I wanted to give you all another update on how we are doing with the Gao petition and email campaign. As of tonight we 158,730 people who have agreed to email on Gao's behalf, and 45,576 people who have signed the petition to help free Gao.

And now I have to tell you about the movie, The Hiding Place, that my husband and I watched the other night. One of the things that I absolutely love is documentaries. I love them because typically they are based on true life stories and in many cases they are inspirational, as this movie about the life of Corrie ten Boom was. I had heard about Corrie for many years and even was familiar with the name of her story - The Hiding Place - but up until a few nights ago I had never seen the movie or really knew what her story was all about.

The Voice of the Martyrs has launched Facebook applications that enable readers to get involved and pray for persecuted believers around the world.

Mark, Mary Sue and Todd are back for another episode of Persecution Podcast. This week we discuss Uzbekistan. There is an in studio interview with Dory and Mary Sue talking about their recent trip to Nigeria. Lastly Mark and Todd update listeners on the VOM presence on Facebook.

CHINA – Eight human rights groups in China just released a joint statement to the Chinese government calling the government into account for “illegal exercise of police power and a rude violation of Chinese citizens’ personal freedom, right to properties, freedom of thought and basic human rights.” ChinaAid sources report that immediately after the statement was released, authorities reacted by targeting members of these groups for police interrogation. Below is the full text of the statement:

India (MNN) ? Orissa's Christians are calling for the withdrawal of all anti-conversion laws and banning of re-conversion.

As of the time of this blog post on Friday night, I am thrilled to let you know that we have 146,458 people who have agreed to email on Gao's behalf, and 42,860 people who have signed the petition to help free Gao.

The China Aid Association and ASSIST News Service are reporting that, "Uyghur Christian, Alimujiang Yimiti, who has been arbitrarily detained at Kashgar, Xinjiang detention center for more than one year, was seen Tuesday morning around 10 a.m. (local time) at Nongsanshi (Military Farm) Hospital in Kashgar."The attorney for an imprisoned Uyghur Christian has called for a Chinese government investigation into circumstances surrounding the believer's recent hospitalization.If you'd like to write a letter on his behalf, click here for more information.