June 2015 Persecution Magazine (3 of 4)

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JUNE 2015

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Failed States

Christians flee crumbling nations

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JUNE 2015

Rebel protesters feel their strength as Yemen’s government teetered on the brink of collapse

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Your Dollar$ at Work Providing Food and Medication to a Convert from Islam

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Hand of Hope

hen Mounira placed her faith in Christ and effectively turned her back on Islam, she paid a steep earthly cost while looking forward to her better, eternal reward.

Rejection. Harassment. Murder. These are all words you would never associate with your earthly family. Sadly, for Mounira and countless other converts from Islam to Christ around the globe, persecution inside their homes is a day-to-day reality.

Mounira’s husband hated her so much that he beat her unconscious, nearly killing her for praying and reading her Bible. He would lock her in a room to prevent her from worshiping Jesus at church on Sundays. He then divorced her and cast her and her son, Maoulé, onto the streets to fend for themselves. Mounira’s family even hired a mob to kill her and a sorcerer to afflict her with an evil spirit.

That’s when ICC stepped in. We provided Mounira and Maoulé with three months of food supplies and bought Mounira her diabetes medication that she had been lacking for months. We also equipped Maoulé with textbooks, notepads, pens, pencils and erasers and even paid for the fees to enroll him back in school.

Today, Mounira’s faith is strengthened because she trusts that her heavenly Father works all things together for good because she loves God and is called according to His purpose. Mounira praises God and thanks ICC and our generous supporters who helped her and who continue to pray for her in her time of most desperate need.

“I’m still under threat and pressure because both my family and the one of my former husband are still looking for ways to kill me,” Mounira said to ICC’s Niger representative, René Benoît. “However, I rejoice every day in the Lord, because He is my strength, my comforter and my protector. I know He will never forsake me.”

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JUNE 2015

Pastor Training Supporting in Ethiopia Beijing Pastors

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Underground Pastors

n a majority-Christian nation like Ethiopia, you might not expect followers of Jesus to face persecution from Muslims, but Ethiopia contains pockets where Muslims predominate and increasingly infringe upon Christians’ right to worship. Harar is one of those places.

In order to prepare Christians in this climate of hostility, ICC conducted a pastors’ training workshop for three days in March. The program educated 25 church leaders about their legal rights to follow Christ and promoted unity among the local churches.

Pastor Mesfin said, “The training gave us new insight and created consensus among evangelicals in defending churches from persecution.”

ICC also provided funds to help release three attendees from prison after they were held without charge just days following the training.

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Underground Pastors

hrough your assistance, ICC has had the opportunity to support house church pastors in Beijing through the Christian organization China Aid. One of the pastors, Liang Wei*, founded a humanitarian work studio in his city to help fellow Christians who were facing a variety of misfortunes, ranging from illness to government persecution.

Though Pastor Wei has personally faced many medical problems and been through three cardiac surgeries, his life is a testament to the healing power of Christ. Through the countless prayers of others, financial support and a number of medical procedures, Pastor Wei has been cured.

Since his healing, Pastor Wei has continued to lead his house church and helped other house churches to defend their legal rights.

In spite of the numerous obstacles that he has faced, Pastor Wei has remained firm in his faith, trusting in Christ to see him through.

Medical Help for Pastor

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Hand of Hope

n December 2013, Pastor Moses and his family began facing intense persecution at the hands of Hindu radicals in their village.

One night, radicals broke into their house and attempted to end the local church by murdering Pastor Moses and his wife.

Since June 2014, ICC has been assisting Pastor Moses in recovering from this incident and other severe incidents of persecution.

Recently, ICC provided Pastor Moses with a new roof for his church. The original roof was damaged in many places when radicals stoned Pastor Moses’ church on different occasions.

This damage has allowed rain to leak into the church, which has affected the church’s ability to hold regular Sunday worship.

Through your donations to ICC’s Hand of Hope: South Asia fund, ICC is able to help persecuted Christians in South Asia like Pastor Moses and his family.

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Your Dollar$ at Work

Assistance to Burned Church

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Hand of Hope

n January 16, Christians in the village of Tadur, India, received reports that the village’s only church had been set on fire by Hindu radicals. Built of nothing but simple materials commonly found in rural India, this simple structure was easily consumed by the flames.

Only part of the church remains due to the efforts of local Christians who rushed to save the church when they heard the church was set on fire.

