Author: Open Doors Canada

Only prayer: surviving prison in Iran

When an Iranian couple were interrogated and abused, they depended on prayer. Your support sustained them through years of persecution – and today their faith is as strong as ever.

Ali was freed from drug addiction the day he chose to follow Jesus. When his wife Zahra came to faith too, they knew the decision would change their lives forever. After all, the couple lived in Iran, where converts to Christianity are among the world’s most persecuted believers.

It wasn’t long before Ali and Zahra were arrested for the first time. “On the way to prison, I deleted numbers from my phone to keep other believers safe,” said Ali. “I was taken to a cell with no lights, toilet or blanket. They interrogated and beat me. They wanted to infiltrate the church.”

The couple were released – but two years of persecution, harassment, and violence followed. “Each day was suffering and torture,” said Ali. No one would employ Ali, the children were banned from school, friends and family turned against them. They could be arrested and questioned at any moment.

One thing made a difference to Ali and Zahra: your prayers. Knowing the global church was standing with them in prayer meant everything – and God answered in powerful ways. “In solitary confinement in prison, the only thing that strengthened us was prayer,” said Ali. “Nothing else. Only God can go into those dark places. We are part of the body of Christ, no matter where we are.”

Zahra added, “While in prison, I thought to myself: there are people who love me and cry for my pain and, most importantly, pray for me. Without God’s power, I could not have tolerated prison.”

 “If I went back, would I still choose Jesus? Yes!”.

The couple made the hard decision to leave Iran, and now live in Turkey. Here, your generous support helped the whole family. They attended a seminar to begin healing the deep wounds of persecution, and recover from the trauma of imprisonment and interrogation. The support and prayers of their worldwide family helped this couple know they are not alone.

Today, thanks to you, their faith is as strong as ever. “If I went back, would I still choose Jesus?” said Ali. “Yes! Through all these sufferings, Christ never left me alone. I cannot live without him, there is no other way around it.”

The couple, with children Daniel and Samuel, now live safely in Turkey.

Lift up Ali and Zahra, and their two children Daniel and Samuel, before God. Give thanks for their steadfast faith, and ask God to heal their trauma and fill them with hope for the future. Pray too for the church in Iran, courageously persevering despite intense opposition

One With Them

On June 26, 2022, join believers across Canada for a day of prayer for Christian captives in places where faith costs the most. Across the world many of our brothers and sisters are being imprisoned or held captive for their faith in Jesus. 

According to the Open Doors 2022 World Watch List research, last year 6,175 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned because of their faith. Another 3,829 Christians were abducted. And these are just the cases we know about. The One With Them Campaign from Open Doors Canada encourages us to pause, remember and pray for our brothers and sisters who are in captivity because they choose to follow Jesus. Join us, and add your voice to thousands of Canadians marking One With Them: A day for Christian captives. Learn more about how you can get involved on our website here. The link to the youtube live stream is here.

Interview: Matthew* works with North Korean believers

“My hope for North Korea is in knowing that God loves the North Korean church so much.”

Matthew* is an Open Doors field worker ministering to North Koreans in China. In this interview he shares what the ministry is all about, his thoughts and stories from his years of serving North Koreans, and about his faith and prayer requests.

Blog Featured image (14)We are very thankful for your work in the field. Could you please explain about the projects you work on?

Matthew: I help North Korean believers in China. The only way for us to meet North Korean people is to meet those who are visiting outside their home country for different reasons. I get to meet them, tell them about Jesus Christ, and by God’s guidance, I sometimes train them with the Word of God. As they grow in faith, I train them as co-workers and let them participate in our projects.

Also, we are trying to recover lost networks. From the late 1990s to early 2000s, ministries were very active near the border area. Some people who heard about Jesus Christ at that time went back to North Korea and were able to share the gospel with a few of their neighbors and friends, forming little Christian communities. Some other North Koreans who visited the field areas were the descendants of first or second-generational believers. They used to contact us or other missionaries like us to get help and then went back to their underground churches.

But as persecution inside North Korea and around the border area intensified, and as the missionaries got expelled from the field area, many of those previous contacts and networks were lost. Now we are trying to get back in touch with those networks again.

There was this [North Korean] brother, and he was very faithful and sincere about spiritual training. Later on, when we became good friends in Christ, I thought it was okay to let him join in some of our work.

One day I asked him to do a job. However, unfortunately, while he was doing the work, he was caught by governmental officers and went through a hard time. It was not a major problem, so he was able to get away. Hearing about the incident, my heart sank. It was just around the time when he had really started to believe in Jesus. I was very worried that his faith might have been tested and he may have stumbled. After the incident, I somewhat laid down any hopes about hearing from him again.

