Persecution Blog

We Probably Wouldn't Go Back

I shared in yesterday’s post about my annual reading goals, and introduced you to the last book I read in 2014, At The Foot of the Snows: A Journey of Faith and Words Among the Kham-Speaking People of Nepal by David E. Watters with Steve and Daniel Watters.

Today I want to offer another excerpt from the book, and it is at the low point of the story. David Watters, the Bible translator who went to Nepal and set about to reach the Kham people, and his wife, Nancy, are about to throw in the towel. But as they are about to give up; God shows up and changes their plans. David Watters tells it this way:

A letter arrived from Hasta Ram that summed up our sense of futility. “I have come to the conclusion,” he said, “that no one will ever come to the gospel. I made one friend, but he died within two months. I have tried everything, but to no avail. Now I go to the hillside daily, and I pray to God. Maybe he will do something.”

Yeah, maybe, I thought. Or maybe not. I had grown cynical.

* * *

February 1974 was a watershed month for us. We had decided that we probably wouldn’t go back to Nepal. How could we? There was nothing there for us. We had already failed.

One Saturday afternoon, after Nancy had spent a particularly discouraging week in bed, we felt inclined to kneel beside our bed and pray. This was a different kind of prayer for us. We realized that the heaviest burden we carried was not the burden of illness, but the burden of disappointment. We decided to give it all to God.

Once we started to acknowledge and lay down every source of discouragement, it became easier, and we were suddenly feeling a whole lot lighter and a whole lot freer. Our step quickened that day, and several months later, on April 24, we wrote a letter to our headquarters in Santa Ana, California. Following is an excerpt:

We had an encounter with God that Saturday afternoon. We gave our burdens to Him. It was a heavy load that Nancy was carrying—the illness plus the burdens. I’ll never forget how she gave them away. She named them one by one—all the disappointments, the worries, the wounds; and as she did, with tears streaming down her face, she held out an open hand to God, saying “And Lord, take that one too! And this one too, Lord! And Lord, don’t forget this one!” Before long we were sobbing with relief from the lifted burdens, and our souls were bursting with revival. Praise God! There really is a balm in Gilead! There really is a river whose streams gladden the city of God! There really is a tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations!

Come back tomorrow to see the results of their faithfulness as the gospel message began to take hold among the Kham.

Todd Nettleton has served with The Voice of the Martyrs for 16 years. He’s travelled to more than 20 restricted and hostile nations and interviewed hundreds of believers who’ve faced persecution for their Christian witness. As VOM’s principle media spokesperson, Todd has done more than 2,000 interviews with media outlets ranging from Moody Radio to the BBC and Los Angeles Times. He is the principle author of Restricted Nations: North Korea and was part of the writing team for four other VOM books. You can see all 26 books that Todd read in 2014 on his personal blog.

Disclosure: VOM is part of the Amazon Associates program. If you click on the links in this post and purchase the book from Amazon, VOM will receive a very small percentage of your purchase as a referral fee.

At The Foot of the Snows

Several years ago I set a goal to read 25 books a year. And of course, you don’t know if you've achieved a goal or not unless you keep track; so I began to keep a list of the books I had read, along with a paragraph or two of what I thought of the book.

Last year I read 26. The final of those was At The Foot of the Snows: A Journey of Faith and Words Among the Kham-Speaking People of Nepal by David E. Watters with Steve and Daniel Watters—a book that had been sitting on my desk for at least six months, but which I had been slow to open and dive into. I didn’t know what I was missing!

I love missionary biographies. This love dates back to my dad reading to my brother and me, before tucking us into bed, books like Lords of the Earth by Don Richardson and Bruchko by Bruce Olson. What better heroes could young boys have than Stanley Dale or Bruce Olson?

At the Foot of the Snows belongs in that category. It is a book of adventure, as David Watters takes his family to Nepal to translate the Bible into the Kham language. It is a book of hardship, as the soil is so hard and rocky that Waters and his wife almost give up and leave the Kham for good. It is also a book of persecution, as Kham believers are arrested and sent off to prison.

This week I want to share with you some excerpts from the story here on the Persecution Blog; I hope that these small tastes will lead you to buy the book and read it. In fact, I would encourage you to read it to your children. Who knows but that God may use it to call them to some previously unreached people group?

