Persecution Blog

Missionary Pilot Shares The Rest of the Auca Martyrs' Story

Growing up the home of missionary parents in Ecuador, Gene Jordan has always known the story of five men—Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian—who gave their lives in the jungle to reach an isolated Indian tribe.

But for Gene, it wasn’t a far-off story. The five martyrs and their surviving families were close friends of Gene’s parents. One of Gene’s prized possessions is a picture of him, age 2, standing with Saint in front of the famous, yellow Piper Cub airplane later shredded by spears on the riverbank.

As a teen, Gene helped Mission Aviation Fellowship pilots wash their airplanes and clean up the hangar, always hoping for an empty seat on the next flight. As an adult, Gene became one of those pilots and was sent back to Ecuador to follow in the footsteps of “Uncle Nate.”

Listen as he shares reflections on a life serving in missions, and the difference the gospel makes in the hearts of individuals, and even entire villages, as the people find in Jesus a reason to live.

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Nate Saint Memorial School: End of an Era

The end of an era comes next month.

In August 1985, I clutched my mom’s hand and squeaked my rubber flip-flopped way down the gravel path from the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) “base” to the cinderblock Nate Saint Memorial school. Miss Carolyn Wolfram greeted me and the three other kindergarten students and we took our places at the red, yellow, blue and green desks.

David’s parents were with Gospel Missionary Union, running a conference center for training local church workers. Rebekah’s dad was an anesthesiologist at the HCJB mission hospital in town. And Cristina’s parents worked with the local church while her dad trained to be a pilot with my dad at MAF.

I completed all of my elementary education through the sixth grade at Nate Saint Memorial School. In my era, the school hosted around 30 kids in kindergarten through eighth grade; all of our parents were involved in various ministries and denominations and types of mission work in the tiny town of Shell, perched on the edge of Ecuador’s Amazon rain forest.

At NSMS, as we called it, classes were frequently put on hold so the school children could perform a song for visiting tour groups from the U.S. We marched in the town parades proudly carrying a banner with Nate Saint’s name on it, and when we got tired of standing in the hot sun, our teachers would exhort us to set an example for the Ecuadorian schools, because they knew we were the “evangelical” school.

Class sizes were small, and like a prairie school house, often contained multiple grades. After the teacher got the third graders working in their math workbooks, she might quietly read the English assignment to the fourth graders on the other side of the room. When there were political strikes and no one could travel around town, we had classes in homes, books spread out on dining room tables with our mothers overseeing us.

Thursday afternoons were for swimming, when the whole school would pile into the rattley GMC mission vans and head for the river. The teachers would try to make sure we didn’t drown in the fast current while I worked up the courage to finally jump off that big rock into the deep spot.

When the eighth graders needed frogs to dissect for science class, they first spent an evening out behind the school, capturing toads and dunking them in formaldehyde from the hospital. The surgeons’ wife came over on Tuesdays to have us draw still-life paintings.

Every day on my way home from school, I’d pass the long wooden house of the Brethren church planters who were working with the indigenous people, including many of the Waodani (the tribe responsible for killing Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian). Waodani teenagers lived with them for months at a time while completing their education in Shell, education that wasn’t available in the jungle. The hope of the church planters was that these young people would return to their villages with a firm spiritual foundation that they could share with their communities.

The school for the children of missionaries founded in 1966 in memory of those missionary martyrs—Nate Saint Memorial School—has run its course. Fewer missionaries are needed in the region, and more are choosing to homeschool their children.

The end of an era has come, but its purpose was well-served. My kindergarten teacher, Miss Wolfram, would go on to have a 32-year-long career serving the mission community, in Shell and later in the capital city at the boarding school. She’s retiring this year.

Several schoolmates went on to become missionary pilots. One is serving as a military chaplain. Another is a church planter in Mexico. One girl ministered with her family in Yemen. Another one trains pastors in the Dominican Republic. My sister and her family work with youth in Ecuador. And then there’s me: privileged to serve persecuted Christians around the world. Christians who are just as willing to sacrifice their lives in order to share the gospel as the school’s namesake, Nate Saint.

Dory P and her husband both work for VOM. Dory grew up calling Nate Saint’s sister “Aunt Rachel” and Jim Elliot’s widow “Aunt Betty.” She and her husband serve on VOM’s staff.

The Man Behind the Myth: St. Valentine

Today we celebrate Valentine's Day, a day many Americans focus on love and romance. But most of those celebrating don't know that the man for whom this day is named was a Christian persecuted because of his Christian actions.

The following comes from the "Note from the Author to Parents and Educators" that is included in The Story of St. Valentine: More Than Cards and Candy Hearts, a book for children published by VOM that tells the true story of  Valentine's Day.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14^th, but why? Many buy cards and candied hearts and do not know there was a man named Valentine. Who was the man behind this holiday that has become known for cupid, chocolate, roses and love notes saying, “Be my Valentine”?

