Christians Beaten in Nepal

On June 13, a pastor and his congregation were attacked by Maoist rebels in the country of Nepal. The church was assembled together for an evening prayer meeting when the rebels demanded that they stop. When the congregation refused to stop the meeting, the rebels attacked.

The pastor talked to the Maoists before they attacked asking them to come back the next day to talk. However, this only resulted in him getting beaten by them. The congregation, including the pastor's father and mother, tried to defend him, but they too were attacked. The rebels also burnt Bibles and hymnals during the attack.

The Persecution Blog also reports:


"The following day, local villagers accused the Christians of not paying the “temple tax” and of 'converting the local people to Christianity.' Each family was ordered to pay the exorbitant tax, and Christians have been warned that they will be expelled from the village if they do not pay. Some believers have voluntarily left the village, and those remaining risk losing their homes."

Stay updated on stories like this at the Persecution Blog and at VOM's main website here.

Update on Gao Zhisheng

Rumors have been flying around since December 2009 that Gao Zhisheng has died from the brutal torture he received at the hands of Chinese police. Recently, Gao's brother, Zhiyi sought and found the police that originally detained Gao. He was told that Gao "went missing while out on a walk".

This is the first time the Chinese government has actually said anything leading to the belief that they no longer have Gao in custody. ChinaAid believes this means Zhisheng's health has taken a turn for the worse.

Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, says ""We have every reason to suspect that the Chinese government has something very serious to hide. Gao's family has every right to know what happened to him. It is unbelievable that a high security prisoner would go missing while 'out on a walk,' without suspecting that there is a major cover up of his condition."

Please pray fro Gao's family. They are under extreme stress because they don't know what has happened to their husband/father/brother. Gao's daughter, Gege became very emotionally upset upon hearing the rumors of his death and had to be placed in a hospital. Pray that the leaders of China will stop persecuting Christians and that they will turn to Christ.

For more updates on the persecuted church, please check out the Persecution Blog.

"I Beg You to take Revenge..."

"'I beg you to take revenge . . . '

The readers of the letter from Spanish martyr, Bartolome Marquez, were shocked to see a call for revenge in his final letter. Then they saw that his call was not for human bloodshed to avenge him, but for more people to come under the blood of Jesus.

'I beg you to take Christian revenge by trying to do good to those who do me evil,' Marquez challenged other believers. 'I hope to see you where I will be soon, in heaven.'

The Spanish Communists killed Marquez, along with many other pastors, in 1939. His final letter was an epistle of joy to his wife and Christian brothers and sisters."

To read the rest of this interesting post, click through to the Persecution Blog.

Home Schooled Girl Ordered to Attend Public School

This post is a slight departure from the norm on MWC. Normally I try to focus persecuted believers in China, Pakistan, etc. However, today's post will be a little closer to home for some of us.

Amanda Voydatch is a home schooled girl who lives with her mother. Brenda Voydatch, Amanda's mother, has home schooled her daughter since she entered school. Martin Kurowski, who is not a Christian, says his daughter should be removed from homeschool and placed in public school.

The court who looked into the case found that Amanda's mother was using curriculum that exceeds the state review standards. In spite of these findings, since the investigator found that "Amanda appeared to reflect her mother's rigidity on questions of faith" and her "vigorous defense of her religious beliefs to (her) counselor suggests strongly that she has not had the opportunity to seriously consider any other point of view", the judge ordered Amanda to attend public school.

This is a form of persecution. Please pray for Brenda Voydatch and her daughter Amanda as they go through this tough time. The Alliance Defence Fund is working to get Amanda out of public school and back home with the best teacher she could ever have, her mom. Read more at the Persecution Blog.

The Latest on Gao

Check out the Persecution Blog for a short update on Gao Zhisheng. He has now been imprisoned for 82 days by the Chinese government for speaking out on behalf of persecuted believers in China. His family hasn't heard from him and he has most likely been severely tortured.

Just a Reminder

Just wanted to give you all a reminder, that when there aren't any new posts here, to check out the Persecution Blog. I've kind of been in a blogging slump due to several different things, but I wanted you all to stay updated. A great place to keep up on the news is at the Persecution Blog. Please check it out!

Persecution Blog Post-Christian Aid Worker Beheaded in Somalia for Converting from Islam

Check out this post out from the Persecution Blog.