A Pastor's Life

This email came to me yesterday from my Voice of the Martyrs contact (I am a trained speaker for VoM). I wanted to share it, not to shock you but to 1) encourage you as you read about those who are suffering for their faith yet standing strong to the end and 2) move you to remember them in your prayers...PRAYER is the number one request of the persecuted church.

In chapel today (at VoM headquarters), the director of Pastor Support Program (PSP) spoke.  Here are some of the facts he gave us that you may want to share with your team:

We have PSP in 21 countries.  As of today, VOM sponsors 4,325 pastors.  The people only receive what their donors send them.  So if a donor misses giving for a month, the pastor will not get that month’s support.  They are given $33/month.  The goal is not to support them fully, but to help free time for them to minister.  Many of these are farmers, or the poorest in their country. 

Our PSP director visits to see if they’re getting all their donation.  The people we support are either:  pastors, teachers, evangelists, or indigenous missionaries.  When asking them what their greatest need is, they respond “Prayer.”  

Some of the countries involved and the number supported are presently:

1.       Vietnam (country with largest number of pastors supported) – 890

2.       China (2nd largest amount) – 727

3.       Algeria – new country

4.       Bangladesh – 18

5.       Burma (new) - 18

6.       Colombia – 168

7.       Cuba – 306

8.       Egypt - 77

9.       Ethiopia (new) – 20

10.   Hmong

11.   India (new) – 35

12.   Indonesia – 359

13.   Laos – 234

14.   Nepal – 264

15.   Nigeria – 524

16.   Pakistan – 287.  Country run by Islam.  Christians bottom of the “food chain.”

17.   Philippines – 20

18.   Sudan – 250.  Pray for difficulties for the work.

19.   Uzbekistan - 19

Here are some stories shared:

Fang of China reaches out to 1,000 house churches.  He does this by means of a motorcycle.

In Colombia, the rebels control the movement in and out of a country.  The rebels often only allow 10 in a church.  In one situation where a woman was pregnant, when she had her baby, the rebels came and shot one of the adults.  The rebel’s comment – “I said 10.”  Rebels take children 10 years old and indoctrinate them.  When a rebel went to slit a man’s throat, he put the boy’s hand on the knife while he did it. The Colombian Christians love Jesus with all their heart.  Farid, a pastor, got a threatening letter.  He said, “ If they kill me, it’s OK.  As long as I can, I will lead people to Christ.”  

When Gaber of Egypt was asked what he’d like us to pray for, he said, “That I could know my family.”  He had often gone away over the past 25 years, to minister, doing what Jesus called him to do - sharing the gospel, and missed that he hadn’t spent more time with his family.  Wahyeb of Egypt led and discipled 42 Muslims to Christ, then provided a safe house for them.  Police took him and hung him by one leg by a rope for 6 hours.  When asked his prayer need, he said, “Pray I can find the love to forgive my captors.”

Amkha of Laos only has one arm and his wife takes him around on a bicycle to minister.  When asked what he’d like us to pray for, he said, “Paper, pencil, and books, so I can teach.”  Khamphey of Laos, when asked what his greatest need was, said, “I’d like transportation (to get out to the churches).  But if not, I’d like a pair of shoes.”

I was touched by their stories. They are living Christianity on the frontline! The battle with the enemy is incredibly intense. We must pray for them and remember them!