KENYA: Anti-Christian Violence Spreading

Two people were killed on Nov. 6 when suspected Somali Islamic militants attacked a church in eastern Kenya, adding to concerns about increased violence against devoted Christians in the African nation. A woman and two of her grandchildren were also injured when attackers hurled a grenade at the East African Pentecostal Church in the predominantly Muslim town of Garissa, over 200 miles northeast of Nairobi.

Police investigators say militant group al-Shabab attacked the church, as the group advocates for a strict form of Shariah law in areas it controls.

Elsewhere in Kenya, a Somali Christian refugee was recovering after six Somali Muslim men allegedly beat him with iron and wooden clubs, leaving him unconscious at a church entryway.

The Christian, identified only as 25-year-old Hassan, had earlier fled the turmoil in Somalia where several Christians have been killed by al-Shabab militants, fellow believers said.

Source: BosNewsLife

Please pray for the families of the deceased believers and for those who suffered injuries and material losses. Pray that the authorities will aggressively pursue and prosecute the perpetrators and that al-Shabab will be uprooted from Kenya. Pray that these attacks will not produce fear but make Christians stronger and bolder in their faith.

"But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten." Jeremiah 20:11

A Voice of the Martyrs Volunteer

Christians Attacked In Myanmar (Burma) and Nigeria

BURMA (Myanmar): Christians Attacked and Churches Destroyed

The Burmese army has attacked churches and worshipers in Kachin State, which is 90 percent Christian. Severe restrictions have also been imposed on Christian activities.

On Oct. 16, soldiers burned two church buildings and homes in the northern area of Namsan Yang village. A pastor and four other men were detained.

Officials informed Christians that they must request permission 15 days in advance for activities such as reading the Bible, conducting a Bible study, holding Sunday school, prayer and fasting. Churches in Burma are already required to obtain permission for any events other than Sunday services, but these new regulations impinge on the daily, private actions of individual Christians.

A Christian pastor was forced to flee his home after 500 soldiers took over his village. He said the soldiers took all the villagers' belongings, including animals and building materials, and they are still living in the villagers' houses.

Source: Barnabas Aid

Please pray for Christians in Burma who have lost their livelihoods, homes, belongings and churches. Pray that the Lord will place a hedge of protection around them and supply all their needs according to His riches in glory. Pray that the soldiers and other officials come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23)

NIGERIA: Terrorist Group Kills Christians, Destroys Churches

Attacks by Islamic extremists in northeast Nigeria left over 100 dead and at least six churches destroyed. Terrorist Muslim organization Boko Haram committed the attacks on Nov. 4 and 5.

Most of the attacks were suicide bombings, but the group also bombed a government building and shot 63 people.

Christians in the region are concerned about future violence and damage, and many are upset at the lack of law enforcement to protect them from Boko Haram's attacks. The group has killed more than 240 people this year, including 100 Christians.

The attacks come on the immediate heels of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau urging members to increase violence. Boko Haram roughly translates to "Western education is sacrilege." The group's aim is to spread radical Islamic fundamentalism throughout Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the Christian community to pray for peace in the embattled region.

Source: Christian Post

Please pray for the peace of Nigeria and for Boko Haram's demise. Pray that believers will not be overcome with fear, but that they will sense God's presence and peace. Pray for wisdom for President Goodluck Jonathan, and that he will take measures to ensure the safety of Nigeria's Christians.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:35-37

VOM assists hundreds of Nigerian pastors and also provides food, clothing and medical aid to Nigerian Christians who are attacked by Muslim extremists.

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Christian Persecution Intensifies

Mehdi "Petros" Foroutan, a 27-year-old pastor in Iran, was arrested in January 2010 and charged with crimes against national security and blasphemy against Islam. Although acquitted of the blasphemy charge and released on bail a month later, Pastor Foroutan

was sentenced to one year in prison. Unlike most people who wait for an arrest warrant, Pastor Foroutan reported to prison on Sept. 25, 2011, to begin serving his sentence. Almost immediately, Pastor Foroutan was transferred to the area of the prison for recovering drug addicts in Shiraz. It is often called "the end of the road" for addicts and drug dealers. Please pray for Pastor Foroutan's safety and protection from easily transferred diseases as he lives among drug addicts. Pray that God uses and works through the pastor to free those held captive by addiction.

RECENT UPDATE!: VOM contacts have recently learned that Pastor Mehdi "Petros" Foroutan, who is serving a one-year prison sentence in Shiraz for crimes against national security, has been placed in solitary confinement and has not been allowed a phone call since Oct. 17.

There is concern that he is being tortured.

INDONESIA: Pastor Arrested after Authorities Close Church

On Sept. 20, local officials threatened to close the Indonesia Pentecostal Church in Sumedang. The church had previously received a letter to cease Christian activities, and the district head of Jatinangor in Sumedang, Nandang Suparman, said the church had no legal building permit. Suparman urged the church to move its services into a building belonging to the Institute of Public Administration (IPND).

The Indonesian Christian organization Kabar Gereja reports that the IPND building accommodates the congregations of at least 14 closed churches and cannot

accommodate more. After closing the church in Sumedang, authorities arrested the church's pastor for forcing others to attend church. The church was built more than 24 years ago and only recently began receiving threats.

The church's pastor was put on trial on Oct. 3. He faces up to three months in prison. According to local sources, at least 30 churches have been closed or burned in 2011.

Behnam Irani

Behnam Irani, a 41-year-old pastor from Kraj, Iran, was convicted of crimes against national security in January 2011 and sentenced to one year in prison. After voluntarily surrendering to authorities on May 31 to begin his sentence, he learned that he would be forced to serve five years in connection with a previous conviction.

Officers from the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security (MOIS) raided Irani's house church on April 14, 2010, and assaulted him before taking him into custody.

Although he was released on bail two months after his arrest, he later received the one-year prison sentence. When Irani voluntarily began serving his sentence in May 2011, he was prepared to spend one year in prison. But he received a letter in October stating that he must now serve five years from his previous sentence.

Irani was first arrested in December 2006 and tried for crimes against national security. He was released in January 2007 but was soon re-arrested, tried and sentenced to five years in prison. Irani was never called to serve the sentence that is now being held against him.

Irani became a pastor in 2002, 10 years after becoming a Christian. Please pray for his wife and two children as they wait for him to return home.

EGYPT: Military Attack against Christian Protestors

On Oct. 9, Christian protestors marching toward the television and radio broadcasting building near downtown Cairo were pelted with rocks and other projectiles. By the time the protestors made it to the building, the army began shooting into the crowd and rolling over protestors with their riot-control vehicles.

Witnesses at the scene reportedly said they saw body parts scattered around after the attacks. Amateur video at the scene shows two riot-control vehicles careening haphazardly through the crowd of protestors. The attacks left 26 dead and hundreds wounded.

The protest was in response to a Sept. 30 attack in Upper Egypt, where the Mar Gerges Church building was burned down along with several Christian-owned homes and businesses.

The church building, which was being renovated, was attacked by local Muslims who claimed the congregation had no right to build it, despite legal documents produced by parish priests.

... this last story is personal.  My wife and I have two close friends living in Egypt.  They are Coptic Christians and are under constant threat ...

A Voice of the Martyrs Volunteer