Today's guest post is from Tami Yeager, who serves as the financial administrator for Eternal Perspective Ministry in Oregon. Because of her passion for the persecuted church, she also serves as a volunteer community voice coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. This post originally appeared on EPM's blog.

My heart has been heavy as I read and hear news reports of IS (the Islamic State) giving Christians in Mosul an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a high tax (jizya), flee or die. More recently, IS released a video, in which they announced a threat, "Our message to the entire world is that we are the soldiers of the Caliphate state and we are coming." So much of what we are seeing unfold in the Middle East characterizes what has happened to Christians throughout history in that region as well as other restricted nations. As I reflect on this, I am reminded of five truths that are important to remember, in order to keep our eyes focused on what's eternal (Col. 3:2).

I was recently invited to join a small team of VOM staff members to travel to Nepal and help distribute Bibles our donors have provided. Unfortunately, two days before we left, I had to quickly travel to Dallas to see my mother and decide her next step in care. My mother’s health was quickly declining with Stage 4 Lymphoma and severe dementia. My siblings and I had no choice but to move her into hospice. When I returned, I made the difficult decision to continue on with the Nepal trip as her life expectancy was still undetermined.

I’ll never forget the morning that Jim (VOM’s President) and I were driving a long-term associate of Richard Wurmbrand to the airport. “Brother T.” is a peppy, passionate 80-year-old Italian—the kind of person who deeply impacts everyone he meets! In a few hours, all three of us would be leaving on separate early-morning flights. As we drove together in the pre-dawn darkness, Brother T. energetically shared stories about Richard Wurmbrand.

As the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs, I have spent a good amount of time researching the trends and values among young adults. As a Millennial (people born from 1980 to 2000) myself, it is easy for me to see how I fit smack dab into the stereotypes and statistics about this generation. Thanks to technology, the Millennial generation is more aware of need than any before it; we get a Twitter update on our smartphones the moment something happens. This is part of the reason why social justice issues have exploded with Millennial involvement.

On a recent trip to Nepal, I joined a small team of staff members to do Bible distribution and take part in a pastor’s conference located in the central region of the country.. After several hours of driving, we came to a residential area of colorful but otherwise run-down houses. Most homes didn’t appear to have indoor plumbing as I saw people collecting water and washing their clothes at well-fed water taps residing on each block. From my western point-of-view, these were poor low-income families. Our Nepali VOM staff informed us that these people were part of the upper caste in the area and were all Hindus. Christians are treated as the lowest caste. One of the VOM staff told us in a matter-of-fact voice, “you won’t find Christians here.”

Each week numerous people come as volunteers to serve persecuted believers by serving at VOM. Some come for a few hours or a few days; some stay for a year as a long-term volunteer.

This week during the VOM staff chapel service Mrs. Peggy Dau, the wife of VOM President Jim, talked about the significance of July 4th, one of her favorite holidays. As Americans celebrate our nation’s independence today, we trust her words will bless and encourage you, and remind you of the importance of praying for our nation on this day and all days:

We recently recieved this report from Ted, a Christian worker serving in Nepal who connected with one of our VOM workers and participated in a day of VOM ministry outreach: