International Christian Concern May 24, 2024

A young Christian convert in Chhattisgarh, India, was killed by a mob led by his uncle and cousin on May 4. Kosa Kawasi, 22, and his wife converted to Christianity from Hinduism. Shortly after, the village tried to force the couple out of their home but was unsuccessful. This led to the mob, resulting in Kawasi’s uncle inflicting a lethal stab wound.

Before the mob attack, the young couple was reportedly receiving death threats to frighten them into renouncing their newfound faith. Kawasi notified the authorities, hoping that there would be some sort of intervention.

No such intervention occurred, however, and his death was labelled the result of a property dispute following the short investigation. The instigators were arrested, but so far, no charges have been made public. Kawasi’s uncle was motivated by religious hatred after his nephew refused to revert to Hinduism, witnesses say, and the property dispute claim is only partially true.

“Christian tribals live in fear and insecurity even among their own families,” a local told AsiaNews.

Being a convert to Christianity in India carries a certain amount of personal risk anywhere in the country, but perhaps nowhere is as dangerous as northern remote villages. India’s tumultuous election season has caused a considerable rise in persecution of the Christian minority community.

Church in Chains, May 21, 2024 (excerpts)

Elder Zhang Chunlei (60) has been in detention in China since March 2021 for “fraud and inciting subversion of state power” but the court’s verdict was never announced, and his defence lawyer has been denied access to the case files.

In early May Elder Zhang’s lawyer visited him at the Guiyang City Detention Centre.  In his conversation with the lawyer Elder Zhang reflected very honestly on his past attitude as a pastor.  He has come to realise that “Serving the church is not the same as running a business.”  He described himself as “completely corrupt” and said that if a person lacks love, they lack an understanding of grace; they have received grace themselves but are legalistic towards others. If love is lacking, it is because prayer is lacking, and there is a problem with the relationship with the Lord. Fortunately, there is God, otherwise he would only be left with guilt.

He said loving someone and praying for them is better than any gift, adding that now he often prays by name for congregation members and co-workers. He said he is an impatient person and that being able to endure these three years of imprisonment involves the work of the Holy Spirit. If he can get out of the prison a little earlier he will be grateful; if he gets out a little later, he will also be grateful, but he hopes it will not be delayed.

His lawyer concluded, “Elder Zhang is not only a suffering saint, but also an increasingly mature and humble pastor.”

Barnabas Aid, May 20, 2024 (excerpts)

Please continue in prayer for the Christian community in Chin State, western Myanmar, which has come under renewed attack from the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw).

The Tatmadaw bombed two churches in the Christian-majority state in two airstrikes at around 9pm on 11 May. The churches in the village of Lungtak near the town of Tonzang were hit as the military attempted to drive out rebels from the area.

The bombardment also destroyed five houses. More than 1,000 residents from Lungtak and surrounding villages fled into nearby forests to escape the bombings.

The aerial strikes occurred just over two weeks after Tatmadaw airstrikes on a village hospital in Chin State killed five people, including four patients.  The attack on the Vawmm’tu cottage hospital in Vawmm village, near Mindat township, around 270 miles south of Tonzang, was carried out on 25 April.

The hospital that provides crucial health care services to thousands of people in conflict-torn western Chin State has been repeatedly hit by Tatmadaw airstrikes despite the absence of any active fighting in the region.

Joshua Project, May 26^th, 2024

Most Hmong Njua occupy the middle class in French Guiana. They own small businesses and restaurants. They work as teachers and as middle level administrators for the government. The Hmong, as a small minority, try to keep a low profile. They tend to marry within their group. The Hmong try to maintain their Southeast Asian language and culture.

Some Hmong have been in Guiana for generations and consider themselves more French than Hmong. The Hmong practice monogamy or one wife for each husband. Parents encourage their children to graduate from universities and enter the professions.

They are susceptible to being deceived by strong influential figures. One of their legends tells of a Hmong saviour who will come and lead them into their own land where they will be left alone in peace.

Some Njua Hmong will listen to the truth while others will listen to deceivers. Getting them the word of God and praying they will make good decisions is the best approach.

Pray that they will understand that there is no god as great as God, the one who gives us all we need.

Pray that the Hmong people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings. Pray for workers who will share the good news and tell the Hmong how to follow the Lord. Pray for a movement to Christ among all the Hmong Njua to begin this decade.

Voice of the Martyrs, 11^th April 2024

On Sunday, January 28, two masked gunmen entered a Catholic church in Istanbul during a service and randomly shot and killed a 52-year-old man. The self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility.

Turkish police quickly arrested two suspects with ties to ISIS and later arrested 25 more after raiding numerous locations. Afterwards, police contacted a pastor of a rapidly growing church in another part of Turkey and told him that his name was on an ISIS hit list.

“This pastor has been threatened by ultra-nationalist Turks many times, but this was the first time that he sounded worried,” said a front-line worker.

Turkish police offered to protect the pastor and encouraged him to set up security cameras. “We can’t pray for the elimination of persecution,” said the front-worker, “but we can pray that believers will be strengthened and recognize these things are happening because of the growth of the church.”

Unfortunately, Islam is considered by most Turks to be part of their national identity; it is hard for them to imagine leaving Islam even if they know little about its teachings and do not practice its tenets.

Believers face a range of challenges from family members, neighbours, employers and the government. It is not uncommon for the government to assign police officers to a pastor or church for “protection” from threats by Islamic leaders. This is a way to monitor the activities of pastors and churches.

Morning Star News, April 12, 2024

The Muslim brother of a 19-year-old woman in eastern Uganda on March 29 killed her for putting her faith in Christ, a relative said.

