FROM
THE
DIRECTOR
Find the Window in the Wall
by Dr. Tom White
ach morning, when the guard
E
unbolted the steel door of my solitary
confinement cell in Cuba placing a cup
of milk on the floor, I barely had time to
say, “Dios te bendiga”—God bless you
—before he slammed it shut. For several
weeks we went through this breakfast
routine.
One morning the guard slammed the
door before I got the “blessings” out to
him. A few minutes later the door swung
open and this young guard asked in
Spanish, “Hey, Americano, where is my
‘God bless you’?”
Some months later, before a court of
five communist judges, I was able to share
about the “cloud of witnesses”—saints
and angels (Heb. 12:1). The prosecutor
became angry, asking, “What is a saint?
I have never seen a saint.” Upon hearing
my testimony, the state lawyer who
defended me for all of five minutes had
tears in her eyes. My co-pilot and I were
sentenced to 24 years in prison. Still, in
prison, we had many opportunities to
share Christ.
Before going to prison I had lived in
the same house with Lutheran pastor
Richard Wurmbrand and his wife,
Sabina. Richard, who spoke about a
dozen languages, lived in Romania when
the Russians came, bringing communism
with them. He visited the occupying
Russian army barracks under the pretense
of selling watches. He would speak about
the Savior to soldiers raised on decades
of atheism. The soldiers were so thirsty
for the word of God they listened to
Richard and even offered to play lookout
for communist officers. By design, one
of the soldiers, spotting an officer, would
pat Richard’s knee as a signal to talk only
about watches. Richard and his wife were
both imprisoned for their courage to turn
opposition into opportunity.
When we Christians face opposition,
what should be our response? The
Apostle Paul, newly converted, took every
opportunity to preach the gospel whether
pursued by his enemies or arrested by
them. In Damascus, despite a king’s edict
against him, a governor’s warrant and
a garrison (II Corinthians 11:32, 33)
Paul climbed out a window, over a wall
and went to spread the gospel to a city
even more dangerous. Eventually, he was
arrested, tried and shackled, before being
sent to Rome. But Paul did not view his
chains as obstacles. Because of his passion
for souls, these were only physical, not
spiritual, obstacles. In spite of rejection
from former friends, mobs and
authorities, Paul knew that when he
opened his mouth with the gospel,
he was making an eternal window
in the wall. He realized that
death itself was simply the last
glorious window.
Empowered by the Holy
Spirit (“pneuma” or
wind), the Christian can
always witness through
the window, no matter
what wall confronts him.
(The word window comes
from two words: wind
and eye.) Even if we are
held in isolation, we can pray through walls
of opposition. In solitary confinement for
three years, Richard Wurmbrand prayed
for others and preached to angels. The Lord
enabled him to create a window.
Opportunity for Christian witness
exists every day, whether or not there
is persecution. If we lack faith, we fear
opposition. When we walk by faith and not
by sight, we see windows instead of walls.
Clothed with the full armor of God, the
believer is undaunted by either opposition
or acceptance. The key is being grateful for
the gift of salvation and having a passion
for souls.
Richard Wurmbrand used to annoy some
Christians about their campaign to restore
prayer in schools. Mystified, he would say,
“Why do you need a campaign? Just have
your children bow their heads and pray.”
We become so worried about legal walls
and petty penalties that we forget there
is always a window, even when there are
trivial earthly consequences.
Today, Christians across our nation are
beginning to be tested. Our children and
grandchildren are watching. What will
they learn from us? John Calvin wrote,
“The Lord often permits Christians to be
despised or rejected by the world, that
being liberated and cleansed from its
pollution, we may cultivate holiness. We
must love those who do not love God, but
conforming ourselves to their standards for
their approval and acceptance is disastrous.”
I was in Iran where there is an explosion
of the gospel among university students and
other young adults.
One night as we sat on a big carpet eating
fish, Iranian Christians joyfully described
the beatings and jails they endured, the
books and DVDs they had distributed and
the baptisms they experienced in apartment
bathtubs. When we understand that there
is a window of opportunity to witness
in every wall, we can even rejoice when
our backs are bloodied or our property
confiscated.