Valentine, or Valentinus as he was known, was a leader in the church and lived in the Roman Empire during the third century. However, there are three Valentines who are noted as having lived in the late third century during Emperor Claudius II’s reign. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy), and the third a martyr in a Roman province of Africa. Some believe the martyrdom of all three men named Valentinus occurred on February 14^th. Many scholars believe two of them, the priest in Rome and the bishop of Interamna, are the same, suggesting the bishop of Interamna was a Roman priest who became bishop and was sentenced there and brought to Rome for his execution. It is believed Valentinus’ martyrdom occurred about the year 269 A.D.

Even though some have questioned the existence of Valentinus, many would agree his life is a mystery. History proved his existence when archaeologists unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him. He is mentioned in Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, written about saints around the year 1260. (It is noted this was perhaps the most widely read book after the Bible during the late Middle Ages.) He was also featured in a woodcut in the illustrated book called The Nuremberg Chronicle, printed in 1493.

Sources indicate it was Emperor Claudius II who had Valentinus executed for secretly marrying Roman soldiers, defying an order from the emperor that soldiers were not allowed to marry. Claudius (also called Claudius the Cruel) was having difficulty recruiting soldiers and believed Roman men were unwilling to leave their loved ones because soldiers were required to fight for at least 25 years. Therefore, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements. However, Valentinus, along with Marius, secretly married couples until he was apprehended and brought before the Prefect of Rome. It is even believed Valentinus tried to convert Emperor Claudius. In The Story of Saint Valentine: More Than Cards and Candied Hearts, the conversation between Emperor Cludius and Velentinus is based on the one printed in de Voragine’s Golden Legend. Another legend says during Valentinus’ imprisonment, while awaiting his execution, he restored the sight of his jailer’s daughter. (In this story we call the jailer “Marcus.”) Yet another says on the eve of his death, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter and signed it, “From your Valentine.”

In 496 A.D., more than 200 years after Valentinus was executed, a church leader marked February 14^thas a celebration to honor Valentinus’ courageous life to replace a pagan Roman holiday. February 14^th was the day the Romans honored Juno, the Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses and also known as the goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15^th, started the Feast of Lupercalia, which honored Faunus, the god of fertility and forests. On the eve of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on pieces of paper and placed in jars. Young men would draw a girl’s name and be partnered with that girl throughout the festival. Sometimes this pairing lasted the whole year, and often they would fall in love and later marry.

And what about cupid? Why does his image appear during Valentine’s Day? Cupid was the Roman god of love.

Despite the mystery, legends and questions masking the man Valentine, this story was written to convey his courageous life and death. May The Story of St. Valentine: More Than Cards and Candy Hearts inspire children of all ages to boldly present Jesus Christ to a world in need of His hope (I Peter 3:15)!

The following comes from the "Note from the Author to Parents and Educators" that is included in The Story of St. Valentine: More Than Cards and Candy Hearts, a book for children published by VOM that tells the true story of  Valentine's Day.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14^th, but why? Many buy cards and candied hearts and do not know there was a man named Valentine. Who was the man behind this holiday that has become known for cupid, chocolate, roses and love notes saying, “Be my Valentine”?

Valentine, or Valentinus as he was known, was a leader in the church and lived in the Roman Empire during the third century. However, there are three Valentines who are noted as having lived in the late third century during Emperor Claudius II’s reign. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy), and the third a martyr in a Roman province of Africa. Some believe the martyrdom of all three men named Valentinus occurred on February 14^th. Many scholars believe two of them, the priest in Rome and the bishop of Interamna, are the same, suggesting the bishop of Interamna was a Roman priest who became bishop and was sentenced there and brought to Rome for his execution. It is believed Valentinus’ martyrdom occurred about the year 269 A.D.

Even though some have questioned the existence of Valentinus, many would agree his life is a mystery. History proved his existence when archaeologists unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him. He is mentioned in Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, written about saints around the year 1260. (It is noted this was perhaps the most widely read book after the Bible during the late Middle Ages.) He was also featured in a woodcut in the illustrated book called The Nuremberg Chronicle, printed in 1493.

Sources indicate it was Emperor Claudius II who had Valentinus executed for secretly marrying Roman soldiers, defying an order from the emperor that soldiers were not allowed to marry. Claudius (also called Claudius the Cruel) was having difficulty recruiting soldiers and believed Roman men were unwilling to leave their loved ones because soldiers were required to fight for at least 25 years. Therefore, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements. However, Valentinus, along with Marius, secretly married couples until he was apprehended and brought before the Prefect of Rome. It is even believed Valentinus tried to convert Emperor Claudius. In The Story of Saint Valentine: More Than Cards and Candied Hearts, the conversation between Emperor Cludius and Velentinus is based on the one printed in de Voragine’s Golden Legend. Another legend says during Valentinus’ imprisonment, while awaiting his execution, he restored the sight of his jailer’s daughter. (In this story we call the jailer “Marcus.”) Yet another says on the eve of his death, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter and signed it, “From your Valentine.”

In 496 A.D., more than 200 years after Valentinus was executed, a church leader marked February 14^thas a celebration to honor Valentinus’ courageous life to replace a pagan Roman holiday. February 14^th was the day the Romans honored Juno, the Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses and also known as the goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15^th, started the Feast of Lupercalia, which honored Faunus, the god of fertility and forests. On the eve of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on pieces of paper and placed in jars. Young men would draw a girl’s name and be partnered with that girl throughout the festival. Sometimes this pairing lasted the whole year, and often they would fall in love and later marry.

