World Missions

Iran: Pastor Released from Jail

On March 28, Rev. Wilson Issavi, was temporarily released from Dastgard prison after posting bail, according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN). His charges are pending review by the court.

Rev. Wilson, leader of the Pentecostal church in Kermanshah, was arrested in February and detained for 54 days by Iranian government officials.. A month prior to his arrest, the Pentecostal church in Kermanshah was closed, and the pastor was told not to reopen it. “The Pentecostal Church of Kermanshah is one of the three churches that during the last year have been closed by the security forces of the government on the charges of attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity,” FCNN reported. Churches in Shahrara and Urumieh have also been shut down. The Pentecostal church, which is an old and historical building in need of repair, was used mainly for weekly Christian services.

FCNN reported that Rev. Wilson seems to have been beaten in prison but that his faith remains strong. The news network further reported that Rev. Wilson is in good spirits even though he has been banned from entering his church building. “Those who know the white-haired pastor well enough know him as a simple and a humble man who truly exemplifies Christ,” FCNN added. “He not only considers himself a Christian pastor, but also thinks of himself as a servant of Muslim people. He has said on many occasions that he loves his Muslim friends and feels that God has called him to serve them.”

The Voice of the Martyrs has stood with Rev. Wilson and his family through these challenges. Pray that the charges against him will be dropped and that all Christians who are currently detained in Iran will be freed. Ask God to protect and minister to believers in Iran who risk their all for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

China: Human Rights Lawyer Alive

On March 28, human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been missing for more than a year, contacted his wife and children, according to ChinaAid Association.

Gao’s wife, Geng He, and children were relieved to hear from him after such a long time. Geng He hopes her husband can rejoin the family in the United States soon. In recent months, rumors had circulated that Gao had died of torture at the hands of Chinese government officials.

“Gao’s brief phone conversations with western media on Sunday mark the first official contact the public has had with him since his abduction by police on Feb. 4, 2009,” ChinaAid reported. Gao told the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies that he was released from Chinese custody six months ago and taken to Wutai Shan mountain, a Buddhist landmark in Shanxi province. He declined to give other details on his condition, saying legally he could not give interviews.

ChinaAid reported that Li Heping, Gao’s friend and colleague, had also spoken to Gao on Sunday. “It’s certainly him,” Heping said. “I spoke to him over the phone. I could tell from the way he spoke and the way he spoke to me that it’s him.”

ChinaAid President Bob Fu confirmed that Gao is alive. “After examining Gao’s voice in the interview, I too am convinced that it is Gao,” he said. On Feb. 4, 2009, Gao Zhisheng was abducted from his hometown by Chinese secret police. Since 2005, Gao has been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned and severely tortured by Chinese authorities, mostly for his work defending Chinese Christians. In 2006, he and a group of prominent human rights lawyers created the Association of Human Rights Attorneys for Chinese Christians. In 2007, he was arrested and spent more than 50 days behind bars, where he was also tortured. “I was beaten so badly that my whole body began shaking uncontrollably on the floor,” Gao wrote of his torture in an open letter.

The Voice of the Martyrs and ChinaAid has lobbied for Gao’s release from prison, and The Voice of the Martyrs has featured Gao on its Web site at www.prisoneralert.com. The Chinese government would not acknowledge that Gao was in one of its prisons, so letters of encouragement for Gao were mailed to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C.

VOM encourages you to pray that Gao will soon be able to rejoin his family. Praise God that Gao is safe for now, and ask God to encourage him and his family during this challenging time. Pray that God will give Gao the grace to forgive his persecutors, and pray that the Holy Spirit will minister to him.

Morocco: Christians Deported

In recent weeks, the Moroccan government has continued its crackdown on Christians, expelling as many as 60 Christian aid workers from the country, according to Smyrna Ministries International.

Moroccan police accused Christian aid workers from the United States, Korea, Netherlands and England of “violating Morocco’s anti-proselytism laws.” “On March 8, police visited the orphanage Village of Hope, which has been operating with the government’s approval for the past ten years,” Smyrna Ministries International said. “They scoured the grounds looking for Bibles, interrogated children and staff members and announced that the parents had seven hours to pack and say goodbye to their adopted children. All fifteen of the foster parents, the only parents these children have ever known, were deported before nightfall, leaving the 33 children with the police.”

Following this raid, government authorities reportedly targeted believers across Morocco. “When [authorities] visited an American-founded orphanage in the town of Azrou, they drew several young children aside and demanded they demonstrate the ‘proper’ way to pray,” Smyrna Ministries International added. “In Marrakesh, authorities arrested a Korean-born Protestant pastor during his Sunday service, and in the northern city of Larache they deported an Egyptian church leader.”

