“Release her to us!”“Release her or we will burn down the building!”“She deserves death!”By now the mob had fully surrounded the police station, and theirdemands for the officers to hand the woman over to them had grown toa deafening level. Several held rocks of various sizes in their hands, readyto release them at the first sight of the woman—the infidel—while othersheld clubs and sticks. The police had only moments ago found the bruised and bloodiedwoman and brought her into the station to protect her from Muslimextremists who were beating her with clubs and fists.Earlier that day, this unidentified woman had been evangelizing inthe streets of Izom, Nigeria. She had entered into a conversation withsome Muslim youths, sharing the Gospel and handing them some Christian literature to read. Her encounter had not gone unnoticed. Muslim elders standing nearby had seen the exchange and approachedthe youths to find out what she had told them. They were infuriated tolearn that she had shared the Gospel with them. They claimed she hadinsulted the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and they insisted that the woman be killed. Their rage and allegations incited hundreds of other Muslims to pour through the streets to track down the woman.
Read MoreThe small number of children in the village of Santana Ramos inColombia enjoyed coming to school and learning from theirteacher, Dora Lilia Saavedra. She prayed with them every dayand told them about Jesus while they learned. She also sometimes traveled for hours to more distant villages, where there were no teachers, tohelp the children there. She was a good, loving teacher. But one day inNovember, the children’s ordinary school day was interrupted when twomen with guns, wearing army fatigues and boots, walked into the one-room schoolhouse and told the children to leave. “There will be no more school today. Go home and return tomorrow,” they said gruffly. The children quickly gathered their belongings and slipped out of the schoolhouse, wondering what was going to happen. Dora Lilia and her husband, Ferley Saavedra, who also taught at theschool, knew what was going to happen, and they were prepared. Thesemen who had come for them were guerrilla soldiers with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist movement characterized by threat, force, and violence. For decades they have terrorized Colombians, targeting Christians in particular. “Christians are dangerous,” they say. “Christians cannot lie. If the army asks them about us, they will
Read MoreBetty Stam held the baby in her arms, singing softly to this infantchild, all too aware that this was their last night together. Herhusband, John, tied to a bedpost, could not sleep either. Onlytwo weeks ago they had arrived at their mission station with three month-old Helen Priscilla, full of hope, eager for ministry. But on thiswinter night, their quiet lullabies were parting sorrows, for tomorrowthey would die. Betty Scott, daughter of Presbyterian missionaries to China, graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 1931. She had already accepted thecall of God to service with the China Inland Mission. The bond she feltwith John Stam, whom she had met at a prayer meeting for China, andtheir mutual decision to serve Christ in the middle of a dangerous civilwar, could not—did not—hold her back. When she was assigned to amission station in the interior, she left for China. She wrote, “When weconsecrate ourselves to God, we think we are making a great sacrifice,and doing lots for Him, when really we are only letting go some littlebitsy trinkets we have been grabbing; and when our hands are empty,He fills them with His treasures.” Stam, meanwhile, finished his training at Moody in 1932. He gavethe
Read MoreSqueals of delight from the children could be heard from down thestreet. Father Francisco Montoya was laughing with them, grinning from ear to ear. The local priest was performing illusions for the kids, reveling in the smiles that radiated from their faces. This was Montoya’s favorite time of day. Montoya called the kids closer and had them sit down as he pulledout his clarinet. The children sat mesmerized as the beautiful musicpierced the air and touched their souls. The adults also gathered aroundand allowed the sounds to wash over them. Putting down the clarinet, Montoya began telling the story of JesusChrist. The people of Quibdó, Colombia, needed to hear the Gospelmessage more than the music. God used the music to draw people closerand to open their hearts, and Montoya was now prepared to share thegood news with them. The next day, Montoya rose early to attend services and began histrek from Quibdó (the capital city of Chocó Department) to the villageof Nóvita. He traveled on foot all around the region, carrying necessarybelongings in a typical indigenous basket. The time passed quickly asMontoya walked steadily down the road. Suddenly, a man raced toward him and grabbed his right arm. Montoya pulled
Read MoreThey were avoided by people from India’s higher castes. These dalits,the so-called “untouchables,” were the lowest caste in the Hinduculture. To be a dalit is to be without hope for a future. Someonecared for them, however, and was willing to risk it all to help them. Yesu Dasu loved the untouchables, and put that love into action bybefriending and helping them. When others ran away, he came closer.He gave them back their dignity. As a mirror of Christ’s love, the fifty two-year-old Christian preacher came to bring healing to their souls. The roaring of the motorcycle engine outside disrupted the quietdinner of Dasu and his family. As Dasu rose to look out the window, two men began pounding on the door. “Yesu Dasu,” they shouted. “Open up! There is someone who wants to speak to you, and you must come with us now.” Dasu slowly opened the door and looked at the men. “Who?” he asked. “There is no time to talk. You must come with us now,” they responded.They grabbed his arm and ushered him to the motorcycle. Dasu’s wife andchildren stared out the window as the motorcycle raced away. After putting the children to bed, his wife patiently
