Pastor Y Wo Nie was released in December 2011!

Y Wo Nie, a Vietnamese pastor who was arrested in August 2004, has been released from prison. Y Wo Nie was given a nine-year prison sentence for leading a demonstration demanding more religious freedom and the release of property confiscated by the Vietnamese government. He was released in December 2011. At last report, he had been spending time with his family and was planning to have a medical check-up to assess his health after more than seven years in prison.

While Y Wo Nie was imprisoned, his wife told VOM partners, “I’m worried for my husband but God gives me His comfort that He is always with us though we have to face sickness or hard situations; He will help me to overcome my hard times.”

Praise the Lord that this pastor has been released! Pray that God will give Him complete and lasting healing. Pray that, like Paul, Y Wo Nie’s time in prison will result in the advancement of God’s kingdom (Philippians 1:12-14). Pray that God will strengthen the faith of this pastor’s family and friends.

For more information on the persecuted Church in Vietnam, visit the Vietnam Country Report. In the February edition of The Voice of the Martyrs Newsletter, we invited readers to write a letter of encouragement to Y Wo Nie, as we had not yet heard of his release at the time of publication. Since he is no longer in prison, why not write a letter to a different imprisoned Christian? Go to our “Writing Letters” page for our complete prisoners’ list, or you can compile a letter in a prisoner’s own language at www.PrisonerAlert.com. Not subscribed to our free monthly newsletter? Click here to sign up.

Three pastors, who are also husbands and fathers of young children, have been ordered to report to prison in Shiraz, Iran, reports VOM-USA.

Pastor Parviz Khalaj, a husband and father to a 10-year-old son, was convicted of committing crimes against the order and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Pastor William Belyad who was convicted of the same crime, was sentenced to five years in prison and will be taken away from his wife and one-month-old son. William’s wife, Nazly, was arrested with him but has not been called to serve a sentence yet.

Pastor Behrouz Sadegh Khandjani, a husband and father to a seven-year-old daughter, was sentenced to one year in prison for the same conviction.

Another pastor, Mehdi Foroutan, was arrested at the same time and has already reported to prison (for more, click here).

Please pray!

• Please pray that these brothers will remain faithful and will be soon returned to their families.
• Please pray for strength and peace for their wives and children.
• Praise God that William’s wife, Nazly, has not been called to prison.
• Ask God to be near to those suffering in prison for His name’s sake.

St. Theresa’s Catholic Church building after a Christmas Day bombing that claimed 45 lives. Photo: Abayomi Fayese via Compass Direct News

On January 1, the militant Islamic group Boko Haram issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to leave the area amid a rising tide of violence. Boko Haram spokesman, Abul Qaqa, also said that fighters were ready to confront soldiers sent to the area under a state of emergency declared in parts of four states by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Vowing to render Nigeria “ungovernable,” Boko Haram targets anything that does not support its fundamentalist Islamist ends and jihadist means: universities, police, secular courts, Christian churches and even liberal mosques.

The state of emergency came after a string of attacks in late December, where churches, a state security building, and a mosque were bombed. By December 31, President Jonathan had closed Nigeria’s borders with Chad and Niger Republic and declared the state of emergency in 15 hard-hit local government areas of Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Niger states, sending tanks and soldiers to patrol the streets.

Pray for those who were injured or who lost loved ones over Christmas. Pray the Lord will minister to them and help them overcome their present sufferings. Pray that those responsible will be brought to justice and that they will come to repentance and gain knowledge of Christ. Pray that God will frustrate the plans of the enemy (Nehemiah 4:15) so the current threat will come to nothing.

To post a prayer of solidarity with believers in Nigeria, visit our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall. For more on persecution in Nigeria, please visit the Nigeria Country Report.

Assumption Catholic Church after the bombing in 2009.

Two years after an explosion shook one of the biggest Catholic churches in Nepal and killed three people, the underground group that orchestrated the attack claimed responsibility for another bomb blast in November (for more on the 2009 attack, click here).

A crude bomb went off on November 22 in front of a leading Christian charitable organization’s office in the capital city, sowing fresh fear and insecurity among Christians. Thankfully, there were no casualties. At the site, police found leaflets signed by someone calling himself a senior member of the Nepal Defence Army, a militant armed group that has terrorized Christians and Muslims, demanding that they leave Nepal. The leaflets asserted that the majority population in Nepal was Hindu and that therefore it should be a Hindu state. The leaflets also accused the charitable organization of converting Hindus to Christianity.

On the same day in the north-eastern district of Sindhupalchowk, local residents of the predominantly Buddhist village of Danchhe assaulted two brothers for leading worship services at their home, leaving one unconscious.

Ask God to grant courage and boldness of faith to Christians in Nepal. Pray that believers in Nepal will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-48). Pray for lasting peace in Nepal.

To post a prayer of solidarity with Christians in Nepal, visit our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall. Please visit the Nepal Country Report for more on the trials believers face in Nepal.

Nguyen Thi Lan’s pelvis was broken in two places in the attack on her house church, Agape Baptist Church. Photo: Compass Direct News

More than a dozen Christian men, women and teenagers were brutally beaten and their property destroyed near Hanoi, Vietnam, in what sources say was a religiously-motivated attack.

The Christian house church leaders, as well as other assembled believers, were severely injured during a gathering in the home of Pastor Nguyen Danh Chau in Lai Tao village. A gang burst into the home at 9:30 a.m. on November 13 and warned Nguyen that they would kill him if he continued gathering Christians, according to sources in Vietnam. The attackers then beat him until he lost consciousness.

