Gina Meeks

Last year an international crisis exploded when Israel stopped a flotilla of ships from breaking its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The incident left Israel feeling more isolated, but some Jews saw the pages of Scripture coming alive through the crisis.

When Israeli commandos stormed the Turkish-owned flagship, Mavi Mamara, leading the flotilla, things quickly turned deadly. Pro-Palestinian activists attacked the soldiers, who then defended themselves. Nine activists died in the melee.

Gas prices are finally starting to slowly climb back down in the U.S., and the costs are expected to continue their decline. Over the past few months oil prices have gone down, and yet shipping costs—which rose with the rise in oil costs over the last few years—remain high.

Oil prices are still higher than they were a year ago, which is part of the reason that shipping costs have remained higher as well. Even as oil prices go down, some shipping companies are playing catch-up.

Increased shipping costs have presented a significant dilemma for ministries attempting to send large amounts of aid or resources to far-away nations. Global Aid Network (GAiN), for example, has millions of meals prepared to send to East Africa where severe drought has thrown millions into levels of starvation. However, GAiN has had difficulty procuring the funds to actually send the food to Africa.

When Pathik Sharma showed a movie about Jesus to a people staunchly devoted to ancestor worship, Bishakha Gupta came to watch—and so did the demon that possessed her body.

As the movie ended, Bishakha’s breathing became erratic. Her parents noticed her distress and decided to take her to a doctor the next day. But Pathik, a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary, asked if he could pray for the young girl instead.

When Pathik stepped toward Bishakha, the girl pushed him away and would not let the missionary touch her. She became violent. The people around her held her hands and feet so Pathik could pray.

Rioting across the U.K. last week led to the arrests of over 1,500 people in a matter of days.

The shocking hours of looting and criminal activity erupted out of a peaceful protest on Saturday, Aug. 6. The protest was hijacked by others with a more violent agenda against the police.

According to the Guardian, peaceful protests turned into violent criminal attacks involving petrol bombs, bricks and makeshift weapons.

Violent London riots have been raging since the police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan on Aug. 4. Police were attempting to arrest him in Tottenham, a city with a familiar history of riots.

Years ago one ministry was working hard to help pick up the pieces of the Soviet Union by delivering aid to the many who were receiving only 10 percent of the income they had received in the past. As the ministry struggled to meet the numerous needs of those around them, their leader had a thought: Why can’t we mobilize people to come and bring humanitarian aid with them?

Eventually this ministry became the Global Aid Network (GAiN). And out of that one thought came GAiN’s Advocates program.

“[GAiN advocates] come on as official representatives of GAiN wherever they happen to live,” says Tom Miller, who works in Volunteer Opportunities at GAiN. “That saves the ministry massive amounts of money and provides the opportunity for many people to be involved in international ministry right where they are.”

Many Christians living in the southern belt of Pakistan’s Punjab Province who lost their houses in last year’s floods remain homeless despite a plan by the Punjab government to allocate land to residents in the area, area Christians said.

Hameed Masih, a resident of Kot Addu in Muzaffargarh district, said the provincial government has not set a quota for granting of land to members of minority communities left homeless by the devastating floods that began in late July 2010.

 The government has begun four plans in Kot Addu under which around 435 plots of five marlas (151 square yards) each were to be distributed among people who lost their property. Several people were allotted land last month, but so far no minority member has been given land, he said.

A new study suggests that government-controlled religion restrictions or social hostilities involving religion are getting worse in nearly one third of the world.

Of the world’s total population of 6.9 billion, more than 2.2 billion people—32 percent—live in countries where either government restrictions on religion or social hostilities involving religion rose substantially between mid-2006 and mid-2009, according to a new study on global restrictions on religion released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Government restrictions or social hostilities declined in only about 1 percent of the world’s population.

Islam has been in the spotlight via the news a great deal this year and in recent years. Especially during Ramadan, Muslims are on the hearts of believers. Many have joined in prayer efforts for the Muslim world this month, from Aug. 1 to Aug. 30.

But is it enough? Is the Muslim world a bigger mission field than we thought?

As Operation Mobilization celebrates 50 years of ministry in the Muslim world, Julyan Lidstone, the leader of OM’s ministry in Western and Central Asia, believes reaching this growing population is more vital now than ever.

People in one South Asian village accused Dhevan Das of forcefully converting people to Christianity—a serious allegation, which landed him in jail. But he didn’t sit in his cell grieving about the situation. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity to share God’s love with his fellow inmates.

The Charges against Him
The accusations came after a believer in his church expressed interest in attending a Bible college. Pastor Dhevan was helping her enroll in the college when villagers began accusing him of forcing her to become a Christian.

He was arrested July 28 and formally charged with forced conversion. Initially, the police were going to release him on bail until a group of 30–40 people gathered in front of the police station shouting, “Do not release him! He is destroying our religion.” They also filed a complaint against Dhevan.

Four months after a recent convert to Christianity from Islam in eastern India’s West Bengal state was stripped and beaten, about 50 Muslim extremists yesterday disrupted a prayer meeting held in her home, threatening to burn it down if she did not return to Islam, area Christians said.

The extremists warned Selina Bibi of Motijil village in Murshidabad district that if she did not return to Islam, then she must either leave the area or see her house burned down. At her baptism at Believers Church four kilometers from her home on March 29, a large crowd of Muslim extremists disrupted the service, said a pastor identified only as Bashir.

“I pleaded with them to let me at least finish the worship service before they attack us,” he told Compass.