Through ICC’s Hand of Hope: South Asia fund, ICC extended aid to this persecuted community of Christians by providing them with new musical instruments, chairs, blankets and Christian literature. As ICC looks to repair the church in Tadur, these simple gifts will allow the Christian community to fully participate in worship, despite the damaged sustained by their church. Keep this community in your thoughts and prayers.

Rebuilding Hope in Hindi, Kenya

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Community Rebuild

n the night of July 5, 2014, Islamist al-Shabaab militants attacked Prisila’s village of Hindi, Kenya.

“They pulled my husband out from the sitting room by force, and then they slaughtered him,” she recalled. “We got scared by this excruciating act. Then my son, who was in another room, tried to escape, but was gunned down outside as he tried to flee.”

The extremist Muslim attackers burned the entire village to ashes, widowing nine women and leaving dozens of children fatherless. The blazes also destroyed the church and the house where Pastor Elizabeth Odipo lives.

ICC partnered with Lifeway Mission International to rebuild 15 homes and provide plowing and planting assistance on one acre of land, which will feed six families. Please pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Hindi to cling to the Lord in the midst of this severe persecution.

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JUNE 2015

Your Dollar$ at Work

Paying it Forward

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Hand of Hope

fter suffering from great persecution in Kyrgyzstan, which resulted in being exiled from their own town, without the ability to find steady income, ICC was able to purchase lambs for a man named Peace and his wife, Happiness.

The lambs gave the couple their own small business and, therefore, a source of income as

well as a sense of pride associated with being able to provide for themselves.

The lambs have since had babies! Peace and Happiness will sell some of the newborns, but also plan to give some of the lambs to another Christian family who has suffered similar persecution. These lambs have been the gift that keeps on giving for persecuted families in Kyrgyzstan.

Special Delivery for Iraqi Family

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Hand of Hope

CC and our partners in Iraq were able to make a special delivery for one young family who was forced to leave her home because of ISIS and flee to Iraqi Kurdistan.

When she arrived, she came as most did, with no provisions, no excess clothing or medicine. However, this young lady arrived carrying something that most of the other IDPs did not — a baby due to be delivered in just a few weeks.

When our team arrived, she was within a couple of weeks of giving birth and had no idea how she would pay the several hundred dollars for the delivery. We were able to meet this need. The day arrived, and the mother was able to get to the proper medical facility where a beautiful child was born, away from home, but safe and healthy.

Thank you for helping us to care for hundreds of people in need with food, blankets and mattresses, as well as for helping us to care for one very special new life.

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ISIS Driving Muslims from Islam

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Underground Pastors

e’ve seen the news of how ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria have driven millions from their homes, but the news doesn’t talk about how they are also driving many to leave Islam.

Through ICC’s Underground Pastors fund, we are supporting a Syrian refugee who is leading outreach and church planting work

with 14 small groups of refugees, many of whom are former Muslims who are wanting to leave Islam.

In one group, three Muslim families from the western side of Syria came to the conclusion on their own to denounce their old faith and the demonic teaching of the Quran and give full allegiance to Christ the Savior. They often have said, “Thank you for enlightening us to the truth, we just didn’t know it before.”

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In the Shadow of Terror

ISIS released this photograph to announce their arrival in Yemen.

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A Houthi rebel leads a protest. Photo by EPA/Yahya Arhab.

Yemenis flee fighting. Photo by ITV.

Saudi airstrikes pound Sana.

eeting in a basement villa in the capital city of Sana’a, a group of Christians have gathered in secret to pray and worship together. As they made their way to the prayer meeting, bombs were falling overhead as part of a Saudi-led coalition intent on striking back at Houthi rebels, who, with support from Iran, had made gains in the country.

Christians have to remain “invisible” in order to stay safe, Bishop Paul said of the small gathering of expatriate Christians.

His statement is also true for the some 2,500 Yemeni believers across the country. They must stay in the shadows or find them-

Saudi Arabia responded by leading a coalition of Sunni countries in a large-scale bombing campaign to drive back the Houthi rebels, keeping Iran from gaining a stronghold on its southern border. The most immediate result of the surge in violence was more than 150,000 people driv-

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selves the targets of the Islamic extremists operating in the country or facing the persecution from their families in a culture that remains hostile toward anyone who would leave Islam to follow Jesus.

Islamists’ Latest Battle Ground Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, has become an important battleground for control and influence in the region.

The Sunni vs. Shia conflict, led

by Saudi Arabia and Iran, is playing out as Iranian-backed rebels have gained control of a large portion of the country, fighting against troops loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Saudi Arabia.

‘Yemen has never had a stable government, and this makes it an ideal place for terrorists to breed chaos.’

