AP

USA PARENTS BEING STRIPPED OF THEIR RIGHTS OVER GENDER-CONFUSED KIDS

A bill is making its way through the Colorado state legislature that would classify parents as abusive if they don’t endorse their child’s gender disorders. If passed, it could result in the removal of children from their homes. The Bill with the contradictory name of the “Kelly Loving Act,” would add “misgendering” and “deadnaming” as acts of discrimination under Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act. The Bill outlines that “misgendering” is purposefully referring to someone using a different pronoun with the intent to disregard their gender identity.  Additionally, so-called “deadnaming” means to purposefully use someone’s birth name rather than their chosen name with the intent to disregard their gender identity. Not only that, the measure would require courts to consider whether parents are affirming their child’s gender dysphoria in custody battles or if they are “coercing” that child toward understanding their God-given gender instead. In the cases where they do not affirm their child’s confusion, the court can revoke custody of parents. Those opposing the Bill, have accused the State of now crossing the Rubicon of parental rights with this Bill.
A Colorado father – Dustin Gonzalez – shared the heart-breaking story of how he lost custody of his 12-year-old biological daughter after school officials at her school socially transitioned her to a different sexual identity without his knowledge or permission. The Christian dad spoke before the Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education earlier this month to share his plight and why parents should not remain silent as their parental rights are being stripped. “This happened quickly, secretly, encouraged by a school-appointed therapist and a system that never thought to include me,” Gonzalez explained. “The school didn’t inform me, they didn’t ask, they replaced me….And now I’m at risk of losing parenting time and being erased from my daughter’s life. Not because I failed as a father, but because I dare to ask questions.”
Other Parents have lost their children similarly. Indiana’s Department of Child Services took Mary and Jeremy Cox’s gender-confused child away from them due to their refusal to affirm his identity because of their Biblical beliefs about sex and gender. The couple had previously sought a lower court’s intervention to return their child to them but were denied. The trial court removed the Cox’s son from them and barred them from speaking to him about the topic of sex and gender. A California mother lost her daughter to suicide after losing custody because she did not celebrate her child’s gender dysphoria. The mother lost custody of her teenage daughter, because her Christian beliefs on sexuality conflicted with her state’s decision to endorse gender disorder as normal. “My daughter was murdered by a gender ideology. It was helped by her public school counsellor and LGBTQ group and another trans-identified girl,” she testified during a California Judiciary Senate hearing in 2023. [Source: CBN News]

KILLER OF GRAHAM STAINES AND SONS RELEASED TO HERO’S WELCOME IN INDIA
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – One of the Hindu extremists sentenced to life in prison for burning Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons to death in India 25 years ago, walked out of Keonjhar jail on April 16, freed by the Odisha State Sentence Review Board for ‘good behaviour’, and was given a hero’s welcome with supporters garlanding him and chanting the Hindu slogan, ‘Jai Shri Ram [Hail lord Rama]’.  Mahendra Hembram immediately proclaimed his innocence, though in 2002 he once declared himself the sole culprit for the murders, according to court records. John Dayal, spokesperson for the United Christian Forum, was shocked by the scene: “The obscene welcome accorded to the convict on his release was to be seen to be believed, and totally exposes the politics behind the release,” Dayal told Morning Star News.
Staines, then 58, and his sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, were burned alive while sleeping in their station wagon outside a church building in an Indian village on Jan. 22, 1999. The Australian missionary had worked with leprosy patients in Baripada since arriving in India in 1965. A retired police officer stationed in the village that night described what happened: “Hembram and Singh were leading the mob. When Staines and his sons tried to escape the flames, the mob, armed with lathis (long wooden poles), prevented them from exiting, leading to their deaths. Their skeletal remains were later recovered.” The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested 51 people in connection with the crime. Singh who was identified as lighting the fire, was sentenced to death (later commuted to life in prison), Hembram was  sentenced to life in prison, but witthin three years, 48 suspects were acquitted.
The release of  Mahendra Hembram has reopened wounds from one of India’s most shocking hate crimes and turned attention to the pending remission plea of Dara Singh, the main perpetrator who remains imprisoned in the same facility. Congressman Manickam Tagore condemned Hembram’s release on social media platform X, posting, “A hate-fuelled murderer who burned alive Graham Staines and his two little sons is now walking free. Mahendra Hembram’s release is a dark stain on Indian justice.”

IN THE EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH, MINISTRIES RESPOND WITH HOPE.
Turkey (MNN) — As fears of a bigger earthquake spread across Turkey, many are left asking a deeper question: what is my true foundation in life? On April 23, families gathered in Istanbul’s parks to celebrate National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, a beloved public holiday. But at 12:49 p.m., a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck in the Sea of Marmara, sending physical and emotional shockwaves through the city. Memories of the devastating 2023 Turkey earthquakes fueled panic. Some jumped from windows, fearing buildings would collapse. Others rushed to open areas like parks and squares to wait in fear. Reports say at least 151 were injured, many from acting in panic. After the chaos, authorities advised citizens to spend the night outside. Some slept in their cars, while others gathered with neighbors in gardens and courtyards. A few returned home, but the fear lingers.
Although this quake caused little structural damage, the anxiety remains. Many wonder if the next one will be worse. But amid the uncertainty, ministries remain active, offering comfort, support, and spiritual stability. “There are so many people who need to hear the gospel for the first time! And things like this are a reminder that, yes, gospel workers, we must keep praying, keep working. Jesus is coming. And people need to know that,” encourages Anthony. Foursquare Missions International (FMI) continues to stand alongside local churches. “We come alongside the indigenous church planters and the indigenous church in places where it’s very difficult for the church to grow because of persecution, or because of poverty,” says Anthony.
PRAY for those in need of shelter and comfort in the aftermath. Many partners and families live in multi-story apartment buildings. After experiencing an earthquake, many are too afraid to return home, uncertain if the structures are safe. And most importantly, pray that Turkish citizens find a truly firm, unshakable foundation in Christ.

KILLINGS CONTINUE IN NIGERIA FARMING COMMUNITIES & THE WORLD IS SILENT
Nigeria (International Christian Concern) — The Fulani militants who killed 42 Christians during a night attack early in April in north-central Nigeria continued their killing spree despite a curfew imposed by the government. Witnesses have told International Christian Concern (ICC) staffers that at least 100 Christians were killed in one week in 16 villages in the Mangu district of Plateau State.  One survivor who fled with other villagers watched as the militants killed her husband, father-in-law, and four siblings, and burned her home. “We did nothing to them, but the Fulani [militants] killed us because of our faith,” she said. “We don’t have guns to defend ourselves,” another survivor who sustained a gunshot wound told ICC. The man lost five family members in the attack, including his wife and father. “The military and police came when the Fulani [militants] finished attacking the village and killing 27 from my village,” said the man.  
On Thursday evening, Fulani militants also attacked another neighbouring community in Kiwi Village, killing at least 10 people and burning houses.  “We received an early sign warning, but the security officials refused to listen to us,” said a community member who saw the attack. “They came after the attack and carried 10 dead bodies for burial.” Witnesses said the attacks on the Christian farming community were well-planned, designed to chase Christians from their communities. Many say it is a form of Jihad or Islamic holy war.
During the attack, the town was under a government-imposed curfew. Curfews like this have been known to assist the militants, but endanger villagers by preventing them from setting out watchmen to look for attackers during certain hours. Neighbouring Kaduna State’s recent governor was infamous for imposing harsh, dangerous curfews on Christian communities undergoing repeated attacks. This is clearly a genocide to rid the northern Nigeria country communities of all Christians, and yet the world remain silent.

CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY GOVERNMENT REWRITES PORTIONS OF THE BIBLE
China (International Christian Concern)  –  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government is rewriting portions of the Bible in an effort to increase its control over religion in country, according to a US Representative.  In a meeting of the US House Select Committee on the CCP, the representative stated that Chairman Xi Jinping is on a ‘quest to make the faithful serve the party rather than God.’ He referred to a statement from Chairman Xi during the 19th Party Congress in 2017 that declares the intent to pursue “the Sinicization of Chinese religions and provide active guidance for religion and socialism to coexist.”
Two cases of the CCP rewriting portions of the Bible were cited. The first from the account in the Gospel of John of Jesus telling the woman caught in adultery to “go, and from now on sin no more,” after telling the scribes and Pharisees, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:3-11).” A textbook from a Chinese university appeared in 2020 with the account from the Gospel of John rewritten to end with “Jesus himself stoning the adulterous woman to death”. The second is a report that CCP authorities in Henan province “forced Protestant churches to replace the Ten Commandments with Xi Jinping quotes,” changing the first commandment from, “You shall have no other gods before Me,” (Exodus 20:3) to, “Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology.”
The CCP sees itself as possessing absolute authority over religion in China, forcing the church to be subservient to the state, and so infringing on the Western conception of religious liberty, founded on the Christian understanding of the church and the state as distinct institutions ordained by God.
Two Christian pastors at the Congressional meeting testified on persecution in China, noting that many Chinese pastors and Christians are undeterred. International Christian Concern (ICC) recently published a report describing the growth of the underground church in Iran, where government repression seems to cause the church to grow rather than stifle it.  As the early church father Tertullian wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

HOPE FOR CRIME-RIDDEN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER KIDNAPPED PASTOR’S RESCUE
South Africa (MNN) — The rescue of American Pastor Josh Sullivan a week after he was abducted at gunpoint at his church in South Africa early in April, has drawn attention to the crime-ridden nation. His captors demanded a ransom for his release.  Pastor Sullivan was rescued safe and well, after a shootout between South African police when three suspects were killed.
South Africa ranks in the top five countries with the highest crime indexes in the world. “It’s just one of those things that is a result of the growing unemployment rate,” says Marietjie Prollius, the marketing and communications director with Trans World Radio Africa (TWRA). “They want to get money. They abduct people, and then actually ask for a ransom. Some of these people are recovered. Some of them unfortunately get killed, which is a sad reality.”
Prollius says the increasing violent crime isn’t so much driven by political anger as by life in poverty.
“Part of it is also that there’s a lot of influx from other Africa countries. People come here to make a better living, but then they don’t find jobs and then they’re kind of destitute here,” she says. “Our tagline at TWRA is ‘speaking hope to the world’. So our aim is always to speak hope into these situations where crime is rife,” says Prollius. TWR sends that hope by broadcasting biblical content in the heart languages of South Africans.
The team invites and responds to listener prayer requests. Sometimes they can connect them with counselling services. “Many of them contact TWR and ask for prayer for safety, for their children just walking from and to school,” she says, “asking for prayer for children that get involved in gangs, asking for children that are involved in drugs. Please pray for the broadcasts that go out, that TWRA will continue to find new and relevant ways of broadcasting that will bring the hope of the Gospel to people facing the specific difficulties that South Africans find themselves in.”

– complied by Guido Kettniss