And what about cupid? Why does his image appear during Valentine’s Day? Cupid was the Roman god of love.

Despite the mystery, legends and questions masking the man Valentine, this story was written to convey his courageous life and death. May The Story of St. Valentine: More Than Cards and Candy Hearts inspire children of all ages to boldly present Jesus Christ to a world in need of His hope (I Peter 3:15)!

Today, You Know Their Names

Sixty-one years ago yesterday, five men lost their lives on a stretch of sand on the Curaray River in Ecuador. Had they not lost their lives, it’s unlikely you’d know the names of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian. Instead, their act of sacrifice to reach the Waodani Indians with the gospel resonated around the world and inspired future generations of missionaries.

Growing up, this story was an intimate part of my life, yet I had no idea how far-reaching it was. You see, my father was among those inspired by the five martyrs, particularly Nate Saint. This led to life-long mission work.

My parents joined Mission Aviation Fellowship (Nate Saint’s sending mission) and were assigned to work in Shell, Ecuador in 1978. They lived in Nate Saint’s jungle house, the place where the men and women prayed and pondered their mission to the Waodani for weeks before setting out, and where the wives anxiously gathered around the radio at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 8, 1956, hoping for word from their loved ones.

In 1979, my parents brought me home from the hospital to that same Saint house. For the next 12 years, as I played on the hill outside the hangar, I saw Waodani women brought by airplane for treatment at the mission hospital, I watched as Waodani teenagers arrived by air to be discipled by church planters and I saw Bible translators, working on a Waodani translation of the New Testament, travel by plane to their communities.

Two weeks ago, my family and I traveled back to Shell and stayed in that same Saint house, which is now a mini-museum, event space and guest house. It was encouraging to witness that the work that began after the five men lost their lives continues today. Two generations later, there is an established, Waodani-led church. They now have the New Testament in their language. The group has sent missionaries to reach other Waodani as well as neighboring indigenous groups. Several have attended Bible schools. Some family friends continue to aid the Waodani to develop job skills and provide discipleship.

But today there are some concerning developments: a group of Waodani who rejected the gospel and live in isolation are threatening violence against the others again. This could trigger a return to the repeated revenge killings that nearly decimated the tribe 60 years ago. Will you pray for the young, Waodani church leaders who are opposed to this violence and who are encouraging their people to continue to follow “God’s carvings?” And pray that the Good News will reach the hearts of those threatening violence.

The story of the five men’s life and death is told in The Torchlighters: The Story of Jim Elliot. This children’s DVD also includes an adult-oriented documentary.

Dory P and her husband both work for VOM. Dory grew up calling Nate Saint’s sister “Aunt Rachel” and Jim Elliot’s widow “Aunt Betty.” She didn’t know they were celebrities in Christian circles until she attended Wheaton College, alma mater of three of the men killed.

Best Moments of 2016 on VOM Radio: Part 2

Join us today as we continue looking back on some of the most-impactful testimonies shared with us in 2016 on VOM Radio.

We’ll hear how God reached into the home of the police chief in a Southeast Asian village—even as the police chief was fighting against the gospel! We’ll hear from former prisoner Bob Fu what it means to a prisoner when he or she knows that Christians are praying for them. Sean will tell us how God used VOM to help save the life of an evangelist in Bangladesh after he was brutally attacked. Samuel will tell us about the risks of following Christ in Pakistan.

We’ll hear from three different people impacted by a 2007 attack in Turkey that took the lives of three Christians. Brother Gokhan was a friend of those killed; Tim is now the pastor of the church the three men attended; and Semse Aydin is the widow of one of the martyred believers.

Finally we’ll hear from five guests who fave us a peek this year into what God is doing in the church in Iran—the fastest growing church in the world. Dr. Sasan will share how Iranian Christians find joy in persecution. Nazanin works in a call center for one of our media partners, witnessing to and discipling Iranian believers by phone. Dr. Mike Ansari will tell us about a special effort to get Bibles digitally into Iran. Finally, Maryam and Marziyeh will share about the miracle of finding God’s Word inside the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran.

You’ll be inspired and challenged as we continue looking back on some of the amazing stories God allowed us to share on VOM Radio in 2016.

 

Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music.

Top 8 in 16: #5

In the remaining days of 2016 we'll look back on the most-viewed posts on Persecution Blog in 2016, including a post that is more than 10 years old but is still one of the most-read posts on the blog! Today we look at #5, the true story of a man whose name is celebrated every year in March, but whose life and ministry didn't have anything to do with wearing green.

The Real Story of St. Patrick

March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day, a day Americans focus on good luck and all things Irish. But most of those celebrating don't know that the man for whom this day is named was a Christian persecuted because of his Christian actions.

The following comes from "A Note from the Author to Parents and Educators" that is included in The Story of St. Patrick: More Than Shamrocks and Leprechauns, a book for children published by VOM that tells the true story of St. Patrick’s Day.

Many celebrate Saint Patrick's Day on March 17^th and hang pictures of shamrocks and mythical creatures called leprechauns. But who was St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate his life on this day?