Read MoreIn June 1900, a fierce nationalist reaction in China against Christianmissionaries and churches claimed more than thirty-two thousandlives. The worst massacres occurred in the northern province ofShanxi. The pregnant Lizzie Atwater wrote a memorable letter homebefore she and six others were martyred. Dear ones, I long for a sight of your dear faces, but I fear weshall not meet on earth. I am preparing for the end very quietly and calmly. The Lord is wonderfully near, and He willnot fail me. I was very restless and excited while there seemeda chance of life, but God has taken away that feeling, and nowI just pray for grace to meet the terrible end bravely. The painwill soon be over, and oh the sweetness of the welcome above!My little baby will go with me. I think God will give it to mein heaven and my dear mother will be so glad to see us. I cannot imagine the Savior’s welcome. Oh, that will compensatefor all these days of suspense. Dear ones, live near to God andcling less closely to earth. There is no other way by which wecan receive that peace from God which passeth understanding. I must keep calm and still these
Read More“You are of our blood, and unless you return to our traditions, Iwill take back your blood myself!” shouted the uncle of UMaung Than. When Than decided to leave his family’s traditional religion andbecome a follower of Christ, he immediately became a marked man byhis own family in his homeland of Myanmar. He was soon arrested andimprisoned on trumped-up charges. The military dictatorship used theuncle’s hatred of Than’s faith to sentence him to death. In March 2002, Maung Maung and Kam Lian Ceu, two Christianfriends of Than, came to visit and encourage him, not realizing their friendwas in prison. Maung and Kam learned of the seriousness of Than’s case,as well as the intense hatred against his faith in Christ. For two days themen diligently sought permission to visit him in prison but were continuallyrejected. On the third day, military police in that area finally allowedMaung and Ceu to see Than, but they were ordered not to speak to him. After traveling with Than and the police escort to a wooded area,Maung and Ceu were surprised to receive permission to talk with Than.Before they could say anything, Than pleaded with them, “Please go tomy area and share the Gospel. This is
Read MoreFour teenage girls walked down the path leading to Poso ChristianHigh School. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky and the girlslooked forward to another day of classes. It was a holiday for theIslamic schools in the area, celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. ButChristian schools like the one the four girls attended were still in session.Their friendship and fellowship brought smiles across their young facesas they enjoyed the peacefulness of the early Saturday morning. The stillness of the air was broken as six men dressed in black andwith veils covering their faces jumped out of the bushes and ran towardthem. Before the girls could move, the men surrounded their young victims and viciously began swinging machetes. Screaming for help, thegirls fought for their lives. Only one, Noviana Malewa, was able toescape. Covered in blood from cuts mostly on her face, she ran to findhelp. The bodies of Theresia Morangkir and Yarni Samube (both fifteenyears old), and Alfita Poliwo (seventeen), were left on the ground, theirheads severed from their bodies and missing. A couple of women walking to the nearby market heard the girlsscreaming for help. Filled with fear, the women ran toward the militarypost, reporting what they heard.
Read MorePersecution during the Reformation The term Anabaptist means “rebaptizer” and was used by criticsof these sixteenth-century radical reformers. The Anabaptistsbelieved the Bible taught “believer’s baptism,” while the churchfollowed infant baptism. They did not think of themselves as rebaptizinganyone, since the first baptism done to infants, they believed, was illegitimate. The Anabaptists simply called themselves “believers” or “brethren” or “Christians.” These reformers did not form a communion orchurch, such as the Lutherans, but were rather a collection of differentmovements, which today range from the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites (who trace from Menno Simons) to English Baptists, and in the most general sense to all who restrict baptism to adult believers. Moreover, some Christians in the first centuries followed this practice, yet theAnabaptist movement has its origins in the Reformation. In Zurich in 1525, three men—Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, andGeorge Blaurock—met to continue the reforms they believed had stalledin compromises made by Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli. Grebel andcompany wanted nothing to do with an established church and its half-hearted followers. For them, a commitment to follow Christ was totaland meant not only belief but also practice. The sign of one’s joiningChrist’s church was baptism, which only adults could receive. Theseradicals therefore
Read MoreTulu Mosisa was just a simple farm laborer who loved the Lord.He worked in the remote village of Nensebo Chebi in southernEthiopia in order to support his wife and five children, whoremained at home in another village. He also worshiped at a Protestantchurch there: Kale Hiwot Baptist Church. During the regular Sunday morning worship service, as Mosisa andhis Christian brothers and sisters were in the middle of prayer, menarmed with knives and machetes stormed into the church building. Atthe same time, about a half hour’s walk away at Birhane Wongel BaptistChurch, more armed men interrupted the service. They were militantMuslims, charged by their religious beliefs to cleanse the Muslim-dominated area of Christians. Mosisa had come to church that morning alone—his family was notwith him—but the congregation was composed of people of all ages,including women and children. The believers looked on helplessly as theirattackers barred all the church doors and windows, and then came atthem with their weapons. “Allahu Akbar!” (“Allah is great!”) the attackers shouted as theyswung their knives and machetes. The people were defenseless; theyscreamed and ran in all directions to avoid their assailants, but at leasttwenty-three were injured, two even losing their hands. Mosisa was killedwhen an attacker
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