Persecution Blog

He Has Joined a Great Assembly

James Chalmers was a carefree, high-spirited Scottish boy. “I dearly loved adventure,” he later said, “and a dangerous position was exhilarating.” Perhaps that’s why he listened carefully one Sunday when his minister read a letter from missionaries in Fiji. The preacher, tears in his eyes, added, “I wonder if there is a boy here who will, by and by, bring the gospel to the cannibals.” Young James said quietly, “I will!”—and he wasn’t even yet converted.

In 1866, having been converted and trained, he sailed for the South Pacific as a Presbyterian missionary. Chalmers had a way with people. “It was in his presence, his carriage, his eye, his voice,” a friend wrote. “There was something almost hypnotic about him. His perfect composure, his judgement and tact and fearlessness brought him through a hundred difficulties.” Robert Louis Stevenson, who didn’t like missionaries until he met Chalmers, said, “He is a rowdy, but he is a hero. You can’t weary me of that fellow. He took me fairly by storm.”

In 1877 Chalmers sailed on to New Guinea. His ministry was successful there. Packed churches replaced feasts of human flesh. But as the years passed he grew lonely. He was delighted when young Oliver Tomkins came to join him in 1901. The two men decided to explore a new part of the islands, and on Easter Sunday they sailed alongside a new village. The next morning, April 8, 1901, Chalmers and Tomkins went ashore. They were never seen again. A rescue party soon learned that the men had been clubbed to death, chopped to pieces, cooked and eaten.

News flashed around the world. “I cannot believe it!” exclaimed Dr. Joseph Parker from the pulpit of London’s famous City Temple. “I do not want to believe it! Such a mystery of Providence makes it hard for our strained faith to recover. Yet Jesus was murdered. When I think of that side of the case, I cannot but feel that our honored and noble-minded friend has joined a great assembly.”

Story excerpted from “On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes” by Robert J. Morgan. (Disclosure: VOM is part of the Amazon Associates program. If you click on the link above and purchase the book from Amazon, VOM will receive a very small percentage of your purchase as a referral fee.)

Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikipedia

VOMRadio: Jesus is Worthy

Last week Brian and Louise shared about their efforts to plant a church in Mongolia, and the hardship they faced in that process.

This week they unwrap some of the principles they learned through that experience, lessons they are now teaching to pastors and church leaders around the world, including nations where VOM works.

We’ll also hear a first-hand report from a former prisoner for Christ in Uzbekistan, who tells us that the letters we write to Christians in prison really do make a difference. You can  write a letter to a Christian imprisoned for their faith at www.PrisonerAlert.com.

 

If you have comments about VOMRadio, or questions you'd like us to answer on the air, feel free to leave them as a comment to this post. You can also submit questions and comments via the VOMRadio web site.

We Will Endure

This week on the Persecution Blog we’re sharing excerpts from 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. (Read more about the book in Tuesday’s post.)

We have shared about a low point in the Watters ministry, and then about the moment the Kham people began to come to Christ. But their new-found faith came with a price. In this final excerpt we’ll hear how the believers suffered arrest and imprisonment, but more importantly how they responded and how God used it to grow the Kham church.

First an excerpt from a letter from Bishnu, one of seven Kham believers arrested and put in prison for their faith:

“We’re a little bit concerned, wondering what will happen to us. But whatever it be, we have cast ourselves upon God. Whatever he wants to do is his will. He knows. Thanks be to God. Up until the time that we have written this letter we are sitting in the gloom of the police fortress. But God’s glory is with us.

Regardless of what suffering comes in the name of our Lord Jesus, we will endure it. Do not concern yourself. Be of good confidence. We can never repay the debt for all that we have received from our Lord. This present suffering is of no significance. What is it compared to the suffering our Lord endured?”

* * * * *

The men began talking of about their dark, gloomy prison cell as “the house of God,” and their chains as “the ornaments of God.” Amazing! These were unlettered, unschooled men, but they stood like the giants before and after them…

* * * * *

We discovered quickly that the men’s imprisonment was the number one topic of discussion in every Kham village. Around every hearth the gospel was being discussed, by believers and unbelievers alike. “What does the gospel say, and why is it so bad?” All seven men were considered model citizens, and it baffled everybody that the government should wish to put such men into prison. “Why?” they asked. “What in those booklets is so terrible that it would put a man in prison?” So they began beating a path to Hasta Ram’s village to buy booklets and find out for themselves.

Nancy and I have often commented since that if we had hired those seven men to preach the gospel in every village, it would not have been nearly so effective as having them go to prison.

* * * * *

Later, Karna Bahadur would say with a grin on his face, “How stupid could they be? They thought they could beat God out of us with a stick!”

* * * * *

I am thankful for the legacy of David Watters and these bold Kham believers. And I'm thankful for great books like At the Foot of the Snows, that inspire us to seek God's will for our own lives and to boldly serve Him wherever He may call us. I encourage you to read the book, and to read it to your children and grandchildren.

[YOUR TURN:] What biographies have inspired you in your Christian faith and in your desire to serve Jesus more fully? Share thoughts 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 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.

“Baptized?” I responded. “Whatever for?”

This week on the blog we’re sharing excerpts from 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. (Read more about the book in Tuesday’s post.)

