Mission Network News - Asia

Bangladesh (MNN) — Violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh continues unabated.

Wycliffe Associates’ Tony Tophoney says former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left a power vacuum when she fled to India last week. Minorities are paying the price of lax governmental control.

“The police stepped back and kind of ‘circled the wagons’ [and] the people left out on the fringes of the society are the minority [groups] like Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians,” Tophoney says.

“The opposition party has been waiting for a moment like this. They were burning down Christian churches and Hindu temples, beating the believers in their homes.”

The unrest is directly affecting Wycliffe Associates’ partners. “All Bible translation work in Bangladesh has ceased due to the conflict because most of the Christians are hiding in colonies now,” Tophoney says.

Hindus protest the mistreatment of religious minorities in Bangladesh on August 12, 2024.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“With the violence ramping up and the uncertainty of the political situation, those colonies are being threatened and attacked by the opposition party.”

Many believers have fled to makeshift refugee camps on the border with India, hoping to escape across the border to safety. However, “the Indian authorities are guarding their border and stopping them from going any further,” Tophoney says.

“They’re stuck in that situation and don’t have any food because the agitators have made it impossible for those groups to access food.”

Ask the Lord to intervene and help as only He can. “We’d love to have your prayers,” Tophoney says.

“We need them desperately for South Asia and Bangladesh in general, that the Lord will protect the believers and protect the small light that burns for Christ. It is a fragile light, but it has been burning brightly.”

Header image depicts student protestors on July 11, 2024. Students launched the “Bangla Blockade” following a one-point demand for scrapping all illogical and discriminatory quotas in public service through the enactment of a law and keeping a minimum quota for marginalized citizens in line with the constitution. (Wikimedia Commons) 

Vietnam (MNN) — Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of 11 Christian men in Vietnam.

“The believers should have been released from prison by now as their sentences have expired. They should be at home, but they’re not,” says Greg Musselman with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Six Protestant believers and five Catholics all began their prison terms at different times between 2011 and 2016. All of the missing Christians belonged to unregistered churches, and most believers were charged with “undermining national unity.”

“A lot of persecution is going on in some of the more remote places [where] access to lawyers and courts and things like that are not what it would be in the cities. It’s very, very difficult to get any information; they’re just stonewalled,” Musselman says.

“Can you imagine the families, their community, their friends, not knowing where they are? Are they alive? Have they been killed?” he continues.

“We continue to pray that they’ll be soon reunited with their families, but right now, it’s a total mystery.”

A prison in Vietnam.
(Photo courtesy of VOM Canada)

Even though Christianity is legal in Vietnam, the Communist government often views believers with suspicion. More about that here.

“They do see [Christians] as somewhat enemies of the state, if you want to use that terminology,” Musselman says. “[Believers are] not going along with the communist ideology, so that concerns the government.”

Pray for the safe return of all 11 missing Christians. Ask the Lord to surround family members with His peace and comfort.

“Continue to pray for these 11 missing prisoners. These are brothers and sisters in Christ; we need to lift them up,” Musselman says.

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting everyday life in rural Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of Tomáš Malík/Pexels)

Bangladesh (MNN) — Restoring law and order is a priority for Bangladesh’s new caretaker government following last week’s ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

On Sunday, officials said they were working to resolve attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities.

Victory march by protesters after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Hasina fled to India after weeks of student-led protests descended into violence. Scott Clifton with FARMS International says the government collapse paved the way for chaos.

“It provided an opportunity for Muslim fundamentalists to reign the land,” Clifton says. “There’s general lawlessness; these fundamentalists have free reign, and they’ve targeted minority groups, so Hindus have been targeted. Christians have been targeted as well.”

Hundreds of radical Muslims raided the property of FARMS’ primary contact in Bangladesh and took his employees hostage. Inventory losses totaled roughly $30,000.

“Our contact had his businesses completely looted,” Clifton says.

“Stolen livestock, stolen fish from fish ponds – that was money to support orphans and ministry efforts.”

FARMS’ contact tells Clifton he’s hopeful that interim PM Muhammad Yunus will restore security so believers can emerge from hiding.

“They’re fearful for their lives. They’re sheltered at home; they’ve locked every gate,” Clifton says.

“They limit communication because they’re not sure what’s monitored or not, and they’re just living in fear, praying moment by moment for protection.”

