Notes From All Over

In Billy Graham's recent crusade to Canada, more of his efforts went to build up Roman Catholic Churches. Roman Catholic churches were the largest group represented. Sixty RC Churches lined up to sponsor the Crusade and share in the follow-up of 9000 who answered Graham's invitation to trust Jesus for salvation. How sad that Graham is willing to see some of these precious souls turned over to a false, "church" to be taught that Jesus is a wheat wafer, their Comforter is a pagan goddess, forgiveness for sin comes from confessing to a man, not God, that the sacrifice of the cross was not adequate, but one must suffer in purgatory for his own sins and even then never really know if you are good enough to make it to heaven.

Russia continues to tighten the noose on non-Orthodox missionaries. Last year the Russian parliament passed a law that places the Russian Orthodox church as the country's dominant religion. The law stated that religious organizations which had not been operating for a minimum of 15 years in the country would be denied permits to own property and carry out evangelism. Some of the provinces moved immediately to implement the law with stringent local regulations.

Regulations have now been instituted requiring all foreign missionaries working in Russia to renew their visas every 3 months. Previously they were granted for a full year.

The rules force the missionaries to leave the country four times a year to get their visas renewed. The additional expense and disruption may force curtailment of ministry. Evangelicals see such harassment as a strategy by the Orthodox leaders to eliminate the competition of the missionaries.

Hong Kong Missionaries continue what they call "tract bombing" even after the city is now officially part of China. Their "blitz" technique includes a quick dash up the outside stairs of squalid hi-rise tenements leaving tracts in mail boxes or on door knobs; a quick "drop" in the seat of an unoccupied police vehicle; deftly flinging one into the basket of a bicycle as it passes, etc. Open windows of passing buses are another favorite target, or if they are on the bus, a few tracts tossed out the windows to people waiting at the bus stop. The missionary describes one trip: "Ducking under dripping laundry, stepping over rusted bikes, in the twisted, tiny labyrinth of old neighborhoods where chickens cackle and truck horns fill the air.

"I must find a doorway or stairs to get up into 15-20 apartments. I must be invisible. I see so many police and soldiers, it's unreal. Suspicious people give you the eye. These are muddy, filthy places.

"Walking for miles, placing dozens and dozens of tracts, rejoicing. Got into a renowned school, blitzing teacher's and student's desks, in the hallways, and bathrooms, unseen. Suddenly, a guard! I got away fast!" The names of the missionaries have been omitted to avoid local retaliation. Pray for their safety.


Products of Interest: