Bible college bombed in Sudan

This church building, built by Samaritan's Purse,
was bombed in January.
© 2008 Samaritan's Purse.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

A Bible school supported by Samaritan's Purse was destroyed on February 1 in the latest bombing raid to hit South Kordofan, a Sudanese province that borders the newly created independent country of South Sudan (for more on South Sudan, click here).

Eight bombs were dropped in the area of Heiban Bible College during the school's first day of classes. According to eyewitness accounts, the bombing required a sustained effort with at least four flyover passes.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported. "We have been working for years in Sudan," Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham said after the attack. "Today our Bible school in Heiban in the Nuba Mountains was bombed by the Sudanese Air Force. No one was killed or hurt, but buildings were destroyed. Please pray for the safety of believers, and that God would intervene."

Since early August, at least four churches built by Samaritan's Purse have been destroyed by bombing or burning.

Thank the Lord no one was injured or killed. Pray the Lord will strengthen the faith of the students and other believers after this attack and ask Him to provide for them. Pray the Holy Spirit will bring new life and faith to the people around the Nuba Mountains. Pray for those behind these attacks.

For more information on persecution in Sudan, visit the Sudan Country Report. To post a prayer of solidarity with suffering believers in Sudan, visit our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

Mission training school attacked in Indonesia

A training school like this one
was recently attacked.

VOM USA is reporting that a mission training school was recently attacked by a mob of Muslims following a prayer meeting in Jonggol, West Java, Indonesia.

Approximately 85 Muslims rushed into the school and raided each class and dorm room, removing pictures of Jesus. They told the staff that the school must be closed. No students were on the premises, as school was not in session that day.

Several police officers and soldiers accompanied the mob from a nearby military base and neighbours did not recognize them as locals.

The school, which was established in 1999 with the purpose of training evangelists in Indonesia, has reportedly always maintained a good relationship with its neighbours.

At last report, mission leaders said that they were attempting to follow up on the incident in the hopes of helping to prevent further violence. The leaders also urged Indonesian Christians not to retaliate, but to remain calm and to pray.

You can help by praying!

• Pray God will touch the hearts of the attackers, leading them to repent and recognize Christ as Lord.
• Pray a spirit of trust and peace will govern the hearts of Indonesian Christians and guard them against fear.
• Pray Christians in Indonesia will be a bold testimony of Christ's love to those around them.

Kindergarteners and police officers

Classrooms are for learning, not policing.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of your 5 or 6-year-old child’s classroom being searched by police officers because his teacher is a Christian? In restricted nations around the world, this practice is not an oddity, but rather, the norm.

VOM sister-mission China Aid reported on Tuesday that the Public Security Bureau (PSB), accompanied by officials from education bureaus, raided Chinese kindergarten classrooms in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan.

Sun Haiping, wife of house church pastor Wang Dao, is in charge of the three schools. She is also part of the Chinese delegation, now in Washington, DC, focusing on democracy and religious freedom. Her main purpose as a part of this delegation is to elaborate on the persecution of house churches in Guangzhou.

“If this was a normal school inspection, the PSB would not have been there, and it would have been led by the Education Bureau,” she said on Tuesday. “The schools are at risk of being shut down.”

During the invasions, PSB questioned teachers and children concerning where Sun was, and what her purpose was for traveling to the US. They also asked if the school owned Bibles or distributed them to students.

According to Sun, the schools where raided by police because she is visiting the United States to speak about democracy and religious freedom. Authorities applauded Sun’s generous actions in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008, but now she is being targeted for speaking about the freedom and justice that the Chinese constitution promises, but the authorities withhold from citizens.

Please pray that Sun Haiping and Wang Dao will stay strong and faithful and that the children in these schools will be able to continue receiving quality education from these equipped believers.