I want to begin with an excerpt that tells the story of David Watters finding the man who would teach him the intricacies of the Kham language and become his translation helper. As he found the man, Hasta Ram, he discovered that God had already been preparing the way:

Then, suddenly, he [Hasta Ram] asked, “Is the ring on your finger a religious symbol?”

“Well, sort of,” I replied. “It’s a symbol of marriage.”

“But you’re a Christian, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” I replied, wondering at his curiosity.

Then, point-blank, right out of the blue, came the question: “Do you know about one called Jesus Christ?”

I was astonished. Unable to find my voice, I nodded my head in the affirmative and stammered, “Where did you ever hear that name?”

Without answering, he got to his feet, took a small key from his pocket, and walked to a locked metal trunk in the corner of the room. He turned the key in the lock, opened the lid, and drew out a small Nepali booklet, dog eared and worn, the pages brown with age, some falling loose from their staple binding.

“I read this book every day,” he said, “as I sit with my cows on the hillside. I carry it everywhere I go. It tells about one called Jesus, but I have not till today found anyone who knows anything about him. If I go with you, will you promise me something?”

“What is that?” I asked.

“I’ll teach you my language,” he said. “But I’d really like it if you would teach me all you know about this man.”

My heart beat wildly. “I can do that,” I answered. “I’d be happy to teach you all I know about him.”

“Then I’ll go with you…”

[YOUR TURN:] Have you ever discovered that—unbeknownst to you or behind the scenes—God has been preparing the way for some work that He’s called you to do? Share your story in the comments to this post.

Todd Nettleton has served with The Voice of the Martyrs for 16 years. He’s travelled to more than 20 restricted and hostile nations and interviewed hundreds of believers who’ve faced persecution for their Christian witness. As VOM’s principle media spokesperson, Todd has done more than 2,000 interviews with media outlets ranging from Moody Radio to the BBC and Los Angeles Times. He is the principle author of Restricted Nations: North Korea and was part of the writing team for four other VOM books. You can see all 26 books Todd read in 2014 on his personal blog.

Disclosure: VOM is part of the Amazon Associates program. If you click on the links in this post and purchase the book from Amazon, VOM will receive a very small percentage of your purchase as a referral fee.

VOMRadio Looks at Birth of Church in Mongolia

Brian and Louise were part of a church planting team in an isolated city in Mongolia. They saw God do amazing things as the gospel took root and the church grew in strength. But they also experienced Satan's attack, trying to regain territory he’d lost to Christ’s Kingdom. His attacks even reached into Brian and Louise’s own home.

Listen to this week's episode of VOMRadio to hear the story of God’s work in Mongolia, and Brian and Louise’s testimony that even in the darkest times, even digging a grave into the frozen soil and burying the body of their infant son, God was faithful.

 

Host Todd Nettleton asked them if, after the death of their son, Brian and Louise ever asked God WHY? or asked how He could allow such tragedy when they had come to Mongolia to serve Him.

“That wasn’t really the right question," Louise answers. "The right questions are “Was I called? Was I chosen? And did I obey?” It didn’t really matter what God did with my obedience. That’s His business. My business was that YES I was called. I was chosen. And I obeyed. Even though it was hard.”

Listen in to hear Brian and Louise's wonderful testimony of God's faithfulness in building His church.

This week we also answer a listener’s question about Action Packs and how packing an Action Pack is a blessing for a Christian family in a restricted nation and for the American family that packs the bag.

You can also download and listen to this episode on SoundCloud, or sign up to recieve VOMRadio as a podcast each week.

You can learn more about Brian and Louise and their ministry here.

A Letter from Vietnam

December 3, 2014

My name is Hua Van Tuong. I am a gospel preacher, pastoring for Immanuel Church in Danang city, Vietnam.

I would like to present to you one issue as follows:

Our church with more than 41 members had gathered to worship the Lord at above address from 2009 to the present. And now, we also have service for the Deaf church with more than 40 members.

Pursuant to Directive Instruction #01 of the Vietnam Prime Minister dated 04/02/2005 and the Guidelines of the Central Board of Religious Affairs, our church has applied [multiple times] for registration in order to be recognized as a Christians meeting point. We have applied many times as follows:

• 

  VOM provided Pastor Tuong medical care after he was badly beaten in 2011.
  The first time on June 9, 2010.
• The second time on Feb. 15, 2012.
• The third time on May 21, 2012.
• Fourth on the Aug. 31, 2012.
• Fifth on Nov. 13, 2014.

