Magar in Nepal

Magar in Nepal The Magar of Nepal may be of Tibetan descent because their language and dances are similar to those within the Tibetan culture. Some Magar live on the plains where the Himalayan hills begin; others occupy the lower hills of the Mahabharat Lekh; a few inhabit the high altitude mountain areas. They are very jovial and love to sing and dance. Ministry Obstacles Problems to overcome include geographical barriers, opposition from Maoists, opposing spiritual forces, and militant religions. Outreach Ideas Approaches to access include visiting evangelists and teams to share the Gospel message via stories and films, as well as with printed literature and Scripture. Pray for the followers of Christ Pray for the believers among the Magar, that the Lord will give them the Spirit of revelation that they may know him better, and that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened to know the hope to which they have been called. Pray the pastors will lead holy lives, serving their flocks with wisdom and diligence. Pray for the entire people group Pray for multiplying disciples throughout the Magar community, that each individual may soon hear the way of salvation, in their mother tongue and presented in such a way that they will understand it and accept it. Pray for educational opportunities for the youth, and employment opportunities. Scripture Focus "Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name." 1 Chronicles 16:28-29		People Name: Magar Country: Nepal 10/40 Window: Yes Population: 1,865,000 World Population: 2,173,000 Language: Nepali Primary Religion: Hinduism Bible: Complete Online Audio NT: Yes Jesus Film: Yes Audio Recordings: Yes Christ Followers: Few, less than 2% Status: Unreached Progress Level: 1.1

Israelis connect with Christmas in the Galilee

Israelis connect with Christmas in the Galilee

By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service, www.assistnews.net

THE GALILEE, ISRAEL (ANS, January 2, 2015) -- Hundreds of Israelis headed north last week for a taste of something they don’t usually get to experience – a traditional Christmas in the Western Galilee.

Jennifer Tzivia Macleod, writing for www.JNS.org, says that despite chilly temperatures and drizzling rain, nearly 700 people flocked from all over the country for the 4th Western Galilee Now Winter Festival to see how their Christian neighbors celebrate.

JNS.org reports that tour guide Amnon Gofer, who led a geopolitical tour through the Arab city of Tarshiha, said Israelis are driven by a deep innate curiosity. “It doesn’t say in the Torah, ‘sit and learn,’” he said. “It says, ‘Go and learn.’”

Rinat Adler, who moved to the Western Galilee five months ago from Tel Aviv, joined a walking tour in the Arab village of Kafr Yassif. Villagers “pampered us with holiday foods,” Adler said. Adler added that the visit was packed with “Bread with a taste of paradise, fascinating stories about Christmas, and about life in the village.”

Gofer also led an evening tour featuring holiday lights and a historical church in Tarshiha. “There are many unfamiliar visual elements,” he says. “It’s a beautiful display.”

This comes as a surprise to most Israelis, Gofer says, since most Jewish celebrations take place indoors. “Christian holidays are very external, very outgoing.” Though a white Christmas is rare here, Adler felt deeply moved, walking “around the village houses, the smells, the colors, the decorations, bright and colorful shops, and the beautiful church.”

According to the JNS.org article, participants met with a local priest who answered their questions on the history, symbolism, and significance of everything from the decorations and lights to Santa Claus. “It transcends politics,” Gofer said. “It’s a meeting of different cultures.”

The article explains that despite Christianity’s deep roots here, most local Arabs are Muslim, but Christians and Druze are each a strong minority in the area.

“This is life in the Galilee,” says Michal Shiloah-Galnoor, CEO of Western Galilee Now (WGN), which organizes the Winter Festival. “Most people think about one thing when you say ‘Arabs,’ but actually, Druze are very different from Muslims, who are very different from Christians. That’s why learning about your neighbors and their holidays is so important.”

