* KIDS KILLED FOR ‘MEDICINE’ - MUTI trading is rampant and South Africa’s economic woes will not help stem the trafficking of body parts — mostly those of children.

A seven-month study, the first of its kind, by Mozambican non-government organisation Human Rights League and South Africa’s Childline, delved into the gory practice of muti trading .

Anthony Minnaar, of Unisa’s criminal justice centre, said it was naive to think that muti killings were declining as more people gained access to Western medicine.
"In times of economic and political upheaval, those who believe in these medicines will still make use of muti. They believe it will protect them from hardship," said Minnaar.
He said the difficulty in determining the scale of muti killings was that the bodies of victims were seldom found.
" The perpetrators will always try to dispose of the body so that it’s never found," he said.

The report on the study by the Human Rights League and Childline detailed gory accounts of children’s frozen heads and genitals being smuggled into South Africa from Mozambique.
Children in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to the depredations of muti killers.

Researchers visited several provinces in Mozambique, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Free State to obtain first-hand accounts.
Childline’s national co-ordinator, Joan van Niekerk, told The Times: "It shows just how vulnerable our children are."
The report pointed to "so-called witch doctors who actively seek human body parts from live victims to be used in their medicine".
It highlights the fact that there are few policies and programmes to counter trafficking in body parts.

A border official in Mpumalanga told researchers: "I can tell you that the problems of trafficking along this border will never end and they do not only involve body parts of children, but even adults".

Another woman, who works at a market stall on the South African side of the border said: "I saw a human head on top of some vegetables that were inside those big bags they use to carry goods. It was the head of a child... someone was trying to take the head from Mozambique into South Africa." A South African told the researchers: "Ritual killings are common here. It’s like daily bread. We do not even get shocked when a person is found dead with body parts removed."
(The Times, 3 Mar 2009) (to index)

* NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE ELECTIONS – The 'International Prayer Network' writes, "There is no doubt that the 2009 national election is extremely important. As the Church we have the responsibility to pray. The power to control the course of world events is in God's hand. He removes kings and sets up other kings (Dan.2:22)". The NKJV version of the Bible says: "He changes times and seasons." He bestows insight upon the wise. God's plan for the future lies hidden from man's scrutiny, but is fully known to Him. Authorities come from God and have been placed there by God (Rom.13:1). Our responsibility is to ask the Lord for a government appointed by Him to rule in a just and responsible way. We have to pray for kings and all in authority so that we can live a peaceful life (1 Tim.2:1-3). As the Church we are not to complain but to ask the Lord to intervene also in the political affairs of our nation.

We want to encourage Christians nationwide to cry out to God, lay hold of Him (Isa.64:7). National Initiative for Reformation in South Africa (NIRSA) asked for a day of prayer on 20 March. Consider a 3-day fast (18-20 March) and encourage churches in your community to join in fasting and prayer for our nation. Ours is not the task to criticise, condemn or judge. Our task is to pray and make sure we vote in a responsible way.

Pray for young people to cry out to God for His power through salvation to break through in the country during this time. Ask for young people to set an example of godly lives to their peers that will lead others into the Kingdom of God.

Today is the National Day of Prayer for the upcoming elections in our country. Christians from around the country will gather today to pray that God will remember us and restore our nation to have peace, a future and hope. That we will call upon Him and go and pray until He listens to us. That we will seek Him and search out His purpose until we find Him (Jer.29:11-14).

Pray today:

- That God will give us a government that will honour Him.
- That God will give us a government that will have the well-being of our nation at heart.
- That God will give us a government and enable them to address the issues of the day and take a clear stand for godly principles.
- That God will protect us from bloodshed and violence.
- That the fear of the true and living God will come into the hearts of all people.
(International Prayer Network, Mar 2009) (to index)

* OBAMA LIFTS BAN ON EMBRYO FUNDING - Fulfilling a campaign promise, US President Barack Obama reversed his predecessor’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem research on Monday. From now on, American scientists may receive Federal government support for research on stem cells taken from embryos, whether they are clones or IVF spares. Most scientists were jubilant – 10 Nobel laureates flanked the President as he signed an executive order.

"What happened today is huge," says Kevin Wilson, director of public policy at the American Society for Cell Biology. "We've gone from having a small number of cell lines eligible for federal funding to having at least a few hundred."

In some ways, the President’s decision is less significant than the jubilation suggests. First of all, it leaves in place a major obstacle to cloning embryos, the 1996 Dickey-Wicker amendment. This bans funding for research that involves the destruction, injury or death of a human embryo. So to do therapeutic cloning, scientists will still have to obtain funding from state governments or private donors, although they can now use stem cell lines derived from cloned embryos.

This is why the New York Times complained that the job of dismantling President Bush's respect-for-embryos approach remains unfinished: "Congress should follow Mr Obama’s lead and lift this prohibition so such important work can benefit from an infusion of federal dollars." But whether Congress will support cloning embryos is anyone’s guess.