Later on, when we met again, to my surprise, he was not bothered about the incident at all. Rather, God had been teaching him through the difficulty, and the incident became one of the turning points of our fellowship – he was able to share even deeper thoughts with me after that. Thankfully, our friendship got even closer. I may never be able to ask him to do any jobs again, but I believe our relationship as a shepherd and a sheep became deeper in Jesus Christ.

Maybe other people would think that these things are no big deal. But for us, those little things in life are sometimes very important, and we pray about them earnestly. And when the prayers are answered, we confess, “Yes, the Lord did this. God helped me.”

One time there was a difficult situation in the field area and I had to visit a place near the border area. But you see, I am a foreigner there. You face a lot of pressure if you go to a sensitive border area as a foreigner. They check your ID when going in and coming out. If anything goes wrong, things get complicated. But at that time, it was not something that I could send another person for. I had to go to the place myself. So I had to risk all the complication and danger.

When I first arrived at the checkpoint, there were several soldiers standing by. The highest officer checked the travelers’ ID. When it was our turn to be checked, all of a sudden, he asked us to give these soldiers a ride into the border area. So we took several of them into the back of our car. He seemed to have forgotten to check our ID – we got in safely, without leaving any record.

When coming out, we were passing a checkpoint again. My Korean-Chinese coworker was driving at that moment. When the officer checked his ID, he said, “Hey, you are from this town. I’ve been there before.” And he started to share some personal stories. While the stories were shared, the person forgot to check my ID, and we passed without leaving any record again.

So during such sensitive times, around such sensitive areas, resolving such sensitive issues, there could have been some trouble, but we were safe after all.

I think it is the sense of Calling that keeps me going through the difficulties.

Field work is very difficult. Many things happen in the field. Many people get expelled. Many missionaries have to leave against their will before they get expelled. Many parts of this mission need to be concealed – in other words, the ministry needs careful management. Also, it is quite dangerous. So we need people who are well-trained, but it takes a long time for anyone to be trained. It’s such a big loss if any of us leave or quit. So I have that kind of responsibility.

I think to myself, “Yes, it is God who trained me till now. I will force myself to stay and endure until I am kicked out of here.” It is such responsibility and calling that keeps me going.

During my ministry, I meditate on this verse quite often, Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I get to think a lot about the Christians that have been here before me. Some were kidnapped, and some died during terrorist attacks. Those elders of the faith, they died in North Korea and also near the border area. They experienced oppression, yet they denied themselves and held onto their faith. I believe their testimonies would have been this confession from Galatians 2:20.

Most of all, thank you for your prayers.

In difficult times in the field, with our desperate hearts, we try our best to be alert and pray. Sometimes, I suddenly feel very encouraged and strengthened, which cannot be explained with human thoughts. That’s when I feel that somebody is praying for me. I know that many people pray for us, our brothers and sisters all around the world. Thanks to your prayers, we are able to continue our ministries and we are able to survive here.

Even for those who are caught or who are lost, I believe your prayers keep them strong in the midst of the difficulties.

Please Pray

What are your prayer requests?

Firstly, please pray for the international relations [with North Korea]. The relationship between North Korea and China and the situation within the Korean peninsula influence the security of the field workers’ positions and create tensions in and around the ministry area. So please pray that international relations will be stable enough for us to freely conduct projects.

My second prayer request is about the field workers who are foreign to the field area. It is quite difficult for us to settle for a long time. Many are banished or leave involuntarily so as to avoid being banished. We need to first survive in order to participate in any ministry. So please pray for their lives in the field area.

Thirdly, please pray that more field workers will join us. For the projects of the field, we need careful, sensitive, and well-trained hands and feet. There are too few people trained for the ministry, and too few make it long enough in the field. Many are expelled, attacked, and some are even killed. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Please pray that God will send many trained missionaries to the field.

Taliban confirms Afghanistan will be under Sharia Law

As the Taliban settles into power in Afghanistan and reinstates Sharia Law, the small population of believers in the country fear the worst.

In a recent interview with Reuters, high-ranking Taliban commander Waheedullah Hashimi confirmed that Afghanistan would not be a democracy under the Taliban rule, and that they will implement no law but Sharia.

He says: “There will be no democratic system at all because it does not have any base in our country…We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is Sharia law and that is it.”

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                                     Kabul, Afghanistan

Sharia Law takes different forms, but during their rule in the 1990s the Taliban were known to hold to an extreme interpretation. This includes imposing oppressive rules for women and violent punishments on infidels, including believers who have left their Muslim faith to follow Christ.

Brother Samuel*, Open Doors Field Director for Asia, continues to ask for prayers: “These are uncertain times for Christians in Afghanistan. It’s absolutely dangerous. We don’t know what the next months will bring, what kind of implementation of Sharia Law we will see, but we continue to ask you to intercede for our brothers and sisters. They are facing insurmountable adversity. We must pray without ceasing.”

