Bound Together Ministries

Prayer List for December 20, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:15:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for Jehanzaib Asher, a Pakistani Christian whose Muslim neighbors tried to convert him to Islam. After he defended Christianity without attacking Islam, Taliban militants beat him, then accused him and his cousin of blasphemy against Mohammad. “According to Compass News Asher’s picture is posted at check-points through-out Pakistan in an attempt to help the Taliban and other Islamists identify and kill him. Asher is now on the run and hiding as they seek to find him and take his life.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct)

Monday, please pray for the Jewish people as anti-Semitism is on the rise in western countries. “Ten middle school students in Naples, Florida, were suspended after taking part in what they called ‘Kick a Jew Day.’ School authorities assured worried parents that they were taking the incident seriously and would institute ‘sensitivity training’ and encourage students not to be bullies. (Jerusalem Prayer Team)

Tuesday, please pray for Pastor Abidan, Pastor Jeffry and other Indonesian pastors who have been receiving bomb threats. Police found an inoperable device at Pastor Abidan’s church. Radical Islamic groups are demanding that the churches be shut down. (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for Chinese Uyghur Pastor Alimjan Yimit. “Chinese authorities have quietly sentenced Uyghur Christian Alimjan Yimit to 15 years in prison on the apparently contrived charge of ‘providing state secrets to overseas organizations,’ according to China Aid Association (CAA). The charge against the 36-year-old house church leader, held for more than two years at Kashgar Detention Center, was based on innocuous interviews he granted to media outside of China, according to his lawyer, Li Dunyong.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for Chinese pastors sentenced to re-education camps. “Five Chinese pastors, arrested as they were en route to file a complaint over the demolition of their church building, have been sentenced to prison terms of three to seven years. House church leader Yang Rongli was sent to prison for seven years, for ‘illegally occupying farming land’ and ‘disturbing transportation order by gathering masses’. She and four other pastors from the Linfen Church were sentenced on Nov. 25 at the People's Court of Raodu district, Shanxi Province. In a further case the following week, five more church leaders from Linfen Church were each sentenced to two years in re-education through labor camps. They were accused of 'gathering people to disturb the public order', referring to their organization of a prayer rally held the day after their church was demolished. In the attack over 400 military police destroyed 17 church buildings and over 30 believers were seriously wounded.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct)

Friday, please praise God for His unspeakable gift.

Saturday, please praise God that Make Way Partners has received two grants to allow them to start a home for orphaned girls in Sudan. (Make Way Partners)

Prayer List for April 26, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for Iranian Christians Marzieh and Maryam. “Marzieh Amairizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, and Maryam Rustampoor, 27, were imprisoned by Iranian officials on March 5 and incarcerated in the infamous Evin prison. Inmates at this prison are tortured and face other forms of mistreatment. The two women were imprisoned because they were practicing their Christian faith, but Iranian officials allege that they were involved in 'anti-government activities.' Iranian officials asked the women to post bail at the staggering amount of $400,000 in order to be released, but when Marzieh's sisters tried to pay the bail fee, the government officials refused to accept it. This makes it clear that the Iranian officials are determined to severely punish our Christian sisters.” (International Christian Concern)

Monday, please praise God for the release of four Christians who were detained in Libya. The Libyan government released them on April 13. (International Christian Concern)

Tuesday, please pray for Make Way Partners’ evangelist in Darfur, Sudan, and the refugees that he works with. “The camp where he oversees our medical clinic (in partnership with a Muslim doctor) has been attacked. At least 12 are dead and 30 or so wounded. Phillip fled the make-shift camp along with the locals. The local Chief and Commissioner begged Phillip to remain with the people, as now they are on the run once again. What few straw huts they were able to build for shelter have now been left behind. Everyone ran with simply the clothes on their backs, babies in one arm and dragging their toddlers behind with the other arm.” (Make Way Partners)

Wednesday, please pray that Islamic President al-Bashir would release trucks of supplies that the government of Sudan has seized. “In the past, James has been able to negotiate their freedom without paying the “taxes,” which equates to ransom. This time, Islamic President al-Bashir (who has been indicted for war crimes, including ‘Extermination’ upon the indigenous Sudanese) has said no trucks can pass without his expressed permission. James reports that there are literally hundreds of trucks being detained, including United Nations humanitarian relief trucks. al-Bashir is committed to kill the people one way or another.” (Make Way Partners)

Thursday, please pray for the people of Burma. “On April 2, 2009, the Burma Army from Play Hsa Lo forced villagers in the relocation site there to carry food and walk in front of a bulldozer. The Burma Army often forces villagers to do this in order to explode any mines which may have been placed in the road and to discourage the local Karen resistance troops from attacking. Similarly, on March 23, the Burma Army arrested four villagers from the Maw Thay Der area. The villagers were forced to walk in front of the patrolling Burma Army troops in order to check for landmines. On March 25, these villagers were then forced to register with the Burma Army and ordered to move to a relocation site. The villagers were from Keh Der, Ler Kla Der, Hu Mu Der and Klaw Mee Der villages in Tantabin Township.” (Free Burma Rangers)

Friday, please pray for “Uyghur Christian Alimjan Yimit, detained in Kashi Municipal Detention Center in Kashgar,” China . He was recently escorted to a nearby hospital in handcuffs. “Sources informed Compass Direct News that Alimjan had been beaten in prison. His attorney visited him one week earlier to discuss a court trial anticipated in May. This was only the second time Alimjan was allowed a visitor since his arrest in January 2008. Court authorities returned his case to state prosecutors, citing a lack of evidence to support charges of “leaking state secrets” and “inciting secession." Family, friends and colleagues insist that Alimjan is a loyal citizen with no access to state secrets, and that his arrest was due to his Christian faith and association with foreign Christians.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct)

Saturday, please pray that hate crimes legislation, Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, will not pass in the United States Congress. “The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act would add homosexuals and transgender people to the list of protected categories under federal hate crimes law. Republicans in the Judiciary Committee offered an array of amendments to the legislation, including special protections under hate crimes law for senior citizens, unborn children, military veterans, pregnant women, and American nationals who have been the victims of violent crimes committed by illegal aliens. Democrats argued the amendments were not germane to the bill, and defeated them all on a party-line vote.” Regina Griggs, executive directive of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, PFOX, says this legislation “would make it tougher for former homosexuals -- many of whom, she says, are the focus of hateful actions by supposed ‘tolerant’ homosexuals. Griggs say the bill puts hatred of ex-"gays" into legislation. ‘The legislation doesn't protect my organization, and it doesn't protect the rights of former homosexuals to live free, happy out of the closet, if you will, and to be getting their message out to the public and into the schools.’" In Canada, Australia, and the European Union, hate crimes legislation has forced the prosecution of preachers who speak out against the persecution of Christians in Islamic regimes or of preaching on passages, such as Romans 1, which point out the sin of homosexual behavior, although preachers in none of these cases espoused any violent behavior toward others and no one committed violent acts. Indeed, hate crimes legislation is censorship of free speech. (One News Now, me)

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Voice of the Martyrs will be holding a meeting in New Lenox, IL, May 16. For more information, go to www.persecution.com.

