>> today on christian world news, drama in syria, a massacre triggers international outrage, and how is the civil war affecting the country's christians. >> and food shortage in africa, the crisis is causing the united nations to ask for help. >> plus, disciplined for doing her job. a u. k.therapist is punished for conversion therapy, after her patient reveals he is actually an undercover journalist. >> a bloody massacre turns the world against syria's leader. i'm george thomas. >> and i'm wendy griffith. the killing is forcing world

leaders to take a hard line against the assa assad regime. in the walk of a brutal massacre last week. more than 100 people were murdered near the city of homs, including dozens of children. western leaders blame bashar al-assad's government, and the country could be on the brink of civil war. >> reporter: amateur video shows evidence of the killings in the town of houla. the u.n. claims 49 children and 34 women were among the dead. u.n. observers arrived in houla over the weekend, where residents dug a mas grave for the victims. the observers are trying to hold together a failing u.n. sponsored cease-fire. >> we have an order to the government to stop any attacks from the government's side. we want to make sure that is understood locally by the government check-point, and

we want to make sure that the other side understands there is a standdown. >> reporter: the syrian government says the real account of the massacre is buried under what it calls a tsunami of lies. but leaders in the u.s. and other countries are outraged by the latest killings and putting the responsibility on the assad regime. >> there is not the slightest doubt there was deliberate government shelling against a civilian neighborhood in these three villages outside homs. >> reporter: on fox news, senator john mccain blasted the obama administration for its lack of leadership against the syrian atrocities. >> here we are over a year, and we're now talking about possibly vetting some people. look, nearly 10,000 people have died. this is a brutal regime of incredible proportions. >> reporter: and joining us now is international

correspondent gary lane. he has travelled there several times. what is the look hoo likelihood gets involved? >> i would say more likely now since the houla massacre came out last weekend. maybe not with boots on the ground, but maybe with air support. >> there is question who is this pre-syrian army. >> and there is question whether or not they were responsible for houla, so it is being investigated by the u.n. >> you have gone there, as i mentioned, several times. how are christians dealing with this? are they caught between these two forces, assad on one side and the free syrian army? >> you've been there and you know assad and his government, his people, have protected them somewhat over the years, as long as they remain in their church. as they go out and e evangelize, they safe. if they side with assad, then the free syrian army

and the rebels will oppose them and attack them. if they side with the rebels, they have to deal with the aloites. they're stuck in a rock and a hard place. >> just like hussein protected them -- if it is a sunni government, what happens? >> if it is a secular sunni government, they won't have any problem. it won't be any worse than they have now. but if you have extreme government, islamists who impose shari'a law, their churches will be attacked. >> this is footage that you actually look. >> yes. in a church. >> in syria, and that's the story that perhaps is not getting out. in the midst of all of this fighting and massacre, there is a church and a church that is growing. >> that's right, george. and it is doing very well. i found that out from some of the people i've met.

i've met some incredible people in my travels. in syria, i've met one of the most courageous people i've ever seen. and it shows how god is at work, even in parts of the world that are hostile to the gospel. many people are coming to christ by signs and wonders, like those performed by paul and barn bus in the book of acts. this is the road the apostle paul walked. he stopped here where he was baptized. today in syria, other evangelists are walking in his footsteps. he asked me to accompany him to a mosque. he gave the islamist priest of a couple of the bible. >> i told him, if you read the bible, you'll believe, the lord is god and he died for you. he took the bible and he said, maybe. >> reporter: several christians joined rosam in

the mosque and prayed for an elderly muslim man, named macrim. he could barely walk. he had broken his knee and it hadn't healed properly. and after the prayer? >> he was healed and he started dancing. there is a miracle in the mosque. >> reporter: like the secret muslim converts and other christians, his safety is at risk. while he is often afraid when he approaches a mosque, he says he feels the peace of god once he steps through the door. and because he pushes forward, the knees of this woman were also healed when he paid a visit to her home. >> thank you to jesus. thank you, jesus. >> we have fear, but jesus is with us. emmanuel is with us. jesus said, "i am with you forever." and we need to go to the mosques and everywhere to tell people the truth about

him and his love. >> george and wendy, i haven't heard from rosam in a while, and we've been in contact with him by e-mail. i received word he had been visited by syrian intelligence who told him to stop evangelizing. we hope he is laying low. >> reporter: the united nations sounds a cry for help, asking the world to extend a hand. people in eight west africa can nations are on the brink of starvation, and at least 3 million of them are children. >> reporter: this tiny village in niger is a stark example of the crisis that hits eight countries. here families depend on farming, but this hut, normally used to store the grain, is dried out by the drought. leaving mothers like mariama