In an exclusive interview with CBN, local believer Hamid* shares fears that the TB will eliminate the Christian population. He says: “We know a Christian believer who we’ve been working within the north, he’s a leader and we’ve lost contact with him because his city has fallen to the Taliban,” Hamid said. “There are three other cities that we have lost contact with our Christian believers.”

“Some of the believers are known in their communities, people know that they converted from Islam to Christianity, and they are considered apostates and the penalty for that is death,” Hamid said. “The Taliban are famous for carrying out that punishment.”

Since the TB took full control on Monday, chaos and an eerie sense of calm has gone over Afghanistan. Images of locals stampeding to board US airships have flooded social media, while, on the streets and marketplaces, rifle-brandishing members of the TB roamed to keep the peace.

Ex-President Ashraf Ghani, previously reported to have fled in Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, has now resurfaced in the United Arab Emirates. Accused by the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan of leaving the country with a helicopter full of cash, Ghani maintains in his first public address that he was forced by his security officials to leave Kabul to prevent bloodshed.

 

Prayer

A prayer for Afghanistan, based on the words of Psalm 57:1-5

Have mercy on them, my God, have mercy on them, for in You they take refuge. They will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. We cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates us. He sends from heaven and saves, rebuking those who hotly pursue. God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. Your children in Afghanistan are in the midst of lions, forced to dwell among ravenous beasts. Men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth.

Pakistani couple acquitted of blasphemy after 7 years on death row

A Pakistani Christian couple who were acquitted of blasphemy after seven years on death row, have fled the country, according to the CNA.

Last week, following the acquittal, Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel fled to Europe, where they received asylum in a country that has not been named, to preserve the couple’s safety.

In July 2013 the illiterate Shagufta was accused of having sent blasphemous text messages to a cleric. Shafqat, who is disabled, was forced into making a false confession after he was beaten and the accusers threatened his wife. In 2014 the couple, from a poor community in Punjab, were sentenced to death by hanging.

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The next seven years they spent awaiting the outcome of an appeal filed by their lawyer, Saiful Malook, who has defended Christians in the area previously.

In June, the Lahore High Court overturned the couple’s death sentence. Since their release they have received death threats.

“We are so relieved to finally be free,” Shafqat told Washington, D.C.-based religious-freedom advocacy organization ADF, as quoted by CNA. “The last eight years have been incredibly hard, but we are so happy to be reunited with our children,” he said.

“Although we will miss our country, we are happy to finally be somewhere safe. Hopefully, the blasphemy laws in Pakistan will soon be abolished, so others won’t suffer the same fate as Shagufta and I.”

 

What’s going on in Afghanistan?

As the situation in Afghanistan continues to evolve, it is important for Christians to be informed we can collectively lift up the country before God.

Blog Featured image (11)What’s happening?

On April 14, US President Joe Biden announced that America would withdraw its troops by September 11, 2021, ending the 20-year war that began with the 9/11 attacks.

On July 8, Biden said all troops would be pulled out by August 31 instead, as the purpose of the war had been met a decade ago with the killing of Osama bin Laden. To date, 90% of US fighters have successfully been withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Since this announcement, Taliban forces have launched offensives and retaken many government-held cities and villages, especially in the northern part of the country.

Taliban forces took the capital city of Kabul easily, taking the reins in the Presidential Palace, and declaring an end to the 20-year war. President Ashraf Ghani fled over the weekend to prevent further bloodshed.

On the ground, violence has been increasing and civilians have been suffering, especially the women and children. Wealthier Afghans and those who have aided US-NATO forces have been applying for visas to leave the country to escape the Taliban. Women from former government-held cities are fleeing for a chance to continue their education. For most of the population which is steeped in poverty – including the small, secret Christian community in the country – the war continues to cut them off from food and basic necessities. They are struggling to survive.

What’s the situation for believers?

The number of believers in the country is quite small. They are equally as affected as other civilians, and on top of that they have to prevent their faith from being exposed. Being a believer is very risky. Your family may expel, abuse or even kill you. Extremists groups are a threat to their lives as well.

Open Doors Field Director for Asia, Brother Samuel (pseudonym used) says “It’s a heartbreaking day for the citizens of Afghanistan, and an even more dangerous time to be a Christian. It’s an uncertain situation for the whole country, not just for secret believers. Our hearts are broken. We knew this could happen. We are not surprised but this does not make the pain any less.

“Secret believers in Afghanistan are especially vulnerable. Prior to Taliban rule, they already had a very difficult time living out their faith, as they had to keep it secret from their families for fear of being shunned, or worse, killed. Now that the Taliban is in power, their vulnerability increases tenfold. It would be almost impossible to be a follower of Jesus in this country. We are monitoring the situation, but this is the time for us to ask God to have mercy not only on His people, but on this country as a whole.”

What can we do?

At the moment, the small number of believers and all other Afghans are in desperate need of prayer. That’s the most important thing you can do.