Prayer List for April 19, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for Chinese Christian, Shi Weihan. “Shi Weihan is scheduled to stand trial on Thursday, April 9 at 9 a.m. local time at the People’s Court of Haidan District, Beijing. Shi has been in prison since March 19, 2008 for printing and distributing Christian books and Bibles without government permission. The official charge is for ‘illegal business practices,’ however, a judge has held, at least twice, that there is not sufficient evidence to convict him on this charge. Nevertheless, police have continued to hold Shi Weihan in custody in order collect additional evidence hoping to gain a conviction.” (Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for the construction of a church in Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh is supposed to have freedom of religion, “Authorities called for a five-month halt to construction of a church in northern Bangladesh, for fear of huge conversions. The construction of the Ishai Fellowship Church began in early November 2008, but after Muslims protested, the mayor halted construction. ‘The local Muslims fired all the cylinders of the society to stop building a church in this vicinity. They want me not to work for the expansion of the Kingdom of God here. They persuaded the city council authority to stop [construction of] the church,’ Mashi, a pastor of Calvary Ishai Fellowship, told Compass. ‘The mayor of the city council told me that I did not have any building plan and permission from them to build a house here, so I should stop the construction work.’” (Open Doors)

Tuesday, please praise God for the release of Brother Sani. “When a Nigerian court sentenced him to three years in jail back in late 2007, Brother Sani cried out to God for help. And thankfully, the Lord heard his cry. Today, having served less than half his sentence, Sani is a free man!” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please praise God that the Georgia House of Representatives has “passed a resolution in favor of home schoolers in Germany. Home schoolers in that country face hefty fines and the potential loss of their kids if they home school. One German family, the Romeikes, are seeking asylum in the U.S. after facing persecution for home schooling.” (OneNewsNow)

Thursday, please pray for Iranian Christians, Brother Mohsen, his wife Feresthe, and their 12-year-old son. Iranian police arrested Mohsen for his conversion to Christianity from Islam and to get the names of his contacts. After torture which damaged his face, spinal cord, and teeth, he became so ill that the police released him. He and his family escaped to Turkey where they applied to the UN for refugee status. It can be very difficult for those fleeing “Islamic justice” to receive approval from the UN because some of the worst oppressor governments serve on the hearing committees and they cover for one another’s oppression. (Open Doors, me)

Friday, please praise God that Make Way Partners evangelist, Philip, has been released in Sudan and has about 70 mostly Muslims attending his services in Darfur. Please pray that the organization’s supply trucks will be released without ransom from a group in Juba, Sudan. (Make Way Partners)

Saturday, please praise God for the release of a Christian convert in Saudi Arabia. “On March 28, Hamoud Bin Saleh, a Saudi Christian arrested in January for writing about his conversion from Islam and criticizing the Saudi kingdom's crackdown on individual rights, was released from prison, according to Compass Direct News. Saleh is reportedly forbidden to travel outside the country or appear in the media. In a recent post on his blog, Saleh attributed his release to several human rights groups that campaigned on his behalf. ‘A nation which lives in this system cannot guarantee the safety of its individuals,’ he blogged, according to Compass Direct. In Saudi Arabia the penalty for converting from Islam, also called apostasy, is death. Still, in recent years, there have been no known cases of Saudis formally been convicted and sentenced to death.” (Voice of the Martyrs, Compass Direct News)

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Voice of the Martyrs will be holding a meeting in New Lenox, IL, May 16. For more information, go to www.persecution.com.

Prayer List for April 19, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:36:00 +0000

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Voice of the Martyrs will be holding a meeting in New Lenox, IL, May 16. For more information, go to www.persecution.com.

Prayer List for April 12, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Happy Easter

Sunday, please praise God for sending His Son to die on the cross for us and that He gave us the hope of the resurrection through His resurrection..

Monday, please pray for the Arakan people of Burma who will be forced to give up their land for a border fence with Bangladesh and India and for a highway between Burma and India. The Indians who give up land will be compensated by their government, but the illegitimate Burmese government will not compensate the Arakans. If they hold true to form, they’ll require the Arakan people to provide labor for these projects without payment. (Free Burma Rangers)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of Pakistan, especially in the Swat Valley. “In Pakistan an average of one Christian each month is arrested or murdered. Attacks on the property of Christians and churches occur almost weekly. Opening a new church building is nearly impossible. Discrimination affects all aspects of daily life…Pakistan recently turned the lush Swat Valley into a Taliban stronghold ruled by (Islamic) sharia law. Although the Taliban has made promises of peace, the Christian community has doubts the Muslim extremists will follow through. An estimated 500 Christians live and work in the Swat Valley. The only church in Swat has been renting space for nearly 100 years because the government has refused to give permission to buy land to build a church building. With the destruction of more than 200 girls schools in the Swat Valley, all Christian families migrated to nearby districts in the past year. Most Christian families have returned to their homes still reluctant to attend church and wary of the possibility of finding normalcy and receiving education for their children.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for the Christians of Turkey where, in spite of claiming religious freedom, it has “refused to grant churches legal status….The Turkish government has made it illegal for the next leader of (the Ecumenical Patriarchate to be from outside Turkey, which will make it nearly impossible for the church to find a new pastor because Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim. In addition, Turkey has reneged on its agreement to reopen an Orthodox seminary and has confiscated 75% of the church's property.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for “fourteen Khmu Christian families in Laos (who) are standing strong in their faith, despite the Communist government forcing them to relocate to another village and their homes and church building being destroyed.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

Friday, please pray that the US Congress will pass a bill requiring North Korea to observe human rights before we establish international relations with them. “The upcoming bill requires that North Korea should support human rights… including religious freedom… before the United States establishes diplomatic relations with them. (Open Doors)

Saturday, please pray for the people of Mexico as a death cult that has heavy membership from drug traffickers and criminals have called for a holy war against the Catholic church. It is likely to affect all Christians. The leader of the St. Death cult has been protesting outside cathedrals in Mexico City during Holy Week. “St. Death” is a skeleton dressed in a white tunic or wedding dress and its worship “can lead to demonic practices.” (International Christian Concern, me)

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Prayer List for April 12, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Happy Easter

Sunday, please praise God for sending His Son to die on the cross for us and that He gave us the hope of the resurrection through His resurrection..

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Prayer List for April 12, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Happy Easter

Sunday, please praise God for sending His Son to die on the cross for us and that He gave us the hope of the resurrection through His resurrection..

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Prayer List for April 5, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for “Christian bookshop owner Shi Weihan (38) (who) has been detained in prison since March 2008. Twice courts have rejected the police’s case against him due to insufficient evidence. Shi’s case was supposed to go before the courts for a third time on March 20th for what we believed would be a critical and decisive hearing. Chinese authorities delayed the court date which means there is still time to send the Chinese Ambassador an email on his behalf.”(Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for a Pakistani-born preacher in London, Reverend Noble Samuel, who was beaten by Muslims and threatened after clashing with Muslims on his television show, the Asian Gospel Show. The Muslim station owner condemned the attacks on air. (Fox News, Open Doors)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of Karnataka state, India. “The Hindu nationalist government in the southern state of Karnataka, which recorded the second highest number of attacks on Christians last year, is planning to introduce the kind of ‘anti-conversion’ law that has provided the pretext for anti-Christian violence in other states.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for the people of Darfur and southern Sudan. “The four-year conflict between al-Bashir’s jihadist-backed militia (Janjaweed) in the north against the mostly-Christian people of the south has driven more than 2.7 million people into temporary camps, most with nothing but the clothing on their backs. More than 4 million have been killed. Although Sudan signed a peace treaty in January 2005, the country is still in a state of turmoil. Prior to January, the Janjaweed bombed or burned schools, churches, homes, clinics and crops and poisoned wells. Up to 2 million women and children were enslaved. Thousands of those slaves are now being released but have no home to go to.” To worsen matters, the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir expelled13 aid groups in March following his indictment by the International Criminal Court. He has allowed Make Way Partners, World Relief, and Samaritan’s Purse to stay, but the amount of work has increased for each agency. (Make Way Partners, me)

Thursday, please pray for Pastor Walter Hoye, jailed in California for holding a sign offering aid to women planning to abort their babies outside an abortion clinic. While he is in jail, he is talking to the other prisoners about the Lord. He refused probation because he would have had to promise not to assist women. Pray for him, his family, his church, and for the salvation of inmates. (OneNewsNow, me)

Friday, please pray for “Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad and Maryam Rustampoor (who) were arrested by Iranian security forces and labeled ‘anti-government activists,’ according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN). Thirty year-old Marzieh and 27-year-old Maryam are being held at Evin Prison, which is notorious for treating women badly. ‘Both women are allowed just a one minute telephone call everyday to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention,’ FCNN reported. During their last call on March 28, Marzieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said, ‘I am dying.’” Both are committed Christians. (Voice of the Martyrs, Farsi Christian News Network)

