Open Doors, 14 August 2020

Lydia faces persecution for her faith, a lot of people believe that being a woman makes her weak. She learned how untrue this was at a seminar run by Open Doors partners.

She is a pastor’s wife from northern Myanmar where Christians are a minority, just 8 per cent of the population.

Despite being from a Christian family, Lydia’s walk with the Lord hasn’t always been easy.  People can become angry when she tries to tell them about Jesus, and she has seen families disown believers for choosing to follow Christ.

“Nevertheless,” she says, “we continue sharing the gospel slowly and carefully. We are always vigilant and we use more creative ways to talk about the love of Christ.”  

“Through the seminar, God changed my whole perspective on life,” says Lydia. “God has not just saved me but also lifted me up. I am precious, unique and have potential.  I can make God known to others and have talents I to use and multiply.”

This training helps the church become more resilient in places where it is persecuted and helps equip it to meet the diverse needs of all its members, male or female.  

Lydia was so excited that she decided to share her learning with other women: “I was inspired to be an empowered woman, doing everything that I can do with all my strength for what God had prepared for me in advance to do.”

MEC, Jul 6, 2020

Iranian Christians request prayer after Revolutionary Guard agents arrested at least twelve Christians in three different cities.  It is believed an informant gained Christians’ trust, infiltrated their network, and helped Iranian security identify particular individuals and raid a meeting in a private home.

On 30 June, in Tehran, security agents raided the home of a Christian convert, where about 30 Christians had gathered. The security agents, who filmed the raid, were initially respectful, but once the cameras were switched off, the mood abruptly changed and they reportedly became abusive.  The Christians were taken to the parking area where a list of names was read out. Those present from that list were handcuffed, blindfolded, and taken away.

They then went to the houses of those on the list from Tehran and Karaj, searching for Bibles, other Christian literature, and electronic communication devices.  Three more converts  also on the list, but not present at the gathering, were arrested at their homes, which were searched.

In a related security action, also on 30 June, agents called three Christian converts in Malayer, and summoned them to the Revolutionary Guard intelligence office for questioning the next day. However, all three were arrested before they could turn themselves in. They were released on bail of 30 million tomans (around $1,500) each on 2 July.

International Christian Concern, 28 July 2020

Christians living in Yemen request prayer as they experience persecution amidst ongoing war, food shortages, and COVID-19. These challenges have created a significant burden of isolation, both spiritually and physically. The Christian population, which once numbered approximately 40,000, is reduced to only a few thousand. Most live unaware of each other’s existence and in great fear of discovery from their neighbors.

The impact of COVID-19 arrived late in Yemen, compared to the rest of the region. The country is embroiled within a civil war that has left it split between two governments and conflicting international actors. On the one hand, such an environment has led to persecution that keeps the church underground. On the other hand, after so many years of hardship, many Yemenis are spiritually hungry for answers. Many pastors working in Yemen report an openness for the Gospel message that encourages them for the future of the church.

Morning Star News July 27, 2020 

A 26-year-old mother became the fifth Christian in two months to be killed in India last week when she refused to hand over her daughter to be raped by Hindus who had assaulted the girl and other Christian minors.

Two masked Hindus slit the throat of Sunita Devi in Jharkhand, when she came out her door at 1 a.m. and refused their demand for her young daughter.

At about 1 a.m. Devi noticed two men at the window of the room where she had been sleeping with her children and decided to get up and send them away, Pastor Nag said.

The men attacked Devi and she fell on the ground dead. On seeing her mother fall on the ground, the minor girl quickly ran inside the house and latched the door from inside.”

According to police, after the assailants killed Devi, they dragged her body into a nearby jungle, put her corpse into a sack and threw it into a river about two miles away. Police found her body at 2 p.m. and sent it for autopsy.

Pastor Nag said that girls from Christian homes are intentionally targeted by Hindus who influence followers of tribal Sarna religion, trying to introduce Hindu gods into their rituals and uniting with them against Christians.  “This belt of Jharkhand has been witnessing rising persecution, and it is very real for the Christians who are living it every day.”

Morning Star News, June 24, 2020

 Following calls from mosque leaders in Khartoum to rid their “Muslim area” of South Sudanese Christians, several Christians were attacked there and in neighbouring Omdurman this month.

At the end of evening prayers at a mosque, imams on June 6 called for residents to rid Christian South Sudanese from the “Muslim area”. Attacks on Christians in the area followed that evening and the next day.

In a separate attack on June 20 in Omdurman, young Muslim men shouting the jihadist slogan “Allah Akbar” stabbed a Christian to death in a street assault and four other South Sudanese.

Mariel Bang is survived by his wife and four children ranging in age from 1 to 4 years old.  Bang was 35.