This week's persecuted church: Pakistan

The young daughter of a Pakistani evangelist remained in hiding Wednesday, January 23, after Muslim extremists allegedly threatened to kill her.

"My 10-year-old daughter Shifa Gill is not going to school," said Reverend Kamran Gill, who survived an assassination attempt while evangelizing in Pakistan's Punjab province.

"She is hidden in a secure place right now," he added.

Gill, who lived in provincial capital Lahore before fleeing to the United States this month, told BosNewsLife that the troubles began in June last year when he attempted to preach among those suffering in some of Punjab's notorious brick kilns.

Thought of the Day:  Future

7 Billion

My next speaking class topic is World Population.  Here's a cool video I found for my students:


Thought of the Day:  Taxes
Song of the Day:  6kies-확인

Super

Bowl!

Thought of the Day:  Dinner
Song of the Day:  Sandra McCracken-Rock of Ages When the Day Seems Long

This week's persecuted church: Myanmar

Catholic and Protestant leaders in Myanmar have issued a rare statement calling for an end to conflict in northern Kachin state where three civilians including an elderly deacon were killed by artillery fire on Monday.

Bishop John Hsane Hgyi, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, and Yin Yin Maw, president of the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC), yesterday urged an end to recent aerial bombing and artillery fire by government forces and called for international monitors to be permitted access.

The government this month admitted for the first time that it was carrying out air strikes.

The three civilian fatalities on Monday were the first for some time in Laiza, the stronghold of the rebel Kachin Independence Army on the border with China.

Following the attacks, about 200 residents fled to take shelter in two churches in Laiza.

Thought of the Day:  Bingo
Song of the Day:  DC Talk-Colored People

What do we say to the god of death?

Not today.

I thought the show was slow in the beginning, but I'm really enjoying it now.  After this, I'm gonna move on to Boardwalk Empire or Homeland.  Those should keep me busy enough until Mr. White returns.

Thought of the Day:  Game of Thrones
Song of the Day:  Angus & Julia Stone-Big Jet Plane

This week's persecuted church: Colombia

On Monday, Jan 7th 2013, as the family's pastor finished an evening devotional in the home of widow Alicia Castilla, assassins entered the home and opened fire on her with pistols, killing her instantly in front of her three children and her father.

An Open Doors worker who cannot be named for security reasons told World Watch Monitor that before leaving the home, the guerrillas told Castilla's son, 18-year-old Hernán, that the rest of the family had three days to leave the region. After that, the killers warned, they would return and one by one kill other family members.

Castilla's death follows the murder of her husband, lay evangelist Nelson Ramos, two years before, in January 2011, also at the hands of the ELN. The armed rebel group holds a virtual sway of terror over the area.

Ramos, who had come to faith in Christ two years before his death, often shared the gospel in Saravena, a border town near Colombia's frontier with Venezuela. A few months after his conversion, the ELN issued its first expulsion order against him and his family.

Thought of the Day:  Nap
Song of the Day:  Deli Spice-고백

Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak

For today's speaking class, our topic is about North Korean teenage defectors.  Instead of merely imagining and discussing opinions, I think it will be good for my students to see and hear from real defectors directly.  I think it was good for me to see and hear this for myself as well.

Thought of the Day:  Cold School
Song of the Day:  Aha-Take On Me

I Dreamed A Dream

Not for everyone and not easy to watch but very impressive.

"Anne Hathaway reportedly blew everyone away at her audition, leaving them in tears."
-IMDB Trivia

Thought of the Day:  Look Down!  Look Down!
Song of the Day:  Fantine-I Dreamed A Dream

This week's persecuted church: Colombia

For more than 40 years, Colombia has been terrorized by kidnappings and murders resulting from power struggles between drug lords, revolutionaries and paramilitary groups. But in the midst of the chaos, brave Christians in Colombia are risking their lives to spread the gospel. VOM is committed to helping them, and our readers from across the country are joining the effort.

One of VOM’s partners in Colombia is a pilot named Russell. VOM helped Russell purchase an airplane, and today that plane flies over FARC-controlled areas of Colombia dropping small packages attached to parachutes. The packages, which float down into FARC camps and villages, each contain a selection of Christian books as well as a solar-powered Galcom radio pre-tuned to a Christian station. Before the parachutes are dropped, the radio is turned on so that even if the parachute catches in a tree, someone will hear the radio and climb up to retrieve it.

Thought of the Day: HAPPY Birthday
Song of the Day: The 5, 6, 7, 8s-Woo Hoo

계란 한 판

I turned 30 in Korea a few days ago.  It seems like everyone feels more depressed than thankful on their birthdays once they become an adult.  We get so focused on losing youth or not accomplishing certain things by a certain age.  There is no longer HAPPY; it's just BIRTHDAY now (and often a secret one).  What happened to celebrating the fact that you're still alive after so many years?  Why do we limit these celebrations to 100 days or the first birthday for Korean babies?  I say be thankful every year for how long you've been alive but also for how you're being "recreated" along with the rest of the world.  Let's learn to embrace our new age this year and anticipate the eventful years ahead.

Thought of the Day: Bow

Song of the Day: Angus & Julia Stone-Big Jet Plane