It is very appropriate to have an emotional response to persecution. That is how many of us began in ministry to and with the persecuted church. We deeply identify with their pain and loss, and we are driven to help.

"I have concerns about materials that might introduce pain, torture, and death to a young child without a context for them" — Scottie May, author and professor of Christian Spirituality, quoted in Christianity Today

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.

IN 1951 MORE and more Communist women began appearing in the camps and prisons. At Cernavoda I met Marioara Dragoescu, who’d been imprisoned by the old regime as a leading revolutionary. Now she was sent to forced labor by her comrades as a “counterrevolutionary.”

If you're looking for some good family entertainment that is not only edifying, family friendly and inspirational, but will also help support the work of The Voice of the Martyrs and the persecuted church, then I would like to tell you about a special offer we having going right now in our VOM bookstore, at http://www.vombooks.com

If you have children, I really want to encourage you to become well acquainted with our Kids of Courage website because there is a wealth of wonderful information for you to use with your children at home, in your church and even in your school.

In doing some research this morning about Dumitru Bacu, as a result of today's Extreme Devotion (see previous post), I just happened to find an article that talked about a fellow prisoner by the name of Father Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa.

Here is a great article about The Voice of the Martyrs that was written by Mike Tupa from the Examiner-Enterprise. Read the full article here. A snip is below for you. The Bartlesville-based Voice of the Martyrs’ mission, simply stated, is to do whatever it takes to assist persecuted Christians throughout the world.That could mean anything from smuggling Christian literature, to buying a horse for a minister in mountainous environs to helping set up broadcast opportunities, David Brackemyre explained during the Bartlesville Rotary Club’s afternoon luncheon Monday.Brackemyre, who is the director of the Voice Ministry, spoke and answered questions during a 25-minute period at the event, held in the Bartlesville Community Center.The Voice of the Martyrs headquarters, located near the Tri-County Technology Center in east Bartlesville, will be fully operational next year, Brackemyre said.Some of the project already is done, but the VOM operation currently is housed in various offices or warehouses in Bartlesville.The VOM headquarters are located in Bartlesville, due to the decision of former director Tom White — whose father was an engineer at Phillips Petroleum Co.

Doing some research this morning for this blog, I came across this very well written article from Raymond Ibrahim of Jihad Watch. The full article is worthy of being read. Click here to read the full article. Here are a few snips from it, worthy of thought.