No matter what comes next, FARMS’ contact and his family are trusting in God’s faithful presence. Ask the Lord to deliver these believers from the hand of their enemy.

Header image depicts protestors in Bangladesh on August 2, 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

Pakistan (MNN) — To follow Christ in Muslim-majority Pakistan is to know hardship. Bruce* with Uncharted Ministries says Christians struggle in nearly every life category.

“They are unable to get good jobs; they’re impoverished. Many of them are illiterate or very uneducated. They’re just a lower class.”

Emergencies often leave believers in debt because there are no social “safety nets” in Pakistan, such as feeding programs or government healthcare. Brickyard owners offer to pay off the debt but demand manual labor in return.

“We had no idea of the epic levels of slavery and suffering of Christians in Pakistan,” Bruce says.

“There are 20,000 brickyards that enslave up to 2 million Christians.”

This slavery ensnares multiple generations. “Through high interest rates and fraudulent bookkeeping, they never get out of debt,” Bruce says.

“You have grandchildren paying off the debts of their grandparents; it’s intergenerational slavery.”

Representative photo of a man working in a brickyard.
(Photo courtesy of Kartik/Pexels)

Uncharted Ministries partners with local believers to rescue Christian families from brickyard slavery.

“We’re paying a financial debt so they are set free, and it’s such a correlation to what Christ has done for us – paying our debt of sin that we’re set free,” Bruce says.

They’ve rescued 21 families since beginning the program. “We just rescued a family recently – a husband and wife and six children – and the debt that kept them enslaved was $250,” Bruce says.

“That was low; typically, the average [debt] is somewhere between $700 to $1,000.”

Learning to run a small business helps these families avoid falling back into slavery. Learn how you can partner with Uncharted Ministries in the process.

Pray the rescued believers will grow in their faith as they study God’s Word with Uncharted partners.

*Name withheld for security purposes.

Header image depicts the Christian family recently rescued from brickyard slavery; faces blurred for security purposes. They are pictured in front of their new living arrangement with relatives. (Photo courtesy of Uncharted Ministries)

Bangladesh (MNN) — On Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh after a violent crackdown failed to stop student-led protests against her government. Thousands of protesters celebrated her departure.

However, instead of the conflict toning down, reports are coming out about protestors targeting religious minorities and those perceived to be supporters of the former prime minister.

Bruce Allen with FMI says they are getting updates from Christian ministry partners in Bangladesh. “Opposition parties are vandalizing their opponents’ offices, burning down internet facilities, all sorts of things like that.

Protestors after the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Photo courtesy of S.M.M.Musabbir Uddin, Wikimedia Commons: CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151201673)

“Our partners say that they expect violence to increase. In fact, while I was chatting with one of them, he said, ‘I hear gunfire right now. Gotta go.’ So it’s a very volatile situation, even though it looks like things should calm down because their major demand of the prime minister’s resignation has occurred.”

Many churches and Hindu temples have been destroyed, and several people killed. One Christian pastor was approached by a group of people demanding he pay them to avoid harm, according to an FMI partner.

FMI’s ministry efforts in Bangladesh have continued, but engagement has gone down with people hesitant to leave their homes.

Allen says, “The protests began in late June. There were the curfews — which were, in some places, ‘shoot on sight’ curfews. That’s scary enough, so people would be hesitant to go out at all. ‘Do I go to a church service even though it’s daylight?’ People are hunkering down.”

Yet, despite the chaos, “Pastor Rajib, who’s one of our leadership team members, says that services still have gone on with all of our partners [and] church planters across the nation. In fact, I was pleased to see…photos of pastors leading their congregations in prayer vigils interceding for the country.”

In the wake of former Prime Minister Hasina’s departure, an interim government will be set up. Time will tell what kind of reforms this moment will spur in the country, but Allen says we can pray that this may also open the doors for spiritual revival across Bangladesh.

Rajpara Police Office engulfed in flames after the Resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Photo courtesy of Nahid Hossain, Wikimedia Commons: CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151220471)

“This is the third largest Muslim-majority nation in the world,” says Allen. “If Christians can begin to have a voice in this country, what a great opportunity for the country.”

“Pray for calm to be restored, for people to become unified in the vision for government and social reform.”

