On May 11, 2005 Evangelist Girmay Ambaye, was arrested by security police in Eritrea for witnessing about Christ to people on a city bus. It is the third time Ambaye has been imprisoned for his faith in the last few years. Please send a letter of encouragement and let Evangelist Ambaye know that you are praying for him and other persecuted believers in Eritrea. Let your friends know about the suffering Christians in Eritrea and encourage them to pray and write to Ambaye. Your letters make a difference sometimes resulting in shorter prison sentences. Write to Evangelist Ambaye today and let him know you are praying for him. Write today by clicking here http://www.prisoneralert.com </a>

See your prayers and letters via our Prisoner Alert program really do work!

Rejoice with us for the early release of Abraham!

Visit www.prisoneralert.com to help other prisoners get free.

Recently, we here at The Voice of the Martyrs, were notified by a reader who told us of a great way they are promoting the Voice of the Martyrs Prisoner Alert program. The church doing this is Calvary Chapel Murrieta and what they are doing is highlighting one of the prisoners on a special card they are printing up and giving to their members. An example of a card is below. I think this is very cool.

      

Pastor Dmitry Shestakov has been in an Uzbekistan prison for more than a year. The Voice of the Martyrs received an update that Pastor Shestakov’s faith is strong and while in prison he has had opportunities to share his faith. We invite you to send birthday cards and letters of encouragement to Pastor Shestakov as he celebrates his birthday this month. Let him know of your love and that you are praying for him. Pastor Shestakov has been strengthened by the prayers and help of believers like you. We encourage you to continue writing him letters and to continue praying. Also, write to the Uzbekistan government requesting he be released. Please send this e-mail to others who have a heart for persecuted believers and encourage them to write, as well. Get involved. Pray and write today! I encourage you to send Pastor Shestakov a letter of encouragement by visiting www.prisoneralert.com.

The Voice of the Martyrs contacts recently visited Pastor Zaur Balaev in prison. Pastor Balaev expressed his gratitude for the letters and prayers he has received. He said, "Peace to you, dear brothers and sisters! I am blessed, that we all have Jesus Christ and love each other in Him. I am the one, whom God loves. I am here with Jesus Christ and we suffer and rejoice together. May God bless you for working in prayer and love to all Christians in bonds. Amen!" Pastor Balaev has been strengthened by the prayers and help of believers like you. We encourage you to continue writing him letters and praying. Also, write to the Azerbaijan government requesting he be released. Go to www.prisoneralert.com to write letters of encouragement to Pastor Balaev and other believers in prison because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

After reading about Li Mei today and the torture she has had to go through, I just wish I could give her a big warm hug.  Since that is not possible, I'm going to write her a letter of encouragement today.  Please join me won't you?  Click here to go to Prisoner Alert.com

In July 2007, 42-year-old Li Mei and nine house church leaders were arrested, when they were discovered having a Sunday worship service. They were charged with singing Christian hymns to villagers, showing the JESUS film in a nursing home and praying for healing for a disabled elderly man. The nine were sentenced to re-education through labor for 12 to 18 months. Li Mei served part of her one-year sentence in a hospital with both hands chained to her bed. Repeated beatings and torture caused her to require a hysterectomy. She is currently serving the remainder of her sentence at home under house arrest.

We invite you to write a letter of encouragement to Li Mei. We have experienced great results when readers write to believers who have been imprisoned for their faith. The letters make a difference, often resulting in shorter prison terms. Please send a letter of encouragement and let Li Mei know you are praying for her. Also, write to the Chinese government requesting that Li Mei be released. Let your friends know about suffering believers in China and encourage them to write.

Get involved and write today.

In July 2007, 42-year-old Li Mei and nine house church leaders were arrested, when they were discovered having a Sunday worship service. They were charged with singing Christian hymns to villagers, showing the JESUS film in a nursing home and praying for healing for a disabled elderly man. The nine were sentenced to re-education through labor for 12 to 18 months. Li Mei served part of her one-year sentence in a hospital with both hands chained to her bed. Repeated beatings and torture caused her to require a hysterectomy. She is currently serving the remainder of her sentence at home under house arrest.