The JNS.org article went on to explain that the Western Galilee, which stretches along Israel’s Mediterranean coast north and east from the ports of Haifa and Akko, has experienced rapid tourism growth in the last four years thanks to WGN, a grassroots collective of local businesses which is partly funded and supported by Jewish National Fund (JNF) and its Go North initiative. In 2015, the area was featured for the first time in Fodor’s Guide to Israel.

It added that other festive experiences during the celebration – always held on the weekend between Chanukah and Christmas – included a sold-out Christmas meal in a local restaurant where guests enjoyed a distinctly Middle Eastern take on the holiday, featuring dishes rich with local olive oil and a medley of seasonal vegetables created by Chef Roshdie Dakwar.

Attendance at this year’s Winter Festival jumped to 700 from 500 last year. Visitors sampled an assortment of cultural, historical, and culinary events, including glass and ceramic workshops, farm activities, and more, the JNS.org article reported.

Gofer loves sharing the region’s unique folklore, stretching back all the way to biblical times. It is said that in order to build the Temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon imported cedar wood from King Hiram of Lebanon. In return, he gave away 20 Galilee towns.

In the 1960s, Tarshiha joined with the smaller Jewish village of Ma’alot to create a joint municipal council, making the city a model of co-operation. Gofer’s tour also popped into Bouza, a gelato shop run by two young chefs, one Muslim and the other Jewish. Their flavors have spread throughout the country, along with their message of “coexistence on a cone.”

“You can feel the atmosphere,” said visitor Gila Springer. “You can learn more about the Arab population and see how they live, and you can smell and enjoy the food. They welcomed us openly. I felt very safe in Tarshiha.”

“In America,” says Gofer, “Christians and Jews live in the same building. That doesn’t happen often here, so if I want to meet Arabs and learn more about their culture, I have to get up and go out to Jaffa or the Galilee. That’s a big difference.”

The JNS.org article states that driven by curiosity, Israelis did come, eager to learn, and more often than not, they discover their own heritage as well. Adler knew there were Christians, Muslims, and Druze in the area, but was surprised “to find that there was a Jewish community and an ancient cemetery where, according to tradition, the Ramchal [Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto] was buried.”

Christian pilgrims also flock to the region to explore the places where Jesus lived and walked, including Nazareth, Capernaum, and sites located around the Sea of Galilee.

“What do people want?” asks Gofer. “In the end, people want connections. Israeli society seeks ways to connect, and if they can’t do that through the political system then they will do it here, through learning about the holiday festivals.”

Photo captions: 1) Visitors to the Western Galilee listen to a resident discuss local Christian customs and traditions. (via JNS.org). 2) A church in Tarshiha features holiday lights. (via JNS.org). 3) Michael Ireland.

About the Writer: Michael Ireland is a Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as a volunteer Internet Journalist and Ordained Minister who has served with ASSIST Ministries and ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. Click http://paper.li/Michael_ASSIST/1410485204 to see a daily digest of Michael's stories for ANS.

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The Doctor: Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Relevance for the 21st Century

The Doctor: Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Relevance for the 21st Century

By Christopher Catherwood, Special to ASSIST News Service

CAMBRIDGE, UK (ANS – Jan. 2, 2016) -- Martyn Lloyd-Jones -- often known as “the Doctor” from his medical degree—was one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century, if not one of the most distinguished since his hero Jonathan Edwards in the eighteenth century.

I must of course admit to a prejudice as I write that; I am his eldest grandchild! But I am not alone in my high regard for him personally and for his many decades of ministry, which spanned the years 1927, when he started to preach, until his death in 1981. I am also the author of a new biography entitled, “Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Relevance for the 21st Century” (Crossway Books).

What is different about this book, apart from the family relationship?

Many works on the Doctor are histories, looking back at past events and often controversies of long ago. Dr. Lloyd-Jones was a man of passionate conviction, and it is fascinating (and also alarming) to see how people on very different sides of some controversial issues each claim the Doctor was exclusively on their side! However, in this work I do not take sides, but allow readers to make their own minds up, on the basis of scripture as the Doctor always insisted was the only way in which such matters should be decided.

