Intercessory Saturday

Despite widespread protests by religious communities and human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan, unregistered religious activity is now banned under the restrictive new Religion Law which began in January 2009. In addition, minority religious communities have many barriers to gain legal status, Forum 18 News reports. “To register our many unregistered congregations we need to give the names and personal data of 200 members, which we will not do,”

Aleksandr Shumilin of the Baptist Union told Forum 18 earlier this month. In order to protect their congregations, leaders of evangelical churches have decided that registration is not an option.

Two mosques have been registered while Protestant churches and other religious minorities have not obtained legal status. Kyrgyzstan officials stated they will close churches in order to pacify Muslim majorities, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. Christians in some villages face physical violence and eviction from ethnic Muslims.

Please Pray!

Pray that God will place a hedge of protection around believers in Kyrgyzstan as persecution increases. Pray that their testimonies would serve to draw many to Christ.

Pray for the government officials of Kyrgyzstan who are blinded to the truth. Ask the Lord to draw them near.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network

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Intercessory Saturday

Christian churches in Russia’s North Caucasus region (between the Caspian and Black Seas) are struggling amid the terror and trauma of the Islamic jihad and counterinsurgency, according to reports from Assist News Service (ANS). As the jihad intensifies, the future of the North Caucasus and its tenuous grip on religious freedom hang in the balance. The jihadists are foreign-backed Wahhabists who are linked to al-Qaeda, and many ofthem are foreigners. Fighting under the black flag of the “Caucasus Emirate,” they have escalated their attacks dramatically through the summer of 2009.

The remnant Russian Orthodox Church has ethnic ties and is closely associated with Moscow and the Russian army. The Protestants are mostly Baptist and Pentecostal. In some places, particularly in Chechnya, jihadists have totally eliminated the Christian presence. President Ramzan Kadyrov’s heavy hand in Chechnya has forced the terrorists to shift the focus of their jihad to neighboring Ingushetia.

Please Pray!

Experts project that if current trends continue, Russia will be majority Muslim by 2050 and Russia’s largely conscript army will be majority Muslim by 2015, according to ANS.

Pray that God will extend his mighty hand over the North Caucasus and thwart the plans of the jihadists to Islamize this province in Southern Russia.

Pray for the salvation of Muslims in Russia and elsewhere who are blinded to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pray also for the protection of believers in the North Caucasus. In the midst of the terror and turmoil, pray that they will be filled with peace and that their faith in Christ will not falter. Pray that they will sense God’s loving presence and not become dismayed.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network

Intercessory Saturday

Three masked members of a militant Islamic group shot to death a Somali Christian who declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, according to a Compass News Direct source in Somalia.

Members of the Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. in her home in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region, according to the source.

Ali had told Christian leaders she had received several threats from members of Suna Waljameca for not wearing a veil, symbolic of adherence to Islam. She said members of the group had long monitored her movements because they suspected she was a Christian.

The source said Ali called him on Oct. 4 saying, “My life is in danger. I am warned of dire consequences if I continue to live without putting on the veil. I need prayers from the fellowship.”

“I was shocked beyond words when I received the news that she had been shot dead,” the source in Somalia told Compass by telephone.

Please Pray!

The slaying of Amina Muse Ali adds one more name to the list of Christians murdered in Somalia at the hands of Islamic extremists in recent months. Pray God will comfort their grieving families and bring them peace that passes understanding.

Pray the Holy Spirit will touch the hearts and minds of Muslims in Somalia to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

It is unknown how many secret Christians there are in Somalia. Compass sources indicate there are no more than 75, while The Economist magazine hedges its estimate at “no more than” 1,000. What is certain is that they are in danger from both extremist groups and Somali law. While proclaiming himself a moderate, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has embraced a version of Shariah that mandates the death penalty for those who leave Islam.

 

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network

Thank You

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Sunday, November 8, 2009.  International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  The least and the most you can do is intercede for our brothers and sisters who are bleeding, burning, and dying every day in the name of our Precious Savior.  Praise be to God for their devastating faithfulness.

 

Intercessory Saturday

Leaders in Uzbekistan’s Baptist Union went to trial over their children’s camp ministry on false charges of tax evasion and illegally teaching children religion. According to a report by Mission Network News (MNN), Bob Provost with Slavic Gospel Association said a judge convicted the leaders on Oct. 29, despite evidence to the contrary. The verdict means the president of the Baptist Union, the director of the camp and the bookkeeper will lose their jobs and have to pay a $14,000 fine, according to MNN. The leaders plan to appeal the judge’s decision within 10 days.

