“When you face persecution day in and day out, you get discouraged and you can withdraw. There is nowhere where it is easy to preach the gospel.”

Recently one of my coworkers was in the Middle East to attend a conference for Syrian Christians. These conferences, which VOM sponsors, are designed to encourage and train Syrian Church leaders, who have been ministering in the midst of war for the past three years, in addition to the heavy persecution they face as gospel workers in a Muslim nation.

"Every time you kneel down and pray for Vietnam, you are working with us in Vietnam."

VOM's November newsletter was a special update on the situation for Christians in Syria, in the midst of a horrific civil war. In recent months our office has put a special emphasis on how we can assist Syrian Christians both inside and outside Syria. Those plans are being implemented now. In order to keep our workers and Syrian Christians safe, we can’t describe the exact nature of how we’ll be helping, but when we are able, VOM will update our supporters on how we have been helping persecuted Syrian believers.

VOM's Todd Nettleton was interviewed this week by Mission Network News reporter Ruth Kramer about the release earlier this month of the US State Department's annual report on religious freedom around the world. Here's the article from Mission Network News' web site:

Editor's note: a version of this story appears in VOM's February newsletter. U.S. residents can request a free subscription to the newsletter here.

From the minute I stepped into VOM’s offices for a college internship, I felt welcomed and loved – and very much disturbed. While a warm lady greeted me and an office manager gave me a tour, I couldn’t take my eyes off the pictures on the walls. A young boy whose limbs were burned. An Asian woman smiling brightly, her face disfigured beyond recognition. A man and his family standing outside what used to be their home. A lump caught in my throat. I shifted in my sandals. My life was about to be turned upside down.

A few days ago we shared with you Part 1 of an interview Todd Nettleton did with Martyrs (VOM) Brad Phillips of Persecution Project Foundation (PPF) about the current difficulties Christians are facing in Sudan and South Sudan, and today we have Part 2 of that important conversation.