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2016-04-14

  • Youth Disowned by Family for Conversion


    Two young Lao girls reading God’s Word.

    A teenage girl from Laos, who recently converted to Christianity, went home to visit her family while on holiday during a high school break. After sharing her newfound Christian faith with them, she was immediately rejected and disowned for becoming a believer. "Dee," who is 16 years old, had once heard many negative things about Christianity. However, after personally inviting Jesus to be the Saviour and Lord of her life, she thought it would be good to tell her parents about the resulting peace and joy she had experienced.

    To her surprise, Dee's parents were not happy over the news of her conversion, and they even tried to force their daughter to renounce her faith. When the teen refused, remaining firm in her resolve to follow Jesus regardless of the outcome, her parents kicked her out of the family home and announced that she is no longer their daughter.

    Church leaders are now assisting Dee who is presently staying at a VOM safehouse. They request prayer for the teen, further explaining that even though she is saddened over her parents' rejection, God's abiding peace and an unexplainable joy remains within her heart. Dee is longing for her parents to personally experience the Lord's wonderful presence in their lives too and, therefore, asks that we please intercede on behalf of their salvation.

    To learn more about the challenges facing believers in Laos, please visit our country report.

    We can join Dee in offering thanksgiving to the Lord for His provision of a safe place in which to live where she will receive further ministry, teaching and counselling within a caring and nurturing environment. May she be further strengthened in her resolve to follow Christ all the days of her life, trusting Him to also work in the lives of her loved ones during this difficult time of estrangement. We echo Dee's prayers for her family, that they may personally come to know the Lord's mercy and plan of salvation as well.
  • Released Pastor Fails to Survive in Wilderness


    The late Rev. Iliya Anto
    Photo: Morning Star News

    On March 21st, assailants kidnapped three church leaders at gunpoint after storming the church prayer camp site in Kaduna, north-central Nigeria, where the clergymen were supervising preparations for an Easter church service. With the use of a mobile phone that was owned by one of the seized pastors, the kidnappers made an outgoing call in demand of ransom.

    Rev. Iliya Anto, thought to have been previously released by the kidnappers because of ill health, was found dead in the bush ten days after the abduction. Details of his death remain unclear. The other two pastors, Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Dziggau and Rev. Yakubu Dzarma, were released on March 30th.

    According to published reports, it appears that well-armed cattle rustlers in Nigeria's Kaduna state, formerly reputed for incidences of rape and pillaging over the years, have recently turned to kidnapping. Police officials in northern Kaduna reportedly announced that they have set up a special task force to tackle the "change of tactics by the bandits."

    For other reports on persecution in Nigeria, go to our online country report.

    Please pray for the believers of this church in Kaduna as they mourn the loss of their dear pastor and friend, Rev. Iliya. Ask God to also minister to the pastor's grieving family, surrounding them with the comforting presence and peace of our Lord Jesus. May He guide the investigations and strategies of the police as they try to solve the mystery of Rev. Iliya's sudden passing and deal with the new tactics of the cattle rustlers. Ask that the officers of this case be granted wisdom as they navigate the best way to handle the assailants, in hopes of achieving resolution and a peaceful cease of conflict.
  • Christian Girl Released from ISIS Captivity

    Miriam David Talya
    Photo: AINA

    Members of ISIS have recently released an Assyrian Christian girl, the last remaining hostage of a group that was abducted in northern Syria during February 2015. Miriam David Talya was originally supposed to be released on February 22nd of this year, along with 42 other hostages. (VOMC's previously posted report on the release of these hostages can be reviewed here.)

    However, the militants ended up removing Miriam from the list of those freed, without notifying the leaders of the Assyrian Church of the East with whom they had been negotiating. Further negotiations then began which thankfully have resulted in her release on Easter Sunday. She arrived safely in her town of Tel Tamar later that day.

    Miriam was among a large group (consisting of more than 200 Assyrians) that was abducted from villages along the Khabur River on February 23rd, 2015. At the time, ISIS militants undertook raids on a number of Assyrian villages near Tel Hmar, burning churches and forcing hundreds of families to flee.