Special thanks to our friends at Mission Network News. This appeared in today's email alert from MNN and you can also see the story online at their newly redesigned website.

In the event you don't hear about this via the mainstream media today I wanted to let you know what day it is. This is directly from the Whitehouse website. You can see it here for yourself.

It was getting late, and the Soviet officer had beaten and tortured Paulus for many hours. “We are not going to torture you anymore,” he said, smiling brutally when the Christian looked up. “We will send you instead to Siberia, where the snow never melts. It is a place of great suffering. You and your family will fit in well.”

AsiaNews.it is reporting today that a young Christian convert thrown off a train dies. There is speculation about whether or not this was a suicide or persecution by Hindu extremists. Read the full article and you decide.

Today the International Christian Concern is reporting that persecution is following a Somali Christian man. You can read the full story at the link provided. It's another inspiring testimony of a faithful servant of Christ.

In case you missed receiving this weeks prayer requests from The Voice of the Martyrs, remember that you can sign up to get those directly in your email box by signing up here. I also wanted to remind you that you can get our daily posts directly in your feed reader if you just snag those RSS feeds from the right and use them in whatever your feed reader is, you will never miss a post. Personally, I use Bloglines, and I've also used Pluck in case you need a reader. Please sign up today so you don't miss out!

I wanted to update all of you on Glenn Penner's health. Today I found out that Glenn is doing well enough to leave the hospital and go home! Yeah...our God is an AWESOME God!

Last night I was reading Psalm 10 and I couldn't help but think of the persecuted church as I was reading it. When you consider that the saints of old were persecuted this Psalm is really no surprise. Yet, even though we may not be persecuted in the same way I know we often feel the same cry of our hearts. The Psalmist begins Psalm 10 this way,

Last week we had the privilege to highlight India for most of the week. This week I'd like us to focus on the Christians in China. They need our prayers, and dare I say we need theirs! Christians in China are very bold and I am personally thankful for that witness. It challenges me and inspires me to be more bold in my faith. Have you ever found that to be the case with you?

This week while I was reading about our persecuted brothers and sisters in different parts of the world, I was reminded about the families of these precious believers. When you hear of pastors in India being attacked by Hindu extremists or house-church members beaten and tortured in China, do you ever wonder how their families must be hurting? I certainly do.