VOM newsletter

I was reading the VOM newsletter and thought someone may be interested? I hope so, because this is "real" life. Real life is not getting everything we want and being pampered all the days of our life, that's an escape route from the REAL life. May the Lord make me REAL and not avoiding the difficulties. INDONESIA (ASSIST News Service)
Three Christian Sunday school teachers (all female) are on trial, arrested under Indonesia's "Child Protection" laws for using so-called deception to entice children to convert to Christianity. According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the children denied being given any money to convert to Christianity. Each Muslim child who attended the Sunday school classes had their parents' permission. As the trial was about to begin, a group of radical Islamists went to the courthouse; and when the three women arrived, ICC reported police officers had to hold back the mob from attacking the women. As the trial began, protesters took over the seats in the courtroom and reacted loudly to everything said. All the children who were called to testify along with their parents were frightened and had to be taken outside to recover. The charges were not brought by the Muslim parents, but by the principal of the local elementary school after he heard his students singing Christian songs in the hallways.

Pray the Lord will embolden the witnesses to tell the truth concerning the work of these three faithful women. Pray God will bring about their release, allowing them to continue the work He called them to do. Pray the Muslim children who heard the Good News will turn to the One who is calling them to Himself.


this news I never hear on the news or read. Praise the Lord that VOM publishes such information.
IRAQ (Compass Direct)
Coming from religious backgrounds ranging from Presbyterian to Muslim, Iraqi evangelicals have seen a spurt in church growth. In Baghdad, 15 evangelical fellowships have begun since Saddam Hussein's regime fell in April 2003. Local Iraqis are moving into positions of church leadership. Kurdish influence could keep the constitution from becoming strongly Islamic, and many Christians who fled the country have returned. Pastor Gassahm Thomas of the Christian Missionary Alliance in Baghdad says that because they do not have peace in their country, he preaches on "How do we get peace?" and everyone listens, especially when he talks about the deeper peace Christ brings. (Click here)

Praise God for His ways of turning evil into good, causing His Kingdom to grow in Iraq. Pray the Lord will protect and strengthen those who faithfully witness to the love and power of Christ. Pray many more new converts will be added to their number daily.


And this story made me cry. wow, life for those who follow Christ in Uzbekistan is something I cannot even comprehend.
UZBEKISTAN (ASSIST News Service)
Following his arrest on June 14th, 19-year-old Pentecostal believer Kural Bekjanov is still being held at a police station in the capital Tashkent, with no progress on the investigation into whether he was connected to the murder of a U.S. citizen. A lawyer for the Full Gospel Church told Forum 18 News Service they are convinced of Bekjanov's innocence and suspect that his religious beliefs are the reason for his ordeal. According to a Forum 18 source, Bekjanov has been tortured by police and cell mates trying to force him to abandon his Christian faith. When his mother was finally allowed to see him, she reported that he had lost weight, had difficult walking, and his fingers and legs were covered in blood. Police summoned nearly 20 other church members but were less interested in investigating the murder than in questioning them about their beliefs and threatening and insulting them. (Click here)

Pray the charges against Kural Bekjanov will be dropped soon. Pray his friends and fellow believers will not be intimidated by his experience. Pray for all those in Uzbekistan who don't yet know the love of Jesus.