Persecution Blog

Boot Camp Can't Compare

“Push it! Don’t stop!” the man yelled in my direction. I start to run again.

I was miserable, and I blamed my sister. After all, she had the bright idea to buy my family these bootcamp sessions at the local fitness center. Her reason: to spend quality family time while getting into shape. I had no idea what I was getting into when I said yes.

On the first day, our trainer made us do The Beast — a workout so intense that I get tired writing it all down.

Another day, we carried rocks. But these were not simple rocks — these “rocks” were boulders weighing a third of my body weight. I struggled to pick them up. It was a lot of rocks, too. The group made piles with these rocks; we jogged up terrible, long hills with the rocks; threw the rocks and did push-ups; and when we thought we were finished, our trainer said, “Okay, now take the pile you just made and put it back. Don’t stop. Go!” 

He made us do this for up to an hour and a half. By the end of the day, my arms would be like wet noodles, my legs had turned to jelly and my stomach could scarcely hold my body erect.

If you ever attempt a “boot camp” like this, here are some tips:

• Take a large bottle of water or Gatorade
• Get a good night’s rest
• Have a cup of coffee in the morning
• Eat a healthy breakfast to keep you going

One day at training, a thought stopped me in my tracks — just long enough for my trainer to yell, “Pick it up!”

Why did I stop? Because I had never considered the countless Christians working harder than I was that day. They don’t have a good-intentioned trainer; they don’t have a good night’s rest; and they certainly don’t get a cup of coffee and big breakfast to boost their energy in the morning. In places like China, Vietnam and North Korea, Christians sentenced to hard labor might get only a meager bowl of rice and some dry bread.

Sweat dripped down my now-burnt nose as I sprinted up a 100-meter incline with a 25-pound bag. I am currently in my best physical shape ever, but I was struggling with the effort. I can only imagine what my brothers and sisters in Christ experience as they work for hours at a time.

I reached the top of the incline and did 25 shoulder presses. I needed a break, to put the bag down and breathe — in, out, in. Christians working in labor camps don’t have this privilege. If they pause, they are beaten back into working. They receive no rest.

Simply put, I have no understanding of what they endure. And yet many of them remain committed to Christ as they suffer for his name. One Chinese pastor even told us he was glad not to be released early, because he started a church in prison!

How do they do it? How do they work hours like this without energy, proper nourishment or even sick? I believe that it is solely the power of the Holy Spirit that sustains these believers.

I picked up my heavy bag and started again, but not without a prayer for my persecuted family. Pray with me as they suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ and stay faithful.

 

Cold Coffee Ruined My Morning

In the morning, I detest everything but black coffee. No cream or sugar, please.

When I get to work, I need a cup of coffee. In fact, I have one sitting in front of me right now. The steam rising off the top of the rich drink is perfect class. Who needs Audrey Hepburn when you have a cup of coffee? Well, everyone. But I bet that if Audrey were alive, she would be drinking a cup of coffee right now.

Bartlesville is hot. This week, it has been over one hundred degrees every day. Add humidity on top that, and I am almost glad that my internship is over in three weeks. However, inside The Voice of the Martyrs’ office, the cool environment is easy to work in. There is one down side: if I don’t drink my coffee fast enough, I end up with cold coffee. Not iced coffee, just hot coffee turned cold.

No matter how you take your coffee, it just isn’t as good when it turns cold.

I interviewed a couple yesterday who travel throughout the United States to spread awareness about the persecuted Church. From what they told me, every person who hears about persecuted Christians have the same first reaction. They are surprised, and then they move into action: “How can we help?”

How do you react to the persecuted church? When you first heard about it, you probably read every article in the VOM newsletter and then passed it around to friends and family. The topic of the persecuted Christians conveniently related to every conversation you had. You prayed devotedly for those you may never meet. But as life happens, our perfect “climate” makes us cold. Many of us are back to praying for ourselves. We slip in a prayer for Iran or Eritrea when it comes to mind. We lay out our newsletters on the coffee table, making ourselves look devoted, but we may not have read them.

It is so easy to become like this in every spiritual situation. In daily devotions, we sometimes just shoot up a prayer and read a chapter in the Bible. “I am good,” a lot of us think after we read our daily proverb. What does it say about our spirituality when teenagers in restricted nations memorize entire books of the Bible, not knowing how long they will have their treasure until authorities confiscate it? We go to church every Sunday and hear our weekly sermon. Why aren’t we in the Bible for hours every day, soaking in every word of God? Do we realize how precious it is? Why are we not praying for the persecuted Christians who don’t have the freedom we do?

Nobody likes hot coffee turned cold.

This is one of the reasons why I appreciate the “tree-huggers.” They might have a passion about something I don’t really understand, but they are just that: passionate. When I think about tree-huggers, the image that comes to mind is one of people chaining themselves to trees. Their desire to save the earth inspires me to join them. And I don’t really care about trees very much. They are unappreciated, stereotyped and sometimes mocked. However, they stand firm and continue to tie themselves to those trees because they are dedicated to them.

I just now took my last sip of coffee. I didn’t drink it fast enough, and now it’s cold.

Coffee is unique; there is nothing else quite like it. But when it turns cold, there is nothing quite that like either. Perhaps this is a reminder for us all to never become cold Christians. Never lose your passion for living in God’s will, witnessing for Christ and serving our persecuted brothers and sisters. If you are cold, heat yourself up with the fire of God. You can’t make a real difference until this happens.