Iranian police raid the university
dormitory for Christian materials.
Such thinking is contrary to much of
what we are taught, but not contrary to
the biblical example of the early church.
“Sometimes you were publicly exposed
to insult and persecution; at other times
you stood side by side with those who
were so treated. You sympathized with
those in prison and joyfully accepted the
confiscation of your property, because
you knew that you yourselves had better
and lasting possessions.” (Hebrews 10:33,
34) The joy of the early church, in the
midst of rejection, turned the world
upside down.
One Iranian girl told about being
arrested and then released for having
Bibles and Jesus films in her dormitory.
Soon other girls came to her room
wanting to know the reason for the arrest,
and many accepted the Scriptures. For
the Iranian girl her next opportunity—
perhaps simply witnessing to someone
on a bus—could result in the loss of her
college degree. Still, she continued to tell
others about Jesus Christ. We may be
concerned about bringing affliction upon
ourselves, but Jesus risked all for our
salvation. What are we willing to risk?
In India in the last five years, more
Christians have been beaten or killed
and more houses and churches burned
than in all other countries of the world
combined. What has happened? Why
have so many fanatics arisen among the
Hindus? Thousands of Dalits (formerly
untouchables), have found Christ. This
is a threat to their masters, the land-
owning higher
caste Hindus. Still
opposition such
as anti-conversion
laws in India
has not stopped
the evangelistic
explosion there.
The impoverished
Dalits, regarded
These four young Dalit pastors in India—Shivashankar, Ramiah,
as dirt to be
Yesuraj and Jeevan— were beaten by Hindu radicals and
walked on, are
police and imprisoned. We assisted in their release from the
now breaking
Karnataka jail. They have returned to Bible study and ministry!
out in joy, sons
and daughters of
encouraging and preparing others in our
God. Their delight, their passion to tell
local church, by placing tracts on the
others about Jesus, stuns Hindu powermetro, or by tying Bibles on the back of
brokers, who thought the Christian
a motorcycle in communist Vietnam, our
problem was conquered when the
gospel is the same. To oppose the god
white-skinned missionary was banned
of this world by lifting up Christ we are
from their country. The Dalits seize
chopping a hole through the world’s wall
every opportunity to witness, in spite of
and creating a window, a hole to heaven.
overwhelming odds.
Here at The Voice of the Martyrs, our
What about Cuba, where I was
mandate is to assist the persecuted church
in prison in 1979-80? For 50 years
in dozens of countries by equipping
the communist state has allowed few
courageous believers with more tools—
new churches to be built. But Cuban
Bibles, motorcycles, DVDs, etc.—to
Christians are not waiting. Today
reach others. We invite you to enlarge
thousands of house churches exist. Some
your vision by joining the persecuted
believers have knocked out the interior
Body of Christ in finding windows that
walls of their houses, leaving a shell so
penetrate walls.
400 people can squeeze inside, even
We are grateful to those brave
spilling into the backyard. There are more
Christians in our country and abroad
believers now than at any other time in
who are examples to us through their
the history of that island.
public witness in difficult times. May we
Christians do not quit. Whether we
climb through the window with them!
cut through the wall of the world by
Radical Hindus in Orissa state, India distributed
this notice before a rally against Christians. It says,
“In order to make it a grand success, you all are
requested to please come and join the rally with
all your traditional weapons, like arrow, axe, spear,
sword, etc.”
www.persecution.com
VOM
3
North Korea:
FARC guerillas are taught
to hate Christians who
refuse to follow their
Marxist theology.
© Corbis
Colombia:
In the Valley of the Jungle
by Dory P.
ready to die. I closed my eyes
“Iandwasentrusted
myself to God,” Pastor
“Manuel” said. But the bullet from the
gun pressed against his skull never came.
Earlier that Sunday evening, three
strangers showed up to Manuel’s house.
When Manuel answered the door, one
man put an automatic pistol to his head
and dragged him and his wife, Olivia,
to his church next door. They taunted
him for six hours, pointing guns at his
head saying, “We’re going to kill you now.
… You think because you’re a pastor we
won’t kill you? You will not leave
here alive.”