1. Please pray for the small group of believers in the country. They are walking on eggshells and are uncertain who to trust. Pray that they find strength, wisdom, and supernatural peace in God’s promises.

2. Pray for the displaced. A new wave of refugees is expected to come from Afghanistan to many parts of the Middle East and the rest of the world. Pray for God’s protection and provision over them in their journeys.

3. Pray for the women. Many women fear that Taliban rule would mean they would be stripped of opportunities for education. Women involved in education during the past years could also be at risk – pray for their protection.

4. Pray for the sick. Though underreported in international media, COVID cases are spiking in the country and hospitals are limited in what they can offer. There is no certainty as to how the healthcare system will be able to sustain itself with the new Taliban government. Pray that the healthcare system will not collapse.

5. Pray that the country will not be a haven for extremists. The Taliban government of 20 years ago are known enablers of extremist Islamic organizations. With their newfound control over Afghanistan, the country could be host to a new generation of terror groups.

Sitara remains faithful despite hardships in India

Sitara* is just 21, but she already been acting as a surrogate parent to her two younger siblings for six years. Orphaned at the age of 15, she has faced many challenges, not only because of losing her parents, but also because of her Christian faith – and the pandemic has only made their lives harder. But your support and prayers have enabled Open Doors partners to support Sitara and her brother and sister with vital aid, and show them that they are part of a global family in Christ.

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‘You bring us rations whenever we are out of food’

“Jaimasih!” calls Suresh*, an Open Doors local partner, as he arrives at Sitara’s house. It means, “Praise the Lord!” He sees Sitara standing outside her mud hut. “How are you?” he asks.

“I’m fine, and I’m so happy to see you, Brother,” she grins.

Sitara’s eight-year-old sister stands beside her shyly, holding a ragged doll in her hand. Their teenage brother, Shekhar*, arranges some wooden stools outside the hut for the guests. Suresh and Mahesh*, another Open Doors partner, pull some food supplies out of the car and Shekhar runs to help carry them inside.

They sit on the wooden stools, talking about how things have been. The pandemic has made life difficult for everyone. Shekhar is just 15, but had already had to leave his studies and find work as a day labourer to provide for the basic needs of his sisters. With the pandemic, it is extremely difficult to find work, and there are days when food is so scarce they go to bed hungry.

“Had God not been faithful, we wouldn’t have met you. You bring us rations whenever we tell you that we are out of food,” Sitara says.

She brings the workers inside the house, where she unfolds two very old mats on the floor, and offers Suresh and Mahesh a seat on one of them. She and her siblings get seated on the other.

It is a small hut with no windows. The door is almost broken, and there are no beds or mattresses – these same rugged mats are used for sleeping too.

Sitara shares, “We have some fields left to us by our parents. My father used to cultivate them when he was alive, but now we have no one to work on them. We have given them to some people to cultivate – after the harvest they take some of the grains and give some to us. That’s how we have a little food, even when my brother doesn’t find work.

“Also, the people in our church are kind. They provide us with vegetables sometimes when they have extra. However, life is tough. The house needs repairs; the roof leaks when it rains and Shekhar and I have a tough time finding daily wages work. But God gives us courage and strength for every day.”

‘I have never looked back’

When asked what motivates Sitara to keep trusting in the Lord despite her challenges, she says,

“I came to know the Lord as a teenager and have never looked back since then.”

She shares the story of how she came to faith. “Our mother became paralysed when we were young, so I left my studies to take care of her. My father also tried his best, but she did not get better.

“Then someone suggested that she should be taken to a church where people would pray for her. I got permission from my father and took her to a church which was quite far away. She was kept on the church premises for almost a year, and every day some people would come to pray for her. On Sundays all the church members would pray for her.

“Soon after, we saw her health improving. However, this was not to last. After some time the improvement stopped, and she eventually died.” Sitara’s eyes are moist as she talks about this, the grief still fresh in her memory.

“Her body was taken back to the village, but she was not allowed to be cremated anywhere in the village graveyard. No one from the village came to help. The villagers hurled insults at us, and called us traitors. They accused us saying, ‘Your family has been in the church for a year, you have become Christians. Take her back to the church and bury her there.’

“We finally buried her in our fields. Some believers came to help with the cremation when the entire village shunned us.”

Sitara’s father was shocked. He had hoped that his wife would become well through prayer, but it hadn’t worked. Instead, the family had been completely rejected by their community because of their connection with the church.

He was furious, and blamed Sitara for what had happened. He warned the children not to connect with the Christians again.

“But I could not restrain myself from going to church,” Sitara says. “Though my mother did not become well, I knew God was real. I had tasted His love for me. I knew God filled in the void that nothing else could fulfil. I went secretly to church with my siblings. We also went to the prayer meetings. Whenever my father found out, we were beaten up in front of all our neighbours. We were also made to skip dinner that day.” Sitara’s voice breaks as she remembers.