The move is so hostile it is raising more questions. “The camp director believes the authorities want to change the leadership of the Baptist Union and somehow gain control over the churches,” Provost said. “We have a government that wants to eliminate evangelical Christianity from their soil. The Bible says God can change the heart of a king. If he can change the heart of a king he can change the heart of a judge.”

Please Pray!

Let us come before the throne of grace in agreement with Bob Provost! Pray the Lord will change the heart of the appellate judge and move him to drop these false charges against the Christian leaders.

Pray for strength for these and other Uzbek Christians who suffer harassment and hostility by the government for their witness in Christ.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network

Intercessory Saturday

On Oct. 18, a radical Hindu group, Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks (RSS), viciously attacked three pastors, one woman and one child while they were having a prayer service in Hyderabad, Andra Pradesh state.

About 40 believers were gathered in Siluvai Kumar’s house for the prayer service, according to VOM contacts. At 9 p.m., RSS radicals barged into the house and began beating people. Pastors Phillip, Timothy and Siluvai Kumar were badly injured. The radicals also beat Pastor Phillip’s pregnant wife, Kezia, and their 18-month-old daughter. Bibles were destroyed and musical instruments, metal doors and windows in the house were damaged.

Pastor Timothy was dragged to the police station where the radicals lodged a false complaint against him alleging he urinated on idols in a nearby temple. The police detained the pastor but he was later released.
RSS activists had warned the pastors against having prayer meetings in the area.

Please Pray!

Please pray for a rapid recovery for those who were injured in this attack; not only the injuries they sustained physically, but also psychologically and emotionally. Pray the testimony of the believers will lead RSS members into fellowship with Christ.

VOM assists persecuted Christians and their families in India through the Families of Martyrs Fund, by providing Bibles in nine languages to pastors, evangelists and believers, as well as legal support for pastors and Christians who have been arrested and held in custody. VOM also provides emergency bail funding to release Christian workers falsely accused by the RSS radical Hindus.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network

Intercessory Saturday

On Sept. 21, Pastor Manuel was shot and killed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. FARC guerrillas made an appointment with Pastor Manuel and his family. “He thought they were going to authorize him to have an official church, which he had requested before,” said VOM contacts. The guerrillas came and shot Pastor Manuel five times outside his home. A FARC guerrilla who was in the house with the rest of the family yelled, “Make sure that dog stays dead,” referring to the pastor. The pastor was shot once more, in the neck.

Following the shooting, Pastor Manuel’s wife, Gloria, ran outside and cleaned his face. With the help of her children, she dragged his body under a tree. “She ran and got her Bible and, shaking with tears, preached to all those who got near,” VOM contacts said. “Her 10-year-old son said to her, ‘Don’t worry, Dad died for Christ and now he is with Christ.’”

Please Pray!

Please pray that God will bring peace and comfort to Pastor Manuel’s family. Also pray for the protection of other pastors who are under threat in Colombia. Pray that they will not be hindered in their ministries but will continue their faithful witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for a spiritual awakening that will overcome and bind the powers of darkness that have such a stronghold in Colombia.

VOM assists Christians in Colombia by providing ministry tools and training, Action Packs and prayer ministry to widows of Christian martyrs.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network

Intercessory Saturday

UPDATE: VOM has learned a judge is dropping charges of anti-state activities against the two Christian Iranian women, Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh, who have been imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison since March 5.

Maryam and Marzieh will be charged with apostasy and propagation of the gospel instead. If convicted on these new charges the women could spend the rest of their lives in prison. Sources have informed VOM that Maryam and Marzieh are in poor health and in desperate need of medical attention. In August, the pair was summoned to appear before the court and told to recant their faith, but they refused to deny Christ.

Please Pray!

Praise the Lord the charges have been lessened, but we still need to pray for these courageous women, Maryam and Marzieh. Pray the Lord will sustain their minds and their bodies with the right hand of his righteousness while they are in prison. Pray the Lord will touch the heart of the judge and move him to release these young women.

Photo: Farsi Christian News Network

Source: Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network