struggling to feet feed their families. today she is left to pick wild leaves from trees. >> i don't think any of us can accept this mother must pick wild food ford her children to eat. >> reporter: eight agencies are doing what they can to deliver food to the region. so far they have not been able to raise even half the money needed to help the millions in need, and even more people could run out of food before next fall's harvest. >> these people, these women, these children, they deserve our attention. they deserve our time. >> reporter: little nafisa is a 1-year-old who ways just eight pounds. that's about the size of a new banne newborn in the united nations. she is one of many children being helped at this health clinic. red on the arm band means severe malnutrition. doctors are seeing more and more red every day. three million children are already on the brink of starvation, and 18 million

people are in danger. ephraim graham, cbn news. >> george: coming up, prayer power. christians around the globe come together for the global day of prayer.

>> when we were first married, we struggled to

make ends meet. we learned what the bible teaches about tithing. even though it didn't seem we had the money, we went ahead and tried it. >> as a result of it, the money went further, and now we're completely debt-free. it is so wonderful to give to cbn because you know the money is being used for what god intended. >> we're don and phyllis raven, and we give to cbn. >> george: christians in more than 200 nations gathered sunday for the global day of prayer. this year marks the 11th anniversary for the annual pentecost sunday event. our correspondence attended one significant gathering in the philippines. >> reporter: in the philippines, there were christians who prayed in the streets, crying out to god for mercy and forgiveness for the sins of the land. while other believers throughout the country joined the meeting by interceding in their own churches. for one particular church, it was extraordinary. >> the christians here are

expecting a new significance on this global day of prayer, as the philippine president asserts himself, called upon god for the transformation of this nation. >> let us remember that the strength we need from prayer is the strength we can rely on as we move forward on this great planet. >> reporter: the way to the straight path of righteousness has always been a key note battle cry. >> i believe the coming of the president really was something. it is a very important principle, that when the head of the state comes, the wisdom, and the blessings of the lord is really poured upon the leader who comes to the prayer gathering. >> reporter: christian leaders, led by american missionary dr. white prayed or aquino. he also asked prayer for his own country. >> you need to pray for us

in america, because we are drifting away from holding the bible as being the infallible truth, and the only way of real life. i wish more of our countries would take that attitude about following christ. >> reporter: cbn news, manila. >> george: thanks, lucille. the global day of prayer is followed by what is called 90 days of blessing. it is a chance for christians to meet their communities through acts of service. >> and thousands of christians gathered in fredricksburg, virginia. and i was there as they cried out, asking god to turn america back to him. ♪ you're beautiful >> the sounds of worship filled the air at the expo center as the mostly young

crowd cried out to god for his love and mercy to fall on america. >> in this hour, that is our only hope. to come together, to stop business as usual, and to start crying out for the mercy of god. >> virginia has always been a leader, and thousands who gathered here for the call are praying that god will do it again. >> do it again! >> pat: do it again! >> cbn's pat robertson reminded the crowd of virginia's great spiritual heritage that began when the first settlers landed at cape henry and dedicated this land to jesus christ. >> pat: we claim, by spiritual authority, the land you gave us. we will not give it to satan. we will not give it to evil. we will not turn it over to the forces of evil. this country belongs to jesus christ. its his.

[applause and cheers] >> pat: and we're his people. now what are we here to do? we're here to pray. we're here to claim what god has promised. >> if my people will humble themselves and pray -- >> the call's president, lou engel, says the president has always played a key plan for america. >> there is something about virginia to take a stand in the spiritual battles of this nation. so when it came to the issue of abortion, we felt that god said, once again, virginia is going to hold the line from that which is coming out of washington, d.c. >> many americans are looking for a man, whether it be romney or obama, to change things in our nation. and really, it is the power of jesus and the kingdom of god coming to this nation

that is going to shift it. and prayer is what changes it. >> president obama's recent endorsement of gay marriage was on the minds of many who gathered to pray. >> the christians better get involved because if they don't, they'll be compelled to participate in things they don't like. >> i have only one agenda! >> reporter: another highlight of the call was a visit from reinhard bonnke, who believes america's best days are still ahead. >> america is still a beacon of light. i believe that god will bless this great nation. i believe that a conference like this is part of god's plan to do just that. >> and james 5: 16 says the prayers of the righteous avail as much. the prayer is in its 12th year, and it has brought

millions together to pray for this nation and many others to pray to god. >> george: up next, a journalist takes a christian counsellor, and the co counsellor is the one who is punished. we have the laced on the conversion controversy in the united kingdomment