My book deliberately also looks forward, not backwards, to show how relevant both he and his ministry are today and to the future. The Doctor was someone highly regarded worldwide. His works were translated into countless languages, with eager readers from every country imaginable under the sun. Much of his ministry was in the USA, a country he loved, and he was a truly global figure, patriotic Welshman though he was! With Evangelicalism now also spreading everywhere, his international outlook remains vital.

The Renaissance of Reformed Theology

Like close family friend Mark Dever, I feel that the renaissance in recent years of Reformed theology, the rediscovery of the great truths of Calvin and of the Puritans, of Jonathan Edwards and C. H. Spurgeon, is a move very much of God, and is one of the most exciting developments in years. This in and of itself has made the life, thought, preaching, and ministry of Lloyd-Jones more relevant than ever. As he always told his family, he was a “Bible Calvinist not a system Calvinist,” and, at a time in which the glorious doctrines of grace are being found by large generations of young people, the need to rediscover Martyn Lloyd-Jones increases in importance.

Reformed doctrine is not something of historic interest alone, but is also profoundly relevant to how to live and think today. No one was more conversant with the works of, say, John Owen or Jonathan Edwards, than the Doctor. But he made them and their interpretation of Scripture alive and even life-changing. According to Lloyd-Jones, preaching was logic on fire, to the whole person, not just to the heart or to the head.

Sola Scriptura

Why do we believe what we believe? It may sound like an odd question, but in our own time it is as vital an issue as ever. To the Doctor, Scripture was the supreme, authoritative guide to everything. All too often, we straightjacket ourselves into man-made positions and formulae, and, while no one revered the old creeds and confessions more than the Doctor, it was the truth as expounded in the Bible upon which he based everything he thought, said, and taught. It is an emphasis that we always need to remember—the Reformation doctrine of sola scriptura. It is how today, for instance, there are many Baptists who are also Reformed, a position unthinkable in the past but entirely possible if you base your doctrines on how you interpret the Scripture, as do many American Evangelicals today.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones was the world’s most enthusiastic grandfather! And that enthusiasm carried through into his entire life and ministry. To him, nothing was more exciting than the great truths of Scripture—and the life enhancing way in which they were rediscovered by generations of Reformed preachers, such as his great favorite, Jonathan Edwards.

Truth is always relevant. So too, therefore, is Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

You can see a trailer of a video on his life, called “Logic on Fire,” a feature-length documentary with over 4.5 hours of special features, by going to: https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/history-biography/logic-on-fire 

Note: This was first published as a blog at https://www.crossway.org/blog/2015/11/who-was-dr-martyn-lloyd-jones and used with kind permission from Christopher Catherwood.

Photo captions: 1) Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones. 2) Illustration of Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones. 3) Book cover. 4) Cover of video about Dr. Lloyd-Jones. 5) Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). Reformed Preacher and Theologian in New England. 6) Christopher Catherwood.

About the writer: Christopher Catherwood (PhD, University of East Anglia) is an historian, a by-fellow of Churchill College Cambridge, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Oxford in modern history and resides in Cambridge with his wife, Paulette. He is the author of a number of books, including “Church History: A Crash Course for the Curious” and “Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Relevance for the 21st Century,” and the editor of “The Christ-Centered Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones.” He is a son of the late Sir Frederick Catherwood, Vice President of the European Parliament from 1989-1992, and his mother, Elizabeth, was a daughter of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

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Ramadi: Series of Islamic State counterattacks target Iraqi forces

Ramadi: Series of Islamic State counterattacks target Iraqi forces

By Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST News Service

RAMADI, IRAQ (ANS – Jan. 2, 2016) – The BBC is reporting that fighters from the so-called Islamic State (IS) have continued to pursue counterattacks on the edges of Ramadi a week after the city was recaptured by Iraqi troops.

Most of the attacks were outside central Ramadi to the north and east, spokesman for the US-led coalition, Col Steve Warren, told the AFP news agency.

He said Iraqi government forces had so far successfully repelled every attack.

