Persecution Blog

SUDAN: The Shrapnel Pulpit

What does the pulpit look like at your church?

In many European cathedrals, pulpits are placed high above the floor. Other churches use a glass or metal pulpit. Some churches use a music stand, or may not use any pulpit at all.

In my office, I have a simple wooden pulpit from a church in England given to me as a gift years ago. I display it to remind me of the primacy of scripture and of the specific calling God has given me as a minister.

I have also seen a wide variety of pulpits in use around the world. In grass huts, simple concrete buildings, or even while worshiping outside, ministers often use pulpits as they proclaim the good news about Jesus.

But the most stunning pulpit that I have ever seen was in Sudan’s Nuba mountains a few weeks ago.

This pulpit was from a church that was bombed by the Khartoum government. The church was destroyed, and shrapnel shredded the pulpit.

When I interviewed the pastor of this church, he shared that when their church building was bombed, his people fled to the mountains. Now many of them live in caves.

But one thing that they couldn’t bear to leave behind was the pulpit from their church building. Now it stands as a reminder to them, and to us, that the Church will never be destroyed.

We may have scars, to be sure, but “the gates of hell will not prevail” against Christ’s Church!

Watch this short video and celebrate with the church that uses a shrapnel-ridden pulpit each week as they worship under a thatched roof.

 

Next time you gather at your church, please remember to pray for our Sudanese sisters and brothers. May the pulpit at your church remind you that we are part of the larger community of believers around the world.

Dr. Jason Peters oversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

VOM Radio: Sharing the Truth

Before sunrise, a North Korean Christian seals his small, secret radio into a plastic bag and buries it in the ground. He will dig it up late that night to listen again to Biblical teaching while trying to avoid the prying eyes of his neighbors and his government.

At the same time, a radio transmitter built by Adolf Hitler's propaganda machine broadcasts Jesus’ love on a million watts of broadcast power, and a Christian in the Middle East secretly downloads the Gospel of John onto his phone.

TWR is using radio waves, smart phones and internet connections to share the gospel message around the world, and The Voice of the Martyrs is partnering to provide content to strengthen those serving Christ under persecution. Learn more about this important work this week on The Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network.

 

You can also access VOM Radio episodes as a podcast.

Q&A With Husband of Imprisoned Chinese Christian

When his wife, Cheng Jie, was sent to prison because the kindergarten she managed used Christian materials to teach the children, Pastor Du Hong Bo was left alone to raise the couple’s two children.

Recently, a worker from The Voice of the Martyrs met with Du Hong Bo to encourage and pray with him. He also answered questions so Christians around the world would know his story and be able to pray for him more effectively.

 

More of the conversation with Du Hong Bo is featured in the June issue of VOM’s free monthly newsletter.

Hospitality and a Month of Prayer

Two of my friends recently attended a conference to learn about outreach ministry to Muslim women. They had the opportunity to visit a local mosque. They did not participate in the prayers, but they were still welcomed by the Muslim women. My friend shared with me that the hospitality the Muslim women displayed astonished and humbled her. She didn’t expect to be welcomed at all, but instead, the women warmly greeted her, asked questions about her life and her family, and demonstrated an openness that went beyond her expectations.

Certainly, hospitality is not limited to a specific religious group. Even Christians are taught to be hospitable to strangers, knowing that we could be entertaining angels.  What my friend shared with me encouraged me to take an initiative to demonstrate kindness to others, to care for their needs, and to be receptive and open to new possibilities.

As Muslims here and around the globe observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan by fasting from dawn until dusk, you might ask God to help Muslims also have this same type of openness to Jesus Christ.

I am reminded of the man I recently interviewed. Originally from Turkey, he could be described as a zealous Muslim who led many to Islam and exhorted others to live righteously. After nearly 14 years, he found a Bible and began reading it and privately praying to discover the truth. It was during this prayer time that Jesus revealed Himself as His Creator. It was the love of Christ in another vision that led this devout Muslim to become a follower of Christ.

For many of you who receive the monthly newsletter, you have also ordered and received the special 30 Days of Prayer booklet. I am using mine each evening. The booklet shares stories from around the world and gives prayer points for each day of Ramadan, which began June 18 and ends July 17. Even if you didn’t get the booklet, I would invite you to remember Muslims during the next 30 days.

