Stories of Hope from the Persecuted Church
With the end of the year 2007 in sight, there is certainly enough bad news coming from all ends of the world. All you have to do is to flip on your television, go to the Internet or read your local newspaper to get the horrific details – whether it was acts of terrorism, natural disasters, kidnapping….and on and on.
And, of course, this included the Persecuted Church worldwide.
An estimated 200 million Christians around the world suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation.
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But there are faces behind those numbing statistics. I was particularly impacted this year with the murder of Rami Ayyad, who was the manager of the Bible Society Bookshop in Gaza. This dedicated worker and father of two was tortured before being murdered in early October. I had briefly spoken with him last year during a quick trip into that dangerous place. His wife Pauline is pregnant with their third child. The family is struggling with his death at age 30. His 2-year-old son George especially misses his father. He is sad and hardly eating, according to reports.
But the news from the Persecuted Church is not all doom and gloom. There are exciting and exhilarating stories of hope and faith from all corners of the globe. Let me share just a few with you.
• Four years ago David de Vinatea was released from Lurigancho Prison in Lima, Peru. The decorated military officer and evangelical Christian was arrested in 1995 for alleged drug trafficking while commanding an army base in the Peruvian jungle. Although no evidence linked him to any crimes and the sole witness for the prosecution later retracted his testimony, a civilian court sentenced Colonel de Vinatea to 16 years in prison. Military authorities stripped him of his rank. Open Doors supported him with prayer and legal assistance for many years. In an unlikely turn of events, de Vinatea is serving once again on Peru's military bases. His new rank is national director of RBC International, which produces the popular devotional booklet Our Daily Bread. De Vinatea has set a goal of distributing 100,000 copies of a special military edition of Our Daily Bread to the officers and troops of Peru's armed forces. In less than a year on duty, he has passed the halfway mark, personally delivering 56,000 devotional booklets on military bases across the country.
• Open Doors co-workers met a tire reseller, a candle molder, a brick producer, a baker and a seamstress during a trip to Sri Lanka in June. They were victims of the December 2004 tsunami, and all of them received help from Open Doors. Many of the beneficiaries are now part of a spiritual family, worshiping God in their gratitude. They are living testimonies that life and hope can come after a tragedy. Open Doors co-workers met with Pastor Bryan and Pastor Rasika in Sri Lanka. These pastors accompanied Open Doors in visiting some of the livelihood beneficiaries in Galle. "Most of the people attending the church were affected by the tsunami. I knew that it was an opportunity for us to demonstrate Christ's love," shared Pastor Rasika. His church used to have 10-15 believers, but it grew to about 100 members after the tsunami. Through partnership with National Christian Evangelical Alliance in Sri Lanka (NCEASL), Open Doors gave a livelihood grant to Pastor Rasika. He started making bricks during the tsunami aftermath and supplied bricks for housing projects of the local government and other organizations. Also, through Pastor Rasika's church, Open Doors and NCEASL helped tsunami victims by giving one-time livelihood grants and sewing machines.
• This is the testimony of Rayhan, a Middle East terrorist who came to know Jesus: "I was part of a terrorist group. Our intention was to build an Islamic state. In 1991 and 1992 I signed up with this group, so I could be one of the persons to blow myself up and to fight against the Christians or the West. We found some Christians who where converting others to Christianity and I told them to give me the books and all the information. We fought against those Christians. However, I started to read their materials and the Bible. I found out that this information was very good. And then I had a dream about Jesus. There was a place where all the prophets were sitting on horses near me. I started asking questions about who they were, and they said they were Abraham, Jacob and Isaiah. Then I asked who the other was and they said, 'This is Jesus.' And then I said, 'Wow, this is Jesus, this is Jesus?' I was so excited and so happy. When He removed the veil from His face, I was so … I was full of the Holy Spirit in my life. I felt so strong and started to shout, 'Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!' It was amazing, the joy and the strength I had inside my heart. I was laughing and laughing and then I woke up from the dream, and my pillow was full of tears. I then asked myself; how can I become a Christian? I asked a friend who pointed me to a bookstore. I went there and found two men. They prayed for me and I became a believer."
Those three stories are powerful! They motivate me to never give up hope even in the most dire of circumstances and to get down on my knees in prayer for the persecuted. The Lord – in the midst of suffering and disasters – can change hearts. And we as the church in the West need to continue to support and encourage our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ during this Christmas season and into the New Year.
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Dr. Carl Moeller is president/CEO of Open Doors USA
