-The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Perilous Times

-The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert

The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada

 September 11, 2010

A weekly news and prayer digest on the Persecuted Church.
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In this week's edition: reports from China, Iran, India and Somalia
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1. Update: Chinese pastor threatened with exile

Contacts of The Voice of the Martyrs were recently able to meet with Pastor Wang Dao (40), a leader of the Liangren Church in Guangzhou city who was imprisoned on charges of "gathering a mob to disrupt the public order" in late May and released a few weeks later  When told that he had to choose between exile or imprisonment for his Christian activity, Pastor Wang stated that he had no intention of being exiled and was prepared for a lengthy imprisonment. Since his release, authorities have been closely monitoring him. They have also informed him that if he continues to preach he will be forced into exile. Pastor Wang, however, is standing firm in his conviction that God's place for him is in China.

Pray for continued resilience of faith for Pastor Wang. Pray also for God to comfort and strengthen his wife and their son and daughter. Pray that Christians suffering for their faith in China will rest in the perfect love of the cross, which drives out all fear (1 John 4:18).

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2. Chinese church leaders threatened for mission conference

According to ChinaAid, at least three Chinese house churches were shut down on August 5 and 6. The churches were located in Wuhan, Hubei, in Sanmenxia, Henan, and in Changsha, Hunan. They belonged to China Gospel Fellowship, one of the major house church networks in China, with an estimated 5-7 million members.

The churches were forced to close down by the Chinese government because church leaders were invited to attend the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation in October 2010 at Cape Town, South Africa. Sources informed ChinaAid that the Chinese Public Security Bureau has obtained the list of 200 Chinese invitees and threatened some of them not to attend, but CGF leaders refused to back down. (Source: ChinaAid)

Thank the Lord for the faithfulness of these believers. Pray the church leaders and members will continue to meet with one another. Praise God for the way He is working in China as the church continues to grow in spite of the restrictions.

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3. Many Iranian Muslims turning to Christ despite opposition

Muslims are reportedly coming to faith in Christ in record numbers in Iran. In recent months, The Voice of the Martyrs has received several reports of opposition facing Iranian Christians, including the arrest of 15 newly converted Christians in the city of Mashhad Razavi Khorasan in July. Despite increased persecution, however, contacts have confirmed that believers in Iran are continuing to share Christ courageously with Muslims, with many converting from Islam to Christianity as a result.

Praise the Lord for the many lives that have been touched by His grace in Iran! Pray that new converts will grow in their faith. Pray that God will give endurance, encouragement and a spirit of unity to all those following Christ in Iran (Romans 15:5).

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4. Condition of Iranian Detainee Unknown

Members of a home-based church in the city of Ahvaz, Iran are concerned about a fellow church member. More than a month since his arrest, there is no information about the condition of 27-year-old Neshan Saeedi. On July 24 at 9:00 p.m., Saeedi was spending a quiet evening at home with his wife and young daughter when plain-clothes security forces entered his house and arrested him. The security officers searched the home and seized personal belongings such as a computer, CDs containing films of Christian seminars and teachings, Christian books and Bibles, and family photo albums.

The family was then taken to the Chaharshir detention centre in Ahvaz where they faced several hours of interrogation before Saeedi's wife and daughter were released. Officers threatened Mr Saeedi's wife that, if they continue in their Christian activities, they may lose the right to keep their daughter. They were also accused of threatening the national security of the country and taking part in anti-government activities. They were told that they were spies of foreign powers and were leading people to pro-Israel ideology.

The members of the home-based church who fellowshipped with Saeedi and his wife, out of fear for their lives and the possibility of further arrests and persecution, have since scattered and dismantled the fellowship. The security agents are seeking two other leaders of this church by the names of Ebi and Omid and are following all leads to pursue and arrest them. (Source: Farsi Christian Network News)

Please pray Neshan Saeedi will be released. Pray for his physical, mental and spiritual well-being during this trial. Ask the Lord to protect his wife, daughter and the other church leaders, Ebi and Omid. Pray for courage and boldness for Christian believers in Iran.

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5. Buddhists assault Christian aid workers in India

A visually impaired Christian and his friend have accused drunken Buddhists of abducting and assaulting them. The incident happened on September 1 in the town of Leh in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Christians had been distributing relief aid in the area where flooding and landslides destroyed hundreds of houses and killed around 200 people in early August.

The attackers, identified as members of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), abducted Ram Kumar Thapa, Stanzin Chosphel and his pregnant wife Putali Sherpa because of their Christian faith and beat the men, the victims said. According to the victims' complaints to the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission, LBA members were upset that Thapa was preaching Christianity to displaced residents. The assailants took Thapa to the LBA office at the Soma Monastery, where a Buddhist monk was also present, and beat him again. He was then moved to a room where he could hear the voice of his friend, Chosphel, with his wife. The attackers showed Thapa's bruised and bleeding face to Chosphel to warn him against continuing as a Christian. Chosphel confirmed that he and his wife were taken to the LBA office at the monastery. "They dragged me into a room and gagged my mouth so I could not cry out as they beat me with rubber pipes and rods and fists continuously," Chosphel said. "All along they kept telling me to leave my wife and also renounce my faith in Christianity and return to Buddhism." The men released the couple at around 12:30 a.m. after giving them two days to leave Leh or convert to Buddhism, "or else they will chop my wife into pieces and kill me and also kill my family ... who are still practising Buddhists," stated Chosphel. (Source: Compass Direct)

Please pray the Lord will minister to these believers and give them the grace and strength to overcome these attacks. Pray for their physical healing and pray for their protection. Pray also for the perpetrators, for their salvation.

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6. Somali Christian killed, four children kidnapped

A member of an underground Christian movement in Somalia has been murdered by Muslim militants in a continuing campaign to eliminate converts from Islam. Area sources said al Shabaab militants entered the house of Osman Abdullah Fataho in Afgoye, 30 kilometres from Mogadishu, at 10:30 the night of July 21 and shot him dead in front of his wife and children. Fataho was a long-time Christian deeply involved in the activities of the small, secret Christian community, sources said. Area Christians said they suspected someone had informed the militants of Fataho's faith. The assailants abducted his wife and four children, later releasing her on the condition that she surrenders the little ones to be trained as soldiers. "We know they have taken the children to brain-wash them, to change their way of life from Christian to Muslim and to teach them the Koran," said one source. Abducted were Ali Daud (5), Fatuma Safia (7), Sharif Ahmed (10) and Nur Said (15).

A Christian leader who attended Fataho's funeral on July 22 said that one of the slain man's relatives noted that the militants had targeted him because he had left Islam. The incident has spread fear among the faithful in the lawless country, much of which lies in the grip of ruthless insurgents' intent on rooting out any person professing Christianity. Leaders of the Christian underground movement have been forced to flee their homes to avoid being killed by the insurgents, said one leader who, along with seven others, has temporarily moved to an undisclosed area. (Source: Compass Direct)

Please uphold Fataho's wife and children. Pray for them as they grieve the loss of their husband and father, and ask the Lord to intervene in this situation so that the children may be returned to their mother. Pray for all Christian believers, particularly Muslim background believers in Somalia who follow Christ at great risk. Ask God to strengthen His church in Somalia to help them to withstand such intense persecution.

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