Burma reforms cause unexpected side effect for refugees

Mission Network News: "Burma (MNN) ― Global euphoria over changes in Burma isn't trickling down to the ones it should most affect: the Karen Christian refugees.

There's still a great deal of danger and  mistrust surrounding the camps, which prevents many of the Internally Displaced People from making their way back to home villages in the heart of Burma."

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Christmas goes forward despite a time bomb in Burma

Burma (MNN) ― Christian civilians in Burma are facing deadly attacks. 

Those who manage to escape to Internally Displaced People camps have not found the safety they hoped for. There have been repeated attacks near one of the camps where Vision Beyond Borders works.

A recent report from one of their contacts indicated the team escaped a near-bombing. He writes, "We had two back-to-back trips to our orphanages. Just two days before we planned to go, we got the final 'okay' from our 'spy' Thai-Karen soldier to cross the river." However, one week prior to the visit, someone placed a time bomb on one of the boats heading for the camp.

The bomb destroyed that boat and others that were close by. The team took the threat to heart and planned a different route to get to the camp. Instead of doing the 2-hour boat ride and passing 4 Burmese Army camps, they drove 4 hours through the jungle to the river. From there, they carried the supplies to the boat and finally crossed the river to the camp.

VBB's contact goes on to say that two days before they arrived, the Karen and Burmese armies were fighting again. 

Gunfire and mortars could be heard in the dorms. "This was very frightening, especially for our girls and the younger orphans. Our leader called all the kids together in the dorm, and they all prayed while the fighting was going on."

Although there are more than 4,000 Karen refugees in this refugee camp inside Burma--mostly women and children, there were no reported injuries from the fighting nearby. While there, the team had an early Christmas celebration, and the children were thrilled to receive gifts and prayer.

Please pray that God will shine His light of truth on the situation in Burma. Pray for witnessing opportunities for every Christian this Christmas season. At Christmas, oftentimes people are more open and receptive to the Gospel than at other times. Pray for safety, too, for the teams working in the IDP camps. 

Christians threatened, killed in Syrian vigilantism

(Photos of Homs protest
 courtesy of 'Syriana 2011')

Syria (MNN) ― While Libya was fighting for freedom from a dictator and Egypt was planning out its new government, Syria was quickly deteriorating in the background.

Syria has in many ways slipped under the international radar. The U.N. recently raised the death toll for protesters killed since March to 3,500. The estimate was deemed "conservative," according to Al Jazeera.

Demonstrations against the nation's dictator Bashar al-Assad have been taking place for months. The Syrian government has frequently responded with gunfire, resulting in the 3,500 lives lost.

Yet, Paul Estabrooks with Open Doors says, "The U.N. stepped up Libya, but nothing has ever been decided or done in the case of Syria."

And the situation is worsening.

Although the Arab League Agreements have forced the Syrian army out of some regions, the decision has meant bad news for Christians. Open Doors reports that the army pulling out of Homs has been disastrous for believers.

"Under Assad, they've actually had a relatively quiet and peaceful life, but now things have changed," observes Estabrooks. "For example, the city of Homs, which is the third-largest city of Syria, had the military pull out recently, and Islamic extremists and armed civilians have taken over the city. And they're threatening our brothers and sisters there."

The threats have given way to the deaths of at least two Christians and to extreme fear. A Catholic priest reported that many believers are not leaving their homes anymore.

Estabrooks explains, "Christians in general, and women, in specific, are being threatened and told to leave the city. There are checkpoints everywhere they go. And these checkpoints are not military people. They're local vigilantes of extremists who are telling them to leave the city, that this is a Muslim city, that 'we don't want you Christians here, and you should get out.'"

Miraculously, the church is still growing in Syria, but Christians are begging for one thing. "In these recent cases, the Christians in Syria are just pleading with us to remember them in prayer. They said, ‘We need prayer--now more than ever before.'"

Pray for protection for believers. Pray that God's children will remain a light in these darkest of times.

Estabrooks encourages you to alert your representatives about the plight of Christians in Syria.