Many FARC guerillas
have come to Christ
through Bibles,
shortwave radios and
other literature we
drop by parachute,
including one former
FARC who now shares
the gospel through a
radio program.
4
After hours of this sinister game, one
of the kidnappers pulled the trigger. The
hammer of the gun struck, but the gun
did not fire. He fired again,
but, the gun did not shoot.
Frustrated, the gunman began
to beat Manuel. The attackers
fled, but not before they
robbed the church.
After that day, Manuel
began getting threatening
phone calls. The callers
told him, “Your days are
numbered. Get out of the
church.”
Manuel is one of the few
Pastor Manuel weeps with a VOM worker as he
believers with a passion to
tells about his interrogation by anti-Christian
reach even those who live
Colombian terrorists.
where FARC guerillas and
paramilitary groups fight over the drug
continue, with sometimes seven calls in
trade. He chose to move to a dangerous
one day. He moved the location of his
city to lead a church. His church attracted
church three times. Strangers attend his
the attention of a paramilitary group.
church services, and he believes they are
That is when the three men came to kill
there to watch him.
him and the threats began.
VOM is helping him with housing and
He told us, “We will serve in the
food, but it is the Holy Spirit sustaining
church as long as God allows. … But
him. “We have lived in our own lives
the fear doesn’t leave; like all humans,
what persecution is in Colombia, but we
sometimes we worry.”
are fed by inner springs,” Manuel says. He
Manuel’s family is under intense
counts on Exodus 34:10.
pressure. Since the attack at the church
Manuel and his family can only see
building, Manuel and his wife were
the mountain before them right now, but
kidnapped again and held for several
they know God will never leave them,
hours. His co-pastor was murdered.
even in the valley of the shadow of death.
The threatening letters and phone calls
There are many brave North Koreans who are
risking all to bring the light of Christ to that
country. And together with our VOM readers, we
equip them with the tools they need to share the
gospel in what is undoubtedly one of the most
closed countries in the world. VOM provides,
at great risk, physical and spiritual aid to North
Korea—food, Bibles and Christian literature.
Read what a North Korean believer who received
VOM food aid wrote in a letter smuggled out of
the “Hermit Kingdom.”
A North Korean
Christian family
reads a Scripture
balloon on the
floor of their
apartment.
“I am ashamed to confess that before
becoming a follower of Christ, I was one of
many who let my children starve to death in
order to survive. After my two sons died, I
wandered aimlessly through life without purpose.
Then Jesus found me.
“Christ’s love has completely changed me
and now I risk my life as one of the prayer
members, preaching His name to those around
me. Your gift of food has strengthened me
and I will use that strength to preach that
Christ is our Savior. If He were not with us,
I can only imagine how miserable we would be.
There are so many in this cursed land that
are despised, looked down on, and going to hell.
Without Christ, life is not worth living. This
is why we will continue to risk our lives to
preach in His name.
“As you continue to strengthen our church,
we will do our part to use that strength to
further Christ’s love for the North Korean
people. It used to bring me sorrow to see
starving people all around me, but with your
support, I no longer see misery. I appreciate
you and want to thank you so much.
“For the future of this country, I will stand
up, even to death. I will persevere until His will
is accomplished and His love has triumphed. I
wish all of you good health, dear supporters.”
—A North Korean underground church teacher.
1969
VOM began
launching
balloons filled
with Scripture
into North Korea
from its neighbor
South Korea,
some 40 years
ago. Here’s a
picture of a
launch in 1969.
1990s
2008
North Korean
soldiers
stationed at
the border with
South Korea
crack down
on the balloon
launches in
the 1990s.
In 2008 VOM
partners
continued to
launch gospelfilled balloons
to some of the
most oppressed
people on earth.
www.persecution.com
Get a glimpse inside the "Hermit Kingdom," by watching a video of North Korean believers at www.persecution.com/newsletter.
VOM
5
2009
Special
Issue
T H E
V O I C E
O F
T H E
M A R T Y R S
Pakistan:
Nigeria:
Fighting
Violence with
Christ’s Love
Faithful Until Death
by Dory P.
by P. Todd Nettleton & VOM Australia staff
n March 21, 2007, Christianah Oluwasesin looked forward to the ending of
O
school that day. That’s because the Christian teacher was to leave the government
by Dory P.
abil Matar” is not afraid of a challenge.