‘We have felt His presence even in the worst circumstances’

Then one fateful day, Sitara and her siblings faced their greatest challenge yet. Their father was returning home from the market when he suffered a massive cardiac arrest on the road and died on the spot. Sitara was just 15 at the time; her brother was nine, and her sister was two.

Despite the vulnerable situation the young siblings were left in, their community had no sympathy for them. “The villagers were furious; they blamed our Christian faith for this happening in our lives. They said our father could not be buried in the village crematorium. Again, a few of the families from the church came and helped us bury our father in our fields beside our mother.

“None of the villagers helped us. In fact, they didn’t have one kind word for us. Only God came to our rescue all the time, and He always does even today.”

Open Doors local partners came to know Sitara two years ago through her pastor. Since then, they have been in regular contact with her and were able to help her several times with food aid during the pandemic.

Despite her young age and the many hardships she has faced, Sitara is full of faith. As her time with the Open Doors partners comes to an end, she says confidently, “Thank you so much for encouraging us. We know that God is our Father and whenever we need anything, we pray, He answers us. We have felt His presence even in the worst circumstances.”

Please continue to support Sitara and her brother and sister with your prayers. Pray that God will continue to provide for all their needs, and help them to keep putting their trust in the Lord.

*Names changed for security reasons.

Villagers destroy a local church

A local tribal Christian church was destroyed by Buddhist villagers and politicians from a regional party in in Rangamati, a city in the eastern part of Bangladesh.

On July 15, around 10pm, the villagers came carrying guns, machetes, and wooden sticks. They hid their identity behind masks. They broke the doors and windows of the church building, cut the tin roof, and demolished the wall of the church.Blog Featured image (6)

After destroying the church, the attackers went looking for the pastor, but he managed to escape along with other believers and took shelter with the neighbours.

Before they left, the attackers threatened the Christians. They told them to demolish whatever that was left of the church within three days.

“How can we destroy our church? It is our worship place. We love Jesus Christ; we cannot do it. We cannot destroy our Lord’s house. But we will try to rebuild the church again,” said one of the eight  believers who regularly worship in that church.

A few days later, the believers returned and attempted to rebuild their broken church. But when the news reached the attackers,  they came back on the evening of July 22. Once again, they broke the church and the threatened the believers.

The believers, desperate for help, went to the local village head to seek his help to stop these attacks. To their dismay, he told them that the only way to stop this is for all of them to revert to their previous faith, which is Buddhism.

The pastor said: “I still cannot go back home to sleep for the fear of attack. I must hide every night and sleep somewhere else. I don’t know how many nights I must hide myself. I still feel that someone is chasing after me.”

Pray for these believers who are now living in fear. They feel helpless, dare not make any complaints to the authorities for fear of making the matter worse. These believers have been verbally and socially persecuted for years now and they do not have any place to turn to for help, only their faith has kept them going.

Our local partners, besides requesting prayers for them, are also looking into ways to help these believers.

Pray

1. Pray for the safety and protection of the believers. Pray for God to protect these families from the enemies and give provision they need to survive. Pray for these believers to overcome the trauma and recover soon.

2. Pray for God to help these brothers and sisters to stand strong in their faith in Jesus and face the affliction, biblically encouraging one another and deal the issue wisely.

3. Pray that the villagers will realize and understand that the Christians have rights to worship their God and have rights to practice their faith. Pray for the miscreants who destroyed the church that God would open the eyes of their hearts and find the real truth in Christ.

100 years of the Chinese Communist Party

It is interesting, if not ironic, that the first 12 members of what was to become China’s Communist Party faced persecution and violence.

It was on July 1, 1921, that the small group of people met in Shanghai’s French Concession for the First National Party Congress, hoping that their illegal meeting would not be noticed in an enclave of the French Empire.

It was not to be. They were discovered and had to continue their gathering on a boat out in rural Zhejiang province.

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These were the humble beginnings of what today, 100 years later, is a powerful player on the world’s stage. An article in ChinaSource explores how China’s Communist Party grew through violent struggle, the challenges in 1921 were only the beginning, and by being ideologically flexible. For example, by adapting Communist ideas to the Chinese context, creating an economic model called ‘State Capitalism’ and through flexible policy decisions in responding to an online world.

The writer calls on readers to move away from a simplistic way of looking at China, by solely looking for stories about control and repression.

“If we really want to understand what has enabled the Party not simply to subsist but thrive over the past one hundred years, we must look beyond our preferred narratives and “seek truth from facts”, the writer says.

“The Party has forged a path of wealth and power for China in the modern world by leaning heavily on both muscular wartime narratives of struggle and on being flexible enough to deal with contextual challenges. At various times hard and rigid, at other times, soft and flexible, the Party will continue to adapt its policy responses to modern challenges faced by the Party and the People of China”.

