The D is Silent

I had been waiting for Django Unchained for so long that the hype and excitement for the movie died within my heart, especially after the much later release in Korea. But that only made me enjoy the movie so much today that I currently consider it even better than Inglorious Basterds. "I'm curious what makes you so curious." Joe and I were the only ones in the theater laughing throughout the movie. Loved it!

Happy Birthday, Terrance.

Thought of the Day: Exhausted
Song of the Day: De La Soul-My Writes

This week's persecuted church: Mali

This month, Christians from a church in Diabaly gathered for worship amongst bullets on the ground and graffiti on the church wall that reads "Allah is the only one." A few days before that, the church was doubling as a military base after Islamist rebels had been ousted, following a period of violent occupation.

After the occupation was overthrown, Christians returned to their homes. But one pastor believes that the Islamist groups had been tipped off about the church by local support. As a result, neighbors who once lived together in harmony are now suspicious of each other.

Thought of the Day: 17!
Song of the Day: Fun-We Are Young

This week's persecuted church: Nepal

About 30,000 people live in the city where Bilal’s family live, but there are only four or five Christian families. When Bilal died, radical Hindus tried to take his body for cremation, according to Hindu custom. Death, along with birth and marriage, is one of three significant milestones in Hindu culture. By cremating Bilal’s body, the Hindus hoped to erase his Christian testimony. Cremation would be a message in their culture that Bilal hadn’t really been a Christian, that in death he’d returned to Hinduism. Conversely, a grave would be a permanent testimony that this man had died a Christian.

Bilal’s family refused to turn the body over to the Hindus; they wanted a Christian funeral and burial. The family was at home making funeral arrangements with their church’s pastor, Pastor “Sabal,” when they heard shouting outside the house. A large Hindu mob had gathered, shouting threats and demanding the body in order to perform Hindu last rights and cremation.

Sabal told the Hindus that Bilal was a Christian and that his family wanted a Christian funeral. The mob then became enraged, grabbing Sabal and two other Christians and beating them with sticks and their fists. The Christians tried to flee on their bicycles, but the mob continued to attack.

Thought of the Day: Bag
Song of the Day: Jewel-Pieces of You

B-girl

I've seen a lot of breaking in my day, but I've never seen anyone so...

small girl.

I've never seen anyone so small girl!

Thought of the Day: Bitterness
Song of the Day: Jewel-You Were Meant For Me

This week's persecuted church: Somalia

Two masked men killed Ahmed Ali Jimale, a 42-year-old father of four, on Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. as he stood outside his house in Alanley village, near a police station, they said. The killers were suspected to be members of the Islamic extremist Al Shabaab, a rebel militia ousted from the area four months ago but still engaging in hit-and-run tactics. A few of the four rival clans in Kismayo, 328 miles southwest of Mogadishu, are said to be housing members of Al Shabaab.

A businessman, teacher and medical consultant well-known in the area, Jimale ran a pharmacy in Kismayo. He would give private lessons on medicine and first aid, and as an underground Christian – as are all Christians in Somalia – he highlighted the teaching with discussions comparing the Bible and the Koran, sources said.

The students would share these lessons with other children, and this teaching, along with his close work with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that provides aid, appeared to have caught the attention of the Al Shabaab extremists, said a source who worked with Jimale but is no longer in the area.

Thought of the Day: 삼겹살 Day
Song of the Day: Be Still My Soul