Tess Rivers

SEOUL, South Korea (BP)--On the banks of the Tumen River, along an isolated stretch of a road, I prayed with a South Korean friend and others who joined in a prayerwalk along the border with North Korea.

SEOUL, South Korea (BP)--Christian leaders on the Korean Peninsula are calling for prayer as tensions escalate between North and South Korea.       A 1,200-ton South Korean warship, the Cheonan, sank March 26 after a North Korean submarine launched a torpedo attack, killing 46 South Korean sailors in one of the South's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War. During her May visit to Seoul, South Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised the full support of the U.S. government as South Korea seeks U.N. sanctions against the North.       As the South Korean government weighs its response, political and military posturing is on the rise between the two countries. Amid the turmoil, a North Korean refugee is calling on South Korean Christians to join a prayer movement.       "We are praying that the leadership of both countries will have discernment, wisdom and patience," said Thomas Parks*, a Christian worker based in South Korea.       While confrontations between North and South are not uncommon, Christian leaders agree that this latest incident is different from the past. Lewis Rho*, who heads a humanitarian organization that provides food assistance within the impoverished North, has seen many political and spiritual changes through the years. Rho believes the sinking of the Cheonan is to South Korea what 9/11 was to the United States.       "The way the South Korean government chooses to respond determines what happens next," Rho said. "The important thing is that God is still in control. He still has a special plan and purpose for North Korea -- whether regime change happens voluntarily or not."       Foreign policy analysts believe North Korean President Kim Jong-Il may have ordered the attack to divert criticism from the country's failing economy and to make way for his son, Kim Jong-Un, to assume power.       While little is known about the isolated country, Kim is thought to be in failing health. This instability of leadership coupled with a long-running economic crisis leads some to speculate that the totalitarian regime eventually will fail -- perhaps sooner rather than later.       As a result, evangelical leaders are praying for South Korean Christians to be ready for the spiritual fallout resulting from North Korea's potential collapse.       "I see a need for South Korean Christians to prepare themselves spiritually so that when North Korea does open, they will be ready to respond in Christ-like ways," said Sterling Edwards*, a Christian worker based in Seoul.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (BP)--Gunshots and explosions could be heard in downtown Bangkok Wednesday (May 19) only hours after the Thai government launched a major initiative against anti-government protestors in the capital city.       "It has been going on steady for several hours now," reported Doug Olive*, one of several International Mission Board missionaries based in Bangkok.       "All of our [personnel] in Bangkok are all right," said Dwight Chittum*, an IMB risk management consultant in Thailand. "They are weary but prepared for what lies ahead. There is no power in some parts of the city, which includes the office compound."       Initial reports indicate the government push against the protesters was successful. Seven leaders among the protesters, also known as Red Shirts, surrendered to authorities but violence erupted following the arrests. Protestors set fire to banks, stores and government buildings in Bangkok, and violence has spread to the northern cities of Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani and Chiang Mai where Red Shirts retain strong support.       All IMB personnel serving in northern Thailand are accounted for, Chittum said.       In Chiang Mai, the U.S. Consulate reported that protestors burned tires and set off firecrackers in front of the governor's residence two blocks from the night market, a popular tourist destination and three blocks from the consulate office.       Masked protestors also stormed and ransacked a police post, setting it on fire, according to C.S. Stanley*, an IMB photographer who captured scenes of the protests. A fire truck blocking the bridge also was set on fire.       "All in all there were probably 30 to 40 protestors who participated," Stanley said. "The rest [of the crowd was] a mixture of local and foreign bystanders."       The crowd dispersed when military personnel arrived two hours later.       In response, the Thai government extended an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for Bangkok to 18 provinces in northeast Thailand, including Chiang Mai.

MUMBAI, India (BP)--"I've rarely found anyone who said they didn't want to learn the piano," the seminary music professor said after arriving in Mumbai, India.       Dorothy Atcheson*, who teaches at one of the Southern Baptist Convention's six seminaries, led a team of six women into Mumbai's communities and slums to teach keyboarding and, in the process, share the Gospel.       Atcheson has pioneered a program at her seminary by which non-musicians can teach piano using a resource she developed called "The Keyboard Mission."       Using Atcheson's method, students can learn to play simple melodies in three to five sessions, while the words of the songs teach biblical truths.

It took me four hours to swim home," says Mac Reyes, youth pastor at International Baptist Church of Manila. He and Derick Jacinto, the church administrator, were at a church meeting on September 26 when Typhoon Ketsana began pouring out its wrath on Metro Manila. As news spread of widespread flooding throughout the Asian megacity, […]

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (BP)--"For 43 years, there hasn't been a day in my life that I haven't thought about Vietnam," Bobby Welch told a crowd of nearly 725 Vietnamese believers, former missionaries and government officials celebrating 50 years of Baptist work in Vietnam.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (BP)--Shortly before the fall of Saigon in 1975, Le Quoc Chanh, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), came with his wife and young son to the home of missionary Sam James.       Chanh told James that he and his family had the opportunity to leave the war-ravaged country on a boat but weren't sure what to do. They were going to spend the weekend praying. James, whose wife and children had already evacuated, pledged to join the Chanhs in prayer.       "Monday morning, they came back to my house," James recalled. "Pastor Chanh told me they had decided to stay in Vietnam. He said that God had given him a flock to pastor, and he could not abandon his sheep."       Both men knew the enormity of this decision.       Many churches closed their doors as turmoil and uncertainty enveloped the country. Grace Baptist was the only church that remained open and held services in the early days of the new Vietnamese government.       Today Grace Baptist still meets at its original location, the site in mid-November for services celebrating 50 years of Baptist work in Vietnam. Vietnamese Baptists, former missionaries and visitors from the United States and Cambodia gathered for worship, preaching and celebration. Nearly 725 people, including a number of government officials, attended the Nov. 15 service.       Pastor Chanh was seated on the front pew.       Although elderly and in poor health, Chanh retains the title of senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. He stood briefly to accept a plaque from Bobby Welch, who represented the Southern Baptist Convention and was keynote speaker ...

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (BP)–“God, please let my brother be waiting in the bay when we pass by.” Though not a Christian, 12-year-old David* offered up this prayer the day he and Tom*, his 16-year-old brother, were trying to escape Vietnam. It was 1980 and hundreds of Vietnamese refugees — known as “boat people” — were […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supplements Cooperative Program giving to support more than 5,600 Southern Baptist missionaries as they share the Gospel overseas. This year’s offering goal is $175 million. The 2009 Lottie Moon offering theme is “Who’s Missing, Whose Mission?” It focuses on overcoming barriers to hearing and accepting the Gospel in […]

MANILA, Philippines (BP)--Mud. Hunger. Garbage. Mud. Poverty. Sewage. Mud.       These were the sights and smells that greeted 30 disaster relief volunteers from Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas in mid-October when they arrived in an area of Manila, Philippines, hard-hit by two typhoons.