On Aug. 21, Mohamed Ali Garas, a prominent Somali church leader and convert from Islam, was beaten by Muslims in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to International Christian Concern.

Mohamed was walking to his new home when two Somali Muslim men struck him on the head with a wooden club and knocked him to the ground. The men continued hitting and kicking him in the chest and stomach. Mohamed had fled to Ethiopia from Somalia in 2005 after Somali authorities attempted to arrest him. He had recently moved to a new neighborhood in Addis Ababa because Somali Muslims threatened to attack him. At last report, Mohamed was being treated at a local hospital for his injuries, which included a damaged kneecap.

In recent months, Somali Christians living in Ethiopia have come under increased attacks from Somali Muslims. A Christian man was assaulted in July for reading a book critical of the Prophet Muhammad. A Somali pastor in the Ethiopian capital described this latest attack as “an apparent attempt to scare the Somali Christian community in Addis Ababa who consider Ethiopia a safe haven from religious persecution.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for Mohamed and all believers in Somalia, who risk their lives for their faith in Christ. Ask God to give Mohamed healing. Pray that his attackers will be brought to justice. Pray that he and other Somali believers facing persecution in Ethiopia will continue to trust in the Lord to guide and embolden them as they serve Him.

Kidnapped relief workers had come to provide aid to victims of massive flooding.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, August 27 (CDN) — Authorities on Wednesday (Aug. 25) recovered the bodies of three Christian relief workers who had been kidnapped and killed by members of the Pakistani Taliban in the flood-ravaged country, area officials said. Swat District Coordination Officer Atif-ur-Rehman told Compass that the Pakistan Army recovered the bodies of the three foreign flood-relief workers at about 7 a.m. on Wednesday. An official at the international humanitarian organization that employed the workers withheld their names and requested that the agency remain unnamed for security reasons. Military sources who withheld news of the deaths from electronic and print media to avoid panicking other relief workers granted permission to Compass to publish it in limited form.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AT COMPASS DIRECT

 Update: Family Visits Imprisoned Church Leader

On July 13, the family of Uyghur house–church leader, Alimujiang Yimiti, was permitted to visit him for 20 minutes, according to China Aid Association. Alimujiang’s family was relieved to see him alive, as guards had repeatedly refused to allow them visits in recent weeks. During their meeting, Alimujiang confirmed that he had received his wife’s letters. However, only one of his letters has been delivered to his wife, and he warned her that she and the children should not expect to see more letters from him because of the difficulty he had in sending them.

In 2009, Alimujiang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “providing state secrets to overseas organizations.” Go to www.prisoneralert.com to send a letter of encouragement to Alimujiang.

The Voice of the Martyrs stands with Alimujiang and encourages you to pray that authorities will continue to allow his family to visit and that he will soon be released from prison. Also pray that God will protect and comfort Alimujiang’s family and that his testimony might draw other prisoners and guards to Christ.

 On Aug. 12, a court acquitted two Tanzanian evangelists of “illegal preaching,” according to Compass Direct News.

The evangelists, Eleutery Kobelo and Cecil Simbaulanga, were arrested in October 2009 after Muslims invited them to participate in a religious debate. The evangelists said that on the day of the debate, the Muslims arrived with government security agents. The government agents then charged the evangelists with “using religious sermons to incite Muslims and Christians into viewing each other with suspicion.”

The Muslims claimed that the evangelists’ gospel message had annoyed Muslims, disrupting the peaceful coexistence between the two faiths. During 10 months of hearings, the Muslims reportedly failed to show up in court to support their allegations against the evangelists. “We are grateful that the court has done justice and made its ruling based on Tanzania’s constitution that allows for freedom of religion and assembly,” Eleutery said. “We thank the Christians worldwide for praying for us.”

Praise God that these Christians have been acquitted. Pray that Eleutery, Cecil and believers throughout Tanzania will trust fully in Christ and continue to preach the gospel without hesitation.