After five times of applying for our church to be recognized, the local Authorities rejected [our application] and have not licensed our church.

For many years, our church and my family have living in panic and fear of being beaten by local authorities. My house was demolished; dirty things such as dung and animal blood were thrown on our house. I myself was beaten, and some of the children of God also threatened mentally and physically. I have repeatedly sent petitions asking for help to all levels of governments from local to central but my applications are still unresolved and officials are silent.

On Oct. 10, 2014, the chairman of the Thanh Khe Tay Ward asked me to give a list of Christians in our church in order to give a license for our church to be recognized as a meeting point. He also asked me to make a commitment to ensure public order.

The Immanuel Church in Danang city.

I did as requested by the chairman. But then, he sent the list of believers to authorities (police). So our brothers and sisters were threatened, and persuaded to have commitment not to worship God at our church any more.

On Nov. 28 2014, the Committee of Religious Affair in Danang city invited me and the pastors of the Vietnam Christian Mission Executive Board to their office to talk. Our pastor leader asked the Committee of Danang Religious Affairs to recognize Immanuel Church as the instructing of #01 directive document of the Prime Minister, but Mr. Ngo Khoi – the Head of City’s Religious Affair Committee – disagreed and had a threatening attitude toward us saying that they will take actions to close the church.

After the meeting with Danang’s Religious Affair Committee, on Sunday, Nov. 30 2014, a lot of police, militia and civil defense forces from city level to district and ward level departments came and made a raid to forbid our meeting. They seized and confiscated 19 motor bikes of the Deaf Church members. They requested that we have no more worship God in this address here.

I realize this is a sign of religious persecution to my family and Christian brothers and sisters. The Religious Affair Committee of Danang city and the local government have cornered us in a place with no way out.

So we wrote this letter. Again, we are earnestly calling for help from you to intervene in order to ensure the freedom of religious belief, spirit of people unity and human dignity are protected.

Hua Van Tuong

Editor's Note: This letter was also posted at www.Persecution.com. Please pray for Brother Hua and for other Christians in Vietnam. Watch the newsroom at Persecution.com for updates on this story.

Afghan Believer's Story Shared On Moody Radio

Yesterday VOM's Todd Nettleton was a guest on In the Market with Janet Parshall, aired nationwide on the Moody Radio Network.

In the 30-minute interview with Parshall, Nettleton shared the story of "John," an Afghan and the son of a Taliban commander who saw Jesus in a vision while on his hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. John's amazing story is shared in VOM's January newsletter. Nettleton and Parshall also discussed the recent release of a Chinese Christian from prison, persecution attacks in Libya and the upcoming elections in Nigeria.

Please click here to listen to this interview (a new window will open; Nettleton's interview begins at about the 26:35 mark). We are thankful to Janet and to Moody Radio and all our media friends who help VOM share the stories of our persecuted family. (The interview opens with a discussion of VOMRadio, which you can visit here.)

Kidnapped in Mindanao

It is hard for most of us to imagine how difficult life is for Christians in many parts of the world. Living as a minority in a hostile context is a daily struggle. Many times, our Christian family members are threatened or attacked because of their faith.

Other times, they are simply overlooked by the judicial system, healthcare providers and local tribal leaders. They are not afforded the same protections and avenues for justice that their neighbors experience.

I met with a brother recently in one of the southernmost Islands of the Philippines, Mindanao.  He is a pastor who is ministering in a predominately Muslim area. His church has been burned down by local hostile Muslims and he still fears for his life. He wears a medium-length, wispy goatee (much like an Imam) to avoid unwanted attention from the majority Muslim community. He and his wife do not have any children of their own, but they have reached out to many of the youth in their community.

He shared a provoking story with me about a time when he was kidnapped, along with 29 students that he was leading on a youth retreat. As the pastor and his students walked to the retreat location, they were captured by 25 Islamic rebels.

They were marched uphill into the jungle for three hours. The male students were forced to disrobe, while the female students were allowed to stay dressed. The rebels groped some of the female students, but when the pastor asked the commander to make his soldiers stop, they relented.