Saturday, please pray for the Christians of Kot Lakha Singh village in Punjab, Pakistan. Following the elopement of a Muslim girl and Christian man, the girl’s father, Noor Husain, took Muslim friends on a rampage through the village, dragging Christian women from their homes and parading them through the streets. They had also desecrated the church. Twenty-one Christian families have left the village, leaving only four. (International Christian Concern)

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Prayer List for March 29-April 4, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for Rev. Walter Hoye, an African-American pastor in Oakland, CA, for offering women going for an abortion an alternative using quiet signs which said, “Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help.” He must serve 30 days in jail, pay a $1000 fine and a $130 restitution fee, and serve 3 years of probation. “According to 2004 statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, about 37 percent of pregnancies among black women end in abortion, compared with 12 percent for non-Hispanic white women and 19 percent for Hispanic women.” The Oakland city council had passed a law aimed directly at the pastor with a “penalty for illegally approaching a person to talk or hand out a leaflet is one year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.” (LifeNews.com)

Monday, please pray for Karen Christians of Burma. “On January 17, 2009, Saw Cho Phyo from Aung Soe Moe village, western Karen State, was shot dead while he was on his way to farm his crops. A week later on January 24, Saw Mu Ra Hai, 25, from Saw Ki village was shot dead. On February 6, the Burma Army fired mortars on the villages of Yu Lo and Play Hsa Lo, wounding four villagers from Yu Lo. On the same day, Saw Maung Kya, 23, from Hsaw Mi Lu village, stepped on a Burma Army landmine at Blah Lay Ko and died immediately from his injuries. The Burma Army often plants landmines around villages it has attacked in a bid to stop villagers from returning to live there or collect their possessions.” In Kyaurk Kyi township soldiers drove over 300 villagers into the jungle by attacking their villages. (Free Burma Rangers)

Tuesday, please pray that the Lord would thrust forth laborers into Malmo, Denmark’s immense Muslim community. “Most Muslim immigrants are concentrated in one district, where the male unemployment rate is 82 percent. Crime affects one of three families in the city and rape has tripled in 20 years, according to the Christian Broadcasting Network.” Jews in this area are in danger of being beaten up. Please pray that God will raise up a mighty work here before Malmo becomes a Muslim city complete with shariah law. (Newsmax, me)

Wednesday, please pray for the Christians of the Arauca region of Colombia where the ELN guerillas or National Liberation Army operates. They have kidnapped and threatened pastors against preaching to ELN soldiers, especially messages of peace. They have attacked two Christian mayors. They have shut down churches and threatened congregations. (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for Egyptian Christian Martha Samuel Makkar, a convert from Islam who was arrested at an airport for trying to escape Egypt. The 24-year-old Christian was charged with forging her identity papers because Muslims are not allowed to change their identity papers to another faith. The judge granted her bail but told her he’d like to kill her. She has faced threats of killing from police and her extended family for converting 5 years ago. She had hoped to find freedom in Russia. (Open Doors)

Friday, please pray that the Lord will provide laborers to train the growing church in China. Some estimate the church is growing by 10,000 converts a day, but getting Bibles and training is difficult. Yet cults abound and endanger the new converts unless they can become grounded in the faith. (Open Doors, me)

Saturday, please pray for the release of Uzbek pastor, Dmitry Shestakov, who was imprisoned for not being an authorized leader of any officially-recognized religious organization in Uzbekistan. They describe him as an "imposter" leading an underground group engaged in proselytizing under Shestakov's leadership. He is appealing his four-year labor camp sentence.” You can help by signing a petition at www.freepastordmitry.com. (International Christian Concern)

Prayer List for March 22-28, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray that God will work in Mexico where drug networks are increasing in size, wealth, and violence. “Mexican officials say the violence killed 6,290 people last year _ and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009. Warring drug cartels are blamed for more than 560 kidnappings in Phoenix in 2007 and the first half of 2008, and killings in Atlanta, and Birmingham, Ala.” Please pray for the church in Mexico. If it is effective, it will become a target as it is in Colombia, but if it is not filled with God’s power, the situation in Mexico will likely deteriorate as people are pulled into one side or the other. (NewsMax, me)

Monday, please pray for the growing Christian conversions in the Islamic country of Bahrain. “Pray that the Spirit of God would open the Bahraini believers' minds so that they would understand more fully the message of Christ. Pray that their fellowship would deepen with one another, developing into a mighty Church.” (Arab World Ministries)

Tuesday, please pray for Christians in China who are studying Arabic to take the Gospel into the Muslim world. “Pray for all Asian workers who face the challenges of learning both English and Arabic. Pray for their future employment that will provide long-term entry into the Arab world. Pray that these pioneers of the Chinese Church would blaze a trail for a movement of Chinese missionaries into the Arab World.” (Arab World Ministries)

Wednesday, please praise God for massive conversions in China. “First, China continues to change. Since the Olympics, our contacts on the ground tell us the church is growing like wildfire, experiencing increasing religious freedom. In fact, an estimated 10,000 people are coming to Christ each day!” Please pray for the church as persecution is on the increase again. “But in the midst of this growth and increasing freedom, we are getting reports that Christians are still being arrested and churches are being shut down in certain areas of the country. And we have evidence that the government continues to repress the distribution of Bibles.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for “Hector Aleem, a human rights activist, (who) remains in jail on trumped up charges of blasphemy and abetting. Last November, a Muslim scholar received a text message insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad . Authorities arrested and charged Aleem for the crime. Recently however the investigating officer ruled out the possibility of a blasphemy charge since evidence showed the text message came from an unlisted phone number that did not belong to Aleem. According to Compass Direct News the deputy secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Human Rights said Aleem may have been framed due to his social activism. Aleem is the director of a small Non-Governmental Organization that lobbies for the rights of Pakistani Christians in Islamabad.” Even if found not guilty, Aleem could become the target of radical Muslims. (Open Doors)

Friday, please pray for Sudan where foreign aid organizations are being ousted. “A moment of context: one of the reasons Sudan is widely considered the worst place on the planet for human trafficking is because five decades of war has left the entire country in an ancient state. The largest country in Africa and nearly one-quarter the size of the United States, SudanSouthern Sudan boasts less than three miles of pavement and has no bridges to deliver life-saving supplies. There is no governmental infrastructure to protect the orphans and, yes, Western Aid Agencies are being kicked out; they are accused of being foreign spies. All of these factors make Sudan the “perfect storm” for human trafficking.” (Make Way Partners) has an estimated 1,000,000 orphans who are vulnerable to slave raiders, wildlife and exposure from living alone and without shelter in the desert.

Saturday, please praise God that new Iranian Christian, 27-year-old Hossein Karimi is free after being detained in prison for 27 days. “Hossein, a new convert, had been arrested on charges of attending home churches, evangelizing, storing Bibles and converting to the Christian faith, FCNN reported. Hossein was arrested by Iranian secret police on Jan. 30 and was held for 27 days in an unknown location until his release. He’s now waiting for the courts to give him a scheduled date to appear to present his case.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

Prayer List for March15-21, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the family and congregants of Rev. Fred Winters who was murdered in his church in Maryville, Illinois, USA, in front of his congregants last Sunday by a gunman. (Associated Press, OneNewsNow)