“Q
He wanted to reach Muslims in his
native Pakistan, so he moved his wife,
son and daughter to one of the world’s
most unstable regions: the Northwest
Frontier Province, home of the Taliban
and Al-Qaida. Ongoing violence makes
this a precarious place, but Qabil sees an
opportunity to share the power of Christ.
VOM’s team in Pakistan provided
Qabil with Christian literature. He also
used a booklet called ‘How Can We
Know God?’ Qabil used the books to
talk to people about Christ, though the
literature’s content could mean a death
sentence from extremist Muslims.
On Sept. 3, 2008, some Taliban
members confronted Qabil. They
searched him and found a copy of ‘How
Can We Know God?’
“Oh it’s you!” they said. “We have
been searching for the man who was
distributing this literature for the last
six months.”
The Taliban took him to their training
camp. They put him in a basement
where, for the next two hours, they hung
him upside down inside a hole of a squat
toilet.
“… I kept reciting Psalm 23. Also, I
was praying to God to give me strength
to face all kinds of persecution and release
me,” Qabil said.
The Taliban showed him pictures
of Christian leaders and asked him to
identify them. His interrogators wanted
to know who was helping him. Finally,
they made him strip naked, beat him
and locked him in the bathroom for the
night.
Meanwhile, Qabil’s wife, Asha, was sick
with worry when she heard the Taliban
had her husband. She called Qabil’s
6
REACT:
Action Packs
(top) Qabil ventures into the
lion’s den, evangelizing among
Al-Qaida strongholds in Pakistan.
Bless Christians in Pakistan
persecuted for their faith, help
Pakistani evangelists bless their
(right) After his release from Taliban
forces, Brother Qabil still witnesses
to Muslims and prays with his
family. They know that every day is
a gift from God.
pastoral leaders. They began praying
for Qabil’s release. Alone at home, Asha
opened her Bible to Psalm 125 where
she read, “… As the mountains surround
Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his
people …”
Back at the Taliban camp, at 4:15 a.m.
a man Qabil knew opened the door.
He signaled Qabil to escape. When
he reached home at 6:30 a.m., utterly
“I was encouraged …
That moment I decided
to go back and preach
in the same area. My
fear is gone.”
exhausted, his wife burst into tears.
“Don’t cry,” he told her. “I am alive; God
enemies or do both by signing
up for VOM’s Action Packs
ministry. It’s simple. With a $7
donation, VOM will send you
saved my life, and I am back home.”
The next day Qabil and his family left
the Northwest Frontier Province and
went to a safer area in Pakistan. There
they met VOM workers who prayed with
them. The workers explained to Qabil
that people all over the world had been
praying for him during his captivity.
VOM is helping Qabil and his wife get
settled in their new location. But Qabil
says the move is temporary.
After waiting to let things cool down,
Qabil and his family will return to
northwestern Pakistan. He said, “I was
afraid and had fear, but when I attended
the prayer meeting and heard that people
were praying for me, I was encouraged …
That moment, I decided to go back and
preach in the same area. My fear is gone.”
Please keep praying for Qabil as he
continues to show some of the most
fundamental Muslims in the world how
to know the God of the Bible.
a special pre-printed Action
Pack vacuum bag and a list of
approved items. Just fill the
bag with items from the list,
mail it back to VOM and
we’ll send your Action Pack
to someone in need. Action
Packs are a wonderful way to
demonstrate Christ’s love and
share the gospel.
To find out more, visit
www.persecution.com/actionpacks
or call (800) 747-0085 to order your
Action Pack today.
To watch a VOM Action Pack distribution
go to www.persecution.com/newsletter.
high school in Gombe, a city in northern Nigeria, and be reunited with her
husband, Femi. But first things first, she had to give her female students their final
exam. The exam would test the student’s knowledge of Islam.
To prevent cheating, she collected the book bags of each student and brought
them to the front of the class. One of the students began to cry. She told the class
that there was a Quran in her bag and by touching the bag the Christian teacher
had “desecrated” the Quran inside it. Tears turned to outrage and anger, and soon
the class was shouting “Allahu Akbar” —God is great.
