Marc, 21, battled a chronic illness and could not find a cure. He visited doctors and voodoo practitioners, but nothing seemed to help. Then a friend urged him to come to church. When Marc heard the gospel, he became a follower of Christ and was physically healed, later deciding to receive baptism. When he returned home from the baptismal service, his voodooist father had hired people to beat him. His father was upset that Marc, his oldest son, would forsake his duties to the family’s voodoo rituals and told him to leave. Marc stayed at a relative’s house, but some family members locked him in a room and tried to force him to return to pagan practices.
Read MoreIn the summer of 2022, Tien received a call and was told her father had been seriously beaten. He had been evangelizing and then returned home with her younger brother, Thanh. Some men, including one of her uncles, came into the house and beat him in front of Thanh. By the time Tien got home, her father had already died. Thanh has been mute since that day. Tien’s mother, who had a heart condition, was so shocked that she never recovered, dying two months later.
Read MoreBasavaraj, his wife and their six children are the only believers in a village of 200 families. They faithfully share Christ among the villagers. Each family is expected to serve at the local Hindu temple. Basavaraj told the village leaders that he could not perform the idol worship because he was a follower of Christ. At a village meeting, the family again refused to perform temple duties. Basavaraj told the leaders, “Even if you kill me, we will only worship Jesus.” Villagers beat them and continue to harass and pressure the family, poisoning their rice fields, destroying their crops and vandalizing their home.
Read MoreGoma Kunwar has suffered repeated beatings and mistreatment at the hands of her Hindu husband since putting her faith in Christ in 2022. More than once, his attacks have been life-threatening. On Jan. 2, 2024, Goma’s husband beat her badly and attacked her with a sickle, cutting her head so that she required medical treatment. Despite the abuse, Goma does not want to leave the Lord.
Read MoreA bi-vocational evangelist has fled Turkmenistan after being threatened by authorities. He has been active in sharing his faith and had previously been arrested, along with other Christians, for attending Christian worship services. He was also fined for his evangelistic efforts. Authorities now want to charge him for work he did at his place of business. “But he feels the government is really using that as an excuse to arrest him for his Christian activities,” said a front-line worker.
Read MoreIn spring 2024, Lod, a Khmu villager, placed his faith in Jesus Christ at the age of 90. On June 20, he passed away. Typically, every villager would make a small donation of money and rice to the grieving family. However, because Lod was a Christian, the head of the village refused to collect donations to assist Lod’s family and did not allow any villagers to attend Lod’s funeral. Only the 10 Christians families in the community supported Lod’s family.
Read MoreAfter months of seeing villagers and friends extorted, abused and killed by violent guerrillas who control the dangerous “red zones” of Colombia, Pastor Santiago and his family have fled from their village to a safe location, leaving most of their personal belongings behind. According to a church member, Pastor Santiago is on the guerrillas’ hit list for his refusal to support their illicit activities, prompting his decision to flee with his family. Pastor Santiago also shared with VOM staff that he had received death threats for preaching the gospel. His greatest concern is for his family and their provision if anything happens to him.
Read MoreBrima’s village had been steeped in occult practices for generations. It even had a tree where children were sacrificed to local gods. These deaths would go uninvestigated because villagers reported only that the missing children were “swallowed by the jungle.” Brima’s son learned of the wicked practice and fled before anything could happen to him. Later, a Christian evangelist came to the village, and most people in the village came to know Christ.
Read MoreDuyen, 33, and her husband, Hieu, were drawn to Christ both by the healing they received and the love and care they were shown by the body of Christ. They were mocked, threatened and even attacked several times because of their faith in Christ. Their land was taken on the grounds that land grants were only for those loyal to the government, but Christians were not loyal. After an appeal, their land was returned. Finally, when traveling with another man in 2022, Hieu was attacked by three men. His companion ran for help and provided first aid before carrying Hieu home.
Read MoreHawa is a Christian convert from Islam who maintains a farm in a rural area of Somalia. Though raised as a Muslim, Hawa became a follower of Christ through her son’s witness. Hawa’s Muslim husband divorced her and kicked her out of the house when he learned of her newfound faith. Through another Christian woman, Hawa came to help work and maintain the farm, which also houses 19 Christian widows whose husbands had been killed by al-Shabab, a terrorist group active in Somalia and Kenya. Hawa disciples the widows and actively shares her faith with other women who work on neighboring farms.
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