Monday, please pray for seven people who disappeared aboard a missionary plane in Venezuela on February 16. “(S)earches have failed to locate the plane he (Bob Norton) was piloting, which also carried his wife, two adults accompanying two sick children, and a missionary who taught at an Adventist school.” It is believed that the plane crashed in the jungle. (Associated Press)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of Garissa, Kenya. “The trouble began in June 2007 when Muslims built a mosque only three meters (10 feet) from the church building in the semi-arid desert town of Garissa. Tensions continued to grow and last September a gang of angry Muslim youths destroyed the church building. Since the attack the church members have been meeting at the town show grounds which offers few trees to protect the congregation from the scorching sun and blistering heat.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for a 35-year-old pastor and congregation in eastern India. “In an effort to stop conversions to Christianity, a 25-year-old ailing man on Sunday, March 8th, exploded a crude bomb in a church and shot the pastor. “Rajesh Singh (the perpetrator of the crime) threw a crude bomb through the window of the church, and the sound of the explosion created a chaos in the congregation,” said Inspector Mandal. As members of the church began to run out, he added, Singh came into the building and shot the pastor with a handmade pistol from point-blank range. “In his statement, Singh said he was personally against Christian conversions and wanted to kill the pastor to stop conversions,” Mandal said. The pastor is out of danger. Please pray for his recovery and for the recovery of several women who were burned in the bomb blast. (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for two Christian ethnic Uyghurs who have been imprisoned unjustly by the Chinese government. “Osman, a Uyghur Christian, was arrested on November 19, 2007, charged with “revealing state secrets," and sentenced to two years of “re-education through labor.” Osman was severely tortured by police during a previous arrest. His health has rapidly deteriorated while being held in a labor camp and forced to work 12-15 hour days. Alimjan, a Muslim convert to Christianity and house church leader, was arrested on a “national security issue” charge on January 12, 2008. The Xingjian Court cited “insufficient evidence” in Alimjan’s first trial.” You can e-mail the Chinese ambassador through Open Doors’ website at opendoorsusa.org. Click 1 in the upper right corner box. (Open Doors)

Friday, please pray please pray for the people of Sudan. The Islamic government of the north seemed to instigate a return to civil war by sending a militia leader from the north who was guilty of atrocities in the south as a general of the combined army into the south. Fighting killed 26 civilians and 31 soliders of the two sides. Also, since the indictment of the Muslim president of Sudan, Al’ Bashir, by international courts for war crimes, the government has ousted 13 aid groups. Five staff members of Doctors Without Borders have been kidnapped. Much of the aid goes to the south which is divided between animists and Christians and has been devastated by the civil war. Other aid goes to Darfur, which is a Muslim area, but is a different denomination than those in power. (Jamestown Foundation, Associated Press, OneNewsNow, Make Way Partners, me)

Saturday, please pray for a Turkish Bible Society bookstore in Adana, Turkey, that has been repeatedly vandalized. (Voice of the Martyrs)

Prayer List for March 8-14, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Sunday, please join today in the Global Day of Prayer for Burma. “This year on Sunday, March 8, thousands of people from all over the world will join together in prayer for the people of Burma, on this, the 13th annual Global Day of Prayer for Burma.” Burma’s tyrannical government has arrested the democratically elected president and has declared genocide on some of the tribal peoples of Burma, especially the Karen tribe. (Free Burma Rangers, me)

Monday, please praise God that a film of the life of the Apostle Paul is being shown to the political leaders of Syria. “More than 1,100 senior Syrian government officials, journalists, business leaders and religious leaders -- Muslim, Catholic and evangelical Christian -- will attend the gala premiere of a major motion picture entitled "DAMASCUS," written, produced and directed by entirely Arab Christians…. It is unheard of in the Middle East to have a major Christian film about the events of the New Testament debut in a Muslim-majority country run by the secular Ba'ath Party, much less have the premiere supported and attended by senior government officials…. After the premiere, the film is expected to be launched throughout Syria and the rest of the Muslim world.” (Joel Rosenberg, worldviewtimes.com)

Tuesday, please pray that Christian medical practitioners in the United States will have the courage to stand against the Obama administration. Under the Bush administration, “medical workers were allowed to reject procedures if they violated their conscience.” Therefore they could refuse to do abortions or prescribe drugs that would kill patients in the states that offer doctor-assisted suicide. “The Obama administration is moving to rescind a regulation that protects the civil rights and the exercise of conscience of medical practitioners.” According to Dr. David Stevens of the Christian Medical Association, “an informal survey of Christian Medical Association members indicates that more than 40 percent are being pressured to violate ethical standards -- and the fallout is significant.” (Pete Chagnon and Jody Brown, OneNewsNow)

Wednesday, please pray for an Egyptian Christian mother to be able to regain custody of her children. The courts are reviewing a decision that turned the twin boys over to their father who converted to Islam. (Open Doors)

Thursday, please praise God that “(t)wo nuns who have been held captive in Somalia since last November have been freed.” Please pray that they will recover physically and emotionally from the experience. (Open Doors)

Friday, please pray for thirteen-year-old Saba Masih and her family in Pakistan. Muslims kidnapped her and her ten-year-old sister last year and forced Saba to marry a Muslim. “Pray that the lawyers can legally maneuver around Pakistani policemen who, according to Compass, have stonewalled attempts to arrest the captors in spite of a Pakistani judge charging them with kidnapping. Praise God for the judge’s decision to file kidnapping charges. This marks a major shift of momentum in the case where previously the judges have repeatedly sided with the Muslim kidnappers.” Pray for the safety of the family and the lawyers also. (Open Doors, me)

Saturday, please pray for “Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, the Muslim-born Egyptian, (who) is legally attempting to change his religion on his identity card from Muslim to Christian. In a hearing on Feb 22nd, more than 20 Islamic lawyers advocated that he be convicted of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, and sentenced to death.” Because of the danger El-Gohary did not attend the hearing. “He had planned to obtain papers authorizing his attorney to act as his proxy representation in court. But staff members at the registry office swore at and beat his attorney thus preventing him from filing the proxy.” Please pray for the safety of his lawyer also. Jobs, schooling, and marriage depend on proper identity papers. (Open Doors, me)

Prayer List for March 1-7, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the Christians of Iraq. Iraq has been listed as the world’s number 2 worst persecutor of Christians. In some areas radical Muslims have been demanding identity papers at gunpoint and sometimes shooting Christians for no offense other than being Christian. However, God is moving among Muslims in Iraq. Pray that His Spirit will continue to move, that He will place His people under His wing of protection, and that He will bring to repentance or justice those who wantonly murder His people. (International Christian Concern)

Monday, please praise God for and pray for a Christian evangelist named Philip who feels compelled to take the Gospel to a refugee camp in Darfur, Sudan, that holds 22,000 desperate people, primarily women and children. At least two babies a day die of lack of clean water. The people face attacks by the Muslim Janjaweed. Both Muslims and a few Christians live in desperation in this camp. Philip is now in Kenya gathering medicine and aide. Please pray for him and these poor, desperate people. (Make Way Partners)

Tuesday, please praise God that “In one valley that was laid to waste by the Burma Army, two villages have been re-established, as well as a clinic, school and two churches. The KNU (Karen National Union, the ethnic pro-democracy resistance in this area) has built a sprawling community of homes, bamboo offices, sports fields, barracks, and food depots. Almost every organization that assists the Karen people has offices here. Everywhere we went we met hopeful people who continued to work their fields, and, as soon as the Burma Army slows down its operations, they move back into their own villages. While it is true that at any moment the Burma Army could mass enough troops to push the people out, in many areas the Burma Army have yet to do this. THIS IS DUE TO THE TENACITY AND RESILIENCE OF THE PEOPLE AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RESISTANCE.” (Free Burma Rangers)

Wednesday, please pray for the state of Orissa, India, where the government took four months to quell anti-Christian violence committed by radical Hindus. “Since August, more than 60 Christians have been killed; 18,000, wounded; 181 churches, razed or destroyed; 4,500 Christian homes, burned; and more than 50,000 Christians, displaced, of whom more than 30,000 remain in refugee camps or in hiding in the jungle, according to media reports.” The Catholic Archbishop of Orissa charges that the government turned its back on the violence because the people of the area were poor. Archbishop “Cheenath, frustrated over the lack of concern for Orissa, wrote a letter to the Indian prime minister saying that he does not understand how the government can stop the Mumbai attacks in three days, Karnataka in five days, but couldn’t stop the attacks on Christians in Orissa after more than four months.” Some reports also claim that discrimination against Christians occurs in the refugee camps. (Michael Vu, Christian Post, Open Doors, International Christian Concern)

Thursday, please pray for the Christians of Afghanistan. Although the Taliban is not in power, becoming a Christian is dangerous. “Christian groups estimate the number of Afghan Christians ranges between 500 and 8,000—in a country of 30 million Muslims.”(Christian Science Monitor, International Christian Concern)

