Good afternoon my brothers and sisters across the Churches of God, General Conference.
It has just been announced as of Monday, August 5th, that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has resigned and fled the country. The Prime Minister, Shiekh Hasina (shayk huh·see·nuh), had her estate ransacked and pillaged during protests this weekend. This comes after multiple waves of political unrest have rocked the country this year. The military has stepped into stabilize the situation, but this has raised anxieties for Christians, including our mission staff, and other religious minorities, that persecution might increase.
Political unrest in Bangladesh has been rife since the elections in January. Mass protests in major cities, political violence, government curfews, power outages, and transportation blockades are all hallmarks of Bangladesh politics. Yet, this latest election has seen the protests, which usually die down after a couple weeks, continue and reignite again in July and August.
This most recent round of protests was sparked by university students who feel disillusioned by the Bangladesh job market, and the job quota system set up by the government. Communications were cut during the weeks of protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, this summer. Official sources suggest that over 150 people died during these protests last month, but those numbers are disputed by unofficial sources and outside news organizations which suggest that the casualties could be many times the figures provided by the government. Meanwhile, another 100 people are said to have died this past Sunday, August 4th.
Christians in our Bangladesh mission, which has been in operation for over 125 years, are worried about the ramifications, and potential for escalating religious persecution. While our mission staff have had a good relationship with the government, working alongside government agencies to build schools and hospitals, that doesn’t mean there isn’t fear and tension. It’s not unusual for our hospital staff and pastors to travel around with police escort, visible machine guns in tow to forestall would be extremists who might take the opportunity to cause harm.
Opinions are mixed about whether religious persecution in Bangladesh is rising or falling, but the insecurity caused by the governmental collapse will undoubtedly cause unexpected things to happen. Currently, our brothers and sisters are scared. With communications being shut down to prevent additional protest, and some religious minorities fleeing the country across the Bangladesh/India border, no one knows what could happen next.
Of course, I’d be remiss not to mention that Bangladesh isn’t the only country experiencing terrible turmoil right now. As many of you know, Haiti is still in the midst of a desperate struggle for survival, and many of our Haitian churches cannot meet because of a fear of violence. Much of our operations in Haiti have ceased or been forced to pause because of the instability.
There have been many times over the years where we’ve come to you in a moment like this and made an appeal for funds to meet some emergency need. This is NOT an appeal for funds, but rather a call to prayer. We appeal on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh and Haiti to pray for these two countries with deep and rich CGGC histories.
Currently we are asking for all our churches and members to pray urgently for our Bangladesh and Haiti missions. We have hundreds of churches, thousands of Christians, hospitals and many schools in Bangladesh and Haiti. It’s very important that we pray for God’s protection and hand over our people, and all people, in Bangladesh and Haiti right now.
Specifically, pray for the protection of our field leaders, pastors, medical staff, and teachers. Pray that God would sustain them and encourage them so that they would not grow weary in doing good.
Pray for our students and school children that their education and connection with the mission would not be interrupted further.
Pray for the continued operation of our hospitals which provide life-giving care in their communities.
Pray also for the countries of Bangladesh and Haiti. Pray that cooler heads will prevail, that the protests will die down, and that gang violence would end. Pray that order be restored peacefully. And pray that whatever new government is installed, will be friendly and kind to religious minorities, respecting and protecting their rights.
I find it interesting that the Lord has placed the Churches of God, General Conference as a witness in some of the most difficult spots in our world today. May the words of Jesus in John 16:33 encourage us today as we pray for our dear brothers and sisters around the world:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Christ's peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 18, No. 32
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