On Friday the group attacked a military base near the city.

The BBC said that the Iraqi government said a week ago that it had “liberated” Ramadi from IS. The jihadist group, also known as ISIS, had held the city since May.

Col Warren said they had not yet seen IS “mass enough combat power to move Iraq off their positions.”

The BBC's Thomas Fessy, who has just returned from Ramadi, says a tough fight continues in the city and government forces have been taking casualties.

“The national flag is back in most of the city, but on the frontline we saw the black IS banner flying - defiant - less than a hundred meters away from the Iraqis,” he added.

A military spokesman said Friday's attack on a military base was carried out by suicide car bombers and fighters wearing explosive belts.

The army fought back with the help of air strikes by the US-led coalition.

The attack is the biggest launched by IS against Iraqi forces since Ramadi's recapture.

The BBC World Service Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher says the assault shows the scale of the task confronting Iraqi government forces - as troops are faced with an unknown number of IS fighters still holding out on the outskirts.

Over the weekend Iraqi troops and allied Sunni tribal fighters helped civilians to safer places in Ramadi.

Their homes were crushed in the fighting and many had been hiding in the rubble for days, the BBC correspondent says.

Photo captions: 1) The US-led coalition carried out more than 600 air strikes in the area since July (Reuters). 2) Several families have been rescued by Iraqi forces as they walked out of their homes to seek help. 3) Thousands of migrants are waiting at Turkey's border with Greece to find out what their future will hold. 4) Dan Wooding reporting for ANS from outside the Kurdistan Parliament in Erbil, Northern Iraq.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the author of some 45 books and has two TV programs and one radio show in Southern California, and has reported widely for ANS from all over the Middle East, including from Northern Iraq.

** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

“He Was Smiling and Shooting.” Witnesses Describe Tel Aviv Terror Attack

“He Was Smiling and Shooting.” Witnesses Describe Tel Aviv Terror Attack

By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com ) 

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL. (ANS-Jan 3, 2016) -- "He was smiling. He was smiling when he was shooting,” Noa Keren said on Friday, still trying to grasp being a witness to a shooting attack that killed two people in Tel Aviv earlier in the afternoon.

According to a story published in the Jerusalem Post, Keren had just sat down with her sister at a table inside the Sidewalk café on the corner of Dizengoff and Gordon streets, when they heard what sounded like a quick series of gunshots.

Moments later, a man wearing all black appeared at the window a few meters in front of them, raised his gun and opened fire.

All the while, he had a smile on his face, Keren said.

At least two shots were fired into the café. One lodged into a table against the front window just moments after a diner had left to go to the bathroom, according to Keren and her sister.

The Jerusalem Post reported witnesses said the shooter then continued on foot down Gordon toward Rabin Square, vanishing before police arrived at the scene.

The shooter has yet to be found, and the city of Tel Aviv greeted the New Year with two dead and several wounded in the terrorist attack.

The heart of the attack was a few doors down from Sidewalk at the Simta pub, a bar busy with patrons braving the cold and rain for a birthday party and a Friday afternoon drink.

It was then, the Jerusalem Post said, that the shooter stepped out of the grocery store next door, pulled a gun from his bag and began spraying the bar’s patrons with bullets before making his way north on Dizengoff to Gordon Street.

By evening, after the police and the press had mainly cleared away, loved ones and passers by continued to walk past the bar, lighting candles and stopping to mourn.

Inside the bar, life was suspended . Stools were still overturned and half-empty beers on the tables gave testament to the lives stopped short in an instant.

The Jerusalem Post said one witness, Mor, was across the street from the bar with her friends when they heard what sounded like gunshots and saw people racing in their direction.

Mor said they ran up Dizengoff and ducked inside a store, hiding inside of a storeroom as panic consumed those on the street outside.

“We waited inside and we didn’t know what to do. Even now, we want to go home but we’re afraid because we don’t know if they found him or not.”

