Pray: Believers Framed for Murder—A Gospel for Asia native missionary and several other believers were jailed because of a plot by radical Hindus to frame them for the murder of a child. The 16-month-old child was suffering from a prolonged illness and was under medical care in Rajasthan, India. Because the parents had quarreled with the pastor’s family over some land, when the child died the radical Hindus saw an opportunity to place the blame on the Christians. Apparently, members of a local Hindu political party advised the parents to dash their dead child’s body against some rocks, breaking its bones. They then took the body to a doctor for a post-mortem examination. Only after threats from the radical Hindus did the physician reluctantly file a false report, citing murder as the cause. Then the radicals advised the parents to file murder charges against, among others, a GFA missionary and nine other Believers Church members, saying that the murder was part of a plot to grab land for a church building.

Religion Today Summaries

Praise: Family Flees Iran to Avoid Death Penalty for Becoming Christians—Facing the death penalty in their home country for converting to Christianity, an Iranian refugee family has left Turkey for the U.S., where they have been accepted for resettlement. Zivar Khademian and her three adult children boarded a flight to New York on Feb. 23, after traveling all night by bus to Istanbul from their temporary home in the central northern Turkish city of Kastamonu. The family stayed overnight in New York before flying to Lincoln, Neb., where they will resettle with the assistance of a local refugee aid organization. Though the U.S. accepted the family for settlement in November, uncertainty regarding details of their emigration continued to plague the refugees up until their departure.

Compass via MissionNet

Praise: BibleLands, Habitat for Humanity Join to Build Homes in Egypt—A ministry called BibleLands and Habitat for Humanity have joined forces in a three-year scheme designed to construct  new homes for 558 of Egypt’s poorest families. U.K.-based BibleLands has embarked on the challenge of raising at least US$260,000 to improve housing conditions in the Upper Nile communities of El Kom, El Akhdar and El Sakakrya. Widespread poverty in the region gives rise to unstable and unsanitary living areas. Mud bricks and insecure brushwood roofs offer the perfect environment for vermin and disease. BibleLands and Habitat for Humanity plan to help families raise capital and work together with their neighbors, both Christian and Muslim, to renovate and build secure homes in which they can look forward to a healthier and safer future. Later  this year BibleLands will send its first team of volunteers to Egypt to work alongside villagers in constructing new buildings.

The Good News via MissionNet

Praise: Collegians on Spring Break Labor for New Orleans’ Recovery—Nearly 1,900 Christian students spent their spring breaks removing moldy sheetrock, insulation, and flooring from the flood-damaged homes of New Orleans. The students stayed in Camp Algiers, a tent city run by FEMA, that provided housing, meals, laundry, and showers after a hard day at work. “To see this [the flood damage] firsthand, six months after it happened, is more than you can imagine or believe,” said Kyle Johnson from the University of Kentucky. “I am just really blessed to have these people let us come in and serve the Lord.” Page Sigman, a student at the University of Oklahoma, said God was showing her “how temporary life is and how we store up so many treasures on earth that just go away.”

Baptist Press