Persecution Blog

Petr Jasek: God Opened the Prison Door

From the first days after his arrest in Sudan, Petr Jasek repeatedly said, "God is the One who holds the key to my cell."

Jasek, a Czech citizen, is VOM’s Africa regional director and he was just released after 14 months in prison in Sudan. In this third and final part of our conversation with Petr, he shares about how he stopped praying to be released from prison and simply focused on fulfilling the Lord’s purpose for him inside prison walls.

Listen as Petr shares what it was like to hear the judge announce that he was sentenced to life in prison, and the verse he read from Psalms moments before he found out God would be using the key and opening Petr’s cell door. Petr will also share—from his personal experience—how we should pray for Christians in prison, and for their families who sometimes suffer more than the prisoners.

You will be challenged to think about what it means to wait on the Lord as you hear Petr share how, after 445 days, God set this captive free.

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A Personal Taste of Persecution

What would you do if a group of angry young men came streaming into your Sunday School class this Sunday, faces masked and swinging clubs as they came?

Aaron Miller helps lead VOM’s work in South Asia, including the nation of India, where he previously served full-time as a gospel worker. Listen this week as Aaron shares what happened when he found himself at a Christian gathering in India that was attacked by radical Hindus. It was a small taste of persecution that was a part of God’s preparation for Aaron to serve persecuted Christians in India and other South Asian nations.

It was also a blessing. Even as he was being slapped and kicked, Aaron says God gave him a sense of His presence, His blessing. Listen below to have your faith inspired, and hear specific ways to pray for the nation of India and our spiritual family there.

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"I Stand Amazed Every Day"

As he leads VOM’s international work, Brother Jonathan has a front-row seat to see what God is doing around the world: thousands of Muslims and Hindus coming to faith in Christ!

That spread of the gospel comes with a price, though, and Jonathan oversees VOM’s efforts to provide spiritual and physical aid to Christians affected by persecution and equip front-line workers to continue spreading the gospel.

Listen as Jonathan shares some of the exciting plans for VOM’s work in 2017, as well as how his encounters with persecuted Christians have impacted the way he lives out his faith each day. Jonathan will also share some of the challenges of our international work, and equip you to pray specifically for VOM workers going out to serve in dangerous places around the world.

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Today, You Know Their Names

Sixty-one years ago yesterday, five men lost their lives on a stretch of sand on the Curaray River in Ecuador. Had they not lost their lives, it’s unlikely you’d know the names of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian. Instead, their act of sacrifice to reach the Waodani Indians with the gospel resonated around the world and inspired future generations of missionaries.

Growing up, this story was an intimate part of my life, yet I had no idea how far-reaching it was. You see, my father was among those inspired by the five martyrs, particularly Nate Saint. This led to life-long mission work.

My parents joined Mission Aviation Fellowship (Nate Saint’s sending mission) and were assigned to work in Shell, Ecuador in 1978. They lived in Nate Saint’s jungle house, the place where the men and women prayed and pondered their mission to the Waodani for weeks before setting out, and where the wives anxiously gathered around the radio at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 8, 1956, hoping for word from their loved ones.

In 1979, my parents brought me home from the hospital to that same Saint house. For the next 12 years, as I played on the hill outside the hangar, I saw Waodani women brought by airplane for treatment at the mission hospital, I watched as Waodani teenagers arrived by air to be discipled by church planters and I saw Bible translators, working on a Waodani translation of the New Testament, travel by plane to their communities.

Two weeks ago, my family and I traveled back to Shell and stayed in that same Saint house, which is now a mini-museum, event space and guest house. It was encouraging to witness that the work that began after the five men lost their lives continues today. Two generations later, there is an established, Waodani-led church. They now have the New Testament in their language. The group has sent missionaries to reach other Waodani as well as neighboring indigenous groups. Several have attended Bible schools. Some family friends continue to aid the Waodani to develop job skills and provide discipleship.

But today there are some concerning developments: a group of Waodani who rejected the gospel and live in isolation are threatening violence against the others again. This could trigger a return to the repeated revenge killings that nearly decimated the tribe 60 years ago. Will you pray for the young, Waodani church leaders who are opposed to this violence and who are encouraging their people to continue to follow “God’s carvings?” And pray that the Good News will reach the hearts of those threatening violence.

