SOVIET UNION
Glasnost Stretched
Christian human-rights groups were pleased by the meeting last month between Pope John Paul II and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. At that meeting, the two agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties and discussed the possibility of a papal visit to the USSR. Gorbachev also proclaimed that all believers in the Soviet Union “have a right to satisfy their spiritual needs” and promised that a long-awaited new law guaranteeing freedom of religion will be adopted “shortly.”
Just prior to the meeting, the Supreme Soviet in Ukraine announced that the outlawed Ukrainian Catholic church will be allowed to register as a religious group. Many saw this as a step toward full legalization.
While religious-rights observers welcomed those developments, they also reported, however, that Russian Orthodox activist Alexander Ogorodnikov continues to suffer harassment by Soviet authorities, including interrogations, office searches, and the confiscation of computers and books. An aide to Ogorodnikov was beaten into unconsciousness during an office raid, and another associate, Sergei Savchenko, was killed under mysterious circumstances.
UPDATE
China Watch Continues
Reports filtering out of China continue to include good news, bad news, and a steady dose of apprehension in the wake of the hard-line Communist crackdown of June 1989. More than 150 house-church leaders were arrested last fall when officials raided an “underground convention” of more than 500 Christian leaders in Henan Province in central China. Almost all of those arrested, however, were released after paying a fine.
Observers have also reported the arrest of Christians and the confiscation of devotional and discipleship training materials in Zhejiang, as well as the arrest of two pastors in one of China’s coastal cities. Church leaders in China, however, feel the arrests in Henan were the result of a lack of care in setting up the meeting; none of the actions is seen as an indication of a coming program of repression aimed at the church. Though officials retain tight control on religious activities, reports of packed church meetings continue to encourage China church watchers.
Bishop K. H. Ting, head of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the state-recognized church in China, has reportedly retained all his leadership positions.
Most of the 500–600 Western Christians serving as teachers and business people have returned to their positions in China. Though some sending agencies advised against Americans returning, most found their people willing and eager to go. Most of these have returned only to major cities and report relations with the Chinese especially tense, due to government efforts to blame the West for the “counterrevolutionary” ideas and events of last spring.
KENYA
‘Missionary Kids’ Meet
Approximately 700 delegates to the International Conference on Missionary Kids (ICMK) gathered last November in Nairobi, Kenya, to explore the transcultural world of missionary kids (MKS). Conferees came from 61 countries, representing 150 mission agencies and 127 mission schools. More than 150 were MKS themselves; another 250 were missionary parents.
Delegates discussed a variety of unique stresses facing MKS, such as family life on the mission field, reentry to home countries, and education. A new theme addressed by the program of this, the third ICMK conference, was the children of some 36,000 missionaries now arriving on mission fields from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Delegates were welcomed to Kenya by President Daniel arap Moi, who spoke at the conference’s opening worship service at Africa Inland Church Kijabe. A dozen keynote speakers addressed the conference.
Previous ICMK conferences were held in Manila in 1984, attended by about 300; and Quito in 1987, attended by 500.
NEPAL
Christian Leader Jailed
A well-known evangelical leader in Nepal has been sentenced to six years in prison. The supreme court of Nepal, the world’s only officially Hindu nation, sentenced Nepalese evangelist Charles Mendies in August. Mendies was arrested in 1980 and 1983 for his Christian activities and opposition to the government’s treatment of religious minorities. The state twice appealed his case to higher courts. The decision was not reported until November.
Westerners have not been permitted to visit Mendies, according to the Puebla Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based human-rights organization, which recently released a report on religious freedom in Nepal.
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Briefly Noted
Rescinded: By Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the order to expel missionary Roger Hesch from the country (see CT, Dec. 15, 1989, p. 56).
Sent: To England, two Nigerian missionaries, the first sent to Europe from West Africa. James Gabis and his family were sent by SIM-related churches to aid new churches being planted in London.
Booming: Third World cities; by the year 2000, 17 of the world’s 20 largest cities will be in the Third World. Mexico City and Saõ Paulo will each hold 25 million people.
NICARAGUA
Evangelist Says No To Politics
Violeta Chamorro, the primary candidate of Nicaragua’s political opposition, requested the opportunity to address the Managua crusade of evangelist Alberto Mottesi, held November 28 through December 3. The Mottesi organizing team told her she could attend, but turned down her request to speak.
Meanwhile, an article in a government newspaper attempted to portray the crusade as an example of widespread support among evangelicals for Nicaragua’s Sandinista government.
And so on the first night of the Managua meetings, Mottesi made it a point to voice his disapproval of efforts to politicize the crusade. “I told the people that the church must act in such a way that it ministers to people on the right wing and also those on the left wing,” Mottesi said.
The Argentinian-born evangelist said this crusade was among his most difficult. He suffered from dehydration and from a viral infection. Heavy rain (one night it turned to hail) poured from the skies the entire week—even though this was supposedly Nicaragua’s dry season.
In an interview with CHRISTIANITY TODAY, Mottesi noted there were also technical difficulties, and he spoke of an incident in which he was almost struck by a heavy wooden beam that fell from an adjacent abandoned building while he was standing on an empty platform prior to one of the meetings. “I don’t want to overspiritualize the matter,” he said, “but I believe this is a true spiritual battle, that there is a host of evil spirits surrounding Nicaragua and Central America trying to fight against the Lord.”
The Mottesi team had set a goal of speaking to 500,000 during the crusade effort, which included six campaigns in other parts of the country the week prior to the Managua meetings. Cumulative attendance fell short of 300,000.
“We were hoping for much greater results in Managua,” Mottesi said. “But I believe the crusade was God’s plan.” Over 31,000 publicly confessed faith in Christ. The Institute for Evangelism in Depth is in charge of channeling these people into churches.
Mottesi said he was impressed to be a minister of mercy while in Nicaragua, adding that he was struck by the bitterness among Nicaragua’s youth, including young men who have lost limbs in the war. At different points during the crusade, the evangelist led prayer for peace in Central America.
“I have a conviction that only the love of God can heal these people,” he said. “I’m concerned that Christians not be divided by political causes.” One night after the closing prayer, Mottesi said, people of various political persuasions were hugging each other, asking one another for forgiveness.
The Mottesi crusade was heavily supported by the National Council of Evangelical Pastors of Nicaragua (CNPEN).
