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Indonesia

July 21 Indonesian Pastor Murdered During Church Service

July 8, 2004 ACEHNESE OF INDONESIA (AH-chin-eez). Pray for S, an Acehnese college student who has a few Christian friends, but is still a devout Muslim. S has a Bible in Indonesian, but still has yet to allow its truth into her heart. S is a beautiful, intelligent, fun-loving girl. However, her boyfriend, whom she will most likely marry some day soon, is physically abusive to her. Pray for S to realize the truth of Christ, and run into His loving arms. Pray for her to open her Bible and read it, allowing God’s truth to transform her life.

June 30, 2004 BAHASA-SPEAKING TRIBALS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA. The Bajau of northern Borneo are a Muslim unreached people group of about 200,000. Groundwork and personal relationships for reaching this people group have been developed for the last three years. During the last half of 2004, there are projects that will be completed to reach more deeply into their lives and ask for more response. Please ask that the Father will work in the lives of the people who are contacted so that they may respond positively.

June 25, 2004 ACEHNESE OF INDONESIA (AH-chin-eez). Last month, you prayed for T, a young, single Acehnese man with many Christian friends. You prayed for dreams and visions to come to T. He has not mentioned any dreams, but now this Muslim man is interested in studying the Bible! Please fight for T in prayer, asking that this interest in Scripture would not be hindered by fear of what his friends might think, distractions, boredom or pride. Pray that the spiritual battle he is in will end with his believing the Truth in Scripture and giving his life to Jesus Christ. Pray also that the believer who is boldly teaching T what the Bible means will have wisdom and courage.

INDONESIA (Compass Direct)
Mobs armed with sticks attacked four churches in Banten Province, Indonesia, on Sunday, June 6th, doing minor damage to church furniture and windows. Attackers punched one pastor in the head, although he was not seriously injured. Captain Hamdani of the local police department said the attacks were a reaction to churches meeting in unregistered places of worship. Under Indonesian law, churches must apply for permission to construct a building or meet in privately owned or rented facilities.
However, permission is rarely granted, forcing some churches to worship without the required permit. Muslims object to the presence of unregistered churches, and observers believe this is the reason behind the recent attacks. A similar incident occurred on April 6th in Menteng, Southern Jakarta, where a clinic operated by the Huria Kristen Batak Protestant (HKBP) church was attacked, and church property damaged. Ten churches that met in a shopping mall in Tangerang were forced to close on March 1st, because they did not have the required permits.
Pray God will strengthen the hearts of Indonesian Christians to remain faithful to Jesus. Pray for their protection. Pray the authorities will come to salvation through Jesus.

Call for Prayer for Indonesia
Indonesians are asking Christians worldwide to pray and fast for the Moluccas islands Feb. 20. "Christians are being slaughtered on a frequent basis simply because they are Christians," Jubilee Campaign's Wilfred Wong said. The United Kingdom-based religious-rights group is issuing the call to prayer on behalf of Indonesian Christians. At least 2,000 people have died in religious violence in the Moluccas, mostly on the island of Ambon, since Dec. 1998, Jubilee said. About 700 people died in rioting in December and January, the group said. Radical Muslims, in some cases aided by Indonesian military units, have destroyed churches and massacred Christians, Jubilee said. Indonesian media have inflamed the situation by portraying Christians as instigators and Muslims the victims, the group said. The Indonesian Communion of Churches has asked Christians to fast, pray for the Moluccas during their services, and consider holding a special prayer event, Jubilee said, because of the "sheer scale of the violence and overwhelming evil which the Moluccan church is up against." Christians should pray for peace and better Muslim-Christian relations throughout Indonesia, Jubilee said. They should also pray for international pressure on the Indonesian government to restore order, protection for Christians, and that attempts to Islamicize Indonesia will be unsuccessful.