Christians in Morocco believe the crackdown is due to two newly appointed government officials who took office in January. Interior Minister Tayeb Cherkaoui recently issued a press release stating, “[Christians] are guilty of trying to undermine the faith of Muslims.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for Moroccan believers who have lost their pastors and face interrogation. Pray that God will protect and comfort the orphans from Village of Hope and that they will receive the love and care they need. Pray that the deported Christian leaders and workers will not give in to anger or discouragement but will forgive their persecutors.

Nigeria: VOMedical Helps Victims

The Voice of the Martyrs’ medical program is on the frontlines in Northern Nigeria, providing medical care, support and counseling to Christians following recent attacks by Muslims.

VOMedical staff report that many villages have been attacked, the latest occurring on March 17. “Muslims surrounded the small village of Byei, some 30 miles south of Jos. They attacked the homes with AK-47s (judging by the diameter of the bullet holes in the houses’ doors and according to survivors), followed by machetes and fire,” VOMedical staff said. “Thirteen people died in the attack and were buried in a mass grave just outside the village. Seven were wounded and taken to Vom Christian Hospital; five remained admitted when we visited the hospital this afternoon. Most of the wounds were gunshot wounds and burns.”

The wounds sustained by believers in this attack are severe. “The severity of the wounds is much higher than those seen in the January riots; there are very, very few with minor wounds, while more than half of the January attack wounds were minor,” VOMedical staff added. “This area has had six or seven villages attacked over the past 10 to 14 days. None of these were the typical Nigerian religious riot; all were deliberate, middle-of-the-night, well coordinated assaults.”

VOMedical staff have visited believers in hospitals and consulted with doctors to ensure they are receiving the medical treatment they require. “We were able to see numerous patients at Plateau State Specialist Hospital, one of two of the main receiving hospitals from this attack,” VOMedical staff said. “There were fewer gunshot wounds and far more machete and cutlass wounds. Muslims had sharpened their weapons before the attack, because the wounds on these folks were significantly deeper and more destructive than any of those I saw in January. The epitome was an above-the-elbow amputation on the left arm of a 4-year-old child.”

These attacks are the latest in a series of sectarian attacks and riots in recent months. In January and again in early March, Christians and Muslims rioted in several villages outside the city of Jos. Churches and homes were burned, and many Christians and Muslims were killed.

Following the attacks in Dogo Nahawa, a pastor stressed the importance of forgiveness. “He stressed that this was indeed persecution foretold by Jesus as a sign of the end times and that our duty was to carry our cross and forgive the attackers,” VOMedical said of the pastor’s comments. “This will be significant, as many of the attackers were actually long-standing members of Dogo Nahawa village and were pointing out who was Christian and which houses were Christian. The worship service was held in the village square, complete with charred, burned-out buildings in the background.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to continue praying for Nigerian believers, who live with the daily possibility of being attacked. Pray that those who lost loved ones will be comforted and that the injured will fully recover. Pray that VOMedical staff will encourage believers in Nigeria and be able to provide them with needed resources during this difficult time. Ask God to help Christians forgive their persecutors.

Laos: Katin Christians Endure

A group of Christians who were expelled from Katin village in January were again urged to recant their faith in Jesus Christ on March 15, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. The believers have been living in makeshift shelters about 4 miles outside the village, where they were abandoned in January without food or shelter.

“At noon [on March 15] … seven Katin believers were summoned to the district office of Ta-Oyl district,” VOM contacts reported. “The district head of Ta-Oyl, Mr. Bounma, urged the Katin believers to reconsider their decision to follow the Christian faith.”  When the Christians again refused to renounce their faith, the district head stated that although the Lao constitution and law provide for freedom of religion in Laos, he is not going to allow Christianity in his district. The Katin believers later learned that the officials planned to burn down their temporary shelters along with 11 temporary homes at the site where they were taken in January.

Several days after these threats from local officials, a delegation of provincial officials assured the believers that they are free to practice their religion and live anywhere in the district they choose. However, since the temporary shelters are on land owned by a neighboring village, officials could not guarantee the Christians they can remain at the site.

Praise God for these faithful believers and for the positive signs from provincial authorities. Pray that local authorities will allow these believers to return to their homes, and pray that the Christians will remain strong in their faith. Also pray for their safety and health; many are sick and in need of medical treatment.

Iraq: Christians Martyred