Second, human embryonic stem cells are practically obsolete, at least for curing dread diseases and injuries like spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease and diabetes. A breakthrough discovery in November 2007 showed that pluripotent cells with all of their potential could be created from ordinary skin cells – without the ethical baggage. And despite all the controversy surrounding embryonic cells, most people do not realise that no one has yet created a successful stem cell line from a human clone.
(BioEdge, 11 Mar 2009) (to index)

* BELIEVERS IN INDIA HAVE REACHED 10 TO 11 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION - A total of 829 pastoral leaders attended two Frontline Shepherds conferences in India.

David Shibley with Global Advance says the conference encouraged pastors to continue to be bold in their faith. "We are not suggesting that we be bombastic or culturally insensitive in the proclamation or the Gospel. At the same time, we are not to close our mouths, and we are not to back up in the proclamation of the Gospel. So yes, this does present a dilemma and a spiritual challenge for pastors in those places where there are anti-conversion laws."

Despite challenges, pastors were encouraged by the presence of so many other Christian leaders, 60 percent of whom were under the age of 30.

The number of believers in India has risen to 10 or 11 percent of the population, rising from three percent in the last 20 years. India's population is over 1.1 billion (see Wikipedia).

Pray for boldness for believers as they continue to be persecuted.
(Mission Network News, 17 Mar 2009) (to index)

* LIFE SAVED IN ROCKFORD BECAUSE OF GROTESQUE DISPLAY IN ABORTION FACILITY WINDOW- Grotesque "decorations" in the windows of a notorious Rockford abortion facility, featuring rubber chickens hanging from nooses, led to a life saved, after two young men, disgusted by the display, convinced their pregnant companion to leave the building.

The incident took place last Friday at the Northern Illinois Women's Center in Rockford IL, where two men had brought a 17-year-old female friend for an abortion. Kevin Rilott, a pro-life veteran at the notorious Rockford mill, reports that the young men came out of the building and began conversing with pro-life participants in the 40 Days for Life vigil, as neither of them approved of the abortion.

When the 40 Days for Life crowd pointed out the disturbing display - three rubber chickens lynched in the abortion mill's windows - the two men were aghast, and expressed shock and disbelief. "I can't believe the black community isn't offended," said one.

The Rockford abortion centre has showcased bizarre and disturbing symbols since at least May 2008, when the display included mock-sacred images, including the "crucifixion" of a rubber chicken, and a nun in a coffin.

"It was interesting to see this young man's reaction when he saw all the rubber chickens hanging by nooses in the windows of what he thought was a medical facility, it really opened his eyes to what this place is all about, a mockery of life," said Rilott.

Incited by what they perceived as an egregious insult, the two men decided to try again to convince their female friend not to abort, taking the group's pro-life pamphlets with them back into the mill. All three soon came out of the building, and the pro-lifers were able to offer the young mother help.
(LifeSiteNews.com, 16 Mar 2009) (to index)

* TRUE LOVE WAITS’ IMPACTS PHILIPPINES - Seeing the work of True Love Waits in the Philippines "once again demonstrated God's continued awesome work" through the abstinence-until-marriage outreach, TLW co-founder Jimmy Hester said after a two-week trip to the country.

Among the highlights Hester noted during the Philippines visit was meeting a man named Joerex from a region of the country that is predominately Muslim and dangerous to live in due to terrorist threats. Joerex quit his job to devote his time to training True Love Waits leaders. He also gets into local schools to present the message and has a one-hour daily True Love Waits radio program.

"Joerex has great passion for reaching young people," Hester said, "and carries out all these activities with minimal resources and at great personal risk."

Joining Hester for the trip were his wife Kim and fellow LifeWay Christian Resources employees Bob Bunn, Mike Wakefield, Rick Prall and Patti Baker, along with Sharon Pumpelly, lead consultant for True Love Waits International.

The team reached 1,705 Filipino students through TLW presentations and recorded 432 professions of faith in Jesus Christ.
(Baptist Press, 16 Mar 2009) (to index)

* ORANGE COUNTY CUTS PLANNED PARENTHOOD PURSE STRINGS - Orange County Supervisors in California have sent a strong message to Planned Parenthood.

The county has money to distribute to nonprofit operations from a past tobacco lawsuit settlement. Supervisor Chris Norby says the board discovered part of the money was going to the strongest abortion business in the country.

"We did vote to suspend the contract to the Planned Parenthood portion of it because of their involvement in abortion because the feeling was that the other organizations did not provide abortions, were mostly disseminators of information, but Planned Parenthood has special baggage because of that mission," he notes.

Planned Parenthood will have to look elsewhere for money, according to Norby. "They're free to do it," he points out. "It is legal, but it doesn't mean that it has to be subsidized at taxpayer's expense and that's what the issue was that we were dealing with."

The supervisors announced their unanimous agreement. "The board did make a statement. It was a five-to-zero vote that this particular relationship would not continue," Norby concludes.
(OneNewsNow, 17 Mar 2009) (to index)