We invite you to write a letter of encouragement to Li Mei. We have experienced great results when readers write to believers who have been imprisoned for their faith. The letters make a difference, often resulting in shorter prison terms. Please send a letter of encouragement and let Li Mei know you are praying for her. Also, write to the Chinese government requesting that Li Mei be released. Let your friends know about suffering believers in China and encourage them to write. Get involved and write today by going to www.prisoneralert.com 

On December 6, Pastors Van Thong, Bua and Amkha were released after more than 12 months in prison. According to The Voice of the Martyrs’ contacts, “Their families will be rejoicing to see them come back home and be with them again.” Pastors Van Thong, Bua and Amkha were arrested on November 21, 2006, along with nine other pastors, after attending a Christian meeting. The nine pastors were released from prison in May 2007.

The Voice of the Martyrs supported the pastors and their families during their time in prison. Praise God they will be reunited with their families shortly. Pray for protection for them and other believers in Laos. Ask God to give them courage to continually live for Christ despite the immense challenges they face. Pray their testimonies will draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Today I thought that I would give you some homework, that way in case you were bored you would have one good thing that you can do today to make a difference for a persecuted prisoner.  Please take the time to visit Prisoner Alert and write our brother a letter of encouragement. - And I thank you in advance.

Location: Vietnam
                         

Arrested: March 2007
                         
Print Fact Sheet

On February 19, 2007, Father Nguyen Van Ly was arrested in Hue, Vietnam for distributing material “harmful to the state.” In March, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. He has issued statements criticizing the government’s confiscation of church property, lack of seminary training and the influence of the state in church teachings. We invite you to write a letter of encouragement to Father Ly. We have experienced incredible results when readers write to believers who have been imprisoned for their faith. The letters often result in shorter prison sentences. Send a letter of encouragement to Father Ly and let him know you are praying. Also, write to the Vietnamese government requesting he be released. Let your friends know about suffering believers in Vietnam and encourage them to pray and write too. Get involved. Pray and write today.

This week we have a great opportunity to show our love and support for Christians in North Korea. The Voice of the Martyrs is bringing awareness to the challenges Christians face in North Korea by calling on readers to write to Brother Son Jong Nam, an underground Christian who has spent the past year in prison in North Korea awaiting public execution. He is charged with being a Christian.

I believe Brother Son Jong Nam is an example of what our brothers and sisters are going through inside North Korea. Since information coming out of North Korea is limited, VOM contacts believe that Son Jong Nam is still alive and VOM is encouraging everyone to pray and send a letter of encouragement to him. Click below to access PrisonerAlert.com and be a blessing to Brother Son Jong Nam and believers in North Korea.

To write to Brother Son Jong Nam go to www.prisoneralert.com

Tomorrow is the 4th of July here in America and I wanted to challenge all of my readers to do an activity together, as a family or with friends, - write a prisoner who is imprisoned for their faith in Jesus Christ.

RIght now Prisoner Alert has three prisoners who are highlighted on the front page, however, if you scroll down on the page, you will see a whole bunch more that you can take time to write to.

Imagine with me how totally cool it would be if all of us joined together to take some time to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ on Independence Day.  My guess is that if those who are imprisoned for their faith today, knew you or I were in prison, they would remember us in prayer and do what they could to help us. 

Tomorrow let's remember to be our brothers and our sisters keeper, and have a great day!

It's that time of the month again...time to write VOM's prisoner using Prisoner Alert.com

Pastor Y Wo Nie was arrested August 18, 2004, for leading a demonstration demanding more religious freedom and the release of property confiscated by the Vietnamese government. He received a nine-year sentence. His family has not been able to visit him.

Write a letter of encouragement. Let Pastor Nie know you are praying for him and the believers in Vietnam. Let your friends know about persecution in Vietnam; encourage them to pray and write. Also, write Vietnamese officials requesting Nie’s release. Your letters make a difference.

Get involved! Pray for and write to Nie today.