Patrick lived a full life, but not without his share of suffering and adventure. He was born in Britain, in the fourth century A.D., during a time of great uncertainty for the Roman Empire. The Roman legions that once protected civilized Britain from barbaric invaders were called away to defend themselves in other regions of the Roman Empire. Therefore, Britain was left vulnerable to attacks.

Just before Patrick turned 16 years of age, he and his family were at their holiday villa by the sea, located outside the town of Bannaventa Berniae when Irish  pirates attacked it just before dawn. (Some say the villa was attacked during the day while Patrick played on the beach. Although Patrick's family escaped, Patrick and many of the family's workers did not; and soon they were en route to Ireland, where Patrick was sold as a slave to Miliuc of Slemich, a Druid tribal chieftain.

Patrick was given the task of a herdsman. Though raised in a Christian home (his father, Calpornius, was a civil magistrate and tax collector, as well as a church deacon), Patrick never made a decision to follow Christ until he was kidnapped and made a slave. In his autobiography called Confessions, Patrick wrote: “…‘the Lord opened my senses to my unbelief,’ so that though late in the day, I might remember my many sins; and accordingly ‘I might turn to the Lord my God with all my heart.’” He also wrote about how his faith in God grew as he prayed to Him while he shepherded the flocks: “But after l had come to Ireland, it was then that I was made to shepherd the flocks day after day, and, as l did so, I would pray all the time, right through the day. More and more the love of God and fear of him grew strong within me, and as my faith grew, so the Spirit became more and more active... In snow, in frost, in rain, I would hardly notice any discomfort, and I was never slack but always full of energy. It is clear to me now, that this was due to. . .the Spirit within me.”

But Patricks devotion to God did not go unnoticed. He soon earned the nickname "Holy Boy" among his fellow slaves.

One night Patrick had a dream, and in it he heard a voice saying do him, "You are right to fast, soon you will be returning to your own country." In another dream he received a response to the first dream, being told, “Come and see where your ship is waiting for you.” At the age of 22, Patrick escaped and traveled 200 miles to the coast of Ireland. Of his long journey across Ireland, he wrote: "I turned on my heel and ran away, leaving behind the man to whom I had been bound for six years. Yet I came away from him in the power of God, for it was he who was guiding my every step for the best. And so I felt not the least anxiety until I reached the ship.

When Patrick approached one of the men on the ship that was on the coast, he asked to board. The seaman scowled at him, so Patrick began to leave when the man called back to him, saying the other men wanted him on board as a passenger. Patrick wrote. "In spite of this, I still hoped that they might come to have faith in Jesus Christ."

The journey by boat was long, including a stop on land where they journeyed for 28 days. After having run out of food, the captain turned to Patrick and challenged him to ask his God for food. Glad to oblige, Patrick responded: "Turn trustingly to the Lord who is my God and put your faith in him with all your heart, because nothing is impossible to him. On this day, he will send us food sufficient for our journey, because for him there is abundance everywhere." According to Patrick’s autobiography, when the men turned around, a herd of pigs was standing before them. They feasted for days and gave thanks to God.

Two years later Patrick finally made it to his beloved Britain and into the arms of his mother and father who pled with him never to leave them again. Patrick began to settle back into his life in Britain and studied to become a priest and bishop. But one night Patrick had a dream of a man who seemed to come from Ireland and was carrying a letter with the words “The Voice of the Irish.” As Patrick began to read the words, he seemed to hear the voice of the same men he worked with as if they were shouting, “Holy broth of a boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.”

But Patrick's plans to return to Ireland—the land of his captivity—were fiercely opposed by both his parents and the church leaders who, by the way, did not think the Druids were worth saving. His family shuddered at the thought of him returning to barbaric Ireland with the gospel, as the Druids were known to weave criminals and runaway  slaves into giant wicker baskets and suspend them over a fire. Of this opposition Patrick later wrote; “So at last I came here to the Irish gentiles to preach the gospel. And now I had to endure insults from unbelievers, to ‘hear criticism of my journeys’ and suffer many persecutions ‘even to the point of chains.’…And should I prove worthy, I am ready and willing to give up my own life, without hesitation, for his name…There was always someone talking behind my back and whispering, ‘Why does he want to put himself in such danger among his enemies who do not know God?’” Patrick had to sell his title of nobility in order to become the “slave of Christ serving the barbaric nation.”

While Patrick was in Ireland, he shared the gospel with his former slave owner, Miliuc the Druid. But instead of turning his back on his pagan gods, Miliuc locked himself in his house and set it on fire while Patrick stood outside the house and pled with him to turn to Christ. It is said Miliuc drowned out Patrick’s pleadings by crying out to his false gods.

But Miliuc's refusal to hear the gospel was just the beginning of Patrick’s challenges with the Druids as he spread the gospel across Ireland and taught the people how to read and write. One story that some believe is legend mentions Patrick challenging the Druid wizards in 433 A.D., on the vernal equinox, which occurred on Easter Sunday that year. Patrick challenged the wizards' power of control by starting a bonfire, which was central to the Druids’ ritual, on a hillside opposite of the barbaric idol-worshippers. Patrick was dragged before the Druid council where he had the opportunity to share about Jesus, the light of the world. Some Druids believed, and others tried to kill him.