Religious freedom restrictions

As for its dealings with Christians and other religious minorities, in 2021 the Party appears to be moving away from ‘soft and flexible’ to be more ‘hard and rigid’. Reports by two religious freedom organizations published earlier this year, warned of further religious freedom restrictions.

They noted an increase in cases in which Christians had been charged with “harming national security,” as well as increasing surveillance of churches. Also, in ramping up the “sinicization” of religion campaign religions with perceived foreign connections such as Christianity and Islam, were particularly targeted.

Rising COVID cases in Indonesia

With over 40,000 new COVID cases per day, Indonesia has become a new epicentre of the pandemic. The government has been responding by implementing “community activity restrictions” (similar to lockdowns) for the past month. The result, of course, has been a huge impact on the economic life of the people.

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“Currently our family is still recovering. My wife and I have been negative, but our three children are still positive. We live in separate floors at home and we use masks all the time,” OD local partner in Indonesia, Ari Hartono* shares, three weeks after being infected by COVID-19 last June. Aside from Ari, two other local partners have also been infected, and one of them had to be hospitalized. Praise God, all of them are recovering at the moment.

Relief Distribution

Indonesian Christians are among the many who are economically affected by the ongoing lockdowns. Open Doors is continuing to distribute relief aid to thousands of believers in Indonesia through local partners. The relief is given in the form of basic necessities for hundreds of families.

“The relief is provided periodically and comprehensively. Even though the aid will not solve their economic problems, hopefully it can ease their burden during this pandemic,” a partner shares.

Discrimination on non-Muslims

Thankfully, there are not many reported cases of discrimination against non-Muslims in regards to COVID, although there are some localized instances.

The cemetery is supposed to give free burials to those who have died from COVID-19.

In a response, a member of the Bandung House of Representatives, Erick Darmajaya, said that the cost of carrying out the funeral of the COVID-19 victim was borne by the government budget and there was no difference in service for Muslims and non-Muslims. “We suspect there have been many similar incidents. It’s just a coincidence that this case went viral. We welcome if there are residents who want to report, so we can follow it up,” said Erick.

From the believers

“Thank you Open Doors for this aid. This is a great help to us in this difficult time. We can’t repay your kindness.” – Warto Mukio and wife  from Central Java, Indonesia

“I don’t know if I can survive without this help. Life is very difficult these days. I feel very blessed. May God repay Open Doors’ kindness.” – Yah, Central Java, Indonesia

“I was really happy when I heard there was a relief distribution. This is really a blessing to me and a great help to me and my family. May God always bless Open Doors to help people like me.”

– Tumiyem, Central Java, Indonesia

Prayer

Pray for doctors and health workers and volunteers. With soaring cases of COVID-19, health facilities are almost collapsing. The bed occupancy rate of hospitals throughout Indonesia is already at 92 percent. Ask God to give them strength and good health. Most of them are exhausted physically and mentally, worried about getting the virus, and how they have to leave their families for a long time.

Pray for God’s church in Indonesia. Many church leaders and believers have died from the pandemic, and many more are suffering mentally. Pray that God’s peace will be at the heart of His people, especially those who have lost their families and friends.

Pray for God’s provision and breakthrough for so many families who have lost jobs or their business.

Meet Anna, the 11-year-old entrepreneur

Anna, 11, is a grade 5 student in Uganda, where her mother attends Open Doors business training classes. Circumstances meant that she had to go along with her mom during the classes. But Anna was interested, and by listening in she learned some valuable lessons.

 

Today she runs her own venture after school and over weekends. “I thank God for OD and the trainings because it has strengthened my faith, and I now have the courage to run a small business,” says Anna.

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It all started when Anna’s mom became a Christian about five years ago. To get her to recant, her husband threatened and beat her. Nothing worked, and eventually he expelled her from the home.

Anna ended up on the street with her mom. Thankfully they were helped by the Christian community. Anna’s mom read the Bible with her and taught her to pray.

Later, when her church invited Open Doors to present a seminar to enhance a Biblical worldview on economics and business skills, Anna’s mom attended. She had nowhere to leave the child, so Anna tagged along and picked up enough of what was being taught that she started spontaneously applying some of the lessons. She grasped things like the importance of saving a portion of one’s income and looking for investment opportunities all around us to grow income.

When her mom noticed this, she decided to invest in Anna. She bought Anna a tray of eggs which she started selling after school and over weekends.

Today, Anna is well known for selling eggs in the area. The money she gets helps her buy stationery and other necessities for school.

“If Open Doors had not come, I could have been a street child because we would not have been able to afford food or school fees,” she says.

Prayer

Emotionally, Anna is doing well too. She was traumatized by the events that had unfolded in her father’s house.

However, her Sunday school teachers helped counsel her. Though her father cut communications with them, Anna has come to see that with her heavenly father, they are safe and loved.

