Silk Roads

Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan is over 600 pages long and I am not very good at reading long books. One of my sons and his wife gave it to me as a present, however (last birthday maybe even Xmas 2016?) so I felt under some obligation, thankfully. The book is subtitled A new historoy of the world and so it has been worth wading through in order to fill up several gaps in my knowledge. It also takes a middle eastern and central asain viewpoint in the main and so is new in that sense also. It is good to eb reminded how much on the edge we are out here in Britain. Iwas slightly surprised to be reminded how involved Britain and then the USA has been in thhat part of the world. I have already forgotten much of the detail of fairly recent events in Afghanistan, Iran, etc. Do geta hold of it if you like big books or if you just like history.

Jhumpa Lahiri

Looking at books in my local Waterstones the other day I saw a book I knew was on my shelves so back home I pulled it down and started to read. It is a book of nine short stories by the American based Bengali Asian writer Jhumpa Lahiri. The collection actually goes back to the year 2000 but I am rather slow at getting round to things. Some neighbours of mine saw me reading it and were very enthusiastic about it. The stories are gentle and well written and coming from a culture I am not so familiar with have a certain impact beyond the obvious. Perhaps the best done, apart from the title piece Interpreter of maladies is When Mr Pirzada came to dine a childhood reminiscence from the time of the India Pakistan war concerning Bangla Desh. Well worth digging out.

Silly puns on nations 02

1. You get all weathers in Bahrain, everythng bar rain

2. She was from Bhutan, she was a beaut an' all

3. The Scotsman said he got rather broon, aye, in Brunei

4. The American said, I ran from Iran

5. Is rail travel good in Israel?

6. I think you wait a while for things in Kuwait

7. Me an' Ma had a nice time in Myanmar

8. Oh man, what a place is Oman

9. In Singapore they sing a poor song

10. Be ye men, ye men of Yemen

Pray for Asia

Operation World urges us to pray today for Asia

Answer to Prayer

China is in the midst of amazing changes. Beyond the economic shift that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, beyond the positive changes that the further opening of the country has brought, the Church in China is signalling a massive change in this, the world’s largest population. Christians in China now almost certainly exceed 100 million. They are present in all regions of the country and come from all walks of life. They love their country and have ambitious visions to see it transformed by the power of the gospel. The government, traditionally a ruthless persecutor of the Church, now recognizes the positive social impact Christians can make and increasingly accepts the reality that the Church in China is there to stay – and will play a major role in shaping the country’s future.
For an additional 8 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

Challenge for Prayer

The Himalayas region simmers with tension. The conflict over Kashmir is the most intractable of problems, with Pakistan and India (and China) holding conflicting claims over territory. The Kashmir dispute has profoundly shaped Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policies, has provoked an arms race between Pakistan and India and has already resulted in four wars. China and India are in dispute over territorial claims not just in Kashmir but also in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Strife also exists over India’s hosting of the Tibetan government-in-exile and in Tibet itself. Add to this the Nepal Civil War of 1996-2006 (and continuing tensions), and you have a region filled with potential flashpoints.
For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.