Persecution Blog

Hospital Bombings in Nuba

“They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:37b-38).

While in Sudan recently, I noticed shrapnel everywhere.

It is not uncommon to see the devastation caused by bombs and artillery shells when working in war-ravaged areas, but there was something distinctly different this time.

The targets were different.

In fact, according to the Geneva Convention of 1949, the targets were illegal.

Hospitals are being actively targeted by the Khartoum government, under the influence of Omar al-Bashir.

I visited two former hospitals that were targeted by the government of Sudan this year and have since been abandoned by foreign medical aid organizations.

One hospital had been targeted for aerial bombardment twice in the last eight months. Following the most recent attack, when 12 bombs were dropped on the hospital, the NGO operating the hospital decided to pull out of the Nuba region.

The Voice of the Martyrs and Persecution Project Foundation are now the primary providers of medication in the region. I visited the bombed-out hospital and met with the site manager. He told us that many people survived by climbing into a foxhole just outside the ward while two bombs exploded inside the compound.

There were several occasions when I had to jump into foxholes myself, or hide in caves, because of bombers overhead. I’ll share a more detailed story about that soon.

In this short video, you will hear a hospital worker describe patients scrambling for their safety in foxholes surrounding the hospital. Near the end of the video, you will see children running for foxholes and hear the drone of a bomber overhead.

These are not reenactments. This is reality for our dear brothers and sisters who live in the Nuba Mountains. Will you remember them in your prayers today?

 

Dr. Jason Peters oversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

Under Fire in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains

I am traveling back from the Nuba mountains of Sudan, where I joined VOM workers for nearly a week traveling in the bush inside Sudan. It is impossible to adequately describe the devastation and suffering of Christians in this place. I will spend several blog posts sharing stories and insights from our family members there.

The best place to begin is by explaining that the Nuba mountain region of Sudan is one of the most difficult places to be a Christian anywhere on earth.

Why do I say this?

1. Nuban Christians face extreme poverty. Imagine daily life without power, water, employment, shelter, industry, fuel, communications, etc.

2. Nuban Christians experience daily aerial bombardment and rocket attacks by the Khartoum government. They are direct victims of an active genocide campaign designed to eliminate them.

3. There is almost no access to medical care and education. The government has bombed schools and hospitals since 2011, and almost all of them have ceased operations. One child was killed by a bomb that fell while we were there. I’ll share that story in an upcoming post.

While in Sudan, our team visited two former hospitals targeted by bombs and since abandoned by foreign aid organizations. One of those hospitals was targeted for aerial bombardment twice in the last eight months. When 12 bombs dropped on the hospital in the last attack, the NGO operating the hospital decided to pull out of the entire region. Now VOM, in partnership with Persecution Project Foundation, is the primary provider of medication in the area.

We visited the hospital and met with the site manager. He told us that 13 people were saved in that attack by climbing into a foxhole outside the ward when two bombs exploded inside the compound.

Aerial bombardment is a persistent threat that affects every aspect of daily life for Nubans.

It is always disruptive.

It is often tragic.

Honestly, I am still processing many of my own emotions from this shattering experience. Pray with me that we will continue to find creative ways to stand with these suffering family members.

Dr. Jason Peters oversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

China Trip: Day 4

Recently a VOM international worker made a trip to visit persecuted Christians in China. He kept a video diary of the trip, which we have been sharing this week on the Persecution Blog.

In this final installment, we return to Beijing and meet with Wenxi Li and his family.

 

Though he was imprisoned for two years for his work in a Christian bookstore in China, Wenxi Li was encouraged to be strong in the Lord through letters received from believers around the world. Over 2,700 letters filled with Scripture verses, prayers, and messages of hope were sent to him while he was in prison. Read more of his story here.

When VOM workers recently met with Wenxi Li and his family, he was able to share about his time spent in prison, his struggles as he was forced to do hard labor intensive jobs, and what it meant to know that believers were praying for him and his family.  You can encourage prisoners being held for their faith in Christ by writing a letter through Prisoner Alert (www.prisoneralert.com).

If you missed the first part of our trip to China, view watch Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.

China Trip: Day 3

Recently a VOM international worker made a trip to visit persecuted Christians in China. He kept a video diary of the trip, which we will be sharing this week on the Persecution Blog.

Today our worker travels to Hefei and shares how China is different than it has been in the past, and looks into the state-approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement. We'll also meet Pastor Jacob, another house-church leader who has experienced first-hand what it means to be jailed for serving Christ.

