People & events

133t5p33k (leetspeak, that is), the code or cipher computer hackers use to communicate, is getting its own version of the Bible. The Christian Hackers’ Association (CHA), a missionary organization to “the dark reaches of the hacker underground,” is initiating the project. Since leetspeak is considered a dialect of English, the New Hacker Version (NHV) will be a transliteration, not a translation.

—CHA website

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, associated with the children of women who ingested alcohol during pregnancy, has been diagnosed since the early 1970s but is only recently gaining wider recognition. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has developed resources about this permanent condition, including worship resources, stories and examples of successful learning environment modifications. Visit mcc.org or call 204-261-6381.

—MCC News

Twins Lea and Tabea Block of Lemgo, Germany, who are joined at the tops of their heads, underwent a preliminary operation at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore June 9, to prepare them for a separation attempt this fall (MBH July 23). Tissue expanders were inserted beneath their scalps. Their Russian-born German Mennonite parents Peter and Nelly Block refused an abortion when the malformation was discovered in the 10th week of pregnancy.

—Mennonite Weekly Review

Nine out of ten Mennonite Brethren in Congo are unemployed, reports Nzash Lumeya, MB Mission and Service International program director for Africa. This places a great burden on the church. Lumeya also reports of an exciting initiative begun by Charlotte Djimbo, the granddaughter of the first MB Congolese pastor, that provides seed money for women starting their own businesses.

—MBMSI Global Bridge

Religious men make good husbands and fathers, says University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox’s new book, Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands. Religion “domesticates men in ways that make them more attentive to the ideals and aspirations of their wives and children.” His analysis indicates that churchgoing evangelical Protestants are particularly involved and affectionate.

—Sunday Magazine

MCC News photo: Bethany Osborne

Bangladeshi farmer Montaj Ali, pictured with his children and wife Hasina Khatun (holding child), as well as two of her relatives, have moved into one of 35 new homes in Haluaghat, Bangladesh, built through Mennonite Central Committee contributions to a World Vision effort. The family’s home was destroyed in an April 14 tornado that swept through the remote rural area. “I don’t know where we would be if we didn’t receive help from so many people,” Ali told MCC staff. “I just want to say thank you.” MCC has also provided about $670,000 worth of aid to Bangladesh, India and Nepal in the wake of severe monsoon flooding.

—MCC News

Missionaries from South Korea are targeting Muslim lands to spread the gospel. The BBC reports 12,000 South Korean missionaries are working around the world and each year 1,000 join them. In April, seven South Korean pastors in Iraq were briefly held by gunmen. One commented that they had to “plant the cross” in these lands even if martyred.

—World Pulse

Mennonite Central Committee is contributing $5,400 Cdn. towards reconstruction efforts in the village of Novobogdanovka, Zaporozhye province, Ukraine, in the aftermath of a May explosion and fire at the local munitions depot. The facility was one of the largest in the former Soviet Union. MCC worker Elisabeth Harder said the damage exacerbated an already tenuous economic reality for village residents.

—MCC News

Chinese authorities detained and interrogated well-known house church leader Samuel Lamb and 10 associates June 13 in Nanjing, the first time in 14 years. Lamb reportedly hosts some 3,000 worshippers a week. The crackdown may be a reaction to overseas publicity about house churches and the “Back to Jerusalem Movement” of China.

—Compass Direct

A joyful celebration service in Luanda, Angola June 6 launched the Inter-Mennonite Council of Angola (CIMA), with representatives of the Community Mennonite Church of Angola, the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church of Angola, and the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Angola in attendance. Lutiniko Landu Miguel Pedro, executive secretary of CIMA said the coming together of the groups reaffirmed their shared Anabaptist ties.

—Mennonite World Conference

A question-and-answer column by Dave and Donalyn Currie, members of Northview Community Church, Abbotsford, is published monthly in the e-magazine, Family Ties, produced by Family Life Canada, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Found at familylifecanada.com, the articles’ purpose is to strengthen marriage and families and help couples build their homes on godly principles.

—Family Life Canada

British Columbia has 35,495 Mennonites, according to the 2001 census, the 13th most of any religious group in the province. Roman Catholics held the top spot with 1,356,600. Hutterites were the fewest with 220.

—Vancouver Sun