For “Tony,” it was a night like many other nights. The small, free-standing store, similar in size to typical newsstands of old in our large cities, was locked, and he headed home. The next morning, all that was left were charred pieces of what had been his livelihood for years. It had been burnt down because he was a Christian.
A young girl, about 8 years old, was attacked, her face permanently scared from the battery acid thrown at her because her family were believers in Christ.
My friends were driving home after spending time with a local congregation. The road had a sharp bend that they had just started going around when a bullet ripped through their car. If it hadn’t been for the bend changing their direction, the bullet would have found its mark.
The stories continue. Churches burnt. Christian leaders imprisoned on baseless charges. Families having to leave their homes, jobs and possessions to flee local gangs encourage by local police and political leaders. New laws enacted to cause ministries financial distress, closing many of them.
The real story is this: even though they are targeted, these Christians won’t be stopped. Even with the physical hardship and emotional grief, they will not stop working for Christ. It often means having to adjust and change, letting go of how things used to be and embracing what can be done today. For some that means creating an underground church; for others, it means moving to another area of the country, but the message will not be silenced.
As a congregation, we support several of these mission works. They are extensions of our local ministry staff. To avoid the possibility of the wrong eyes seeing who these folk are, we don’t publish their names or works. We are very privileged to be part of these “mystery” missions and are extremely humbled and encouraged by the lives they lead. At various times during the year, we get to have some of them visit Mt Carmel.
There are two requests we ask of you. 1) Prayer for safety, opportunities to continue to share Christ, and strength of faith. 2) Please take a moment when they are visiting with us to thank them for their example and let them know you are praying for them. We will be trying to host free dinners after the second service for them, to which you are most welcome to come. We’d love to offer the opportunity for you to introduce your children to these heroes of faith.