Patrick continued his journey across Ireland. He preached at racetracks and other places of worldly indulgences, seeing many come to Christ. However, this was not without opposition. The Druids often tried to poison him. One time a barbarian warrior speared Patrick’s chariot driver to death in an attempt to kill Patrick. He was often ambushed at his evangelistic events, and it is noted that he was enslaved again for a short time. He had to purchase safe passage through a hostile warlord's land in order to continue on his journey. Another time Patrick and his companions were taken as prisoners and were going to be killed, but they were later released. In Confessions, Patrick wrote, “As every day arrives, I expect either sudden death or deception or being taken back as a slave or some such other misfortune. But I fear none of these, since I look to the promise of heaven and have flung myself into the hands of the all-powerful God, who rules as Lord everywhere.”

Patrick journeyed throughout Ireland, sharing Christ until his death on March 17^th, around the year 461 A.D. Later Irish mythological creatures known as leprechauns would creep into the holiday celebrations, as well as the symbol of the shamrock, believed to have been used by Patrick to illustrate the Trinity as he preached and taught. Some legends have circulated stating Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Since there are no snakes in Ireland and snakes often symbolize the devil and evil, many believe the "snakes" were a metaphor representing his work of driving the idol-worshipping Druid cult out of the country.

Enslavement, torture, imprisonment and death for one's faith in Christ were not confined to Patrick’s lifetime. Today Christians in communist nations like China, Vietnam and Cuba are imprisoned if caught sharing the gospel with fellow countrymen. In Sudan, a Christian boy named Demare was kidnapped by militant Muslims and sold as a slave. And in Vietnam, when members of some tribal groups have come to Christ, they destroy the altars used to pray to their dead ancestors. When fellow villagers and even members of the government hear about this, these new believers in Christ are harassed and some even imprisoned for turning away from their empty religions of idol and ancestor worship.

We may never be enslaved, imprisoned or beaten because of our faith in Christ, but many may make fun of us for believing in Jesus’ promise of heaven and placing our faith in a God they do not see with their eyes and cannot touch with their hands. I pray this version of Patrick’s courageous life will inspire you to stand firm in Christ and stand strong for Him as you tell others about the greatest gift we can ever be given—salvation through Jesus!

Come back next Tuesday afternoon as we continue with the top 4 most-read posts of 2016.

March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day, a day Americans focus on good luck and all things Irish. But most of those celebrating don't know that the man for whom this day is named was a Christian persecuted because of his Christian actions.

The following comes from "A Note from the Author to Parents and Educators" that is included in The Story of St. Patrick: More Than Shamrocks and Leprechauns, a book for children published by VOM that tells the true story of St. Patrick’s Day.

Many celebrate Saint Patrick's Day on March 17^th and hang pictures of shamrocks and mythical creatures called leprechauns. But who was St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate his life on this day?

Patrick lived a full life, but not without his share of suffering and adventure. He was born in Britain, in the fourth century A.D., during a time of great uncertainty for the Roman Empire. The Roman legions that once protected civilized Britain from barbaric invaders were called away to defend themselves in other regions of the Roman Empire. Therefore, Britain was left vulnerable to attacks.

Just before Patrick turned 16 years of age, he and his family were at their holiday villa by the sea, located outside the town of Bannaventa Berniae when Irish  pirates attacked it just before dawn. (Some say the villa was attacked during the day while Patrick played on the beach. Although Patrick's family escaped, Patrick and many of the family's workers did not; and soon they were en route to Ireland, where Patrick was sold as a slave to Miliuc of Slemich, a Druid tribal chieftain.

Patrick was given the task of a herdsman. Though raised in a Christian home (his father, Calpornius, was a civil magistrate and tax collector, as well as a church deacon), Patrick never made a decision to follow Christ until he was kidnapped and made a slave. In his autobiography called Confessions, Patrick wrote: “…‘the Lord opened my senses to my unbelief,’ so that though late in the day, I might remember my many sins; and accordingly ‘I might turn to the Lord my God with all my heart.’” He also wrote about how his faith in God grew as he prayed to Him while he shepherded the flocks: “But after l had come to Ireland, it was then that I was made to shepherd the flocks day after day, and, as l did so, I would pray all the time, right through the day. More and more the love of God and fear of him grew strong within me, and as my faith grew, so the Spirit became more and more active... In snow, in frost, in rain, I would hardly notice any discomfort, and I was never slack but always full of energy. It is clear to me now, that this was due to. . .the Spirit within me.”

But Patricks devotion to God did not go unnoticed. He soon earned the nickname "Holy Boy" among his fellow slaves.

One night Patrick had a dream, and in it he heard a voice saying do him, "You are right to fast, soon you will be returning to your own country." In another dream he received a response to the first dream, being told, “Come and see where your ship is waiting for you.” At the age of 22, Patrick escaped and traveled 200 miles to the coast of Ireland. Of his long journey across Ireland, he wrote: "I turned on my heel and ran away, leaving behind the man to whom I had been bound for six years. Yet I came away from him in the power of God, for it was he who was guiding my every step for the best. And so I felt not the least anxiety until I reached the ship.

