Bush Speaks at Prayer Event, TWR Airs in Angola & other news
- National Days of Prayers and Remembrance Held on Sept. 6-8
- Trans World Radio Launches New World By Radio Programs to Angola
- Funeral Service for Pentagon Victims Set for Sept. 12
- Baptist World Aid Assists in Korean Flood Relief
- Missionary Trainees Suffer Persecution in India
>> National Days of Prayers and Remembrance Held Sept. 6-8
Words from President George W. Bush, from the Presidential Proclamation for National Days of Prayers and Remembrance, held September 6-8, 2002: "As we remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the thousands of innocent lives lost on that day, we recall as well the outpouring of compassion and faith that swept our Nation in the face of the evil done that day. In designating September 6-8 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance, I ask all Americans to join together in cities, communities, neighborhoods, and places of worship to honor those who were lost, to pray for those who grieve, and to give thanks for God's enduring blessings on our land. And let us, through prayer, seek the wisdom, patience, and strength to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice and to press for a world at peace.
In the aftermath of the attacks, the words of the Psalms brought comfort to many. We trust God always to be our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. Believing that One greater than ourselves watches over our lives and over this Nation, we continue to place our trust in Him.
As we confront the challenges before us, I ask you to join me during these Days of Prayer and Remembrance in praying for God's continued protection and for the strength to overcome great evil with even greater good."
>> Trans World Radio Launches New World By Radio Programs to Angola
Although a recently signed peace accord has brought calmness and relative stability to war-ravaged Angola, two agricultural people groups to the country's southeast remain isolated because thousands of landmines are still buried in the desolate soil. As a result, travel is too dangerous for pastors, evangelists, or missionaries to go personally to assist and encourage the Kuanyama and Luvale people.
But the embers of hope still flicker as missionary radio brings Good News as a result of a 17-year partnership among the major international Christian broadcasters. Earlier this year, Trans World Radio (TWR) began airing daily 15-minute programs in the Kuanyama and Luvale languages from its powerful transmitting site in Swaziland.
These broadcasts are part of TWR's ongoing commitment to the World by Radio project, initiated on September 10, 1985, by TWR, Far East Broadcasting Corporation (FEBC), FEBA Radio, HCJB World Radio, and the Society for International Ministries (SIM). Since then, Words of HOPE, Back to the Bible, Galcom, and IBRA Radio have joined the global effort.
Broadcasting by TWR to Angola was launched in 1976, one year after the country was plunged into civil war following Portugal's granting of independence. Today, with a fragile peace treaty still holding, some 32 producers prepare programs in eight languages. They ready them for broadcast in studios in Luanda, Angola's capital in the northwest, and Lubango, still sequestered by landmines to the southeast.
About 1.1 million Kuanyama-speaking people live in two southern provinces of Angola and northern Namibia. Those who speak Luvale are concentrated in central east Angola and also in Zambia. Both tribes are considered matriarchal, with the mother heading the family and being responsible for cultivating the crops. The men spend their time fishing and hunting. Life is hard, with the lack of equipment and education complicating their already difficult lives. Health care is sparse, and mortality rates are high, particularly among children. One in five kids die before the age of five. Illiteracy is also rampant, showcasing the need to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by radio.
These people savor singing their traditional songs and also dancing. It is estimated that 20 percent of the people have radios and enjoy listening in groups. Because of a pervasive lack of batteries, TWR has been disseminating wind-up radios, a project that is gaining momentum and proving quite successful.
>> Funeral Service for Pentagon Victims Set for Sept. 12
(BP) -- With the Pentagon now rebuilt, little evidence of the Sept. 11 attack on the facility remains. For the families who lost loved ones at the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists, however, grief still stings their hearts and serves as a bitter reminder of the suffering human beings can inflict.
One year later, unidentified remains of the victims of the attack await burial. A funeral service will be held for five unidentified victims at Arlington National Cemetery the morning of Sept. 12.
Among those not identified are two civilian employees of the Army, one civilian employee of the Navy, a 3-year-old child who was aboard American Airlines flight 77 and an active duty Navy enlisted man.
Brig. Gen. James Spivey, associate professor of church history at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, will deliver the eulogy at the ceremony. Spivey, formerly U.S. Army assistant chief of chaplains, administered the Pentagon's family assistance program in the wake of the attack last year.
Spivey said that the services -- in addition to providing some closure for the families -- will allow the nation to express its appreciation for the service rendered by the Pentagon's military and civilian employees.
>> Baptist World Aid Assists in Korean Flood Relief
Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has pledged $10,000 toward relief efforts following Typhoon Rusa, which hit the Korean peninsula on the weekend of Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The most powerful storm to hit Korea in 43 years left at least 150 dead in South Korea and scores of people missing or dead in North Korea.
BWAid has a special interest in Korea, as current BWA president Billy Kim is Korean, and also because of BWAid's work in recent years in North Korea. BWAid has launched a special appeal to assist Korean Baptists, and other partners in North Korea, as they seek to bring relief to those in need.
Record-breaking amounts of rainfall were measured in both the North and the South, with 871 mm falling in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung. Heavy damage was reported on land and at sea, and in addition to homes and institutions being destroyed and damaged the roof of the 2002 World Cup stadium in Jeju was blown off.
>> Missionary Trainees Suffer Persecution in India
From the "Gospel For Asia Update" -- The Bible teaches that those who have been forgiven much, love much. That is certainly true among the native missionaries in Asia. Many of them come from generations of idol worship; and when the light of Jesus shines upon them, they can hardly contain the joy that floods their souls.
For example, every year thousands of people come to visit a religious holy site that is in the same town as a Gospel for Asia Bible school. The students are so eager to share the Gospel with these pilgrims that when their classes are over, they run to the dinner hall to gulp down their meals. After a time of prayer together, they each take a bundle of tracts and disappear into the crowds.
During one of these outreach times, some men began shouting at one of the students, grabbed the tracts out of his hands, tore them up and threw them into the air. They threatened to kill him if they ever caught him passing out tracts again. A similar thing happened to other students at a bus stop when the anti-Christians chased the students, screaming that they would kill them. But in spite of the danger, the students go back, often finding many ready to listen to the Gospel. To post a prayer, visit: http://www.gfa.org/update/index.html
Originally published September 09, 2002.
