Desert Crocus

A wave of robberies has swept Protestant churches in Bishkek and Chui Region. About 20 churches and organizations were robbed according to the same scenario. Many pastors and parishioners were frightened: what if their house of worship will be next? Will an end be put to all this? Vasiliy Din, pastor of the robbed Baptist church in Orozbekov, said, "We were really surprised that the law-enforcement agencies had reacted to this incident rather passively. They did not take the prints of the burglars' shoes; they did not make the identikit of one of the attackers identified by the watchman. They even were not interested in the tread of the burglars' car. We later came to know that nobody had carried out any serious investigations into the robberies of the other looted churches either." After the churches expressed their anger that the police failed to conduct a proper investigation and many churches and organizations abroad have been informed for prayer, the pressure...

Five parties secured seats in the Oct. 10 elections: Ata-Jurt (28 seats), Social Democratic Party (26) , Ar-Namys (25), Respublika (23), Ata-Meken (18). These must form a coalition by 11/14 so that one group has the required absolute majority of the 120 seats. Meanwhile protests have been held by Buntun Kyrgyzstan party which narrowly missed the 5% cut-off.

In den letzten zwei Monaten sind ca. 20 Einbrüche ganz bewußt auf Gemeindehäuser und Kirchengebäude in Kirgistan verübt worden. Allein in einer Bibelschule gab es vier Einbrüche. Mehrere Wachleute wurden krankhausreif geschlagen. Es scheint eine Aktion bewußt gegen die Gemeinden zu sein, da auch die Polizei außer der Protokollierung des Verbrechens anscheinend nichts unternimmt. Bitte betet mit uns um Schutz für die Gemeindehäuser und Kirchengebäude Bitte betet mit uns, dass die Polizei ihre von Gott gegebene Aufgabe ernst nimmt uns und ausführt.

Am 10. Oktober fande die ersten Parlamentswahlen in Kirgistan statt. Jetzt endlich ist das offizielle Endergebnis verkündet worden. In den Wochen danach gab es immer wieder größere Demonstrationen. Zwei Parteien haben auch gedroht, dass sie das Land ins Chaos stürzen werden, wenn das Wahlergebnis nicht so geändert wird, wie sie das wollen. Wir sind unserem Vater dankbar dafür, dass alles friedlich abgelaufen ist. Bitte betet mit uns für die Regierungsbildung, es muss sich eine Koalition aus drei Parteien bilden, was nicht ganz einfach sein wird.

Urgent: Some 20 Bishkek area churches have been broken into in recent weeks with money and equipment stolen and security guards beaten severely (1 reported killed but unconfirmed). It seems to be a gang of 6 young men and police are not investigating. UTS was hit 4 times. Last weekend they hit Faith Church, Agape Church (lost $700; they also had $2600 of Camp Adonai’s money in their safe - enough for 8 mos. of salaries/operations) and the Lutheran Church. Pray for apprehension of these bandits, protection of our brethren, and provision for the needs created by these serious losses!