 

"If you are a real Christian, if you want to do God's work in China, you will experience persecution," Pastor Jacob tells us.

Pray for Pastor Jacob and the church in China.

If you missed the first days of this China trip, go back and watch Day 1 and Day 2.

China Trip: Day 2

Recently a VOM international worker made a trip to visit persecuted Christians in China. He kept a video diary of the trip, which we will be sharing this week on the Persecution Blog.

On this second day, he visits a house church pastor in southwest China, a pastor recently released from prison. Listen in on their conversation about the benefits of persecution for Christian believers.

 

If you missed the video report of Day 1 of the trip, you can view it here.

China Trip: Day 1

Recently a VOM international worker made a trip to visit persecuted Christians in China. He kept a video diary of the trip, which we will be sharing this week on the Persecution Blog.

On this first day, he attempts to attend services at a church in Beijing that has been forcibly closed down by the government.

 

Come back tomorrow to travel along on Day 2 of his trip.

Paying Last Respects

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. 

In Nepal, we spent several days driving from city to city visiting churches and distributing Bibles. It was about three days into the trip when I was informed that my mother had passed into eternity. The funeral was in two days. There wouldn’t be enough time to make it back to the states to attend the funeral.

We completed the Bible distribution late in the week and had some downtime before we headed back to the States. We took that opportunity to visit Pashupatinath Temple. Pashupatinath is a Hindu temple located in Kathmandu, Nepal, and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The temple grounds are a renowned cremation site for Hindus. 

Hindus believe the body must be cremated or the soul will linger for days or months while the physical body still exists. After the soul is freed, a person’s “Karma” or the sum of their life’s actions for good or bad determine their next destiny. 

The day we visited the Hindu temple was unfortunately the same day my mother’s funeral was to take place. My mother was a godly woman. Throughout her life, she demonstrated a servant’s heart. She volunteered for years at the local Crisis Pregnancy Center, sewed neck coolers for our military overseas and made new children’s clothes for a charity in Africa. She was very proud of the work VOM does and that I work for them. I love my mother. It was difficult not paying my last respects in person at her funeral, but I know my mother would have been right beside me distributing Bibles if she were able.

As we entered the Pashupatinath Temple courtyard, we gazed across the narrow Bagmati River at the concrete podiums where the bodies were burning. I felt a wave of sorrow descend on me as I watched. I thought about Hindu beliefs in Karma and then considered Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Good deeds are not enough to save a person. It is only by grace we are saved.

My mother was a good woman but even with her vast years of selfless serving and caring for others, she wasn’t good enough. It is only by the grace of God given through faith in Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior that I am confident about her next destiny. Standing there in the Hindu temple court yard, I thanked God for that confidence and prayed the Hindu families attending their loved one’s funeral that day would also someday have that confidence. 

Steven Davis serves on VOM's staff as a Web Developer in the Global Technology Services department.  Before coming to VOM,  he worked at a marketing agency in Dallas, Texas and volunteered as the youth pastor at his church.  Steven, his wife Anne Marie and son Alex learned about VOM through Randy Alcorn’s book Safely Home and then quickly began receiving the newsletter, sponsoring a pastor and seeking opportunities to serve persecuted Christians.

You Won’t Find Christians Here

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.” 

After a few more minutes of driving, the scenery dramatically changed as the rows of colorful old homes became rows of huts made from sticks coated with mud.  The roads were dirt and the water taps had disappeared. My definition of poor had been rewritten. Our Nepali staff informed us that this is where the Christians live.

We arrived at a small, humble one-room church expecting the people to look worn and defeated because they had been ostracized by neighbors for being Christians.  To our surprise, we found incredible faith and joy.  When they sang, they didn’t worry about who would hear them or if they were talented enough.  They sang loudly and boldly.  When they prayed, everyone prayed aloud and the room became alive with shouts of praise and gratitude. 

My former youth pastor once told us the last words of wisdom his dying father spoke, “You don’t realize that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”  For these church members, there is no healthcare system if they become sick. There is no 401k being built for retirement.  There isn’t even assurance of a next meal, yet they are grateful for a Savior who has set them free and given them lasting hope. Jesus is all they have and that is enough.

Steven Davis serves on VOM's staff as a Web Developer in the Global Technology Services department.  Before coming to VOM,  he worked at a marketing agency in Dallas, Texas and volunteered as the youth pastor at his church.  Steven, his wife Anne Marie and son Alex learned about VOM through Randy Alcorn’s book Safely Home and then quickly began receiving the newsletter, sponsoring a pastor and seeking opportunities to serve persecuted Christians.

