Ten Killed, Churches and Homes Burned December 21, 2007
NIGERIA – On December 11, ten people were killed, several Christians injured seriously and churches, businesses and homes burned, when Muslim extremists went on a rampage in Yelwa Tudu, Bauchi State, Northern Nigeria.
According to Compass Direct News, the violence occurred after unidentified people pulled out two bricks from the foundation of a mosque under construction at the Baba Tank secondary school in Kagadama shortly after construction began on December 2.
Compass Direct added,” Muslim extremists believed Christians were responsible for the damage and threatened to attack local believers. Area Muslims joined the attacking students, resulting in the deaths and damages in the city, including the burning of dozens of homes belonging to Christians. The Redeemed Christian Church of God, the Assemblies of God Church and Elim Church were set on fire and damaged. At least a dozen Christian homes were destroyed in the attack.”
Only one of those killed has been identified as a Christian. The identities of the other nine were reportedly kept a secret by the government and their bodies were hurriedly buried in one grave. Pray the Lord will fill Christians with His peace and strength as they recover from this attack. Ask God to comfort those who have lost loved ones. Pray Christ will be exalted through this tragedy and that people in this area will continue to be drawn to Him.

Mr. Son Scheduled to be Publicly Executed.

Dear friend,
Mr Son (right) and his brother.
A few months ago, The Voice of the Martyrs launched a campaign to help secure the release of Mr. Son, a missionary to North Korea. His story is both tragic and inspiring.
Mr. Son Jong Nam was an army officer in North Korea. He witnessed the brutality of the government when secret police kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach and she miscarried.
Not long after this, Mr. Son and his family defected to China. It was in China that Mr. Son met a missionary and gave his life to Christ. In time, he felt called to be an evangelist to his homeland of North Korea. Before Mr. Son could make plans to secretly travel back to North Korea, he was arrested by Chinese police and extradited. Back in his homeland, he was convicted of his "illegal" Christian activities and served three years of imprisonment and brutal torture.

After his release, Mr. Son made his way back to China and continued his biblical studies. Once again, he felt called to share Christ with the many lost souls of North Korea.
Mr. Son’s friends begged him not to return to North Korea -- it was just too dangerous. But with the call of God on his life, he returned to share the Good News.
Mr. Son was arrested again in January 2006 and was sentenced to be publicly executed for his persistent Christian work.

During the past few months, VOM has worked with Mr. Son’s brother to publicize his case. Many in the media picked up the story, and top officials in Washington, D.C. wrote letters.
VOM also featured Mr. Son on the Prisoner Alert Web site (www.PrisonerAlert.com), encouraging supporters to write a letter on his behalf. Nearly 4,000 letters have already been written.
his was all made possible because concerned Christians were willing to stand with their persecuted family through prayer, action and financial gifts. The Voice of the Martyrs thanks all those who stood with us in this effort. Mr. Son has not yet been released, but we remain hopeful this campaign will bring much needed attention to his plight and that of others who are persecuted for their faith in Christ.

If you have not sent a letter to Mr. Son or other Christian prisoners, we encourage you to visit www.PrisonerAlert.com or sign up below to receive regular Prisoner Alert updates. Each month you will be informed of a Christian prisoner you can write to.
We also invite you to make a contribution to VOM’s "Families of Martyrs" fund.
To subscribe to the Prisoner Alert e-mail updates and learn about VOM’s Families of Martyrs fund, please click here.

Please share this opportunity with your Christian friends and family.

To Love

"Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

"It is probably impossible to love any human being simply too much. We may love him too much in proportion to our love for God; but it is the smallness of our love for God, not the greatness of our love for the man, that constitutes the inordinacy."
-from The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis


This should apply to all our relationships, to God, to friends, to enemies, to strangers, to family, and more.

Reaction....?

A Martyr's Story

"James Abbeys,a young Christian, wandered from place to place to avoid being arrested for practicing his faith. In time, Abbeys was captured and brought before the Bishop of Norwich, who threatened him with prison and death. He promised Abbeys freedom if only he would deny his faith. Finally Abbeys gave in to the pressure. he was released and was about to leave the bishop when they called him back and gave him a bag of money. Once outside, Abbeys' conscience bothered him terribly. he knew his actions had displeased the Lord, so he immediately returned to the bishop. He threw the money at him and declared that he was sorry he'd denied his faith and accepted the gift. The bishop and his men started again to work on Abbeys with their threats and promises, but this time Abbeys did not give in. he stood firm, and as a result he was burned at the stake."

This is a true story taken from the book Jesus Freaks, by DC Talk and Voice of the Martyrs

Suffering like this is not something we see everyday, but it is happening in this country and around the world each day. These stories should serve as reminders of the incredible power of the God we serve. This story reminds me of God's power to forgive. It may seem strange that the man was not spared but I think we can now look back on that and see the great encouragement that horrible event can bring to others. Ina society where physical persecution is not common, we tend to give in more. C.S. Lewis said you never know how much you believe something until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death. How do you stand up to the persecution you face? Do you back down when people talk trash about God, or when other types of persecution come up?


It is also important to know whats going on the world around you, I have added a news feed to the bottom of the right bar that give news about whats going on in the church around the world.

A Martyr's Story

"Jesus does not promise that when we bless our enemies and do good to them they will not despise us and persecute us. They certainly will. But not even that can hurt us or overcome us, so long as we pray for them. For if we pray for them, we are taking their distress and poverty, guilt and perdition upon ourselves, and pleading to God for them. Every insult they utter only
serves to bind us more closely to God and them. Their persecution of us only serves to bring them nearer to reconciliation with God and to further the triumphs of love. It is only when one sees the anger and wrath of God hanging like grim realities over the head of one's enemies that one can know something of what it means to love them and forgive them."

"Christ wills that the weak and persecuted should be rescued, and He must be obeyed."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hung in Nazi Germany 1945.