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Prayer |
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Prayers for the World
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Christians in many countries have
been imprisoned, their crime, being faithful to
Christ. You can offer support and encouragement to
them as they endure for the sake of Christ by
writing a letter to them in their own language at
PrisonerAlert.Com. To learn more
(Click Here). If you are looking
for a way to introduce young children to the
persecuted church, Link International (Linkingup.com)
- VOM's web site for kids - is ideal for you.
(Click
Here)
Please commit the following
Countries and their prayer needs to your Prayer
List: |
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CHINA (VOM Sources) |
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 On
September 25th, Chinese Christian Zhang Yi-nan was
released from the Ping Ding Shan City Bailou Labor
Camp in Henan province, China. Zhang's wife, Ding
Guizhen, and their son, Zhang Kairi, were waiting
for him at the steel gate of the prison camp but
were not immediately allowed to welcome him home.
Zhang had completed two years of laojiao-"re-education
through labor"-before being escorted out of the
camp by 10 policemen. Instead of being taken
immediately home, he was first taken to the Lushan
County Police Station where he was "instructed"
about what he should not tell or do following his
release. Police reportedly told him that he was
"very defiant," because he wouldn't admit his
"mistakes"-choosing to be a Christian and to be a
part of an unregistered house church. He was
finally allowed to go home with his wife and son
in the early afternoon. When he arrived home, one
of his first activities was to watch the video
documentary, The Cross: Jesus in China. (Click
here) |
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Thanksgiving:
Give joyful thanks to God for the release of our
brother in Christ. Thank Him for Zhang's faithful,
persevering witness to his Savior. |
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Prayer: Pray God will protect him
and his family from officials who don't realize
they are battling a Power much greater than they. |
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INDIA (ASSIST News
Service) |
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 Hindu
fundamentalists returned to the Gospel Echoing
Missionary Society (GEMS) compound in Rohtas
district, Bihar state, India, Sunday, September
25th. Several Christians were severely injured as
in a previous attack August 31st. "About 16 people
came from two nearby villages and broke open the
gate of the compound," a representative of GEMS
told Compass. "They pulled out some of the GEMS
staff (from the compound) and brutally beat them.
They also robbed them of their belongings before
throwing them into the fields.... The most serious
injuries, however, were sustained by newlywed
Kirupakaran Shankar. The attackers injured his
spinal cord, resulting in the loss of movement in
one leg. GEMS is the largest indigenous Christian
missionary agency in Bihar and has around 100
families, including a total of 900 children,
living in the compound. The mission contains a
school, student hostel, orphanage, hospital and
other social service facilities. As part of a new
campaign to stem the increasing number of
conversions around the country, Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council) has called
for a comprehensive law to ban religious
conversions in India. Addressing media on August
25th, Mohan Joshi, national secretary of the VHP,
said anti-conversion laws in some states were not
stringent enough to curb religious conversions.
India has 25 million Christians, who represent 2.4
percent of the population. India is 83 percent
Hindu and 11 percent Muslim. |
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(Compass Direct) |
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Radical Hindu villagers of
Jamanya village in Maharashtra state's Jalgaon
district, remain hostile to Christian families
they attacked on May 16th. They threatened to beat
them if they refuse to renounce their faith,
detained and beat a Christian visitor, and
attacked the house of another believer. On
September 25th, the Jamanya village court
pressured the 11 Christian families, who were
attacked, to renounce their faith. September 23rd
the villagers detained and beat Neta Gyansingh,
one of the victims of the earlier attack. Three
men allegedly sent by one of the Hindu extremists,
earlier broke into the house of local Christian,
Saimal Mohan Singh Barela. "Barela has not yet
returned to his house and is living in his
relative's house with his wife and children for
fear of his life," a local pastor said. |
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Prayer: Pray the One who makes wars
to cease will calm the violence of Hindus in
India. Pray the believers in the GEMS compound
will continue bold, loving and wise in their
faith. Pray the Lord will quickly and completely
heal Kirupakaran Shankar. |
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INDONESIA (Compass
Direct) |
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 Three
women accused of "Christianization" have appealed
the September 1st conviction handed down by an
Indonesian court. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti
and Ratna Bangun were sentenced to three years in
jail after members of the Muslim Clerics Council (MUI)
in Indramayu district, West Java, accused them of
trying to convert Muslim children. The judges
pronounced the Sunday school teachers guilty of
breaching Indonesia's 2002 Child Protection Act,
saying they had used "deceitful conduct, a series
of lies and enticements to seduce children to
change their religion against their wills." At the
final court session, one of the Muslim protestors
said that Islamic organizations would continue
campaigning against Christian activity and
"illegal" churches in the district of Indramayu in
coming months. |
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Thanksgiving:
Give thanks to God for these women whose faith
gives them peace with God through Jesus Christ. |
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Prayer: Pray for opportunities to
boldly share their overcoming faith with others.
Pray the judges determining the outcome of their
appeal will not be intimidated by Muslim
extremists. |
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MALAYSIA (Compass
Direct) |
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 Judges
in Malaysia's Court of Appeal announced on
September 19th that Lina Joy, a former Muslim who
converted to Christianity in the late 1980s, must
apply to a sharia court for permission to legally
renounce Islam. The court claimed Joy, 41, was
constitutionally free to practice the religion of
her choice. However, the Muslim designation on her
identity card prevents her from marrying a
Christian and places other restrictions on her
everyday life. Article 11 of the Malaysian
Constitution gives every person the right to
change his or her religion; but Article 3 declares
Islam to be the official religion of the state.
The dual court system in Malaysia also complicates
matters. (Click
here) |
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Prayer: Pray God will give wisdom
and strength to Lina Joy as she awaits the final
decision concerning her legal right to be a
Christian. Pray the Lord will soften the hearts of
the sharia court judges to accept her conversion.
Pray the light of Christ will shine into the
spiritual darkness of Muslims everywhere. |
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PAKISTAN (VOM-Canada) |
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 A
Christian woman has accused three men of
repeatedly raping her earlier this month and
attempting to force her to convert to Islam,
according to a September 27th report from Compass
Direct. Testifying in court on September 22nd,
Ribqa Masih (22) said Ghulam Abbas and Mohammad
Kashif drugged her on September 2nd and took her
to Lahore, approximately 100 km from her home.
Upon arrival, she was repeatedly raped throughout
the night. They threatened to kill her and her
family if she did not recite the Islamic creed,
which would have been considered an official
conversion to Islam. She refused, saying she would
rather die than renounce her faith. The next
morning she was handed over to another man who was
supposed to take her home. Instead, he raped her
several times over the next three days. Finally on
September 6th she was finally left at a bus stop
in Faisalabad Ribqa hired a rickshaw to take her
to her uncle's home where she called her parents.
Only one man, Abbas, has been taken into custody,
and he denies the charges. Ribqa still has
difficulty walking because of her injuries. Many
girls do not report rapes because of the impact on
their family honor, which often is a matter of
life and death in Pakistan. "Nobody wants to marry
these girls, even though they are innocent," said
Khalil Tahir, Masih's lawyer. Father Paschal
Paulus, her priest, credits the family for their
willingness to stand with Ribqa. Her six younger
siblings have been forced to leave school because
of taunts and threats. The family has also been
threatened by Muslim neighbors if they do not drop
the charges. |
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Prayer: Pray God will send His holy
angels to protect this family. Pray the Lord will
give them courage and confidence in the Rock of
their salvation. Pray God will work a miracle of
His loving compassion to bring these men to
repentance. |
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