Exceedingly and Abundantly

When I was approached to go on a trip to Nepal with VOM, I was exceedingly glad. As the countdown to the trip begins, the adrenaline has kicked in so much that I find it difficult to stop making mental checklists and go to sleep.

I have been studying Ephesians, and as I prayed about this trip, I was drawn to Ephesians 3. In verse 6, Paul writes about Gentiles being “fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (v. 6). It is hard to put into words my expectations for this trip as I have never been to Nepal.

Though I have written stories about pastors who experienced beatings so severe they nearly died, it is hard to fathom living in a country where such things happen. It is difficult to imagine visiting a country where Hindu temples vastly outnumber church buildings. Everywhere I have lived has usually had at least one church building within walking distance. While I have been on trips outside the U.S., it has never been to an area where Christians risk their lives and livelihoods for practicing their faith.

My previous trips have almost all been through a Christian organization that ministers to children through the local church. Members who join the trip are from all over the United States and few know one another. For a short time, we put our faith into action and try to be ministers of God’s love to those we meet. In Mexico, I spent time playing with kids by running as fast as I could with a group of girls. The girls led me to a basketball court where my lack of athletic ability was stunning. In Kenya, after playing with a darling baby, her mother and I prayed together, and she emphatically stated that she and I were partners in faith. It was humbling. I have often found that no matter how much I try to give of myself, I always receive more than I could ever ask for.

I hope and expect that Nepal will be much the same way. On my desk, I have a sticky note that reads “camaraderie.” Now, this word has new meaning as I realize that unlike previous trips, I will be traveling with coworkers and meeting VOM workers based in Nepal. While I have developed friendships with those on my trips in the past, it is exciting to go with people that I will continue to serve with. It is exciting to meet believers in Nepal and realize that it is not “us” and “them,” but that we are partners and “fellow heirs.”

I don’t know what to think or what to expect. I know I will attend a pastor’s conference. I have also been told that we will likely get to distribute care packages to children who have been waiting patiently. As I pray again for the trip, I consider Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

“Ann Kay” is a writer for VOM. She learned about VOM five years ago when she read Tortured for Christ and began receiving the newsletter. She is passionate about reaching the world for Christ and sharing stories of the persecuted church.

Photo credit: Todd Nettleton; copyright by The Voice of the Martyrs.

Go dig your own well!

On a recent trip to Nepal, I met Pastor “Gyan”, who VOM supports. Pastor Gyan was honored by all of the pastors in the area as a grandfather and hero in the faith. Nepal is made up almost entirely of first generation Christians, so a man of his age is seen as one of the first builders of the church in Nepal. We asked them how he built up the church. They told us that Pastor Gyan built his own well.

Gyan had grown up in a remote Hindu village. After he was saved and converted to Christianity, the radical Hindus in his village were furious.  All of the villagers shared one well where they got their water, so these Hindus stirred the people up to keep Gyan away from the well. They told him that as a Christian he would have to go and dig his own well. They hoped he would die of thirst. Eventually they drove him from the village, threatening his life if he returned. So Gyan did exactly as they said: he dug his own well, deep in the ground outside the village. He found clean water.

Some months later a severe drought came across the area and the well in the village dried up; the people thought their gods were angry with them and feared they would die of thirst. Gyan’s well did not dry up. When he saw the drought, he went back to the village he had been forced out of and invited villagers to come and drink from his well. Gyan was welcomed with open arms this time.

That same day, Gyan shared the gospel and many people in the village converted to Christianity. The first church in that area was born. Today Pastor Gyan has a thriving church, his son pastors another church and Gyan encourages the pastors in difficult areas facing persecution to stand strong.

When I heard this story I couldn’t help but think of the number of times we depend on the wrong ‘wells’ as our source. In the United States, where we are so blessed, it’s easy for us to depend on our finances, our jobs, even our relationships as our source. None of these things are bad, but ultimately we must know that Jesus alone offers us the living water that never dries up. And as Christians we are called, like Pastor Gyan, to share with people the source of this water, because eventually they will find their well, literal or figurative, has dried up.

Please pray believers in Nepal, like Pastor Gyan, would always know God’s faithfulness and provision, even during very difficult seasons. 

Brooke Parks serves on the staff of VOM as the youth & young adult coordinator. She was first introduced to the ministry of VOM by her parents and grandparents, who received the VOM newsletter, and through the VOM book Jesus Freaks. She has served in 12 different countries and is passionate about helping expand God’s Kingdom throughout the nations of the world.