The story of the five men’s life and death is told in The Torchlighters: The Story of Jim Elliot. This children’s DVD also includes an adult-oriented documentary.

Dory P and her husband both work for VOM. Dory grew up calling Nate Saint’s sister “Aunt Rachel” and Jim Elliot’s widow “Aunt Betty.” She didn’t know they were celebrities in Christian circles until she attended Wheaton College, alma mater of three of the men killed.

Best Moments of 2016 on VOM Radio: Part 1

Join us as we look back on some of the most-impactful testimonies shared with us this year on VOM Radio.

We’ll hear from Dale Rhoton of Operation Mobilization—one of the first Westerners to visit VOM’s founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, after Richard’s release from prison in Romania. We’ll hear how God used a nameless woman walking along a road in Kenya to grab the heart of an American woman, Jami Staples, to reach Muslims for Christ. We’ll hear from Bob and Kasey, who left behind an American-dream retirement to serve Muslims half-a-world away. We’ll hear from two gospel workers—Hannelie Groenewald and Nik Ripken—who experienced gut-wrenching loss while serving overseas, yet found God faithful even in that loss. And we’ll hear how a passion for God’s Word kept John and Karen Short connected to Him and to each other, even while John was detained in the world’s most-closed country.

Your faith will be inspired by the faithfulness and courage of these brothers and sisters—and by how God worked through each of them to further His Kingdom aims. (Note that you can hear our entire conversations with each of these guests by searching in the VOM Radio archives.)

 

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Second Part of Harvest Show Interview

VOM's Todd Nettleton was a guest for two days last week on The Harvest Show, broadcast around the world by LeSEA Broadcasting. We shared the first portion of his interview on the blog last week. Click below to watch the second day of his interview:

Listen to Todd's interview with Hannelie Groenewald at www.VOMRadio.net. 

Martyr's Widow: "God Prepared Me"

When Hannelie Groenewald and her family left their comfortable home in South Africa to serve on the front lines in Afghanistan, they knew the danger. But God's call was clear, and they went in spite of the risk. Hannelie became not only wife and mom, but also teacher and doctor and cook in a country that isn't known for welcoming foreigners--especially women.

As time passed, God strengthened her faith, even if He didn't answer all her questions or prayers. She didn't know the extent of the sacrifice her family would be called to make, and in fact says she wasn't strong enough to make such a sacrifice. But God prepared her, even in the days and weeks immediately before the murder of her husband and children, to stand strong in the face of suffering and persecution.

Hannelie's inspiring testimony will challenge you to consider what you're willing to risk to share God's love in an increasingly hostile world.

Request a DVD or download the video telling the story of Hannelie and her family, which was produced by VOM for this year's International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Please share this video with your church family or other Christian friends.

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Are You Ready to Be Exiled?

Many of our Christian brothers and sisters from Iraq and Syria have lived as refugees for more than two years. Can you survive one night?

The Voice of the Martyrs invites you to host an “I Am N” Exile Night on your college campus to experience – and help others experience – a taste of life as a refugee. This life-changing event, being held on campuses nationwide, helps students identify with believers who have been displaced by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), Boko Haram and other extremist groups. It also helps students understand how to pray for persecuted Christians.

Students will identify with displaced Christians around the world by sleeping how they sleep, eating how they eat and connecting with their inspiring and courageous stories. Our persecuted brothers and sisters choose Christ over safety, homes and jobs. For one night, students can share their experience and be inspired by their choice.

“Last night we got the opportunity to join alongside persecuted Christians. We ate foods that they would eat, we played soccer, and slept outside. It was cold, uncomfortable (did I mention cold?). We were given the opportunity to lift them up to Jesus through prayer and worship, and create medical packs so that they could have basic necessities and to write them letters of encouragement. I am so inspired by these people, these family members, who are choosing Jesus every single day, though it is literally costing them everything.” -Brianna

LEARN HOW TO HOST AN EXILE NIGHT.

"What They did Was Unconscionable"

By now you know of VOM’s 2017 IDOP video called Hannelie and have read the October newsletter with her story.