They began threatening the teacher. A fellow teacher rushed Christianah to the
principal’s office. The official locked the schoolteacher in the bathroom to get
her away from what was now an angry mob. But outside, the anger was growing.
Radical Muslims who lived nearby heard the commotion and ran to the school.
Eventually a mob of Muslim extremists dragged Christianah out of the school
and clubbed her to death, then burned her body.
Recently, VOM’s partner ministry in Nigeria, Stephen Centre International,
dedicated a learning center in her honor. Her husband Femi was there and so were
their son and daughter. Femi shared with our VOM contacts about his heartache
over the loss of his wife and God’s faithfulness.
“It has at times been a dark valley to walk,” he said. “Even when I knew she
had died I didn’t know how dark it could be at times. The Lord has been with me
through these valleys but I am constantly encouraged by seeing the precious and
beautiful innocent lives of my children before me each day. They are a constant
reminder of my dear wife and how we both so desired to raise them in the ways
of the Lord.”
Femi said that even though it pains him, he has forgiven the people who killed
his wife. “I have no option but to forgive those who have taken my wife’s life away
even though justice has not yet prevailed. Even though I can forgive, it is not easy
to forget.” VOM offers Christian books, Bibles and other aid to Nigerians
persecuted by Muslims.
Christianah (left) was a Nigerian teacher
brutally murdered for touching a student’s
backpack which a student claimed contained
a Quran.
Islam has become dominant in the northern
states of Nigeria but Christians refuse to stop
telling others about Christ even when their
churches are destroyed.
2009
Special
Issue
T H E
V O I C E
O F
T H E
M A R T Y R S
China:
Christians in Iran secretly worship at night.
Christians Under Attack in China
by VOM Staff
n Oct. 16, 2008, Zhang Jian, son of
Ooutspoken
house church leader Pastor
Iran:
Sharing Jesus in the Darkness
by Patrice Johnson
ave you been baptized in the
“H
Holy Spirit?”
8
Confused, Shahram looked into the
eyes of his interrogator. How could
a member of the Iran Secret Police, a
person who is a strict follower of Islam,
know such a term?
“Have you had a water baptism?” the
man shouted. “Have you witnessed to
others?” It was the first time the man
had spoken to Shahram during the seven
hours the secret police had him in the
interrogation room.
Shahram could tell he was angry he had
not received the answers he was looking
for. During the daylong interrogation
Shahram remembered Matthew 10:16,
“Behold I send you out as a sheep in the
midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as
serpents and harmless as doves.”
Shahram knew he would be executed
right away if he told them plainly he was
a Christian. A son of a prominent Shiite
leader, Shahram was raised on extremist
Islamic ideology. He took part in radical
Shiite ceremonies that required total
devotion to Islam. He even grew up to
become an Islamic leader, finding some
notoriety as an author of evangelistic
books to spread Islam. He was exactly the
type of young Muslim Iran wanted. That
“If we find any evidence
you are a Christian, we
will kill you.”
is until he became a Muslim convert to
Christianity.
Though Shahram never denied Christ,
he refused to give his questioners the
answers they sought.
Finally the interrogators gave up.
They sent him to an Islamic judge
who repeated the questioning. The judge
gave Shahram a warning: “If we find
any evidence you are a Christian, we will
kill you.”
Shahram left police custody with no
one to turn to. His father had already
abandoned him. “You are dead to me,” he
had said. “I no longer have a son named
Shahram.” Shahram lost his job, his home
and his family. In the face of all this
opposition what did he do?
He joined Iran’s underground house
church movement and began ministering
to others. He and his wife, “Sima”,
another Muslim convert, lead a network
of house churches in Iran. It is likely that
re-arrest would result in death sentences
for them both. VOM provides ministry
materials that help the Iranian house
churches reach their Muslim neighbors
for Christ. VOM also attends to the
needs of many persecuted house church
leaders, just like Shahram and Sima.
Whenever we visit with our brothers
and sisters in Iran they always ask us to
pray for them. Pray for strength so they
may continue to share the gospel in this
great darkness.