When Patrick approached one of the men on the ship that was on the coast, he asked to board. The seaman scowled at him, so Patrick began to leave when the man called back to him, saying the other men wanted him on board as a passenger. Patrick wrote. "In spite of this, I still hoped that they might come to have faith in Jesus Christ."

The journey by boat was long, including a stop on land where they journeyed for 28 days. After having run out of food, the captain turned to Patrick and challenged him to ask his God for food. Glad to oblige, Patrick responded: "Turn trustingly to the Lord who is my God and put your faith in him with all your heart, because nothing is impossible to him. On this day, he will send us food sufficient for our journey, because for him there is abundance everywhere." According to Patrick’s autobiography, when the men turned around, a herd of pigs was standing before them. They feasted for days and gave thanks to God.

Two years later Patrick finally made it to his beloved Britain and into the arms of his mother and father who pled with him never to leave them again. Patrick began to settle back into his life in Britain and studied to become a priest and bishop. But one night Patrick had a dream of a man who seemed to come from Ireland and was carrying a letter with the words “The Voice of the Irish.” As Patrick began to read the words, he seemed to hear the voice of the same men he worked with as if they were shouting, “Holy broth of a boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.”

But Patrick's plans to return to Ireland—the land of his captivity—were fiercely opposed by both his parents and the church leaders who, by the way, did not think the Druids were worth saving. His family shuddered at the thought of him returning to barbaric Ireland with the gospel, as the Druids were known to weave criminals and runaway  slaves into giant wicker baskets and suspend them over a fire. Of this opposition Patrick later wrote; “So at last I came here to the Irish gentiles to preach the gospel. And now I had to endure insults from unbelievers, to ‘hear criticism of my journeys’ and suffer many persecutions ‘even to the point of chains.’…And should I prove worthy, I am ready and willing to give up my own life, without hesitation, for his name…There was always someone talking behind my back and whispering, ‘Why does he want to put himself in such danger among his enemies who do not know God?’” Patrick had to sell his title of nobility in order to become the “slave of Christ serving the barbaric nation.”

While Patrick was in Ireland, he shared the gospel with his former slave owner, Miliuc the Druid. But instead of turning his back on his pagan gods, Miliuc locked himself in his house and set it on fire while Patrick stood outside the house and pled with him to turn to Christ. It is said Miliuc drowned out Patrick’s pleadings by crying out to his false gods.

But Miliuc's refusal to hear the gospel was just the beginning of Patrick’s challenges with the Druids as he spread the gospel across Ireland and taught the people how to read and write. One story that some believe is legend mentions Patrick challenging the Druid wizards in 433 A.D., on the vernal equinox, which occurred on Easter Sunday that year. Patrick challenged the wizards' power of control by starting a bonfire, which was central to the Druids’ ritual, on a hillside opposite of the barbaric idol-worshippers. Patrick was dragged before the Druid council where he had the opportunity to share about Jesus, the light of the world. Some Druids believed, and others tried to kill him.

Patrick continued his journey across Ireland. He preached at racetracks and other places of worldly indulgences, seeing many come to Christ. However, this was not without opposition. The Druids often tried to poison him. One time a barbarian warrior speared Patrick’s chariot driver to death in an attempt to kill Patrick. He was often ambushed at his evangelistic events, and it is noted that he was enslaved again for a short time. He had to purchase safe passage through a hostile warlord's land in order to continue on his journey. Another time Patrick and his companions were taken as prisoners and were going to be killed, but they were later released. In Confessions, Patrick wrote, “As every day arrives, I expect either sudden death or deception or being taken back as a slave or some such other misfortune. But I fear none of these, since I look to the promise of heaven and have flung myself into the hands of the all-powerful God, who rules as Lord everywhere.”

Patrick journeyed throughout Ireland, sharing Christ until his death on March 17^th, around the year 461 A.D. Later Irish mythological creatures known as leprechauns would creep into the holiday celebrations, as well as the symbol of the shamrock, believed to have been used by Patrick to illustrate the Trinity as he preached and taught. Some legends have circulated stating Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Since there are no snakes in Ireland and snakes often symbolize the devil and evil, many believe the "snakes" were a metaphor representing his work of driving the idol-worshipping Druid cult out of the country.

Enslavement, torture, imprisonment and death for one's faith in Christ were not confined to Patrick’s lifetime. Today Christians in communist nations like China, Vietnam and Cuba are imprisoned if caught sharing the gospel with fellow countrymen. In Sudan, a Christian boy named Demare was kidnapped by militant Muslims and sold as a slave. And in Vietnam, when members of some tribal groups have come to Christ, they destroy the altars used to pray to their dead ancestors. When fellow villagers and even members of the government hear about this, these new believers in Christ are harassed and some even imprisoned for turning away from their empty religions of idol and ancestor worship.

We may never be enslaved, imprisoned or beaten because of our faith in Christ, but many may make fun of us for believing in Jesus’ promise of heaven and placing our faith in a God they do not see with their eyes and cannot touch with their hands. I pray this version of Patrick’s courageous life will inspire you to stand firm in Christ and stand strong for Him as you tell others about the greatest gift we can ever be given—salvation through Jesus!