Pray that Anna and her mom will continue to see the Lord’s provision in their lives. “Pray that God enables my mother to buy land and build a house,” Anna asks.

Anna dreams of one day going to university. Pray that she will continue to grow in both intellect and spiritual maturity.

“They tried to kill me. Now they are believers.”

Widow Kusum has endured so much because of her faith in Jesus. We first shared her story in 2016, when she was blamed for her husband’s death and was prevented from burying her own son, all because she holds on to Christ. As Kusum grew deeper in faith, she faced constant verbal abuse from other villagers. Her father-in-law even called her faith toxic and once approached her with an axe, threatening her life. For five years, Open Doors local partners have been walking with Kusum thanks to your support and prayers, and though still shunned by many because of her faith, she keeps on sharing the Jesus she loves.

Kusum shares the gospel

“Every day I go to the different believers’ houses in my village for prayer. The rest of the time I am busy with my household work,” Kusum says. “Due to my Christian faith, I faced a lot of persecution from my in-laws and the villagers, but now many villagers are coming to Jesus in my village. Since the lockdown, 10 new families have come to Christ!”

Most of the people from Kusum’s village who came to faith in Christ were sick, and were healed after coming to the church. But sweetest for Kusum is the answer to her prayers – the people closest to her are now starting to know Jesus!Blog Featured image (7)

“My in-laws used to persecute me a lot, but now they are believing in Christ. Many times, they used to come to my house to kill me. I always used to pray for them. The Lord heard my prayer, and now they have become believers. Everyone is coming to faith except my father-in-law – although he also been learning about the Christian faith. He also now asks me to pray for him.”

Life under lockdown

Like most of us, life has also become different for Kusum due to the COVID-19 lockdown. “Work was stopped. My financial condition was not good… but even at that time, God helped my family and fulfilled all my needs. My father and my brother used to bring everything I needed. I also got relief from Open Doors local partners. They have helped me start a grocery store for my livelihood.

“I became very ill during the time of lockdown. I also went to the hospital for treatment but was not healed. I got healing through prayer. I had a wound in my nose, and I cannot hear with my one ear.

“Sometimes I feel very hopeless due to the loneliness. I live happily all the time. But sometimes, suddenly I feel lonely. I am not afraid of anyone, but sometimes in the night suddenly I get up and my sleep breaks.

“When I was sick, I fasted for three days. I have given prayer requests to many people for my healing. People prayed for me through mobile phones. God listened to our prayers and healed me. The brother who is an Open Doors partner always asks about my wellbeing and helps me.”

Persecution continues

Kusum asks for prayer as persecution continues around her, especially since more and more people from her village are now coming to Christ: “Persecution is still going on in nearby villages,” she shares. “We are getting drinking water from the village hand pump. Right now, we are getting rations in the ration card, but some people of the village are saying that they will stop our ration card and will not even provide water. The believers are also growing in my village, so the people of the nearby villages are inciting the people of our village against us.”

Kusum and her fellow believers bring all this pressure before the throne of grace. “In my village, there is prayer meeting three days a week, in which all the believers of the village gather together and pray for many subjects. When we gather for prayer, we pray for all Christians who are facing persecution. At the same time, I explain to all those believers that no matter how much persecution comes, we have to remain in the Word of God. We must be ready to face persecution.”

Kusum asks for Prayer

  • “I am planning to buy a scooter so that I can go to the market with my father and sell groceries and help him.” Pray this will be successful and provide a good income.
  • “Please pray for me and my son so we can grow in the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
  • “Please pray for my villagers so all the people of my village will become followers of Jesus Christ. I go two to three kilometers from my village to preach the gospel.”
  • “There is a lot of opposition in nearby villages these days. Villagers are holding meetings against Christians. For all those who persecuted the Christians, pray that God would change their hearts and minds.”

How God built His church through prisoners and drug addicts

‘Something special had happened’

When Open Doors researcher Stefan* first visited Central Asia in the 80s, the church of local believers was tiny. But in the years since then, God has been powerfully at work – and not always among the people you might expect to come to faith in Jesus. Here he shares some of his experiences from the region.

 

I love to talk about the church in Central Asia. It’s a beautiful church.

My first trip there back in ’89. In those years Central Asia was still part of the former Soviet Union. You had about five Islamic republics in this area; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. But all these countries were being controlled by Moscow.

There were small communities of Christian believers in these countries. They mostly had either a Russian or a German background. Very few nationals, such as Uzbeks or Tajiks, actually had converted to Christ. In 1989 and the total number of Central Asian believers in those years was estimated at about 150.

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We were going there trying to help the Russian and the German churches, and at the same time trying to help them in reaching out to the national population. This was really hard, because there was little interest in reaching out, and much focus on trying to preserve the church of their own.

