One of my coworkers here at VOM recently took a two-month trip to Pakistan. He went to help build a home in an area demolished by last October's earthquake. He and his team worked in Begaar, a village very near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Have you ever wanted to hear a The Voice of the Martyrs representative share about their experiences with VOM and the persecuted church? Well, I certainly have, which is why I love to hear Todd or any of the other guys on radio when I have the opportunity.

I would like to thank the website Sword & Spirit for the awesome work they are doing on behalf of the persecuted church. Earlier this week I was notified about what this site is offering to their church, and any other church who would like to use what they are doing.

In early May, Chinese House - Church leader met with the President and then shortly afterwards met with the staff at The Voice of the Martyrs. VOM has exclusive video of Dr. Li Baiguang, (pictured) the Director of the Beijing Qimin Research Center that will encourage your heart.

This week we have some good news for some of our friends who have been serving prison time for crimes they did not commit. The Voice of the Martyrs is reporting that prisoners are now released after seven years for false blasphemy charges.

Today I wanted to start out our week sharing with you some of the latest news from Vietnam and the attack on the house church that I mentioned late last week in this post. According to The Voice of the Martyrs sources, "Believers were making repairs to the house where they meet for worship when attackers mercilessly stormed the building. Christians were seriously beaten with nightsticks, numchucks and electric cattle prods. Among those attacked were 10 pastors, youth group members, and other house-church members." (church pictured)

It's Friday...which means it's time for our Christian Persecution Carnival. This is our third week doing this and I want to thank those of you who are fulfilling your commitment to blog for the persecuted church and for submitting your posts on the issue of Christian persecution.

Some of my friends at VOM recently took a trip to Ukraine. While there, they spent time ministering to children. They visited several orphanages and shared Jesus with kids. They also played with the children and spent some valuable time with them.

The Voice of the Martyrs very own Director of News Services joined Janet Parshall today on her program. Todd discussed with Janet the recent visit President George W. Bush made to China and also shares the latest information on the awesome Bibles Unbound program.

Not too long ago I was sitting in church and thinking about the persecuted church. As I thought about Christian persecution I began to wonder what was truly worse - persecution or apathy? I have read stories of persecuted believers who are praying for American Christians because they see how much we have here and realize that it must be hard to walk out our faith in such a land where we literally have everything. On the other hand, as a Western Christian it is very easy to see how a brother in a foreign land who is being threatened with death, imprisonment or physical harm may be worse. The thing we have in common is the need for prayer. With that in mind, would you join me in praying for the following things this week? This is from The Voice of the Martyrs Canada office.