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en from their homes and more than 1,000 killed. Huge numbers were looking to flee the country, and most Western governments, including the United States, have pulled their diplomatic staff out of the country.

Yemen is not only a battleground between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but it is also a stronghold for Al Qaeda and has ISIS cells operating, as well.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been linked to several of the failed attacks on the United States and also claimed credit for the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris. Its leaders include Ibrahim al-Asiri, the bombmaker behind the 2009 Christmas Day underwear bombing and other attempted attacks.

JUNE 2015

Many experts see AQAP as the most dangerous branch of the Al Qaeda network.

Since August 2014, they’ve claimed responsibility for over 400 attacks in Yemen alone.

As the country continues in chaos, without a functioning central government, AQAP has increased its hold on a large portion of southern Yemen, including control of an airport and seaport.

While AQAP is the most dominant terrorist group, ISIS is quickly gaining ground in Yemen. It is a fertile recruiting and training ground for the jihadist organization. ISIS claimed responsibility for the March 20 bombing of a Shia mosque in Sana’a that claimed 137 lives.

With its growing reputation of brutality and territorial claims in Iraq and Syria, ISIS is attempting to rival AQAP for recruits and financial support for their jihadist aims.

Christians Staying in the Shadows Behind the conflict that gains the attention of international press is the danger that Christians face in Yemen.

There are an estimated 2,500 Yemeni Christians living in the country, but they must remain hidden or their lives are at great risk.

“All Christians in Yemen are from a Muslim background,” Sam*, a Yemeni believer, told CBN News in a recent interview. “According to Islamic Sharia law, it is forbidden for Muslims to convert to Christianity.”

“Yemen has never had a stable government, and this makes it an ideal place for terrorists to breed chaos,” Sam explained. “It’s unfortunate, but they are playing with the souls of people. The simple Yemeni citizen doesn’t want these groups with their Islamic agendas to influence the country. What ends up being destroyed is people’s lives and businesses.”

But as another leader who works closely with some Yemeni believers told ICC, “Believers will face persecution from actually everybody: family, government, extremists and even their own spouses.”

Yet even with these great risks, there are still some who have come to believe in Jesus who though often in secret, are meeting with other Christians to pray and worship together.

As Sunni and Shia states battle for control of territory, and ISIS and AQAP battle for funding and recruits, beneath the surface, Christians are battling in love to free those who have been gripped by the chains of darkness.

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A First Person Account:

Church Leader Gives Insight on Life for Christians in Yemen ICC spoke recently with an Arab church leader who has been working closely with the underground church in Yemen for years. The latest conflict has forced them to move workers out of the country, but he shared insights on life as a believer in Yemen.

Very few know anything about believers that live in Yemen.

What is life like for a believer?

How many believers are living in the country?

There are a very limited number of believers in the whole country, scattered as individuals with the exception of one group. Believers in Yemen live very dangerous and risky lives. They meet underground and certainly can’t reveal their true beliefs within the community.

Certainly many believers have to stay quiet or they face persecution. Where does persecution come from?

Believers will face persecution from actually everybody: family, government, extremists and even their own spouses.

Over the past months, there has been chaos in Yemen and extremists battling for control.

How has this impacted believers?

In the midst of this terrible time, believers have been suffering like anybody else in the country.

They suffer from insecurity and injuries. There are shootings and bombings with heavy weapons in the streets. There is no electricity, and there is a huge shortage of food and water.

How has the conflict affected those who were in Yemen working to share Jesus?

“E” was trapped for several days without any hope of return after all the airports were closed. He tried several times to reach Aden’s port, but all the attempts failed because he was caught in the midst of battles and strikes. He had to return back to where he was staying. There, he encouraged believers and helped people in the streets with all he had until he felt encouraged to try again to go to the port. When he arrived safely, he found his name listed on an Indian ship — [a remarkable thing] when thousands were trying to find a place to ride.

The trip was so laden with danger that they believed only a miracle could have made them arrive safely. By God’s grace, they arrived in Djibouti. From there, he flew to Qatar and finally back home.

Underneath all the chaos, do you see God at work in the lives of Muslims to come to know Him?

‘God is shaking the whole country … shaking all the foundations and postulates and giving us great opportunities to share the truth and speak eagerly about His love.’

God is shaking the whole country.

He is opening many eyes and touching many hearts.

People are asking so many questions and trying to find the truth. The Lord is shaking all the foundations and postulates and giving us great opportunities to share the truth and speak eagerly about His love.

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