PRAYER WEEK FOR PAKISTAN

Pakistan is a nation in turmoil. Since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto there has been a great deal of uncertainty about political stability in Pakistan. Understandably, our brothers and sisters there are very concerned about the future. They are reporting that because of the destruction of infrastructure the power supply is very intermittent and some areas are going for long periods without power or gas. Communication has also consequently been disrupted. Food and essential commodities have escalated in price, with some basic items such as flour and milk increasing by 50-70%.

Pakistan has been one of the fastest growing areas of the Christadelphian brotherhood in recent years. Since 2002 there have been more than 800 baptisms and the spread of the Gospel in this nation of 170 million people has been phenomenal. To aid and support this amazing activity of God, especially during this time of crisis, we are asking for your prayers.

For each day during the week commencing 13 January 2008 we are asking for Christadelphians worldwide to unite in their prayers for Pakistan .

Each day will have a ‘theme’ to help you focus your praying.

To facilitate this, each day during the prayer week an email will be sent to supporters and friends with some relevant background information and suggestions for thanksgiving and prayer requests, so that worldwide we will praying along similar lines each day. The same email will be posted on their blog (see link in the right side panel).

If you are not already on the email list to receive updates, please let us know and each day during this week we will email you so that you can join in this fellowship of praying together.

A hard copy of these prayer suggestions for the full week can be posted to any brother or sister who would like to join us in the prayer-week but who cannot access email or the internet.

Please feel free to forward this message to any brothers and sisters who you feel would welcome the opportunity to partner with us in prayer for a full week for our brothers and sisters in Pakistan .

To be added to the email list for prayer suggestions and updates send an email with the word 'Subscribe' as the subject to pakistan.christadelphians@yahoo.com

ASSASSINATION OF BENAZIR BHUTTO

Benazir Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan, has been assassinated while campaigning for elections that were scheduled for 8 January. After returning to Pakistan in October 2007 Bhutto was hoping that her party, the PPP, would emerge as the dominant force in the elections, the first to be held since President Musharraf resigned as head of the army and became a civilian leader. Late last year, Ms Bhutto and Mr Musharraf had been working on a power-sharing agreement. The talks failed, leaving Ms Bhutto as the biggest political threat to President Musharraf, rather than an ally. Her death could leave a political vacuum.

There is now a great deal of uncertainty about political stability in Pakistan. Understandably, Christadelphians in Pakistan are very concerned about the future. One brother in Karachi contacted me to say: "When the news broken there were protests everywhere in the country, banks, vehicles and the official properties including police stations being set on fire ... traffic and cell services became jammed ... 7 people from the apartment where I'm living could not reach their homes for 4 hours after the incidents".

On Friday last, five Christians were kidnapped in South Waziristan by unidentified men. The victims were en route from Wana to Dera Ismail Khan when they were abducted from the Wana-Tank Road. The political administration has confirmed the kidnapping, and said all resources were being utilised to secure the release of the abducted people.

In the latest news it has been reported that thousands of Pakistanis have fled into Afghanistan with the security situation deteriorating in Pakistan's tribal regions over the past week. Hundreds of families, comprising some 6,000 mainly women and children, have been crossing the border. It is the first time so many people have crossed this way as for years it was Afghans fleeing fighting.

The New York Times has also reported that US Security advisers are discussing whether to conduct far more aggressive covert operations in the tribal areas of Pakistan in response to intelligence reports that al-Qaeda and the Taliban are intensifying efforts to destabilise the Pakistani Government.

For now Christadelphians in Pakistan have reported that they are safe from the turmoil following Bhutto's assassination, but they would value your prayers.

For regular updates about Pakistan Christadelphians visit their blog or email pakistan.christadelphians@yahoo.com

Emergency in Pakistan

The President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, has declared a state of emergency. The Constitution has been suspended. Private news channels have also been suspended.

Further information about the impact this will have on the Christadelphians in Pakistan has been posted to the Pakistan Christadelphians blog. If you have not been set up to access this secure blog, send an email requesting access to pakistan.christadelphians@yahoo.com

Please keep our brothers and sisters in Pakistan in your prayers.

Pakistan Christadelphians (2)

Pakistan is possibly one of the fastest growing areas in the Christadelphian community, with more than 800 baptisms since 2002.

So why is this one of the fastest growing areas in the Christadelphian community?

A new series of posts has commenced on the Pakistan Christadelphians blog which explores some of the factors which may have contributed to the success in witnessing in Pakistan.

For security reasons access to this blog is restricted. If you'd like to access the blog you can email a request to pakistan.christadelphians@yahoo.com.

Pakistan Christadelphians

A new blog has been launched with information and news about the Christadelphians in Pakistan and their progress in preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The first Christadelphians in Pakistan - 10 of them - were baptised in 2002. Since then there have been more than 800 baptisms, which makes this one of the fastest growing areas in the Christadelphian community.

As well as providing updates on developments and breaking news, the blog is also intended to provide some commentary on why the Pakistan Christadelphians have been so successful in preaching the Gospel in a country where Christians are persecuted. It also plans to explore what Christadelphians in other countries can learn from the Pakistan experience which would be helpful elsewhere.

This is a 'private' blog and access is by invitation only.

Why is access to this site by invitation only?

Pakistan is an Islamic country and Christians are a tiny minority (about 2%). The safety and security of our brothers and sisters is a prime concern for us.

For this reason we have to be very careful about publishing information which could identify individuals and put them at risk. Consequently this is a 'private' site and is not searched by search engines. That's also why access is restricted to people we can trust.

The Islamic world is a vastly different place to the western world, people do not have the same rights to religious freedom that we experience in the west, and information put on the internet might put lives at risk.

If you'd like to access the blog you can send an email to pakistan.christadelphians@yahoo.com, including your name and ecclesia, and mentioning why you'd like to visit the blog.