“Ann Kay” is a writer for VOM. She learned about VOM five years ago when she read Tortured for Christ and began receiving the newsletter. She is passionate about reaching the world for Christ and sharing stories of the persecuted church.

The Call of God and Personal Physical Safety

Paul connected his own personal suffering to his responsibility for fulfilling his call. That suffering would be a part of his calling was stated explicitly by God to him. Since Paul had been a persecutor of the church before his conversion, he knew best what was waiting for him.

It is reasonable that most Christians, when they become aware of what it might cost them to follow Christ, have been tempted to reconsider their commitment. This is the occasion for an intentional, realistic commitment, recognizing that we may face incredible trials for serving Christ that we would not have had to face had we not made the commitment. The committed Christian may indeed be signing up for more trials and tribulations than they would have had to face as a non-Christian. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book The Cost of Discipleship: “The disciple simply burns his boats and goes ahead. He is called out, and has to forsake his old life in order that he may “exist” in the strictest sense of the word. The old life is left behind, and completely surrendered. The disciple is dragged out of his relative security into a life of absolute insecurity” (62).

An example of the commitment Bonhoeffer refers to is that of Helen Berhane, who was imprisoned in a metal container without ventilation or sanitation for thirty-one months. She not only survived but she prevailed because she had determined in her heart that no matter what happened she would remain faithful. With God’s help, she did (Song of the Nightingale, 24).

A part of our self-denial is to intentionally set aside our basic need for personal safety. This is not done foolishly, but when the occasion calls for it, and when God gives us the grace and ability, we choose to give up our right to this basic need. The need for personal safety can become the occasion for a spiritual battle when it becomes dominate in our life and all other things are subjected to it. The old, carnal self desires to place personal concerns above God’s will. It will seek to put personal safety as the highest priority in our life. This carnal self (the self of self-centeredness) must die (Galatians 5:24). Many translations use the strong term ‘crucify,’ which has the very clear meaning of putting something to death. When it has truly died, we are free to choose to be safe in the center of God’s will and our physical safety will take its proper place.

Randy Alcorn relates the story of Emmanuel Ndikumana of Burundi, whose life was threatened because of the Hutu-Tutsi tribal conflict and resultant atrocities. His Hutu father and grandfather had been killed as a reprisal for Hutu atrocities against the Tutsis. He felt that he should return home and forgo his concerns for his own safety to prove to his people that he truly believed the gospel. He was free from the fear of death, which was not the case for unbelievers (If God is God, 380).

As a Bulgarian Christian once said, “A man who is already wet doesn’t fear the rain” (Hank Paulson, Beyond the Wall, 165).

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: Foxholes and Forgiveness in Sudan

Christians in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan are under attack from their own government. When a plane flies overhead, our Sudanese brothers and sisters dive into foxholes to escape falling bombs. Hospitals and even schools are specifically targeted by the Islamic government of Sudan.

Many Christians have fled their homes and are living in caves or in the mountains in hopes of finding safety. Yet even in the midst of attacks, some Christians are finding ways to reach out with Jesus' love. VOM's Dr. Jason Peters visited Christians in Sudan, and this week on VOM Radio he shares their inspiring and heartbreaking stories.

 

Dr. Peters also blogged about his time in Sudan, and shares video from some of the Christians he met there. You can read his posts about the trip to Sudan here, here, here and here.

Hospital Bombings in Nuba

“They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:37b-38).

While in Sudan recently, I noticed shrapnel everywhere.

It is not uncommon to see the devastation caused by bombs and artillery shells when working in war-ravaged areas, but there was something distinctly different this time.

The targets were different.

In fact, according to the Geneva Convention of 1949, the targets were illegal.

Hospitals are being actively targeted by the Khartoum government, under the influence of Omar al-Bashir.

I visited two former hospitals that were targeted by the government of Sudan this year and have since been abandoned by foreign medical aid organizations.

One hospital had been targeted for aerial bombardment twice in the last eight months. Following the most recent attack, when 12 bombs were dropped on the hospital, the NGO operating the hospital decided to pull out of the Nuba region.

