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News and Prayer for the Persecuted
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Ten Baptist Families Expelled for Refusing to Recant Their Faith
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the afternoon of January 26, 10 Christian families consisting of 18 adults and 10 children were expelled from the community of Tuxpan de Bolanos in the state of Jalisco, Mexico for refusing to recant their faith. At 3 p.m., a town assembly agreement to evict these families from the community was executed by local citizens who gathered the Baptist believers into a pickup truck and abandoned them in the nearby mountains.
Currently, the regional president of the Baptist community, Omar Rodriguez, has made arrangements with the city government of Guadalajara to house the expelled families, while the city has also been asked to dispatch police patrols to transport them to safety.
- Pray for the protection and safety of the 10 Christian families who were expelled from their homes for refusing to recant their faith
- Pray that the government of Mexico will intervene and reinstate the freedom of worship that their constitution is meant to guarantee for all religious minorities
- Pray that Senator Marco Rubio will continue to speak out for minority Christians in Mexico and that the government of Mexico will no longer ignore this persecution
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Saeed Abedini, the Christian preacher and American citizen who was held captive in Iran due to his Christian faith, revealed the hardest thing about his more than three-year detainment during an interview this week with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren. Pastor Saeed, revealed that the 'hardest thing' he faced in Iranian prison was the months and months of solitary confinement with no books or communication to the outside world. This type of emotional deprivation was in addition to the severe beatings and torture he sustained in prison on charges related to his work setting up orphanages for children within Iran.
Abedini said that he would, many times, pray for hours, sometimes finding himself appealing to the Lord for more than 20 hours in one day.
- Praise God for the release and safe return of Pastor Saeed!
- Pray for Pastor Saeed's physical and mental recovery as he has suffered much torture at the hands of the Iranian government
- Pray for protection, wisdom and boldness for our brothers and sisters in Iran as they face persecution for their faith in Christ
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Two pastors have been kidnapped and another injured by a gunshot by unknown gunmen in Kogi State, Nigeria. The violence raises eerie suspicions about the origin of the attackers simply because Kogi State exists in southern Nigeria. Boko Haram and other radical Islamist movements in Nigeria rarely reach this far south, but this targeted persecution raises questions about the true influence that Boko Haram has stretching into southern Nigeria.
- Pray for the swift and safe release of the two pastors kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria
- Pray for the Christian communities in Nigeria who are being forced to leave their homes due to violence
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ISIS Attacks Christian Neighborhood in Syria, Killing Three
1/24/2016 Syria (UCA News)
An attack on a mostly Christian neighborhood in Syria killed three people and wounded 10 others. All three of the victims are Christians: a Chaldean and two Syrian Orthodox" Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Hindo of Hassakeh told Fides, information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. The attack occurred in a Kurdish city, and the residents noted that despite the ISIS responsibility announcement, they are always targeted because of their faith.
Full Story
- Pray for the families and friends of the three victims who were murdered in this attack by ISIS
- Pray for the swift healing of the 10 victims wounded during this attack
- Pray for the more than 7.6 million people displaced within Syria and the 4 million people displaced in neighboring countries
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The advocacy website change.org has had a petition posted calling for the release of 60 year old Canadian pastor Hyeon-Soo Lim. He has been held in North Korea since February of 2015 and was sentenced to prison officially in December of 2015. The petition calls on Secretary-General of the United Nations, Prime Minister of Canada, and Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister to work on freeing Rev. Lim. To date the petition has garnered 125,000 signatures and continues to grow daily.
- Pray for the success of change.org's petition urging North Korea to release Pastor Hyeon-Soo Lim
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Pray
for the thousands of Christ followers who are held in North Korean concentration camps as political prisoners
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Pray that the 'hermit kingdom' will begin to seek international co-operation, for the wellbeing of its citizens
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Christian Girl in Pakistan Killed by Muslim Men for Rejecting Their Sexual Advances
A Christian girl in Pakistan has reportedly been killed by a group of Muslim men after she refused their sexual advances. As a group of Christian girls walked home, a group of four Muslim men in a car confronted them and made lewd suggestions to the girls. When the girls refused their advances, the Muslims became enraged and hit the group of Christians with the car. One of the Christians was killed and the two others were severely injured. In Pakistan, Christians are considered second class citizens by the Muslim majority.
- Pray for the family of the Christian girl during this difficult time
- Pray for Christian women in Pakistan who face a "double persecution"; not only are they Christians, but they are also women and, as such, seen as worth much less than men and are very vulnerable to abuse
- Pray for Christians in Pakistan to stand in the face of persecution and know that they are held secure in the palm of their heavenly Father's hand
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