Friday, please pray for the church in Libya which is so oppressed that the few Christians there do not dare meet in private. “Libya remains one of the world's least reached nations. Among 6,000,000 Libyans live only a handful of known believers….Opportunities for outreach are rare.” (Arab World Ministries)

Saturday, please pray for Arab women who live in repressive and abusive situations. “Christian women are creating these safe environments for Arab women to explore their emotional health. Pray that these meetings would be led by the Holy Spirit. Many times counselors must address demonic influences in Muslim women's lives due to the mingling of Islam with animistic and occult practices. Pray that Christian women would discern such activity and pray with power in Jesus' name to see these women set free. Pray that Muslim women would find peace through the Prince of Peace. Pray for training in counseling for Christian women who are reaching out to Arab women.” (Arab World Ministries)

Prayer List for February 22-28, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for Rev. Walter Hoye and his family. “A pro-life African-American pastor has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for sharing a pro-life message outside local abortion centers. Walter Hoye was previously found guilty of violating what pro-life attorneys call an unconstitutional city law designed specifically to target him.” (Debbie’s emphasis) The sign he held said, “God loves you & your baby, Let us help you.” “Oakland officials had enacted the law, which has been heavily criticized as an unconstitutional limit on free speech. The ordinance prohibits contact within eight feet of women entering abortion businesses without their consent.(Thursday), Hoye was sentenced by Judge Hing of the Alameda Superior Court to serve 30 days in county jail . The court will allow Hoye to serve his time by an alternative method such as community service. However, Hoye will be forced to pay a $1,130 fine and has been ordered to stay away from the abortion business and no longer help women find abortion alternatives. Allison Aranda, a staff attorney with the Life Legal Defense Foundation, a pro-life law firm representing Hoye in the case, says an appeal is forthcoming.” (LifeNews, http://townhall.com/columnists/StarParker/2009/02/16/root_of_nations_economic_crisis_is_moral_crisis)

Monday, please pray for the Christians of Sri Lanka. “The Jathika Hela Urumaya (National Heritage Party), which is led by Buddhist monks, introduced the (anti-conversion) bill under the title "Prohibition of ForcibleConversion of Religion Bill" on Tuesday, January 6. Though proponents claim that the bill would only restrict "fundamentalist" groups from using monetary rewards or coercive methods to convert people, the language is so broad that it would criminalize any form of humanitarian assistance from religious groups.” In India similar bills have precipitated attacks on Christians. (International Christian Concern)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of China. “As public anger mounts due to unemployment and government corruption, Chinese authorities are reacting with increased social and political control, Compass Direct News sources report. Concerned by the growth of unregistered house church groups, the government is ramping up its efforts to identify Christians and to publicly portray Christianity to the public eye as a subversive foreign force. Despite this situation, growth of the Christian church continues. One Beijing pastor reports more than 1,000 new converts were baptized last year in his church alone.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct)

Wednesday, please pray that the new Awami League-led Grand Alliance which has come to power in Bangladesh will reopen investigations into a bomb blast against a Catholic church. The party includes no radical Muslims and has given non-Muslims hopes for justice. (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray that justice will be done in the heinous murder of 3 Christians in Turkey. “A Turkish court has charged two more men for instigating the murder of three Christians in Malatya in 2007 Huseyin Yelki, a former employee of the Christian publishing house where the Christians were killed, and Varol Bulent Aral an ex-journalist suspected of ties to a group that tried to engineer a political coup.” Others hope that these men will turn informant and lead them to those who ordered the murder. (Open Doors)

Friday, please praise God that “(c)hurches in Northern Iraq have reported that nearly 300 new believers from various non-Christian backgrounds were recently baptized.” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please pray for the Christians of Jos, Nigeria. “Christians in Jos are traumatised by the religious riot of November 28. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reports that 129 Christians, including five pastors, were killed. About 45 churches were torched and looted, and more than 30,000 people were displaced during the violence.” Open Doors is providing aid. (Open Doors)

Tax Fraud in High Places

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:35:00 +0000

Caroline Kennedy

Nancy Killifer

Hilda Solis

Tom Daschle

Timothy Geitner

Charlie Rangel

What do these people have in common?

They have all failed to pay their taxes. None of them is in jail. They are either in government (Representative Rangel), have volunteered to be in government (Caroline Kennedy), or have been named by President Obama for major posts in his administration. They are all Democrats. The Washington Press Corps thinks these Democrats not paying their taxes is not news for you to get upset about.

Would you or I still be free if we had avoided paying $128,000 in taxes like former Speaker of the House Tom Daschle? He is now a special advisor for a company that lobbies for powerful medical interests. President Obama nominated him to be the head of Health and Human Services. He pioneered the section of the stimulus bill that turns your health records over to HHS. Hmm, some cynics might think there’s a little conflict of interest when one goes from earning $16 million in a lobbying agency to heading the governmental bureau that his company was lobbying. The Washington Press Corps doesn’t notice any ethical problems in this. However, Daschle’s tax fraud problems caused him to bow out of the nomination in spite of the president’s public backing.

Then there’s Timothy Geitner, the only man in Washington who understands the bank rescue program that Congress passed a few months ago, or so we’re told. (As an aside, why would Congress pass a bill they couldn’t understand?) Geitner apparently understands TARP but didn’t understand that he owed income taxes. Now he heads up the Treasury Department which includes the IRS. He recently paid $34,000 in late taxes and $8000 in interest so that he could be voted into office by the senate, which saw no problem with confirming him. At least, Senator Bayh, who will be up for reelection in 2010, saw no problem with a tax fraud heading the IRS. But, then, the press corps informed us that it was just a little oversight, a little mistake. Would they have said that of an industrialist or major business owner? Would they have said it of you?

In most of the world throughout history most politicians have exempted themselves and their friends from living under the laws they make. Our nation has been different in that it established equality under the law as a goal and ideal, though as a nation we blew this in our treatment of minorities. We have tried to rectify that in my lifetime. Now the laws apply to politicians as well as the people. At least they are supposed to.

When laws apply to all equally, more of us willingly comply. When government leaders ignore their own laws, they undermine civic compliance and morale. This is one of the problems with both the illegal immigration issue and the global warming issue. Those laws apply not to the politicians or former politicians with their illegal immigrant chauffeurs or their super computers that use more energy than our homes do in a year, but to us, the little guys, the working stiffs, the small business owners.

The double standard makes us think, “If they can do it, why can’t we? What other laws are only jokes?”

President Obama promised us a change. He promised us transparency and ethics. Is open tax fraud the transparent change he meant?

Prayer List for February 15-21, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the Christians of North Korea, the world’s worst abuser of Christians, and of almost everyone else. North Korea requires its citizens to worship its ruthless dictator, Kim Jung-Il.(Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for six Christian brothers in Egypt. “On Jan. 22 a judge sentenced six Christian brothers to three years in prison with hard labor for resisting arrest and assaulting authorities. Last September, police officers raided a café in Port Sa’id, because they were open for business during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. When they tried to defend their café, the brothers were arrested and charged with resisting arrest and assaulting authorities. There is no law inEgypt under which the brothers could be prosecuted for opening their café during Ramadan.” (Open Doors)

Tuesday, please pray that Christian relief efforts in Gaza will result in the turning of the people against their radical government and to the Lord. “The Bible Societies in Israel and Palestinian Areas launched a joint initiative called “Standing in the Gap,” offering practical as well as spiritual relief for the suffering Gazan people. Open Doors is co-supporting a part of the program which is called “Love your Neighbor/Comfort my People.” It is not for Christian families only but also will be used in reaching out to Muslim neighbors in Gaza.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for Christians in Bangladesh. “A gang of Muslim extremists armed with machetes attacked a Christian family, leaving them with serious wounds. The attackers later filed charges of assault against the injured believers.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for Somali Christians in Kenya. “Jailed for defending his family against Islamists, Somali Christian Salat Sekondo Mbwerba was freed after Christians paid a fine. Following his release, the extremists shot him, leaving him for dead.” It is not clear whether he survived or not from the report. (Open Doors, me)

