Christian women remember persecuted sisters- Christian women from across the UK staged a vigil in London at the weekend for their sisters around the world who are suffering for their faith. The focus of the vigil was a Nigerian Christian woman who "died of trauma" after being attacked for a second time by militants. Nvou Dauda was shot 20 times by Muslim extremists in 2002. The attack killed her unborn child and destroyed her home. She received support from Release International partners in Nigeria, who rebuilt her home, and Nvou was even able to forgive her neighbour who was among the attackers. However, in 2012 attackers struck again and her new home was destroyed. She was living in a refugee camp when Release partners say she "simply slumped and died of trauma". READ MORE
Pastor Saeed's Wife Naghmeh: Saeed's Nightmare
Estranged Christian Father Struggles in Harsher, Hard-liine Suda- Convert from Islam whose wife divorced him can now visit children – with caution. By Our East Africa Correspondent- KHARTOUM, Sudan, February 26 (Morning Star News) – Mohammed Khidir Khalil Hassan, a Sudanese convert from Islam, has to be careful what songs he sings to his sons. Nearly a year ago, after his wife left him and Christianity behind, a Sudanese court had ruled that as a convert from Islam he was forbidden to see his children, then ages 3 and 5. An appeals court overturned the ruling last October and allowed him visits, but he knows any pretext could be used to keep him from them. During one recent visit, one of the boys asked him to sing a Christian praise song entitled “Hosanna,” but he refrained – knowing his ex-wife and her Muslim family could use that as evidence that he was trying to convert the children to Christianity and automatically cancel his visitation rights. READ MORE
Premier to send 10,000 Bibles to Egypt- Premier Christian Media has launched a fundraising appeal to send 10,000 Bibles to Egypt. The campaign is being run in partnership with its Charity of the Year, Open Doors. One Bible can cost a week's wages in Egypt, where Christians are facing discrimination and violence for their beliefs. The funds raised will go towards providing them with Bibles, as well as literacy programmes that will enable Christians to read the Bible for themselves. John Pantry, Inspirational Breakfast presenter, said: "Before I went to Egypt with Open Doors, I had no idea that there was such hunger for the Bible among Christians and Muslims. "Please give so Open Doors teams can teach people how to read, and give them a Bible." Premier is asking for just £5 to cover the cost of one Bible. SOURCE
IRAN | Pastor Irani Still in Need of Medical Assistance- Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has learned that Pastor Benham Irani, currently held in Ghezal Hesar prison in Iran, is now unable to walk and that medical assistance continues to be withheld despite his deteriorating health. Pastor Irani has been losing weight for several months and has been unable to walk for the last week due to acute back pain. The pastor has trouble with his vision and last year suffered severe bleeding due to stomach ulcers and complications with his colon, which caused him to lose consciousness at one point. He was given tablets to stop the bleeding but was denied further medical attention. There are concerns that given his critical condition, the pastor may die unless he receives appropriate medical treatment. READ MORE
"Mr. Insecticide" from persecutor to Christ follower- "I was called Mr. Insecticide," he says. "I was the only one who could organize the killing of the insects, the killing of Christians. When you are looking for someone to get rid of insects you call me, then I arrange and plan an attack against Christians. This was my life." READ MORE
Ethnic Families in Vietnam Ransacked, Beaten for Their New Faith DANANG, Vietnam (Morning Star News) – Newly converted Christians of the Sedang ethnic minority in Vietnam’s Central Highlands were terrorized last week – their homes and personal property badly damaged or destroyed in four consecutive night raids, and some of the faithful seriously injured from beatings in broad daylight, sources said. Since becoming Christians in the past year, five families in mountainous Kontum Province have reported constant harassment from villagers upset that they are no longer contributing to communal sacrifices and other practices because of their new faith. The attacks from Monday (Feb. 18) to Friday (Feb. 22) constituted a third wave of sustained violence since their conversion, leaving their property severely damaged and their lives threatened. Attacks on the new Christians – who belong to a Christian Mission Church (CMC) congregation in Ngoc La village, Mang Ri Commune, Tumorong District in northwestern Kontum Province – were primarily motivated by strong tensions within the ethnic group over the families leaving the “old ways.” Ideologically opposed to Christianity, local Communist officials freely permit and even encourage such conflicts, sources said. READ MORE
Save Saeed- Yellow Envelopes to Secretary of State John Kerry CAMPAIGN Begins! A supporter of Saeed, Lissa Bales came up with a great way to help this American pastor and keep pressure on our government to step up and act on his behalf! We will send yellow envelopes to John Kerry urging him to work and do what he can as a government official, to free Saeed. The goal is to send as many yellow envelopes on March 1st, and then on the 1st of every month after, until his release from Iran. Prayer is still the MOST important thing we can do, but we can pray to God and also request that OUR government do what they can. READ MORE
Christian woman ‘falsely’ implicated in theft case, released on bail- (LEAD) PAKISTAN, Lahore- A 35 year old Christian woman, Arshad Bibi worked as a domestic servant in a rich Muslim family’s house for the last eight years in Muslim Town, Lahore for wages of just Rs.3000(US$30.50) per month. READ MORE
NEWS ALERT: Iran Jails Two Christian Converts As Part Of Crackdown -TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Two Christian converts are already over 50 days in Tehran's feared Evin prison as part of a crackdown on spreading Christianity in heavily Islamic Iran and it remains unclear when they will be released, BosNewsLife learned Monday, March 4. Shahrzad Y., a 25-year-old woman, and a man named as Sam S. 27, were both detained on January 9 after security forces raided their homes in western Tehran, Iranian Christians said. The two university students were reportedly charged with the "formation and promotion of house churches and holding gatherings intended for committing crimes." Iranian police also confiscated personal belongings including laptops, Christian books and notes, Christian song Compact Disks and cameras, reported Mohabat News, a news agency of Iranian Christians and activists. Their arrests came shortly after some 50 other Christians were reportedly detained on similar charges, though it remained unclear how many of them remained behind bars Monday, March 4th. READ MORE
Iran’s Continuous Blatant Violation of Pastor Saeed’s Fundamental Human Rights(ACLJ) Iran has repeatedly and continually abused the most basic human rights of Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen. For more than 160 days, Pastor Saeed has now been incarcerated in one of Iran’s most abusive and deadly prisons merely because of his religious beliefs – a blatant violation of numerous international treaties to which Iran has willingly bound itself and in violation of Iran’s own constitution. However, this is not the only violation of his human rights by any means. Iran’s deliberate and systematic violation of Saeed’s rights is almost unbelievable. No one should suffer this cruel fate for their religious beliefs. Among other human rights treaties, Iran has willingly signed to be bound by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam. Iran is in willful and blatant violation of each of these treaties and even its own constitution. Here are just a few of the numerous ways that Iran is egregiously violating international law and its own constitution to torment this pastor. READ MORE
Clandestine Christianity in Somalia When Abdullah turned 18, he was introduced to the Gospel and gave his life to the Lord. In any other environment, Abdullah’s conversion would be met with celebration and praise. But, as a former Muslim in Somalia, Abdullah all but placed a target on his own back, waiting for a bullet. Conversion to Christianity is forbidden in the small country of Somalia, and consequences are extreme. However, Abdullah was drawn to the message of love and forgiveness, and could not deny his heart’s desire. While this may seem a simple exchange, the cost was high. READ MORE
Egyptian Christians allege torture at hands of Libyan Islamists The Christians, who are peddlers, were arrested by Islamist Salafists in Benghazi, who said they had Christian icons at their marketplace stalls, according to Mideast Christian News. The men were later reportedly freed and await deportation, but their family members back home told the Egyptian press they were abused while held, initially on charges of proselytizing. “When the residents of the village told me that he was imprisoned, I embraced his sons and told them they would not see their father again,” Fardoos Salib, the mother of Coptic farmer Atif Kamel, told Egyptian newspaper al-Watan. “I prayed in the church, until God responded and he was released, as God knows our conditions.” Activists in Libya last week posted photographs on Facebook showing the Egyptian Copts under detention. A video later seized by police showed the Egyptian Christians locked in a small room and guarded by bearded Salafists. Many appeared to be cut and bruised, and all had had their heads shaved. READ MORE
Teaching Intelligent Design Goes on Trial in Ohio WNS) - The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments in late February in the case of a science teacher fired for talking openly with students about his Christian faith and theories of intelligent design. John Freshwater taught at a middle school in Mount Vernon, Ohio, for 20 years before the school board accused him of teaching Christian beliefs in class during discussions of evolution and homosexuality. The board also accused him of insubordination because he refused to remove a Bible from his classroom. The school board fired Freshwater in 2009. Two lower courts have ruled in the school district’s favor. But Freshwater’s attorneys, supported by Charlottesville, Va., civil liberties group The Rutherford Institute, argue the school board violated the teacher’s constitutional rights. “Academic freedom was once the bedrock of American education,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “That is no longer the state of affairs, as this case makes clear. … By firing John Freshwater for challenging his students to think outside the box, school officials violated a core First Amendment freedom - the right to debate and express ideas contrary to established views.” READ MORE
Christians Miraculously Survive Boko Haram Terror Attacks-
Laolu Akande, secretary general of the Christian Association of Nigeria and president of Nigerian Christians residing in the U.S., says Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan—pictured here at the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland—should become more proactive in the fight against Boko Haram and terrorism (World Economic Forum)Some Christian survivors of attacks by members of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Monday, Feb. 4, in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, recounted how 17 Christians were murdered in cold blood by Boko Haram Islamists and how they survived the attacks to tell the story. -- Serana Chinda, a pastor of the All Denomination Church (ADC), Hauran Wanki, Police Barracks in Kano, in northern Nigeria, said eight members of his local congregation were killed for refusing to recant their Christian faith in Jesus Christ. They were among 13 Christians who were killed in a factory. The ADC serves all Christian police officers and other ranks with their family members, alongside other non-police Christian communities in the area as a worship auditorium. -- READ MORE
The Empire Strikes Back: China Assaults Home Churches- Crackdown surge only months after persecution in decline(VOL) - China’s crackdown against its thriving home-church movement is surging, only a few months after it was reported the communist nation’s attacks on Christians had subsided, according to a new report from the Chinese-focused human rights group China Aid. China Aid said its research shows a 42 percent increase in persecution over the past 12 months. China Aid founder Bob Fu, who says the Chinese government is wary of organized groups, confirmed, “Experts say the Communist Party in China has long felt threatened by any movement that galvanizes a large sector of the population, fearing it could wield political clout.” Now, he said, “The nation has become more systematically hostile to worshipers.” China Aid spokesman Mark Shan told WND the government appears to intend to do what is necessary. “There is a major effort now to wipe out the house churches by any means. The government will shut down the church,” Shan said. “Or, they will force the house church members to join an official church.” Those official groups, recognized and allowed by the government, also are influenced by the government, critics have explained. Shan says that the government’s approach to home churches varies based on the region, the size of the church, or the officials in charge. READ MORE
China is #37 on the World Watch List. Please pray with us. Pray for continued REVIVAL!
Father, we ask that Your church would now be strengthened in China. As there has been spectacular growth over the past two decades, may there now be a strengthening and depth brought to your church. Amen!
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