Pastor Roman Abramov and his wife worked diligently for three years to plant a church in Ismailly, Azerbaijan. But within a year of moving to the village, officials arrested them in an attempt to force them out of town.     The church is down to ten members most weeks, but they continue to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Due to pressure from local officials on potential landlords, the Abramovs had trouble renting a house, so they managed to build one in which they could both live and hold meetings according to the law.      When the Abramovs began to hold church meetings in their new home, the regular attendance climbed slowly. Then last December, mullahs (Muslim religious leaders) came to their house and told them that they had no right to hold Christian services.     Pastor Abramov defended his church and invited the mullahs to the services. One accepted the invitation and has since returned. Another mullah accused the Christians of stomping on a copy of the Koran, however, and petitioned the regional government to close the church. Local authorities then started visiting the homes of church members, harassing and questioning them and sentencing some to ten days in prison.     Despite the condemnation and the fear of many parishioners, Pastor Roman prayerfully believes that revival will come. His home remains open to all who would come and attend their meetings. Some things we wish we could do without. Trials are one of them. Why does life often seem to be one problem after another? Yet the Bible teaches us that life is not supposed to be trouble-free. As children, we would often give up if a task became too hard. We quit in the face of difficulty. As we matured, however, we learned to persevere—to hang in there and see it through. In the same way, as we mature in our faith, we learn the value of perseverance. Are you still immature, becoming easily discouraged and tempted to give up? Tell God you’re ready to “grow up.”

“Thai” was arrested in 2000 in Vietnam because he was a Christian. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his wife and four children had to survive without him during that time. Thai was just released this summer. He sent a thank you note to VOM, thanking us for our part in helping him and his family while he was in prison. As our partners in supporting Christian prisoners and their families, we want to share this letter with you.  

I was very touched by what you do to help my family investment in coffee trees. You helped my family rebuild a new home and helped my wife when she visited me in prison.

I sincerely respect and write these words to express our gratitude. I know you did something for us because you followed the important teachings of the Bible in Hebrew 13:3.  

I know that my family cannot repay all the things you have done for us. You have cared for us during the time I was in prison. We do not know what to do than just to express gratitude through this letter. Please receive our gratitude.

We pray God in the Trinity bless you in your footsteps everywhere. We also need your prayers as we pray for you.

 

[Thai and his wife show off their coffee plants]

VOM supports prisoners and their families through our Families of Martyrs fund, which also supports the families of those killed for their faith.

This is a video report coming from CBN News concerning the continued threat to aid workers who are trying to serve the victims of the floods in Pakistan. Please continue to pray for the rescue efforts in Pakistan. Pray for protection for all of the aid workers and those involved in this tragedy. Ask the Lord to save those involved in the Taliban.

 Yesterday Todd Nettleton joined Janet Parshall, the host of the show In the Market on the Moody Radio Network, about the latest happenings in the world of Christian persecution. 

Todd and Janet challenge listeners to wipe away the cobwebs and start praying for the persecuted church.

Click here to listen to the interview, scroll to about 30 minutes into the interview and hear Todd and Janet talk for the last half hour.

And why not, email Janet Parshall at janetparshall@moody.edu and thank her for being a passionate supporter of The Voice of the Martyrs and the persecuted church.

Matthew 21:13 - "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER..."

CHINA - Update: Family Visits Imprisoned Church Leader - China Aid Association

On July 13, the family of Uyghur house-church leader, Alimujiang Yimiti, was permitted to visit him for 20 minutes, according to China Aid Association. Alimujiang's family was relieved to see him alive, as guards had repeatedly refused to allow them visits in recent weeks. During their meeting, Alimujiang confirmed that he had received his wife's letters. However, only one of his letters has been delivered to his wife, and he warned her that she and the children should not expect to see more letters from him because of the difficulty he had in sending them. In 2009, Alimujiang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "providing state secrets to overseas organizations." Thank God that Alimujiang was able to visit with his family, and pray that authorities will continue to allow the visits. Pray that God will protect and comfort his family and that his testimony might draw other prisoners and guards to Christ.

BELARUS - Pastor Fined for Sharing the Gospel - Forum 18 News

The pastor of a village church in Belarus was recently fined three times in one day for sharing his faith, according to Forum 18 News Service. "We resolved to suffer for God," said Pastor Viktor Novik, who decided not to appeal the fines. According to authorities, Pastor Novik "understands that to hold events, appropriate permission is needed." Pastor Novik told Forum 18 that he had applied several times for permission to rent a building for meetings and to share the gospel, but that authorities had denied his requests. Praise God for Pastor Novik's faithfulness. Ask God to provide for and protect his family and congregation. Psalm 91:1-6 Printer-Friendly Format Add the PrisonerAlert application on Facebook

More than 100 religious organizations are urging members of Congress to reject pending legislation that would prohibit them from considering religion when hiring. - Read the story at The Christian Post.

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