Namukuve Sawuya had come to faith through a Christian Union Fellowship at her high school, a relative said. When her father, Alhaji Muzamiru, noticed she was not attending Muslim prayer times during Ramadan, he became angry and called her and her six siblings together at their home in Nawaningi village, Bulamagi Sub-County, Iganga District.

He asked her why she had not attended the prayers.

“She kept quiet for a while and later replied that she had converted to Prophet Issa [Jesus Christ],” the relative said. “This angered her elder brother, Abdul Rahim Munaabi, and he got hold of a wooden chair and hit her on the head. She cried out once, saying, ‘Oh Mum,’ and stopped breathing.”

Her mother was away checking on a relative who was ill in Naluwerere, the source said.

“Namukuve’s body was removed from the house and dumped in a swamp near the River Naigombwa.”

Rice farmers in the swamp discovered the body and informed police. Officers took it to a mortuary for autopsy and were investigating the crime.

Sawuya’s body, abandoned in the mortuary, was buried on hospital land, the source said.

Church in Chains, April 10^th, 2024

Pastor Ramesh Ahirwar and his wife Sakshi Ahirwar from Viveknagar Bhansa village near Sagar in Madhya Pradesh state have each been sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 25,000 rupees (€280) after Hindu extremists accused them of “forcible conversion” under the state’s anti-conversion laws.

They denied the charge but were convicted and sentenced on 11 March 2024 at the Trial Court of Sagar district, even though the woman they are accused of pressurising to convert denied in court that they had tried to forcibly or fraudulently convert her or her husband.

The couple’s conviction is the first under Madhya Pradesh’s anti-conversion law. “I am shocked at the conviction,” the pastor told Morning Star News. “The charges against us are baseless and utterly untrue.”

Pastor Ramesh and Sakshi appealed to the High Court and are currently out on bail while their appeal is processed. Their first appeal hearing was held on 5 April at the High Court in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and the court extended the order of bail granted by the trial court until 30 April 2024.

Pastor Ramesh said he was on a trip to Delhi in October 2021 when members of the Hindu extremist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) incited a man named Abhishek Ahirwar to accuse the couple of abducting his estranged wife, pressurising her to convert to Christianity and trying to fraudulently convert him too.

Joshua Project, April 15^th, 2024

Chinese people have despised the Hmu people for centuries and called them “men-dogs.” When a Hmu person dies, a shaman “opens the road” by giving directions to enable the soul of the deceased to reach heaven after a long journey. In 1898, missionary W. S. Fleming and the first Hmu convert, Pan Xiushan, were murdered and Christian inquirers were beheaded. Today the main centre for the Northern Hmu people is Kaili City.   

Northern Hmu have strongly resisted the good news of Christ and this resistance may linger today. Ethnic religious practices, ruled by fear, legends and superstition are strongholds that must be pulled down before truth of the gospel can take hold.

The Hmu New Testament was completed in 2018 and audio Bible resources are available in their language.

Pray for many from today’s people to know that they must have no other God but the Lord.

Pray that the followers of Jesus among the Northern Hmu people would be nourished by the Holy Spirit and would fellowship together. Pray they would have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness, living as children of light. Pray that these disciples would make disciples who will plant churches among Hmu people, spreading and growing deep roots. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully through those ministering to Hmu people. Pray they would be given spiritual understanding.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, March 28, 2024

‘He threatened to shoot me if I did not accept Islam. I refused and said if God wants me to die by your bullet, His will is above us.’ 

These are the words of Father Arsenius, priest of the Al-Masalma Coptic Church in Omdurman, Sudan, which was attacked by RSF gunmen last May.

Moments before his life was threatened, the attackers had shot Father Arsenius’ son in front of him and threatened to do the same to him if he did not accept Islam. In a TV interview after he fled to Egypt he said: ‘My son was lying down in front of me and heavily bleeding. I rushed to help him and told them this is my son, but they did not allow me and threatened me to shoot him if I tried to help him.’

Thankfully, the attackers didn’t shoot Father Arsenius. His son was treated in hospital and has now recovered.

Sudan has been in a state of crisis since April 2023 when conflict broke out between two factions of the ruling military junta – the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – days before they were due to merge as part of a planned transition to democracy.

In the year since then, it is Sudan’s civilians who have suffered the most, experiencing some of the gravest crimes under international law. Christians are particularly vulnerable, with reports of attacks on clergy, the bombing of churches by both warring parties, and the seizure of religious buildings for use as military bases.

Open Doors, 26^th March 2024 (excerpts)

Deki is one of the estimated 19,500 Christians in Bhutan, a country where all citizens are expected to be Buddhist. Because of her faith, she couldn’t go to school, but her greatest dream has now been fulfilled – to read and write.

She finds it difficult to recall her childhood. Having not attended school, she missed out on the fun of playground friendships and activities, the joy of learning, and the exciting possibilities that come from being able to read and write.

It could have been very different if she and her family denied their faith, but they didn’t. Despite the sadness, Deki has no regrets and today she is looking forward to a future that not long ago seemed impossible.

Since there was no church in the village, the family walked four to five hours to attend church – and in secret. “Every Sunday, we had to go to church, hiding.”

Despite seeking to keep a low profile, locals knew of the family’s faith. “Villagers taunted my parents,” recalls Deki. “They held many meetings and mocked us for our faith. They inquired about our faith, such as who shared it with us and who told us to be Christian.”

The hostility was so intense that on two occasions Deki was denied admission to schools. “I couldn’t study,” she says. “All my friends of my age went to school, and now they are doing well.  I felt bad when I couldn’t attend school, but I never blamed my parents,” she adds. “I also never questioned their faith. Now, I know that whatever happens, it happens for good.”