February 2003
Dear Praying Friends--
The situation for the Christians in East Indonesia remains
uncertain and it is time to lift our voices in prayer for
them. There are still questions about their security. We
want them to find new hope in rebuilding their lives and
support the plan to resettle in their homesites as long
as their safety can be assured.
Please pray for the following areas:
1) Pray for refugees who are seeking to go back to their
home sites. Some will be going back to homes or lands that
have Muslims (some are the very ones who attacked their
villages) living in their homes and lands. There returning
Christians face potential conflicts when they have to evict
those who are living on their lands. There will be little
legal support for the Christians who make a claim on their
property. Pray for a safe and legal transition of these
lands.
2) Pray for the Christians who cannot go to their homes
because their home islands are too dangerous. I met thousands
who told me their homes are too dangerous to return and
they would begin their lives again in other areas. There
are a number of refugee camps and resettlement sites that
are filling up with the refugees who have given up on getting
their homes and lands back. Pray for the thousands who need
to begin again.
3) Our clinic is seeing a new T.B. patient everyday. This
is a huge problem and many are facing little prospect to
survive the sickness they will be facing in the next months.
It is a horrible way to die. I have seen many with T.B.
T.B. is treatable but we do not have the place to treat
these ones and have been stopped at every attempt to set
up a T.B. treatment center. Please pray for those who are
suffering from T.B. and pray for a door to open for us to
treat more of those who need treatment for T.B.
4) Ambon, where the conflict began in 1999, has 143,000
refugee living in fear of returning to their homes. Reports
have been coming from Ambon that Laskar Mujahideen, a radical
Islamic organization, is sending jihad soldiers to this
city. This is a very bad sign for the prospects of needed
security in this devastated region. Please pray for the
safety of the Christians in Maluku and that the Indonesian
government will use wisdom in stopping any violence against
innocent residents.
5) The leader of the Laskar Jihad, Jafar Umar Thalib, was
recently acquitted of charges against him (read article
in the insert). He has led the conflict against this region
for the last three years. There have been reports of jihad
troops moving into new regions including Irian Jaya. This
is very upsetting to the thousands of Christians who have
been victim of the attacks by the Laskar Jihad. They are
wondering about future attacks and what the future holds
for them. We have heard reports of every human rights violation
on the books. The judge who freed him stated that he had
the right to freedom of speech and should be honored for
having sought to maintain national unity. Pray for the security
of the thousands of innocent people who are waiting to see
what will happen in the next months as a result of the efforts
of Jafar Umar Thalib. Pray also that his efforts to attack
Christian villages would be prevented.
6) Pastor Rinaldy Damanik is on trial in the Central Sulawesi
city of Palu. He needs our prayers and the support. He was
accused of having arms in his car while he was evacuating
Christians from a village that was attacked. My first contact
with him was in Palu in February 2002. He was greeted by
a Muslim who was joining us in joint meeting to discuss
peace in the region. This Muslim leader greeted Rev. Damanik
with a big hug while stating, " You are my brother,
a man of peace." After being charged with having arms
he turned himself in and has been held since August of 2002.
Ian Freestone had a recent interview with Rev. Damanik.
This is worth reading (see the interview in the attachment)
if you want to hear the heart of a man who is willing to
give his life to see progress for the people of this war
torn region. Please pray for his safety. There was one attempt
to poison him while in custody just before his trial. He
is a real threat to those who have sought bribes, extorted,
or used the crisis for personal gain.
7) While in Australia I met two couples who have served
as missionaries in Indonesia. These couples know the language
and one couple had lived in the region of North Maluku.
They share amazing stories of their 15 years among the Christians
in this region. Their hearts are broken to the plight of
these people they have served and loved. It made me realize
that there are others who have given their lives to share
the love of Christ with the people of this region. Pray
for the missionaries who have shared the love of Christ
with the people of this region--they have made a big investment
of their lives and in a way they are suffering with their
people.
Thank you for partnering with us. Prayer makes a difference.
Keep lifting your voice for the brave saints of East Indonesia.
Hebrews 13:3
Carl Cady--US Director for International Friends of Compassion
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