The Weekly Persecution & Prayer Alert
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Aug 27, 2011, 3:49:41 AM8/27/11
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The Weekly
Persecution & Prayer Alert
The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada
Thursday, August 25, 2011
"The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man's business
but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing
to the inner man. If God, then, puts or permits anything hard in our lives,
be sure that the real peril, the real trouble, is that we shall lose if we flinch or rebel."
- Maltbie Davenport Babcock
***********************************
In this week's edition: reports from Sudan, China, Vietnam and Iraq.
***********************************
1. Church building in ruins; hostilities grow in Sudan
(Source: Compass Direct)
More than seven months after Muslim extremists burned its church building, a Presbyterian Church of the Sudan (PCOS) congregation is still afraid to meet for worship. The Rev. Maubark Hamad said his church in Wad Madani has not been able to rebuild since the January 15 devastation due to the congregation's meagre resources. Christian sources said they are increasingly fearful as Muslim extremists pose more threats against Christians in an attempt to rid what they call Dar al Islam, the "Land of Islam," of Christianity. The congregation's building was burned after a series of threats against its members by Muslims extremists. When church leaders reported the case to police, they were surprised to find officers reluctant to investigate.
Christians in Sudan are living beneath a blanket of fear since South Sudan seceded on July 9. Just one month after the south voted for independence from the predominantly Islamic north, pressures on churches and Christians have increased, with Muslim groups threatening to destroy churches, kill Christians and purge the country of Christianity.
Please pray the Lord will strengthen His Church in Sudan. May He protect believers from harm and grow the Church in faithfulness and in number. Ask Him to give them the grace to overcome their loss and their current fears. Pray they will have the desire to meet with one another for mutual encouragement and to act as witnesses for the gospel.
***********************************
2. Investigation requested for missing human rights lawyer in China
(Source: ChinaAid Association)
VOM partner ChinaAid formally requested a special UN investigation into the torture of missing Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng on August 15, the five-year anniversary of his first kidnapping by police. The request was submitted by ChinaAid's legal counsel and was filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.
Human rights lawyer Gao was taken by police on August 15, 2006, from his sister's home and held incommunicado until the Chinese government announced on September 21 that he was being charged with inciting subversion
In March 2010, a group of human rights specialists filed a petition before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which resulted in the discovery of serious wrongdoing by the Chinese government. However, Chinese authorities failed to even reply to the UN enquiry. Those involved were told that Gao's case is a matter of China's internal affairs, adding that the country is under rule of law.
ChinaAid founder and president, Bob Fu, and the organization's legal counsel, David E. Taylor, expect that China is likely to respond similarly to this request for a special UN investigation. "Nonetheless, we believe it is important for the international community to see again how the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrogance and recalcitrance to the UN, and to show the world, especially Gao's family and the Chinese government, that Gao has not been forgotten for even one second and never will be," Taylor said.
Please pray for Gao and his family; may they remain steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-10). Ask the Lord to use this current investigation request for His glory and for the benefit of Gao and other Chinese believers who are currently in prison for their faith.
To learn more about China's suffering Christians, please visit www.persecution.net/china.htm.
***********************************
3. Christian worshippers brutally beaten by police in Vietnam
(Source: International Christian Concern)
A violent attack against minority Degar Montagnard Christians in the central highlands of Vietnam took place in July, leaving 16 Christians severely injured. One Christian man remains under arrest, his condition unknown.
On July 7, at approximately 8 p.m., Vietnamese security forces and police descended upon a worship service in the village of Buon Kret Krot, Gai Lai Province, and began kicking and beating the attendees. Security forces threatened the villagers, stating: "If anyone worships like this way, we will return to arrest you all and put you in prison for five years." Of the Christians attacked, 10 men and two women were beaten to the point of unconsciousness.
Pray the Lord will bring swift and complete healing to those who were injured. Pray for the release of the believer who was arrested. Ask the Lord to strengthen these believers. Pray Christians in Vietnam will continue to meet together in spite of the opposition. Pray for the perpetrators of this attack.
***********************************
4. Church building bombed in Iraq
(Source: Compass Direct)
A wave of violence hit 17 cities in Iraq recently, claiming around 70 lives. Included in the attacks was the bombing of a church building in Kirkuk, marking the second round of assaults against the city's Christian community in recent weeks. On August 15 at 1:20 a.m., a bomb tore through one of the walls of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mar Afram. Thankfully, no Christians were killed in the attack, but police have announced higher protective measures for Kirkuk's churches.
Earlier in the month, three other churches were targeted by insurgents. While police were able to disarm bombs near two of the churches, a third bomb detonated in front of the Holy Family Syriac Catholic Church.
About 334,000 Christians remain in Iraq, less than half of their number in 1991. The violence has caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people, both Muslim and Christian, to leave the country, and many more are displaced inside Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan.
Pray for the church in Iraq. Pray they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; 12:1-3). Pray He will comfort and strengthen the many who are grieving. Ask him to intervene in the lives of Christians in Iraq to protect and preserve them.