Then I went back in 2014 for a secret underground conference with leaders from Central Asian countries. Almost all of them had a Central Asian background. I did not know exactly what to expect. And when I entered the room, I was just blown away by the fact that about 100-150 church leaders were there, all with a central Asian background. And it was such a clear sign that God had started to build a church in this remote part of the world. Something special had happened in the past few decades.

It’s a difficult situation for the church in central Asia. Russia is no longer in control, these are independent states – but in order to build a national identity, they are using Islam. And that means that when you are not a Muslim, you have problems, especially when you are active in evangelism. So it’s difficult for churches who are reaching out to Muslims, and it’s even more difficult for nationals who have converted to Jesus Christ.

‘I would like to know your secret’

It’s exciting how God is building his church in this area of the world. By now tens of thousands of nationals, of Uzbeks, of Tajiks, of Turkmen people, have come to faith. Each of them has their own unique story. But again, the Lord is reaching out in special ways and he’s often taking care of people who are at the fringes of society – people we do not think very highly of.

When I think of Central Asia, I think of a very active believer who used to be a criminal. ‘A really bad person’ – this is how he described himself. And for that reason, he ended up in jail. He spent many, many years in jail because he was a criminal.

But during his time in jail, he was visited by a lady who would bring him and the other prisoners food. She could not talk about her faith in Jesus Christ, it was not allowed, but she would simply enter the prison and give food.

He really loved her for doing that. So when he was released, he went looking for this lady and he found her. And he said, “I would like to know your secret. Why have you been visiting us in this prison for such a long time and giving this food?”

She said, “Because I love Jesus.” And he said, “I would like to know more about Jesus.” And she shared her faith and he came to faith as well. And since then he has been visiting prisoners trying to help them.

By now they have a whole community of people who have been in prison. It’s very special when you can join one of these meetings, because this is the way they greet one another: “Hi, my name is Vladimir Nine.” “My name is Ali Eight.” The figure they are giving is the number of years they spent in prison.

‘Complete peace’

The Lord is building a special community there – not just among prisoners. There are many people who had drug addictions, which is quite a challenge in a number of Central Asian areas. The region is close to Afghanistan, a major production house for hard drugs, and they are smuggled into the region. Many people fall victim to this. A number of Christians are trying to reach out to drug addicts.

This is a story about somebody I met not too long ago. He used to be an addict himself – first to drink, then to cigarettes, and then to hard drugs.

He was desperate. He tried to commit suicide twice. Miraculously, he survived and he wanted to start a new life, but he didn’t know what to do. And then he was talking to a friend of his and he said, “There is a special place here in town where they are taking care of drug addicts. The only bad thing is that the people who are running this house, they have this strange faith in Jesus. But if you just let that go in one ear and out the other, you’ll manage. They will really try to help you.”

He went to this place, and they took him in and they told him, “We are willing to take care of you on one condition: when you are here, no more drugs, no more smoking, normal drinks.”

He says, “I stopped with the drinks. I tried to stop with the drugs. But smoking… I was smoking all the time. I continued smoking in this house. And one day I was caught. I was called in for a meeting, and they told me: ‘You’ll be out the next time we see you smoking again.’

“Then I left them, I went into the room and I was desperate. I wanted to break free from all these addictions and to have a new life. But how to quit smoking? And I just cried out. I said, ‘Jesus, if you really exist, help me because I can’t do it alone.’

“That moment something happened. I felt something on my shoulders, very heavily. I did not know what to do. I went down to my knees and I stayed on my knees for a long time. I lost sense of time. I was just sitting on my knees and something touched me. From my head to my feet, something happened inside my body. And I got peace, complete peace. And I knew this is something of Jesus. But I didn’t know Jesus.

“I didn’t know what was happening to me. I didn’t have any explanation. I just had peace. So after this event, which took quite some time, I went back to the leadership of this house. And I said, ‘I would like to join your services.’ They prayed with me. And then the next morning I woke up and all of a sudden it dawned to me: ‘I’ve had no intention of smoking’.”

He was set free. He’s still free today. Today he’s an evangelist among his own countrymen. It’s just fantastic to see how he’s doing.

God is building a new church in Central Asia. There’s a lot of persecution, but there’s also hope for the church in Central Asia. Thanks to your prayers and support, Open Doors local partners are continuing to reach those who most need help and hope with the gospel in Central Asia. This includes partnering with local Christians to open homes for street children and recovering addicts, and supporting those ministering to prisoners and former prisoners. Open Doors partners also equip others to reach out with the good news, providing evangelism training for local believers.

More Christians need help than ever before.

As we close out 2023, the number of persecuted Christians is higher than ever. With greater persecution comes greater need. Your year-end gift will help – including providing more Bibles, more discipleship, and more relief aid.

Our year-end goal is $500,000 to help our persecuted family. Will you prayerfully give a gift today?

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