Yesterday we shared about the low point, when the Watters were ready to give up and end their work in Nepal. Today we see the result of their faithfulness. David Watters writes about the first Kham believers:

Nancy served some tea. Bishnu, the oldest, was the first to speak. “We want to be baptized,” he said.

This was completely unexpected, and I didn’t know how to respond. I had already resigned myself to the fact that no one would ever show any real interest in the gospel.

“Baptized?” I responded. “Whatever for?”

“We read in the Bible that when someone believes, he gets baptized,” he explained.

…

Three days later, the men returned—Hasta Ram, Bishnu, Danthya, and Panchya. I began to talk. I began with original sin and the fall of man. I explained that God had made provision for our sin and that he promised to send a Redeemer. I talked about the birth of Christ and his life among us, preaching the gospel and healing the sick. I talked about his crucifixion and all that that means. I talked about our hope of eternal life through him. All this took a couple of hours.

Then, I gave them a strong warning. “If you believe,” I said, “you become liable for imprisonment in your own country. In Nepal, it is illegal to become a Christian, so my advice to you is to think very carefully about what you will do. Are you willing to suffer imprisonment for your faith?” At the time, both conversion and proselytism were illegal, punishable by one or six years, respectively.

All of them responded in the strong affirmative. “Yes, we understand,” they said. “This is what we’ve been looking for all our lives.”

The men’s decision to follow Christ would prove to be a costly one. Tomorrow we’ll share one final excerpt from the book to share how the Kham responded when persecution came.

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.

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.

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.

“No Reserve! No Retreat! No Regrets!”

On December 17, 1912 Bill Borden boarded ship for China via Egypt. His missionary career would be among history’s briefest—and most effective.

Borden was born into an upper-class family on Chicago’s Gold Coast, heir to a fortune in real estate and milk production. His mother became a Christian, and young Bill began attending Chicago’s Moody Church with her, soon becoming a Christian himself. Shortly afterward, when Pastor R.A. Torrey challenged worshipers to dedicate their lives to God’s service, William quietly rose—a little fellow in a blue sailor suit. He stood a long, long time while the service went on, but there was no wavering, and it was a consecration from which he never retreated.

Later at Yale University, Bill became well known as a star athlete, good-looking, worth $50 million, and committed to Christ. At a student missions conference in Nashville, he was deeply moved by Samuel Zwemer to reach the Muslims; and following graduation he announced he was giving his immense inheritance to the cause of world missions. He joined the China Inland Mission, planning to evangelize the Muslims in China. But first came language study in Egypt. On the eve of his departure, his widowed mother wondered if Bill had done the right thing, giving up fortune and homeland. “In the quiet of my room that night, worn and weary and sad, I fell asleep asking myself again and again, ‘Is it, after all, worthwhile?’ In the morning as I awoke, a still small voice was speaking in my heart, answering: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only beloved son…’”

A month after arriving in Egypt, Borden contracted spinal meningitis. He was dead in two weeks, but he left a final message on paper stuffed under his pillow: “No Reserve! No Retreat! No Regrets!”

The story of his sacrifice was retold in newspapers across America and the publication of his biography resulted in a dramatic leap in numbers of young people offering themselves as living sacrifices for the Lord of the harvest.

Story excerpted from “On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes” by Robert J. Morgan.

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.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Extreme Missionary

IRIAN JAYA: STANLEY ALBERT DALE

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men. Ecclesiastes 3:11

One by one the arrows struck his flesh, and one by one Stanley Albert Dale pulled them out and broke the cane shafts over his knee. The blood flowed from his many wounds and onto the riverbank. The screaming Yali warriors feared that the white man, or duong, was immortal.

Already, the Yali in another village had tried to kill Dale. They were frightened by his message, for his followers had burned their traditional idols and places of spirit worship. They had also shot Dale, but the duong had walked away and completely healed.

Dale had come to the mountains of Irian Jaya (today’s Indonesia) in the 1960s to share Christ’s love. Now facing hundreds of screaming warriors, he pulled arrows out of his body as fast as they pierced his skin. These Yali had been warned that the Spirit inside him was very powerful. Finally, Dale and the other missionary fell. More than sixty broken arrows were piled at Dale’s feet. The warriors then dismembered his body parts for fear that they would rise again.

The Yali thought that would be the end of the gospel message in their valley, but it was not. Other Christians came, and many of the same warriors who had fired arrows into Dale’s body became believers. The duong who would not die now celebrates Jesus alongside his own converted murderers.

Although the Yali thought Dale’s earthly body was immortal, it was actually his soul that would not die. The missionaries who followed in Dale’s wake helped the Yali understand eternity. They shared God with the Yali. Think for a moment about what events, people, and things took the bulk of your time this past week. Certainly, the practicalities of life call us to deal with things that are hardly eternal issues: dirty diapers, ringing phones, dry cleaning, and soccer practice. However, Dale’s story reminds us to prioritize things that matter for eternity. What part of your daily life does have eternal significance? If you don’t make time for it, who will?

This is one of the readings from the book, Extreme Devotion, available from VOM’s online bookstore. You can also receive devotional thoughts daily via email. Sign up here.

Stanley Dale's story is told in "Lords of the Earth" by Don Richardson.

[Disclosure: VOM is a member of the Amazon Associates program, and if you click on the previous link and order a copy of Lords of the Earth, VOM will recieve a small portion of the sale price.]