“Bike” Zhang Mingxuan, was severely
beaten by Public Security Bureau (PSB)
officials. The Chinese police beat Jian for
nearly a half hour with iron rods causing
what could be a sight-ending eye injury.
The incident was a latest in a series of
attacks against Pastor Bike and his family.
These targeted attacks resulted in repeated
evictions, incarcerations and physical
harassment of Pastor Bike, his wife,
colleagues and now his son.
Chinese authorities have long targeted
Christian leaders such as Pastor Bike
who do not conform to the state-run
Three-Self Patriotic Church. Recent
attacks against bicycle evangelist Pastor
Bike are not just about the PSB attack
on one man. An investigation into the
PSB’s harassment of Pastor Bike and
other church leaders reveals an increase
in persecution against the estimated
100 million-member house church
movement. In 2008 alone:
• Our contacts recorded more than
83 cases of Chinese Christians being
arrested, detained, tortured, evicted or
threatened because of their worship
activities outside of the state-run church,
all within the four
months leading up
to the Olympics in
Beijing. In August,
Pastor Bike, his
wife and colleagues
were arrested
and detained in a
hotel on a “forced
vacation,” until
after the Olympics.
Zhang Jian, son of house church leader Pastor Bike, after
being severely beaten by PSB officials.
International
outcry, including
prodding by the U.S. State Department
Bob Fu, president of China Aid
resulted in Bike’s release. Yet his wife was
Association, said the attack on Pastor Bike,
evicted in October leading to his son’s
who called for the creation of the prayer
beating at the hands of the PSB.
bands, is just another example of China’s
attempt to intimidate Christians who do
• Chinese secret police shut down a
not follow the state-run church. But, he
factory producing the red Chinese prayer
added, that attempt has failed.
bands which say “Bless China,” worn by
“Many Chinese brothers and sisters are
many house church members. VOM and
wearing the prayer bands without fear,”
China Aid Association created the bands
Bob Fu said. “Prayer bands not only unite
to encourage Christians in China and the
us Chinese Christians, but also remind
U.S. to pray for China. U.S. bands are
us to pray for Christ’s followers in the
gray and say “Pray for China.”
free world.”
Please continue to pray for our brothers
• Officials stop prayer band wearers on
and sisters in China who, despite suffering
public streets, ripping bands off wrists.
for their faith in Christ, remain strong in
Wearers are arrested, some evicted from
their commitment to share the gospel.
their homes.
REACT: Bibles Unbound
For years VOM has provided the Word of God to residents in
restricted nations through our Bibles Unbound ministry. In the
last year alone, with the help of VOM readers like you, we
have provided 330,500 Bibles to Christians in four countries.
Through the Bibles Unbound ministry your family can select
a country and mail New Testaments each month to people
in that country who desperately need the Word of God.
Bibles Unbound provides your family, school church or Bible
group the opportunity to spread God’s Word in the most
restricted nations on earth. For more information go to www.
BiblesUnbound.com or call (800) 747-0085.
www.persecution.com
VOM
9
2009
Special
Issue
T H E
V O I C E
O F
T H E
M A R T Y R S
Indonesia:
Bible Students Find
a Way to Worship
Moses for
Mauritania
A
ast year we reported on the July 2008 Muslim attack against the Arastamar
L
Evangelical Theology School (SETIA). Built in 1991 on Java, Indonesia’s fifth largest
by Gary Lane
oses led the Israelites out of Egypt,
M
through the desert and into the Promised
Land. A VOM worker recently met a
modern-day Moses who is introducing
Muslims to living water in the
Mauritanian desert.
“Anwar” and his small band of
courageous Christians trek across miles
of sand so they may assemble secretly
in a Muslim land. This group of Muslim
background believers regularly endures
the scorching Mauritanian sun to pray,
learn more about Jesus and sing praise
songs.
Mauritania is an Islamic Republic and
Islam is the state religion. While several
Roman Catholic and other churches
exist in some of Mauritania’s larger
cities, the vast majority of Mauritania’s
3.3 million people practice Sunni Islam.