A couple of weeks ago, Andrea H. wrote to us after she read the story in the newsletter:

Hello. I am stunned by this month's cover story of Hannelie and am particularly interested if there are others who are utterly in shock that these two people would endanger their children. I believe what they did is unconscionable; if they were in the United States, they would have had their children removed from their custody. How dare these people put those vulnerable kids in harm’s way. I'm absolutely blown away by this irresponsible act, as well as your tacit approval of all of it.

What did you think? Did you feel the same way Andrea did? Did Hannelie and her husband make an irresponsible choice regarding their children?

On the other hand, Bob S. wrote us this note:

When my wife and I watched the DVD Hannelie, I got depressed. I realized that in my quiet time or during a good sermon or rousing Christian song, I was like Peter and ready to “risk my life for Jesus,” but when faced with a situation like distributing Bibles as a Gideon in Chicago–the murder capital of America for over two years–I was chicken at the thought of what might happen.

Well, yesterday, I went into Chicago with other Gideons in a pretty safe neighborhood and all I suffered was indifference at the offer of a free Bible–plus many were open to accepting the Lord. Pray that Friday I will be a credit to His name and be willing to endure whatever may come when we venture into a place a lot less threatening than the people you support.

Sincerely in His service,

Bob S.

P.S. Keep sending out testimonies like Hannelie.

Bob had a completely opposite response to Hannelie’s story. Her story inspired him to take more risks in sharing the gospel, even in a dangerous part of America. Is it foolish of Bob to take that risk? Please join us in praying for Bob as he shares Christ through the Chicago area, and that his work will result in much fruit.

I’ve written before about trying to bring my young children up by praying for our persecuted family and with the knowledge that persecution could come to us. And if the Lord calls us to Afghanistan, to Saudi Arabia, to North Korea, I would take them with me. Jesus promised us persecution. He said that his message would divide families, and he said that no sacrifice was too great for him.

What about you? Are there some sacrifices that are too great?

Dory P. grew up the daughter of missionaries in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Their family of four shares seven passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.

VOM Radio: Inspiring Christians

The testimonies of persecuted Christians heard weekly on VOM Radio are inspiring people around the world. Each 30-minute episode shares an interview with a persecuted Christian, a Christian worker in a hostile area or a VOM staff member who travels into restricted nations to stand with believers there. VOM Radio has gained rapid popularity among believers in the United States and elsewhere. VOM Radio is now aired weekly on 300+ radio stations! VOM Radio hit #1 on the iTunes “Religion and Spirituality” podcast chart. Thousands have downloaded VOM’s Pray Today App on their smartphone or tablet. Each week’s VOM Radio episode is available right in the app. The National Religious Broadcasters named VOM Radio the 2016 Radio Program of the Year Find a VOM Radio Station NEAR YOU Subscribe to the Podcast ON iTUNES Subscribe to the Podcast ON GOOGLE PLAY

Here’s what listeners are saying about VOM Radio: “I thank God for VOM and VOM Radio! I just listened to the interview with Pat Klein. Amazing. And it encourages me to stay in the battle! Please keep doing your programs! Thank you for what you do!” –BOB B., HAZLEHURST, MS “VOM Radio brings a perspective that shatters my own perception of suffering to lead me out of feeling sorry for myself to prayer for our ‘family members’ throughout the world.” –GRANT B., GRETNA, NE “I have been greatly blessed by your recent radio programs regarding work with Muslim people. We are working with Middle Eastern people in Germany.” –ERICA M., GERMANY “I am listening regularly, sometimes in tears and oftentimes under such conviction as I hear testimonies coming from such genuine-hearted people. I find myself so convicted by the love of God they communicate. I want to be more like them.” –MARCUS R., DEARBORN, MI “The Lord has used your broadcast to deepen my faith and love for others, and I have begun praying for even persecutors and terrorists to turn to Christ.” –LIZZIE K., WACO, TX “Thank you for your recent broadcast interviewing “Amber,” who served in Tibet. It was an inspiration!” –VINCE P., BUFFALO, NY Find a VOM Radio Station NEAR YOU Subscribe to the Podcast ON iTUNES Subscribe to the Podcast ON GOOGLE PLAY