Police were far from finding the shooter, and confusion seemed to be the order of the day.

Plainclothes detectives, anti-terrorism officers, special patrol units, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officers ran up and down Dizengoff and the surrounding streets, occasionally breaking suddenly into a run in one direction or another before stopping.

The police – including YASSAM special patrol officers in combat gear – would huddle and then break, walking down the side streets with their assault rifles, checking each apartment building.

At one point, the Jerusalem Post said, a number of plainclothes officers could be seen hitching rides on the back of bicycles ridden by Israeli civilians, as they raced north on Dizengoff after a false alarm that a suspect had been seen on Nordau Street.

The police began to make their way back south toward Gordon Street. Along the way, two detectives marveled at the cafes and restaurants just two blocks north of the crime scene that were still full of patrons, even as the shooter remained at large.

At nightfall, the main mission of the police and the security services working with them in the city remained finding the shooter as soon as possible.

“We are now on a manhunt with all of the police in the organization and the Shin Bet taking part,” Yarkon police subdistrict commander (Dep.-Ch.) Yehuda Dahan said on Friday evening, speaking to reporters outside city hall.

“The residents of Tel Aviv must remain aware of their surroundings and listen to police warnings,” Dahan said, though he said there was no police order for civilians to remain indoors, and repeated the usual call for people to maintain their normal routine.

Photo captions: 1) Volunteers tend to a man wounded in the Tel Aviv shooting. 2) Jeremy and Elma Reynalds.

About the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional details on "From Destitute to Ph.D." are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@gmail.com .

Note: If you would like to help support the ASSIST News Service, please go to www.assistnews.net and click on the DONATE button to make your tax-deductible gift (in the US), which will help us continue to bring you these important stories. If you prefer a check, please make it out to ASSIST and mail it to: PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA. Thank you.

** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)

Homeless Make Poignant New Year’s Resolutions

Homeless Make Poignant New Year’s Resolutions

By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com )

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ANS-Jan 3, 2016) -- With Thanksgiving and Christmas behind us, are you beginning to think about the seemingly inevitable subject of new year's resolutions?

You know, stuff like resolving to be a better person, changing jobs, quitting smoking, eating less and exercising more, or some other personal goal you hope to achieve in the upcoming year. While we all know that usually these well-intentioned resolutions don’t last past the first few days of January, we keep on making them all the same.

It’s no secret that intending to eat less and exercise more are probably two of the most popular resolutions. Sometimes the resolve to exercise more is motivated by a well-meaning relative or friend giving a gym membership, or perhaps a gift of a half dozen lessons with a trainer.

I was talking some time ago with people at the gym about how the first two or three weeks of January are always bustling with new members, and then as the month wears on the number of “newbies” plummets.

And as that resolution to exercise more falls by the wayside, many times so do those lessons with the trainer. The new year quickly turns into just another year, with all those good intentions put off till next year.

With resolutions generally being such a dismal failure, I was wondering how (and why) we came up with the concept. With that in mind, I did a little online research about new year’s resolutions and found that the tradition dates back over four thousand years to the time of the early Babylonians.

Apparently the most popular resolution back then for the Babylonians was to return borrowed farm equipment. To correspond with the spring planting of their crops, the Babylonians celebrated in March rather than in January.

I also checked out a U.S. government site, which listed a number of popular resolutions and corresponding links to help in their fulfillment. Although in no apparent order, last on the list that year was to volunteer to help others. Top of the list was to drink less alcohol.

I wondered how new year’s resolutions from members of our Joy Junction life recovery program stacked up with the typical resolutions which we all make and break.

I was reminded of a story I wrote a couple of years ago about new year’s resolutions, in which a participant told a former Joy Junction staff member that he doesn’t make new year’s resolutions, as to do so would be to “set myself up for failure.”

That staff member’s response was, “No blame there. Coming from a recovery perspective, ‘resolving’ to do anything sounds like attempting to dig a tunnel through a mountain with a spoon.”

