“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31
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East Africa – Second wave of locusts feared 20 times worse than first invasion
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Myanmar (Burma) – Seven killed as aircraft shells hit village in Christian majority Chin State
East Africa – Second wave of locusts feared 20 times worse than first invasion
The arrival of a second invasion of ravenous young locusts, spawned in Ethiopia, is feared to be 20 times more severe than the first plague that devastated East African crops at the beginning of 2020.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation stated that the locust infestation in Africa remains “extremely alarming” as more swarms are forming and maturing in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The resurgence of the locust plague coincides with the planting season and presents an “unprecedented threat” to food security, according to the UN.
The rainy season is providing ideal breeding conditions and swarms are predicted to hatch and stay in place. Further migration into Uganda and South Sudan is also likely by late June and July, when the next harvest is due. The second wave includes more young adults, which are particularly rapacious eaters.
A local pastor called for prayer as he reported, on 6 April, the arrival of a vast swarm of young desert locusts, estimated to cover an area of 100,000 acres, in north-eastern Uganda. The immature locusts migrated in a dense swarm from Kenya, crossing the border at Karita sub-county, and settling in the Karamoja region, Nakapiripirit district.
“Please continue in prayer for the Christians in Karamoja,” asked the pastor as he told Barnabas that the fresh invasion came at the “worst possible time”, when farmers were planting new crops for harvest in a few months’ time. The ravenous insects are already destroying recently planted staple crops.
“Because these locusts are still young, they are much more dangerous than the previous ones. Their lifespan is still long and they have the capacity to eat and destroy anything that they come across,” the pastor warned. He added that, with the government resources strained by mitigating the coronavirus crisis, concerns are growing that the population will suffer even more severely from food shortages.
With the country now battling to contain the coronavirus pandemic, it has been difficult for regional authorities to effectively track the movement of the locusts. Ugandan soldiers were deployed to contain the infestation with a campaign of insecticide spaying in several villages in Nakapiripirit district. However, their attempts were thwarted because the swarm is in continuous motion, often at altitudes beyond the reach of the spray.
Bring before God His beloved children in East Africa. Ask that they know the LORD is with them always, even as they pass through the rivers and walk through the fire (Isaiah 43:2). Pray that the LORD will rid the land of locusts, just as He did in Egypt in the time of Moses (Exodus 10:19). Ask that our brothers and sisters take strength from the great things the LORD has done and remember His promise, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25).
Sri Lanka - PM hints of new anticonversion bill in face of “threat” to “traditional Buddhist families”
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa hinted that he is prepared to introduce an anti-conversion bill to “save this country” from falling into deep difficulties.
On 2 March, Rajapaksa, a leading member of the majority Sinhala Buddhist community, spoke shortly before the announcement of a general election, due to take place on 25 April but postponed because of coronavirus.
Addressing the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, a network of 324 councils responsible for running Buddhist dhamma schools, Rajapaksa outlined the “threats facing the Sinhala Buddhist nation”. He identified the conversion of “traditional Buddhist families to other religions” as a major “threat”.
Rajapaksa implied that an anticonversion bill could be introduced after the elections if the Sanga Sabawa (Council of Monks) unanimously agreed. “There are many that oppose it and that is why we don’t want to touch it,” said Rajapaksa. “If you want it you must bring it forward unanimously otherwise it will be my neck on the line.”
A draft bill introduced in 2009 stated that an attempt to convert a person from one religion to another would be punishable with a jail sentence of up to seven years and a maximum fine of 500,000 LKR (£2,220; $2,700; €2,400). Christian leaders in Sri Lanka say the latest proposal was part of the government’s pre-election campaign. “They are using extremism to be popular,” said a pastor. “They have already started to collect information regarding churches through local government authorities. I believe they are strategically working out something against the house church movement.”
Another pastor added, “The government … is frightened to see the growth of churches in rural areas.” Anti-conversion legislation would criminalise conversions “by force, fraud and allurement”. This would be similar to the anti-conversion laws in place in several states of neighbouring India. Their vague terms make Christians actively sharing their faith vulnerable to false accusation.
Lift up our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka and ask the Lord to strengthen them with His Spirit and fill their hearts with faith (Ephesians 3:16- 17). Pray that He will equip them with wisdom and courage as they continue to share their faith with others, and that this anti-conversion legislation will proceed no further.