Friday, please pray for the Christians of Colombia. “Not only are they caught in the crossfire between the country’s warring guerrilla factions, but believers are often also singled out as prime targets.” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please praise God that the Democratic conference committee of the House and Senate removed a controversial clause from the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Stimulus Package. That clause refused stimulus money for renovation for buildings that allowed religious worship. This was obviously an attack on the freedom of students to worship on college campuses and would have resulted in colleges restricting the First Amendment rights of students to worship. I cannot help compare it to most Islamic countries that do not allow Christians to repair churches so that they will look shabby and fall into disrepair while the mosques are allowed to prosper. Was this a secular version of that? (Jay Sekulow, me )

Prayer List for February 8-14, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the church of Eritrea and especially for the families of two Christians. “Mogos Hagos Kiflom (37) died as the alleged result of the continued physical torture he endured for his refusal to recant his faith. Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom (42) died in solitary confinement. Sources say he died as a result of ongoing physical torture and complications from diabetes. Late November, 34 members of the Kale-Hiwot Church in Dekemhare were arrested. Shortly before Christmas, at least 49 key leaders of underground churches in Asmara were rounded up over a two week period. The government arrested 15 members of the Kale-Hiwot Church in Keren on January 11 and around the same time closed down a printing press while arresting the owner.” (Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for the Kachin and Karen peoples of Burma. The Burman overlords forcibly transfer them out of their home villages into other ones and work them as unpaid laborers. (Free Burma Rangers)

Tuesday, please pray for Iranian Christians, Jamal Ghalishorani, his wife Nadereh Jamali, and Hamik Khachikian. They “were arrested on January 21st and are being held without charges by Iranian authorities. Arrests and pressure on Christians from authorities have ramped up even further in the past few months, the source said. The arrests are particularly disturbing in light of the Iranian parliament’s approval last September of a new penal code calling for a mandatory death sentence for ‘apostates,’ or anyone who leaves Islam for another faith (i.e. followers of Jesus Christ). Under the new penal code, male ‘apostates’ would be executed, while females would receive life sentences.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please praise God for the acquittal of several Pakistani Christians on blasphemy charges. “Nearly two years ago in March of 2007, during a religious holiday celebrating Muhammad’s birthday, Salamat Masih, his son Rashid, Ishfaq, Saba and Dao Masih were arrested and charged with ‘blasphemy’ against Islam. The Islamic clergymen agreed to issue a fatwa (religious edict) declaring the accused men innocent of blasphemy.” An acquittal for blasphemy is rare. Christians mark this as historic and hope that it marks a change in policy. Blasphemy charges have been a tool for revenge on one’s enemies. Muslims have suffered more under the blasphemy law than Christians. (Open Doors, me)

Thursday, please pray for peace between the Palestinians of Gaza and the Israelis. Please pray that God would fill His children in the area with power and use them to win precious souls. (Arab World Ministries)

Friday, please praise God that a former Islamic history teacher in the Middle East has come to the Lord at 84. Please pray that his life will have an impact on other Muslims. (Arab World Ministries)

Saturday, please pray for a Saudi Christian, Hamoud Bin Saleh. “On Jan. 13, Saudi police arrested Hamoud Bin Saleh ‘because of his testimony that he converted from Islam to Christianity,’ according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). His journey to Christ began after witnessing the public beheading of three Pakistanis convicted of drug charges. Shaken, he began an extensive study of Islamic history and law, as well as Saudi justice. His research led him to an exploration of other faiths and of the Bible. After reading how Jesus forgave rather than stoned a woman condemned for adultery, Bin Saleh prayed to receive Christ as his Savior.” (Open Doors)

Prayer List for February 1-7, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:04:00 +0000

Sunday, please praise God that an Egyptian Christian has won the legal right to change his identity papers from Muslim to Christian. “Fathi Labib Yousef, who had long ago converted to Christianity, spent 31 years officially identified as a Muslim but has now won a rare legal victory to be officially registered in his “new” faith. According to Compass Direct News, changing one’s official religious identity from Islam to any other religion in Egypt is extremely difficult. Religious reversion cases are difficult to win, but it is far more difficult for Muslim-born converts to Christianity to officially change their religious status.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct News)

Monday, please praise God that a German couple’s jail sentence for homeschooling their children was overturned. Please pray that Juergen and Rosemary Dudek’s retrial will result in a change of heart among German government officials. HSLDA Staff Attorney Michael Donnelly says “he remains concerned that there is no indication that German authorities are changing their position on stamping out what they call ‘parallel societies.’ There continue to be signs that the German government is cracking down on homeschooling families,” he said. “A recent letter from one family in southern Germany contained threats from local school authorities that unless the family enrolled their children in school, they would seek fines in excess of 50,000 euros (nearly $70,000), jail time and the removal of custody of the children. German policymakers must create regulations or laws to protect homeschooling families from this persecution. This kind of behavior by a so-called Western democracy is unacceptable. It is this kind of repression that is forcing families to flee Germany and to seek protection in other countries, like the Romeike family, who have applied for political asylum in the United States.” (Home School Legal Defense Association)

Tuesday, please pray for a “Christian pastor in Meherpur district (Bangladesh, who) suffers continued torture and harassment at the hands of 4,000 Muslims. Jhontu Biswas, 31, said residents of Fulbaria town accused him of misleading Muslims by distributing Christian booklets. They confronted him on Dec. 9 as they gathered for the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival of sacrifice. ‘They also accused me of converting poor people by offering money,’ said Biswas. ‘They called several local journalists in that massive assembly to publish news against me and my activities. They took my photograph and interviewed me but did not publish anything in their respective newspapers.’ Biswas denied the accusations against him, and the Muslims threatened to harm him and others who converted from Islam to Christianity.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for the people of Mexico. “Mexico is in danger of a ‘rapid and sudden collapse’ due to criminal gangs and drug cartels, according to a troubling new report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats. Criminal activity in Mexico has killed more than 5,300 people in the past year, including members of warring drug cartels, law enforcement officials and bystanders, many of them slain close to the U.S. border.” As lawlessness increases so do attacks on Christians who stand against evil, as we have seen in Colombia. Please especially remember those Christians who are standing for Christ in Mexico. (Jim Meyers, Newsmax.com, me)

Thursday, please pray for Believers from a Muslim Background who are coming to the Lord throughout the Muslim world. They face ostracism, rejection from family and culture, torture, and death. Yet more and more are coming to the Lord with hungry hearts. (Arab World Ministries)

Friday, please pray for ministries who are engaging and befriending Muslims at colleges and universities throughout the West. Please pray for the Lord to pour out His spirit upon these young people. (Arab World Ministries)

Saturday, please praise God that the abduction of “two teenage Christian sisters in Pakistan is over, but difficult times still loom ahead. Parvisha Masih, 18, and Sanam Masih, 14, who were kidnapped and assaulted last November” are at home now. Please pray that the Lord would help them recover from the trauma and that those around them would love them rather than shun them. (Open Doors)

Prayer List for January 25-31, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for Yao Lifa, a Chinese political activist, who has disappeared. “Yao Lifa, a well-known advocate of free elections from Hubei province in central China, was due to attend the reception held by the U.S. consulate in Wuhan, the provincial capital” to celebrate the inauguration of President Obama. “Yao Lifa, 50, a school official in the small city of Qianjiang, achieved nationwide celebrity as a fast-talking and tireless advocate of democratic votes, winning himself a place on the local Communist Party-controlled assembly. But Yao Lifa's campaigning and mobilisation of disaffected farmers irked officials. Under a shadow of official disfavour, he failed to win re-election but threw himself into a life of organising other independent candidates. He also signed the "Charter 08" petition issued last month demanding democratic political reform, which has pitted hundreds of dissidents and rights advocates against the Party.” His son believes he has been secretly arrested. (Yahoo)

Monday, please pray for MakeWayPartners to be able to provide and staff a sterile surgical unit for their mission in Sudan. They recently lost a pregnant mother and baby due to the long journey through the countryside to reach a suitable sterile surgical unit. (MakeWayPartners)