However, others do make simple and poignant resolutions, and like those from past years, some of those listed for 2016 almost sounded like prayers.

Respondents wrote their resolutions, and turned them into program instructor Denis Billy.

One member of our nine month Christ in Power life recovery program (CIPP) said he wants to graduate CIPP. He is also resolving to be more positive, less negative and focus on God's Word.

He added, “I will set attainable goals. I plan to surround myself with positive people and remain clean and sober.”

Another guy said his resolution is to change his life and totally stay away from drugs. He said, “I want to be a better parent. I don't want to drink or chew tobacco.”

A female member of the CIPP program said she wants to keep clean. She continued, “I want to improve my mind, heart and soul. I also want to get closer to God. I want to complete the CIPP program and find a job.”

One woman said she would like to become more productive and responsible. She added, “In this, I believe everything else will follow suit, such as, housing, job, family and most importantly my relationship with God.”

Wanting to be more honest with herself and allowing God to love her the way He wants was one woman’s desire. To accomplish that, she said, “I will spend more quiet time with God. I will be more open to people helping me in my spiritual growth.”

God and staying “on the wagon” was on this woman’s mind. She said, “I will remain sober and make better choices and to build a better, closer relationship with God.”

God was the topic of many people’s new year resolutions. One woman said, “I would like to change my relationship with the Lord, my thoughts and train of thought towards others,” while a man said he wants to get closer to God and “know Him more.”

That same staff member I referred to above told me something which will always be true for whoever teaches our recovery class. “As their instructor, my heart skips a beat when I read such ‘prayers,' because I see that our programmers are ‘getting it.’ They are grabbing a hold of relationship with the God of the Bible. That relationship is expanding into every area of their lives, like a splash in a pool.”

How do your resolutions stack up with these?

Photo captions: 1) New Year Resolution illustration (http://www.postconsumers.com). 2) Jeremy and Elma Reynalds.

About the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional details on "From Destitute to Ph.D." are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@gmail.com .

Note: If you would like to help support the ASSIST News Service, please go to www.assistnews.net and click on the DONATE button to make your tax-deductible gift (in the US), which will help us continue to bring you these important stories. If you prefer a check, please make it out to ASSIST and mail it to: PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA. Thank you.

** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)

Non-Muslims Targeted in Islamic Extremist Attacks in Mandera, Kenya

Non-Muslims Targeted in Islamic Extremist Attacks in Mandera, Kenya

By Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST News Service

MANDERA, KENYA (ANS -- January 3, 2016) -– An attack on a bus and a truck in Kenya by Islamic extremists from Somalia’s Al Shabaab insurgency has taken two Christian lives in December.

According to the East Africa correspondent for Morning Star News (http://morningstarnews.org), in the attack on a bus with more than 100 passengers in Kenya’s northeast on Dec. 21, the Al Shabaab rebels tried to separate Christians from the Muslims for execution, but Muslims on board took pains to protect the Christians, an area source said.

“Al Shabaab militants stopped the bus from Nairobi to Mandera near El Wak village,” he said. “Weary of Islamic extremist attacks on Christians that have caused workers and teachers to flee the area, Muslims on board told the assailants that the militants would have to kill them all or leave them in peace. The Muslim passengers loaned their Islamic face coverings to Christian women and hid other Christians behind bags.”

The area Christian source said one Christian who tried to flee was gunned down.

“We lost one of our church members, Meshack Owino, who tried to run away and was shot dead, and three other passengers were injured while the Muslims refused to go back into the bus when the militia commanded them,” said the source, who requested anonymity. “They decided to shield the Christians as the militia tried to separate the Muslims and Christians.”

Morning Star News reported that Government officials praised the area Muslims for showing national unity, while observers pointed out that they are also weary of Islamic extremist attacks on Christians that have caused workers and teachers to flee the area.

Militants with Al Shabaab, which has taken responsibility for the attack, hid when they heard the sound of a truck that they thought might be a vehicle of the Kenya Defense Forces, he said. Passengers returned to the bus, which was between Dabacity Town and Borehole II, and it quickly continued on its way, the source said.

