Remember Ambassadors

There has been a lot of major persecution news since our last world update.  All around the world our brothers and sisters are being targeted for suffering - and they need our prayers!  Please use these news highlights to guide your intercession for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

China: Persecution Intensifies After Olympics

Eritrea: Officials Imprison 20 Members of Underground Church

India: Destroyed Church Building Leads to Unity

Even in the midst of persecution, believers are praising God for His faithfulness!

Iraq: What’s Behind the Attacks on Christians in Mosul?

Newsweek tackles a tricky, but very important question.

North Korea: Leader’s Reported Health Woes Unlikely to Affect Anti-Christian Policies

Kim Jong-Il has long been one of the world’s worst persecutors, but his illnesses are not stopping North Korea’s program of violence and intimidation against the Body of Christ.

Pakistan: Pastor Suffers Police Attacks, Death Threats

Somalia: Christian Aid Worker Beheaded for Converting from Islam

Somalia is not known for its ongoing persecution, but violence from further north in Africa continues to spread.

When I read the ongoing news of violence and destruction from India, the emotion I feel is heartbreak.  When I hear about the suffering in cities like Mosul, I can’t help but feel sorrow.  These events, and so many others like them, are examples of the evil present in this world.  I would imagine that you have felt the same.

But that perspective is not the only one available.  Some Hindu leaders in India, for instance, are holding up the Orissa violence as a model of what a state should be.  “We will make our district like Orissa,” they have pledged.  That horrifying violence, the destruction and slaughter, is their idea of what constitutes good.

I should not be surprised, I suppose, that this perspective is alive and well - without it, there would be no persecution! - but seeing it displayed in such brazen prominence is a wake up call.  Evil is alive and well, and there are those that are so deceived as to think that it is their calling to persecute our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But truth does not depend on our perspectives, and as we minister and pray we can do so in the confidence that we are serving the God of that truth.  Let us pray with that confidence against the evil that pervades this world of ours.

Lately, persecution news has focused in on Orissa, India, where violence is ongoing and intense.  Let’s not forget to continue to pray for those Christians - but at the same time, let’s not forget that there are so many other places where persecution is brutal reality.

The latest hotspot is the Iraqi city of Mosul (the modern-day location of ancient Ninevah).  If you have followed Remember’s work, you know that persecution in Iraq has been growing since in recent years (Background Briefing).  The toppling of the main dictator, Saddam Hussein, increased the power to local warlord dictators, many of whom hate Christianity.  The persecution is widespread throughout the country, causing the vast majority of Iraq’s Christians to flee the country for their own safety.  These are the Christians that we ministered to on our recent trip to Jordan.

But those Christians that remain are under constant threat of violence.  That violence recently broke out in Mosul in a terrifying way.  ANS is reporting that over 3,000 Christians have been forced to flee their homes in the last week alone.

Armed Islamic terrorists are walking in the streets and asking pedestrians for his or her identification card. The religion of the owner is written on every ID card, either Muslim or Christian. When “Christian” is read by the terrorists, the owner of the card is sometimes murdered on the spot with a bullet through the head.

These Christians need our prayers.

For More Information–

Islamic Fundamentalists: “Expel the Christians from Mosul”

Christians Targets in Iraq

Praise the Lord, Remember’s second annual fundraising was a success!  A lot of people put a lot of work into every little detail of the evening, but the Lord was glorified, and the persecuted church was blessed both by the donations and the increased awareness and prayer support generated that evening.

How true it is that our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ are not forsaken - they have the passion and prayer of these people, and so many more, working on their behalf.

Most of the presentation was in video form, so stay tuned for links to those videos!

Remember Board Chairman Curtis Bostic shared about his trip to China.

Remember Board member Tim Bunn shared his eyewitness account of persecution’s aftermath in Orissa, India.

Remember Board member Rick Jackson shared Remember’s ongoing vision and plan to minister in Sudan.

It was two weeks ago when massive violence broke out in India’s Orissa state, as Hindu ultra-fundamentalists falsely accused Christians of killing a Hindu leader and began assaulting churches and believers.  The immediate violence was unimaginable, as dozens were killed, many more subjected to torture and abuse, and churches and homes razed.

Such coordinated violence has long-term consequences which will be felt for years to come.  It will take a long time to restore peace, not to mention families rebuilding lives that have been devastated.

But before any rebuilding can occur, the violence must die down, and even now - two weeks later - the violence continues.  AsiaNews is reporting that it is even continuing in the refugee camps!  In fact, the persecutors are getting even more devious in their destruction, making sure that they only destroy a family’s possessions, not their house…because the Indian government is going to reimburse all those that lose their homes.

This violence is just one outbreak, a tragic symptom of the underlying religious hatred that constantly plagues India.  Continue to pray for Orissa Christians!

Today “Generations with Vision” radio host Kevin Swanson was gracious enough to feature me and the work of Remember on his program.  The program covers some of the most recent stories of persecution, in Orissa, India, and across the world, and highlights Remember’s growing work - and it lays out a few suggestions for how we, as churches, families, and individuals, can fulfill our call to “remember them that are in bonds.”

Click here to listen!