Also, Allen asks, “Pray for the evangelists and the church planters to have boldness to declare the Gospel of the Prince of Peace.

“Whenever there’s upheaval [and] people are feeling uncertain about life, it’s also a great time to say here’s what is certain: Jesus can be the anchor for you, not just in this life, but for eternity.”

Header photo of Bangladesh protestors cheering after the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Photo courtesy of Nahid Sultan, Wikimedia Commons: CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151233908)

Pakistan (MNN) — Torrential monsoon rains have killed 38 people in the last two days in northwestern Pakistan. FMI’s Bruce Allen says, “The Pakistani Meteorological Society [is] expecting heavy rainfall to continue, so it’s just going to be compounded in the days ahead.”

The latest deluge follows record-breaking rainfall last week, leading to historic flooding in Lahore and other cities of the Punjab province. Some areas saw 14 inches of rain in three hours.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

“We have several church planting partners in that area, and they have been impacted,” Allen says. “Our national director in Pakistan sent me videos [and] photos; you could tell he was very distressed and weary. He had a flooded first floor, and the floor above was also affected due to all the rains.”

The director, his wife, and three children weren’t the only ones affected. The 20 orphans in their care also lost shelter and provisions when flooding destroyed the director’s home.

“They’ve adopted so many orphans because, in that Muslim-majority society, orphan care is not a priority,” Allen says.

“That displaced family of [nearly] two dozen people now [is] encountering a very difficult time. We’re looking to raise a few thousand dollars to help.”

Consider partnering with FMI here to send help and hope in Jesus’ name. Ask the Lord to strengthen believers as they spend long days reaching out to people in need.

Allen says that “because it’s a crisis, people are more open” to Gospel conversations. “They’re frantic, so spiritually, they have questions—Does God care for me? Why does He allow these things?” he states.

“Pray for our partners as they deal with these impacted communities [and try] to get food to people. The whole city is just devastated, so there will be a lot of deprivation in the days ahead.”

Header and story images courtesy of FMI.

India (MNN) — Among the tea and cardamom estates of southern India, heavy rains caused sudden floods and landslides early Tuesday morning, sweeping away whole families.

At least 158 people died, and many are still missing. It’s the worst flooding Kerala state has seen in six years.

Flooding in India’s Kerala state, July 2024. (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

India is in the thick of monsoon season, and other parts of the country are feeling the impact of surging rains. The capital New Delhi also saw massive flooding last month.

Regan Miller with Mission India explains, “In India, everybody lives in such tight quarters. People live in homes that are on top of each other and attached to each other and side-by-side and the neighborhoods are so crowded that when something like this happens, it affects hundreds of thousands of people.

“There’s really a great need for prayer right now, and there’s also great opportunity to share the hope of Christ when people are struggling.”

Mission India works with local believers across India to run Children’s Bible Clubs and share that eternal hope with kids and their parents.

Families at one Bible Club in a flood-affected area have been impacted. “All of these parents of the kids have not been able to go to work, and they’re already in a really poor area. So that’s been difficult to hear about as well,” says Miller.

Children’s Bible Club (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Please pray for Indian families out of work due to the flooding that they will find support through the local Church.

Miller says, “We are asking for prayers that our church planters will be able to get back to the field [and] that communities would find hope in the Good News as they rebuild homes, rebuild roads and all the things that have been damaged in the flooding.”

Also, ask God to comfort the grieving communities in Kerala state.

Learn more about Mission India’s ministry programs.

Header photo of the flooding in India’s Kerala state, courtesy of Mission India.

Philippines (MNN) — The tail-end of Typhoon Gaemi lashes China with torrential rain and deadly mudslides. At least 22 people have died of storm-related causes since Sunday.

“Typhoon Gaemi has wreaked havoc in Taiwan, the Philippines, and now in China,” Brian Dennett with AMG International says.

“We are working in the Philippines [and] had word from our team there. They have had relentless rain; it’s done incredible damage, and many people have had to be rescued.”

Knee-deep flood lashes Quiapo district in the City of Manila due to southwest monsoon (Habagat) induced by Typhoon Carina (Gaemi).
(Photo, caption courtesy of Michael Peronce/Wikimedia Commons)

Super Typhoon Gaemi swept across the Philippines last week before downgrading and heading toward Taiwan. In the Philippines’ northern province, more than 18 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in some regions.

