SOUTHEAST ASIA: Lives of Converted Family Under Threat
- Details
- Source(s): The Voice of the Martyrs
Brother "Keon" and his wife have suffered intense persecution since opening their home to other Christians last Christmas. The family accepted Jesus Christ after their son was miraculously healed from an illness. But after converting to Christianity, Brother Keon was forbidden to associate with anyone in the village.
The village leaders were angry because Brother Keon and his wife received Christians into their home without asking permission, which would have been denied anyway. This new convert is now concerned about his family's safety, including that of his own, as other believers have disappeared without notice or been kidnapped. Brother Keon and his family are standing firm in the Lord despite the dangers. It's their desire to remain in the village where they feel called to minister.
Thank the Lord for His miraculous healing of Brother Keon's son, and for the faithfulness of these new believers. Pray that He will surround this family with His protection, filling their hearts with peace beyond comprehension as they bring their needs before Him with thanksgiving and rejoicing (Philippians 4:4-7). May Brother Keon and his family continue to be effective witnesses for the Gospel so many others in their village will experience God's saving grace.
South Asian missionary beaten, thrown in jail, released
- Details
- Source(s): Gospel for Asia
On October 2, four anti-Christian militants attacked Vikranta Rao, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionary, while he and another GFA-supported missionary, Nirav Pillai, showed a movie about Jesus in a South Asian village. Vikranta was praying for the people as they watched the film when the attackers came. The attackers accused Vikranta of forcing people to convert to Christianity and assaulted him before calling the police. The police arrested Vikranta, instead of his attackers. They made him spend the night in a jail cell without food or adequate medical attention.
Nirav, who was operating the projector at the time of the attack, managed to escape the brutal beating. He fled and reported the situation to GFA's ministry office in the state. A GFA state leader went to the police station and managed to secure Vikranta's release the following day.
Please commit Vikranta to the Lord, that he may be healed, fully restored and strengthened to continue the good work that the Lord has prepared in advance. Pray that those who saw the film would be impacted by its message. Pray for the perpetrators and the police, that God would soften their hearts toward Christians in the region.
Prayer request for VOMC co-worker
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The following report is written in such a way as to hide the location and identity of those involved. Usually, we would not publish such vague prayer requests but the urgent nature of this situation requires that we suspend our usual practice.
Reporting and working on behalf of persecuted Christians is often dangerous work, even in countries where it is not technically illegal. The authorities in many countries sometimes view such activities as unpatriotic, portraying their country negatively. This is certainly the case in one African country where The Voice of the Martyrs is actively working and where one of our co-workers is in need of urgent prayer. Our co-worker has been threatened with having his/her work exposed to the security forces of the country. In this particular country, even the accusation of such activities could result in imprisonment. Pray for courage and safety for our co-worker and his/her family at this time. Pray that the one making these threats will come to repentance and that the threats will come to nothing.
Qur'an burning will be used as excuse to persecute Christian minorities
Publicized plans to burn the Qur'an in Florida this weekend will be used as an excuse for violence against Christian minorities around the world. VOMC has received confirmation of specific threats to our Christian brothers and sisters in both Pakistan and Iraq if the Qur'an is burned.
VOMC CEO Corey Odden said, "Burning the Qur'an is contrary to Christ's command in Matthew 22:39 to love our neighbours as ourselves and will likely put our Christian brothers and sisters living in majority Muslim countries in grave and immediate danger of reprisal. We strongly encourage the leaders of Dove World Outreach Center to prayerfully reconsider their activities planned for September 11, 2010."
The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada is a registered Canadian non-profit charitable organization dedicated solely to serving persecuted Christians worldwide.
For further information, please contact Greg Musselman, VOM's Chief Communications Officer at 1 (905) 670-9721 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For more information on The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada please go to www.vomcanada.com.
Charitable Registration Number:
107534307RR0001