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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After Arrest, "I Was Terrified"

“Dr. Andrew” is working to share the gospel in the Middle East, but he hasn’t always had a heart to share Christ’s love with Muslims. Growing up in a nominal Christian family, Andrew was harassed by Muslims his whole life. But God changed his heart and gave him a passion to share Christ’s love with Muslims.

His gospel work has brought him to the attention of secret police, who have detained and questioned him many times. Andrew says each time he is detained, even though he feels fear, he also sees an opportunity to share the gospel.

Listen as Andrew talks about how he overcomes the fear by focusing on the reality of Who God is rather than on his immediate surroundings. He’ll also share some of the blessings that can be found in persecution, and help us understand the mindset of Middle Eastern Muslims.

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Being a True Vessel for God's Use

“Brother Matthew” is a pastor and church planter in South Asia, working among Muslims to share the gospel.

After threats against his life and an attack on his brother, he was encouraged by family members to leave his country. He fled to a safe place, but God clearly called him to go back to his home country, in spite of the danger. Matthew obeyed, and since his return he’s seen explosive growth in his church planting work.

Matthew says persecution is something God uses to purify and unify the church, and further it’s something that every Christian should be ready to experience. Let Matthew’s story inspire you to walk boldly with Christ, and remember this week to pray for Christians in South Asia.

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VOM Radio in Central Asia

"Tanya" is a Christian worker in Central Asia, living and ministering in a country where she must always be cautious about what she says openly and who she says it around. Listen to hear how Christians in the former Soviet Union are carefully sharing the gospel, and are willing to endure persecution if that’s what it takes to see God’s love spread to their countrymen.

As a mom and a pastor’s wife, Tanya shares how the threat of persecution impacts the way Christians raise their children to follow Christ. You’ll be inspired as Tanya shares how Christians living under persecution need and are blessed by Christians in free nations who pray for them and fellowship with them. Finally, you’ll learn ways to pray as Dr. Jason Peters guest-hosts this week’s episode of VOM Radio.

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Nepal: This is Who God Is

Listen this week for an update on the church in Nepal, especially how the church has been impacted by Nepal’s recent adoption of a new constitution which included anti-conversion provisions.

Michael Huff has been the leader of Operation Mobilization in Nepal and is now based in the US helping to mobilize Christians to take the gospel all over the world. Listen as Michael shares how OM is working to raise up Christian workers and evangelists in Nepal, and some of the lessons Nepali Christians have taught him during his years of ministry there.

He’ll share how two Christian workers there responded to persecution in the village they were working in; and an amazing story of how God supernaturally gave the Scriptures to a young boy—a boy who would grow up to be a church leader in Nepal.

Learn more about OM’s work in Nepal and around the world at www.OMUSA.org.

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VOM Radio: "When We Say Yes to God"

When God called Leanna to missions she was a young woman fresh out of college. Then God specifically called her to a part of South Asia known as "the graveyard of missionaries." He led her down a different path from most foreigners at the time; Leanna lived in a village, drinking dirty water, sleeping on a grass mat and subsisting on lentils and rice. As she lived through the hardships of village life she was able to introduce people to a God greater and more powerful than the millions of Gods in their faith: Jesus Christ.

Listen as Leanna shares about how Jesus is reaching people in South Asia with demonstrations of His power, and how believers are persevering in spite of persecution and hardship. She’ll also advise American believers how to reach out to those we know with the gospel, and equip us to pray for more than a billion people who live in South Asia.

Learn more about Leanna’s ministry at TellAsia.org; order a copy of her book, Treasures in Dark Places: One Woman, a Supernatural God and a Mission to the Toughest Part of India (affiliate link).

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Middle East Christians "Standing in the Fire"

For Christians in Syria and other Middle East nations, human logic is clear: get out! Go someplace safe!

In spite of such advice, Tom and JoAnn Doyle tell us many Christians are choosing to STAY and serve the Lord and witness for Christ. These bold brothers and sisters are standing in the fire of war and persecution, and they are finding—just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did—that God is standing with them.

Listen to the story of Jamila, a 12-year-old girl healed from cancer after a Christian man prayed for her in Jesus’ name, leading to hundreds of Druze people coming to faith in Christ. Jamila's is just one of the stories in Tom Doyle’s new book, Standing in the Fire.

You’ll be encouraged as you hear what God is doing in the Middle East, and challenged as Tom and JoAnn give insights into how we, Christians in free nations, can emulate the lessons offered by our brothers and sisters standing in the fire.

Order “Standing In The Fire” by Tom Doyle (affiliate link).

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Petr Jasek: God Opened the Prison Door

From the first days after his arrest in Sudan, Petr Jasek repeatedly said, "God is the One who holds the key to my cell."

Jasek, a Czech citizen, is VOM’s Africa regional director and he was just released after 14 months in prison in Sudan. In this third and final part of our conversation with Petr, he shares about how he stopped praying to be released from prison and simply focused on fulfilling the Lord’s purpose for him inside prison walls.

Listen as Petr shares what it was like to hear the judge announce that he was sentenced to life in prison, and the verse he read from Psalms moments before he found out God would be using the key and opening Petr’s cell door. Petr will also share—from his personal experience—how we should pray for Christians in prison, and for their families who sometimes suffer more than the prisoners.

You will be challenged to think about what it means to wait on the Lord as you hear Petr share how, after 445 days, God set this captive free.

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"Holy, Holy, Holy" in a Sudanese Prison

What verse of Scripture would you grab onto if you were locked in prison for your faith? Perhaps you'd choose Isaiah 61:1: 

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound"

Petr Jasek, a Czech national and VOM’s Africa regional director, was released last month after 445 days in prison in Sudan. Listen below as he shares the verse that God brought to his mind which became a theme for him during those long months in prison, Revelation 4:8:

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

That verse became a theme for Petr; he would use it to guide his prayers and recite it over and over each day throughout his imprisonment.

Meditating on God’s holiness provided strength for Petr as his radical Muslim cellmates began to pressure, persecute and torture him. Listen also for the story of the opportunity God provided that encouraged Petr as he began to lose hope after four months in prison. Petr’s story challenges each of us to think about how we deal with hardship or opposition, and reminds us to seek God’s plan and His will, even when we’re uncomfortable or suffering.

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Petr Jasek Tells of Being Imprisoned in Sudan

Petr Jasek, a Czech national and VOM’s Africa regional director, spent 445 days in a Sudanese prison. Days after returning home, Petr sat down with VOM Radio to share his story and thank the thousands of people who prayed for him and his co-defendants during his long months in prison.

Listen in as Petr shares about going to the airport to leave Sudan in December of 2015, and the point when he knew that what he faced was much more than a routine security screening. He’ll share how he kept praying as he was questioned, and how he found out that his cell mates were members of ISIS. Your faith will be encouraged as you hear how God had been preparing Petr—even years before his arrest—to remain faithful even during months in prison.

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