>> george: and welcome back to christian world news. a british christian therapist has been disciplined for counselling a man who said he wanted to leave the gay lifestyle. >> he real motive was to discredit a type of treatment called conversion therapy which is supposed to help homosexuals go straight. >> reporter: ruling on an appeal, the british association for counselling and psychotherapy decided christian therapist leslie tilltincon will lose her senior status after she was

tricked by a gay activist posing as a client. >> i was approached by a young man, and he said his name was matthew. that he was gay, and he was very unhappy and he was depressed. he wanted to leave the lifestyle, and would i be able to help him. >> reporter: his real name was not matthew stims. it was patrick studwig, and he was lying to her. >> i totally believed everything he said. i had no reason to suspect anything else. he seemed to me to be very anxious. he kept asking a lot of the same questions, and i thought if he was trying to decide if his was the right therapist for him. >> reporter: she says patrick made it clear he wanted to leave the gay lifestyle. what she didn't know was he was an undercover journalist and he had a tape recorder strapped to his body. then the counselling sessions ended and leslie

nightmare began. >> he then telephoned me to say, in fact, he was not at all who he said who he was. his voice completely changed. he said he had just lied about everything, everything. his name, his address, occupation. that he wasn't unhappy at all. he was a gay journalist. he was happy in his gay lifestyle, and that his purpose was to expose me and people like me. >> reporter: strudwig heads a group called the "stop conversion therapy taskforce," which opposes psychological conversion therapy to help gays become straight. and he wrote about his experience with leslie. he told pink news, "we want to root out therapists and psychiatrists who are practicing these techniques, and hopefully bring an end to them by exposing them." the christian legal center, which represented pillkinton, said it will calls therapist to stop

practicing conversion therapy. >> if you believe a homosexual can change their behavior, you will lose your job. >> reporter: the gay agenda is one of the most potent political movements in the united kingdom. even though according to a poll, there are not many homosexuals in britain. only 1.5% of the population. that's 750,000 hom sexual ,000 homosexuals in a nation of 60 million people. >> they call it human rights, and they're using terms like diversity. it is a hard-nosed political agenda of which an objective appears to be remove judeo christian morality. >> reporter: the british medical association decided to brand gay conversion therapy as harmful. but the christian legal center says strugwig was

unable to prove that conversion therapy was harmful. and the appeals panel ruled that her use of conversion therapy did not break professional standards. dale herd, cbn news. >> thank you, dale. you can find daily stories from christian world news on

watch christian world news. >> george: and welcome back to the broadcast. the grandson of the reverend billy graham is following in his father's footsteps down under. 17 churches in the city of orange, australia, came together for a series of reality events with will graham. he urged attend deees a personal commitment to price. holding up a pen and paper,

he explained that a pen is only useful when it is used by its master. he says the same holds true for people. >> you can only fulfill the purpose of your life, like the pen, when you surrender it over to your master. in this case, god. and as many of you like to think, you're sitting around with so much potential, but you're never fulfilling what you were created for. and you were created for a relationship with god. >> george: more than 2,000 aussies attended the weekend meetings in orange. afterwards, graham held a series of reality gatherings in lithco and sydney. >> wendy: in 1853, a young english man board a ship for a five-month voyage to the other side of the world. when he arrived in china, james adopted native dress and a pony tail. he went on to found one of

the most influential missions in the 19th century. now the town is inviting the world to come and visit. >> reporter: barnsley authorities unveiled markers on hudson's birthplace in both english and chinese. they hope to entertain visitors. >> they are free to travel, and they're free to worship christianity. we want to say welcome. >> reporter: hudson taylor founded the china taylor mission. during his lifetime, taylor recruited 800 missionaries, and started 125 schools throughout china. the barnesley anniversary crowd included a chinese minister now working in england. >> we remember the great man who committed his life to preaching the gospel of jesus to the chinese. and through him, many, many

chinese found a new way of life. he helped millions and millions of chinese. i hope millions and millions of chinese will come to this place, and remember that god can use a small man in a small town but in a great way. >> god can use a small man in a small town in a great way. >> george: to see all of the hardships hudson taylor endured in china trying to bring the gospel, and then after all of these years to see one of the world's largest christian nations -- it's pretty cool. thanks for joining us, everyone. >> wendy: god bless you.

we're asking people how big a marriage is. like, how many people it affects? right. so let's find out! how big is it? i can't measure it. big! it's worldwide. i would say it's as big as the universe. so your marriage affects more than just the two of you. how many people? at least a thousand. like: 'i want that too.' you see those nice people being together, being happy, and you want to enjoy that too.