“Our long-time AMG missionary, Eden Layda, her home is completely underwater. She was rescued, and we have her lodging at the moment in AMG’s offices northeast of Manila,” Dennett says.

“Homes, roads, [and] crops have been destroyed, and that means hunger issues in the months to come.”

Over 830 public schools postponed their back-to-school opening because of the storm. AMG supports child development centers throughout the archipelago, which provide Christian education, food, and healthcare.

“We have several schools that are affected; we know of one that’s completely underwater,” Dennett says.

“We’re providing relief to those students and their families… they know that we’re helping because of our compassion and love from Jesus.”

According to the latest figures, around 4.8 million people have been affected by the combined effects of the annual monsoon season and Typhoon Gaemi. Consider helping Filipino families through AMG by donating to the Disaster Relief Fund.

“Everything we do is used to share the Gospel. As we meet these desperate needs, we are also sharing the hope in Christ,” Dennett says.

“Pray that we [can] help in providing food, shelter, water, and [in meeting] other basic needs during this trying time.”

Header image depicts Super Typhoon Gaemi as captured via satellite on July 23, 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

Bangladesh (MNN) — Bangladesh observed a national day of mourning yesterday, July 30, recognizing that nearly 150 people have lost their lives during student protests this month.

The unrest hinges on a former quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for descendants of veterans. Paul, a gospel worker with A3 in Bangladesh, says when students first protested the quota, the government responded positively.

Photo of 2024 quota reform movement courtesy of Rayhan9d/Wikimedia Commons

“They said they will listen and talk about it. But later because of some misunderstanding, the situation got [much] worse,” he explains.

Eventually, “[the] government deployed [the] army and other forces because many of our national properties like train station, bus station, municipalities, corporation, so many things were attacked. To protect all those kinds of national resources, they introduced [a] curfew.”

Paul says that the situation is now more under control than it was last week. However, tensions remain between the government and protesters. 

“There [is] still [some] communication going on between the two sides,” he says. “Please pray for the general people of Bangladesh — especially for the students, because we have some traumatized situation[s] because of last week, as many people died on the street.” 

On Sunday July 21, the Supreme Court cut the job quotas from 30% to 5%. Since then, the government curfew has begun to ease. Pray for normal life to return soon so that A3’s gospel work can continue. 

“We are not able to organize different types of ministry activities, because of this situation,” Paul says. “So we have been postponing or canceling different programs.”

Paul says the people of Bangladesh need courage and peace from God amid fear and trauma. “Pray for our leaders, so that they can also [make] decision[s] wisely.” 

Learn more about A3’s ministry at a3leaders.org. 

Header photo of 2024 quota reform movement courtesy of Rayhan9d/Wikimedia Commons.

Bangladesh (MNN) — Bangladesh is slowly lifting an internet and communications blackout after crackdowns on riots and protesters killed almost 200 people.

It all started two weeks ago when student protesters began demanding an end to a quota that reserves 30% of government jobs for relatives of freedom fighters.

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says, “One of the greatest fears that the government would have would be a student movement. It’s incredibly intimidating because they know the power of that and the substance of that. That’s what was happening, and so they began to negotiate to ease some of these quota restrictions.

“So the good news is that things are moving in the right direction. The bad news is it just was very revealing of how unstable a country like Bangladesh is.”

Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of Niloy Biswas/Unsplash)

Along with the social unrest, Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation in deep spiritual darkness.

“If the Church around the world is looking at Bangladesh, they’re going to find a country that is in great need of the Gospel,” Kelley says. “I mean, you can’t look at a country of 173 million people, top 10 population of countries in the world, and less than 2% Christian [without] saying, ‘Oh my goodness, where is the Church at? Where are our missions efforts at?’”

So what can the Church do? Kelley says, “We need to get Bibles in there!”

Unknown Nations is reaching Bangladesh with biblical hope. In connection with ministry partners, “We distribute solar-powered audio Bibles by the hundreds in the Bengali language.”

Pray for the peace of Christ to permeate Bangladesh as a result of millions of people hearing Scripture and choosing to follow Jesus.

Support Unknown Nations’s audio Bible distribution ministry here!

Header photo courtesy of Unknown Nations.