Yusuf Abdalla, 23, fled to Moshi, mainland Tanzania, after his family threatened to kill him in June. Having converted to Christianity in October 2010 after hearing the gospel on the radio, he was enrolled at a vocational school in Zanzibar city to learn tailoring when his family found out in March that he had left Islam. The beating he then received from family members left him with injuries to his head, hand and torso, as well as a serious mouth wound and substantial loss of blood, said an area pastor who requested anonymity. “The family then took back the tailoring machine which they had bought him,” the pastor said. “They also vowed not to support his training.” As soon as he had recovered enough to leave, Abdalla found refuge on the premises of the pastor’s church before staying at his home on May 5. Within two months, reports had reached Abdalla’s family that he was staying at the pastor’s house, and on June 10 they threatened to kill him, the pastor said. The church arranged for his escape to Moshi. Another convert from Islam, Juma Suleiman of Chake-Chake on the neighboring island of Pemba, is also facing death threats. Suleiman became a Christian just two months ago when Tanzania Assemblies of God pastor Yohana Mfundo preached to him while he was in prison, Mfundo said. Suleiman was released a little over two weeks ago, and family members have already threatened to kill him. He is now in hiding and plans to flee the island.

Last week we asked you to take the time to write Ilmurad Nurliev, who has been in prison over 370 days, and I am very happy to tell you that 8 more letters were written!!! Praise the Lord for your faithfulness to act!! A big thank you to all of you who did write! Thank you, thank you, thank YOU! The week before we had 7 letters written and this past week we beat that record by ONE. One more letter written to a prisoner can make a huge difference!

As Linh Dao and her mother approached the prison, she knew what she would do. But she would have to make it look impetuous, like the act of a young girl overcome by emotion.

Have you ever tried putting the toothpaste back into the tube? I tried it once in a middle school Bible study. Some of us thought we knew how to get the paste back –squeeze a little of the tube, suck in the paste, shove it to the bottom of the tube and repeat. It might be practical in theory, but it just didn’t work. It ended up everywhere, a greater mess than anything. It was between our fingers and on our clothes. Before we knew it, everything was sticky and smelled oddly like mint. I never put much thought into that experience —trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Until now… I have always known about the persecuted church. I grew up reading The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter. Actually my mom read it; I spent hours fascinated by the photographs. Mom always saved them and put them in a basket next to the couch. If someone grabs something to read, they usually find a VOM newsletter. I always thought VOM was a great organization with a great mission, but something happened this summer. The persecuted church changed from something I was aware of, into part of my identity. I feel hopeless — but forget the negative connotation. It is more like I’m “hopelessly in love.” I can’t explain how it happened, but I turned into a tube of toothpaste. My spirit pours out a love for my persecuted brothers and sisters. There is no way to put it back in without making a mess. I pray that you experience this change from awareness to identity — if you haven’t already. This change makes you love someone you may never meet. You desire to care for persecuted Christians and to share their testimonies with others. Toothpaste has a purpose. It cleans teeth and it freshens breath, thank goodness. My passion and love for persecuted Christians has a reason for too. I will write, I will speak and I will inspire others. My internship at VOM has come to a close, but my support for the persecuted church never will. “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body,” Hebrews 13:3

Turkey (MNN) ? In the last days of August, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey would relinquish all properties or current property values to Christians and Jews who had had land confiscated 75 years ago.

This week we have another short podcast for you, about 7 minutes long, which focuses on some recent happenings in the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Nepal.

Dissatisfied with the Orissa government’s response to the wave of anti-Christian persecution that left 100 dead and 50,000 homeless in 2008, the Indian Supreme Court has called for a report by the National Commission for Human Rights.

Sometimes when I read news articles about Christian persecution, honestly, I am amazed at how someone can say the things they do. One such article was penned a few days ago and appeared at WorldNetDaily. The name of the article is Exterminate Christians, Close Pyramids, Sphinx and you may read the full article here. Here is a short snippet...