AP

CHILDREN ATTENDING A CHRISTIAN CAMP KILLED IN TEXAS FLOODS

26 children and one counsellor died in flash flooding while staying at a Christian camp in Texas. They lost their lives at Camp Mystic when heavy rains caused the Guadalupe River to overflow and engulf their cabins in Kerr County on Friday July 4th. A spokesperson for Camp Mystic, a long-established Christian camp for girls on the banks of the Guadalupe River, said: “Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We ask for your continued prayers for each of our families affected. May the Lord continue to wrap His presence around all of us.”
The total death toll for the area now stands at 130.  Rescuers are continuing to search for the 160 people who are still missing, including five children staying at Camp Mystic. Churches throughout the area have opened their doors to care for the bereaved, and prayer vigils have been held across Texas since the tragedy.

Evangelical aid teams are on the ground in Texas following devastating floods. Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team are supporting search and rescue operations and working with local churches to help families facing unimaginable loss. Franklin Graham shared: “We need to continue to surround these devastated families and communities in prayer. Also pray for the hundreds involved in search and rescue efforts with more rain predicted.” Texas governor Greg Abbott has declared a day of prayer.

[Sources: Premier Christian News and CBS News]

FATE OF CHRISTIAN REFUGEES INDIA CAST INTO SEA STILL UNKNOWN
(Morning Star News) – While the estimated population of Rohingya people in  Myanmar is 350,000, that of Bangladesh is 1.5 million and of Pakistan 500,000. The total population in 9 countries is estimated to be 2.7 million – the World’s largest stateless people. They are predominantly Muslim, and Christians account for far less than one percent of the Rohingya population.

150 Rohingya Christians came to India in 2014 after they faced brutality at the hands of Myanmar military. Upon arriving in Delhi, the government of India granted many of them Long Term Visas, and they also registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. But in 2017, the government of India announced the Rohingya as illegal immigrants and cancelled all their visas.

On May 6 this year, police had detained15 Rohingya Christian refugees from areas in Delhi. (Authorities also rounded up 23 Muslim Rohingyas from other parts of the city.) Among the 15 Christians, there were three elderly people and a number with medical issues. The Indian military transported the Rohingyas via aircraft to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Once there, officials seized their U.N. refugee documentation, money and belongings before placing them on an Indian Navy ship where their hands were bound, their eyes blindfolded, with some being assaulted from time to time.
After midnight of May 8, the naval personnel removed their restraints, distributed life jackets to them and told them to jump into the sea, assuring them  that someone would get there to rescue them. When no one arrived, they were able to swim to a shore nearby, and were shocked to learn that they were back in Myanmar, the country they had fled. They have not been heard of since.

CHURCH MEMBERS IN INDIA FEAR ATTENDING WORSHIP AFTER ASSAULT
(Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists in central India on June 8 ransacked a church’s worship building, burned Bibles and assaulted every member, sources said. In Chhattisgarh state’s Dhamtari District, the Hindu nationalists attacked during the independent Penial Prayer Fellowship’s worship service in Borsi village, said Pastor Wakish Sahu, who leads the church along with his 57-year-old father, Mannohan Sahu.

“They forcibly entered the church, disrupted the worship service and were carrying wooden rods and shouting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Hail lord Rama],” Pastor Wakish Sahu told Morning Star News. “The attackers told them to stop gathering for worship. They broke all chairs, fans and musical instruments, then collected all Christian literature along with the Bibles and burned them. Taking hold of Pastor Mannohan Sahu, they beat him with wooden rods, sustaining injuries over all his body. The assailants beat all 15 members present that day, including Pastor Wakish Sahu’s mother when she tried to intervene and save her husband. Two women and five men sustained severe injuries and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment,” he said. Pastor Wakish Sahu registered a detailed complaint at the Maganlodh police station, but officers did not register a formal complaint as they indicated they would investigate first. At this writing, however, no formal complaint has been registered.

100 CHRISTIAN SITES FORCIBLY SEIZED IN SUDAN

A Pentecostal church complex in Khartoum has been destroyed by extremists reportedly working alongside Sudanese Armed Forces and police. The church in El Haj Yousif, built in the early 1990s, is the latest Church targeted since Sudan’s civil conflict erupted last year, as reported by Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Both the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of “intentional attacks on places dedicated to Christian worship.”. Local Christians fear worship restrictions and violence will worsen as churches continue to be targeted.  Sudan ranks fifth on Open Doors’ World Watch List for Christian persecution, with more than 100 churches and Christian buildings forcibly seized since the conflict began. [Source: Premier Christian News]

SPANISH RIGHTS GROUP DEMANDS EU ACTION ON HATE CRIMES AGAINST CHRISTIANS
A religious freedom organisation in Spain is urging the European Commission to appoint a dedicated Special Coordinator to combat anti-Christian hate crimes, matching the EU’s current efforts against antisemitism and Islamophobia. The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Spain (OLRC) has written to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning that attacks on Christians are on the rise across Europe. “It is imperative that the European Commission act with the same commitment it shows in the fight against other forms of religious hatred,” said OLRC President María García.

Recent figures from OIDAC Europe, documented over 2,400 incidents targeting Christians in 35 countries last year, including threats, harassment and physical assaults. The OLRC cited shocking cases like the stabbing murder of Diego Valencia Contreras outside his church in Spain and a recent attack in a German church where a worshiper was assaulted with a cross. “In recent weeks, there have been alarming episodes,” the OLRC statement said, pointing to an arson attack in Bavaria and an intruder shouting “Allahu Akbar” on the altar of a major Paris basilica. García insisted the EU must respond: “The European Union cannot look the other way in the face of these murders and attacks on churches.” She added, “Coexistence and religious freedom in Europe are threatened.” The group is calling on citizens to sign a petition demanding the EU to defend the “fundamental rights of all its citizens, especially religious freedom.”

[Source: The Christian Post]

– compiled by Guido Kettniss