We let you know about this dear Pastor when whe was first arrested in January.  Now we are highlighting him on the Prisoner Alert page.  Please take some time today to write a note of encouragement to Pastor Shestakov.

On January 21, 2007, Pastor Dmitry Shestakov was arrested in a raid on his Full Gospel Church in Andijan, Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan’s Religious Affairs Committee claims Shestakov, an evangelical pastor affiliated with the registered Full Gospel Church, is not an authorized leader of any officially-recognized religious organization in Uzbekistan. They describe him as an “imposter” leading an underground group identified as “Charismatic Pentecostals” engaged in proselytizing under Shestakov’s leadership. He is appealing his four-year labor camp sentence. We invite you to write a letter of encouragement to Pastor Shestakov. You can make a difference for this pastor, even as he is in prison. Write him a letter and pray God encourages him. Your letters make a difference, sometimes resulting in shorter prison terms. Send a letter of encouragement to Pastor Shestakov and also write to Uzbekistan’s government requesting he be released.

  Prisoner Alert has now been updated with the latest information on the VOM sponsored prisoner Wang Weiliang (pictured)

Please visit Prisoner Alert to read all about Wang and also to write him a letter of support and encouragement.  Everything you need can be found on the website.

It's time to write a prisoner again!

This month we have a brand new prisoner highlighted on VOM's Prisoner Alert.

This is Van Thong who is in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. He was arrested on November 2006  and the information was revised on March 06, 2007.

Pastor Van Thong and 11 other local pastors were arrested on November 26, 2006, for attending meetings organized by Christian leaders from the West. Van Thong is the head of Lao Evangelical Church in his province. He has been denied visitors and is being held indefinitely.

Please send a letter of encouragement and let Pastor Van Thong know that you are praying for him and other persecuted believers in Laos. Let your friends know about the suffering Christians in Laos and encourage them to pray and write to him.

You can send your letter to Pastor Van Thong to the following address:

Address for Van Thong

Thongharp Prison

Vientiane Province

Lao PDR

Hello Friends!

Today I wanted to remind you that The Voice of the Martyrs has a great program called The Prisoner Alert Program and this month we have a brand new prisoner we can all write to.  Liu Fenggang was arrested in October of 2003 and is currently serving a three year sentence for "leaking state secrets".

Won't you please write a letter of encouragement to Liu today?  All you have to do is click here and write your letter.  After you do that you will also see the address you are to mail the letter to, and also the amount of postage you will need to place on your letter.  It's really very easy!

It would also be great if you could write the Chinese Government at the following address and ask them to release Pastor Fenggang.

Address for Liu Fenggang
PO Box #89 Ru Jian Dui,
Xianlin Town,
Yuhang District Hangzhou City
Zhejiang Province 311122
People’s Republic of China

If you're like me when you read stories of our persecuted brethren your heart is moved to action.  This morning as I  was looking at the Prisoner Alert site and reading the story of Li Ying, everything within me wants to give this dear sister a big warm hug.  In fact, I wonder when the last time was when she had a hug.  Wow...I can't even begin to know.

What I do know though is that you and I can make a difference in her life and so far thousands have made a difference in her life.  Here's some of the content from the Prisoner Alert site that will tell you more about Li.

Chinese Christian Li Ying has been in prison more than 2000 days. She is serving a 15-year sentence for her role as editor of an underground-church magazine in China. She was the very first prisoner featured on www.prisoneralert.com. At that time, the email list consisted of barely more than 2000 people. More than 7,400 letters have been printed off of the site to be sent to her since that original posting in February, 2004.

The letters that Prisoner Alert visitors write make a difference! Once when her mother went to the prison to visit Li Ying, the warden asked, “How many relatives do you have in America?” He had noted all the letters arriving for Li Ying! In recent months, Li Ying’s mother has not been allowed to visit as prison officials tried to get Li Ying to recant her faith and sign a document saying that she is part of an “evil cult.” Yet she has remained faithful to Christ and refused to sign.

Please join me in writing a letter to Li today. Click here for all the information you need.