The offenders smashed chairs, overturned a pulpit and tore a cross from the wall and threw it into a nearby pond. They also destroyed motorcycles owned by four of the pastors present, which was an enormous loss for them.

The believers are members with the Agape Baptist Church, an unregistered house church organization of about 2,200 believers who worship regularly in 38 congregations. The head of the Agape Baptist Church, Nguyen Cong Thanh, met with the injured and said all he could do was weep at the violence. “Why do they gratuitously beat servants of the Lord like this — what crime have they committed, what enemies have they made?” he said. “All we want to do is gather people to worship and serve God and our fellowman.”

Please pray that those beaten will make a full recovery and that the Agape Baptist Church will grow stronger despite the violence and oppression. Pray that the perpetrators of this attack will repent and look to Christ for salvation.

Go to the Vietnam Country Report for more information on the suffering Church in Vietnam.

Rev. David Usman was killed by members of Boko Haram in a separate incident earlier this year. Photo: Compass Direct News

On November 4, al-Qaeda affiliate Boko Haram launched attacks in Damaturu and Potiskum in Yobe State and in Maiduguri, Borno State. The death toll from the coordinated assaults presently stands at 150 and is expected to rise. Nine churches were targeted, along with mosques, a bank, an anti-terrorist court, police stations, and army posts. Boko Haram spokesman Abul-Qaqa has reportedly stated, “More attacks are on the way.”

In Damaturu’s mostly Christian New Jerusalem district, six churches were bombed. According to one resident, “The whole city is traumatised.” Nigeria’s The Nation reported on November 7 that “in spite their churches being burnt, Christians in Damaturu yesterday defied the security panic and held their Sunday service in open air at the premises of their burnt churches.”

Thank the Lord for the great unity and faithfulness displayed by these Christians; ask the Lord to protect and shelter them from further attacks. Pray for President Goodluck Jonathan and all those in authority in Nigeria; pray that the Lord will grant them strength and wisdom to deal with this Islamist group. Pray for the members of Boko Haram, that they will come to know Jesus Christ.

To post a prayer of solidarity for suffering believers in Nigeria, please visit our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall. To learn more about persecution in Nigeria, please visit the Nigeria Country Report.

Government officials are threatening to destroy three church buildings in Sudan.

Government officials are threatening to destroy three church buildings in Sudan. The church buildings were marked for demolition with red crosses on September 11, and local church leaders say the officials simply said, “We are going to demolish these churches.” Officials from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Public Utilities – Khartoum State arrived at the Sudanese Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Roman Catholic Church accusing them of operating churches on government land without permission, although church leaders say the buildings are not located on government land. Christians in the region also said officials from the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowment have called church leaders for information about their church members and activities, collecting information in an effort to make Islam the official state religion. “This is purely for intelligence purposes, so that they can put more restrictions on churches and Christians,” said the Rev. Yousif El-Denger Kodi, general secretary of the Sudanese Lutheran Church. “We as church leaders are aware of their plans, but we pray for God to rescue us from their evil plans.”

Please pray for the Lord’s protection over the church in Sudan. Please pray that followers of Christ in Sudan would remain steadfast in the face of persecution and that they would be free to worship in their local churches without harassment or fear.

To post a prayer for suffering Christians in Sudan, please visit our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall. For more information on Sudan’s persecuted Christians, go to the Sudan Country Report.

A kidnapped Christian convert from Islam was found decapitated on September 2 on the outskirts of Hudur in Bakool region, in south-western Somalia. Juma Nuradin Kamil, who embraced Christianity about three years ago, was kidnapped on August 21 by three suspected Islamic extremists from the al Shabaab terrorist group. Muslim extremists from al Shabaab, a militant group with ties to al Qaeda, have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity.

Sources believe the kidnapping and subsequent manner of murder suggest that al Shabaab militants had been monitoring him. “It is usual for the al Shabaab to decapitate those they suspect to have embraced the Christian faith, or sympathisers of western ideals,” a Christian leader said. “Our brother … was determined in his faith in God. We greatly miss him.”

Pray for Juma’s family and the grieving Christian community. May they rest in the knowledge that the Good Shepherd walks with them through this difficult time. Ask the Lord to protect believers in Somalia and deliver them from harm. Pray that the perpetrators will repent and turn to Jesus Christ.

You can post a prayer for those mourning Juma on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall. For more on our suffering brothers and sisters in Somalia, go to the Somalia Country Report.

Iranian believers are facing imprisonment for their witness.

Five Iranian Christians and ministers who were convicted of crimes against the Islamic Order on March 8, 2011 in Shiraz, Iran, have been told to report to prison immediately to serve a one-year prison sentence. According to Jason DeMars of Present Truth Ministries their names are: Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi “Petros” Furutan, Mohammed “William” Belyad, Nazly Belyad, and Parviz Khalaj.

According to DeMars, Nazly is approximately seven months pregnant. “This absolutely breaks our heart. Please pray for these brothers, our sister, and the little baby that is growing inside of her. We ask that you pray for miracles to take place so that she does not have to be in prison,” he said.

Please pray the authorities will have mercy on this group of Christians, especially Nazly. Pray they will not despair but instead they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; 12:1-3).

For more on Iran, visit the Iran Country Report.