The Voice of the Martyrs and Persecution Project Foundation are now the primary providers of medication in the region. I visited the bombed-out hospital and met with the site manager. He told us that many people survived by climbing into a foxhole just outside the ward while two bombs exploded inside the compound.

There were several occasions when I had to jump into foxholes myself, or hide in caves, because of bombers overhead. I’ll share a more detailed story about that soon.

In this short video, you will hear a hospital worker describe patients scrambling for their safety in foxholes surrounding the hospital. Near the end of the video, you will see children running for foxholes and hear the drone of a bomber overhead.

These are not reenactments. This is reality for our dear brothers and sisters who live in the Nuba Mountains. Will you remember them in your prayers today?

 

Dr. Jason Peters oversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

VOM Intern: "Release Myself and Learn"

“I just need to release myself to learn and pray for the opportunity to know more,” I heard Raphael say clear as day through his heavy Nigerian accent. It was like a message from God piercing through my inner panic and I immediately realized I needed to just calm my nerves to listen and learn. I don’t need to know everything yet. I’m still a student and an intern.  

It was the second day of my internship at Voice of the Martyrs when I heard those words. I was sitting in on an interview with a man from Nigeria who had a very heavy accent and whom I was having an extremely hard time understanding. About 10 minutes into the interview, I began panicking as I realized: I had no idea what this man was saying. He was talking so fast and I started doubting myself and my abilities as a (student) journalist.

A prosthetic patient at the VOM clinic in Nigeria.

Worried thoughts started racing through my head. How am I ever going to interview people in the field if I don’t know what they’re saying? How am I going to write any stories without interviewing indigenous people? How am I going to be a foreign reporter or go where God calls me if I can’t even understand people? And at the perfect moment, God put the perfect words into Raphael’s mouth that would give me peace. And I understood him saying it.

Raphael had been sharing about his schooling on prosthetics in the US. He told us how at first, he was overwhelmed at all the new things he was learning and doubting himself and his calling. Just like I was doing at that very moment.

I’m a third-year college student. I’m no pro, but for some reason, God blessed me with an internship at VOM. Maybe I have a lot of varied experience with my community college newspaper, but I definitely didn’t feel deserving of an internship that was in my field in exactly the type of place I dream of working in the future.

But then that saying pops into my head: “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” I’ve heard it so much it’s almost become a cliché to me, but its truth. And its truth constantly shared in the VOM newsletter. I don’t think many of the people of our persecuted family felt experienced enough in their faith to wake up one day and say, “Okay, I feel prepared to be persecuted now.” God prepared them for it without them even realizing it.

At VOM, the people I work with know I’m here to grow and learn. They know I’m not experienced in contributing to this type of organization. But, this is where God has placed me this summer, and He’s brought me 1,400 miles to Bartlesville, Oklahoma for a reason. I did pray for this opportunity to learn at VOM, now I just need to “release myself to learn.” More specifically, I need to let God work in me and change me so I can learn everything this organization has to offer. 

Valerie O. is a summer intern at The Voice of the Martyrs. This fall she will be a junior at California State University, Long Beach studying journalism. She first heard of VOM through a Bible study when someone handed her a VOM newsletter. Since then, she has felt drawn to VOM and its primary goal and has desired for God to use her skillset to help in reaching that goal. 

VOM Radio: Can an Artist be a Missionary?

Sergio Cariello is a world-famous comic-book artist. And he’s a missionary.

Sergio has drawn the famous faces of Batman, Spiderman and the Lone Ranger. He’s also brought the story of Jesus to life in a whole new way through the creation of The Action Bible, a tool VOM is helping to translate and distribute in the most difficult places on earth.

In this episode of VOM Radio, Sergio shares how God is using his drawing gifts to spread the gospel and bring people to Christ, and challenges each of us to commit to serve God with the gifts and talents He has given us. 

 

You can access all episodes of VOM Radio at www.VOMRadio.net. Access the VOM Radio podcast here.

Video: The Gathering Storm of Persecution in Kenya

The focus for VOM's free monthly newsletter in June is Christians facing persecution in Africa, with stories from Niger, Uganda and Kenya.

Recently, VOM's sister mission in the UK, Release International, produced this video about the rise of persecution in Kenya. Please pray for our persecuted family in Africa.