Tuesday, please pray for justice to be done in the assault and murder of a seven-year-old girl, Ma Ne Mya “of Ma Oo Bin village in the area close to Kyauk Kyi Town, Nyaunglebin District” by a Burma Army soldier on December 27, 2008. “The Karen Women's Organization is demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of an SPDC soldier who raped and killed a young girl in Burma's northern Karen State last week, as well as punishment of his commanding officer for failing to take action over the crime.” The commanding officer, Captain Thet Khaing, has done nothing to the soldier. Not only does it leave an injustice, it endangers all women and children because other soldiers will think they can commit atrocities with impunity. (Free Burma Rangers)

Wednesday, please pray for the Christians of California, especially those in San Francisco, who have taken a stand for traditional marriage by supporting Proposition 8. Homosexuals have trashed churches by putting swastikas and insults on buildings. San Francisco officials have turned a deaf ear to the attacks on the churches. (Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow)

Thursday, please pray for the Christians of Mosul, Iraq. “Yassr tells us that terrorists in police uniforms are patrolling the streets of Mosul, setting up rogue checkpoints in what appears to be an organized campaign to force the city’s Christians to flee. One brother was stopped in the street by militia men who demanded to see his identity card. Seeing he was a Christian, the extremists shot him in cold blood. As many as 20 Christians have been killed in this way in Mosul in recent days. “Among the fatalities is a 15-year-old who played in the street with his Muslim friends, an elderly man, and even a man in a wheelchair,” says Olaf, Open Doors coordinator for Iraq. “Having ‘Christian’ on your ID card is enough to get you killed!” As a result, Christians have been fleeing Mosul in droves.” Please especially pray for those who have neither the money nor the means to leave. (Open Doors)

Friday, please pray for “the health and safety of the son of martyred Iranian pastor Hossein Soodmand. (Fears) are escalating as Ramtin Soodmand awaits trial for ‘promoting anti-government propaganda.’” The Iranian government could sentence him to death. (Open Doors, me)

Saturday, please pray for an Indonesian Christian, Rini, and her 4 children. Since her conversion 3 years ago, her husband has abandoned the family. Her family has also threatened and physically attacked her. (Open Doors)

What FOCA REALLY Means

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:36:00 +0000

What FOCA Really Means

When he was running for president, Barack Obama promised that one of the first bills he would sign into law would be FOCA. What do those innocuous sounding letters stand for? Proponents tell us that it means Freedom of Choice Act. Of course, choice does not refer to freedom in choosing education, health care, or unions. It means only the freedom to abort unborn children.

What FOCA really means is Fill Our Coffers Again. This is payback to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers for all of their donations to the Democrat Party over the years. State laws protecting youngsters from being taken across state lines by non-guardians or requiring parental consent, laws authorizing women to have the medical facts about abortion risks or the baby’s development have decreased the profits for those who pay for their Porsches by performing abortions. FOCA will increase their incomes. At least, that is what they hope.

FOCA also means Fool Our Children to Abort. Even with state laws intact, Planned Parenthood in several states is being investigated, charged, or tried for concealing abortions on young people who have undergone statutory rape or incest by older men. Lifting the laws that protect these children will help business for the aborters., who will profit from the pain, fear, and rape of girls who have to get parental permission to have their ears pierced or borrow an aspirin from a friend at school. Parents who have no idea what has happened to their daughters will have to try to pick up the pieces of their daughters’ shattered lives.

FOCA could also mean Force Our Citizens to Abort. This could open up the use of your tax dollars and mine to pay for abortions for poor women. We’ve fought it for years. What it could also mean is pressure on women on Medicaid to abort whether they want to or not. One of the dirty little secrets is that most abortions are committed on minorities. How painfully ironic if Barack Obama becomes the King of the Abortion Promoters!

One thing that FOCA will surely do is Fragment Our Culture over Abortion. Though abortion has been a stressor in our society for over thirty years now, FOCA will remove the safeguards. Freedom of speech and the promise that peaceful political changes would save lives of the unborn have been a safety valve. Both sides could influence the culture. FOCA undermines thirty years of work and the opinions of the people worked out in their own states. When the chance for peaceful change is taken away by the elitists in Washington who know better than we little people what is good for us, what remains?

If FOCA passes, citizens in two years need to remember to Fire Our Congressional Abortucrats, those congressmen and senators who keep their positions by voting as the party or the big abortion proponents tell them. Until President Obama’s honeymoon is over, congressmen and senators will be pressured to rubberstamp what he wants. Moderates in the Democrat Party will feel extra strong pressure, but even conservatives will be pressured to vote for FOCA. If you oppose the elitists stepping in and undermining years of safeguards, contact your representative and senators now. If we ask them to hold the line against the liberal media’s assaults, we need to let them and the media know that we stand for life with them and that we hold them accountable.

Debbie W. Wilson

Prayer List for January18-24, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Prayer List for January18-24, 2009

Sunday, please pray for the people of Gaza and Israel. Over 700 have died in Gaza. Hospitals are poorly staffed and supplied, but this matters little to Hamas who started the attacks. Now rockets have been launched into Israel by Hizbullah from Lebanon though the Lebanese government is decrying these attacks. Please pray for the Christians who are often victims of the terrorists and victims of the Israelis since the terrorists stage themselves among the Christians. The terrorists use Christian bodies as propaganda against Israel and decrease the number of Christians at the same time. (Open Doors, various news, me)

Monday, please pray for Pakistani Christians Emanuel and Amin Masih. Emanuel Masih “of Faisalbad, a father of six and a former street sweeper, is trying to commute his prison sentence after police officer Omer Draz tortured him and had him imprisoned on trumped-up charge originating from a quarrel between their sons nine years ago.” Emanuel’s brother-in-law Amin was arrested on the same charges. Draz tortured the two for a month, leaving Emanuel paralyzed in the arms and legs. “The two men were eventually released on bail. In the intervening (9) years, they continued to attend court hearings. But on May 24 they were arrested and given a 5-year prison sentence along with a fine of 25,000 rupees. Lawyers appealed the decision in September at a Faisalbad court. Emanuel Masih could be released from prison due to an article in Pakistan criminal law that requires proper facilities for an incapacitated person. Without the use of his arms, Emanuel Masih could not survive in prison unless Amin assisted him.” Both men are totally innocent of a crime, however. (Compass Direct News, International Christian Concern)

Tuesday, please pray for 27-year-old Bangladesh Christian, Sujan Chakma, his wife, Shefali, and their 6-year-old son. Since Sujan became a Christian, his Buddhist neighbors have beaten him, threatened to beat and imprison him, and have ostracized and refused him work. On days he doesn’t work, his family cannot eat. They have also pressured him to divorce his wife. He fears to stay in his home at night. (Compass Direct News, International Christian Concern)

Wednesday, please praise God that Pakistani courts returned a Christian teenager, Nousheen Bibi, held in slavery by a Muslim women to her mother. (Jawar Mazhar, International Christian Concern)

Thursday, please pray for a Brazilian homeschooling couple, Cleber and Bernadeth Nunes, who have been taken to court for homeschooling. In Brazil Homeschooling is illegal in spite of the illiteracy of 70% of teens from 15-19 years old. The Brazilian Congress is considering legalizing homeschooling.(Pete Chagnon, OneNewsNow)

Friday, please pray for the surviving families “of a brutal attack December 26 in a church in the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. According to news reports, attackers used machetes and killed dozens of people at a church in remote eastern Congo. The Ugandan army accused the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of the massacre. The accused Ugandan rebel group, which has waged one of Africa's longest and most brutal wars, denied responsibility, according to a report.” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please pray that the American people would recognize the pressure that is being put on companies to make contributions to organizations promoting and trapping people in homosexuality. “In the last two years, Pepsi has given $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and $500,000 to the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The $1,000,000 was to be used to help promote homosexuality in the workplace. Pepsi refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda. Plus, every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion.” “The Media Daily News reports that Campbell's will continue to use its advertising dollars to support homosexual publications pushing the homosexual agenda and same-sex marriage. AFA had asked the company to remain neutral in the culture war.” (American Family Association)