Come back next Tuesday afternoon as we continue with the top 4 most-read posts of 2016.

Top 8 in 16: #6

In the remaining days of 2016 we'll look back on the most-viewed posts on Persecution Blog in 2016, including a post that is more than 10 years old but is still one of the most-read posts on the blog! Today we look at #6, sharing two different responses from readers to this year's IDOP story:

"What They did Was Unconscionable"

By now you know of VOM’s 2017 IDOP video called Hannelie and have read the October newsletter with her story.

A couple of weeks ago, Andrea H. wrote to us after she read the story in the newsletter:

Hello. I am stunned by this month's cover story of Hannelie and am particularly interested if there are others who are utterly in shock that these two people would endanger their children. I believe what they did is unconscionable; if they were in the United States, they would have had their children removed from their custody. How dare these people put those vulnerable kids in harm’s way. I'm absolutely blown away by this irresponsible act, as well as your tacit approval of all of it.

What did you think? Did you feel the same way Andrea did? Did Hannelie and her husband make an irresponsible choice regarding their children?

On the other hand, Bob S. wrote us this note:

When my wife and I watched the DVD Hannelie, I got depressed. I realized that in my quiet time or during a good sermon or rousing Christian song, I was like Peter and ready to “risk my life for Jesus,” but when faced with a situation like distributing Bibles as a Gideon in Chicago–the murder capital of America for over two years–I was chicken at the thought of what might happen.

Well, yesterday, I went into Chicago with other Gideons in a pretty safe neighborhood and all I suffered was indifference at the offer of a free Bible–plus many were open to accepting the Lord. Pray that Friday I will be a credit to His name and be willing to endure whatever may come when we venture into a place a lot less threatening than the people you support.

Sincerely in His service,

Bob S.

P.S. Keep sending out testimonies like Hannelie.

Bob had a completely opposite response to Hannelie’s story. Her story inspired him to take more risks in sharing the gospel, even in a dangerous part of America. Is it foolish of Bob to take that risk? Please join us in praying for Bob as he shares Christ through the Chicago area, and that his work will result in much fruit.

I’ve written before about trying to bring my young children up by praying for our persecuted family and with the knowledge that persecution could come to us. And if the Lord calls us to Afghanistan, to Saudi Arabia, to North Korea, I would take them with me. Jesus promised us persecution. He said that his message would divide families, and he said that no sacrifice was too great for him.

What about you? Are there some sacrifices that are too great?

Dory P. grew up the daughter of missionaries in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Their family of four shares seven passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.

 

By now you know of VOM’s 2017 IDOP video called Hannelie and have read the October newsletter with her story.

A couple of weeks ago, Andrea H. wrote to us after she read the story in the newsletter:

Hello. I am stunned by this month's cover story of Hannelie and am particularly interested if there are others who are utterly in shock that these two people would endanger their children. I believe what they did is unconscionable; if they were in the United States, they would have had their children removed from their custody. How dare these people put those vulnerable kids in harm’s way. I'm absolutely blown away by this irresponsible act, as well as your tacit approval of all of it.

What did you think? Did you feel the same way Andrea did? Did Hannelie and her husband make an irresponsible choice regarding their children?

On the other hand, Bob S. wrote us this note:

When my wife and I watched the DVD Hannelie, I got depressed. I realized that in my quiet time or during a good sermon or rousing Christian song, I was like Peter and ready to “risk my life for Jesus,” but when faced with a situation like distributing Bibles as a Gideon in Chicago–the murder capital of America for over two years–I was chicken at the thought of what might happen.

Well, yesterday, I went into Chicago with other Gideons in a pretty safe neighborhood and all I suffered was indifference at the offer of a free Bible–plus many were open to accepting the Lord. Pray that Friday I will be a credit to His name and be willing to endure whatever may come when we venture into a place a lot less threatening than the people you support.

Sincerely in His service,

Bob S.

P.S. Keep sending out testimonies like Hannelie.

Bob had a completely opposite response to Hannelie’s story. Her story inspired him to take more risks in sharing the gospel, even in a dangerous part of America. Is it foolish of Bob to take that risk? Please join us in praying for Bob as he shares Christ through the Chicago area, and that his work will result in much fruit.

I’ve written before about trying to bring my young children up by praying for our persecuted family and with the knowledge that persecution could come to us. And if the Lord calls us to Afghanistan, to Saudi Arabia, to North Korea, I would take them with me. Jesus promised us persecution. He said that his message would divide families, and he said that no sacrifice was too great for him.

What about you? Are there some sacrifices that are too great?

Dory P. grew up the daughter of missionaries in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Their family of four shares seven passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.

Top 8 in 16: #8

In the remaining days of 2016 we'll look back on the most-viewed posts on Persecution Blog in 2016, including a post that is more than 10 years old but is still one of the most-read posts on the blog! We begin today with #8: a look back on the man most responsible for having the Bible in English; William Tyndale.

If you read the Bible in English, you owe a debt of gratitude to William Tyndale. Today (October 6) marks the anniversary of Tyndale’s execution at the stake in 1536 for the “crime” of translating the Bible into English. Here is Tyndale’s story, as told in VOM’s book, FOXE: Voices of the Martyrs.