After the rebels took their clothes, they discovered that that many of the students had Bibles in their bags. When the commander realized they were carrying Bibles, he was scared to touch or desecrate the holy book. The rebels decided to let 28 students go, but kept one student, along with the pastor.

After a total of eight hours, the rebels released the pastor and the other student with nothing but their boxers. As they made their way down the mountain through the thick and thorny greenery, they met crying students who were hiding along the way. It was an incredibly traumatic experience for all of them.

As he clutched his Bible, I asked him to share any scriptures that were especially meaningful to him during this intense ordeal. Without pausing, he quoted, from memory, two verses: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3) and “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).

As he related the story to me with tears in his eyes, he said that they were cut-up and humiliated, but grateful to God that they were released. And, in spite of the opposition, he continues to minister faithfully in this difficult place.

May God enable each one of us to stand strong for Him, wherever He leads us, knowing that He will be with us!

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM’s International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. Jason and Kimberly have been married for over twenty years, and have five children who are actively engaged in standing with their persecuted family members.

Homeless for the Sake of Christ

Sometimes when we read the Bible we assume a historical posture that says to us, “that happened a long time ago but doesn’t happen today.” For example, when we read Hebrews 11:38 about ancient saints wandering in deserts and mountains and living in caves and holes in the ground because they were homeless because of their faith, we usually don’t connect that with today’s world—especially in the Western world where homelessness is either a personal choice or one is forced into homelessness due to financial setbacks. The world is larger than our enclave and looking beyond our normal focus, we can see that homelessness due to faith is happening right now.

A form of harassment and persecution is to force Christians from their homes so they will be destitute, causing them either to die off due to exposure or to spread out into the neighboring countries and no longer be a formidable witness as a community of faith in that particular location. ISIS has done this to Christians in Iraq. Christians who have lived in security for generations were forced out of their homes and communities, often with only the clothes on their backs and the few things they could gather and carry. Their prospects for survival were minimal since their resources would run out quickly. However, Christian organizations (like The Voice of the Martyrs and others) stepped in to provide basic life essentials to keep them from being destitute.

Hebrews 10 talks about persevering in the faith and the writer recalls how these particular Christians responded to their persecution by “joyfully accepting the confiscation of their property.” This is not a universal attitude, even among Christians. Christian families forced from all they have and all they have known initially experience trauma, especially parents and children since they were suddenly forced out under duress. The sudden loss and the fear of the future grip them. How will they survive, they ask? How can we feed our children? Later, as they reflect upon the events of their lives, they can come to terms with the loss and joyfully give it all to God.

In the meantime, they need help—material support to meet their basic needs of food and shelter, spiritual encouragement, and hope. The Voice of the Martyrs is providing such help on behalf of the whole body of Christ around the world. Knowing that the larger body of Christ cares for them and helps them is a wonderful encouragement at this difficult time of their lives. It makes the year 2015 look more promising and hopeful. It is satisfying to us to know that we can be a part of this great effort that spares the lives of Christian men, woman, and children in a place we will most likely never see but can have an impact upon.

Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

VOMRadio: Most Listened-To Episode of 2014

One of the most significant things I worked on in 2014 was the launch of VOMRadio, the half-hour weekly audio program that gives VOM a new way of sharing the voice of our persecuted brothers and sisters. So far the response has been very positive.

The most-listened to episode was our interview with Gracia Burnham, former missionary to the Philippines and former hostage of the radical Islamic group, Abu Sayyaf.

I appreciate so much how transparent Gracia is as she tells her story. She doesn't present her time of suffering as a string of victories for her mighty, overcoming faith. She's honest about the days when her faith wavered and she could just barely hang on. But even on those days, she found God faithful.

I hope you'll find her testimony a blessing, and I would love to hear your feedback on the new radio program, either in comments to this post or through the feedback options at www.VOMRadio.net.

Thank you for listening, and please pray for our efforts to improve and expand the reach of VOMRadio in 2015.

 

Todd Nettleton has served with The Voice of the Martyrs for 16 years. He’s travelled to more than 20 restricted and hostile nations and interviewed hundreds of believers who’ve faced persecution for their Christian witness. As VOM’s principle media spokesperson, Todd has done more than 2,000 interviews with media outlets ranging from Moody Radio to the BBC and Los Angeles Times. He is the principle author of Restricted Nations: North Korea and was part of the writing team for four other VOM books.