Pray for Balkan Change
We encourage you to fully read these two news articles that show hope of righteousness replacing corruption and light replacing darkness. We include not only the link but a large portion of the articles here.
5 Things You Need to Know About the INSANELY Huge Protests in Romania
With so much noise surrounding everything Trump, most people haven’t even noticed that massive protests are going on right now in Romania.
The public outcries by the citizens of the small nation are becoming louder by the day as they take to the streets to protest the country’s corrupt government, a reputation Romania now has among other European Union members.
1. What happened in Romania to spark the protests?
Last Tuesday, the newly selected Romanian prime minister Sorin Grindeanu passed a decree that would protect corrupt politicians from being prosecuted…
[Prime Minister] Grindeanu decided to pass the decree without the consent of parliament or the people. Thousands of citizens responded by hitting the streets to protest the decision because it would allow political criminals to go free from jail. According to media reports, 24 hours after the regulation was first passed, over 250,000 people went to the streets to protest the decision and over the weekend the “anti-corruption” protests gained momentum and escalated to roughly 500,000 people.
2. Who is against the decree?
Romanian citizens and world powers like the United States are standing against the decree because it would allow members of the prime minister’s party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) to go free from prison without being forced to serve out their sentences or face financial penalties.
3. What is the prime minister doing about it?
The prime minster has attempted to calm the protesters this past weekend by abandoning the emergency decree. A strategy that is quite different than his original one, where he reportedly told reporters that he would “push ahead” with it.
4. So why are people still protesting?
Most citizens don’t believe the emergency decree was actually repealed while others are begging for political reform and the resignation of Grindeanu, so they continue protesting.
5. What are the protests like?
They have reportedly been peaceful and include people of all ages.
http://www.faithwire.com/2017/02/08/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-insanely-huge-protests-in-romania/
Sasa Bakic from Leskovac, Serbia
Roma Christians testify that a new identity—being a child of God—emboldens a new confidence in being Roma.
Excited and nervous on his first day of high school in Leskovac, Serbia, Saša Bakic waited his turn to introduce himself. After he said his name, his new teacher stopped him: “Are you Roma?” she asked. “Let’s make a deal—if you don’t skip school and stay quiet in class, I will pass you with a D.” Stunned and humiliated, Saša tried to protest amidst the class’s laughter, only to be told, “You are all the same.”
The history of the Roma—Europe’s largest minority—is pockmarked with stories of forced assimilation, enslavement, and even attempted genocide during WWII. Today, despite efforts of state and EU policy toward integration, many Roma in Eastern Europe are still mired in systemic poverty and social stigma.
https://sojo.net/magazine/january-2017/outburst-roma-pentecostalism
Prayer Points:
1) Romanians are amazing people, and 5.6% of the county are Evangelical Christians; most of these are serious evangelicals. Let us express thanks to the Lord for redeeming a country that suffered under a cruel dictator during communist days.
2) The protests in Romania are fueled by righteous indignation and they are peaceful. Let us pray that this protest will continue to be motivated by the Biblical principle of light replacing darkness.
3) Pray that these protests will ingrain into the political landscape and cultural life of Romania a righteous reformation.
4) True freedom is the establishment of a Biblical worldview. Pray that there would be a righteous indignation arise in all the Balkan countries.
5) In the Balkans, light needs to replace darkness. Pray that corruption will be exposed regionally, and the people will demand justice.
6) According to Mathew 25, at the last judgment, the nations will stand before the Lord to be separated into two categories: goats and sheep. Before He returns, nations must come to the point of their decision. Pray that your nation will choose righteousness.
7) Saša, the young man mentioned in the above article, lives with us in our home while he pursues his degree in theology here in Zagreb. Pray for Saša, he is destined to be a leader among the Roma people in Serbia and the Balkans.
8) Romania has one of the largest Roma (Gypsy) populations in Europe, but there are large clusters or Roma in all of the Balkan countries. Pray for all the ministries who work with them, that Godly strategies would replace human strategies. There is yet much work to be done among the Roma.
All these years we have been praying against corruption in the Balkans and to see these protest is really encouraging.
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