The country’s constitution prohibits
the proselytization of Muslims and the
publication and distribution of nonIslamic religious materials.
Anwar reads
a death threat
from Islamic
extremists who
want to kill the
pastor for having
Christian service
in the Mauritanian
desert.
Christians gather around a well which hides their living water—the word of God.
Despite government restrictions,
perhaps the greatest threat to Anwar
and the band of Christians comes from
fundamentalist Muslims. They have
warned Anwar he will be killed if he does
not stop telling Muslims about Christ. He
recently received this threatening letter
from a group calling itself the Islamic
Committee:
“We’ve been following and keeping an eye
on this cunning group. We’ve discovered that
there is a group trying to convert people in
the public areas or underprivileged people
to Christianity. We promise to eliminate
them as we are commanded in the Quran.
It seems that those so-called Christians are
taking advantage of how weak the Islamic
world is in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine
these days.”
So He May Know Their Hearts
“Kalila’s” Muslim family members were
outraged when they learned she had
become a Christian. They bound her
hands and feet and beat her for seven
months. She was freed from the restraints
only when she needed to bathe or go to
the toilet. Kalila’s parents would often
ridicule her when they beat her. During
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They have warned
Anwar he will be killed if
he does not stop …
one incident they told her to “pray to
your Jesus that he comes and releases you
because Mohammed is angry with you
and won’t help you!”
One day, Kalila’s brother started to beat
her. She fell and injured her face as she
attempted to flee. When Kalila’s parents
finally realized she would not renounce
her Christian faith, they expelled her
from their home. She is now married
and spends time ministering to a small
group of Muslim background believers in
another location in Mauritania.
We have provided Kalila and Anwar
assistance through our Families of
Martyrs fund and we are giving them
and other evangelists in Northern Africa
tools they need to spread the word
of God. May our prayers, words and
support for our brothers and sisters in the
Mauritanian wilderness be encouraging
to them!
Kalila breaks down as she
describes being tied up by her
hands and feet by her parents
when they found out she was
a Christian.
island, SETIA is the largest Bible college in Indonesia.
As calls for jihad rang from loudspeakers of nearby mosques, a mob of Muslims
gathered in front of the Christian school. The attackers used knives, machetes,
bamboo spears, Molotov bombs and liquid chemicals to assault the male and female
students in their dormitories. Many of the students suffered injuries. Another mob
blocked the main road to keep the authorities from rescuing the students. Shouts of
“Allahu Akbar”—God is great—echoed through the streets.
We have seen this pattern of persecution in Indonesia before. Muslim radicals
have attacked Christian institutions to stop evangelical training. Nearly 10 years
ago, on Dec. 15, 1999, the Doulos Bible School in Jakarta was burned completely
and two of their students were slain. Bible students in Indonesia understand that
they must not only possess faith in the truth of scripture, but they also must
embody the same unshakable faith of Christian witnesses like Stephen, who clung to
Christ in the face of death.
Most of the students are on full scholarship and come from the poorest among
the 6,000 inhabited islands of this mostly Muslim nation.
Even as the gasoline bombs were thrown into the dormitories, the students did
not surrender. They threw foam mattresses, which they soaked in water, on the fires.
They also wet their extra clothes and slapped them on the flames.
After two days, police finally came to evacuate the school and the students were
escorted through the mob in police vehicles. As the police inched their truck
through the angry crowd, attackers stabbed the students inside with bamboo spears.
They even threw acid onto the students. Many students were wounded, some with
sword slashes and chemical burns.
Despite the attack, the students have
vowed to not stop their journey as
disciples of Christ! Since this attack,
these students have lived, studied and
worshipped in church halls, government
buildings and a city park.
Christians are sometimes called
pilgrims. They often go where no one
has been before. Pray for these young
Indonesian pilgrims as they journey
This Bible student was burned with acid.
to bring Christ to those who do not
know Him.
REACT: VOMedical
In 2008, VOMedical helped 99 Christians who were
injured because of their faith. You can partner with VOMedical to provide reconstructive surgery,
prosthesis, transportation and other medical care to Christians attacked for their faith.
Call (800) 747-0085 to find out how you can be involved.
www.persecution.com
VOM
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