“To us Christians living in Mandera, we see this as God’s intervention,” he said.

Al Shabaab militants stopped the truck, however, and killed the driver, said to be a Christian, when he could not meet their demand to recite the Islamic creed, or Shahada, according to news reports.

“The militants seized a lorry that was behind the Makkah bus, and the conductor was killed after he failed to recite the Islamic Shahada,” the Daily Nation reported.

Morning Star News says that on July 7, 2015, Al Shabaab killed 17 quarry workers near Mandera, including several Christians. The attack in Soko Mbuzi took place at about 1 a.m. as the workers slept in tents outside two houses their employer rented for them, an area Christian leader told Morning Star News. As in previous attacks, the Islamic insurgents targeted migrant workers from the Kenyan interior who were non-Muslims, he said.

Then, on Dec. 2, 2014, Al Shabaab killed 36 non-Muslims, most of them Christian, in an attack on quarry workers near Mandera, close to the border with Somalia. The killings came after a Nov. 22, 2014 assault by Somali insurgents in the same area that left 28 non-Muslims dead, including 19 Christians.

“Al Shabaab, which has ties to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the Dec. 2 massacre, calling it vengeance for police raids on mosques in Kenya and Kenyan military involvement in displacing the Islamic extremist militants from Somalia. Prior to the Nov. 22 attack, police raided and closed four mosques in Mombasa that they said were recruitment centers for Islamic terrorists,” said Morning Star News.

“Al Shabaab rebels have launched several attacks in northeast Kenya since Kenyan forces led an African coalition into Somalia against the rebels in October 2011, in response to terrorist attacks on tourists and others on Kenya’s coast.”

Retaliation Attacks

On Monday (Dec. 28) the Kenyan military mistakenly killed two Somalis mistakenly suspected of being members of Al Shabaab in Mandera, which resulted in area Muslims attacking Christians in retaliation, an area source told Morning Star News.

“Rowdy Muslim youths in Mandera attacked some Christians as scapegoats for the killing of their fellow Muslims,” the source said. “A member of our church and another Christian were injured during the attack. Our sister was hit with a stone on her head and back and was rushed to a Mandera hospital in a critical condition.”

The woman, whose name is withheld, has been discharged from the hospital and is in hiding, he added.

“We as Christians in Mandera feel threatened,” he said. “Please pray for us.”

Truck Attacks on Coast

Morning Star News went on to say that near Mpeketoni town on Kenya’s coast, a truck worker and two policemen were killed in an attack on two trucks owned by Christians on Dec. 16, an area source told Morning Star News.

Gunmen suspected to be members of Al Shabaab attacked the trucks, which supplied food, cement, stone blocks and other items to the predominantly Christian areas of Hindi and Mpeketoni, at a point about six miles from Mpeketoni. They first burned down communications stations of Safaricom and Orange telecommunications companies, rendering the area without a network signal, and the truck carrying blocks of stone was set on fire as the driver and other crewmen escaped, the source said.

“The other truck, carrying cement, agricultural and other supplies, went three kilometers off the main Lamu highway before the assailants killed one of its crewmen and set it ablaze, the source said. Two other workers escaped,” it added.

“Police arrived, and in the ensuing shoot-out, the gunmen killed two officers and escaped with the police vehicle.”

Area Christians trying to resettle on their farms after a June 2014 massacre by Al Shabaab fear for their lives.

“The attackers were in police uniform with red caps,” said one of the Christians taking refuge at a police station in Hindi. “We thought that normalcy had returned to Lamu, but these Al Shabaab do not want us to live in peace.”

Photo captions: 1) The bus that was attacked. 2) Al Shabaab militants in action. 3) Dan Wooding speaking in Southern California about the persecuted church.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the author of some 45 books and has two TV programs and one radio show in Southern California, and has reported widely for ANS from all over Africa, including Kenya.

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