Prayer List for January 4-10, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the people of Canada who have an opportunity to revoke section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. “(T)he Canadian Conservative Party has overwhelmingly approved a resolution to repeal the ‘hate speech’ provision that has been used to squelch the free speech rights of Christians and others who speak out against homosexuality.” (Chad Groening, OneNewsNow.com)

Monday, please pray for the Christians of Gaza and Israel. Hamas has refused to quit firing rockets on Israel so Israel is responding in self-defense. What most of the media does not mention is that the terrorist groups frequently set their rocket launchers up in Christian neighborhoods. They then refuse to allow the Christians to take refuge. When the Christians’ homes are attacked by the Israelis, the terrorists lament the deaths of their people, deaths that they caused. It serves two goals: 1. it provides bodies to parade before the media; 2. it decreases the number of Christians. (various reports, my analysis)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of the Middle East where thousands in Egypt and other countries are coming to the Lord. (Ravi Zacharias, Focus on the Family)

Wednesday, please pray for the children trafficked into slavery in the United States. “This practice is apparently a growing problem in the U.S., because well-to-do Africans immigrating to the U.S. who engage in this child-maid slavery are bringing this practice with them. An estimated 10,000 forced laborers in the U.S. right now are servants who are trapped in suburban homes, according to a National Human Rights Center survey, conducted with Free the Slaves, a nonprofit group. Research by the U.S. State Department reveals that just over the past year, children have been trafficked to work as servants in 33 of Africa's 53 countries, and children from 10 African countries were sent as maids to Europe and the U.S.” (Rukmini Callimachi, AP, OneNewsNow.com)

Thursday, please pray for “(o)ver 200 displaced villagers (who) fled last week in Kyauk Kyi (Ler Doh) Township, Nyaunglebin District, as Burma Army attacks yet again threatened their hiding sites. Although their situation is tenuous, villagers have now been able to return to their former hiding sites as Karen Resistance soldiers have forced the attacking troops back to their camps. The area, which had just been visited by three multi-ethnic FBR relief team comprised of Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Pa'O, and Shan team members, is now being assisted by the local Karen FBR team which has been able to provide relief, medical treatment and encouragement. The teams have reported that the Burma Army plans to continue their activity in the area, and displaced villagers remain constantly ready to flee further attacks. (Free Burma Rangers)

Friday, please pray for the Christians of Bethlehem where close to 97% of the population is Muslim. The Christian community faces persecution from both Islamic militants and the Israeli military, high unemployment, lack of freedom, and restrictions on travel. (Kristin Butler, Open Doors, Crosswalk.com)

Saturday, please pray for the Christian mother of a 3-year-old daughter in Egypt. “Mervat Reszqallah of Tanta, 60 miles north of Cairo, was granted custody of her toddler daughter, Barthenia, by Judge Emaad Eldean Abedelhamed of the Court of Tanta on Aug. 7. Police, however, have refused to implement the court’s decision to take the child from her father. ‘Many times [the police] have ignored this decision, because they see the aspect of religion,’ said human rights lawyer Naguib Gobrail, who said police favor the Muslim father. Fady Farhaat Labbib converted to Islam in May of 2006 in order to divorce Reszqallah and marry another woman. He applied for custody of Barthenia in order to raise her as a Muslim. This has kept the police from doing their duty, said Gobrail.” (Compass Direct, Open Doors)

Prayer List for December 28, 2008-January 3, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:22:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the Christians of Mosul, Iraq. “In Mosul armed Islamic terrorists are now patrolling the streets, stopping each person and asking to see their ID cards. Then they check to see what religion is recorded on the card. If the card says the person is a Christian, they can be murdered on the spot with a bullet through the head. (Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for the Christians of Jos, Nigeria. “The murderous rioting sparked by Muslim attacks on Christians and their property on Nov. 28-29 left six pastors dead, at least 500 other people killed and 40 churches destroyed, according to church leaders. One man asked, "Why were churches and clergy attacked and killed? Why were politicians and political party offices not attacked, if it was a political conflict?" (International Christian Concern)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of China, especially Mao Minzi, Mao Minzi, a 55-year-old Chinese Christians has been sentenced to a year of re-education through labor for "organizing an illegal religious gathering" in China. He may be able to appeal the sentence with the aid of a Christian attorney from ChinaAid's Legal Defense Fund.” (International Christian Concern)

Wednesday, please pray for the Christians of Seram Island, Malaku, Indonesia. “A Christian teacher's comment that agitated one of his students evolved into several days of rioting. Dozens of homes, shops and places or worship have been damaged or destroyed. The teacher and the student are both being considered "suspects," and the teacher could be charged with up to five years in prison for his comment. (International Christian Concern)

Thursday, please pray for your nation for the year 2009.

Friday, please pray for the Hmong Christians of Vietnam. “A new wooden church built in September by Hmong Christians in Vietnam has been destroyed by local government officials. Hundreds of Christians who rushed to protect the building were forced back by police wielding electric cattle prods. Five people were injured, including one child and a pregnant woman who was stabbed in the stomach with a cattle prod. Villagers fear she may miscarry. (International Christian Concern)

Saturday, please pray for the Christians of Burma. “A new wooden church built in September by Hmong Christians in Vietnam has been destroyed by local government officials. Hundreds of Christians who rushed to protect the building were forced back by police wielding electric cattle prods. Five people were injured, including one child and a pregnant woman who was stabbed in the stomach with a cattle prod. Villagers fear she may miscarry. (Free Burma Rangers)

Prayer List for the Persecuted Church: December 21-27, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Debbie W. Wilson) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:03:00 +0000

Sunday, please pray for the churches of Kabacan, Philippines. “Police in Kabacan, a city in the Philippines, defused the third bomb targeted at a religious institution in three days on Saturday, (Nov,29). The bomb was the second attempt on the Iglesia ni Cristo Church, in addition to another grenade that was thrown at a Jehovah's Witnesses church days earlier. (International Christian Concern, Inquirer.net)

Monday, please pray for the Christians of Iraq. “Thousands of Iraqi Christians have found threats like this under their front doors or stoops, in stairwells or shoved through their courtyard gates: ‘Be informed that we will cut your heads and leave your dead bodies with no organs and no heads in your stores and houses. We know your houses and we know your family. We will kill you one after the other. Depart the Muslim areas.’" (International Christian Concern, Worldmag )

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of Orissa, India. “The Orissa state government continues to participate in the anti-Christian pogrom by forcing Christians out of relief camps without ensuring their safety once they get back home.” (International Christian Concern, Christian Post)

Wednesday, please pray for the Christians of Orissa, India. “Christians in Orissa state are anticipating Christmas with fear as Hindu extremists have called for a state-wide bandh, or forced shut-down on all sectors of society. This “bandh” is planned for Christmas day and could provide Hindu extremists the pretext for attacking anyone publicly celebrating the birth of Christ. The state’s chief minister has said there should be no such shut-down but stopped short of prohibiting the Hindu extremists’ plan. The Hindu extremist umbrella organization Sangh Parivar has vowed to press ahead with the bandh, reported newspaper Outlook India on Nov. 20.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please praise God for His wonderful gift, Christ Jesus.

Friday, please pray for 45-year-old Christian convert from Islam in Bangladesh, Laila Begum, and her family. She “said that on Nov. 1 several Muslim neighbors demanded that she pay them money. Begum told Compass Direct News that she had borrowed the equivalent of $30 last year from a Muslim neighbor and this year paid her back with interest. When she told the group of Muslim neighbors that she was not going to pay any more money and they began beating her. ‘“Suddenly they got equipped with sticks, iron rods, knives and machetes,” she said. The family informed local governing council members about the attack, but the council demanded $300 to settle the matter and also threatened them, she said. “The local council officials also told us that if we file any case in the police station, our houses will be burnt to ashes and we will be evicted from the locality.’” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please praise God that “Gospel for Asia missionary, N. Chauhan, has escaped from his kidnappers after being abducted from a marketplace in Madhya Pradesh, India and taken to a secluded house where he was beaten. He was able to escape the next day when his abductors allowed him free to relieve himself. He ran nine miles to the home of a fellow believer, losing his captors in the forest.” (International Christian Concern, ANS)