack on their school a "privilege." Seven students were seriously injured when attackers brandishing sticks, iron rods and fluorescent light tubes broke into the school's cafeteria on May 9. "Through this situation I learned what the Bible means when it says, 'Blessed are those who suffer for Christ,'" said Hemanti Kashyap, who struck in the stomach with an iron rod. "This opposition was the test of my faith to march forward and to share the Gospel. They hit my stomach with an iron rod and I was injured, but I am grateful to the Lord Jesus who kept me safe to be a witness for Him." Another student, Sunil Pattanayap, said, "For a moment I was shocked about why this was happening to me. Then I understood that the time had come for me to glorify His name." Three students are still recovering at a hospital with broken bones.
Muslim Teachers in Pakistan Allegedly Abuse Christian Students
Compass Direct News reports that Muslim teachers at a girls school in Sargodha, Pakistan, have openly beaten and demeaned Christians students to the point that several have quit the school. According to area Christians, the teachers have derided Christian students for their faith, beat them, pressured them to convert to Islam and forced them to clean school bathrooms, classrooms and even teacher's laundry after class hours. "Christian students are teased and mocked by radical Muslim female teachers from the start of the school day to the end," said a 16-year-old girl named Sana. "Christian students feel dejected, depressed and frustrated. I am totally broken-hearted because of the intolerance and discrimination." Christians in Pakistan are often discriminated against for their lower social status.
Hurricane Season Could Be 'Second Disaster' for Haiti
Christian relief agency World Vision reports that the upcoming hurricane season in Haiti could create a secondary disaster for Haitians. "While we continue to focus on the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, we must prepare ourselves for the possibility of another disaster as the hurricane season approaches," said Jean-Claude Mukadi, World Vision's relief response manager in Haiti. "While we can't prevent disasters like earthquakes and floods, we must focus on preventing the effects of these disasters on those at risk in Haiti." When a 7.1 magnitude quake hit Haiti in January, the country had only begun to recover from four severe hurricanes in 2008. World Vision urged the international community to allocate at least 10 percent of humanitarian funding in Haiti to disaster risk reduction interventions.