West Africa – Boko Haram leader declares coronavirus “product of evil”, mocks health measures, as attacks step up under Covid-19 curfews
Nigerian Boko Haram terrorist leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared that the coronavirus pandemic “was brought about by evil” as he ridiculed government Covid-19 health protection measures in a Twitter audio message on 14 April.
Meanwhile, analysts have flagged that attacks are stepping up in West Africa as Boko Haram and other terror groups take advantage of the global focus on coronavirus. Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) activities around the Lake Chad region are intensifying while Covid-19 lockdowns continue in Chad and neighbouring Nigeria.
Shekau proclaimed that “nothing has changed” in the daily lives of the Islamist group. “We pray five times daily … we stick together. We join hands. We eat from one bowl. We are doing very, very, very well. We have anti-virus. You have coronavirus, we have anti-coronavirus.”
“We thank you God for this pandemic,” ranted the jihadist who went on to hurl insults peppered with expletives at government leaders, including the presidents of Chad, Niger, Nigeria and the USA. His tirade was interspersed with gunshots in the background.
Other jihadi groups, including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, also celebrated coronavirus, describing the contagion as a “small soldier of Allah”. Islamic State’s online magazine highlights that the virus has killed more Americans than 9/11.
Ask the LORD to frustrate and bring to nothing the plans of these destructive men of violence (Psalm 112:10). Pray that they hear God’s call so that the bitterness, rage and anger in their hearts is replaced with compassion and forgiveness, just as our Saviour forgave us all (Ephesians 4:31-32).
Myanmar (Burma) – Seven killed as aircraft shells hit village in Christian majority Chin State
Seven villagers were killed and eight injured when mortar fire from military aircraft hit a village in Christianmajority Chin State, Myanmar (Burma) on 7 April.
The dead included a three-year-old child. Three men and three women aged between 22 and 39 were also killed in the strike on Nanchaungwa. The village in Paletwa Township is in the same area where 21 Christians were killed in airstrikes on four villages over the weekend of 14 and 15 March.
In the latest attack, at least four mortar shells struck local homes, setting them on fire.
“Many villagers were hiding under houses hit by artillery fire from the planes … That’s why many were burned and injured and others killed,” said a local witness.
More than 180 villagers fled to a neighbouring village and took shelter in religious buildings.
Pray for comfort for the families who mourn loved ones (Matthew 5:4) and ask for healing for the injured. Remember in prayer all Christians who live in fear of violence or attack, asking that the Lord’s strength will be made perfect in their weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Sudan – Religious freedom boost as authorities reported to be proposing repeal of death penalty for apostasy but punishing false accusations
Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) is proposing to remove the death penalty for apostasy, according to a TMC minister.
Mohammad Hassan Arabi, a member of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) Coordination Council, said a new bill has been put forward proposing its repeal. In its place will be a disposition making it a criminal offence to accuse someone of apostasy.
Arabi told the Sudan Tribune that the death penalty “puts freedom of opinion and belief at risk and undermines social peace and stability”.
He said the Ministry of Justice’s legal committee believes that Islam recognises the freedom of religion as a right for every individual. The bill will go before the ruling sovereign council and the civilian government cabinet for approval.
Sudan’s current penal code was drafted under former dictator Omar al-Bashir, ousted by the military in April last year after 30 years in power. While apostasy was already criminalised under Sudan’s previous criminal code, Bashir’s regime brought the country’s legal system closer to an ultraconservative interpretation of sharia (Islamic law).
Sudan is one of the few countries in the world where people have been executed for apostasy. In 1985, Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, a 76-yearold moderate Muslim political leader who had opposed the establishment of sharia by the government of President Jaafar al-Nimeiri, was hanged as an apostate for his views.
Other countries have the death penalty for apostasy, including Afghanistan, Mauritania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Somalia, but are not known to have carried out a sentence in recent times.
Sometimes people are sentenced to death and then reprieved. In Sudan in May 2014, pregnant Christian Meriam Yahia Ibrahim was sentenced to death for apostasy after refusing to renounce her Christian faith. The 27-year-old, whose father was Muslim but was brought up a Christian from the age of six, had her sentence quashed in June 2014 by Sudan’s appeal court.
Give thanks that the new ruling council in Sudan is continuing to seek to overturn the harsh Islamic fundamentalism of al-Bashir’s regime. Praise the Lord for the courage of Christians who stood firm in their faith over the years, despite the severe restrictions they faced, including the death penalty for apostasy. Rejoice that our brothers and sisters have been rescued from the hands of their enemy and are free to serve Him without fear (Luke 1:74).