The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada
Thursday, August 25, 2011
"The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man's business
but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing
to the inner man. If God, then, puts or permits anything hard in our lives,
be sure that the real peril, the real trouble, is that we shall lose if we flinch or rebel."
- Maltbie Davenport Babcock
***********************************
In this week's edition: reports from Sudan, China, Vietnam and Iraq.
***********************************
1. Church building in ruins; hostilities grow in Sudan
(Source: Compass Direct)
More than seven months after Muslim extremists burned its church building, a Presbyterian Church of the Sudan (PCOS) congregation is still afraid to meet for worship. The Rev. Maubark Hamad said his church in Wad Madani has not been able to rebuild since the January 15 devastation due to the congregation's meagre resources. Christian sources said they are increasingly fearful as Muslim extremists pose more threats against Christians in an attempt to rid what they call Dar al Islam, the "Land of Islam," of Christianity. The congregation's building was burned after a series of threats against its members by Muslims extremists. When church leaders reported the case to police, they were surprised to find officers reluctant to investigate.
Christians in Sudan are living beneath a blanket of fear since South Sudan seceded on July 9. Just one month after the south voted for independence from the predominantly Islamic north, pressures on churches and Christians have increased, with Muslim groups threatening to destroy churches, kill Christians and purge the country of Christianity.
Please pray the Lord will strengthen His Church in Sudan. May He protect believers from harm and grow the Church in faithfulness and in number. Ask Him to give them the grace to overcome their loss and their current fears. Pray they will have the desire to meet with one another for mutual encouragement and to act as witnesses for the gospel.
***********************************
2. Investigation requested for missing human rights lawyer in China
(Source: ChinaAid Association)
VOM partner ChinaAid formally requested a special UN investigation into the torture of missing Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng on August 15, the five-year anniversary of his first kidnapping by police. The request was submitted by ChinaAid's legal counsel and was filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.
Human rights lawyer Gao was taken by police on August 15, 2006, from his sister's home and held incommunicado until the Chinese government announced on September 21 that he was being charged with inciting subversion
In March 2010, a group of human rights specialists filed a petition before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which resulted in the discovery of serious wrongdoing by the Chinese government. However, Chinese authorities failed to even reply to the UN enquiry. Those involved were told that Gao's case is a matter of China's internal affairs, adding that the country is under rule of law.
ChinaAid founder and president, Bob Fu, and the organization's legal counsel, David E. Taylor, expect that China is likely to respond similarly to this request for a special UN investigation. "Nonetheless, we believe it is important for the international community to see again how the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrogance and recalcitrance to the UN, and to show the world, especially Gao's family and the Chinese government, that Gao has not been forgotten for even one second and never will be," Taylor said.
Please pray for Gao and his family; may they remain steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-10). Ask the Lord to use this current investigation request for His glory and for the benefit of Gao and other Chinese believers who are currently in prison for their faith.
To learn more about China's suffering Christians, please visit www.persecution.net/china.htm.
***********************************
3. Christian worshippers brutally beaten by police in Vietnam
(Source: International Christian Concern)
A violent attack against minority Degar Montagnard Christians in the central highlands of Vietnam took place in July, leaving 16 Christians severely injured. One Christian man remains under arrest, his condition unknown.
On July 7, at approximately 8 p.m., Vietnamese security forces and police descended upon a worship service in the village of Buon Kret Krot, Gai Lai Province, and began kicking and beating the attendees. Security forces threatened the villagers, stating: "If anyone worships like this way, we will return to arrest you all and put you in prison for five years." Of the Christians attacked, 10 men and two women were beaten to the point of unconsciousness.
Pray the Lord will bring swift and complete healing to those who were injured. Pray for the release of the believer who was arrested. Ask the Lord to strengthen these believers. Pray Christians in Vietnam will continue to meet together in spite of the opposition. Pray for the perpetrators of this attack.
***********************************
4. Church building bombed in Iraq
(Source: Compass Direct)
A wave of violence hit 17 cities in Iraq recently, claiming around 70 lives. Included in the attacks was the bombing of a church building in Kirkuk, marking the second round of assaults against the city's Christian community in recent weeks. On August 15 at 1:20 a.m., a bomb tore through one of the walls of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mar Afram. Thankfully, no Christians were killed in the attack, but police have announced higher protective measures for Kirkuk's churches.
Earlier in the month, three other churches were targeted by insurgents. While police were able to disarm bombs near two of the churches, a third bomb detonated in front of the Holy Family Syriac Catholic Church.
About 334,000 Christians remain in Iraq, less than half of their number in 1991. The violence has caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people, both Muslim and Christian, to leave the country, and many more are displaced inside Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan.
Pray for the church in Iraq. Pray they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; 12:1-3). Pray He will comfort and strengthen the many who are grieving. Ask him to intervene in the lives of Christians in Iraq to protect and preserve them.
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