William Tyndale was a well-educated scholar who was frustrated at the distance between English education and the Bible, the source of truth. Studying at Oxford and then at Cambridge, he bristled at the barriers and longed for the nourishment his mind and heart treasured. “In the universities,” he said, “they have ordained that no man shall look on the Scripture until he be nozzled in heathen learning eight or nine years, and armed with false principles with which he is clean shut out of the understanding of the Scripture.” Tyndale’s life would be devoted to overcoming just this obstacle. For him, the Bible “for the people” would become the answer to corruption in the church. The Bible “for the people” meant that all could drink from the truth itself, without pressure or pretext; and most clearly, without a priest to read or interpret.

Tyndale was born sometime around 1494 in Gloucester, England, near the Welsh border. Ninety years earlier the Church had banned the only English Bible in the world, the hand-copied work of John Wycliffe. It was a flawed translation, based on the Latin Vulgate, but it was all English speakers had. And to have it was a crime. Tyndale’s passions eventually settled on a mission as dangerous as any in his century: to work from the Greek and Hebrew texts to create a Bible in vernacular English, so readable and accurate that an Englishman could depend on it, learn from it, and find God’s voice in it. All this was clear to the multilingual Tyndale by the age of thirty.

To do that work, Tyndale had to leave England. No bishop in the realm would protect him, much less encourage the project. Tyndale traveled to Germany where he completed the New Testament in 1525. Then he went on to Antwerp, one step ahead of English agents, where the first five Old Testament books were translated and printed. In Belgium he met a community of English merchants, and though agents were searching the continent to find him, Tyndale felt secure enough to relax his guard. His lack of caution would prove fatal.

Tyndale took up a friendship with Henry Phillips, who won Tyndale’s confidence but secretly sough the bounty offered for his capture. In May, 1535, the trap was set. Tyndale was taken under guard to the castle at Vilvoorde, near Brussels, where he suffered in dank and cold for eighteen months before standing trial for “maintaining that faith alone justifies…that to believe in the forgiveness of sins, and to embrace the mercy offered in the gospel, was enough for salvation.” The complete list of charges included direct attacks on church teaching, among them that “neither the Virgin nor the Saints should be invoked by us.”

Tyndale knew how these trials ran. He would have no chance at defense, and death was the remedy. With his body shaking from cold and the winter’s light dim for writing, he worked to complete the English Bible, helped by a sympathetic prison governor.

In August, 1536, Tyndale was condemned as a heretic and defrocked. For two more months he was kept at Vilvoorde. Then in early October, just past dawn, he was led from prison to the stake. Formalities included placing the Mass once more in his hands, then quickly snatching it back, the offer of last-minute reprieve if he would only recant, and always the shouts of a crowd gathered to witness a “heathen” die.

Secured to the stake, surrounded by brush and logs, Tyndale was heard to pray, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” Then the executioner snapped hard on the rope, strangling Tyndale before the blaze consumed his body.

That final prayer was for the bully King Henry VIII, whose pursuit of a male heir had already cost Anne Boleyn her life and Catherine her marriage. So full of his own power and pomp, would the king’s eyes ever fall favorably on Tyndale’s English Bible?

Indeed they did. Two years after Tyndale’s death, King Henry authorized the distribution of the Matthew Bible, much of it Tyndale’s work. And then, on November 14, 1539, all printers and sellers of books were ordered by the king to provide “for the free and liberal use of the Bible in our own maternal English tongue.” Tyndale’s dream and his last earthly appeal had come true.

Excerpted from FOXE: Voices of the Martyrs by The Voice of the Martyrs. Order your copy here.

VOM Radio: Getting Past Fear in Turkey

“Pastor Tim” leads a church in Malatya, Turkey—a church which almost ten years ago saw three of its members martyred for their faith in Christ. This week we’ll hear how that loss affected the church and how God has moved in Malatya in exciting ways in the past 10 years.

We’ll also hear an update on how one of the martyr’s families continues to serve the Lord in that city—and even to love the murderers. Tim will also update listeners on the overall situation for the church in Turkey, especially in light of recent political upheaval there, and how we can pray for that nation and for our brothers and sisters serving Christ there.

Finally, he’ll share important truths about ministering and reaching out in a Muslim culture—truths that we can use as we reach out to Muslims we know.

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Martyr's Widow: "Peace Came Over Me"

In the second half of our conversation, Hannelie Groenewald recalls the day her husband and two teen-aged children were killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. She tells us which Psalm she read over and over again as she waited to hear whether her family was alive or dead, and the amazement of Afghans at her ability to forgive the Taliban murderers.

Hannelie shares hard-earned truth with listeners who may be struggling to forgive someone who has wronged them, and talks about her future and God's faithfulness as she is finding her footing after the loss of her family and seeking God's plan for her in the coming years. She'll also equip us to pray more effectively for the nation of Afghanistan and for our Christian brothers and sisters there.

Request a DVD or download the video telling the story of Hannelie and her family, which was produced by VOM for this year's International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Please share this video with your church family or other Christian friends.

Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music.